martha. martha: tough situation are it us to be in. how bad is the situation in the united states compared with some of these very troubled nations that are our friends and allies in europe? here is a list of each country's debt and how much they owe compared to their gross domestic product that. is very indicator of the strength of any economy. a low ratio means a country is in much better position to pay back their debts of course. a high ratio means they're in a lot of trouble. all the countries have debt-to-gdp ratio better than 100% or higher. greece leads the pack, 165% debt to ratio. just to give you an idea, around 60% would be a healthy economy. look at united states though. we're at 100% of our gdp to debt ratio. this is very, very tenuous position for us to be in at this point. look at our debt. we have the biggest debt of all of them at $15 trillion in our debt. so this is a very tough situation for us. bill? bill: 100% worth, you're right, martha. new this morning, also, these clashes erupting in greece during the visit fr

martha? martha: it has been a bumpy night for the republican field throughout this process a host of names kind of taken their chance at the top spot and have fallen from grace. take a look at this graphic. it is revealing all how of this worked. compiled by real clear average politics and all their polling when they take an average of the polls out there. newt his high is 26.6. that is on december the 5th. you can see how low he was. he was in the 3, 4, 5% range at one time here. let's bring on herman cain's trajectory through the course of this whole thing. on november 22nd, he hit a high for 26% for herman cain. his first high was october 20th. rick perry, you remember his meteoric rise got as high as 31.8% and a clear frontrunner over romney at that point on september 12th. look at rick perry. a huge slide that he has taken through the course of this whole ride. you've got romney, right? hear is the romney line. not surprising, slow and steady wins the raise is what mitt romney hopes will

martha:, judge, martha here. >> yes,. martha: that. martha: i look at video.school's argument. it was going on and on. they were blocking the hallway. people need to get to class. sound like it became more than a tribute. sound like it became a distraction. >> it likes like it was a distraction. but but if it was truly an exercise of religious freedom. the school can not interfere with it unless it materially interferes with the school's ability to teach. if it was cool thing to do as the man says in the clip or honor tim tebow the man, or rather than honor the person tim tebow was honoring it is not protected by the first amendment. depends what is in their brains and why we have judges and trials to find out what people's true intentions are. martha: find out what is in our brains. bill: i would hate to be at pep rally in that school in riverhead, new york. martha: merry christmas, judge. speaks to how much of a cultural phenomena this guy has become. bill: in serious way. we asked this question online. we want to know what you thought. should students be su

here is martha with more on this. martha: here's the deal. if there is no deal before the 1st of january the paychecks out there will shrink, folks, for about 160 million americans. the social security tax increase will go from 4.2 to 6.2% taken out of your paycheck. that amounts to about $20 a week for someone making $50,000. and it would also impact unemployment benefits for two million americans as well as part of this deal and medicare because doctors could see big cuts in the payments they receive from medicare. all of that wrap understood this deal. no deal. that's the way it looks. bill: just so you know, we're waiting for more reaction. lawmakers on the hill will be before the microphone momentarily. john boehner, republican leadership speak at 10:00 eastern time. immediately followed by the democrats. the president will come out around noon eastern. we're keeping an eye on all it today. we'll bring you the news as it happens live from the hill. martha: how about this? brand new jobless numbers have just been released. this number loo

martha: good morning, everybody. i'm martha maccallum. we have new numbers for to you take a look at. in a hypothetical matchup romney is two percentage points behind president obama but newt gingrich, take a look at that, bill. bill: behind the president by six points, which is outside the margin of error. byron josh, -- york, chief political correspondent for the washington examiner. what does this tell you? >> a lot of polls including the new fox poll with gingrich a big lead among republicans. republicans in south carolina, florida, their top priority is beating president obama. they say i would like to have a candidate who i most agree with philosophically, politically, a lot say that is newt gingrich but more importantly they would like to see a candidate who can beat obama. they will take numbers like this when they vote in the caucuses on january 3rd in iowa and primaries after that. bill: new hampshire a week after iowa. we also asked this. who is a stronger leader? we found romney and gingrich are both ahead of president obama.

martha: yeah.evelopments involving the alleged hazing death of this florida coed. could the incident have been prevented and how? martha: a conservative re-publication agrees with these protesters saying newt gingrich getting the nomination would be a bad thing. top republican consultant ed rollins talks about this. [shouting] are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today. of course, neither do i. solution? td ameritrade mobile trader. i can enter trades on the run. even futures and 4x. complex options, done. [ cellphone rings ] thank you. live streaming audio. advanced charts. look at that. all right here. wherever "here" happens to be. mobile trading from td ameritrade. number one in online equity trades. plus get up to $600 when you open an account. bill: fox news alert on some brand new "rasmussen poll"ing numbers. take a look at

martha. martha: thank you guys.e weather that is hitting across the west. authorities in los angeles county have declared a state of emergency. take a look at all this. >> it really sounded like a bomb going off. >> it's one of the biggest storms we've seen in a very longtime. some of our very tenured officers have indicated, as long as 35 years. >> there was a guest room behind the garage where my mother-in-law stays. she won't be staying there any longer. martha: look at this. look at that. a brutal wind storm knocked out power to 350,000 people. uprooted trees crashing on the top of homes as you see there. >> oh, my gosh. my son start screaming, it's a tree, it's a tree. this huge tree tell like this on the side. that's when i heard the noise. when you see the car you wouldn't believe. martha: we've had scary weather patterns in the last few months. high winds in utah forced troopers to shut down the highways. adam housley is live in pasadena, california with more on all of this. hello. >> reporter: we had quite

martha. martha: thank you very much.idate newt gingrich surging past mitt romney in the race for the gop nod. the latest "wall street journal" gingrich -- the poll shows that gingrich is at 40, mitt romney at 23 perfected, a lead of 17%. we'll show you a moment from now the former massachusetts governor actually does better in head-to-head match ups with president obama. that is getting a lot of attention this morning as well. we are now just weeks, can you believe this. away from iowa, the caucuses are about to get underway. the first contest in the 2012 election season. then we'll have actual votes to look at instead of polls. the new poll shows the race in the hawk-eye state tighting a bit with gingrich, romney and ron paul in a fairly tight race this. iowa thing could go in a lot of different directions. governor mitt romney joins me now. governor, welcome. >> thanks, martha. martha: let's talk a little bit about iowa and what has been going on there. newt gingrich is still ahead but ron paul seems to be pulling up.

martha. martha: very interesting. trace, thank you so much. we'll see you in a little bit. >>> all right. we've got it going. in chicago, folks, we are moments away from hearing the fate of former illinois governor rod blagojevich. what an amazing three year journey this story has been, the 54-year-old making a public plea for his life, hoping to avoid a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars. mike tobin is live where all the action is right now inside the courthouse in chicago. what's happening in there now, mike? >> reporter: judge james dagle is addressing the court and at the end of the address he's going to ask the defendant governor rod blagojevich to rise and hear the sentence. the judge said that the government is asking to 30 years to life, as far as the guidelines go, and he said he agrees with those guidelines and agrees with the government. a lot will depend upon how contrite governor blagojevich is. for the first time we've had the governor be contrite, we've heard him own his

martha: sure was. bill: here we go to the trail. 2012, michele bachmann confirming that an influential evangelical leader in the state of iowa asked her to drop out of the presidential race. bob van der platt called the minnesota congresswoman that she support rick perry and rick santorum and run for vice president instead. the bachmann campaign quickly rejecting that idea in a text message. he denied making the call. all this comes within days of his personal endorsement of rick santorum in iowa. mitt romney giving his closing arguments just ahead of the iowa caucuses and new hampshire primary. the former massachusetts governor in bedford, new hampshire, blasting president obama's economic policies and throwing a sharp contrast with his vision for the future of america and the vision he says that the white house and this president offers. >> more than a spending crisis that we face. even if we could afford the ever-expanding payments of an entitlement society, it is a fundamental corruption of the ame

martha: you are bill hemmer. good to see you this morning. i'm martha maccallum. we've got three weeks to go. bill: from today. martha: until the iowa caucuses. mitt romney is making it clear you know what? i would rather lose to make charges against my opponent that he feels would ultimately help president obama. bill: romney says i am what i am. i don't tend to say outrage just things about other people that i don't believe in order to win political points. where are we do? steven hayes, fox news contributor. senior writer, "weekly standard." what is your take? >> good morning, bill. i think mitt romney is actually right. newt gingrich is the frontrunner. if you look at polling over past several weeks. look at the enthusiasm. he is winning the momentum primary at this point. mitt romney still has the advantage on organization and long term infrastructure of a campaign that you would want to have going into the actual voting period we're seeing a contest between organization and enthusiasm. bill: romney says he has a foundation in place to take him all the way to

here's martha. martha: one state is bucking the trend of raising taxes to try to slash their red ink. the republican governor from virginia is here live to tell us how he can do it with cash left to spare. is his way of doing it something other states could listen to? no tax hike in virginia. bill: lights went out on "monday night football." one minute it is fine and poof, darkness. it didn't just happen one time. ♪ okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle -- 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! insurance ... but afraid you can't afford it? well, look how much insurance many people can get through

martha. martha: you know, it reminds you of the situation in iran back in the '70s. revolution and then and i in-sweeping of muslim leadership that led to huge changes. what is the implications in egypt be in if this party really takes over? >> reporter: we've been speaking to fishals martha. of the muslim brotherhood. they say they are open. they are inclusive and pragmatic and community oriented. a lot of people on the street like that about them. we've also heard discouraging words from many women spoken to on the street worried what their status might be in a future government because the promotion of sharia law, islamic law. quickly on the foreign policy front, according to the muslim brotherhood they would have to reevaluate the relationship with israel. they might have to redefine a bit the word terror. they're waiting to see what the u.s. says and how it accept what is they have got going here. a lot of questions for the future, martha. martha: a lot of questions indeed. greg, thank y

martha has more. martha: mitt romney pledge not to go negative is earning praise from newt gingrich, his chief competitor these days. here is gingrich at a town hall in new hampshire. watch this. >> governor romney this afternoon said something very important which i'm very grateful for. in that he was being interviewed and he said that it was very important that we not weaken any of the people who might defeat barack obama and that he would rather lose than engage in outrage just attacks on one of his competitors. [applause] martha: that was interesting. romney interview yesterday afternoon and gingrich made a point really trying to keep this a positive campaign, at least where his gop rivals are concerned. he says he will keep it that way. he did go after romney's days at bain capital. we'll talk about that in a little while. gingrich says he will publicly disown any super pac that run as nasty ad in his name and advices supporters not to donate. bill: money and raising, romney is raising serious ca

martha?artha: this just crossing the wires moments ago, nato officially announcing the permanent withdrawal of troops from iraq. with u.s. troops already set to leave, iraq is on its own. we spoke to some of them, our troops, about the conditions on the ground there. listen to what they have to say. >> i'm happy for the iraqi people, that they are able to secure themselves and or, you know, looking out for their best interests. i'm happy we're upholding the security agreement and leaving on time. martha: this is all fraught with controversy. meanwhile president obama and iraqi president nouriel maliki are talking today in washington. critics say they should have been talking all along and that iran is ready to make its move in iraq. we have got more on that coming up. gregg: and a bench-clearing brawl on the bass ball -- bass call court. look at this. the latest fallout from the xavier cincinnati fight. >> with nine seconds to go in a blowout. gregg: fox news alert. developing this morning, n

martha? martha: hear is the other top story.gingrich adding to a lead in many battleground states. mitt romney's camp trying to take him on. more on this very intense race coming up. we'll be right back. like many chefs today, i feel the best approach to food is to keep it whole for better nutrition. and that's what they do with great grains cereal. see the seam on the wheat grain? same as on the flake. because great grains steams and bakes the actual whole grain. now check out the other guy's flake. hello, no seam. because it's more processed. now, which do you suppose has better nutrition for you? mmm. great grains. the whole whole grain cereal. martha: fox news alert, some fireworks as america's chief law enforcer is in the process of getting grilled right now on capitol hill. attorney general eric holder testifying before the house judiciary committee. lawmakers demanding answers on the botched gun running sting known as fast and furious. as calls for eric holder's resignation are growing louder by the name. i'm martha macca

i'm miss rosa from pbs kids with martha ... martha: from martha speaks. rosa: it's easy to help your kids learn anytime, anywhere. right, martha? martha: right. like at the doctor's office. mom: what rhymes with toy? kid: boy. martha: or when you're walking the dog. mom: what letter does that sign start with? girl: s! rosa: visit pbskids.org/read for more tips and free games like these that make it fun for your child to learn to read. martha: so remember... martha and rosa: anytime is learning time.

martha: a lot of news to cover this morning. i'm martha maccallum. there are stunning images coming from one of the darkest corners of the world. north koreans in mourning. watch this. gathering all night at statue of jong i will's father. this is how state-run media announced his death. bill: now the u.s. is concerned this power shift could send the isolated regime into chaos. >> reporter: the united states sent messages of support to south korea during this difficult and potentially tense times. kim jong-il died a couple days ago. they say he suffered from great physical and mental strain. he basically had a heart attack. he had been unwell apparently suffering from a stroke a couple years ago. a lot of north korea experts have questioned how genuine that outpouring of emotion is and to what extent people believe they need to behave this way on the street. the burial for kim jong-il will be december 28. the understanding that we have is that his son, his youngest son who is 20-something with very little experience will be taking over. he was recent

♪ martha, to reiterate martha speaks! ♪ martha speaks. hello. today's show is full of words...is all about design and devising gadgets and machines, right? well, i invented a robot that will introduce the show. here it is. wow! watch. (theme music from different show plays) uh, wrong show. i'll fix it. while he does that, be sure to watch for all the words about inventions, as well as drawing, designing and creating. (whining): i don't want it! jakey, come on, just one spoonful. isn't this fun? (cries) (martha yawns) hey. (groans, sighs) morning, world! (laughs, gasps) 'tha! 'tha! 'tha! (giggles) it's martha. she's fun. you can play with her when you finish eating. here you go. (grunting) that's right. finish your food, jakey, and we can play. darned itchy ear. (thud) aw... martha, would you mind scratching somewhere else? eh? that wouldn't work. it's my ear that itches. no, i mean, could you take your ear somewhere else and scratch it? oh. sorry. (grunting) martha, can you scratch someplace else? i tried to explain to dad, it... i mean another room. oh. right. (loud scratching

>> martha: yes., they would, because they love headbands. >> there's snaps to decorate the zippers, combining different types of zippers together, the rhinestone zippers. >> martha: with diamonds. >> yeah, yeah. >> martha: for a very sophisticated look. very, very much like it. reminds me of things i might have seen in london or in paris. really interesting. >> but you can make them at far less the price. >> martha: oh, absolutely. including the trip to paris or london. >> right. >> martha: flip-flops. oh, my granddaughters would love this. >> and these are zippers, even using the pull just for decoration. >> martha: just glued onto your regular $2 flip-flop. >> absolutely. and if you edge stitch right along the edge of the zipper and pull it ruching-- you use that term all the time. >> martha: puffed zipper. >> puffed zippers. >> martha: puffed zipper jewelry. >> and then glue them together for jewelry. absolutely. and knots. my husband taught a class on knots at one of the big shows, and he made je

martha the dog! ♪ martha: woo hoo!♪ she's a real tough cop ♪ at that she's tops ♪ she don't like yellin' ♪ no. female singer: ♪ no she doesn't that's better. male singer: ♪ give that dog a donut tv announcer: in tonight's episode: the smugglers. got any smuggled food in there? (scoffs) in wagstaff city? oh, right, silly me. have a good day. the coast is clear! (sawing) let's get cracking. (sawing, buzzing) (loud buzzing) (gasp) i was wrong! people do smuggle things into wagstaff city! oh, no! martha, look! martha: no! (loud thud) what a horrible dream. (both gasp) oops. police! freeze! uh, is there a problem, officer? oh, no problem. except for a little speeding. oh. sorry about that. i'm running late for school. (clears throat) all right, all right, i'll slow down. sheesh. i'm afraid that's not going to be enough. i'm going to have to give you a citation. citation? you mean, like a piece of paper that says i broke the law? like a speeding ticket? uh-huh, 'fraid so. uh... grab a notepad and write your citation down, wo

♪ martha, to reiterate martha speaks! ♪ martha speaks.investigator uncovers some information. td? then, in a special health report, a doctor does a checkup and observes some symptoms. martha? well... td? as you've probably observed, we don't actually have any news. but we did use a lot of the words from today's show. so watch for words about observing and reporting, and we'll see you at the end of the show. (whines) why is skits so nervous? i mean, it's not like he's never had a checkup before. (teeth chattering): that's why he's nervous. he's had a checkup before. huh? he knows what's coming. what? what's coming? (gulps) a vaccine. helen: a vaccine? what's a vaccine? martha: (yelps) ow! that's a vaccine! (worried woof) it's a shot that keeps you from getting sick. they should make a vaccine against vaccines. vet: okay, all done. you're a very good girl. you are a very good veterinarian. and your biscuits are excellent! okay, skits, your turn. (whines) martha: go on, skits. the sooner you get the vaccine, the sooner you get your biscuit.

♪ martha, to reiterate martha speaks! ♪ martha speaks. martha: this is a martha minute.e have a very special recipe for social occasions. (oven timer dings) it's ready. ugh, what's in there? eggshells, some greenish baloney, and a fuzzy dinner roll i found under the sofa. have some!! never. watch for words like "discriminate" and "disgusting," "prefer" and "dislike," and i'll see you at the end of the show. helen: adorable! oh, they must be talking about me. alice: isn't he? (skits woofs) you? you wish. alice: we just got him from the shelter. shelter? it must be a puppy. it has to be. the boxwoods finally got a real pet. come on, skits! let's go show the new kid the ropes. hey, you guys. come and greet your newest neighbor. yeah, we're hoping maybe you can be buddies. buddies? of course. any friend of yours is a friend of mine. helen: now, wait. before you do the meet and greet, promise me you'll be sociable. aren't i always? "sociable" is my middle name. promise you won't discriminate against him just because he's different? discriminate against someone? me? when have

♪ martha-- to reiterate-- martha speaks. ♪ the snow robot is complete. woman: hold it, cut!really do any of that stuff. (sighs) guess we'll have to put on a rerun. helen: but wait, the words are right. like "civilization" and "prehistoric" and "ancient." and "pioneer" and "frontier." and it's supposed to be a show about words, not history, right? kids: please! please! oh, all right. listen for all the words, and we'll see you at the end of the show. wait. one more thing. the snow robot is complete. line up. i want to take a picture. martha: get one of ours, too! don't you just wish it would snow like this every day? no school, no homework. no electricity. how do you figure that? we'd be so busy shoveling snow that people wouldn't have time to do anything else. we'd spend our days just trying to survive-- like cavemen. life would be really primitive. primitive? "primitive" means how people lived a long time ago-- without computers or writing or anything like that. cool! i'd make a great caveman. (grunts) me td. me invent tools. me discover fire. (imitating): only if td have d

♪ martha-- to reiterate-- martha speaks.♪ martha: do not be alarmed.ast. we can py around with the ve. into the realmof the im. mart .. unpredictle and the unforesee helen: knock it off. stopessi with the tv today's words have to do with things at a mystio and peculiar. listen for them all, and we'll see you at the end of the show. td: hey! where'd that bird go? nowhat? hey! da dog. i did a dog. i did a whole pack of dogs. and an ostrich a a crab... (sighs) it's official. we've done every hand-shadow known to kid. now what do we do? i don't know. we ate all the s'mores. if we play go fish one more tim i'gointo be seasick. skits has already gone to sleep. but m not tired yet. i know! we can make up science fiction stories! great. "i had this hypothesis, "and my experiment pred i wasorre. the end." yawn. well, it might help make us sleepy. no, science fiction stories aren't about science. i mean, they are, sort of. but mostly they're made-up stories that take place in space or the future. a lot of times they have aliens or space ships. aliens? we might g

. >> tom: still ahead, martha stewart goes through j. c. penney as the big retailer takes a big stake the her business. >> susie: jon korz sign will be in the hot seat tomorrow on capitol hill, the disgraced c.e.o. will face tough questions from lawmakers about what exactly led to the lapse of the brokerage firm. members of the house agricultural committee won't be the only ones interested in corzine's answers. thousands of former customers want to know what happened to their money, which disappeared following m. f. global's bankruptcy. diane estabrook reports. >> reporter: in sunny ft. lauderdale, florida, jennifer is facing a gloomy holiday season. she still hasn't gotten back $10,000 she had in an account at bankrupt m. f. global. the 35-year-old single mom was counting on the cash to launch a new business. >> i can't start my business at all, because i have absolutely no capital. i cannot pay bills that i have currently. my childrens, my twins' birthday is do it 9, we can't have a party now. christmas is canceled. >> reporter: behind th

there you are, martha. sorry i didn't have time to wrap it. that's my watch. oh, so all of a sudden everything on your wrist belongs to you? well, then you'd better take your cuff links back too. he's got nothing. that's not true. i, um, ordered from the catalog. but they're all backed-up and stuff. well, don't worry. i, uwe brought something fromfor you.alog. ♪ [ band plays ] ooh! [ woman ] what is it? the gift of a christmas shave. [ all laughing ] [ whirring ] [ young augustus ] look at that hack job! [ children laughing ] [ breathing heavily ] ah, yes, yes, yes. good times. huh? good times. [ augustus ] and now i have a little something.. for the love of my life. [ sighs ] ♪ [ drum roll ] martha may, please become mrs. augustus may-who. [ gasps ] [ crowd murmurs ] [ gasps ] oh! augustus. if you agree to be my wife, along with a lifetime supply of happiness, you'll also receive this. - ♪ [ organ: up-tempo ] - it's a new car! [ crowd gasps ] generously provided by the taxpayers of whoville! [ all exclm ] what do you say, martha? - ♪ [ countdown ] - ya got 20

they wento helen's dog, martha, for help. martha! we need your help! (gasps) ic professoscntist! we need help! who's there? where are you?

martha: oh, they will.ounting tensions between the united states and iran over this high-tech spy drone captured by the country's revolutionary guard. what officials claim to have recovered from the aircraft and why they now plan to sue the united states. if you hate dieting, have we got a story for you. how you can drop the pounds without counting a single calorie. sounds too good to be true? we'll tell you all about it coming up. welcome idaho, where they grow america's favorite potoes. everyone knows idaho potatoes taste great. but did you know they'reood for you too? they're high in vitamins and potassium. and idaho potatoes are now certified to carry the heart checkmark from the american heart assoction for foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol. so they're good for my family, and for yours. heart smart idaho potatoes. always look for the grown in idaho seal. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people wanted to visit us... in louisiana. they came to see us in flori