back to you, rick. rick: all right. we'll be watching.ing that story with us. >> reporter: sure. heather: we'll definitely tune in for that one. quick update, we have got video in just three minute prosecution that incident we've been telling you about where shots were fired when a nike sale got out of hand at a mall. rick: and as the holiday shopping season come toss a close, we've got some brand new numbers on the economy that may raise concerns as we head into the new year. heather: and karl rove. this week he encouraged republicans to do a deal on extending the tax caughts -- cuts, so what does he have to say about the big win? we'll ask him when he joins us, up next. ♪ you want to save money on rv insurance? no problem. you want to save money on motorcycle insurance? no problem. you want to find a place to park all these things? fuggedaboud it. this is new york. hey little guy, wake up! aw, come off it mate! geico. saving people money on more than just car insurance. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. r science t

rick: welcome back. hope everyone's having a great holiday season, but don't blame santa if your christmas presents were missing from under the tree yesterday. ups now apologizing for failing to deliver about 50,000 packages in denver. the company blaming the delay on a snowstorm that hit the area. hundreds of people lining up outside the distribution facility on christmas eve trying to get their gifts in time and adding to the frustration, ups offices and distribution centers are closed today. julie: speaking of terrible, the cyber hacking group known as anonymous sparking renewed concern over national security. the group apparently stealing thousands of credit card numbers from a security firm, a security firm i should readd, that counts government agencies among its clients. so how in the world does this happen, and what do we need to do to protect our national security? marc rotenberg is executive director of the electronic privacy information center and, mark, thank you very much for coming to talk

rick: so true.nd at christmas eve, and, before you invite your family over for the big party you have to whip up christmas cocktail. and the world famous mixologist joining us live about cocktail time a this household. the first drink you will make for us? >> this is simple. a shaker. rick: when i go out to a bar or restaurant i order a drink that has a name like there and at home i take vodka and tonic and it never ends up the same. you have hot apple cider, scotch, port, and cinnamon. the idea is something really simple, you don't node when you are entertaining people at home you don't want to take time away from the party, this can be shaken up. this makes a big difference when you shake you want a cold cocktail, you dilute the cocktail and it adds air to it. wreck risk at home we just pour. >>guest: when you measure, some people like to just taste all scotch or all port, but when you get the right balance you get the right flavors. this makes it look like it is professional and you is done it be

>> rick: beer. >> arthel: that's good. happy new year. >> rick: happy new year to you.ons are here in the big apple, just outside our studios here. people are all over midtown manhattan. gathering ready to ring in 2012 at what we call the cross roads of the world and we will take you there live. >> arthel: plus we have video of the latest major city to ring in the new year, as well as some major celebrations all around the world @ ♪ sing polly wolly doodle all the day ♪ ♪ hah @ >> arthel: newt gingrich, michelle bachmann, and rick perry all spending their new year's campaigning in iowa, but not the front runners. mitt romney is in new hampshire and ron paul is in his native texas. >>> federal investigators clearing enfamil baby formula of contamination of a rare but dangerous bacterial it's link to do recent cases of an infection that killed one newborn and sickened two others. wal-mart, along with some other retailers, pulled cans of it as a precaution. >>> a possible break in the case of a missing arkansas police dispatcher. investigators found the body near donna's h

of the ricks.hree tickets out of iowa, if rick santorum has one of those ticks, it's going to be very interesting to watch to see how he does in the coming weeks. >> it will because lots of times, i think when we look at these candidates and we think, you get a ticket out of iowa, but you have to have the money to back it up. and i think that's where the santorum campaign, if they believe they're going to get one of those three tickets, must be looking now saying, this is great, but moving ahead, certainly in a state like south carolina, certainly in florida, you've got to have some money to put down so that you can do the ad wars. is there any sign -- i haven't seen it and i'm sorry to ask you this because i don't know if you have the answer. any sign that his fund-raising his picked up at all? >> reporter: he has said and i saw a local interview here in iowa just last night where he said that he's raising more money online now than he has at any point during this campaign. and as a matter of fact

>> rick: all right. seem like you waited until the last minute. from consumer reports when we come right back. [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation, so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. approximate >> well, the clock is ticking. >> by the way, if you still have to shop joining us from consumer report shop smart sue pierre had nice gifts. >> everything is in the store and we are good to g. >> ipod touch. this is number 7. generation of this. it is fantastic. it is not just a music player. it is a great one but like an iphone without the phone. it has autopsy of the apps and do video chatos this. face to face. and it is $200 it starts out up to $400

rick: thanks. story we are following for you, the fox news political team just returned that george whw bush is now saying that he thinks mitt romney is, quote, the best choice for us. in an interview with the houston chronicle the former president also said that he liked texas governor rick pai perry, but quote, he doesn't seem to be going anywhere. he's not surging forward. rick: we are seeing an entire christmas pageant of political posturing on the payroll tax extension today. is progress really being made on capitol hill or is it just for show? heather: when you thought your holiday shopping was all done, rick, think again. a pag major retailer announcing today that they won't be able to fill your orders. rick: the toughest sheriff taking on the justice department defending a theme of discrimination in county jails. >> we don't discriminate. anybody booked into that jail we run through their status. i don't care what they look like, every one. out of 400,000 we identified 44,000 in this countr

if you peel off the skin deep, deep down he'd be rick can trurnl -- rick santorum.e romney who is somebody else hiding somewhere. >> rack can strsantorum would he better without the "brokeback mountain" jacket on. >> you are really making connections. >> what mark said is true, he,s spent all this money on television. >> is that a secret code? >> he's not had a consistent message so all of the money that he's spent on tv has not rebounded as much to his benefit as it might have been, on jobs sometimes, on culture, all over the place. >> santorum hardly ever talks about the economy. >> he does. gotten no scrutiny. perry's gone after him in the last 48 hours a little bit, but rick santorum record is not going to be scrutinized between now and tuesday. >> you write history but let me ask you for a preview. suppose the headlines in all the papers, "des moines register" and "new york times" is, let's see, paul edges romney, santorum finishes strong. is that a good prediction? >> it's -- it's certainly plausible. i don't think it's most likely. >> i think it's plausible a

how does rick santorum beat a michele bachmann or a rick perry? if you look at the candidates who have the chance to actually go on, to erick erickson's point, to go on and actually be successful, well, is it a congresswoman who represents a heavily republican district who has to fight every year to win that district? is it a governor from texas who, you know, governed as reasonably conservatively in a state that's a very conservative state, who never had to get the moderates or independents to vote for to win, or is it someone who governed as a conservative, who had a 90-plus percent rating in the senate as a conservative and win two tough elections in pen. i think that's the best person who has the track record to show you have what it takes to be able to get the voters in the states that are necessary to win this presidency. >> let's bring back our panel. minneapolis mayor r.t. rybak. also msnbc analyst richard wolffe and professor caroline heldman. r.t., do you agree with that assessment by the former senator? is that the right game plan and t

of note in the rick perry campaign right now is a new rick perry stump speech.e des moines register" reporting today the perry campaign revamped his stump speech in what they're billing as his closing argument to iowa voters. ]%ujt)áuq)" with a religious flourish, from the biblical book of isaiah. this would be said religious pick perry flourish. >> when the lord asked the prophet isaiah, he said whom should i send and who will go for us? isaiah said, fear not, send me. this is your country. taking her back is your call. join me in this mission. echo the words of isaiah. here am i. send me. >> rick perry now very focused obviously on closing the deal with religious conservatives in iowa. another sign i think of rick perry banking hard for the evangelical social conservative vote, his announcement at a campaign event in iowa last night sort of striking announcement he's changed his mind on abortion. he said, seeing mike huckabee's dvd about abortion has caused him to change his stance on the issue. even though rick perry is very, very antiabortion, he is for crim

gwen: is rick santorum surging? >> you've got the moderate primary, which mitt romney are scrumming for and three folks running as strong conservatives. gwen: is newt gingrich fading? >> you don't have to have a nasty, negative, mud-slinging, consultant-driven campaign? i refuse to engage in that kind of politics. gwen: is time running out for michele bachmann and rick perry? the polls tell the tale but finally so will the voters. we preview the iowa caucuses with karen ue multiof "the washington post," jeff zeleny of "the new york times," susan davis of "usa today" and christina bellantoni of cg roll call. >> award-winning reporting and analysis, covering history as it happens frfment our nation's capital, this is "washington week" with gwen ifill. produced in association with "national journal." corporate funding for "washington week" is provided by -- >> we know why we're here. to connect our forces to what they need when they need it. >> to help troops see danger before it sees them. >> to answer the call of the

you buy rick or the guy from manufacturer. >> i love rick unger and you are on point on this one. first ever national standard for toxec air polullant from coal fired power plants. the economic policy instituted 81,000 jobs would be created with that rule alone . so if you ease these standards and epa we will lose more jobs and think if you stimulate the economy and encourage other companies to hire more people is absurd. >> my head is exploding. steve, have you ever heard of more epa regulations creating hundreds of thousand jobs? >> david, that is like telling the horse they have to use horse plows that would create more jobs to make horse plows and it would kill productivity. they have an aa. based on junk science. if they had a standard above a certain thres hold it would be harmed. they rig the process and pure ideology. and everything to do as rich said getting rid of coal fired plants. >> rick, you are a likeable guy and we love you and you are delightful. but i don't buy that more epa regulations that make life tougher and cost more money for manufacturers is going to crea

so then why is rick perry suing the state of virginia now. you see rick perry just like newt gingrich didn't get enough eligible signatures to have his name put on the ballot in virginia for the republican primary he needed ten thousand and actually got more than that but thanks to laws in virginia designed to kick voters off the rolls many of those signatures were declared invalid because the addresses didn't exactly match the addresses listed in the state's voter registration database so now rick perry suddenly has a problem with these restrictive voter id laws as perry's own communications director said regarding the lawsuit we believe that the virginia provisions unconstitutional they restrict the rights of candidates and voters by severely restricting access to the ballot and we hope to have these provisions overturned or modified to provide greater ballot access to virginia voters and the candidates seeking to earn their support you see rick perry is today's pastor name who watched thousands and thousands of people in germany be taken a

with rick santorum and rick perry closing in and newt gingrich falling way behind.s/maris poll says mitt romney is still the man to beat. >> i'm pleased to be doing pretty darn well in the polls and have the kind of support you saw here today. huge crowds, a lot of excitement. you know, i can't tell you what we're going to do here in iowa but i can tell you that i'm pretty confident that we're going to get the 1150 delegates we need. >> this hour, my interview with the republican front-runner. >>> and what romney says about his competition. the negative ads. and why he won't release his tax returns. his wing man today on the trail, new jersey's own chris christie. is this a first glimpse of a possible republican ticket? >> all those decisions are going to be up to the nominee of the party. he's going to be the nominee of the party. >> but you can't rule it out? >> why would you? the fact of the matter is it's extraordinarily presumptuous to do something like that. >> plus, what about newt? leading the pack, only one month ago, how does he feel about fall nothing fif

they're torn among rick santorum, rick perry, romney, gingrich and michele bachmann. together, the religious-oriented candidates, that's santorum, perry, and bachmann, get 35% in a new poll, but apart they're giving romney a real path to victory through their division. and how many tickets are there out of iowa? how many people would come from here to other parts of the debate and the campaign? who's out of the race if they don't have a strong finish on tuesday night? we're going to answer that tonight. we'll look at which of the candidates are most likely to quit after the iowa caucuses this coming tuesday. and tell me what you really think. we've got the most revealing moments of the republican race so far. the statements that really tell us more about the candidates that even they ever intended to tell us. finally, let me finish with the role of politics and human tears. >>> we start with mitt romney going for the kill. howard fineman's an msnbc political analyst and "the huffington post" media group editorial director. and susan page is the washington bureau chief

rick santorum. a full spectrum conservative rick santorum is rock solid on values issues. a favorite of the tea party for fighting corruption and taxpayer abuse. more foreign policy credentials than any candidate and rick's made in the usa jobs plan will make america an economic superpower again. rick santorum a trusted conservative who gives us the best chance to take back america. >> i'm rick santorum and i approve this message. >> and in the end electability is almost everything when people go to those caucus or new hampshire go to vote in the primary, key on the minds of republicans who can best beat barack obama. it used to be candidates spouse who sit in a chair and clap when their husbands said something applause worthy, smile at him. that time is well gone. we now see the spouses becoming an integral part of their husband or their wives campaign. coming up next the spouses speak out. nyquil (stuffy): hey, tylenol. you know we're kinda like twins. tylenol: we are? nyquil (stuffy): yeah, we both relieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. tylenol: and i relieve nasal co

rick has your invitation. rick?her doesn't matter if you're comfy at home watching us on tv. bill and megyn live beginning at 11:00 p.m. eastern time on saturday night. so be sure to tune in. and you could actually have your new year's greeting show up on the tv screen live during the show. text your messages to utext and put in a space and greeting to the number 36288. if you are headed outside and need to know the weather, go to foxnews.com/weather. you can put in your city or zip code to get your forecast in case you're headed out on new year's eve anytime to get the latest forecast. jon: all right, rick. check in with you later. thanks. jamie: thanks so much. more blood on the street in syria. hundreds of thousands of protesters are defying the regime there while the arab league is supposedly working to end that violence. there is also controversy swirling in florida as some killers it turns out are protected by law. we're talking about these. they're sharks. we've got a live report coming up. jon: a fox news al

i asked him about some of these attacks coming from rick perry, these criticisms from rick perry sayingrick santorum, you were a big proponent of pork barrel projects and earmarks. he had a sharp response to that. he said, look, governor perry has sent lobbyists to washington to lobby on behalf of the state of texas. so rick santorum is not shrinking from the fight. he also had a little bit of a shot at mitt romney saying to iowans, don't settle for something less just because you think that is what is going to win in this upcoming general election. so he's starting to sharpen the edges just a little bit. but he's sticking with the retail politics kind of message. he's hoping that's going to deliver him on caucus night, candy. >> jim acosta, i should point out one of the reasons reporters love iowa is that in general, you can show up at an event with a candidate and say, come on over here and talk to me and they actually do. after this, they get much bigger and it's hard to get to them. >> reporter: that's right. that's true. we'll take what we can get. >> thanks so much to jim acosta.

rick santorum, rick perry, she just completed this very ambitious thunder run through all of iowa's countiesed by questions about her iowa state campaign chairman, who she says was paid by the ron paul to go over to them. here she is last night answering questions about this defection. >> that's the incoming. i think it's got to be upsetting for the ron paul campaign because clearly this is something that they generated. and it shows, again, that we have powerful momentum across the state. and so this is just something that they did because we're seeing thousands of iowans come to our campaign. it's a move of desperation. >> there she is holding her iphone up showing a call record from him on tuesday. a conversation during which she claims he was paid money by the ron paul campaign. >> all right. jamie, thank you very much for joining us today. >> sure. >> the race for iowa is all about turnout at the caucuses on tuesday night. money matters, of course. for the race for the general election is more closely tied to cold, hard cash. the president is blowing away the competition in the money ra

rick santorum's rivals are already on the attack. rick joins us tonight to defend his record. >>> also, if facebook doesn't come to mind when you think of washington's big power and elite, i think again. >>> and if you pay your verizon wireless online, listen up. they're about to hit you with a convenience charge just for taking your money. we'll tell you,000 avoid it. good evening from des moines. we are coming to you from the historic supreme court chamber here in the capitol building. tonight rick santorum's once little noticed campaign is riding into attention. thanks to the poll here in iowa, santorum is basking in the political spotlight at just the right time, five days before iowa's public caucuses. joe is trying to keep up with a man who is suddenly very money in demand. joe. >> hey, candy. i think you call it steady. that's the word he uses. he's had steady events, a steady flow of people coming out to see him. and rick santorum has been here for a long time, 99 counties, pretty much the only one to make 99 counties until m

they don't like rick. they don't particularly like rick santorum. they don't like anybody out there. it's as if the tea party has produced a group of folks, none of whom are acceptable, and folks i talk to in places like western iowa wonder, is this what all our effort was about? >> do you think that the electorate is in its dissatisfaction that you were describing there, do you think the electorate is angry in the same way that we saw republican electorate in new york state in 2010 that picked carl paladino to be the republican nominee for governor? he wasn't much qualified but horrified a lot of the establishment. >> that's a wonderful comparison you you've drawn with lazio and paladino. i think the difference this year is that two years ago with the rise of the tea party, there was a certain dark element to it but also an exuberance. it was like mickey and judy were going to the barn to put on a show. this year i think there is kind of more dispektic quality among the voters looking at the field. they don't want to put on a show in the barn, they