>> brian: it's the best green room. >> steve: congratulations. >> gretchen: congratulations. >> thank you so much. >> gretchen: happy retirement. >> thank you. >> gretchen: have a fantastic christmas and new year. bill: don't go, flo!. don't go. congratulations. good morning, everybody. payroll tax fight is now in limbo and hanging in the balance is the take-home pay of more than 160 million americans. that's where we start. good morning, everybody. i'm bill hemmer here in "america's newsroom." our food is pretty good in the greenroom. how are you doing, martha? good morning. >> good morning, everybody. i'm martha maccallum. boy, this is a real nail-biter. this is the ugliest fight in the house this year. house republicans are under pressure to agree to a short-term extension the one passed by the senate. the senate said you know what? our work is done. bill: house speaker john

boehner said, democrats, get back to work. did you see this scene? >> president obama needs to call on senate democrats to go back into session, move into conference and sit down and resolve this bill as quickly as possible. bill: what a year it has been. it is not done yet. mike emanuel live on the hill. good morning, mike. >> reporter: good morning, bill. bill: size it up foreus. where are we this morning on this issue? >> reporter: the hill is largely empty, bill. the key republican leadership is here. the conferees they have appointed to a congressional conference to name or hammer out for a year-long deal. we'll see them in about an hour or so. the senate left on saturday. house members left at the end of the day on saturday. it is tough to see how they come up with a compromise. to give you a sense to the tone. here is how the day ended yesterday. take a listen to this. >> the house acted. it is up to the senate to act to stave off this tax cut.

>> there is clearly a difference in this house on a number of things. one of the thinks that i don't think we differ on is a confidence or a lack of confidence that the senate will do its jobe. i don't think we differ on that greatly. >> reporter: that gives you a sense how the day ended. bottom line we expect house republican leadership to say with the president up the street own pennsylvania avenue, can't they sit down and work out a compromise? both want a year-long extension. but we'll see. it has been tough so far. bill: that we shall. we're waiting word for the white house. what is the push from the white house, mike? >> reporter: they push average american family will lose $1,000 a year. the latest push is $40 a paycheck. what would you do with $40. what could $40 out of your paycheck actually mean? the president yesterday stepped in and said the house should follow the senate's lead and listen to him. >> they went ahead and did

the right thing. i need the speaker and house republicans to do the same. put politics aside, put aside issues where there are fundamental disagreements and come together on something we agree on. >> reporter: so the house is saying we're waiting for the president to call the senate back into session. the president is saying the house should take the deal that the senate passed on saturday. we feel kind of stuck, bill. bill: that you do. and almost home alone but not quite. mike, thanks on the hill. mike emanuel. martha: newt gingrich is weighing in on this whole payroll tax fight. he said house republicans are spot on in calling for a longer extension. the former speaker extending sympathy to current speaker john boehner. we had it a little easier in congress. it is all because who is in the white house in his opinion. take a listen. >> i didn't have an experience like john boehner and the reason is this.

bill clinton spent 12 years as governor of arkansas which is a pretty conservative state negotiating with a legislature which was very conservative. so he was used to the rythym of negotiating. barack obama passed through the illinois senate without serving while running for the u.s. senate and he then sat in the u.s. senate running for president without noticing it. and so he is actually had no experience in government. martha: very strong words from candidate newt gingrich. he also says that he and clinton, despite being adversaries got a lot done as he hinted in the sound bite. bill clinton speaking out about newt gingrich and his thoughts on him in a very interesting, wide-ranging interview he did with bill o'reilly. you will find it very interesting what bill clinton had to say about newt gingrich coming up. bill: must-see tv. economists say this two months will not do anything to create jobs. if there is no deal before january 1st payroll taxes

will go up again as we mentioned for 160 million americans. the social security tax will increase from 4.2 to 6.2%. almost $20 a week for someone making $50,000 a year. it will impact unemployment benefits for 50 million americans and medicare, doctors could see big cuts. martha: a lot riding on this deal. who blinks first on this congressional standoff, that is really the question right now? we have both sides covered in "america's newsroom." we have congressman kevin brady from texas. after that democratic senator chris coons will respond to speaker boehner's request that the democrats in the senate get back to work. fair and balanced always on this issue. we'll have a lot coming up. how about this? if you're looking at your 401(k) this morning you may be smiling. look at the dow yesterday. spiked more than 300 points.

the best showing that we have seen this month. a little bit of a christmas present for everybody there. can you believe it really all has to do with what is going on in europe. more than what is going on here at home. fox business's stuart varney. why do we care at this point? >> what the europeans did over there today will help our economy over here tomorrow. what they did there today is exactly like what we did here three years ago, only bigger. here's the story. 523 european banks have asked for and received a half trillion euros. that money can now be used to bail out the very desperate italians and spanish. they have got a european tarp in place. they have got the money. so the bottom line, martha, is that they stepped back from the cliff. they were running out of money. they found a pot of gold. they're going to use that pot of gold. they have backed away from the crash at least for now. that's good news for us. up goes the stock market

here. martha: you know what, it feels like in the financial world and in congress as well we live in these sort of very short increments of time where we breathe a sigh of relief now that more money pumped into or created really for the european banks. how dong do the effects of this last in terms of global economy and its health? >> right now we have the shock value. a half trillion euros suddenly available. people are beginning to ask, wait a minute, how come they need so much and more to come? the scale of the problem is not becoming apparent. people are beginning to ask questions. who knows, maybe we'll be back at the cliff within a few days. i don't know that but you're right, martha, it is up and it is down and a lot of people do not like that. martha: yesterday it was up. looks like today it is down. >> up a little bit today. martha: futures are trading a little bit lower. we will see. stuart, thank you so much. great to see you as always. bill: a rocket shot yesterday. 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 american spirit.

the battle we face today is more than a fight over our budget. it is a pat he will for america's soul. we can't begin to answer the question of who should be our next president until we start asking ourselves, who are we as americans and kind of america do we want for our children? bill: most polls have romney ahead in the state of new hampshire. he leads by 13 points in the average of all polling you put together, "real clear politics".com. >> we're hearing from number one supporter, man many wanted to run for the gop nomination, new jersey governor chris christie. i stat down with him and his wife pat. here's what he said. that is what they're doing lately. they're doing a lot more interviews. you said as early as this morning you wish he had been bolder and edgier as he headed out there. what do you think he should have done differently early on? >> he is angry about some of

the things that have happened in this country. he is angry about some of the things president has done and not done. americans don't want to see an angry president. they want a president who understands their fear and their angry. i believe governor romney does. my advice, show it. don't be afray to show it. martha: he has had trouble showing it. why can't he connect? that is one of the big questions about governor romney and his connecting with people on the trail and all of that. he spoke a little bit about that last week. you will hear the answer to that question on "america's newsroom" and rest of my interview with governor christie. there will be two parts, today and tomorrow. you will get a bit of introduction on new jersey's first lady pat. why her husband chose not to run for president. she is really interesting woman. great to know her. bill: five kids? martha: four children. she is managing partner at a big financial firm in new york city.

mba. she is a very solid partner for him. as you can imagine that is what he would need. bill: i would imagine that was a very interesting weekend that conversation, when that conversation took place. martha: good stuff. we'll talk about that. bill: also, we are less than two weeks from iowa and we have you covered from start to finish at foxnews.com. on politics link, click that and you will have complete coverage anytime, anywhere, on the go. foxnews.com is your front row to politics as we kick off 2012 and what a year it's going to be for all of us. martha: is that all we have to talk about today? bill: i think is couple. martha: we have lot more going on. it is make-or-break time for republican hopefuls out there. jon huntsman a little bit of tick up in the polls lately for jon huntsman. he is getting a lot more attention. we'll talk about words of support from a former president. bill: iowa's republican governor has interesting words describing some of the republican candidates. newt gingrich, ron paul. we'll ask him live when he joins us in moments.

martha: how about this? president bill clinton enters "the no-spin zone" for the very first time. what he told bill o'reilly about this race for the white house and what he said about newt gingrich? coming up. >> you worked with newt gingrich. you respect him? >> i respect his ability to think and do and i eventually hammered out a really productive relationship with him. >> do you respect him as a man? my name is jill strange,

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tell your doctor about alcohol use, liver disease, and before you reduce or stop taking cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. side effects include nausea, dry mouth, and constipation. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. martha: well the faa is unveiling some new rules to keep pilots from flying when they are dangerously tired. it is expected to give them a better chance of getting uninterrupted rest between flights after continental connection flight crashed near buffalo three years ago. what an awful scene that was back in '09. 50 people were killed in that crash. investigators heard the pilots yawning on the black box recordings and

believe fatigue definitely had an impact on their performance in the cockpit. bill: here we go again, martha. are you ready for this? we have a new leader in iowa. ron paul has the edge when you average all the polling together from "real clear politics". at 23%. but governor terry brand stat is a republican. he has interesting words for ron paul and newt gingrich and a few others. the governor is with me live out of his home state. good morning, governor and welcome to "america's newsroom". >> good morning, bill. great to be with you do. >> merry christmas and this is what you said and what you meant by it. people look at who comes in second and who comes in third. if mitt romney comes in a strong second it definitely helps him going into new hampshire and other states. the point you're trying to make if ron paul win, it doesn't matter? >> no that is not the case.

iowa has always winnowed the field. it isn't necessarily who wins iowa. it is a matter of beating expectations here and you think romney has tried to keep expectations down but i think now he is making a real effort. already ron paul has campaigned here very effectively and he has got a great organization. gingrich spent a lot of time but actually santorum has been to all 99 counties. michele bachmann is in the process of going to all 99 counties. i know governor perry has been traveling around the state in a bus and governor joined dill joined him yesterday. i talked to governor jindall when he was in eastern iowa. it is a wide-open race and everybody, it is hard to say he is going to win because a lot of people are paying attention and saying who is the best candidate. we just can't afford president obama increasing the national debt a trillion dollars a year and attacking

very people we need to create jobs and revitalize the american economy. bill: can you see ron paul winning in a word, yes? i take it based on that answer you could see anybody winning. >> i think it is possible, well first of all a lot of candidates the lead has changed hands many times. first it was bachmann. then it was perry. it was herman cain. then was gingrich. now it's paul. this could change another time or two before january 3rd but the one thing about ron paul is he steadily built his support here. he has a strong organization. he has more yard signs and bumper stickers than anybody else. he has a lot of support among young people. remember the caucus is january 3rd and a lot of students are going to still be on christmas and knew year's break. bill: we'll see whether or not that has an impact. on newt gingrich you were quoted a week ago saying this. whether he has the discipline and focus i don't know. does he? >> well, i think the campaign will determine

that. he's a great idea person. he's done very well in the debates. i have great respect for his ideas and i think the voters are going to decide who they think is the strongest and has the best ideas will be the best candidate. we just can not afford four more years of obama. i want to see republicans unite behind the strongest candidate because we can't afford the direction we're going. obama's health care is unsustainable unaffordable. he is attacking the very people we need to create jobs. we can not afford the additional regulatory and tax burdens that his administration is imposing on our country. bill: governor, thank you for your time. we'll catch up again with you the first week of iowa. knowing how much influence you have in that state you're not going so far to endorse anyone just yet. we'll see over the next 12 or 13 days whether or not that changes but we'll talk to you the first week of january. have a merry christmas, governor, thank you for your time today. >> merry christmas to you,

thank you very much. bill: will do. 20 minutes past, martha. martha: there is basically an expensive game of chicken going on right now in congress. so who blinks first? coming up a scathing editorial on "the wall street journal" how republicans are losing the the tax cut fight. bill: there are new gallop polling numbers, tight races between president obama and newt gingrich and how the white house is worry what they're seeing between the lines there we're back in a couple minutes. while we go to break, foxnews.com, click on the politics link. we're back in a moment moment oman ] 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.

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bill: 23 minutes past the hour now. some headlines. they're digging out as roads reopen after a deadly

snowstorm moves out of the great plains. that extreme weather blamed for at least two deaths the weakened storm moving into missouri and the great lakes. san francisco's mayor calls it a national embarassment. ordering explanation on the blackout at candlestick during monday night's game between the steelers and 49'ers. it happened twice there in san francisco. don't believe everything you read especially by text message. new study says people are more likely to lie by way the text message than face-to-face conversation than voice mail. martha: probably true. bill: rumors of bon jovi's death are not true either. he's alive and doing just fine in new jersey. martha: thank goodness. don't scare me. this is very tough story we've been following this week. the fbi is now intensifying their search for a missing toddler who their father says was last seen sleeping in their crib last nights. ayla reynolds disappeared

last week in maine. that's what her dad said. he put her down and her crib was empty the next morning. police have very few clues in this case. >> i will not speculate whether she is alive or when she might come home. we need to follow the logical conclusion or the logical sequence of events as we get that information in and so we've ruled out nothing. martha: rick leventhal is live with the latest. rick, i understand we're hearing from ayla's father for very first time. >> reporter: that's right, martha. justin depietro had custody and last person known to see her alive. writing quote i have no idea what happened to ayla or who is responsible. i will not make accusations or insinuation towards anyone until the police have been able to prove who is responsible for this. state and federal and local investigators searching wooded areas, dumpsters and ballfields near the girl's

home. they drained a nearby stream as temperatures dip into the teens and single digits. authorities say this is still a missing child case and will not speculate whether ayla reynolds is still alive. her father said he shared every piece of information possible with the police. he says always my intention to have a shared parenting arrangement with ayla's mother and i will continue to work toward that when ayla is returned to us. police not identifying anyone as a suspect. martha: there was some sort of ongoing custody battle. he was saying they're sharing parenthood but that was an issue at the time? >> reporter: it was. ayla's mother filed paperwork seeking sole custody for the girl the day before she disappeared. the state gave her to the father after miss recognize notes went into substance abuse program. >> why doesn't anyone wait

to 9:00 to the call the police. i do, from the time my kids go down to bed i will check on them until i lay down. >> reporter: investigators interviewed both parents and seized two vehicles and continue to follow up on leads. martha: that is it tough one. thank you, rick leventhal. >> reporter: sure. bill: any time of year, especially now. bill on bill. mano y mano. bill clinton and bill o'reilly sat down for the very first time. what the former president says about the current crop of republican candidates trying to get his old job and this is fascinating. don't miss it. martha: plus we've got part one of my interview with governor christie and his wife mary pat. you see there. i asked him about some of the harsh things he said about the president and whether he think he goes too far. you called the president a bystander in the oval office and cynical chicago politician. do you think it is appropriate to speak about the president of the united states that way?

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bill: one of the world's largest standing armies going on alert. north korea showing its military muscle as the country mourns the death of 17-year leader and dictator, kim jong-il. there is new focus along the uneasy border with south korea. greg palkot streaming live out of seoul. what do we know, greg? >> reporter: bill, what north korea is claiming so far five million people out of a population of 24 million have come out to mourn the late dictator, kim jong-il. we have no way of verifying that. we can tell you from our experience on the ground these people can get the folks out and in the center of pyongyang today we have seen tens of thousands of

people. this has control on the power centers tightens up. troops being sent in the north back to their barracks. the city is being locked down and military officers made to pledge allegiance to the heir apparent the young kim jong-un. bill. bill: greg, the scene at the dmz has been at a standoff now since 195. has that changed at all or what is the scene there today? >> reporter: there were more angry words there today. that is the border between north and south korea. we had defectors from north korea and also human rights activists gathering there, doing something frankly makes all sides nervous. look what we saw. just a few days of at death of kim jong-il, just a few hundred yards from the dmz, activists staging a protest. they're filling up the balloons with leaflets and showing kim jong-il and two fallen leaders. on the other side, kim

jong-un, call on north korean people to rise up against hereditary success. the hope that the balloons will rise up and float into north korea and find their mark. north korea has claimed these actions are simply propaganda warfare. they threatened to respond to them. there is no response today, bill. perhaps because the balloons that we saw go up didn't head to the north but went back over to south korea. i can tell you though the anger on both sides of the border very well-directed. bill: that is one funky scene. greg palkot from seoul, south korea. thank you, greg. martha: back to politics now. new polls show president obama in a very tight race for 2012. he is basically tied with the two current republican front-runners. according to gallop, mitt romney trails the president by two%. that number has been like that for a little while now. what is knew this number,

newt gingrich also trails the president by just 2%. he is doing better against the president than he was earlier in the month. both are within the margin of error with president obama. tucker carlson, editor of "the daily caller". fox news contributor. alan colmes is the host of the alan colmes radio show. good to have you here. >> hey, martha. martha: tucker, any meaning to that. newt gingrich is closing the gap a little bit against the president. >> this poll may be a lagging indicator and these are fluid. this is what i think we know, if this election is about republican dan dates and their ideas and plans and background, history what is they said before, it is over, obama wins. if this election is, it ought to be about the last three years, and the fruits of the obama ideology and what his administration done and hasn't done he will get creamed. this is really simple. not complicated. it is politics. make it about obama. to the extent election is

infighting of republican party, what republicans believe, bad, bad, for republicans. martha: very interesting. tucker you're basically saying they're going about it all the wrong way. >> it is about obama. martha: alan, part of that, alan, is just nature of the political beast because they're in the nominations fight right now. they're going at each other and making it about each other, right. >> i'm happy to hear tucker say republicans believe they will lose, they don't believe anything. they have nothing to offer against obama. >> that is not the point i'm making. >> that's what you said. martha: the question i'm asking you, alan, just in terms of as a person who observes politics. >> right. martha: it is all about each other and fingerpointing right now because that is at the stage. game we're at. >> we have opinion research poll that shows that obama handily beats more gingrich and romney but beats romney by a substantial margin. the public favors democratic party for first time, 55-43% for against the republican party. people upset about the

intransigence of republican party, can't see anything get done. see republicans running house. can't get payroll tax done. can't lead the tea party who want to drag the party to the right. public is seeing this. ever since they handled the debt ceiling poorly. they have had a real problem. that is why obama up five points last month and headed to 50%. he is headed in the right direction. republicans headed in the wrong direction. martha: talk about newt gingrich and his reemergence on the political scene and what happened over the last month. ist is really interesting because bill o'reilly sat down with bill clinton last night. the mind goes back to the days of gingrich and clinton and history between these two men. i want you to listen to his response when bill o'reilly asked him, what he really thinks of newt gingrich. take a look. >> i respect his ability to think and do and, i eventually hammered out a really productive relationship with him. >> do you respect him as a

man? >> i don't disrespect anybody who worked with me in good faith. i think he is way more political than i would have been. he defended what he calls scorched earth politics and i certainly was beneficiary of it. >> was he an enemy of yours while you were in the white house? >> until he got to be speaker and until the government shutdown changed the public. >> then you found detente? >> we worked together for five years. martha: very interesting. tucker, what do you think about that. >> i think it is hilarious to watch bill clinton call someone else highly political. look nobody practiced scorched either politics than clinton did. i was there i covered it, trust me. reminds you that newt gingrich has been around awfully long time. i don't think that is bad thing. he is very much a creature of washington. interesting to see people

say they support newt gingrich because he outsider. i live in d.c. whatever you say about newt gingrich he is not an outsider. let's be real about his background. martha: he is way more political than i ever been think about the clintons and political side what they have been good at over the years. that was interesting response. >> of course bill clinton, of course he is political, don't forget bill clinton was great compromiser. bill clinton ended mend it, don't end it. went over to the republican side. he triangulated. some people call bill clinton the best republican president we ever had. they're all political no question about that. bill clinton went a long way to working with republican congress to get things done. martha: he said as much yesterday when he was interviewed as well. he was able to work out a lot of things with president clinton. interesting how politics is one big circle and here we are again two men looking at each other and talking about his political future.

good to see you. alan, tucker. thank you very much. if i don't see you guys have a great holiday. bill: quick check. markets. we were booming yesterday. right now we're --. martha: not booming. bill: not booming but we're not falling too badly, off 30 points in the first 10 minutes of trading. i guess spain had a big bond sale yesterday and investors came in for a day and said yeah they look pretty good for a day. martha: then they wake up this morning, now we have concerns about what is going on in europe. bill: i'm, to see a 300 point jump in one day. it has been so long. i think folks felt a little better about yesterday. today could be a different story. martha: so what about jon huntsman, who by the way bill clinton had pretty nice things to say about jon huntsman? is he picking up speed in this race? he is getting a big vote of confidence from former president bill clinton. i don't know if that is something he wants at this point in the republican nomination process. we'll hear what he has to say when he is here live. bill: we'll ask him. 160 million americans might

see taxes rise in january. republican congressman kevin brady is here live in a moment. we'll find out what the house republican strategy is today. don't miss that. >> after the senate acted on saturday we were hopeful we could take this up and our work would be done. but apparently the tea party tail is wagging the elephant. >> we've done our work for the american people. and now it is up to the president and democrats in the senate to do their job as well. a two-month extension is nothing more than kicking the can down the road.

martha: well police in tempe, arizona, say a simple traffic stop led them to the biggest drug bust in city history. it all started when police pulled over a known drug suspect after they say he made $100 buy but that stop led to the seizure of more than 100 pounds of meth, -- 1200 pounds of meth, marijuana and cocaine.

a huge blow to the sin low waa cartel, one of mexico's most ruthless. bill:. what now, the congress closing out the year with a standoff over the payroll tax cut. think things are testy on the hill. listen to the exchange between republican leader eric cantor and democratic leader, steny hoyer. >> house has acted it is up to the senate to act to stave off this tax hike. >> there is clearly a difference in this house on a number of things. one of the things that i don't think we differ on is a confidence or a lack of confidence that the senate will do its job. i don't think we differ on that greatly. bill: texas congressman kevin brady is a member of the conference committee speaker boehner has formed to help solve this dispute and he is my guest now from the hill. sir, good morning to you. mike emanuel told us 45 minutes ago there is barely anybody left on the hill. a lot of folks have left town.

what is the strategy now for house republicans? >> bill, thanks for having me and merry christmas. it is lonely on capitol hill. you could bowl through most of the halls in congress right now if you wanted to. our republican strategy is pretty simple. we're going to stay here and work and get the job done now. not next year. not when the senate wants to get around to it but now. we think senate democrats shortchanged the american public with just a measly two-month extension then racing home to their vacation. we think ought to get the job done first, vacation later. that is our message to the president. we'll work through the holidays. if you will pressure senator harry reid to appoint the con fear reese, let's get this done -- conferees. bill: how do you force the senate's hand now? >> really it is up to the american public. i think every american ought to ask where is their senator? why are they vacationing first before getting their job done? i think the public is sort

of tired the business as usual. can't solve a problem. well, let the public eat cake. we'll get around to it sometime next year. you know, we were voted here to change business as usual. to actually solve these problems the principles we're fighting for is not just a full year, which we think the american public deserves of payroll tax cut but we think unemployment reforms. unlocking keystone pipeline. blocking epa regulations that could kill american jobs. this is really about doing things right. bill: do you think that message is getting out? or do you fear you're conceding a tax issue to a democratic white house? >> you know, yo think we are. the american public is a lot smarter than that. they know republicans led on all the tax cut issues. they know the president wakes up every day trying to figure out how to increase their taxes, take more from them, whether they're a professional or small business or someone who is actually worked to succeed in life, they know that is what the president wants.

what we're fighting for is to solve the problem for the full year, not just create another problem. bill: business leaders come on and say we can't plan for two months anyway. it is hard for us to plan for a year. we need two or three years in the forecast. but, to the point, are taxes going to go up in january for any americans because of this? >> well, not if republicans have anything to say about it. we're here. we're ready to extend those payroll tax cuts. we're ready to get people back to work. the question is, will democrats end their vacations and come back with us to solve that problem? will the president insist democrats end their vacation and do their job first? bill: were you on that conference call on saturday night? >> i was not. i had my sons 10th birthday and was not on it. bill: happy birthday to your son. >> thank you. bill: it is my understanding that is when the tone changed. a lot of republicans got together and said, boehner

we're behind you. fight for it, we'll be there for you. is that still the case now? >> you know it really is. i think we're absolutely united doing the job right. doing it now, extending the tax cut for all americans for entire year. we're right on this. bill: happy birthday to your son. merry christmas to you. >> thank you, bill. >> strike a spare or a gutter ball as they bowl there on the hill. thank you, kevin brady out of texas. >> thank you. bill: foxnews.com /americasnewsroom. bya. we'll try to answer a question. e-mail, hemmer@foxnews.com and @billhemmer. bya. we're on a path no one truly knows how it will work out. >> democratic senators have to come back. we'll ask chris coons about what congressman brady had to say. that discussion continues here in "america's newsroom.". meantime, nasa calling it a very big break through. it is the one they have been searching the heavens for

but not one but two either-sized planets. what this could mean for the future of space exploration and who might be living there. bill: i love that more with your interview with governor chris christie and a rare glimpse of his wife mary pat. >> to have so one equally strong as partner if i push she pushes back. that was the thing she wanted to do at that point. we've been doing that with each other for 26 years in addition to supporting each other. bill: 26 and counting. more with the governor's wife. martha: good partnership, those two. [ male announcer ] the more you lose, the more you lose, because for every two pounds you lose through diet and exercise, alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. let's fight fat with alli. ♪ challenge that. new olay smooth finish facial hair removal duo. first a gentle balm.

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rudolph. bill: calling santa one of your reindeer might be missing. norton, ohio, getting call about a missing reindeer, bringing traffic to a crawl because of that. >> 911, what is your emergency? >> yeah. it is kind of strange. we're out 21 south at 585. there is an and i'm serious, a reindeer. evidently it is from a farm. it has a red harness on its face. >> okay. >> but it's in the middle of the expressway. there are several cars behind it. so. >> okay. bill: see? martha: not from a farm, hello. bill: see? they say the reindeer was traveling from a nearby farm when --. martha: north pole, maybe. bill: truck it was in hit a bump. the door flew open. the reindeer went flying out of there. flying. aside from a broken antler, the reindeer should be okay. martha: got to get him home pronto. he has work to do. get the reindeer back where he belongs.

scientific break through bringing mankind a step closer to finding a second version of our beloved home planet earth. astronomers discovering two earth-sized alien plan etc. circling a distant star. does that sound familiar? experts say this raises hopes of finding another habitable home in our universe. i wonder what the people look like there? ask our former nasa astronaut friend tom jones and fox news contributor. welcome. >> hi, martha. martha: they are not catch think names, kepler 20-e and kepler 20-f. we need to work on those but what are they like? >> they're rocky planets. they're twin others. only about size of earth and our twin, in our solar system venus. they're very close to this parent star, kepler 20. so they're in the frying pan. they are so hot they would melt glass or have a steam bath kind of atmosphere. very hostile to life.

the next step look for planets in the goldie locks zone that can support life. martha: very interesting. why is this finding of these two planets so encouraging that there might be others like it that might be a little bit more in the comfort zone away from the hot star they call their sun? >> well, this is the first detection. so there are millions of plan etc. around other stars. there are millions of stars like our sun in the milky way. we hope we'll find lots of other others that will be in a nice testimony pratt zone where liquid water can exist. we think that is fundamental building block for life. this is first step in search that will lead to large space-based telescopes. that would be a great job for astronauts to do, build earth-finding telescopes out in space to find traces of life on these planet. >> they're really, really far away, aren't they? >> 950 light years. we'll never be able to travel there. but the idea is to find another place in the universe where life can exist. so far we're the only place. martha: yeah. do you think we ever will, tom? >> i am actually very

optimistic. i think we'll find traces of biology in our own solar system on mars, for example on the moons of outer planets. of course looking at the same time at a these extra solar planets we might find abodes for geology. that might be a place to point radio telescopes to listen for signs of intelligent civilization some day. martha: thank you very much. merry christmas to you. tom jones our favorite astronaut joining us. bill: telescopes are amazing aren't they? they could find reindeer. martha: maybe they could. get that little guy back where he belongs. give him a ride up there. bill: reports that china hacked into the chamber of commerce website gain being access to three million americans. details on that this morning. martha: republican hopeful jon huntsman getting big support from bill clinton. huntsman will be here live. we'll ask him about that. also send me a tweet @marthamaccallum. ask me about chris christie or jon huntsman whatever you want to talk about. we'll be right back.

martha: a very scathin op-ed about the house republicans. they need to get these tax cuts down. john boehner are going to come out in a few minutes. the conferees are trying to workou workout keeping the

taxes cut. john boehner westboun will be speaking hackers have information on 3 million members of congress. the f.b.i. shinmoedake involved iis now involved in this. and they say the servers were traced back to, guess where, china. good morning i'm martha maccallum. bill: we are told the hackers may have had access to the chambers network for more than a year. martha: they honed in on employees who worked specifically on asia policy. we understand, that this doug may be the tip of the iceberg. >> reporter: according to the department of homeland security cyber attacks by like this one conducted by the chinese government are increasing in frequency and sophistication.

we responded to over a hundred thousand incidents of this year alone. only a small percentage of incidents are reported to the government every year. >> the use of the technology across our entirety society and our dependence on this technology has made this one of the most important nation security and economic secures issues that we case i think as a nation today. >> reporter: according to the wall street journal the break in by chinese hackers breached more than 300 internet addresses, was discovered and quietly shut down in may of 2012. chamber officials said hackers forced on four employees who worked on u.s.-asia policy. six weeks of their email had been stolen. the thermostat that the townhouse that the chamber owns on capitol hill was at one point

communicating with an internet address in china. last march a printer started printing paper with chinese characters. martha: what a story this is. what else do we know about how widespread this problem is, dog? >> reporter: a report released last month found that hackers and programmers in china and russia are putting at risk $398 billion in research. they blame those two countries in particular for stealing secrets, phafrg secrets. there is widespread speculation that the recent attack on a drone could not have been tar read out without tech tphol logical help from china or russia. martha: that is one of the biggest concerns in awful this.

all of this. they deny that drone was taken over in any way by a computer. bill: the hacking and computers especially out of china becoming a serious problem in the u.s. hacking of computers increasing more than one hundred percent between 2006 and 2010. in 2010 google said it was the victim of an attack in china that resulted in data theft. in the same year they warned about chinese cyber attacks aimed at american government and agencies. martha: the head of south korea's program facing calls to resign, after having no clue that kim jong-il died until he saw it on television. that was two days after the leader was believed to be dead. south korea put its million tear romilitary on high alert.

the korean war ended in 1953. that is very stark evidence of how little gets out of south korea. bill: we find new clashes. newt gingrich hitting back at mitt romney about new ads on the air in iowa a cushion romney and his supporters of running a spear campaign. >> now, his super pack is run by his former staff, with money given by his friends. and i would simply suggest to all of you if he can't influence his former staff and his friends, how is he going to influence the congress? bill: our chief political correspondent is live on the trial in keene, new hampshire. to a lot of people super packs may seem like inside washington

talk. but this is american politics. >> reporter: romney is launching a bus tour all across new hampshire today. the super pack issue has taken over a lot of the banter between romney and bing rich. the former speaker accusing mitt romney's former aid of launching a smear attack on his behalf. mr. romney in the past criticized super pack saying they'd rather abo the candidates responsible for their fundraising and advertisements. but they say these are information that they often reveal things that the candidateses themselves may have overlooked or not offered the public. listen to the latest by the proromney super pack an outside group from his campaign rig up gingrich with new criticism. >> you know what would make barack obama happy? newt gingrich's baggage. he has more baggage than the

airline. he not only collaborated with nancy pa lows satisfactory, but they supported kraoeupb a's brutal one child hol see. he ensue ported taxpayer funding of some abortions. >> reporter: very tough stuff, obviously. newt gingrich has repeatedly said that these super pack commercials are misleading, in some cases false, he's even called them lies. one of newt gingrich's aids suggested that mitt romney was a lying mol teugs an politician and other language that we continue even use on television. romney has defended these with a new harsh word for himself. he's usually very careful about the language he uses. he says if newt can't take it from the ads waoe he's not going to be able to handle what comes from democrats. >> there are limits as to what you can tell a pack, obviously.

these coordination rules, you're not allowed to coordinate. i'm sure i could go out and say, hey, please don't do anything negative. this is politics. if you can't stand the heat in this little kitchen wait until obama's hell kitchen. >> reporter: it's more cuss words we've heard from mitt romney ever. bill: breaking news right now. martha: what john boehner just said. >> i've appointed eight men and women sitting in here a with the majority leader and i to be our negotiators. we are here, ready to go to work. we hope the senate democrats will come to the table and

revolve these issues. i thin think it's important that the president, and bi-partisans in the senate all asked for the same thing, let's extend the payroll tax credit for a year. all we are asking for is to get the senate members over here to work with us to resolve our differences, so we can do what everybody wants to do, extend the payroll tax benefits for the next year. i'm hoping that everybody is ready to work because we are. >> good morning, we are here in washington working today because we want to make sure that the middle class and working families of this country have some certainty that their taxes will not go up for the entirety of next year, and that's the house tradition. and frankly that is the only issue with which we differ with the senate. and we're asking, as the speaker says, for the senate majority leader to appoint conferees, to

join us to try to finish the work for the american people before the end ever the year. and if you think about it, you know, people are sitting there across america scratching their heads wondering what washington is doing. by the very fact that the president sits probably a mile from here, down pennsylvania avenue, we are sitting here, people are wondering why can't they just get together and talk and work this out. and that's exactly what we are asking to do. the differences between us are not very great. all of us as the speaker indicated want to make sure that people have a tax certainty for a year. we can do this. we have time, let's get to work. martha: there you go. those are the confer he's, they are saying, hey look at senate side, we are ready, we want you to appoint conferees as well an let's get it done. bill: we are going to talk to tkepl crate i can senator chris

coons coming up in a moment here. stay tuned for that. jon huntsman is lined up two. five people including two children dead when their small plane crashed on a bustling interstate. today we're learning about a warning the pilot received just before take off. martha: tragedy. he's been one of the most talked about political figures this year in phefrpblgt h america. he is not running for president. governor chris christie and his wife one and one with me moments away. have you ever met newt gingrich? what do you think of him. >> i have met newt gingrich. i think he's an extraordinarily bright guy, i just don't think he's the right person to be president of the oo united states. where. martha: why not? my name's jeff.

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bill: fox news alert right now. there are brand-new economic indicators, numbers from the national association of realtors that show sales of existing homes up 4% for the month of november. that is good news, but the group

also saying it overstated sales in reports dating back to 2007 by 3 million homes. how do you do that? martha: oops. bill: the 4% rise is an increase from the revised numbers. martha: 2011 has been quite a year for new jersey governor alexis christoforous taoefplgovr chris christie. he was asked to run for president. he quickly backed mitt romney. he says he wants romney to be more bold and aggressive in his campaign. those are attributes that the governor has no shortage of. i caught up with him and his wife mary pat as they continue their season of service as they meet with members of the military. >> i'm mary pat, can i shake

your hand? you're sweet. i'm married to the governor. martha: she certainly is married to the governor. those military families, very moving ceremony yesterday at the governor's mansion. many of them have been hitting tough economic times and i sat down with mary pat and chris christie, this is the first interview they've ever done together. >> i look at those folks, those troops in there that i've got even to know over two years, they leave their homes for a year at a time. they leave their families behind, their children, jobs and go into harm's way in iraq and afghanistan and their family doesn't know if they are coming home. >> it's a maiding, it's suc amazing, today was our season of service which the governor and his administration are joined all over the state. today was really emotional.

martha: now, obviously you've been out there supporting mitt romney. >> yep. martha: some people said why did you endorse him so early? >> what happens was, two days after the announcement governor romney call me and asked if he and ann could come and visit mary pat and i on that saturday. they were coming through new jersey. we said sure. we had lunch for them for about two and a half hours on the back patio of our house. what i concluded sitting there is i knew this guy was the best qualified person to be president that the republicans were offering. he was the person abou with the best chance to beat president obama. if i've made my decision in my mind that he's the best qualified and best person to be elected i should just do it. at the end of our conversation i said, you know i'd love to talk to you about what it might take to get you to be part of my team, and i said, i'm in. he said, you're in?

i said i'm in, what do you want me to do. martha: what do you think of all the reaction that he's got even recently, that he's not conservative enough, that people are concerned that once if he were to be in office as president that he would kind of revert to some of his positions in the past, flip-flopper, just not conservative enough. what do you think? you're very fiscally conservative. >> i am, and listen and i'm pro-life, and believe strongly in conservative values. and i think governor romney does too. here is what i know, i've known romney over the pass three years. he has never broken his word to me. and we talked about these issues, and he told me this is how he feels and this is how he's going to govern and i can't simply imagine that mitt romney would break his word to me or to the american people. he's such a man of integrity, an up right guy, you look at his family, his wife, his beautiful children, his grandchildren, we

got a great christmas card from them this weekend, it's an amazing family. i think as america gets to know his family you'll have more confidence in mitt romney. martha: that's what they've been doing lately, doing a lot more interviews. you say as early as this morning you wish he'd have been bolder and edge yea edgie. what do you think he should have done. >> he's angry about things that have happened in this country. americans don't want an angry president. but they want soupb wh someone who can know that the americans are angry. who is the person has the best chance to beat president obama. who is going to help our country grow jobs today? i think he'll connect. it's on him.

i've told him that. all of us out there working for him can only do so much. in the end american people have to look him in the eye. martha: are you surprised that newt gingrich is the one that is giving him the toughest run for it. >> i'm not sure he will be. i think governor romney is going to be the guy who will stand up in the end be the mature, steady, experienced person that america wants to provide executive leadership. i think what we've seen from the president is he doesn't know the first thing about how to lead as an executive. and what i think you're going to see from governor romney over the course of the next four or five months, is that he's going to make that connection with the american people. martha: have you ever met newt gingrich? what do you think of him. >> i have met gingrich. i think aoebgs an extraordinarily bright guy, i don't think he's the right guy to be the present of the united states. martha: you called the president

a few things. >> i have nice things to say about the president also. he put himself in the campaign mode early. if he wants to put himself in the political arena, then he is open for political criticism. the fact of the matter is this election is going to be about his stewardship of america over the last three years, and i would say absolutely and repeat again today to you that on the issue of core leadership he has been a bystander. martha: strong words from governor christie. coming up tomorrow you will see part two of my interview. mary pat and chris christie talk about their relationship and the kind of partnership she has. i asked her when she hears him say things like that, that the president is a bystander does she ever try to reign him in.

>> i certainly don't try to reign him in. he's effective and, you know, it's allowed us to do a lot of great things in new jersey. martha: mrs. christie has a career, she is a managing partner at a big financial firm. they have a family. they have a great partnership. more on their relationship coming up tomorrow. what they think, they both responded whether they would be interested in him being vice president. that is some breaking news as well. we will share that with you tomorrow. bill: you get a sense that they've talked about this then. martha: they are a very close unit. went to the university of delaware together. both of them feel that they never expected that he would be governor of new jersey and never thought he would be considered presidential material. this has been quite a year, interesting stuff. bill: i think the conversations they had that weekend were fascinating. three officials busted for allegedly trying to seal an election. now there are guilty pleas. we'll tell you where this went

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bill: there has been a major break in a report this morning in an apparent case of voter fraud. we first reported on this story about two years ago when it first broke. now guilty pleas after an attempt to steal an election. eric shawn has details on that now. >> reporter: now it's a total of four democratic politicians, public officials and political operatives who have pled guilty to voter fraud related charges in a scheme to steal a new york election. the please to felony charges expose how political insiders try to turn elections their way by faking signatures of unsuspecting voters. fox news broke the story nationally about the

allegations, that absentee ballots were forged in troy, new york. that is the political party associated with the community group acorn. they told us they never signed absentee ballots and ballots that were in the in their names. >> you didn't write that. >> no. >> did you vote? >> no, i didn't fill out any of those. >> so your vote was a fraud. >> it was. >> reporter: the allegations of fraud focused on democratic members of the troy city council and democratic political operatives. they took dna samples from public officials to compare their dna with dna on the absentee balanc ballots. one public official said rigging the ballots was something that was done on both sides of the

aisle. one public official said he didn't do anything wrong. >> nobody tried to steal the election. >> even though the voters said they didn't hand these in, they didn't vote, they were phony, fake,. >> i did nothing wrong. i don't know if anybody did, if they did they should be he held accountable for it. >> reporter: two officials are set to go on trial. there is a similar investigation in indiana where prosecutors are investigating allegations that signatures that put press and then candidate hillary clinton on the democratic ballot in 2008 were also forged. voters in indiana told us they never signed the petitions with their name either. if you suspect voter fraud or election fraud, voter fraud is our address, voter fraud at fox news.com. bill: thank you for that update.

martha: we've been watching fireworks going on. they happened on the house floor over this payroll tax cut. we will play it for you ligh right after the break. republicans say this is about a lot more than two months versus a year. a democratic senator will join us for all of this. listen to this. >> the principle that we're fighting for not just the full year, but we think unemployment reforms, unlocking the keystone pipeline, blocking epa regulations that could kill american jobs. this really is about doing things right. f!

bill: we expected it would get heated among the members of congress who are at least still in washington. this happened moments ago on the floor of the house. what you're going to hear is the democratic minority leader, sevene steney hoyer out of

maryland challenging john boehner. we'll give you a taste of what is happening now in the payroll tax back and forth. >> we are adjourned until -- >> mr. speaker. mr. speaker. i would like to ask for unanimous consent that we bring up the bill to extend the tax cut for 160 million americans as you walk off the floor mr. speaker, you're walking away, just like so many republicans have walked away from the middle class taxpayers, the unemployed, and 48 million senior citizens who are seeking medical care. we regret that you've walked off the platform without aeu degrees the issue of khreut cal importance to this country and that is the continuation of the middle tax class cut, the continuation of unemployment benefits for those at risk of losing them.

the continuation of access to doctors for all those 48 million seniors who rely on them daily for their health. bill: now we are waiting for the response from the other side. john boehner put out a response. he says it's time for president obama to get involved in the tax deal. he 0 concludes, quote, when hard-working taxpayers work to finish they don't knock off early. they stay and get the job done. now we wait to see where this goes. the calendar is the 2 21st of december. only ten days left in the year. martha: we know a lot of them have already left. we have a great opportunity to bring in chris coons who is on the budget committee. senator, good to have you here. >> reporter: good morning, martha. martha: what is going to happen here. >> reporter: i wish i could tell. this is a hugely frustrating way to end 2011. this is my first year as a senator.

my first year as a member of the budget committee and it was sadly marked by a number of breakdowns and failures in negotiation between house republicans and senate democrats, the president and the various caucuses and the congress. i'm very worried that what is going to happen here is as you said in less than ten days at this point 160 million americans are going to see their payroll taxes go up. 2 to 3 million americans will lose their unemployment insurance. martha: boehner doesn't want to see that happen. the republicans don't want to see that happen, neither do the democrats. as eric cantor said earlier the person people are looking at this they are frustrated, they wonder why you can't negotiate and work something out. >> reporter: we did negotiate and work something out. my core view is that senate republicans and senate democrats worked hard in good faith came to a compromise and it was passed overwhelmingly last saturday. 89 republicans and democrats in the senate vote for a compromise package. it had a policy riding pressing

the president to approve the keystone pipeline that should -ptd have been in there. but it passed it with in there. it was passed in a bi-partisan way. we reached a responsible compromise with the understanding that the republican leadership had already endorsed it. something has happened the last few days in the republican caucus that has pulled that apart. martha: we have a little bit of insight -- pardon me. we did get a little insight into what happened on the other side when we spoke to congressman brady a little while ago. he said the midterm election was about change. people are not going to be satisfied, they are tired of these short-term band-aid fixes that congress is doing. if you can do two months, why can't you do a year? >> reporter: we couldn't get a year extension negotiated in the senate because of the policy riders that were being put on top of this. this wasn't just an up or down

vote on a year long extension of the principles. there were other policy riders put on top of it, things like this keystone pipeline. there were pay fors and policy riders that in the senate frankly made it too hard to negotiate to a place where it could pass. so what could pass was an extension of the payroll tax holiday for two months that was paid for. that's the negotiation that happened in the senate with the full understanding and expectation that house republican leadership had signed off on it. martha: all right, senator, thank you very much. we'll see what happens. >> thank you. martha: a lot going on in the next couple of days before anybody gets to take a rest. bill: a member of congress said last hour you could bowl in the capitol and not hit anyone because everyone was gone. steve forbes is with me now. steve, good morning to you and welcome back. what do you make of all of this as we come down to the wire.

>> reporter: i think what you saw is a rebellion by house republicans on a band-aid extension. there is no reason why they continue sit down and negotiate the details of getting a one-year extension. it's disruptive to have a 60-day extension, then you may change the tax again. payroll taxes can't turn on a dime as far as small businesses. do the one year. bill: give me and my viewers a better sense of that. why is it such a significant disruption to businesses. >> especially smaller businesses. you go to an outside vendor like ad perks and they can tell you this. you put in certain assumptions about withholding during the course of the year. to do it for 60 days and then have to do it again, those things take time. you can't do it, turn it on a dime for millions of businesses. so why not just do the year and

sit down in conference and get it done. bill: others would argue you need two years at a minimum. why is it so crippling for businesses to plan? we hear this from many people. why is it so crippling to their business to plan? >> one of the key things on the payroll tax is the cost of hiring people. the idea that you're going to get any stimulus from a 60 day extension. businesses have to plan 6 months, 5 years out. even a one year extension is not going to do us much good, it's better than nothing. but to think you can do it in two months and come back and renegotiate, who knows they may have to do another two-month band-aid. that doesn't work in the real world. have you to look ahead. bill: you don't believe this creates any jobs, whether it's two months, or whether it's 12 months? >> the 12 months is minimal. the hundred-plus billion dollars you're going to spend in terms of a tax change and the amount of jobs you're going to get is

absolutely diminimus especially if you know it's going to expire after a year. those things you can't plan on, and that's why these rebates don't work, one year credit is not going to work. you have to plan beyond that. these are quicky fixes that don't address the long term problems in the tax code not to mention all the regulations these guys keep piling on. bill: steve forbes, really appreciate your insight. we'll see what goes down when it goes down. here is mart that. marthamartha. martha: imagine you spent months if not years on the battle feed and now the warm welcome home for the final troops to leafy rack. bill: jon huntsman ahead on the endorsement that he may not have wanted in the end. did you hear this. >> i also like jon huntsman, if i voted for him i'd be in the 1%. he has the most fiscally conservative record of anybody running.

bill: at the moment he is running fourth in polls, in some cases a distance fourth, but that is a big improvement in a short period of time for jon huntsman. showing about 12% according to "real clear politics" average, that's when you take all the polling together and put it together. jon huntsman is back with me today, live in studio. how are you doing governor. >> it's good to be with you. we just over took ron paul for third place. i feel the wave effect in physics. bill: we have a guy aroun here that is really into that, by the way. i want to get your reaction to something that happened late yesterday on the fox news channel. you picked up an endorsement, roll it. >> if you had to vote between romney and newt gingrich if you stuck up in new hampshire and anybody could vote, who would

you vote for. >> i'm not going to get in that republican primary. i also like jon huntsman, he's in the 1% but he has the best fiscal conservative record. bill: would you take that endorsement? >> imagine my surprise. >> what did you think. >> he found that i'd been consistent on life, on the second amendment. i delivered the largest cut in my state. the president actually looked into it and he found that i the consistent conservative. bill: that's what he said most consistently conservative record. >> got to give him credit for that. a lot of other people are finding that out to be the case. you have eric erickson who is taking a second look. they ma have come back to take

a look at the person they glossed over. bill: is that an endorsement that jon huntsman would put on a television commercial. >> if the president wants to take a ride with me as being prolive, prosecond amendment, as being protax cut, provouchers, as being no mandate for healthcare reform i'm glad to have him absolutely. what do you think is happening in new hampshire? why is the polling going up. >> we finished public event 128. we are working that state like everybody else. this is a state who want you to earn it. they love an under dou underdog to come from behind and earn it. they are buying the message that i have to offer and it's from my heart and soul. it's about an economic deficit and trust deficit in this country. the american people no longer trust their political

institutions now. no executive leadership. simpson-bowles was a slam dunk for the president and he threw it in the garbage can. if he had put this on capitol hill and said this is the roadway forward, we are going to take it, make whatever changes to it, that would have been a win for him and set a template for people to begin working on. this nickle and diming our way forward is a disaster. bill: do you support the house republicans when they fight back now against what the senate did, despite a vote in the senate of 89 to 10. >> i think we are losing the high ground on tax cuts, and i think that is a bad place for the republican party to be. i think they ought to vote for it. i think we ought to get something in return and that something in return we ought to get is comprehensive tax reform. we are not going to solve any of this. bill, until we get our taxes reformed. bill: would you support a two-month extension? >> i think we have to have at least a year. if you're going to get a two month extense what are you going to get for it and how are you going to pay for it?

we need at least a year. in the meantime we can't run the risk of losing the high ground to the democrats on tax cuts. that's where we are finding ourselves and that is a mighty bad place to be. bill: 1-10-12 will tell you a lot. >> thank you, bill. bill: have a terrific holiday with your family. >> and to you. martha: there is new information coming in now after a deadly plane crash on a major highway. why it may take up to a year to figure out the cause. what other pilots are now saying about the conditions at the time. what a tragedy. bill: sure was. a major headache in one of the east coast biggest shipping ports, why delays and expansion plans could mean more and short anal of parking spots. >> if the port loses its competitive edge, if it loses its ability to accept shipping as shipping is going to change, then our whole economy comes to a standstill. 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.

martha: there is a controversy growing as one of the east coast's biggest ports tries to get even bigger. it turns out the south carolina port of charleston exexpansion won't be finished until 2024, ten years later than proposed. many people are dependent on the ports and so are the extra large ships expelgted to drop anchor therexpected to tropical anchor there in a few years. >> reporter: 2014 is the new date for the panama canal to open. because of federal regulations it may not be until a decade after that that charleston's

port is ready to handle the ships on a regular basis. it means if they can't get it done sooner, it may do more harm to south carolina's struggling economy. >> reporter: this directly or in directly supports one of five jobs, but the port of charles son is at risk of falling behind. >> if the port loses its competitive edge and loses its ability to accept shipping as shipping is going to change, our whole economy comes to a standstill. >> reporter: charleston is rushing to deep even it's harbor. state officials were shocked when the army corps of engineers that would do the work told them, if it even got the green light the project won't be finished until 2024. >> we need to do it faster. >> reporter: before one bucket of mud is dredged the army core has to study all the implications and that process could take eight years. >> we need to move as quickly as

we can and be as thorough as we can. if we don't get the feasibility study right we may never have construction. >> reporter: a few years ago they added five feet to the harbor's death. why spend all the time and money now. >> we believe it can be done faster, that is the operative message. we node to move along as fast as we can or the region will suffer. >> reporter: the panama canal construction started five years ago and should be completed within the next two years. there is no federal plan or strategy to take economic advantage of that expansion which has some people wondering, if panama has their act together, why don't we. martha: that is a good question. john roberts thank you very much. bill: no deal on taxes and the room is getting hotter by the hour. the latest on the battle that would impact your wallet. >> when the republicans have

walked away from solving serious problems, this is not a game .

..

mart boy, getting very heated own capitol hill. steny hoyer, minority whip, talking about the process moments ago. take a look. >> we were there to ask that the house take up a unanimous consent request. they walked out on us. they were not on the floor.

acting speaker who was on the floor walked out. but more importantly than that, they walked out yesterday when we were all here. martha: fighting words from steny hoyer. you bet you will hear more about this during the course of the day at fox news. bill: that story could change by the hour. wonderful site sight for the holidays. more servicemembers pouring back into the u.s. this was the scene in maryland. 230 air force servicemembers arriving traveling 27 hours all the way from kuwait saying they could not wait to get home to see their families. i bet. >> what have you missed the most? >> my wife. my family. the food obviously and my home. bill: just about everything. martha: how cute are they? bill: the troops are part of the last fighting force to leave iraq. thank you for your service and welcome home. martha: even royalty has to deal with going back to work. at least that is the case for prince harry who says he

will return to the front lines in afghanistan. this is something he has been wanting to do. 27 years old. he has been training out west in the u.s. a month or some he is third in line in the for the throne. he is training for combat in the united states. he is back in the u.k. awaiting his orders for his next tour of duty. we wish him well. all right, coming up tomorrow we'll have part two of my interview with chris christie and his wife, mary pat. we'll talk about how they work together as a team and the big question for them right now many would say, is he interested in the vice presidency and would she be on board with that? she was very instrumental in their decision-making process about the presidency. we'll show you what she says. bill: they're a cool couple we could tell from the interview. you also talked to them about the weekend they spent making a final decision whether or not he would get in the race for 201 or not. martha: agonizing decision for them, is how they put

it. bill: look forward to that for tomorrow. have a great wednesday. martha: have a great wednesday. we're going on the radio with kilmeade. "happening now" is right now. jon: martha and bill, we'll see you tomorrow. there are brand new developments in the gop race for the white house. good morning to you. i'm jon scott. >> every day there seems to be a new development. that is the way it will be until well, november. we should get used to it. hello, everybody, i'm jenna lee. two weeks to the iowa caucus. the first for the presidential race. newt gingrich seems to take a hit when it comes to the polls in iowa, losing the clear frontrunner status as he becomes the focus of what some are calling a relentless drum beat of negative ads in iowa.