correspondent steve harrigan is in the capital where it is this morning. o, again, steve. >> what we have been seeing is escalation by the opposition protesters. instead of sitting here in tahrir square, the protesters were on the move tonight to march from several different directions toward the palace. they cut through the barbed wire. thousands remain. they were inside the compound in the post. left while it was going on. aids said it was the end of a working day. mr. morsi did not flee. he does not live inside the compound. [ inaudible ] next up for the country is a referendum december 15. the nation will vote on a constitution, the draft of which has been bitterly criticized like something that was rushed through and favors islamist parties. it's likely that morsi supporters from the muslim brotherhood will push hard to get out a yes vote and get out the vote in general. it's not clear at this point whether the opposition will vote nowhere no. or abstain. president morsi got a boost today. he has been battling with the judges. today, supreme judiciary

not clear if the opposition will vote no or abstain from the process entirely. >> steve harrigan in a volatile situation in egypt for us. thank you. >>> weather update from maria molina. will we be seeing falling companies? >> we kickoff the workweek monday and tuesday with record high temperatures. take a look at some of these temperatures. it is december and a lcross portions of the mid atlanticdeg degrees was the record high temperature. changes are moving on in to portions of the great lakes and midwest and even into the northeast. high temperatures today low 40s in chicago. 38 degrees will be the high temperature in minneapolis. in cleveland 32 degrees for the temperature this afternoon. cooler air moving on in. the reason for that is the cold front for shower across new york city. you will need the umbrellas here and there through out the day as we see the showers pushing through behind this system. drier air but much colder. you will feel it tomorrow as we head out the door. out west a lot of stormy weather. good news is we are seeing this winding down across portions of the mi

correspondent steve harrigan has the story of an effort to get their son home for the holidays. >> johnfamily goal was to get him home by christmas now. his parents, lawyer and congresswoman all say they expect his release today. >> amen, hallelujah, wonderful early christmas president for the family. the community rallied for john's liberty. >> the 27-year-old former marine is a combat veteran who served in iraq and afghanistan. after treatment for post traumatic stress disorder he and another former marine bought a used winnebago and planned surfing trip through mexico and costa rica. hammer's family maintains he declared the antique rifle he planned to use the hunt birds to custom agents on both sides of the border. he was arrested after entering mexico a taken to the notorious prison filled with drug cartel where for a time he was chained to a bed. his parents began to receive phone calls that threaten john would be killed unless money was sent by western union. after initial efforts to bring him home failed his family mounted a public campaign. enlisting friends and elected officia

steve harrigan has the latest. >> they're afraid to do their job. the court surrounded by several thousands chanting protesters sunday morning and the judges refused to enter the building, citing fiscal and psychological intimidation from the crowd. egypt interior ministry said police made the entrance secure. demonstrators say they were backing the president. >> you are here to support the decision of president mohammed morsi. we haven't stopped anyone from entering and we haven't destroyed anything. we're here to protest. that is our constitutional right. >> what is or is not constitutional in egypt these days is in flux. it's set to be voted nonnational referendum on december 15. until then, both sides marshall the forces. demonstrating the support on the street. the number of protesters declineed. to just a few thousand tonight. the government strategy of the nonconfrontation with opponents have been working. that is put to the test on tuesday when they plan to march to enemy territory. >> the protesters plan to march toward the presidential pal

back to you in new york. >> jamie: steve harrigan following the developments in cairo for us. you, steve, stay staff. >> kelly: jamie another major development in the middle east. the israeli government announcing plans to build thousands of new homes in east jerusalem and the west bank on the heels of a successful palestinian bid at the united nations to gain nonmember observer state status. secretary of state hillary clinton calling the move a setback. >> let me reiterate that this administration, like previous administrations, has been very clear with israel, that these activities that back the cause of a negotiated peace. we all need to work together to find a path forward in negotiations that can finally deliver on a two-state solution. that must remain our goal. >> kelly: so what does it mean for the stalled israeli-palestinian peace talks, john bolton weighs in just ahead. >> jamie: also, a top al-qaeda terrorist is now in custody. big news, we'll tell you where he was captured and why his arrest is so significant. >> kelly: plus, breaking news out of sear yeah, the coun

steve harrigan is there tonight. steve?she basically built a miniature world here from which they can recreate a range of terrorist attacks. in brunswick, georgia, simulated subway cars are attacked with simulated nerve gas. >> y'all picked a bad day. >> active shooters enter bars and knife wielding assassins charge vips. attacks from improvised explosive devices may be common in iraq and afghanistan. but at the federal law enforcement training center, they are already planning on how to defeat them on u.s. soil. >> one of the criticisms in the 9-11 report was that law enforcement failed to imagine what the threat might be. so now we do everything we can to work with our partners to imagine what type of threat would he might face in the homeland. >> that's what we want to see, get out of dodge. >> 60,000 federal agents a year from 90 different agencies come to train here on a 1600-acre campus. the multiple drills have a single constant. put federal responders under real life pressure. >> you can't simulate behavior. you hav

steve harrigan live in cairo. steve, any sign the president is willing to concede on any of this? shepard, president morsey has made no moves on compromise. one thing we have seen from supporters in the muslim brotherhood the care shown in trying to avoid any conflict or violence in the square here. that's certainly going to be put to the test tomorrow. that's when across the nation morsey supporters, people who back this president from the muslim brotherhood will hold demonstrations in support of the president and they will avoid this area around tahrir square to try to avoid getting in fights with the anti-morsey protesters. shepard. >> shepard: steve, what happens now with the new constitution or proposed constitution? >> the president submits it for ren dumb for 15 days time. people across egypt will have to vote up or down on it if it is accepted as expected, morsi has said he will give up those extraordinary powers, those extra judicial powers that he has given himself. and keep in mind here. we haven't seen the public support for this president. he won 52% of the vote just

steve harrigan is live in our southeast newsroom. ammer's father says people have threatened his son's life. both parents say they have been getting calls at all hours of the night from that prison. the first call demanded $1,800 to be sent by western union or else their son would be killed. his mother said this was the absolute worse moment of this four month ordeal, here is what she is h. to say. >> it was the longest night of my life, i was physically ill all night long just waiting for the next call and they would call back and trying to stall them to give the embassy time to get him isolated. >> after those attempts at extortion and threats on hammer's life were made, he was moved from the general prison population into a storage room, harris. four months of this and now reports surfacing that jailers are chaining him to his bed. >> that's right. we spoke to his lawyer in mexico city this morning for a time hammer was chained to his bed but currently not being chained there. i asked his father about this. his father visited the p

steve harrigan live in our south florida newsroom with more now. ow about hammar's impending release? >> harris, that release could happen any minute. we have been following the twitter account of his lawyer and talking to his parents. his mother, his father, his attorney and his congresswomen all say that john hammar will be released sometime today. right now he is still in that prison. they say they are filling out the paperwork to get him out. there might be one catch. that antique rifle, that 60-year-old gun that belonged to his great grandfather, john hammar says he wants that back before he leaves. harris? >> harris: we understand he, again, was there to be on a hunting trip. so that was a family hair loom that he had planned to lose in that manner. what kind of share is he in because we have heard all sorts of things about his captivity. >> harris, this drama really started back in august, so he has been in a very tough mexican prison where a lot of drug cartel members are held and he has been stuck in there for four months. for at least part

steve harrigan good to see you. thank you.ericans say they would support hillary clinton for president in 2016. that's according to a new poll. and some of her potential republic rivals are also looking ahead at the next white house showdown. the poll from the abc and "the washington post" shows 57% of americans would back secretary clinton, 37% say they would oppose her. of course for now she says she has no plans to run again. a' couple of the top republic contenders are already talking about 2016. campaign carl cammeron live for us in our d.c. newsroom. they even showed up at the same event. >> they're actually about 16 republicans. maybe just at least that number who are actually looking for a white house run. a couple have already hired advisors and actually specialize in presidential politics. paul ryan has a lot of juice as the 2012 presidential. and marco rubio gave more than 70 speeches for romney over the last campaign year. last year both openly joked together about hitting the trail early in 2016, livin'. >> i will

steve harrigan live in cairo for us. steve?ard, these opposition protesters behind me on tahrir square are calling for people to marchionne the presidential palace tomorrow. that raises a clear possibility of conflict with supporters of president morsi around that presidential palace it will also be a real test of the opposition's numbers. we saw them peak out last week here at the square at 250,000. right now at 2:30 in the morning. probably fewer than a thousand people out there. in the meantime egypt's highest court the supreme constitutional court continues not work. their courthouse is surrounded by several thousand protesters who are loyal to the egyptian president. interior ministry says it is safe for those judges to enter and exit into the court house. the judges themselves don't think so. they say he are psychologically and physically intimidated by the chanting crowd. shepard, back to you. >> shepard: steve harrigan live this tuesday morning in cairo. the obama that administration strongly credit sized plan to build

steve harrigan is streaming live from cairo. >> reporter: gregg a remarkable. >> gregg: we'll get back to him in just a moment. >> heather: meantime. taliban militants attempting to storm a joint afghan air base early this morning. a trio of homicide bombers detonating explosives at the main gate and kicking off a gun battle that lasted two hours. nato spokesman says none of gunmen reached the perimeter. five were kill and wonder was member of the national security force and nine attackers also died. >> gregg: let's go back to steve harrigan where the protests against mohammed morsi. what is the latest? >> reporter: a remarkable scene, egypt's supreme court several thousands supporters 6 morsi ringed the building. they say they don't feel they are able to work because of psychological and physical pressure. they feel they were intimidated by supporters of the president and mob rule taking effect in egypt's highest court. next step for egypt's constitution which that group was supposed to rule on will be a national referendum. they will go up or down on the constitution. if it is accept

steve harrigan in cairo. and that is where we begin. steve?supreme constitutional court justices suspended their work in cairo because a crowd of protesters surround their building when they try to go to work this morning. the protesters are loyal to the egypt president mohammed morsi. the supreme court justices said they felt intimidated both physically and psychologically. so they will not continue their work indefinitely. they are likely to rule on legitimacy of the assembly that passed draft constitution on friday. the next step for draft constitution in egypt is to go to a national referendum on december 15. whole nation will vote up or down on that constitutional document. if it succeeds, president morsi said he will give up the extraordinary powers he assumed last week. move that set off the street protests here. as far as the protests go, we are seeing a few thousand people behind us in tahrir square who are anti-morsi protesters, with a much larger showing yesterday. 200,000 people. many of them from the muslim brotherhood coming out

steve harrigan live in cairo at the moment with the latest developments. t very encouraging, steve. good morning. >> reporter: certainly not. in a blow to the egypt constitutional court. judges were going to meet today but the building they were going to meet in was surrounded by protesters in favor of the egypt president mohammed morsi. the judges were too concerned about trying to enter the building. they failed to do so. they said they would not meet anymore under the atmosphere of fear and intimidation. to an example of mob rule here. justices building surrounded and the justices failing to meet today. as far as the constitution, pushed through in one night, earlier in the week, it's now set to go to a referendum. nationwide vote on this. december 15. president morsi said those extreme powers which he adopted would be void. perhaps in two weeks time if the constitution is adopted. finally, another show of public support for the president, demonstrators came out here to the university of cairo yesterday. again, in support of president morsi. many of them

that is where steve harrigan is live in palmetto bay, florida. e, what a christmas gift for this family. >> reporter: jamie, it was rashable to see here, four or five minutes ago, jon hammar and his father drove up into the garage. hammar senior came out and spoke to the media for a few minutes afterwards. he said this is the greatest christmas he ever had. he looked visibly exhausted. jon hammar was released after several hours of with more paperwork after five months in the mexican prison. father and son drove back with the goal to get here by christmas day. they had to stop off at a hospital in the louisiana. john, jr., dehydrated with stomach flu. they're not sure about his condition. he can barely stand you. he walked inside with his mother and father. his father seems like an excited man right now, jamie. jamie: the mexican government, even with pressure from us to keep him for four months chained with handcuffs to a bed, it has been such an ordeal all along the way for this family. they had a lot of support. why did it take so long, steve?

steve harrigan there in miami for us. , steve. >> there are new developments in the disturbing death of a man in a subway station. police are saying he was pushed in front of a moving train. what a judge is saying the suspect must do. >>> plus, this could be in your neighborhood. new signs the mexican drug cartels are strengthening their grip. right inside america. we'll take you to the front lines. stay with us. this is america. 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 jon: right now new info on some crime stories we're keeping an eye on. a new york city judge orders a woman accused pushing an i will my grant to his death at subway station. to undergo psychiatrist tests. she told them she hated muslims since the 9/11 attacks and thought the victim was one. >>> plist service for t

megyn: steve harrigan, thank you.ges of the man's final moments alive sparked a nationwide debate on morals and ethics. as we learned more than a dozen people witnessed the altercation between the two men and that no one stepped in to help. when one of the men was pushed by the other on the subway tracks and was killed. why? dr. keith ablow is here. one of the largest teachers unions come under fire. some call this vicious and vile class warfare. you can see what is happening in this clip. that debate is also next. >> the people of this land called his paying taxes. everyone pays what they could afford. the people in the middle in the middle amount of the rich people 1%. over time rich people decided they weren't rich enough, so they came up with ways to get richer. the first way was to do tax cuts. fewer services for everyone and they said why should i care about others i'm only in my 60's... i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my o

and steve harrigan is live for us in cairo. steve, these are the biggest crowds we have seen yet.ter: the largest crowds and the most violent. it has calmed down in the last hour at 10:00 p.m. in egypt but the worst clashes in two weeks of protests here. it wasn't police versus the protester but civilian on civilian, members of the muslim brotherhood who support president morsi and those who want to drive him from office and all the conflict happening outside the presidential palace that began with pushing and sticks and rocks and molotov cocktails and shots fired. showing how bitterly the country is divided. >>trace: what do we know what is behind the violence? >>reporter: the first two weeks, antimorsi protesters met in that sure square and now they are marching on the palace. there has been a lost restraint on of the pro morsi supporters which restrain was broken after the man on the palace where the wall were written on with graffiti. they moved in with sticks, rocks and later gun battles in exactly what followed after that. >>trace: thank you in late evening in cairo. thank y

we have our steve harrigan there. we'll let you know as soon as we learn more. jenna: disturbing new signs al qaeda is on the rebound in parts of the middle east and after frica. the latest a large-scale al qaeda plot in jordan. they plan to hit deadly terror attacks in the capital and hit the u.s. embassy during the chaos. behind this plot specifically al qaeda's network in iraq. we have a former fbi agent and vogted al qaeda. his book is black banners, the inside story of al qaeda and. the gist of this is, al qaeda the movement is stronger and gaining strength in the middle east. your thoughts? >> i think what we're seeing today in the middle east the conflict is come becoming more and more sectarian conflicts and as long as you have sustained wars and sustained conflicts you will have a lot of jihadis flocking into iraq, into syria, into the entire region. jenna: who are they? >> they are, some of them are from iraq. some of them are from jordan. some of them are from syria. in the beginning when we were in iraq for example, we had people from libya, we had p

steve harrigan has the latest live from miami. egg, hugo chavez has a respiratory infection, this after his fourth cancer surgery for an unnamed kind of cancer inside of cuba. chavez has been very slow to recover. this time around he hasn't been seen in public or heard from in the past three weeks and the condition serious enough for his vice president, nicholas mo tkurbgs rduro to travel with him. he is his hand-picked successor. there is speculation whether he'll be able to attend his inauguration. they hint the inauguration could be delayed or postponed if he is not physically able to make that. the real key is the venezuelan constitution. if chavez does die before that inauguration on january 10th venezuelan officials will be forced to call a new election within 30-days time, gregg. gregg: steve harrigan live in miami, thank you. heather: with just hours remaining until the fiscal cliff deadline, at this point what would it take to get both parties to approve a deal in time? our next guest is cautiously optimistic that senator

steve harrigan live in brunswick, georgia, with more for us. steve?> reporter: jon, watching these counterterrorism exercises can really get your heartbeating, and that's the goal, is to take these federal responders and put them in situations of real pressure. >> let's go. [gunfire] >> reporter: at the federal law enforcement training center in brunswick, georgia, they use blank ammunition -- >> police! >> reporter: -- but real actors. >> you can't simulate behavior. you have to use people to simulate behavior. >> reporter: 60,000 federal agents a year come to the 1600-acre site complete with mock airplanes, a test track. the important thing in performing a pit maneuver is location. no embankments, no bridges and no con congestion. terror attempts from the past are rehearsed alongside potential future attacks like improvised explosive devices. >> we want to prepare domestically for any type of threat, and we want to be able to defeat that threat should it occur here in the united states. >> we need backup. >> reporter: response training, though, to a

steve harrigan is streaming live from cairo. what's the latest? sides really trying to get their supporters out on the streets to show the level of public support, both pro and anti-morsi groups have. the anti-morsi protesters really come up short today, 25,000 at their peak behind me in that rear square. two miles away, perrot-government protesters numbering about 200,000, just here in cairo alone. but also in other cities in egypt as well. many of these egyptians from the rural areas bussed in, many carrying korans as well, shouting god is the law. so a real strong show of force for morsi supporters. morsi is also announced this constitution that will go to a he referendum. this draft constitution he pushed through in one night will be voted on in two weeks, on december 15. morsi vowed once that constitution is in place, the extreme powers he gave himself last week, which really kicked off the demonstrations here, will be void. it's not clear that's going to be enough for the protesters out behind me. many of them say they intend to stay in that

steve harrigan now live in our bureau in miami. what is the family saying about their son and the prison he is in now? >> reporter: bill, it has really been a four-month ordeal for the family. they began getting threatening phone calls inside the prison days after john hammar was arrested. the first call was a demand for $1800 to be sent via western union or the caller said your son would be killed. olivia hammar said the call made her physically ill. >> we have your son and we're going to kill him. you know, i had this really weird response, i said, no, we're going to call the consulate. he was like, they can't help you. >> reporter: it was only after those numerous threats that john hammar was moved from the prison's general population into a storage room, bill. bill: who else is pushing for his release? who else is giving him support? >> reporter: throughout this four months the family has been initially low-key but that didn't get them anywhere. now they're becoming very public. a lot of friends and family and online petitions

steve harrigan live in miami on these allegations. he next move rather for mcafee? >> reporter: bill, right now he is fighting deportation. he doesn't want to get moved from guatemala back to belize. that is legal process that could take some months. his main goal is return eventually to the united states. >> what we're doing is filing a series of papers, a series of filings with the court to attempt to keep me here long enough for the world to see the injustice of sending me back to belize. i have dual citizenship. i would be happy to go to england. i would be happy to go to america. america is my home where he was raised and that is exactly what i want. >> reporter: mcafee claims his life would be in danger if he is returned to belize. he exposed corrupt government officials there, bill. bill: there have been some questions about his health, even his sanity, since this whole story began. what can we add to that, steve? >> reporter: when he was detained in guatemala he complained of chest pains. his attorney said he might have suffere

and steve harrigan is our man in cairo.ow big a threat are the protesters there to the president in. >> what we saw tonight is clearly an escalation on behalf of the protesters who want do drive morsi from the government. they broke through iron gates and went through barbed wire and only with the use of tear gas they were kept off the presidential palace. they never breached the walls of the compound. as far as security threat it could be overstated. he does not live in the palace but in a cairo suburb. so he did actually leave the palace while the protest was going on. >>shepard: anything from him at all? do we know if he is standing firm or what did we have? >>reporter: well, no sign of compromise from the president. the strategy of the government seems to be to try and avoid bloodshed and back up as long as possible without giving in. they have a boost today with the chief judges in the council said they will monitor the referendum on the new constitution december 15 so that gives what he is doing a sense legitimacy and

steve harrigan is streaming live from cairo with the latest. >> rick, a few thousand anti-presidential protesters in tahrir square. in other parts of the city, about two miles from here, as many as 200,000 protesters turned out. these are people who support president morsi. many of them from the muslim brotherhood. a large number were bussed in from rural areas in egypt. many carrying the koran and shouting, god is the law. it was a real show of force and show of public support by those who support egypt's new president. he also announced there will be a constitutional referendum on december 15. it came really after a vote on friday pushing through that constitution in one day. now the nation will have the chance to vote up or down on that constitution. president morsi said the extreme powers he declared for himself last week would end when that constitution is ratified. perhaps in just two weeks' time. it's not clear that's going to be enough for the protesters behind me, some of whom intend to sleep on the square until they drive president morsi from power. rick, back to you. >> rick

he and his dad drove back from florida and hours ago after they arrived home in palmetto bay steve harriganas live there and had a chance to talk to the dad. steve, how is the family doing tonight? >> jamie, we got to see john hammar pull up with his father after this long ordeal. they drove directly into the garage. john hammar is now suffering from some sort of stomach ailment he picked up inside that mexican prison. they actually had to make a stop on the drive home from the border at a louisiana hospital and john hammar's father says his son is so weak he can barely stand despite that, he says, this will be the greatest christmas his family has ever had. >> i got him in the car and i thanked the u.s. consulate guys and we took off. and made a beeline to san pedro island and spent the night there johnny, while i was sleeping johnny got up in the morning and walked to the beach and watched the sun come up. >> must be a really tough time for you right now. tell me what you are feeling. >> no. this is great right now. i'm glad to be talking to you about that it's over with. >> you could jus

>> steve harrigan live tonight in cairo. the former new york city mayor ed koch is in the hospital tonight. his spokesman says doctors are treating him for res infection. it's his second hospital stay in the past three months. the democrat and native i should say of the bronx ed koch represented new york as a congressman for nine years. then served as behavioral of the big apple from the late 1970s through all of the 1980s, he later appeared as a television judge on the people's court. he became famous for straightforward style asking locals how am i doing? he is in the hospital tonight, ed koch 87 now. president obama says he will choose the next secretary of state. is he responding to some republic senators who say the u.n. ambassador susan rice is not qualified for the job. the iranians claim they have captured another iranian spy plane, even showed the things off on their televisions today. we will hear what u.s. officials have to say about this drone as we approach the bottom of the hour and the top of the news but i'm

. >> steve harrigan streaming live. and former president george h.w.h remains hospitalized in houston, doctors treating him for a stubborn case of bronchitis. he's 88 years old and has been in and out of the hospital recently with this condition. and palestinian president abbas getting a heroes welcome after winning big at the united nations, one that the u.s. and israel do not support, as you know. what israel did today that has the palestinians claiming payback for their win. we report from the middle east next. and a scene inside a tunnel that runs through a mountain. that tunnel collapses, trapped inside drivers and their passengers. the latest on that. humans. even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement and accident forgiveness if you qualify. see what else comes standard at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? cool, you found it. wow. nice place. ye. [ chuckles ] the fa

steve harrigan is streaming live from cairo with more. steve. >> reporter: we are ten days away from a admonition thal vote, a vote on the new draft constitution. we are seeing both sides really jocking for position and trying to demonstrate what power they have by the numbers of people they can bring out into the streets. yesterday for the first time last night we saw the opposition protestors, people who want to drive president morsi from office really go on the offensive. they marched through the presidential palace. they broke through steel gates and barbed wire, they painted graffiti on the walls of the compound. they did not try to over take those walls go into the compound itself where of course there are heavily armed guards. police continued to retreat throughout the demonstration last night and even though it seemed like there was chaos on the streets there were no reports of any serious injuries during that process, so both sides still showing some restraint. the latest reports from the scene say large-scale protests from suppor

megyn: steve harrigan. thank you. right after this break.f the people who helped the youngest survivors in moment after the sandy hook attack. gene rosen discovered a group of students neatly sitting in a semi circle at the bottom of his driveway near the sandy hook elementary school. it wasn't until he brought them inside comforting them with stuffed animals and juice that he discovered what they had been through. a man tries to execute a citizen's arrest and now he's facing jail time. >> you are require bid law to wear your seat belt. put your dam seat belt on. pull it over. pull your vehicle over. you understand? right now. >> hot hell do you think you are. pull over. megyn: we're hearing new stories of strength and resilliance after the tragedy in newtown. he one man says if there is any strength it lies in the brave students that survived that day. last friday morning gene rosen discovered a group of students in his driveway near the sandy hook elementary school. not until he brought them inside giving them stuffed an mass and juice unt

steve harrigan joins us from there. where do we stand now with this constitutional court having no ability to rule at this point? >> reporter: the most unusual situation in cairo where you have egypt's top court whose judges now say basically they are afraid to do their job. they were supposed to enter the court sunday to get to work. there was a crowd of pro-government protester surrounding that white house. the judges say they felt intimidated by the crowd both physically and psychologically intimidated. so for now they suspended all their work. martha: we can hear the sound of the protesters behind you. what i next in tahrir square? >> reporter: it's a competition between the two sides. those who support this president and those who want to drive him out of office. we have seen the protesters numbers diminish from 250,000, to sometimes 5,000 to 10,000 a day. sometimes the two sides have kept apart from one another. but tomorrow they say they will march to the presidential palace which is where the pro morsi demonstra

steve harrigan is live with more. reporter: the pool for jon hammar and his family and friends is to try to come home by christmas. now, it appears that they may achieve their goal. we heard from his mother and father. his attorney and also his congresswoman. they all expect him to be free sometime this afternoon. >> i just say amen and hallelujah. this is a wonderful early christmas present not just for that the hammar family, but for our community. reporter: we are expecting to get word as soon as he crosses the border onto the u.s. side. his father has left florida this morning to meet him on the u.s. side of the border. the family has always said that jon hammar was arrested, taken to a notorious mexican prison, where 40 time for a time he was actually chained to a bed and his family received calls for extortion, threatening to kill him unless he paid out. the family has mounted a very public campaign for his release. two congressmen were prepared to call for a u.s. boycott. his father, john senior says the drive

we saw the live scenes with steve harrigan. since mohamed morsi, the president there assumed near absolute powers through a constitutional move. he and the muslim brotherhood have been doing things that have a lot of people concerned in terms of ramming through a very controversial new constitution that the people have been very unhappy about. what's going on there. come back home now for a moment and take a look at the latest numbers we have got on the u.s. economy. the weekly unemployment numbers came in as they do every thursday. the labor department reported 370,000 americans filed for first-time unemployment claims. either way, either way, folks, your taxes will go up despite the haggling going on on capitol hill. you will be paying more to the u.s. government. stuart varney joins me now. so, stuart, that's the bottom line. this is what people i think across the country are starting to realize no matter what they negotiate, 2013 will be different for most of us. >> this is the untold tax story. everybody has been concentra

[laughter] heather: our steve harrigan is live from palmetto bay where the marine has just arrived and, steve, no doubt a big celebration. >> reporter: heather, a real subdued atmosphere here right now. that four-month ordeal just ended 90 minutes ago. that's when the father, with john hammer, just raced up this driveway. there are some concerns about john hammer's physical condition. they did stop off at an emergency room enroute home from that mexico/texas border. he's suffering from dehydration, his father says he's having trouble standing up, but this will be the greatest christmas the family's ever had. >> reporter: must be a really tough time for you right now. tell us what you're feeling. >> no, this is great right now. i'm glad to be talking to you about that it's over with. because it's really over with. >> reporter: it's still really sinking in to the family this is finally over with. initially, they had a low-key approach to try and win his release. after that failed, though, they went more and more public, appearing on television and also pressing their own elected represen

it located in buns wick, georgia, and that is where we find none other than of course steve harrigan.ce that you're visiting today? >> reporter: they basically built a miniature world of potential terror attacks. the real goal in training is to try to make things as realistic as possible. >> let's go. [sound of gunfire. >> reporter: at the federal law enforcement training center in brunswick, georgia, they use blank ammunition but real acto actors. >> we can't simulate behavior, have you to use people to simulate behavior. >> reporter: 60,000 federal agents a year come to the 1600-acre site complete with mock airplanes, bars and a test track. the important thing if performing a pit ma few sre a pit maneuver is location. terror events from the past like a saran gas subway attack are rehearsayed besides potential future attacks like improvised explosive devices. >> we are prepared domestically for any type of treat and we will be able too defeat that threat should it occur here in the united states. >> reporter: response training to abductions or active shooters is only part of the miss

steve harrigan is live. >> reporter: after four long months the 27-year-old former marine was released from the notorious prison late friday night after several hours of paperwork. he was accompanied by u.s. consular officials from the border between mexico and texas. he met his father and the two began the drive home. they had to stop off yesterday in a hospital in louisiana room in louisiana, john hammar suffering from the stomach flu. having trouble keeping food down. the goal was to get him home for christmas. looks like it will happen now. heather? >> steve, quite an ordeal for the family to say the very least >> reporter: a very tough time. they received threats, ex-torgs attempts threatening jon would be killed unless they paid money. his mother said only once he crossed the border that she could finally relax. >> it was my first night that i slept all night long without getting up. it was just the thought of not wondering what is going on with him, can anyone hurt him tonight? that kind of thoughts. >> reporter: the family initially tried to work behind the scenes for jon's rel

steve harrigan is live in florida where the parents of hammer live with the latest. >> reporter: jennaiple sources now telling fox news that the 27-year-old former marine will be released today. we've heard that from his mother, his father, his mexican attorney and from the offices of his congresswoman as well as his senator. a mexican court ruled that hammer's constitutional rights were trampled on, that he had no criminal intent to bring that 60-year-old rifle across the border. now, all this started back in august when ham exercise a friend, another -- hammer and a friend, another former marine after being treated for post traumatic stress syndrome went across the border on an extended surfing vacation. hammer told customs agents on both sides of the border about this rifle and was told to proceed. instead he was arrested by mexican guards, taken to a notorious prison about 15 miles away from the border, and there at times he was chained to his bed, he was also threatened by other inmates. his family received extortion calls as well demanding money. the family has mounted a very pub