did hunter biden just call the republican's bluff. the president's son agrees to testify to congress but under one condition. trending in america's crime crisis this so-called crash and grab robbery. we will show you what that is all about. and growing concerns over a new respiratory virus from china. is this deja vu all over again? ♪ but, first, breaking tonight, as another group of hostages is released by hamas, we are learning some of the remaining captives are no longer in hamas custody. the israeli defense forces say some hostages are being held by other terror groups, making them harder to find. this comes as the truce is interrupted by sporadic violence. correspondent nate foy is in northern israel to begin our coverage tonight. hi, nate. nate: good evening, john. tonight 12 hostages back in israel and finally reuniting with their families after just going through absolute hell in hamas captivity for 53 straight days. for a moment today it appeared that the possible exchange between prisoners and hostages may not happen because of violence in the northern gaza strip. watch here. >> israel and hamas accusing each other of violating the temporary cease-fire agreement. three explosions in the northern gaza strip injured several israeli soldiers. and led to a gun fight with hamas. the first exchange of fire in five days. despite the short-lived fighting, the cease-fire extension runs through tomorrow. and the violence didn't stop a fifth consecutive prisoner hostage exchange. 0 israelis and two foreign nationals left gaza today's. in exchange for 30 palestinian prisoners. but more than 140 israeli hostages remain in gaza, including 10-month-old baby bee bass and his 4-year-old brother are aial. taken into gaza with their mother by hamas terrorists who handed them over to a different terrorist group. according to the idf. hamas also took this woman's daughter after murdering her son 53 days ago i'm asking from you, president biden to help me. i'm really begging you to bring him back home. >> in qatar today bill burns discussed a possible larger hostage deal. this as the first of three u.s. military planes carrying humanitarian relief bound for gaza landed in egypt. while israel anticipates a larger conflict on the northern front. >> we will ensure that the residents of the north return to a different, better and most stable security reality. john, two of the 10 israeli hostages released by hamas today include a mother and her 17-year-old daughter. you see them here. the daughter was seen holding the family's dog flanked by hamas terrorists during the exchange with the red cross. the temporary pause in the fighting is set to expire after tomorrow and the israeli war cabinet is meeting tonight. john? >> john: some good news for 10 people and their family tonight. nate foy for us in israel. thank you. the biden administration is telling israel it must be more precise in its military action in southern gaza. the u.s. is warning against what is called significant further displacement of palestinian civilians. we get more tonight from white house correspondent peter doocy. he is on the north lawn. good evening, peter. >> john, good evening. officials traveling on board air force one with president biden just told reporters that tomorrow is another day. they are hopeful that is when two american women will be released from captivity. that is something that did not happen today. first families, republican and democratic represented at rosalynn carter's funeral and a sign of national unity as democrats back in d.c. deal with a cease-fire that's about to expire. >> it is clear that democrats stand behind the principle that hamas is evil. >> but that's where the agreement ends, some now want to attach strings to israel's aid. >> look, we are friends of israel but israel cannot disregard international law. >> not all democrats support that. >> i would oppose conditions that, in effect straight jacket the israeli government. >> other democrats say this is semantics. >> the conditions language i think is a little bit of a red herring. we don't do budget bills and just do blank checks. >> white house officials are pressuring israel to plan future military operations in a way that displaces fewer civilians in gaza. >> they're feeling pressure from the progressive left. that's why you are seeing this effort to take the temporary cease-fire and extend it. >> peter: conditions or not, aid to israel and aid to ukraine could soon dry up. >> i called the president last tweak make sure he understood that there wouldn't be a bill without a credible effort to get on top of our disastrous southern border situation. >> let the deal making begin. republicans want to tie border security funding to money to ukraine. and some democrats want to tie strict red tape to money for israel. if that winds up being the package congress sends over, president biden has a big decision to make, sign it or veto it. john? >> john: we will talk more about that with the panel a little later in the program. meantime, peter, crisis narrowly averted earlier today on the ellipse south of the white house? >> peter: john, we actually had some live pictures from the south lawn of a 40-foot tree, christmas tree. the national christmas tree. it's being held up right now by a crane. it was toppled by a big gust of wind. but, as it turns out, the folks running the national park service are giving us a statement that he sounds like something -- somebody running a broadway show would say. they told us the show must go on. so they are set for president biden to go and turn the lights back on thursday. >> john: all right. not often a fully decorated christmas tree falls over unless it was somebody's cats that pulled it down. >> peter: commander biden we don't believe is in the vicinity tonight. john? >> >> john: thank goodness for that peter doocy on the north lawn. peter, thank you. the biden administration is considering designating the houthi rebels as a terrorist organization. the president removed the group from that list, you'll remember, less than a month into his term. our chief national security correspondent jennifer griffin at the pentagon tonight. >> the u.s. military is long familiar with the threat yemen's houthi's pose. back in 2016 the. ss mason came under fire from the rebel's cruise missiles and launched a missile in defense. it was the first time a u.s. warship has fired an sm 2 missile in combat. enough to the biden administration is weighing whether to redesignate the houthi's a terrorist organization. a move that would impose severe financial restrictions. >> we have done a review of potential terrorist designations. >> last week the houthis seized israeli linked cargo ship in the red sea taking 25 crew members hostage. just this month alone hewitty's rebels fired two ballistic missiles that landed within 10 nautical miles of the uss mason. shot down $32 million american mq 9 reaper drone and launched a drone toward the u.s. navy's thomas hudner. the trump administration designated the houthi's a terrorist organization the day before trump left office. a month later, under pressure from the u.n., the biden administration removed the houthi's from the designated terrorist list. secretary of state antoni blinken said at the time the move was to help ease a humanitarian crisis in yemen. a shiite movement that receives money and weapons from iran, the houthi's began fighting yemen's sunni majority government in 2004. a reaction to saudi arabia's financial and religious influence. >> today we learned an iranian surveillance drone flew near the uss eisenhower in the persian gulf. a u.s. official tells us the ike was in international waters. the iranian drone ignored multiple warnings. the pentagon called the interaction unsafe and unprofessional. john? >> john: jennifer griffin for us at the pentagon. thanks. stocks were you present today. the dow gained 84. the s&p 5 finished ahead 4. the nasdaq 91. hunter biden is offering to testify before the house oversight committee in bid december. the president's son has agreed to comply with the subpoena but he has one condition. correspondent david spunt is at the justice department to tell us what that condition is. >> david: hunter biden and his legal team upping the ante and appearing to call house republican's bluff telling house oversight chairman james comer he is ready to testify in public on camera for millions to see. attorney abbe lowell writing we have seen you in closed door decision session toes manipulate, distort the facts and misup form the public. we therefore propose opening the door. but comer's original subpoena for hunter biden is for a closed door transcribed interview as part of the ongoing impeachment inquiry into the president. the inquiry focuses on the biden family's business dealings. local chastised comer and his republican colleagues writing your fishing expedition has become captain ahab chasing the great while whale. comer fired back writing hunter biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else. that won't stand with house republicans. our lawfully issued subpoena to hunter biden requires him to appear for a deposition on december 13th. comer ads hunter biden should be able to testify in public at a future date in addition to the closed door testimony. hunter's lawyers say he will only appear in public. no negotiation. >> from their perspective, they want to have a chance to tell their side of the story. they, for better or for worse, want to have hunter biden to kind of have his public day in court as it were. and look in the camera and explain, you know, why he didn't do anything wrong or why his father wasn't involved. >> hunter biden's attorney says the first son looks forward to testifying in public on decembe. john, remember, hunter biden already facing federal gun charges right now by special counsel david weiss. that's moving forward to trial and he may face charges in california for tax issues. if that happens, that may pump the brakes on any congressional it testimony. we will follow it, john. >> john: more on this with the panel later on. david spunt, thank you. up next a memorial service for former first lady rosalynn carter. later, new concerns over a surge of respiratory illness in china. first, here's what some of our fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight. fox carolina in greenville. as former attorney alec murdaugh is sentenced to 27 years in prison, after agreeing to plead guilty to stealing millions of dollars from law clients. murdaugh is already serving two life sentences for the murders of his wife maggie and son paul. and here's a live look at miami from wsvn. one of the big stories there tonight, the world's biggest cruise ship is now in the hands of its new owner royal caribbean has accepted delivery of the 1200-foot icon of the seas. the 20 deck ship was officially handed over to the crews company in finland. its inaugural voyage is scheduled to depart from miami on january the 2 #th. that's tonight's live look outside the beltway from "special report." we will be right back. ♪ ♪ i'm on my way ♪ and i'm making it ♪ i got to make it show, yeah ♪ ♪ can we get real clear about life with psoriasis? yeah, i'm ready. is your treatment leaving you with uncontrolled symptoms? like the cover-it-ups and brush-it-offs? enough with good enoughs. don't stay hiding or hurting. ♪ when your lotions and creams don't do enough to help treat the inflammation beneath the skin, causing plaques and pain, it's time to get real about psoriasis, so, your dermatologist can help you get clear. make the appointment and ask about real clear skin. lactaid is 100% real milk, just without the lactose. delicious too. just ask my old friend, kevin. nothing like enjoying a cold one while watching the game. who's winning? we are, my friend. we are. i suffer with psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis. i was on a journey for a really long time to find some relief. cosentyx works for me. cosentyx helps real people get real relief from the symptoms of psoriatic arthritis or psoriasis. serious allergic reactions, severe skin reactions that look like eczema, and an increased risk of infections, some fatal, have occurred. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to or if ibd symptoms develop or worsen. i move so much better because of cosentyx. ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. (car engine revs) (engine accelerating) (texting clicks) (tires squeal) (glass shattering) (loose gravel clanking) >> john: a memorial service was held today in atlanta for former first lady rosalynn carter. her husband 99-year-old former president jimmy carter led the mourners. president biden and his wife were in attendance. correspondent steve harrigan reports tonight from atlanta. ♪ o beautiful ♪ for spacious. >> they came to remember and honor rosalynn carter who died last week at age 96. >> rosalynn carter would be so pleased to see that she brought all of you together on this day. [laughter] [applause] >> president biden, the vice president, and all five living first ladies. dr. jill biden, melania trump, michelle obama, laura bush and hillary clinton as well as former president bill clinton. >> former president jimmy carter, age 99, who has been in hospice care for several months, also attended the service at elm more university in atlanta but did not speak. the two were married 77 years. >> my mom spent most of her life in love with my dad. >> president carter said rosalynn was his equal partner in everything he achieved. she reshaped the role of first lady. attending cabinet meetings, advising her husband, and going out alone on the campaign trail. family members emphasized her care for the weak and her adventurous spirit. >> my mother was the glue that held our family together through the ups and downs and things and thins of our family's politics. i will always love my mother. i will cherish how she and dad raised her children. >> thousands came out to see the motorcade and pay their respects. a private funeral will be held tomorrow in plains. john? amazon john it was a lovely ceremony today. steve harrigan in atlanta. thank you. a court in moscow has extended the detention of "wall street journal" reporter evan gershkovich until january the 30th. he was arrested, you will remember, on espionage charges back in march. he has denied the allegations. today's hearing took place behind closed doors because russian authorities claim details of the criminal case against the american journalist are classified. well, this may sound familiar. a recent surge in respiratory illnesses in china. it's got the world health organization concerned. but just how concerned should you be? correspondent matt finn has the latest on that tonight from london. >> the world health organization made what's considered an unusual move, publicly requesting china provide clinical data about an alarming spike of respiratory illnesses in china, primarily among children. the w.h.o. says china provided that data, which it claims shows the outbreak appears to be an overlap of common viruses like the flu and rsv. the health agency says it's not conclusive, writing there is limited detailed information available to fully characterize the overall risk of these reported cases. however, due to the arrival of the winter season, the increasing trend in respiratory illnesses is expected. >> a reported 7,000 patients were admitted to saying gel children's hospital in beijing. and the reported 13,000 at that time another. personally i don't think it's a big deal because this happens every year. but this year seems particularly severe sooner. >> the w.h.o. says a strain of bacteria called mycoplasma pneumonia combined with respiratory illness might be to blame. the china blames the outbreak in part on potential immunity gap after recently lifting years' long covid lockdowns, the w.h.o. says most countries added lockdowns inside their spike as year or go ago. despite skepticism china insists the country is safe. >> i would like to tell you that it is safe to travel and do business in china. and there is no need to worry. >> and senior health officials here in london say it's just too soon to confirm what's going on in china and today the cdc told us it is monitoring this situation but did not indicate there is any impact right now on the united states. john? >> john: we will keep an eye on it because we have heard that before. matt finn for us in london, matt, thank you. up next a violent new trend in robberies. part of america's crime crisis. first, beyond our borders tonight. nato foreign ministers meet in brussels to discuss support for ukraine. the session comes as both the u.s. and european union struggle to agree on further military aid. the $60 billion aid package proposed by the biden administration is in limbo due to opposition from some republicans in congress. all 41 construction workers trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel in northern india for more than two weeks are safe tonight. they were rescued today. the men were trapped when a landslide caused the collapse of a tunnel in which they were working. they survived on food and oxygen supplied through narrow steel pipes. in saudi arabia's capitol of reaudit about host the 2030 world expo following a closed door vote near paris earlier today. riyadh beat out, rather, the south korean city of busan and rome for an event expected to draw millions of visitors. just some of the other stories beyondour borders tonight. we'll be right back. ♪ i can change the world ♪ 18 years from tonight, grant gill will become a legend. when he totally kills it at his improv class's graduation performance. knees will be slapped. suds will be sprayed. people won't know what hurts more: their cheeks, or their sides. that's why he's already keeping himself in-shape and razor sharp today with health tips and wellness tools from aarp. to help make sure his health lives as long as he does. because the younger you are, the more you need aarp. [city ambience sounds] [car screech] [car door slam] [camera shutter sfx] introducing ned's plaque psoriasis. [camera shutter sfx] he thinks his flaky, red patches are all people see. otezla is the #1 prescribed pill to treat plaque psoriasis. [ned?] it can help you get clearer skin and reduce itching and flaking. with no routine blood tests required. doctors have been prescribing it for nearly a decade. otezla is also approved to treat psoriatic arthritis. don't use otezla if you're allergic to it. serious allergic reactions can happen. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. some people taking otezla had depression, suicidal thoughts, or weight loss. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. [crowd gasp] ♪ with clearer skin, movie night is a groovy night. [ting] ♪ live in the moment. ask your doctor about otezla. the chase ink business premier card is made for people like sam, who make- everyday products, designed smarter. like a smart coffee grinder, that orders fresh beans for you. oh, genius! for more breakthroughs like that- i need a breakthrough card. like ours! with 2.5% cash back on purchases of $5,000 or more. plus unlimited 2% cash back on all other purchases. and with greater spending potential, sam can keep making smart ideas- a brilliant reality! the ink busissred from chase for business. make more of what's yours. i'm andrea, and this is why i switched to shopify. it gave me so much peace of mind. if we make a change, my site's not going to go down. and just knowing that i have a platform that we can rely on, that is gold to us. start your free trial today. harry and david is small batch, gourmet, and delicious. so of course, they run out fast. whether you want to say thank you, i love you, or just happy holidays. send something special, beautiful, and delicious. order your harry and david favorites now before they're gone. ♪ >> john: influential and deep pocketed conservative group americans for prosperity is endorsing nikki haley for the republican president nomination. the network founded by the koch brothers is vowing to spend millions of dollars to move the g.o.p. past former president trump. the pac aligned with president trump blasted the announcement saying americans for prosperity has already lit millions of dollars on fire this primary only to watch president donald trump's lead grow. progressive public policy advocacy group move on held a rally today calling for the expulsion of new york republican representative george santos. that comes as two house democrats are trying to force a vote to expel the embattled congressman. what is called asolution requirn the matter within two legislative days. the motion needs a two thirds majority in the house to pass. santos has been engulfed in scandals since since his 2022 election. this afternoon his fellow republicans want him resign because they don't want to take a vote sets precedent to own demise in the future. >> john: there is a dangerous new trend in america's crime crisis. it's called crash and grab. fox business correspondent kelly is i berry is in chicago tonight to tell us about it. good evening, kelly. >> good evening, yeah. this store behind me fell village to smash and grab where burglars smashed through windows on or about the front door to take whatever they can whether it be cash or goods to resell new that has violent way to steel things they were not only robbed but vandalized and destroyed. these thieves steal cars, ram them into the stores and leave the stolen car running while they run off with goods to resale. some are encouraging others to do the same thing on social media. challenging people to steal cars. even showing them how it's done. according to a recent report. nonresidential burglaries jumped about 5% nationwide while motor vehicle thefts increase 104% comparing the first half of 2023 to pre-pandemic levels. in the suburbs of st. louis, a group of teenagers drove a stolen car into a gun shop, stealing almost $30,000 worth of guns and leaving behind $200,000 worth of damage forcing the store to close for five weeks for repairs. the store's general manager tells us they were able to bounce back shortly after that. but other smaller businesses aren't as lucky. >> i think we are fortunate we are a larger gun store. i don't think the average business can necessarily afford the high premiums that come with that. >> another major cost it these businesses is adding security measures such as security guards or steel barriers in order for cars to not be able to drive and ram into them in order to steal things. those can cost up to $10,000 apiece. back to you. >> it keeps going from bad to worse there in the windy city. kelly sebari for us. welcome to the fox news family. good to have you with us. >> thank you. >> john: thousands of car dealers are calling on president biden to pump the regenerative brakes on his electric vehicle regulations. in letter, more than 3,000 dealerships from across the country say enthusiasm for evs had stalled and president biden's goal to s shift to a majority of electric vehicles in less than 10 years is just too ambitious. it comes as a growing number of manufactures announces cuts for production output. bret baier has a look at how far the demand for electric vehicles is falling short of a record supply. >> bret: thanks, john. electric democratic vehicle sales have risen significantly over the years and that trend is expected to continue. the market on track to surpass 1 million sales for the first time ever this jeer; however, those numbers are not meeting manufacturer's expectations. tonight we look at why several companies are readjusting their targets and slowing down production. despite the rise in electric vehicles on the road. >> major auto companies are preparing for a 50% of future sales to be electric vehicles by 2030. 100 percent by 2035. >> bret: electric trek vehicles made unjust under 1% of all vehicle registration unless 2022 far from president biden's goal. but, when looking at registrations over the past five years, the number of evs on the road has increased significantly. since 2017, registrations in the u.s. have grown by nearly 547%. more electric vehicles are being sold now than ever before. however, automakers have also said they are scaling back on not only the production but the sale of electric vehicles at least in the short-term. they have a lot of stock. why do you think this is happening? >> the first buyers, the early adopters, the 1 percenters are only so much of the market. for the rest of us it's asking an awful lot of us to pay more to drive shortage distances and have longer fueling times. >> bret: ford says it's postponing $12 billion in planned spending on electric vehicle production. it's also pausing construction at a kentucky battery factory and slowing production of its f-150 lightning pickup jim farln "special report" in september his company will continue tod ec vehicles. >> what happens the deal with evs and how do you seertt to tas today because electric vehicles for certain customers who don't travel long distances use it more commuting atmosphere that are wealthier. we're going to offer customers a choice. >> general motors is delaying the release of its chevrolet silverado and g.m.c. sierra electric pickup trucks by one year. tesla is also holding off on production of its planned factory in mexico. >> there's a lot of oversupply right now. consumers have more options. >> did the administration set the bar too high? >> they were so aggressive on this. they are way, way out over their skis. when you can't even not only force the public, you can't even bribe the public with $7,500 to buy. it's a good product. they will get there, eventually. >> bret: the inflation reduction act created a $7,500 clean vehicle tax credit for new vehicles; however, that often does not make up for the price difference between evs and gas-powered cars. "u.s. news and world report" list cheviy's volt euv as the most affordable electric car with the price tag of $27,800. that's nearly $12,000 more than the most affordable new gas car, the nissan versa. >> do you think there will be more government effort to level the playing field or how does that happen? >> the price premium still exists in spite of that tax credit. so, when you have higher price for mobility, what you're going to see are really two things. slower uptake by price sensitive drivers, which i think we are seeing. and also longer retention of existing cars, which means old gas guzzlers stayed on the road longer and potentially polluting more. >> bret: federal government offers credit for used electric cars of up to $4,000. details on who qualifies are listed in the irs website. some states offer incentives as well. >> i think incentives are key. but i also think that the industry will need to continue to build and create models that are in that, you know, under 30,000,. >> bret: aaa stems cheaper 15,000 miles worth of electricity cost an average of $546. while gasoline costs around 130% more. more than $1,200. annual maintenance for an ev is estimated to be about $300 less than a gas powered car. adding to the competition to shift away from gas, registrations of hybrid vehicles have also increased over the years. now making up 2% of the market share. is there a sense that electric cars have slowed now and that automakers are realizing that the market is not what it was? or they thought it was? >> it seems very likely that the united states is going to electrify its transportation substantially but maybe not as soon as hoped. there's a lot more of you was who care about our turn signals than our virtue signals. >> bret: worldwide 10% of cars sold last year were electric vehicles. the country with the highest share was nor way with evs making up 80% of the car sales. iceland, sweden, netherlands and china round out the top five. only 6% of vehicles sold in the united states last year were electric. we'll send it back to you. >> john: eye opening report. bret, thank you. up next the panel as the biden administration warns israel it must make some changes in its war with hamas. and later and later hunter biden says he is ready to go public but house republicans aren't so eager to see that. ♪ liberty mutual customized my car insurance and i saved hundreds. with the money i saved, i started a dog walking business. i was a bit nervous at first but then i figured it's just walking, right? [dog barks] oh. no it's just a bunny! calm down taco. sit duchess. stop! sesame no no. archie! walter don't, no, ahhhh. ahhhhh! you're lucky you're so cute. only pay for what you need. ♪liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty.♪ (♪) entresto is the #1 heart failure brand prescribed by cardiologists. it was proven superior at helping people stay alive and out of the hospital. don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto for heart failure. ♪ ♪ ♪ we're building a better postal service. for more on-time deliveries. and easier, affordable ways to ship. so you can deliver even more holiday joy. the united states postal service. delivering for america. (christina) with verizon business unlimited, i get 5g, truly unlimited data, and unlimited hotspot data. so, no matter what, i'm running this kitchen. (vo) make the switch. it's your business. it's your verizon. ♪ >> the level of civilian harm inside gaza has been unacceptable and is unsustainable. we regularly condition our aid to allies based upon compliance with u.s. law and international law. >> i don't think we should second guess them or timelines or parameters. >> the biden administration needs to stand strong with israel. >> heard colleagues talk about israel aid is that something you think should happen. >> i don't think it's necessary. >> if senate democrats want to vote to tie the hands of israeli soldier i welcome such a debate. >> debate raising in congress conditions how it wages war. bring in our panel for more on this. charlie hurt opinion editor for "the washington times." ben domenech editor-at-large for the spectator and the host of the ben domenech podcast on fox news radio and axios reporter stef kight. stef, let's start with you good or bad idea to attach conditions for future aid to israel. >> we are certainly hearing a lot of different opinions on that question right now even within the democratic party. we are obviously seeing increasingly democrat express frustration for the way the president has been handling this issue and wanting to see biden continue to put even more pressure on israel to limit the civilian casualties that we have been seeing of palestinians in gaza and of course we are hearing from some democrats who think that there should be conditions that it is only fair. we have done it before and we can do that again and that it's important to limit the civilian casualties. that's not something that every democrat is even agreeing on right now there are some who are saying no, you know, we need to allow israel to do what it needs to do. so, it's very interesting to see how this is playing out and whether we will see biden kind of take a stance ton. this. >> john: yeah. he seems to be trying to play the middle for the most part. ben, here is the way the "wall street journal" editorial board saw. this during war time it would signal to israel's enemies that the u.s. has gone wobbly on the campaign to destroy hamas there are already concerns that the biden administration is backing off its support for israel. >> look, the biden administration is stuck in a very difficult situation right here. because they have publicly said a lot of things that israelis feel very good about and that people who support israel here in america feel very good about. but, behind the scenes, there's a lot going on both with secretary blinken and everybody else that suggest that they're micromanaging this conflict to a greater degree than has been publicly made clear. in addition, democrats here at home are caught between younger voters within their coalition, who are very skeptic of israel's activity. outright oppose. we see what is happening on campuses across the country. we have seen the decline of faith in the biden administration because of this directly. and i think that a lot of these members are responding to that but, when people like john fetterman are saying we're not going to put any kind of restrictions on this. i don't think that the biden administration and the white house really wants to go down the road of finding -- of managing this i-micromanaging it in a public way. >> john: earlier today talking with john of the idf who insisted at some point after this hostage drama plays out, israel is going back to kinetic military operations. listen to what he said. >> as soon as we will get the green light from the government of the state of israel to continue operations, we will do so. because we understand that there is a direct link between ground operations and pressure on hamas and their willingness to hand over the hostages. and we are ready and equipped to do so. every day that the israeli hostages are returned is great. but we are preparing for the next stage of operations. i don't know john already the white house is saying if you are going to start going into southern gaza on the ground we need to know what the plan is going to be. international pressure is growing on israel to make this cease-fire permanent. >> i think this is the problem that the democrats find themselves in where if you are going to allot the money, you really -- you're probably not the best ones to be micromanaging the effort, it's a wild situation we find ourselves. in where you have these hostages being released which is a good thing they are being released by the people took. they your heart goes out to these families because obviously you want every single hostage to be released that doesn't nullify what these people did to take the hostages. i get the biden administration wants to play both sides of this. it's not going to work out for them. to stand way back and look at the big picture here. what we're looking at situation requesting to continue if they get what they want this is what happens when you have an administration that creates a marketplace for hostages. >> you get hostages. >> john: charlie makes a good point hamas they are trying to play this for all the pr value they can. look how good we are we are releasing the babies and the children and the grandmothers that we brutally took from southern israel. but, at the same time, if you are biden and you are trying to play both sides of this, you might just end up ticking off both sides. >> we are already seeing him take heat from both sides in his party. being seem concerned he started to take a more measured approach to the way he talks about israel publicly and that's frustrated some people. we have seen, of course, young voters and more progressive wing of his party come out in criticism for biden's initial, you know, very strong defense of israel following the october 7th attack. is he having to navigate this politically and it is a precarious situation. then there is just the fact that he is going to do what it takes to release hostages. these things are precarious they are pleased with how things have gone so far. i know my colleague has been reporting on the fact that are top officials meeting now discussing potentially moving this pause even forward additional days. you know, hoping to again, secure the release of additional hostages. >> a pause that goes on for days and days has typically been momentum toward a permanent cease-fire which would leave hamas in control of gaza. >> absolutely unacceptable there should be no kind of preconditions set on this funding until hamas is destroyed until israel has achieved its aim and as much as they want to benefit from releasing these hostages all it is a reminder of well, you know, we took really good care of the babies and children and daughters of yours that we didn't murder and rape. i just don't think -- great gold star for you, hamas. >> john: quick final thought? 10 seconds? >> the most shocking part of all of this we don't even know where a lot of these hostages are now because they are trading them. it's not just hostage-taking it's slavery, basically. >> john: yeah, it really is quite incredible that hamas may not know where all of them are. coming up next. hunter biden says he is ready to testify before congress. under one condition. and later, a watermelon in the sky? stay with us for that. is all about presents and shopping and cookies and trees. but we know christmas isn't about something you buy at a store. it's about something so much greater. it is the day we celebrate the incredible truth that god so loved the world that he gave his only son. it's not about presents. it's about jesus. join me this advent in praying every day on hallow. cut through the noise and find god's peace. directv sports central brings your games, stats and scores together... and now you can get it without a satellite. one more reason to finally get rid of cable. but getting rid of the cable guy might not be as easy. oh yeah, touchback! visit directv.com for up to a $400 reward card. for the better part of the century, harry and david has been making gourmet gifts that bring people together. to share traditions and make new memories. to bring us all closer, even when we're apart. no matter when and no matter where, life is a gift best shared. harry & david. life is a gift. share more. >> we want to know what these companies were and what the bidens did to receive the millions and millions of dollars from our enemies around the world. >> hunter biden doing nothing other than selling the family name is obviously corrupt. i don't think he will ever have enough evidence for the media to credit him corrupt. but i hope during the american public makes that verdict. >> john: all right. so republicans in congress wanted to haul hunter biden before congress with a subpoena for a closed door interview with the house oversight committee and we're back with our panel. ben domenech. abbe lowell, his attorney flipping the old adage thinking the best defense is a good offense offering to bring hunter biden before congress. but, with one condition. that this all be out in public view. abbe lowell sending a letter writings if as you claim your efforts involve issues that americans should know about. then let the light shine on these proceedings. mr. biden will appear at such a public hearing on the date you noticed, december 1st. or any date in december that we can arrange. abbe lowell here making an attempt to call comer's bluff. >> abbe lowell is a very tough attorney and obviously someone who has completely changed hunter biden's strategy sometimes at odds with the white house and many other democrats would actually like him to do. and this is an attempt, obviously, to turn this into the kind of capitol hill circus that we have seen in the past when it comes to these public hearings. but, the oversight committee is actually using the same approach was used frankly under democrats when they were impeaching donald trump the first time around. you come have an interview behind the scenes and then we decide afterwards if we want to call new public and follow up on a lot of the different things that you told us behind the scenes in that interview. they don't want to treat hunter biden any differently than they are anybody else under this inquiry. obviously they have been doing that same approach with the other people including the irs whistleblowers. and think they are going to continue to pursue that but i do believe that eventually hunter biden will be on camera, will be in that circus. and i think that he believes and abbe lowell believes that he can do a very good job in that situation which is why they are teeing it up at this point. >> john: so it appears, charlie, as if comer is going to reject this offer. hunter biden is trying it play by his own rules. required by everybody else. that won't stand with house republicans. our lawfully issued subpoena to hunter biden requires him to appear for a deposition on december the 1st. so, as ben says he wants to like everybody else haul behind closed doors and find out what he knows. >> does seem like a game of legal chicken but political chicken because, you know, obviously, abbe lowell works for his client, which is hunter biden, not president biden, but, of course, everything that the committee wants to know about has nothing to do with hunter biden really. what they are trying to get to the bottom of is what is, you know, the culpability of the president in all of this? i think that part of it is, you know, abbe lowell looks at this and realizes that okay, the laptop is out there. there's not anything anybody in america hasn't seen or doesn't know about what -- unfortunately about what hunter biden has been doing for the last five or six years. so -- you know, the calculation is that we could do this -- we could sort of beat them to the punch, you know, turn it into a circus and tried to make it all look ridiculous. of the problem is that house republicans have built a tremendous case and have a lot of evidence of tremendous wrongdoing at the highest levels of the white house. >> john: they haven't yet tied it to biden. >> they are not going to be able to undo that. >> john: stef, how does this look in the court of public opinion. comer wants to get him in front of the house. abby access great and come member says no. >> it will be interesting to see whether we see kolmer nuances this and say we will keep him behind closed doors to combine with. >> john: he said that but promising you maybe a public display further on down the road it. seems like that door is still open and still a possibility that we would hear from hunter publicly in some face. but it is typical maybe start with behind closed doors. again, it's another indication of how hunter's legal team has really decided to go on offense here and take a more aggressive approach and whether it's trying to subpoena the former president and giuliani and all these things they have done over the past several months. it's clear they are done just trying to stay quiet on this and they are trying to meet these accusations head on that republicans have been bringing. >> john: i know there are a lot of us that would like to hear what. folks, good to see you. thanks for being with us. appreciate it. ♪ finally tonight, a special day of vibrant watermelon aurora, never heard of that one, have you. illuminated in the sky over fairbanks, alaska, happened on sunday, the video was recorded by recover from vincent, it shows the colorful aurora dancing above the treetops. reaction to the earth's atmosphere solar wind and storms. did we really need that scientific explanation couldn't we just appreciate its view? tomorrow on "special report" an exclusive first look at reagan national defense survey ahead of the national defense forum at the presidential lie brearl and museum in california. remember, if you can't catch us live, set your dvr 6:00 eastern, 3:00 p.m. in the west coast. thanks for watching. i'm john roberts in washington. "the ingraham angle" is next. ♪ ♪ >> laura: hi, everyone