bret: this is fox news alert. we have new information on a u.s. missile strike in afghanistan targeting a high-ranking al qaeda figure. >> the operative is identified to fox as sali somali and described as an external pations chief for al qaeda operating outside of afghanistan in pakistan. there are strong indications that he has died, a senior u.s. counterterrorism official said, adding "he was engaged in plotting throughout the world, which given his role clued included plotting attacks against the united states and europe. he took his strategic guidance from al qaeda's top leadership. " there were two strikes by c.i.a. drones in north west pakistan earlier this week. media reports said four foreign fighters were killed which is a code for al qaeda fighters in the region. in addition, what we understand is that the drone campaign is part of an expanded campaign in the region recently authorized by the white house. though it has been controversial in nature, sources tell fox that the strikes this week were part of that expanded program. what is worth noting is that it was a program began by the bush administration and it appears that the obama administration sees it is also effective in keeping al qaeda off balance. bret: it appears that a group of american muslims suspected of planning jihad may be kicked out of pakistan. reporter scott heidler has the story from islamabad. >> five young american men today sit in detention in the eastern punjab city, and they with picked up wednesday at a home owned by an activist for a band militant group with ties to al qaeda. according to pakistani sources, he was the main point of contact for the americans but it was his father who tipped off the police that the men were there, with one-way tickets to get here for one purpose. >> they came in the name of islam against the americans infidels and other shiite forces working against islam. >> the 19 to 25-year-olds attempted to join militant groups soon after arriving in pakistan but were rejected for lack of references. they tried two different groups in two different pakistani cities. >> pakistan's interior minister spoke with fox news today and said that there is no deportation order that. won't happen until the joint u.s.-pakistani investigation is over. >> he added that the u.s. ambassador contacted him before the aid on the house and told him there were five americans on pakistani soil looking to link up with militant organizations. last week, the f.b.i. was alerted by the men's families in the washington, d.c. area after they left the country without a word. one left a videotape described as a farewell message. pakistani police says the f.b.i. is there and part of the investigation, but little word coming out of washington or the u.s. agency in islamabad. >> good morning. we have had access to the five detainees. that is part of the usual outreach by the united states government, as you know. i have nothing to add to that at this time. >> this case, further raises concern that homegrown terror plotting by americans with ethnic ties to pakistan and other muslim nations is increasing. in islamabad, scott heidler, fox news. bret: in other world headlines, defense secretary gates told troops in iraq that recent political turmoil should not affect the time line for withdrawl. meanwhile, iraqi prime minister maliki presided over another disappointing oil auction today. only two deals with struck because of fears over security. both of those were for fields in relatively calm southern iraq. north korea says it will work with the u.s. to resolve differences over restarting nuclear disarmament talks. american envoy steven bosworth has completed three days of high-level talks and says the three sides reached a common understanding on the need to get back to the bargaining table. families touched by tragedy get a weekend full of joy. we will go along a little later and there is little joy in an area hurting for jobs and not getting much helppppppp bret: tonight on the fox news job hunt, an industry that has lost more than 8,500 jobs since the recession began two years ago, so why did the obama administration cancel a program that would have restored more than half of those positions? correspondent dan springer reports on hard times in the logging business. this oregon sawmill is running at 50% capacity, but at least it is still running. most have had to shut down because of a lack of logs. >> the mills are gone and the wood is gone. we don't have jobs sitting around everywhere. you don't go to mcdonald's and find the benefits and wages we provide. >> western oregon counties hit hard by restrictions in the '90's celebrated when president bush approved a plan allowing 300 million more board feet to be cut from public forests but president obama reversed that decision last month saying it was necessary to protect watershed and endangered species. >> the western oregon plan was legally deficient and held up a false hope and promise for a level of harvesting that was not going to be able to be realized. >> the timber industry estimates the bush forest man would have created 5,000 jobs in a sector that has lost nearly 40,000 jobs since the early '90's when the spotted owl was listed as endangered. in douglas county alone, officials say the effective unemployment rate is well over 20%. >> we can't change our geography because of public policy. it is what it is. we grow trees. we can manage trees. we can do it efficiently, effectively, and in an environmentally sensitive way. >> but the interior department says environmental lawsuits would have stopped the logging anyway, a pattern that has hamstrung the timber industries since the clinton administration. >> we get clean water from these forests. we get recreation and wildlife habitat and carbon storage for our benefit. all this comes from our forests. >> the communities have supported themselves on logging for generations and now are asking why an administration which claims to be committed to creating jobs would, instead, send them back to the unemployment line? in roseburg, dan springer, fox news. bret: delegates to the u.n. climate change conference in copenhagen have agreed on a draft proposal to address global warming t calls on countries to reduce emissions by up to 95% by 2050. critics call that unreachable without an economic collapse. the first protest of the week occurred today at the same time about 200 people rallying downtown. police detained 40 demonstrators there. in brussels, european union leaders agreed to commit $3.6 billion a year to help poor countries deal with climate change. britain, france and germany will each contribute about 20% of that money. a democratic senator is answering questions about his girlfriend, and a republican senator may have to do the same about his former mistress. plus, the mystery of this stellar display prior to the nobel peace prize award has been the sixties were all about freedom. ♪ and now in my sixties, they are again. grandpa, are we there yet? i have the freedom to do what i want... and go where i want. grandpa, come on! freedom is what i like about my medicare supplement insurance. i can see the doctor i want, where i want, anywhere in the country. now your sixties can be a time of freedom again... with aarp medicare supplement insurance plans... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. because any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare... will accept aarp medicare supplement insurance. anywhere in the u.s. the freedom to do my own thing, without 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everything. medicare only pays for part of your healthcare coverage. you have to come up with the rest. it's all about freedom of choice. back in the sixties, i went my own way. why stop now? so call today for a free information kit. when you call, you'll also receive... this free educational guide to help you... understand your medicare coverage options. it's yours free, so call now. and learn how aarp medicare supplement insurance... can help make your sixties a time of freedom. again. bret: now fresh pickings from the political grapevine. the day before president obama accepted the nobel peace prize in oslo, norway, a mysterious spy al of light could be seen in the sky. now, the norwegians say the light display is believed to have come from a failed russian test firing of a new intercontinental ballistic missile. authorities say the missile trail lit up the sky and could be seen all across norway. the day before the nobel peace prize ceremony. meanwhile, american country singer toby keith defended his support for the troop surge in afghanistan before his performance at peace prize concert in oslo. norwegian politicians and a former nobel committee member criticized the decision to invite an artist known for singing songs about war at a concert promoting peace. even though president obama himself did not attend that concert or many of the other events, the nobel events, a replacement was found. a cardboard cutout version of the american leader was seen onstage during a charity benefit concert thursday. montana democratic senator max baucus is playing defense after a string of reports involving his former state director and current live-in girlfriend, melody haynes. hain met with her boss' divorce attorney at least twice to talk about their divorce eight months before the senator and his wife were separated. politico reports that baucus gave haynes a $14,000 raise last year and took her on a government-funded trip to asia and the middle east. the senate finance committee chairman has acknowledged he was in a relationship with haynes when he nominated her to be montana's u.s. attorney. haynes withdrew her nomination for that post and now works at the justice department. baucus' office says haynes met with a divorce lawyer in an official capacity, and that the raise was in line with other staff raises at the time. now a new segment called "friday follow." we'll update some of the stories we have been tracking. first, the senate ethics committee has started handing out subpoenas into the investigation of john ensign, looking into dealings with his former mistress, her husband and his lobbying work. next, the wife of south carolina republican governor mark sanford says she is filing for divorce. jenny sanford's announcement comes months after the governor's tearful con confession of a with a woman in argentina, and now the richmond, virginia homeowners association that was threatening to stew a 90-year-old medal of honor recipient over his 21-foot flagpole has backed down, at least for now. they're withdrawing the threat of legal action. finally, court documents say white house party crashers michaele and tareq salahi tried to pay off a $2,000 landscaping debt with an expensive designer watch that turned out to be broken, a fake and worth only about $100. the account was result ultimately settled with a bank check. the drumbeat is picking up for another round of sanctions against iran over its nuclear program. james rosen says the administration is given what could be one of its final public warnings. >> touring a usair base in northern iraq, defense secretary gates said after some change of course by iran in its pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability, the islamic regime will face a fourth round of economic sanctions from the u.n. security council. >> frankly, iran is stiffing the international community on some of the proposals that they actually agreed to at the beginning of october. i think it has brought the international community, including the russians and the chinese together, in a way that they have not been in terms of significant additional sanctions on the iranians. >> gates' comments about iran stiffing the international community referred to western claims that iran agreed two months ago to send most of its enriched ure rain yum to russia for enare riching into fuel. the collapse of those negotiations and iran's disclosure that it has built another enrichment facility in qom southwest of tehran has thwarted the obama's year-long effort to engage the regime in tehran. the only job of western politicians, mostly under the influence of zionists, has become misleading public opinions, spreading lies and making up fake slogans. >> the issue of negotiating with the united states was never on the table so there is no talk about it now. >> western european governments this week have echoed the american call for new sanctions but whether russia and china, which enjoy veto power at the security council and have often blocked tough action against tehran will now back meaningful sanctions, as gates claims, remains to be seen. >> the idea that some new economic sanctions will somehow get them to change course i think doesn't bear out what we have seen. >> one region where iran has extended its influence is latin america. speaking today at a briefing on latin american issues, secretary of state clinton threatened to halt that trend. >> if people want to flirt with iran, they should look at what the consequences might well be for them and we hope they will think twice and we are going to support them if they do. >> secretary gates reaffirmed that military action against iran remains an option but that it would only buy time, two to three years, at best. in washington, james rosen, fox news. bret: on the front lines tonight^ , for a few days at least, some people who have cried their share of tears will be wearing smiles instead. an army of special folks who lost parents and spouses in iraq and afghanistan is having a big time in the big d. correspondent crit gutierrez has the story. >> they arrived in dallas to a texas-sized welcome. it is a weekend trip for families touched by tragedy. nearly 2,000 hit by the loss of a loved one. for most, smiles are few and far between, but being around those who share the same pain gives them the same hope. >> they know how i feel. it makes me know i'm not the only one, not just my feel that feel what i feel. >> ryan mackie's dad brian died two years ago while serving in iraq. >> a bomb hit his tank, and he fought for eight hours, and by the time he got to surgery, he just didn't make t. >> staff sergeant mackey was 30 years old. >> when it first happened, i felt pain. i felt grieving pain, but since i came here, it made me know that i'm not the only one and it's ok to grieve. sometimes i just wish i could be there for a special moment. >> this weekend thanks to snowball express, a non-profit that is for children who lost their parents in military action since 9/11 attacks, the mackeys are surrounded by families who know all too well what that loss feels like. here, they can connect, play, and share stories. >> we certainly can't replace their dads or moms. we can't do that, but we want to put our arms around them and show everybody that we really care about them, and we care about the sacrifice that these families have made. last night, the families went to a rodeo. for some of them, it was their first time. earlier, they even rode horses. >> it made them smile for the first time, and laugh for the first time. it gives my children hope again. >> in dallas, kris gutierrez, fox news. bret: that's a great story. there was another big blow to the senate democrats' healthcare reform proposal today. the fox all-stars give us their diagnosis after the break. >> the administration's own scorekeeper, the actuary down at c.m.s. telling us that it won't save money, and we thought the whole exercise from the beginning was about bending the cost curve. >> the c.m.s. report should put the dagger in the heart of the reid bill. >> i'm lukewarm on it, because i think when we get the score back from c.b.o. that it's going to be too costly, so at the end of the day, i think it's going to be a non-starter. bret: non-starter from a senate democrat there, the c.b.o. of course the congressional budget office. c.m.s. is the center for medicare services. the chief actuary at the c.m.s. came out with an estimate of what it would mean to drop the age to 55 for medicare, say that the overall spending over the next ten years will actually increase by more than $200 billion and 20% of hospitals, nursing homes will go into the red, meaning they either shift costs, stop taking medicare altogether or go out of business. here is what the senate majority leader just put out moments ago you "senate democrats are going closer and today's report from c.m.s. confirms our bill will extend the medicare trust fund solvency by nine years and reduce seniors' premiums by $300 per couple per year by 2019." a lot of numbers. that's why we have a panel to go through them. juan williams for national public radio, nina easton, columnist for time and fortune magazines and syndicated columnist charles krauthammer. nina, let's start with you. our quick analysis of senator reid's statement is that he is talking about extending the medicare trust fund, but of course, they're going to pull $465 billion out to pay for other things so it's a little bit of counting money twice. >> i think overall to get out of the weeds for a minute, what is really interesting about this is that the democrats have used the word medicare throughout the debate to soothe people, to soothe senior citizens like medicare. they trust it. it is a brand name, so you saw the democrats applying medicare to -- when they're talking about a public option. it is just like medicare. now this was the second option. it is just, well, we're going to lower the age for medicare. we're going to broaden medicare t seems like a comforting kind of thing to do, why not? in fact, it hides the fact that medicare is a fiscal disaster. it is a crisis at our doorstep, and that's why you have bill nelson there extremely concerned about this and what is going to happen there, but there is some internal studies that i think probably going to come out and i think jim angle referred to this, that it can create a death spiral for the medicare system in and of itself, if you expand it. you compound it with that, you have got hospitals and, doctors on the warpath because they don't get reimbursed at a high enough rate to stay in business, a lot of them, so they're saying that that report, the ak ewe aries report is that we will get out because we use private insurance to subsidize our operations, so i think it is going to be back to the drawing board for harry reid, despite what he says about that. he is not going to have the 60 votes he needs. bret: juan, you hear senator nelson, bill nelson, not the ben nelson we usually talk about, expressing real doubts about this moving forward. is there a light at the end of the tun for senate democrats now? or is the train coming the other way? >> the train is coming the other way to this extent -- what we heard today doesn't even include the latest proposal that the democrats, that senator reid has put together to try to gain some degree of peace among the democrats. that's the proposal nina referred to, which would allow people 55 and older to buy into this sort of extension of medicare t doesn't include that, so obviously, that's going to drive up this number for c.m.s. even higher and make it all the more untenable for people like bill nelson of florida. now, i think that there is a tremendous amount of momentum on the hill among senate democrats who feel they have got to get something done. that's why they have to stay in this weekend. harry reid has the whip out and he's driving. this is their moment in history, but all of this talk about cost plays into a principle republican argument, that if you're not considering the deficit, you're doing damage to the country and damage to the economy, contrary to the argument that healthcare reform, including medicare reform is actually something that will have a sal tory effect on our economic future. bret: charles. >> this is going to be be a moment in history. waterloo was also a moment in history. look, today we hear from an objective ak tiewz airy from -- objective actuary from inside the administration that the reid bill will increase the debt by a quarter trillion. secondly, we hear that the half a trillion cuts in medicare are going to cause one in ten hospitals or nursing homes to become insolvent, which means they will either have to close or they're going to shift all of those extra costs on to the other folks using their services, which means people with the private insurance will be increasing their premiums and their costs. now, we get every week another report, whether it's from an actuary in the administration, from c.b.o., which is simply a report to prove the obvious from the beginning. there is no free lunch. you cannot expand healthcare coverage by 30 million uninsured and expect it will have the curve going down. it is going to increase costs. that is obvious. every report is just reinforcing that. you cannot have a cut of half a trillion in medicare and pretend, as senator baucus is pretending, it is going to make medicare efficient and the services better. it is going to destroy medicare because doctors and hospitals are not going to have the funds to treat them, and if they do, they're going to have to see patients at such a rapid pace at the rates so low that there is not going to be a real good medicine. it is going to undermine the quality of the medicine. it is going to undermine the whole system. bret: quickly, nina, we're talking about medicare. we're not even talking about medicaid which would increase by some 15 million people. there are doctors out there who say they get paid a dime on a dollar in medicaid. >> that has been a political problem all along is that you have got particularly lawmakers in rural areas, but not just rural areas who have doctors and hospitals saying we can't survive on the payments from medicare and medicaid. what is interesting on the political timing issue, they're coming up against a break, the holiday break. harry reid is really, i think, is in trouble now. this latest proposal, does he go back to a public option which is also problematic and then lawmakers go home and they're going to hear an earful about costs. bret: does it get done before the end of the year? >> yeah, i tell you, right now, it is like a wagon train being driven by harry reid and he has the whip out. i just wanted to say republicans have not been -- all this concern about medicare spending, it will have to rejiggered even if there is no healthcare reform >> i think there is a 40% chance that that the republicans will stop this bill. bret: charles? >> i think it fails. bret: the friday lightning round with your on-line topic of the week is next. bret: this week like every week on foxnews.com, viewers vote on the topic we should discuss first on the friday night lightning round. as of 3:00 p.m. eastern this afternoon, the results were tied, 38% of you voting for climate-gate and where is the concern about the deficit? so after much deliberation, we chose the deficit to go along with our coverage of the raising of the debt ceiling earlier in the show. it is all about synergy here. we're back with the panel. juan, where is the concern about the deficit? do you see it here in washington? >> it's huge. it is a huge political issue. jobs is number one, deficit is right after. people are really concerned. it is a big hindrance in terms of healthcare reform. i think the obama people know it is a big political problem for them. they're going to try to sneak it through making it part of the defense spending bill. even so, i think they know this is really giving ammunition to republicans. most people, everybody thinks, you know what, you should be fiscally responsible at home, and we should be as a nation. you can't just point fingers at republicans and say most of the debt ceilings raised since 2000 have been under president bush, you have to take responsibility now that you're in office. bret: nina, we talked about democrats are going to be raising the debt ceiling by some $1.8 trillion coming up. politically, not a great time for that to happen, but it has to happen fawsm they raise the debt, congress raised the debt ceiling multiple times under the bush administration. the interesting thing picking up steam on capitol hill is this idea of a bipartisan deficit commission, and before you yawn, which is most of us do when you hear about it, it'sing it because what this commission would do is set out ideas or set out a plan to reduce the deficit and then members would have to vote up or down on it, so it is a politically charged opportunity. what's going to be interesting, it has got the support of republicans like congressman wolf of virginia and the house and congress senator corker & judd gregg in the senate. what would happen is there some thinking that some republicans will try to undercut this because they don't want to let obama take any credit for cutting the deficit in an election year. that would be too bad. bret: charles. >> the even there is a huge increase in the debt ceiling today is that it gets us past election day next year, so you won't have to have another raise of the limit until after election day, so at least better to take the political hit now than later, but as an index of how serious the debt issue is, economist irwin stealthser points out that moody's has been issuing ratings since 1917. the united states has had a triple a since 1917, world wars, depressions, uninterrupted. in 11 months, obama has driven moody's to the point where it has issued a warning that it might have to reduce it to double a, which is what you get for banana republics or places like greece. bret: we're going to have breaking news here. it was going to be a topic in this panel. we are now confirming that tiger woods is going to take an indefinite break from professional golf. i'm going to read this statement. he has just put out "i am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children. i want to say again to everyone that i am profoundly sorry and i ask forgiveness. it may not be possible to repair the damage i have done but i want to do my best to try. i would like to ask everyone including my fans, the good people at my foundation, business partners, the p.g.a. tour and fellow competitors for their understanding. what is most important now is that my family has the time, privacy and safe haven we will need for personal healing. after much soul searching, i have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. i need to focus on being a better husband, father and person. i ask for privacy for my family and am especially grateful for all those who have offered compassion and concern during this difficult period." charles. >> i think it's quite a confession, and i think it's a reasonable request. he is a human being. he has had a failing, a major one. he wants privacy. he doesn't want -- and he's removing himself. he's saying i'm leaving the public stage, and he's begging for space. i think he should be given that space, he and his family. bret: nina. >> there is some rume po mores going around that he would move back to sweden which is where his wife is from so they don't have to listen to what do we have now, the cocktail waitress, personal concierge, reality show wannabes, the lingerie model and the three-way porn specialist are among the women who have come forward saying they're part of this -- >> specialist? >> whatever that means. it probably makes sense for them to get out of the country. bret: juan? >> i think it's a mistake. look, tiger woods is the greatest golfer we have ever seen. nicolaus palmer, you talk about it. if he gets back on the golf course and gets back to winning golf tournaments, this shuts off this torrent of gossip. now, it's going to open it up even more, and all these women, i think they are parasites coming out and talking about tiger woods. bret: shepard smith will have more on this story, tiger taking taking an indefinite break from grovel. stay tuned for a musical choice and one bigu go next if you hada hoveround power chair? the statue of liberty? the grand canyon? it's all possible with a hoveround. tom: hi i'm tom kruse, inventor and founder of hoveround. when we say you're free to see the world, we mean it. call today and get a free hoveround information kit that includes a video and full color brochure. dennis celorie: "it's by far the best chair i've ever owned." and if you qualify, get it for little or no money. jim plunkitt: "no cost. absolutely no cost to me." breaking news...when you call today, we'll include a free hoveround collapsible grabber with the purchase of your power chair. it reaches, it grabs, it's collapsible and it's portable. it goes wherever you go. get it free while supplies last. tom - declare your independence. call now; you'll be glad you did! call the number on your screen to get your free video, brochure and your free hoveround collapsible grabber. call the number on your screen. bret: finally tonight, music is a part of the nobel peace prize ceremony but we're not sure who picked up the presentation for president obama's big moment. [applause] >> we'll let you know what you're about to hear here. this is the american jazz performer espiranza. >> ♪ who let the dogs out who who who barack obama let the dogs out ♪ bret: she didn't really sing that. shepard smith with all the latest on tiger taking a break from golf.