virginia's lawsuit, just one of more than a dozen challenging the overhaul. we will bring you that ruling as soon as it comes down, that's coming up in minutes. first, though, is the economic gloom and doom over, economists with the new year's forecast, we've been all waiting for, will we see the market jump today good morning, i'm bill hemmer, martha is off today. how you doing, arthel? >> arthel: doing well, bill! bill: shaping the news for us. don't let us down. arthel: i'll try not to, a "wall street journal" survey revealing a major shift in the economy. bill: stuart varney is with fox business network. for 2 1/2 years, he has been mr. gloom and doom himself. are you that way today, sir? >> no, i'm not. i bring you three items of why it's called very good news for the outlook, number one, the "wall street journal" has a survey of all these economists, all are saying the pace of economic growth is going to be picking up from now, way into next year, but the real drama is the big money people like pimco, for example, that's a bond trading firm with 1 1/2 trillion dollars up there, they say we're going to have 3 1/2% growth next year, morgan stanley says the same thing, goldman sachs, the same thing. they're all looking at a stronger economy in 20 # one. a complete reversal of what we've seen for the last three years. bill: let's get to yt in all this. is this the natural flow of the cycle, or has something fundamentally changed? >> well, it you read the tea leaves, retail sales, that kind of indicator, they are beginning to pick up. then you've got the results of november's election, which suggested a change in economic policy, and a change in the politics of the country, private enterprise likes that, and they have more confidence restored and thirdly, you've got the tax deal, which is very likely to pass. meaning nobody's taxes go up on january 1st. that's a plus for the economy. bill: i can remember september 2008, you and me together. >> yeah, yeah. bill: those were low days. >> that was the panic of '08 and it got worse for the economy right after that, but this is a genuine turnaround, bill. bill: stuart, thank you. and coming from you! astonish -- >> astonishing is it not. bill: not only astonishing, i believe it. >> did you coin the expression gloom and doom stu? i like it! i think you did. arthel: very good. we are awaiting the first vote on the tax cut deal, set to take place today in the senate, the number two senate democrat, dick durbin, says a good crosssection of the party are ready to vote yes, it will extend tax cuts for all income earners. now, the package would also renew a program of jobless benefits for the long term unemployed, the house, though, divided on the deal, coming up, we're going to talk to a house republican about that upcoming vote. bill: in the meantime president obama may have likened the gop to a bunch of hostage takers in that debate over taxes but the republican house speaker designate john boehner saying he's looking forward to playing golf with the commander in chief, if he gets the chance, of course. here's john boehner on that. >> you play golf, the president plays golf, you've never played together, right? >> no. >> how come? >> i don't know. usually what happens is the president invites gliew and you're a much better golfer than he is, right? >> he understands that. >> and he hasn't invited you? >> i don't know. listen, playing golf with someone is a great way to really get to know someone. you start trying to hit that little white ball, you can't be somebody that you're not because all of you shows up. >> is this a hint? are you saying come on mr. president, let's get to know each other? >> we've talked about it a number of times. just hasn't happened yet. >> we are standing by for the tee time, america. last week americans worked out a deal with the white house to temporarily extend the bush-era tax cuts for all income earners. in a moment, sting king, a republican out of iowa, is not happy with this tax deal. we'll explain in minutes. arthel: we are awaiting a major announcement from rnc chair michael steele. there are reports that steele will not seek another term in the office, but anything can happen, of course. we're going to hear about that later today during a news conference call with rnc members. and critics are blasted steele for being, quote, gas-prone and for prolarrizing the republican party. if he designs to resign a new chairman will be selected at the national party's meeting in january. bill: new details coming in now, in a fox news alert, on a scary hostage matter at a preschool earlier today. this all just came to an end moments ago, in eastern france, in a small town there, where a 17-year-old, armed with swords, went into a nursery school and took about 20 small children and their teacher hostage. the city's mayor says at one point the teen released five of the children and eight others to essentially escape. all the children and the teacher have now been released and the teenage hostage taker, in police custody, eastern france, breaking news. arthel: and of course, everybody is watching the weather, a blizzard, hammering the upper midwest, stretching from north dakota to the great lakes. the form is burying the region in snow, causing major havoc, snow falling up to 2 feet in some areas, 2 feet of snow, the storm bringing transportation to a standstill, of course, closing major highways, forcing the cancellation of more than 1600 flights in chicago. i think o'hare is an outright nightmare right now. as the snow piles up, and a new blast of frigid air is taking hold of the region, janice dean, the weather machine, has been tracking all of this. all right, janice, a lot of snow. how much snow has fallen in the twin cities so far? >> reporter: record breaking snow. i'm glad you asked. i have my sheet ready for you. twin cities, over 17 inches at the airport this weekend, 22 inches in the southwestern metro area, saturday was the snowiest december day on record in the twin cities, the fifth greatest snowstorm of all time, dating back to the 1800s! you can see folks are trying to dig out with whatever they've got. not a good idea to try and travel in this, unfortunately. and you know what? we have another winter storm that's going to start brewing this week, and could bring the midwest more snow totals, and even the northeast, we could actually have a white christmas. that's a little tease. we have to fine tune our forecast. but let's take a look at where the storm is right now. i also want to make mention the northwest is dealing with incredible flooding, seattle, portland, they are sandbagging right now because they've got a lot of moisture from the atlantic, so both coasts are feeling storms. let's look at the worst of the storm system as it continues to move eastward, lake effect snow machine is going to be up an running, ontario, erie, snow flying as far as the ohio river valley towards the mid atlantic. a little too warm for a snow break across the coastal northeast but man, as this storm exits, the cold air express is on its way, the coldest air of the season, so florida, you thought it was bad last week? it's going to be worse overnight tonight and through the better part of the work week. winter storm advisories, again, towards the ohio valley, up towards the northeast, blowing snow, wind gusts in excess of 30 miles per hour, could be blizzard conditions, guys. winter is here. and look at the cold temperatures. are you ready? here's what -- this is current temperatures. minus 31 in international falls, minus six in minneapolis, real feel temperatures, with the wind, if you're not dressed appropriately, incredibly, incredibly cold, and guys, parts of florida, south florida, into the 20s overnight tonight. so winter is here! and it's not even officially winter on the calendar. arthel: exactly what i'm thinking. i'm looking at the numbers, saying those are actual numbers. i'm glad you cleared that up. that's not how it feels, this is the way it is. >> these are not the wind chills. people need to stay indoors and watch you guys on fox. arthel: i like the way you think! bill: bah humbug on the 13th of december. january, okay, but now? you want to see how bad it was, for minneapolis, minnesota yesterday, check out this amazing videotape. that's the metro dome, cameras rolling as the inflatable roof collapses. got about 17 inches of snow on top that thing, heavy snow bringing it down, the football field, unfit for play. that's remarkable. the nfl postponed the game between they and the vikings, they will play in detroit, ford field, should be fine there. we'll get a talk to the man in charge of the facilities at the metrodorm later. that's a tough storm, when minnesota gets snowed out for crying out loud! arthel: he says americanss want the health care law ripped out to the roots. we're going to talk to republican steve king who wants to repeal the law, and find out why he's not on board with the tax cut deal. bill: house designate john boehner says he will not compromise but does want common ground. how will the new head of the republican party in the house work with the head of the democrats, we wonder today. >> we wonder. all right, well, santa gets the boot in new york city. why he will not be greeting kids at a local ymca. >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ arthel: who are they going to replace the big guy with? >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ bill: so now, the tax cut showdown heading to the senate today, the deal facing a much harder sell in the house but watch what the senate does within hours. a leading democrat, meanwhile, telling fox's chris wallace it will pass. >> we're not going to hold this thing up at the end of the day but we do think that simple question should be put to the test. nobody can argue that -- >> so the question is the estate tax. >> simple question. >> but the question is, you said we're not going to hold this up at the end of the day. you're saying at the end of the day, you may want to vote on this but at the end of the day you're not going to hold this deal up over the difference on the estate tax. >> we're going to make sure that question is put to the test. bill: -- bill: republican steve king is with me now in new york, good morning to you. you are down there are all the marble around you on capitol hill, you are not necessarily on board this tax deal. why not? >> i lean no on this for a number of reasons but one thing that doesn't get talked about very much, a two-year extension on the tax brackets had been the law for 7-9 years, doesn't give smart capital enough time for a return on investment. if they had a return on investment of two years they already invested their money and got it out before the tax increases would kick in, so i don't think we get enough benefit ton and the keynesian component of paying people not to work makes it harder for entrepreneurs to build the economy. bill: your issue is it's not permanent. if it came to the froor of the -- floor of the house would you vote yes or no? >> today as i understand this i'm likely to be a no. i want to see the package out of the senate because they're hanging christmas tree ornaments on it now and it's going to be interesting to see what they do. it's unlikely they will fix this bill in the senate. bill: some are saying this is stimulus by another name, do you agree with that 1234. >> no. i agree if the stimulus bill stimulated then perhaps but i don't think it will stimulate it. there are billions of dollars wrapped up in this thing, for example, the 54, $56 billion in unemployment benefits, we've had 26 weeks has been the traditional unemployment, now it's out to 99, that's what came in under obama and nancy pelosi, so 54, $56 billion there, there's about $40 billion worth of earned income tax credits and other refundable credits that are a transfer of wealth, so we're approaching $100 billion in this bill that fit that category of put money out -- >> bill: but you think there are a lot of problems with this, the tax cuts not permanent, benefits extended for the unemployed is too much for you. >> uh-huh. bill: i hear you say it's not paid for ultimately. wasn't that what voters were saying about a month ago? >> seems like i'm pretty well in a sense with the voters. bill: we believe it's going to pass in the senate, reading the tea leaves in washington, then it comes to the house. knowing what you know did, based upon what your position is and the position of a lot of liberal democrats, would it pass? >> it looks unlikely. and here, nancy pelosi and the progressives in her caucus have said that they are a no and they won't bring the bill up and they voted no to the bring the bill up, so if they make changes that would tempt somebody like a jim mcdermott or somebody on the left, then likely they're going to lose the votes from the republicans when they do that. i think it's a very tough thing. bill: would they vote on it this week? that's the idea, the plan, you get out of town on a friday. >> let's bring this up, the 72 hour rule. we have 72 hours to evaluate obamacare, we don't know what the senate is going to do. let's hold this thing for 72 hours so the public and i have a chance to read it, then it would pass this week into next week and i think that would be the right thing to do, if republicans would take a stand. bill: could bump it up right against christmas eve. i'm sorry to push you on this but one of your big issues is you believe when john boehner has the gavel the first week of january, the number one issue on the table is repealing the health care law that was signed into law several months ago. that is something that we have heard from many republicans during the campaign, and since then, over the past month and a half. that is not an easy thing to do. how can you do it? >> the sequence of of this -- first, if we don't fix the tax brackets, i hope hr1 is fix the tax brackets but aside from that if we get over this hurdle this week or next then we address the repeal of obamacare, i believe, and i believe that leadership is consistent with me on this that we should bring a bill that's a clean repeal, a stand alone repeal of obamacare, send it to the senate and get them working on the repeal of obamacare. we know the president would veto that when it gets to his test but we need a test vote so we know people, where they stand and march through the appropriations bills, every one of them, putting language in them that prohibits the funds being appropriated to -- to be used to implement blscare. bill: that's the strategy, you would vet him to veto a piece of legislation, then after that veto goes through, you would make sure the funding for every element of obamacare, as you call it now, would not happen. >> yes. >> wow. >> and march this through 2011 and 2012, because if we are going to have a perpetual obama presidency it would probably be an exercise in few tilt but i believe we're going to elect a president in 2012 and he will come through iowa on his way to new hampshire and south carolina, that next president, whom i believe will receive a mandate to assign the repeal -- sign the repeal of obamacare and i'm hopeful we can do that, january 20th, 2013. bill: there are others who think this is a tall, tall mountain to climb. steve king, thank you for your time. we'll wait on the the tax vote, first of all, this week, and see where that goes. thank you. >> thank you bill. arthel: they're not just talking about that mountain in washington. it could change the became in the -- game in the battle over health care, talking about a ruling from a federal judge in virginia which we're waiting for on whether the new law is constitutional. we're going to be live in richmond on that story. and gambling on the high seas, why 600 people hope to get lucky, but they ended up going nowhere, fast. that's all coming up. bill: some more breaking news happening on this monday morning out of mississippi, the faa now reporting a plane has crashed in hancock county, one person, reportedly dead. according to the faa, the crash occurred earlier about 8 miles out of stenis international airport, in the far southern portion of the state. the cause of the crash, not known right now. investigators and emergency crews are now on the scene. it's chillier than it is for this time of year in southern mississippi now but whether or not weather had any role in this is something we cannot say. it's breaking news right now. back on that story when we get more. arthel: we're talking about this now, a run of bad luck on gambling boat in branson, missouri, the branson bell, running aground in strong winds and choppy water, the show boat stuck for more than 15 hours, stranding more than 600 passengers and crew members. everyone is off the boat now. they did try their best to keep their spirits up, and made the most of a very long night. >> we actually took the tablecloth off the table and wrapped it around us. >> my girlfriend was on her way in and she made it to the door when the back end hit and it shoved her into the door but we made it back inside but it was definitely a sobering experience. >> ci only imagine. arthel: an orchestra that had performed earlier played the summer show to pass the time during the ordeal. bill: winds hammering the midwest, snow bringing transportation to a standstill, closing major highways, forcing the cancellation of more than 1600 flights from chicago, as the know piles up and a new blast of frigid air is taking hold of that region. it's spreading really by the ur, and certainly, by the day. tom holden is live in minneapolis now. he's all bundle up. you know tom, we usually make a big deal out of the first storm of the year, but this is a big deal! and it's also the first big storm of the year. w's it going there this morning? >> reporter: people are digging out, literally. there is so much snow, about 20 inches, at least 17 inches, we're in downtown los angeles, technically sitting in the street. there's so much snow there, really nowhere to put it, trucking out of downtown, the minneapolis schools are closed because of this cold air. right know, wind chill, between 20 and 30 below. most people have to go to work. this is our biggest snowfall of the year, fifth biggest blizzard on record, so everything was shut down, just about the entire weekend. unfortunately for most people, everything is cleaned up or getting cleaned up and back on track in time to go back to work. >> : >> is everything paralyzed or just the planes and the roads there? >> it was. ah, it was. absolutely. >> reporter: the entire state of minnesota was shut down between saturday rning and sunday morning. they canceled all the flights at minneapolis saint paul international airport, they closed sections of freeway in the southern part of the state, the stale patrol and department of transportation was telling everyone to stay home if you possibly could. most people did. no serious accidents -- or serious crashes on any of the roads, although the state patrol responded to many calls of people going off the road there. arthel: holy cow. bill: coming our way, too. arthel: get your diction airy out, here's why. we want to know if you know the difference between compromising and finding common ground. john boehner makes the distinction as he prepares to go head to head about it. bill: watch the incredible video over and over again. the latest on the stadium, the dome, and the giants-vike,. not sure that was supposed to happen right there. >> you can imagine, 65,000 people here and this thing collapses. so let's pull the roof off this thing now and let's get it going! bill: here we go, a fox news alert. we're awaiting a court ruling, is this the ruling that can stop the obama administration's health care overhaul? a federal judge in virginia at any moment could issue a ruling on whether or not overstepped its constitution authority with the law, this deals specifically with the mandate to buy insurance. shannon bream is live in richmond. shannon, the state of virginia is the one challenging the overhaul. what do legal experts say the odds of victory are for them? >> reporter: bill t. all comes down to this, whether the judge buys the argument that it's unconstitutional to force the state of virginia, individuals or anyone across the country, to actually buy health insurance. this is virginia's attorney general ken cuccinelli, he's argued the federal government overstepped its powers when it requires individuals to either buy health insurance or to pay a hefty fine. we know the ruling is coming from judge hudson, mid day along the east coast. we'll know then whether or not he bought that argument or not. bill: how quickly could this wind up at the u.s. supreme court, shannon? >> reporter: you know, it was no mistake this lawsuit was filed here in the eastern district of virginia. it's known across the country as the rocket docket, it is one of the fastest federal courts if not the fasters in the country for hearing a case, for making a decision and moving it on. you got to know that regardless of who wins and loses this is likely to be appealed to the fourth circuit quickly and then beyond that to the supreme court, then we'll wait to see whether the justice decides to take up this case, because it has the potential to impact every american, very likely they'd want to weigh in but we never know until the justice decides. it could get there within a year or two. bill: that's virginia. there are 20 states together in one lawsuit, that stems out of florida? >> you're right. we checked in with our brain room today, our research experts, they tell us now that 21 states where there's either a legal, pending lawsuit already, or that the governor or attorney general in that particular state has decided to sign on. so it's all across the country. you mentioned florida and tomorrow, there are arguments there in a federal court n. the panhandle in northern florida, it's just one of many states weighing in an any one of those could wind up in the supreme court. bill: we could get that ruling at any moment. shannon, we'll stand by, live in richmond, virginia. arthel: bill, the next big battle in washington could essentially be a tug-of-war between two men, president obama and incoming house speaker john boehner. mr. boehner gave us a preview of coming attractions in an interview on "60 minutes". take a listen: >> okay, compromise something. >> i i am not going to compromise on my principles, nor am i going to compromise the will of the american people. >> you're saying i comont ground but i'm not going to compromise. i don't understand that, i really don't. >> when you say the word compromise, a lot of americans look up and go oh, they're going to sell me out. and so finding common ground, i think, makes more sense. arthel: all right. so can common ground without compromise get anything done for america? bob beckel worked at the carter white house, he's also a fox news contributor, and the co-author of the book common ground, how to stop partisan wars that are destroying america, andrea tantaros is a fox news contributor and conservative columnist. bob, you might have to change the name of the your book because you can't say compromise! >> you know, i tell you, where the distinction is, first of awcialg it's a good thing boehner is talking about common ground, number one. number two, it's not a question of compromising your principles which is what i think he's talking about, using the word compromise that way, but rather, compromising on issues and legislative language, for example. like they did on this tax bill. i mean, you know, ronald rag ain and tip o'neill, 20 years ago, cut a deal on social security, to save it. they didn't in any way give up their principles, but they agreed to meet half way, and so i think that's really what we're talking about here. arthel: andrea, the other side of it, is the president willing to meet half way? >> i think he did meet boehner half way on this tax cut deal. if he continues to do that, we'll see that going forward. i think the real area you're going to see boehner and obama be able to compromise is on decifit reduction. it's rumored that obama is going to take this head on during the state of the union and john boehner has said he's going to cut 5 percent from the leadership budget and introduce new spending bills, cut spending every single week, when he assumes the helm as speaker of the house. so the question is, are they going to be able to compromise or find common ground on other issues. i don't think it's going to happen on obamacare. that's where they're going to butt heads. if obama continues to talk about climate change and electric cars, forget it. you're not going to see these guys get along. but again, i do see them being able on some issues like decifit reduction, they know they both have to be held accountable, so they have to deliver, the two men have an onous on them to deliver. arthel: bob o'clock the 5 percent cuts that andrea is talking about amounts to $25 million. some say it's a gesture but it's not a lot. here we're looking at two years in front of us at least. can these guys really work together and is there anything else we can expect in terms of progress in the next couple of years? >> first of all, let me explain to andrea, it was not meeting half way on that tax bill. i think obama met two-thirds of the way and gave the rich people too much money. leaving that aside, the answer is yeah, and i tell you what, it's good politics. what boehner understands, and i've talked to boehner about this, he's a smart guy, he understands that the public wants -- the message was not to help millionaires in an election but they want people to try to get some solutions and i think boehner understands that. they look like they continue to be in opposition to obama, and like mitch mcconnell and the senate say, all we want to make sure he doesn't get reelected, the american people are going to reject that. arthel: andrea, let me jump in before you respond because the the end of the day one would say the republicans, as well as democrats, will have to do compromising in the next couple of years because voters are going to be watching closely. >> well, once again, bob and i don't ever compromise or find common ground every monday morning! look, i think republicans are a lot of them, the pressure is on, they believe they have a mandate from the american people, and i don't think you're going to see a lot of republicans compromise going forward. they're going to hold true to their values, they expect the president to come to the middle and democrats are going to have a majority in the house, a very slim majority, democrats in the senate -- arguably republicans are going to be able to do a lot, so i don't see a lot of compromise moving foferred, and they shouldn't have to. the american people were fundamentally rejecting what democrats did. >> bob, i'm running out of time but andrea is saying they shouldn't have to compromise. what should the american people expect in terms of progress? >> compromise, that's what they're going to get, and a lot of it is not obamacare, i agree on that, but look, i think you're going to find something unique here, that's tax reform, that both sides are going to come together on because they're going to realize they can't cut the decifit based on the formula used here, so they're going to go to full tax reform which i think would be popular both for democrats and republicans. arthel: that's the last word, but before you go, give me a one-word answer, in a game of golf, who wins? >> boehner. arthel: who do you say, bob? >> choose boehner, bob! >> are you kidding me, i've played golf with boehner. it would not be close. basketball, i'd give it to obama, but no, it's no, not close. arthel: all right. >> they should put a repeal of obamacare on a golf game! arthel: guys, talk to you soon. bill: double or nothing on hoops! arthel, it might be the mother of all reality tv shows, sarah palin meets kate gosselin, true story. the former governor, meeting kate and her # kids, together for tlc's latest episode of sarah palin's alaska. here is a portion of that. watch for yourself: >> can i try one? >> oh yeah. >> it doesn't touch the bear? >> nothing hits the bear. it's just a firecracker. it stays at the end of the barrel. pop that off. there you go. >> whoa! >> holy -- [laughter] >> that felt good. it does! and it smells good! >> want to give it a try? okay, i'm going to push the safety off for you. the safety is now off. it's ready to go. >> ♪ >> ♪ >> whoa, that was a good shot! >> what did i hit? >> bill: how about that recoil? it's a 12 gauge, huh? arthel: looks like it may be. >> palin saying she and gosselin have a lot in common, both putting their children first. rare prediction from the hemmer. that show is going to be huge. kate was getting, what, 8 million viewers? arthel: two powerhouse ladies, what can i say. all right. bill: love the smell of the gun powder in the morning. arthel: look at this, we're talking about a dream trip. oh, my word, that turned into a scary ride for hundreds of cruise ship passengers. you're going to hear from one of those passengers who was on board that ship right there. bill: they're back state side fine levment north korea threatening all-out nuclear war, dealing with a rogue nation with little to lose, former secretary of defense william cohen weighs in on the latest headline this morning. and -- >> arthel: , and, we want to know what stories are cooking at foxnews.com? hit the most read tab on our home page, see what's hot. >> ♪ >> ♪ jingle bells. >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ bill: all right, we have yet another threat from north korea, it's the headline this morning, tensions rising in the peninsula, former national intelligence director dennis blair saying things may escalate sooner than we think with south korea taking military action against the north. if that's the case, william -- is that the case? william cohen is back with us, welcome to you on our program here. south korea's military is going to continue military exercises. now, if you go back two week, that's what helped spark the shelling of this island that's right along the border and killed a few soldiers in north korea -- rather in south korea, sorry, on behalf of the north koreans. what the north korean leadership is saying now is this could be all-out nuclear war on the next phase. now, is that just a headline? is that bluster or serious? >> part of it, obviously, is bluster, but they do have nuclear weapons, so you have to take every threat seriously, and prepare to defend the deterrents. we're in the deterrent stage and that's one reason the military have been conducting x.s to make sure that the north koreans understand if they were to ever initiate a war that there will be terrible consequences that will flow from it, so being prepared is the best way to deter and avoid a conflict. i would go further, as i said in the program before, i would transfer maj of assets from the united states to the region on a temporary basis in the event the north koreans continues the rhetoric. the irony you is a an example of george orwell in the press today. there's a statement out of the north korean peace commission, promising war, so they can talk about peace, but they're promising war, and i think it's something we take seriously. but again, the chinese have a major card to play here and we're hoping they will exert much more influence than they have in the past. bill: it's hard to tell what beijing has done or not done to this point, at least publicly anyway. but that's what north korea is saying, south korea, if you cooperate with the united states we're going to bring the heat. i know in the past, you've said you do not reward trouble makers. >> right. bill: so you don't go back to 6-party talks. that's your position. >> that's right. you do not -- absolutely. bill: have we been suckers for this country for too long? >> i think we have rewarded them for bad he yaif -- buy halfior too long. every time they take some initiative that results in some kind of crisis, they get rewarded for it. so i think the time has come to say no more. if you want to really sit down and talk about peace, there are certain things you must do, number one, acknowledge what has been done. you murdered 50 some odd people so far by taking a submarine and then launching that attack upon the island. there has to be some concession they are serious about going forward on a peaceful basis. absent that, we have to cut out all support for the north and i think that chine use should withdraw significant support until it persuades the north koreans that they are no longer going to be able to rely upon the chinese to keep them alive. that may be the only way to bring them to the table to talk about peace in a meaningful way. bill: in the meantime, new mexico's governor, bill richardson, he's leaving for north korea tomorrow. and what could that mission be all about? >> well, governor richardson has had a history of dealing with the north koreans, and perhaps he could persuade them they have to not only drop their rhetoric but come to the peace table in a significant way. he does have some long standing contacts with then. i'm sure he's doing it in conjunction with the administration, i don't think he's out there freelancing or doesn'ting freelancing. this is something the united states, south korea, japan, china, russia, are the parties involved and not the governor of new mexico, but i'm assuming he has the support of the administration, at least finding out if there are ways to avoid the escalation and to deescalate. bill: to your big point we'll see if he goes to beijing, too. william cohen, thank you for coming back today, good to have you on and have a great holiday, all right? go to foxnews.com/"america's newsroom", click on the bya box, leave your question. you can also shoot me an e-mail, hemmer, foxnews.com, follow me on twitter at bill hemmer, all lines of communication now open, and because you asked, bay, whether on north korea, south korea, also what's happening in the economy, it runs the gamut. it's up to you, viewer. check it out. arthel: definitely the linchpin. moving on now, up next, the delay of the game in minnesota, you probably heard about it, but not because of a flag on the field, oh, no, bringing down the roof at metro, yes. so how are they going to fix this? we're going to talk to the men in charge of such things in minnesota. bill: to be inside that at 5:00 a.m. when it happened t. would be like rolling thunder! kicking santa clause out of a christmas celebration. why santa is getting the boot and which winter icon has now been called in to step in? don't miss this. bill: frosty is not just a jolly, happy soul, he's apparently more politically correct. according to a ymca that is firing santa clause in favor of the big round snowman, this is part of a larger rebranding effort for the ymca, once known as the young men's christian association, now calling itself the good old y! y! arthel: am i going to have to take a picture with frosty? bill: with a corn cob pipe. arthel: and a button nose, with two eyes made out of the coal. the giants are playing in detroit tonight because of this. check out these incredible pictures, shot by fox cameras, the inflatable roof on the metrodome in minneapolis, caving in in the weight of all that snow from the blizzard. too much to bear. there it goes. the snow pouring on to the field, forcing the nfl to postpone the game. and it's moved to detroit, and it's spark ago wide range reaction. >> at least i would have had guys on the roof cleaning it off while the snow was falling object how about this, they should have built it right in the first place so it doesn't collapse. where do they think we are, florida? >> it got to the point, where a combination of the factors led to what i believed was an unsafe situation, so we removed our people from the roof. arthel: that was good news. the man you heard there, mr. steve matthews, joins us on the phone, he is the director of facilities and engineering at the hubert h. humphrey metrodome. good morning to you. >> good morning to you also. arthel: let me start with this. i was going to go somewhere else but let me pick up on what the guy said, why did you build it like that, seriously, in minnesota, we're talking about an inflatable teflon roof? how does that work in terms of engineering? >> basically, it's a building with a balloon, and so the roof is held up by air pressure. arthel: but minnesota, sir? you know what i mean? it's known for snow. in fact this thing collapsed, what, saturday, and it wasn't the first time so from our perspective, what is being done, moving forward, to make sure this doesn't happen again? >> well, the first thing we have to do right now is we are -- we have to repair the damage that is sustained to the roof right now, and then once we get beyond that, we'll assess our processes and see what our next steps would be in terms of trying to deal with future issues. arthel: and where are you in terms of repair work? >> right now, i'm expecting the first person on site to arrive this afternoon from the repair company, and we'll have materials arriving likely tomorrow, and then i would expect at some point, either late today or early tomorrow, we'll start that repair process. arthel: and of course no one wants to rush the process because safety is first but i do ask, how long will this take? >> i actually do not know at this point. until we get the repair personnel on site and do a complete evaluation with them, it is unknown in terms of the repair duration. arthel: no chance of getting a different type of roof all together, huh? >> well, i think the answer is no. arthel: all right. a football question for you mr. maki if i may. sis brett farve has an extra day of rest, is he going to start tonight? >> -- tonight? >> absolutely. >> that means the giants are going down, right? arthel: i don't think so, because eli manning is head of the giants. don't get me started, this girl from new orleans! >> i got to tell you, we've got a hall of fame quarterback and he's still got a few miles in that arm yet. arthel: yeah we'll see! good luck to you sir. >> good luck! arthel: seriously, good luck with repairing the roof and let's hope to get this fixed once and for -- once and for all. bill: this was a plot for farve! the giants were diverted to kansas city or st. louis, the game was postponed, then the roof caved in on sunday, now they're off to detroit. these guys have been on a three-day road trip with nothing to do! arthel: at least this is indoors, right? bill: indoors, kickoff, 7:20. did you see what happens in -- what happened in the white house press room? former president clinton, fielding questions for president obama. was this a good idea? former white house press secretary ari fleischer has been at that podium for years. he's our guest on that. also -- >> supposed to be a smooth cruise ship, right? until something went horribly wrong. we will talk to a passenger who is now finally home, off the nightmare that was this ship. whrarchg blank hi, the rate board seems whatto be acting funny. watch. [dramatic soundtracklays] wasn't me. you think i cod do something... th awesome? adding a littlfun to auto insurance. now, that's progressive. se"tron: legacy" in theaters december7th. this film is rated pg. bill: "fox news alert," awaiting a critical vote in congress, both sides agreed to it but there is a fair amount of grumbling, set to go before the senate and may happen this hour and both got what they warranted to a degree and neither party appears to be ecstatic about the outcome. i guess, they do call it compromising and that is how you feel, brand new hour... arthel: i hang on your every word... bill: at least the next 59 minutes. arthel: hello. bill: i'm bill hemmer, martha has the day off. arthel: good to see you. they say, now they expect support on both sides of the aisle. >> do you think you have the votes to pass this in both the house and senate. >> i believe that it will pass, president has been talking to members, we are all talking to members. and, members are talking to each other. i think that we will get -- i don't think anybody wants to be responsible for taxes going up on january 1st, because we couldn't come to a resolution. bill: that is david axelrod, this is eric bolling, anchor of follow the money, fox business network and it looks like the senate will put it through... and, we'll see what the house does. because, that said, there you find a lot of drama, still, yet again. do you fundamentally believe as you follow the money, that the tax deal that is on paper, will help this economy now. >> yes. bill, here's why and look, here's how it breaks down, both sides wants the middle class taxes to stay the same and the amt and g.o.p. is looking for 250,000 and above and the dems are looking for unemployment benefits, the bottom line, $858 billion, look, here's what it breaks down to. the only way to start the economy again, is by not raising taxes, right now, on anyone. the middle class will spend the savings on their taxes, and, the people making $250,000 and above, a lot are small businesses and will hire people who can spend and if you raise taxes, i don't care what you say we're still in a recession and the stock market may not be -- growth may not be but, 14 million people out of work, foreclosures at record levels, we're still in recession and this isn't the time, to be raising taxes. bill: i want to you listen to paul ryan on the sunday talk shows, chris wallace and fox news, one of them. now, what he was asked about, is taxes and spending and he's going to have a major role, when it comes to budget matters on the house side. paul ryan, the republican from wisconsin. >> so, number one, what we're going to do, what the democrats didn't do, we're going to cut spending and i find it interesting, after the massive spending spree that took place over the last two years the creation of two new health care entitlements now there is concern about deficits when they have a chance of raising taxes and, we aren't interested in raising taxes. bill: paul ryan is saying the same thing john boehner said in "60 minutes." we'll cut spending and if you cut spending it sends a signal to taxpayers or american businesses, what effect does it have, economically. >> the bottom line, $858 billion, you cut intending and that cost, the additional money that goes onto the debt, we have seen, $13.78 trillion, that debt clock keeps spinning slows it is down a little bit and bottom line, guys, at the end of the day, $900 billion will be added to government, government will get bigger, so the question is, at what point do you stop growing government, you have to cut the spending in order to stop growing government, one way that is -- to stop growing government is not by raising taxes. bill: eric, thank you, eric bolling. watch it with us, he's the man! on "follow the money", catch his show, 9:00 eastern time every night of the week except thursdays, have to wait an extra hour on thursday, 10:00 p.m. on the fox business network. >> thank you, william. bill: see you in the hallway. arthel: he is the man! all righty. here's how it will play out, the senate voting today to begin the debate on the tax cut deal, then, it is the house's turn and we heard a surprising announcement, from democratic congressman chris van hollen, talking on fox news sunday as we said whether the democrats in the house could hold up the vote and so, done deal or not? checking in with chief political correspondents carl cameron on capitol hill, carl, i'll ask you, scan the senate go from zeo to 60 by mid-week. >> reporter: yes, they are expected to today, a procedural debate that starts on the senate floor and they'll get 60, perhaps 70 votes, we're told according to the democratic and the republican vote counters and will begin the formal debate, likely to wrap up wednesday an assuming they get the 60 votes plus they need today, it all but guarantees they'll have the 60 votes necessary to pass it finally by mid-week and it goes to the house. and there it is an entirely different battle but there's a lot of indication the democratic leadership of the house has had sort of the gut-check moment and begun to signal that they expect it to pass there, too. arthel: with the gut-checking you kind of figured that was going to be happenings by various forecasting done by the political experts, so... >> reporter: we -- we said as much last week, even though the rank-and-file was sort of in and out right rebel yenlt and very, very nasty rhetoric, aimed at the president, from democrats, the rank-and-file level, they had begun to signal there would be a change of heart and steny hoyer, the number 2 democrat from maryland, down at the national press club made it clear though democrats have miss giving he predict it will pass in the house, too. listen to this: >> this deal is giving democrats some pause. having said that, i believe that action is necessary, and, compromise was inevitable. >> he's talking about it in the past-tense, now, yesterday, the number 4 democrat in the house, the democrat from maryland, mr. van hollen essentially said there was one outstanding issue and has to do with the estate tax and he thought that would be resolved and signaled it is a done deal, a matter of time and counting the days. listen: >> we will not hold it up at the end of the day but we think the simple question, should be put to the test. >> again, the simple question is the estate tax and now the package calls forte 35% estate tax on inheritances over $5 million. democrats say that is not steep enough and they'd like it a much bigger tax, by essentially increasing the rate to as much as 40 or 45%, and dropping the threshold for the exemption down to as low as $3.25 million. that debate is falling on dead republican ears, and the president said the deal will not change. >> that is what indications are, are pointing to, carl, are they going on christmas break, come friday? >> reporter: probably not, actually, there are two pieces of major unfun ishd business th-- unfinished business and they have to keep the governments open and there is a shut down saturday if they don't get that resolved and talks of the newt clear treaty with russia, and there is no time to deal with that but they'd like to try. arthel: thank you very much. bill: unsettling news, for the president, more americans believe he does not deserve another four years in the white house as of today, bloomberg national poll, 45% think the president does not deserve a second term in 2012 and 42% think he should be reelected. arthel: big apple mayor michael bloomberg saying no way, no how, to rumors that he is preparing to throw his hat into the 2012 presidential ring, here he is on meet the sfle"meet the press." >> do you think an independent can be president. >> i don't know, i'm not going to run for president, i'm going to finish up the 1100 and whatever number days it is left to go and will leave politics to the experts. arthel: the question everybody had been wondering about. bloomberg is a democrat, turned republican, turned independent and now is serving his third term as mayor of new york city. bill: a "fox news alert" now, any moment, a decision could come on virginia's legal challenge to mandated medical insurance, 20 other states, right behind them, in fighting the health care law, how the ruling will affect coverage at every state, after the break. arthel: and the sea was angry, my friends, we're talking about stranded in some of the roughest waters on the planet, a passenger who survived the spin cycle, you are seeing it here, live, coming up. bill: unbelievable some say, it was like president obama handed power over to bill clinton, andaand a ari fleischer on what the moment means. >> president barack obama: i have been keeping the first lady waiting for a half-hour, so i'm going to take off. >> i don't want to make her mad, please go. >> president barack obama: you are in good hands. 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[ green giant ] ho ho ho. ♪ green git the world's first 100% custom, invisible, digital, and fully programmable hearing aid, loaded with today's most advanced hearing technologies, including our new soisticated noise reduction system. this amazing new invisible hearing aid is custom made, allows you to talk comfortably on the phone, sounds natural. - the quality of sound is excellent, and yet they're, you know, the size of a thumbtack. announcer: to learn more, call: today. or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today. arthel: authorities in sweden are close to identifying the stockholm bomber, almost certain he's a 28-year-old swedish citizen of middle eastern descent who once lived in great britain, police are confirming the attacker sent an e-mail threat referring to jihad, and, sweden's involvement in afghanistan. now, late yesterday, u.k. police raided a home tied to the attacker, no arrests were made, the suspect was the only person killed when explosives strapped to his chest and back went off. police say he also owned the car that blew up around the same time. bill: we are waiting a critical courts decision that could derail the overhaul of health care with a domino effect across the country. a federal judge set to rule on the lawsuit, put up by virginia state attorney general ken cuccinelli. saying he really doesn't know how the cards will fall, but 20 other states followed him. followed his suit, challenging the constitutionality that requires people to purchase medical insurance. florida is on that map, by the way. there is a suit that is pending in that state, now, too. republican rick scott is the governor-elect of the sunshine state and we welcome you here, to "america's newsroom," i think it is the first time we have talked since your victory in the election about five weeks ago, so, ago. -- good morning. >> good morning. >> i hope the right thing will happen here. bill: what do you think the judge does, and based on what? how does it mandate against the constitution? >> well, you know, there shouldn't be -- first off, insurance has not been regulated nationwide. so, this is clearly an overstepping of the federal government's authority. on top of that, in our state, our suit talks about the fact it's an overstep, forcing us to expand our medicaid program. you know, the health care bill is horrible for patients. a disaster for patients and will ration care, and, i have been on a jobs tour this whole last week and went to ten cities and every place i went, people talked about, you know, we can't hire people until we understand what the costs will be under obama care and it will be way more than we anticipate and they've seen the health care insurance costs go up the last few months as a result of obama care, so it is a disaster for patients, for taxpayers and for jobs. bill: if i could, the federal judge in virginia, awaiting on his ruling, henry hudson is his name, by the way, great american name. wow. he's going to issue his ruling, and it could come at any time, how does that affect what florida is trying to do in the -- and the 20 other states that joined the lawsuit? >> well, it doesn't affect our decision. it is probably just, you know, psychologically for the judges hearing our -- judge who is hearing our case it would be helpful if it went right for us in virginia but our case is separate and also has the additional issue that the federal government has overstepped their boundaries by requiring us to expand our medicaid program, which we can't afford. no state can afford the expansion of the medicaid program, and people will have to opt out of medicaid, there will not be any way to pay for it. my case, i would like the federal government to give me a waiver. bill: and you -- you handle it at the state level and -- >> give me a block grant. i know i can save -- spend the money way smarter than the federal government, can figure out how to spend it in florida. so if they give me a block grant with the money, i can figure out how to cover the people and make sure money is spent better, than the federal government had in all of -- with all of the strings attached. bill: what if the judge rules against what virginia is trying to do? that could be a set back for the 21 states that joined the lawsuit that comes out of florida. how big of a set back would that be and how would you retack, other than the simple appeal. >> our case is coming up, you know, we have a completely separate case so our case is being heard by a different judge, so, in that case, it will be psychological, we'll go forward with our case and i am -- two things, if the judge said the right thing, they'll declare it unconstitutional and if they don't, it will get repealed, because it is a jobs killer and we'll elect people in this country that know it's a major mistake to have had this passed and it is horrible for patients. bill: we have steve king a republican congressman out of iowa, an hour ago said the same thing and he said we'll repeal it and you know based on the law of the land how difficult that is, and that is a very difficult mountain to climb. and, be successful, at it and he figures he could defend the spending that comes out of washington, and that is how you slow it down. that is the strategy he laid out for us, last hour, waiting on the judge to issue his districts in the meantime, you mentioned jobs, and this is a big deal in your home state. i don't know how things are going in florida, how things are turning around, there is a report that suggests growth in america, next year, will be much stronger than it has been the past two-and-a-half to three years and now believe that? and do you see signs of life in florida today? >> absolutely, you know, we are going to get or economy going again. i have a 7-step plan and have been spending my time, since i got elected, going around the state, i had a jobs tour and went to ten different cities and had meetings all day and we talked about what taxes we're going to reduce and make sure we reduce regulations, killing jobs and i will be the jobs governor and will go out every day and talk to talk to business people about how we can attract businesses here, florida, no income tax and better weather than where are living, we have beaches and, the expansion of economies in central and south america and the expansion of the panama canal and people want to live here, our economy will come back big... very strong. bill: just an arctic chill, up here, it will pass, give it a few months. >> i don't think so. bill: governor-elect of florida, thanks for talking with us today. something we're waiting on, florida and in virginia when the judge makes his ruling, thank you, sir, for your time. arthel: all righty. >> have a great day. arthel: coming up stranded at sea, a tiny ship, battered by a massive wave. unbelievable, these pictures, we'll talk to a passenger who might just want his money back. bill: i bet, how in the world does a car get stuck between two homes, five feet off the ground? that is no garage. it is a clue, not a tornado and not an explosion. >> i said to my husband, wake up and he said, that was an earthquake and i said, oh, no, that wasn't. and i came downstairs, and i opened the door to my living room door and i saw a car hanging. ver finish last month's invoices? sadly, no. oh. but i did pick up your dry cleaning and had your shoes shined. well, i made you a reservation at the sushi plce around the corner. well, in that case, i better get bk to these invoices... whh i'll do right after making your favorite pancakes. you know what? i'm going to tidy up your side of the office. i can't hear you because i'm also making you a smoothie. [ male announcer ] marriott hotels & resorts knows it's better for xerox to automate their global invoice process so they can focus on serving their customers. with xerox, you're ready for real business. >> ♪ ♪ here i am, stuck in the middle with you...♪ bill: typically takes a tornado to do damage like this... southern california, apparently takes too much booze and a bad decision, and this driver ran a stop sign, hit a curb and became wedged between two homes, that is not easy to do. the ford fusion, fused together... stuck five feet off the ground! man! >> it is completely damaged. and, the sad part is, we just sold the house, it was going into escrow tomorrow. arthel: oh, no. bill: southern california when the real estate market has been hammered time and again. arthel: that story went from bad to worse. bill: no one was hurt, the driver under 21, charged with drinking under the influence -- driving under the influence. arthel: all right. what was supposed to be a dream cruise is a living nightmare for passengers. a royal caribbean cruise ship carrying 1,000 people, pounded by 50 foot waves in the mediterranean and the jolt cut off engines and radar and now we are learning more about the scary ride and what it fells like to be on the ship and one passenger is back home, chris siegler son is northeast is joi. tell me, when all heck was breaking loose, how bad did it get? did it seem like help came quickly or feel like an eternity and what did you and the other passengers do. >> well, it wasn't as if help came quickly, we were not dead in the water or anything. this was not a royal caribbean cruise. this was overseas adventure travels. and, there was -- about 90 of us passengers on the ship and we knew we were in a storm. at one point. a wave did hit the ship and break off a piece of railing that shattered one of the windows in the -- on the bridge and we lost communications and radar. at that point, the captain talked to all of us, we had a meeting. and explained what had happened and we were going to ride out the storm. until it had passed and head into argentina, where the port was, where we would fly back home. you know, i didn't feel that we were in any -- any point getting ready to sink or anything. we knew we were going to be in that area, probably for -- we thought at least a couple of days, turned out only a little over a day. and, you know, we had lectures by a lot of the experts on board, and, so forth, and, continued on until we were able to set sail for the port. arthel: i'm sure it helped, the fact it was an adventure cruise and those of you on board were looking for some adventures, a little more thani barga you bar for -- go ahead, sir. >> exactly. we didn't anticipate this kind of adventure from that standpoint. you know, we were all looking to get to antarctica, to see the wildlife and so forth. this was another -- arthel: another dimension added. >> another dimension, definitely added we did not expect. but, i feel, i can't speak for all the passengers, but, you know, the crew handled it well. and the company handled it well, and there was "national geographic," did have a ship in the area, that assisted us, by giving us a phone and at that time we realized how much we were bobbing up and down in the water, because you have no perspective, on the sea, as to how far you are going up and down until you see another ship doing it also. arthel: i'm glad you are home safely, how long have you been home now, quickly. >> i got home yesterday afternoon. about 1:15, and, so... not quite a day yet. arthel: well... >> trying to get accustomed to walking on land again. arthel: have some good barbecue, hug your family and have a merry christmas, thank you very much for your time. >> thank you. bill: good attitude, right? arthel: yes. bill: and, the waves were 30 feet high, slamming into them, one after the other. arthel: unbelievable. bill: welcome home. good homecoming, isn't it, former president bill clinton has a working room including the white house briefing room, the point his element alongside the current president, former white house press secretary ari fleisher is next on that and extreme sports enthusiasts living on the edge is now big, big business. 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[ male announcer ] absolutely. a medicare advantage plan can give you doctor, hospital and prescription drug coverage for nothing more than what you already pay for medicare part b. now that's easy and affordable. are you reconsidering your medicare coverage? now is the time to take action. you only have until december 31st to make sure you have the coverage you need. call unitedhealthcare to learn about medicare plans that may be right for you. with some plans, you can enroll right over the phone. don't wait. call now. arthel: a fox news weather alert now, at least 6 people are reportedly dead after a monster storm slams parts of the midwest and blizzard conditions stretching from the north dakota to the great lakes, sending the thermometer down in dozens of states today, live pictures in cleveland, where the weather is dangerous, for so many travellers out there on the roads and over in wisconsin, folks are trying to dig themselves out of nearly two feet of snow. in green bay, right there, right now we're going to steve brown, who is live north of chicago. steve, good morning, and a big pile of snow behind you i see already has fallen. >> reporter: yeah, it is pretty bad here, in the upper width most, this early in the season, you are talking about wisconsin, we had a chute in mount horab, west of mad dan and got shut down and the retail stores in that community were closed, because of blizzard-like conditions and right now the big story is in northwest indiana, specifically in lake and porter counties, which is just east of the city of 0 chicago up along the interstate, a state of emergency on many of the major roadways, out there, like u.s. 30, u.s. 2, and i-90, i-94 and up to 18 inches of lake-effect snow is possible, in this area today and, drifts up to 6 feet on top of the foot of snow, that was yesterday and single digit temperatures and sub-zero windchills along i-90, there are stranded motorists and they are trying to shovel gasoline to spoe folks who are stranded and air travel will be difficult all over the country, because largely, yesterday 1400 flights cancelled at o'hare international airport and 300 cancelled at midway and will stack up traffic almost anywhere you go, and please check before you head to the airport and minnesota, familiar with winter weather but it was too much for the metrodome, 15 inches of snow and high winds bringing down the roof early yesterday morning and the football game will be played tonight in detroit. interestingly enough, i mean, minnesota's used to this sort of thing but apparently the giants, planning on playing indoors didn't bring their outdoor gear, because there was the university of minnesota's outdoor stadium, they could have moved the game to but didn't that he have right stuff with them. back to you in new york. arthel: and ford field is an indoor field and new video, fans lining up for free tickets... free tickets for an nfl game, this giants-vikings game, moving to detroit after the collapse we showed there, the roof of the metrodome, happening sunday morning. a huge winter storm, dumped 17 inches of snow in minneapolis, detroit lions tickets, at the ticket office, handling or handing out free general admission for the 9:00 p.m. kick off, any fan with tickets who made the trip to detroit can sit on the 50 yard line. bill: cool! "fox news alert," awaiting a procedural vote in the senate on the president's deal with republicans to extend the tax cuts. leading democrats saying they expect to see support on both sides of the aisle, in the senate, but it was a bumpy ride, on the road to this point. president obama handing the reins to former president bill clinton for 25 minutes over the weekend, looking for backup in the battle with his own party. >> here's what i'll say, i have been keeping the first lady waiting for about half an hour and i'm going to take off. >> i don't want to make her mad, please go. >> president barack obama: you are in good hands, and, he'll call the last question. >> thank you, go ahead. >> mr. president... is there anything else that can be done in your opinion... bill: did not miss a beat. next question. ari fleisher from the white house, press secretary under president bush. >> good morning. bill: in the room, behind the podium, you stood there for a long time and what did you make of the political theater. >> that moment was sfab blufabu, the president said, i have to go and the former president said, please do. bill: did clinton do what he hoped to do? did he make the sale. >> smart move by the obama white house, to invite somebody in, few people can cut through the clutter and making noise saying the tax deal is good for democrats and the wavering democrats who are gettable are the conservatives and moderates and bill clinton can speak their language. bill: now the debate begins, whether or not it was a legitimate move to the center on behalf of the surnt president. or if it was a one-time deal. i mean, do we that he have answer for that yet. >> no and president obama will pick and choose his moments but the problem he has, he's no bill clinton and didn't run as a new kind of democrat, a southern governor, he ran as a liberal democrat, hope for the liberal voice and will have a hard time going to the center without losing face. bill: because of what, health care? spending and stimulus? >> the type of campaign he ran on in 2008, he didn't pretend to be a different kind, new kind of democrat and ran for liberals an progressive to put their hearts and hopes in and he let them down, and, his job approval will go down, democrats will desert him temporarily. bill: you think so even with the clinton -- what do you thing of that, did he have to bring bill clinton into the debate. >> you never have to but it is a smart move and part of the problem with messaging is that there is so much noise, it is hard to get anybody to hear your message even when you are the president, bringing in a former president like bill clinton, and, it brings them to say, maybe it is a better deal than i thought. bill: i went to the room, went looking for robert gibbs and say, we want to make a statement, and based on what i have head, president obama only wanted to do that, we'll make a statement and, he'll say something and i'll say something and that will be the end of it but with bill clinton it is never really the end, is it. >> he dozen joy the spotlight. so that is what i think he didn't want to stop. neither wants to stop, never wanted to stop the presidency, i wish i was the uniform division sergeant who sits at the entrance to the press room and watched two former presidents go down and fumble around with a locked door, how do we get in here! bill: thank you, by the way taxes, do they go through soon? are we bumping up against christmas eve or -- >> i think they'll get it done this week or latest next week in the house, but, remember, nobody, but nobody will have their income taxes cut, only thing they are getting is prevention of a tax increase extension. bill: thanks for coming in. >> great to be here. bill: you got it. arthel: extreme sports avenue st tar style -- avatar style, creating cameras that daredevils can wear on their bodies while taking on some of the most death-defying challenges out there. and now those pictures even more thrilling than ever before. it looks good me, claudia cowan, live from san francisco, what is the deal with this. >> reporter: for years, sports enthusiasts strapped a portable mini-camera on their equipment or themselves to capture the extreme moments and now the camera is going extreme in a big, 3d way. >> that is me holding the carpal in my hand, going off the jumps. >> reporter: the free style skier created dozens of on-line movies by turning the go pro hero onto himself and he likes the small size and low price, between $180 and $300, depending on the model. >> hold it in your hand and put it on your head. >> reporter: combine two and sync them together you can create a 3d camera in seconds. >> you feel like you are there, the snow is flying at you and a lot of people, were like, the snow almost hit me in the the face. >> reporter: the starting cost for two, 3 to $600, they say it is worth it. >> if they want to use them independently, they can break it apart and give one to their son and, it is fantastic and don't have to bet the farm on a 3d camera. >> reporter: consumers need to watch them on 3d tv monitors, a fledgling market that could use a boost. >> tvs came out before the cameras and that is why tvs, 3d tv sales are slow but when you are able to see yourself in 3d... then it is a whole different value proposition. >> reporter: go-pro's $90 camera expansion casing kit comes out early next year, not soon enough for 3d tv retailers or gearheads looking to view their life in a broader dimension. arthel? arthel: claudia cowan, thank you very much. bill: outstanding. arthel: indeed. bill: "fox news alert" now, president obama signing the healthy hunger free kids act of 2010. there was the first lady, screen right at the harriet tubman elementary school in washington, d.c., want to watch it, go to the web site at foxnews.com where it is streaming live. it began a few moments ago and wanted to share that with you. arthel: definitely. well, he's the president's chief economic advisor, but not for long, larry summers' final words on the economy, coming up next. bill: also, being called america's third war, mexico, the main battlefield, but today, heading the cartels off at the parks live in guatemala. 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like the sound of no referrals needed to see a specialist? you get all that, too. call now to get your free information kit... and guide to understanding medicare. yep... this is one great card! call this toll-free number now for this... free information kit and medicare guide. >> good morning, i'm jon scott, jenna lee and i will join you at the top of the hour, stories from pyongyang to washington and the senate set to take up the tax cut deal after a menny rebellion by house democrats -- mini-rebellion by house democrats and, the white house says the plan will pass, eventually and a major ruling expected on the constitutionality of some aspects of the new health care law, breaking news there. plus a new threat of nuclear war on the korean peninsula and the storms across much of the nation, some are calling the worst in decades. we'll see you for "happening now," top of the hour. arthel: we'll be watching, "fox news alert," a swan song for the president's right-hand man, a live look there in washington, at the economic policy institute, larry summers delivering his final public address, the president's chief public advisor, speaking about the recession and stated recovery, leaving the white house, and, steve moore from the "wall street journal" joins me now, good morning to you. >> good morning. arthel: before we start on what you are reporting there, let's talk about what mr. summers predicts, if the tax cut agreement is not passed soon, that the country is facing a double dip recession and how does that gel with what you are reporting in terms of the economic forecast. >> there is a lot of truth to that and i'm not always in great agreement with larry summers but i agree we have to get the tax cuts extended for at least two more year and would like to see them made permanent but it is a very fragile recovery and i don't know if you saw our story on the fronts page of "wall street journal" a few days ago, corporations are now setting -- sitting on more than a trillion-and-a-half dollars of cash, they are waiting in anticipation of seeing what happens with the tax cut and you know what, hopefully when they start spending the money, if we get the tax cut extended, they'll hire more, works which is what it is all about. arthel: i did see the report and you are taking me someplace i was not planning on going but i will go here, with the corporations sitting on surpluses and if the economic prediction, 2011 will be better, as the year progresses, in particular, let's talk about the word deflation, though, because the question i have, is, if these corporations do have their surplus and start to make more money, will people, when they get back to work, see their bottom line increasing? and so, wages increasing? >> you know, this is a really good question, because i do think we'll see especially with the tax cuts extended we'll have a positive 2011 and start to see the unemployment rate reduced from the catastrophic 10% we have now, but the flip side is exactly the problem that you described. i think, as consumers start to go out and spend, i was in the malls this weekend and they were completely packed and people were spending like crazy, i think you will start to see higher prices. and in the thing i noticed this week and i don't know if you went to the gas pump but i spend $60 to fill up my tank and those are creeping levels of inflation and food and energy and gas prices and, as workers get a raise next year, the raise may not be as high as they think because of the higher prices like higher gasoline prices. arthel: and some people aren't getting raises because unfortunately they don't have jobs and in terms of the suddenliy and rosy outlook the economists are predicting, how does it manifest in terms of jobs? >> well, that is the problem. we need to get -- if you look at the last employment report we got 50,000 jobs and we need to get a quarter million jobs a month, to start bringing the unemployment rate down to -- hopefully down to 9%, which is still terrible and may be in a couple years, hopefully down to 8%, but, we need robust economic growth, we need a lot of jobs created each month, but we put 100 to 150,000 more people into the labor force each month through people migrating into the labor force and we have got a big uphill climb, and, the point is, that larry summers, his economic program has not worked well and he has been in office two years as the chief economic advisor, to president obama, and, i think the spending stimulus plan has been a complete failure and i'm very happy that they are now trying a more traditional tax cut approach. bill: let's hope that this is good news for americans who are out there trying to get back to work. >> 2011 will be better. i promise. arthel: i hope so, thank you very much. bill: everything on the line in the korean peninsula, why now, says the south could be starting world war three. a scary scene, security cameras catching children playing on railroad tracks and police worry that this is just the beginning. >> accident waiting to happen. >> that is a big problem in austin is apparently not watching their children in public. arthel: panneded rail -- expanded rail service comes to austin texas, but take a look. children playing on the tracks and you can see from the surveillance footage at least one adult is standing nearby, and, this is common in austin, we are told and police are worried about what could happen next. >> it was frightening for us, because we never want to see anybody on the tracks. but, children especially. because, sometimes they are small and, they are helpless and can't get around or up on the platforms as easily. arthel: there are new signs warning that more trips have been added to the train schedule and service is about to get busier and hope those warnings will get the message across. bill: scares the parents, won't it? good reason. the u.s. government, now working with guatemala as they fight america's third war with mexico's drug cartels and now are joining forces, securing their waters and a major transit points for traffickers. jennifer griffin streaming live now from guatemala with more from there. hello, jennifer. >> reporter: bill, right now, we just landed here, at -- in northern guatemala at a secret base where u.s. special forces are training guatemalan special forces to go after the drug cartels and yesterday we were with the navy s.e.a.l.s, doing the same, guatemala is a major trans-shipment point for cocaine from columbia, through guatemala, through mexico and into the u.s., take a look: >> reporter: these guatemalan navy special forces were trained by navy s.e.a.l.s to intercept drug traffickers before they off load tons of cocaine onto the shores of guatemala, the past five years as air routes become more difficult the cocaine core tells employed a new form of transportation, mini-submarines or semi submersibles. fabricated in the jungles of columbia and almost impossible to detect from the air, two years ago in march the u.s. ghost coast guard captured this vessel, 375 miles west of the galapagos islands, filled with cocaine, coming from columbia and the hollow holds four passengers and travels 4,000 miles, without refueling. this sewas found in 2009 and tr takes up to three weeks and, the officer says the crewmembers described the harrowing journey inside the diesel filled hull and when they emerged they were scared and the u.s. helped training the guatemalan seals to send a message for the cartels to look for other shores. they have their work cut out for them and when we were flying by helicopter by the border with mexico we flew over one of the main kingpin's ranches, one of the most lavish estates i've ever seen and wield hae'll have report on "special report" with bret baier, tonight. bill: amazing report. to learn more of her story, head to our web site at foxnews.com, and, jennifer continues her reporting down there. fascinating stuff. arthel: it really is. all righty. well, all for a good cause, vladimir putin taking center stage at a charity event there. the russian strongman, sang a tune, interesting. coming up next. ♪ ♪ naturally colorful vegetables are often a good source of vitamins, fiber, or minerals. and who brings you more natural colors than campbell's condensed soups? 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