plus where we stand in afghanistan. >> shepard: it's the first full scale look at president obama's strategy. and defines while we've made progress, we're still facing major challenges from within. >> this continues to be a very difficult endeavor. >> tonight, a look at the work that remains and what this means for when our troops get to come home. >> 20 pounds. >> a call for help during the school board shootings. >> he's holding his guns in his pants. >> he's firing! he's faring! >> and hearing from the officer who ran in to take down the gun. >> actually, i opened the door with one hand and was firing with the other hand. >> shepard: now the retired police detective tells his story. plus artifacts from the aftermath of september 11th. >> i just wanted to show how the world came together, how new york came together. >> shepard: tonight in "the rise of freedom" a look at 9/11 on paper. but first from fox this thursday night, a confusing situation right now in the house of representatives. involving a bill that would prevent our income taxes from going up at the end of this month. when we started the day, it was all but certain the house had this thing down. it would be passed by now. we'd be ready to go. then the mistake. a mistake in the language for the rules of the debate. it's complicated, like i said, but it prohibited the bill from moving forward for any debate at all and opened the door for them to make changes. changes to a bill that republicans have repeatedly warned you can't change. and now it's really unclear whether the bill will be able to pass at all. chief political correspondent carl cameron live on capitol hill. this makes me tired. i mean, lawmakers just returned to the floor after several hours away. they didn't do anything. now, what are they doing? >> it's your government at work or not. what they're doing, shep, right now is they're trying to change the rules or really the ground rules for the debate. in essence, what happened earlier today was they came up with a rule that divides the time between the majority and the minority. and they concluded that ultimately, that would not give opponents an opportunity to speak since there are supportive democrats and supportive republicans so they had to reword it. that opened up the door for democrats to have a big discussion about additional ways in which they might set up the ground rules to change the bill. it all collapsed and they spent the whole afternoon behind closed doors. on your screen, you can see there there's 53 seconds left in a vote that would change the rules to correct that particular problem. but then if they do make the change, they got to vote again to actually approve the changed rule and if they can get past that, shep, there's still three hours of debate tonight on the actual provisions of the deal that the president cut with the republicans. so many more hours to go tonight and some uncertainty as to whether or not they'll change it in which case the deal could be in jeopardy back in the senate ooch. >> shepard: it sounds like this is coming down to the estate tax, how big is it going to be and who will be angry? >> that's exactly right. democrats have been mad, they say the estate tax is not steep enough. the senate version that passed last night overwhelmingly calls for a 35% tax on inheritances over $5 million. democrats want that to be significantly larger. they want to increase the percentage to 45% and lower the threshold to $3 1/2 million. if that is allowed to be part of the change, the president and the senate have said it could completely destroy the deal. the betting is that democrats will discuss that change and ultimately making a change to the senate version will be defeated, thus leaving the senate bill intact. the house will vote on it. democrats will begrudgingly approve it and off it goes to the president. that could be around midnight tonight and that is if there's no more screw-ups. >> thanks very much. most americans apparently like this deal, this deal they've cut. almost 70% say they support it and the fox news opinion dynamics poll, just 26% say they don't like it. president obama's approval rating has hit a new low of 40% in the same survey. that's down from 50% about a year ago and just 29% of registered voters say they think the president will win re-election in 2012. 64% predict he won't. hanging over everything in washington tonight is the threat of a government shutdown. it will happen this weekend unless the lawmakers can get their act together and agree on a way to continue funding federal operations. both parties are now engaged in what our senate producer describes as high stakes game of legislative chicken. more on that in a few minutes. first, we've made progress in afghanistan but our gains are fragile and they're reversible. bottom line, it is not going well. that from the president today as he commented on a major review of his afghan war strategy. he didn't say it's not going well but the paperwork basically does. the president's national security team carried out the review one year after the president ordered a certainly of more than 30,000 troops. here's what the war review found. al-qaida's senior leaders in the afghan-pakistan border region are at their weakest since 2001. u.s. forces have managed to stop or reverse the taliban momentum in some key areas and a strategy in afghanistan is setting up the situation in which some troops can start to come home next july. some. but the president noted it will still be at least four years before afghan security forces can take control. >> in short, afghans can take responsibility. we continue to focus on targets for the growth of afghan security forces are being met and because of the contributions of additional trainers from our coalition partners, i'm confident we will continue to meet our goals. >> you know, the critics say that this review makes it sound like things are really a whole lot better than they are. live at the white house, what does the administration say to that? >> shep, the president, his advisors say there are serious challenges still in afghanistan, there are serious obstacles across the border in afghanistan. hillary clinton says they're not sugar coating anything. >> on the one hand, we're making progress and on the other hand, we have a long way to go. i don't see those two thoughts are in any way canceling each other out or leading to some kind of rosie outlook. i think we're very clear eyed and realistic. >> because of those challenges, the senior administration shift the focus from july of next year to 2014 to buy them more time to get things done in afghanistan. shep? >> shepard: the list is so long. we're dealing with the most corrupt government that anyone has heard of and getting no cooperation from. >> that's right. it's interesting, after studying the review today, there were no direct mentions of afghan president hamid karzai. white house aides down play that and they say there were references to need for better governance but it should be noted in the past when the u.s. has flat out ripped hamid karzai, he's said some crazy things like he wants to join the taliban and it really has backfired on the u.s. and so there are problems with corruption and behind the scenes you better believe u.s. officials are pushing him to fix it. but that is one of the big challenges ahead, shep. >> shepard: push away. mike emanuel at the white house. thank you. a group of american embassy workers under attack in yemen. one of the latest battlefields in this fighted against terror. american officials say somebody threw a bomb near the workers' vehicle. nobody hurt in the end. security workers say they have several suspects in custody and right now, it's simply not clear whether the bomb is linked to al-qaida's branch in that area. yemen is home to al-qaida and the arabian peninsula. and the united states is quietly helping the government target that group. the u.s. has given $150 million in aid to yemen just this year. out on bail and in front of the cameras. the founder of wikileaks sharing a few words with his supporters before starting house arrest in a fancy mansion. what julian assange says about continuing his work. plus al-qaida's apparent plans for the holiday. that and the rest of the day's stories from the journalists at fox news. this is the fox report. g, i was, and i had a heart attack. you need to do the preventative things that you need to do for your heart health. for me, it means an aspirin regimen. before you begin an aspirin regimen. speo your dtor. just shake it. [ rattling ] [ male announcer ] need ink? staples has a low price guarantee on all the ink you need. find a lower price at another store, and we'll match it. that was easy. stella: hmmm. we're getting new medicare benefits from the new healthcare law. jane: yea. most people will get free cancer screenings. and 50 percent off of brand name prescription drugs if you're in the donut hole. stella: you read my paper. jane: i went to medicare.gov. it's open enrollment, you know. so i checked out all the options and found a better plan to fit my budget. stella: well, you know what they say...knowledge... jane: knowledge is power. >> a lawyer for the accused christmas day underwear bomber suggests he's planning some kind of legal challenge saying we'll see what's left of the government's case after that. umar farouk abdulmutallab in court today in detroit and facing new terror charges. didn't say a word. so the judge entered a not guilty plea for the guy. abdulmutallab is accused of trying to blow up a plane heading to detroit last christmas. he's acting as his own lawyer but, of course, the court appointed an attorney to help him with the case anyway and now there's word al-qaida may be planning more terror attacks this christmas season. the tip reportedly comes from insurgents captured in iraq. one u.s. official says the feds are taking it very seriously. and they're telling local police to be on the outlook for anything suspicious. or lookout. catherine herridge with the news live tonight. what do we know about this threat? i mean, they just keep coming and coming, you know? >> well, they do, shep. this comes from some recently captured insurgents who claim this attack in sweden by suicide bomber over the weekend is part of a broader plan by al-qaida in iraq to launch global operations. u.s. officials confirm ta the iraqis shared the information but a threat picture is lacking specifics and some officials say they may be trying to stage a comeback. >> it is true that aqi is having little bit of a revival, it's not going back to the strength it had like three or four years ago but clearly isn't dead yet and we shouldn't dispound the threat coming out of iraq. >> with the leadership under pressure because of the drone campaign, they say the affiliates are trying to step up. >> shepard: the feds have put the local police on alert. >> the homeland security and f.b.i. have issued a bulletin warning with the threat to the u.s. from al-qaida and its affiliates. it asks the not law enforcement to be on the lookout for these. with the attempted underwear bombing by abdulmutallab last christmas, they are more concerned about this year because the intent of groups like al-qaida and yemen is to launch successful strikes on u.s. soil and it's well understand that part of al-qaida's m.o. is to come back to the same target or style of attack until it's successful. shep? >> shepard: that we've seen. thanks. south korea announcesing plans to conduct more artillery drills like the ones that triggered last month's deadly strike from north korea. even if the top u.s. general warns that could escalate the conflict. you'll recall the north koreans opened fire on a populated south korean island, killed four, injured two civilians. they claim it was because south korea refused to stop live ammo drills. the two koreas technically are still at war since neither signed a peace treaty back in the day. vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general james cartwright says new drills could start a chain reaction of firing and counterfiring. this as the new mexico governor bill richardson arrives there. the veteran diplomat said he's trying to reduce tensions on the korean peninsula but he's not there as a official representative of the united states government. new guidelines from the government on what to do in case of a nuclear attack. stay put, fine shelter. don't go running into the streets. seriously. seems the message hasn't changed much since the cold war. remember these pictures? ridiculous then. ridiculous now. it was duck and cover. and according to a new policy, the best thing to do in a nuclear attack is to simply shield yourself. inside somewhere, preferably in a basement and you better get there quickly. homeland security expert on studio b today said the guide is not perfect. >> it's certainly improved in the 50 years since duck and cover. but i will say, you know, it was maybe a failure of communication to think that you're going to survive a nuclear bomb blast by jumping. any area is a little bit laughable. >> shepard: it is and more of a refusal to communicate than a failure of anything. but government officials say recent scientific studies found that in the event of an attack like that, the new guidelines could save hundreds of thousands of lives. get on that. a new u.s. -- the u.s. commerce department is now pushing for a so-called privacy bill of rights for internet users. the idea here, set t all of us a Ășat they can do with that information. the rules would require companies to disclose their practices and allow users to opt out of any or all of them. according to the rules of this proposal, it would be all voluntary. but enforceable if companies choose to follow them. unless congress acts to make them mandatory. if they have a new plan to help users tag friends in photos, facial recognition software that we're told will start suggesting tags based on similar photos that are tagged. we're told the new feature takes effect next week. a group of teenaged girls beating and kicking a pregnant woman. see what happened next plus the security teams says -- he'll likely save lives during that school board shooting in panama city. talking about the incident today for the first time, how he says it went down. why he says he thought he would go to jail. that's coming up. now... i've been looking at the numbers, and i think our campus is spending too much money on printing. i'd like to put you in charge of cutting costs. calm down. i know that it is not your job. what i'm saying... excuse me? alright, fine. no, you don't have to do it. ok? [ male announcer ] notre dame knows it's better for xerox to control its printing costs. so they can focus on winning on and off the field. [ manager ] are you sure i can't talk -- ok, no, i get it. [ male announcer ] with xerox, you're ready for real business. just don't feel like they used to. are you one of them? remember when you had more energy for 18 holes with your buddies? [ glass shatters ] more passion for the one you love? more fun with your family and friends? it could be a treatable condition called low testosterone, or low t. c'mon, stop living in the shadows. you've got a life to live. [ male announcer ] so don't blame it on aging. talk to your doctor and go to isitlowt.com to find out more. >> shepard: the man who confronted a shooter at a school board meeting in panama city, florida, day before yesterday says he'd only been in the building five minutes when he heard the news. a gunman was holding board members captive. so retired police detective and former school board member mike jones ran down four flights of stairs to reach the room where it was happening. >> i kind of peek-a-booed into the room for the first time. wanted to get an assessment. from there, i went into my vehicle and got my vest and some extra ammo. i knew it was serious. >> shepard: while mike jones got ready, the assistant superintendent was calling police. >> there's some man here with a gun, came into the board meeting. >> shepard: we know that man was clay duke, an ex-con with a grudge. minutes later, duke opened fire. >> please don't. please don't. please. >> i'm going to kill you! >> oh, my gosh, he's firing! he's firing! >> i saw his back and he squared up with both hands. i knew that a fight was fixing to happen and i reached for the door and it was too late. he fired the first shot at the superintendent and i thought he was dead and i just opened the door and he and i went after it. >> shepard: jones said he held the door with one hand and fired with the other. >> the first three rounds i hired hit center mass. that's what i was aiming for but man, he wouldn't go down and then he started shooting at the board members again so i kept shooting but he was moving a lot and fell. and then his arm came up, i could see his arm. he was still shooting at me and i saw him pull the gun to his head and pull the trigger and i knew it was over then. >> shepard: a greater relief came moments later when he realized nobody else was hurt. >> when the superintendent came up from behind that counter, that's when i lost it. just crying and i cried, y'all. >> shepard: once the shock wore off, jones said he thought might be in trouble. >> first thing that came in mind, what will the community think of me? i'm known as this nice guy and taking somebody's life and honestly, i shot the man in the back the first time and thought i was going to jail. >> shepard: even though mike jones may have saved lives, he says he's not looking for any special attention. >> i'm not a hero, folks. i just done my job. >> yes, you are! >> shepard: that's something you'll have to live with. you heard jones say the community knows him as salvage santa. that's because he's been organizing toy drives for needy children, fixing up toys, making clothes for toys with his family for 26 years. tonight, he was planning a trip to a wal-mart to buy christmas gifts for some 600 children. so heroism is really nothing new to this guy. mike jones said today his heart goes out to the gunman's family. and just hours ago, we heard from one of the shooter's relatives, his stepdaughter. she says clay duke, the shooter, felt school officials were bullying his wife and he wanted to bully them back. >> he loved my mother enough to do something crazy. even seeing now today, we're still just trying to wake up and be, you know, yesterday and this all be a dream and it not be real. >> shepard: she also had a message for the officer, mike jones who shot her stepdad. she said when somebody's firing a gun, you have to take action. and she says jones made the right call. authorities in seattle releasing video of what the sheriff there called a vicious and unprovoked attack on a pregnant girl and her boyfriend. look at this. cops say five teenage girls got on a crowded bus. look at this. they stole the couple's mp-3 player and then started beating and kicking them. the pregnant woman says she feared for her baby and her boyfriend tried to get them to stop. she reportedly got a cut above one eye and needed stitches. police have charged all five suspects in that attack. the u.s. government just hours away from shutting down. but some republicans are trying to block a bill that would keep the government going because as he puts it, what else is in it? some democrats are calling them hypocrites. live on capitol hill, it's the top story at the bottom of hour. it's breaking right now. plus a judge deciding whether to let the head of wikileaks walk out of jail. and there's new talk of possibly prosecuting one julian assange right here in the united states. if you have osteoporosis, and you take once-monthly boniva, check out the myboniva program. it's free to join, and it shows you lots of ways to help improve your bone strength. like bone-healthy exercises that are easy to do. boniva works with your body to help stop and reverse bone loss. any myboniva gives you calcium-rich recipes... monthly reminders... and even a month of boniva, free. so call or go to myboniva.com and sign up now. ( announcer ) don't take boniva if you have problems with your esophagus, low blood calcium, severe kidney disease, or can't sit or stand for at least one hour. follow dosing instructions carefully. stop taking boniva and tell your doctor if you have difficult or painful swallowing, chest pain or severe or continuing heartburn, as these may be signs of serious upper digestive problems. if jaw problems or severe bone, joint, and/or muscle pain develop, tell your doctor. ask your doctor if boniva can help you stop losing and start reversing. and join the myboniva program. join today and get a free month of boniva at myboniva.com, or call 1-877-287-9140. >> shepard: rescuers report they've found no survivors after a boat carrying refugees crashed into rocks off the australian island. it happened off christmas island, about 4,000 miles from the australian main land. the boat was carrying dozens of people seeking asylum, some of them just kids. >> children. children on the bus. >> shepard: at least seven of those children died. four of them infants. witnesses say there was little they could do to help. >> got responses to seeing people drowning and dying and diving in, trying to save them. to do that would have been throwing life jackets at them, we had three boats in the water trying to pull them out. >> they did pull 42 people from the waves. officials report up to 100 people were on that boat. and it appears most of them are now dead. i'm shepard smith. this is "the fox report." it's the bottom of the hour. time for the top of the news. party leaders digging in their heels in a debate over a massive federal spending plan. and if they can't reach agreement by saturday, the u.s. government will shut down. thank you. senate majority leader harry reid warns lawmakers could be working until christmas day or beyond to finish this along with a handful of other key bills the democrats want to pass. but fiscal conservatives are holding firm. at this hour, they're planning to put on a motion to -- put into a motion a major stalling tactic. by forcing the senate clerk to read the entire bill. all 1900 pages of the bill. outloud. senate insiders estimate that would take 35 hours. they're upset the current spending bill is filled with earmarks funding the pet projects. >> they want to ram this gigantic trillion dollar bill through congress and they're getting -- and they're using once again the christmas break as an inducement to vote for it. look, we all know that this is not the way to legislate. >> shepard: the conservatives asked for a lot of pork in there, too. that was the top republican in the senate, mitch mcconnell. watchdog group reports that he requested $86 million in earmarks in the spending bill. he also offered his own version of the bill. one that would continue funding the government only until february when the g.o.p. would control the house and the debate. today, a leading democrat called mcconnell a hypocrite saying he helped to draft the bill against which he's now rallying. >> and now the republican leader comes to the floor, stands in horror with the idea of $1.1 trillion, the very same number he asked for in this bill. you can't have it both ways. >> shepard: no, you can't. with just one day and four hours until the government shuts down, tonight, both sides are way apart. rich edson live from capitol hill. our senate producer up there, calls this a high stakes game of legislative chicken. so who is going to blink first i wonder? >> well, it seems as both sides are sticking to their guns here, shep, and if that happens, this procedure that we have in motion reading all this bill, reading much of what could happen here, you're looking at a possible government shutdown for a couple of days though there is a way out that neither side has to blink. they can pass a temporary measure that would fund the government until sometime mid next week. maybe after christmas. that would give them enough time to work this out. >> shepard: what happens on saturday if the government shuts down? will anyone even notice? >> you know, it will be somewhat chaotic. but, you know, some of the basic services will still be intact but dealing with safety, medical, police, fire, national security. that will still be funded and ok. but last time this happened was 1995, 1996 and using that as a guide, congress says what happened then was several hundred thousand federal workers were furloughed, they were sent home. if you wanted to go to a national park, you're out of luck, they were closed, many of them, visas and passports in processing there, that was all halted and slowed and there was a slowing down of the issuance of economic reports and in our business, that's a pretty big deal because we rely on these government reports to tell us how the economy is doing. >> shepard: live in washington, thanks. while lawmakers deal with that, a number of other issues have stalled in the u.s. senate including a bill that allows gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military. the measure cleared the house yesterday no problem but senator harry reid warns there will not be much time for debate on that issue in the upper chamber and the senate still has to ratify a new nuclear arms treaty with russia. some republicans complain the u.s. made too many concessions in that treaty. it would limit america's defense options but it's a top foreign policy priority for president obama so you know the republicans want them to fail on it. that's how politics works. they urge the senate to approve it as is. well, that wikileaks guy, julian assange out of jail in london tonight. a judge released him on bail of more than 300,000 usd or the equivalent. the judge rejected an appeal from swedish prosecutors. they're fighting to bring assange back to sweden where he's facing accusations including rape. assange insisted again today, he's not done anything wrong. >> i hope we continue my work and continue to profess my innocence in this matter and to reveal as we have not yet the evidence on these allegations. >> shepard: he apparently will be able to continue his work of releasing secret government documents. a wikileaks spokesman says assange will basically be -- will be under what amounts to house arrest but with a good internet connection. we have team fox coverage. shannon bream in d.c. but first it's jonathan hunt live in new york yet again tonight. what's next for this man? >> well, an extradition hearing has been set to take place in london on january 11th, shep, although julian assange's london-based lawyer mark stevens tells me he doesn't expect a final decision on that extradition to sweden until sometime in february. julian assange, meantime, outside the high court today said he will fight extradition all the way and he thanks those who have supported him so far. listen. >> to all the people around the world, who have had faith in me, who have supported my team while i've been away, to my lawyers who have put up a brave and ultimately successful fight. >> julian assange will spend the time waiting for the extradition hearing at a house in suffolk, england. that's northeast of london. it sits on 600 acres. and assange will have to report to the local police station every day. but in true british countryside style, that police station, shep, is only open between the hours of 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. >> shepard: convenient. even as he waited in court, we saw more cables from wikileaks including accusations of wrongdoing by the oil giant chevron. >> yeah, this was an interesting cable. it basically said that chevron had held secret talks with iranian officials about accessing some oil reserves that straddled the iraq-iran border. that is interesting because if true, it would mean chevron was violating u.s. sanctions against iran. officials at chevron say no such discussions ever took place. they have not violated any u.s. laws. shep? >> shepard: jonathan hunt live in new york tonight. jonathan, thanks. the feds talking again today about going after assange for releasing secret u.s. documents but nobody is really sure they can do that at all. he's not an american citizen so treason is off the table. now there's talk of charging him in the espionage law but legal experts say, you know, most of them say they just -- that's just not a very good idea. doesn't look like they have much. shannon bream live in washington. shannon, there was a hearing today on the hill about all of this, right? >> there was, and there's a lot of disagreement about exactly what to do but everyone did agree it's time to amend the espionage act of 1917. they're saying in light of the wikileaks situation, a lot of people argue this is a perfect opportunity to beef up penalties under the law for those who would leak classified information and also to send a message including former u.s. attorney. >> if wikileaks and assange end up facing no charges for their mass document releases which are the basis, as i've ever heard of, it will conclude they're vulnerable. >> today, attorney general eric holder said there's "a very active criminal investigation into this matter" shep? >> shepard: not everyone at that hearing said cracking the code is the right way to go at all. >> a number of experts expressed worries about trampling on the first amendment and whether a legitimate journalist could be caught up in a new law that would be aimed at people like assange. >> this committee knows better than headline news is not the time to pass the new criminal law especially when there are important constitutional principles at stake. >> by the way, senator joe lieberman has introduced a bill to criminalize the publishing of certain classified information but even if it gets passed, it could be used retroactively against assange. >> shepard: thanks a lot. now the rise of freedom. our cameras have been following the rebuilding of the world trade center site for many months now. we're committed to being there for years to come. visiting the site is a reminder of how much we lost on 9/11 but one man, preferring to focus on what he found after the attacks. items with a much bigger meaning. >> found this on the ground. >> shepard: michael created all sorts of papers in the aftermath of 9/11 showing how daily life changed. what became an extraordinary grouping of 4,000 pages started with something very small. >> found an a.t.m. machine, picked it up, looked at it. it said transaction denied, 9/11/01. a little piece of history. >> this local new yorker built a paper trail collecting flyers, posters and brochures neighborhood by neighborhood over the next few years. >> i wanted to show how the world came together, how new york came together, how the u.s. helped. >> shepard: there were makeshift memorials, fundraisers and many offers of help for people in need. ragsdale filled 44 binders with printed materials that brought the days after 9/11 back to life. the memorial museum under construction now will display some of those papers. >> these pieces of paper on the face of it, most of them appear to be very insignificant but they do tell an extraordinary story because they tell the human story of memorial services, of rallies, of car washes. >> shepard: the museum is a showcase of massive artifacts like twisted steel recovered from the twin towers. these papers are tiny in comparison. but they are powerful in their message. the 9/11 museum is set to open in 2012. we'll have another story on the rise of freedom next week and every thursday here on "the fox report". entire series cataloged for you on line. foxnews.com/freedom. we also have a slide show of images from the world trade center site so you can see the incredible progress they've been witnessing. you've been saying for years like a broken record, they haven't gotten anything done. they haven't gotten anything done. now, you're wrong. check it out. frigid temperatures across much of the country. winter weather advisories up for at least a dozen states. the deep freeze turning in this lake. actually lake erie lighthouse into a virtual ice castle. look at that thing. and in one state, it proved deadly. forecast coming up, plus officials say this former marine died in a shootout with bandits that target illegal immigrants. details next. [ male announcer ] let's take the holidays by the antlers... expand our toolboxes... and fill our sleighs to capacit with all kinds of buzzing, roaring, and humming. with guaranteed low prices on all the tools you want, there will be more than tinsel glinting around our trees. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. we're lowering the cost of christmas morning. buy any ryobi super combo or lithium-ion combo kit and get a free obi power tool wth up to 99 bucks. >> shepard: just into fox news as expected, word authorities in oklahoma have just executed a death row inmate with a lethal injection cocktail that included a drug that is normally used to kill dogs. his name was john david duty. sentenced to die for strangling his cellmate nine years ago while serving three life sentences for other crimes. he's what many legal experts consider a first, prison officials used a chemical. due to the shortage of another drug normally used in that lethal injection mix. homeland security secretary janet napolitano is expected in arizona tonight after u.s. border patrol agent was murdered just a few miles from our border with mexico. the victim, 40-year-old agent brian carrie. the feds say the former u.s. marine was in a remote area with three other agents when gunmen opened fire. happened tuesday night just north of the border of nogalas, arizona. popular spot for drug smugglers. four people are in custody. a man hunt is under way for a fifth. officers are on horseback and on helicopter searching the area. update from the west coast news hub this afternoon. when do we expect the homeland security secretary janet napolitano to show? >> could be any time, shep, she was delayed by bad weather in both d.c. and tucson. now we're told she'll meet with border patrol agents in nogales tomorrow. she was scheduled to meet with the sheriff in santa cruz county. the sheriffs in southern arizona have been highly critical of napolitano because she has not been available to them and she says that part of the border has largely been secured though with her trip cut short, it's unclear if that meeting will still happen, shep? >> shepard: now, we're learning the murdered agent was at one point involved in another shootout. >> yeah, before brian terry was the border patrol agent, he was a police officer in lincoln park, michigan which is just outside of detroit. he was involved in a shootout at a senior citizens tower back in 2000, two seniors were killed in that shooting but the suspect was captured and brian terry was hailed as a hero. his colleagues called him a cop's cop. his family calls him a stable force. listen. >> the rock of the family and he kept everyone together. and people don't know how much it hits home until it happens to you. but our family is definitely affected by it. >> brian terry is survived by his parents, brother and two sisters. that fifth suspect in the shooting remains on the loose tonight. >> shepard: trace gallagher live in los angeles. fox extreme weather alert now. keeping a close eye on what is proving to be a deadly storm system moving from the east into the mid-atlantic states. in atlanta, officials blame icy conditions for hundreds of car crashes. slippery surfaces shutting down roads all across atlanta metro area. in d.c., and beyond, they're expected to see at least a couple of inches of snow. chief meteorologist rick in the extreme weather center. rough day across the southeast and mid atlantic. more problems tonight? >> there are still a few more problems. you'll see the snow tapering off. across some of the higher elevations we'll see more snow during the overnight hours. maybe to two to four inches. bigger concern, a lot of the water that's out there tonight is going to refreeze. tomorrow morning, needs to be very careful back again on a lot of the roads. >> shepard: a couple of big storms in store for the weekend. >> there are. one sunday potentially bit of a nor'easter across the northeast. i am not worried about that one. take a look at what we have going on across parts of the west. you see this rain pulling into central california. well, this is a very long plume of moisture that's going to fire up here starting tomorrow. it's going to be with us all the way likely until about wednesday. in the next 48 hours, some areas probably about three to four feet of snow and we'll see rain all the way down to san diego, in around l.a. but it doesn't end in 48 hours. by the time this is done, by wednesday, six to 10 feet of snow in the lake tahoe area. i going to be rough getting there. if you can get there, you'll wack the skis up and have a very good time. >> shepard: thanks a lot. another challenge today to the health care overhaul. attorneys for 20 states asking a judge to throw out the whole thing. without even holding a trial. details on the case in a live report ahead. plus a major setback for the world's best selling breast cancer drug. why feds are recommending some patients not take it at all. that's coming up. ! " # $ / 0 i >> shepard: it's been the busiest year on record for the repoman but he took a breather it appears last month. according to the foreclosure listing service, home repossessions fell 28% from october to november. that's the lowest level in a year and a half. new claims for unemployment benefits continuing to fall. the labor department reports 3,000 fewer people reported losing their jobs last week compared with the previous week. it's the third drop in the past four weeks. stocks rose on that news along with the positive outlook from the bellwether fed ex. the dow up 42. nasdaq up 20. s&p up eight. two of our 50 states sent lawyers before a federal judge in florida today to ask what do you immediately -- to ask him to immediately throw out the health care overhaul law. the democrats passed earlier this year. the states argue the law violates the constitutional rights by requiring them to purchase health care insurance. two federal courts have upheld part of that law but a third this week ruled it unconstitutional. as higher courts tried to sort things out, the states in yellow on this map demanded the judge nullify the entire law. but, of course, he didn't. phil keating live outside the federal courthouse in pensacola, florida. the judge questioned how that can happen. >> u.s. district judge roger vincent retorically asked how it could be nullified at this point as aspects are being implemented nationwide. the attorneys for the 20 states and the national federation of independent businesses countered the larger conclusion and debate for him is whether congress is grabbing too much power unconstitutionally at the expense of the states and people. >> if congress has the power to force americans to go out and buy something, americans will lose their freedom. it's liberty and freedom which is being fought for in this courthouse today. >> judge vincent acknowledged at the end of this today's hearing, the national importance in anticipation of his hearing that he says he'll make as quickly as possible. expect that next month. >> what's the next step, phil? >> well, remember, two federal judges have already ruled in favor of the obama administration. one in detroit. the other in lynchburg, virginia and then on monday, that judge in richmond ruled against it. all those cases are already those circuits court of appeal. the sixth in cincinnati and the fourth in richmond. the outcome of this lawsuit will likely be to the 11th circuit in atlanta and the road map to the u.s. supreme court. >> shepard: phil keating live in pensacola. thanks. federal regulators with what could be a crucial decision for the hundreds of thousands of americans battling breast cancer. it concerns the popular drug avastin. the food and drug administration reports new evidence shows that the drug's risk outweighs its benefits. and it's recommending doctors no longer use it to treat breast cancer patients. the f.d.a. making announcement after reviewing several clinical studies in women. but some doctors and patients reportedly defending the drug and saying it should remain available. cool critters. we're heading to a miami -- to miami's dolphin to meet its newest addition. we're getting word of a movement in the house on that tax cut package. that and updates on the rest of the night's story just ahead. anp to bring you a low-price medicare prescription drug plan that has the lowest national premium in the country of only $14.80 per month. so you can focus on the things that really matter. go to walmart.com for details. to london starts with arthritis pain... and a choice. take tylenol now, and maybe up to 8 in a day. or...choose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. enjoy the flight. but these days you need more than the book. you need website develoent, 1-on-1 marketing advice, search-engine marketing, and direct mail. yellowbook's got all of that. yellowbook360's got a whole spectrum of tools. tools that are going to spark some real connections. visit yellowbook360.com and go beyond yellow. affect wheat output in the u.s., the shipping industry in norway, and the rubber industry in south america? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses, and other information to read and consider carefully before investing. âȘ âȘ âȘ [ male announcer ] print from any mobile vice so your ideas can be there even when you're not. introducing the new web-connected printers with eprint from hp. mom's name is dolphin. weighs about 40 pounds. next step get him a name. the aquarium is having a contest so people can have their say. updating fox top stories tonight. the house has started debate on the tax cut compromise now. should take a few hours. republicans in the senate forcing democrats onto pull a huge 1 spending bill. and the wikileaks founder julian assange out of jail in london and set to begin house arrest in the 10 bedroom mansion. fighting extradition to sweed where he is wanted in a sex crime investigation. 1960 disaster in the fog sleet a mile above new york city. when the united airlines jet collided with a pro pell ler plane. collided into a busy neighborhood in