what it means for the next phase of the war, plus the message from the pope about the war in the holy land. then, lost and found, putin s number one critic, alexei navalny located in an arctic prison, putting an end to the mystery of his whereabouts. and christmas in camp david, how president biden is spending the holiday, plus the first lady on how the white house decked the halls for the season. and finally, you may be dreaming of a white christmas, but you probably won t get it this year. just 1% of the nation is expected to see snowfall, so who will get that christmas wish? hello, it s 10:00 a.m. eastern, i m jessica layton in new york city. we begin overseas in gaza where israel is intensifying its operations on the ground until victory over hamas is reached. benjamin netanyahu saying it has no choice but to continue to fight. pope francis commenting on the war saying the message of jesus birth, what is the latest inside gaza. reporter: let s start with the pr
alec murdaugh is innocent, innocent of these charges. he lied because that s what addicts do, addicts lie. he lied because he had a closet full of skeletons. evidence is crystal clear from that moment he started fabricating evidence against alec. john: the alec murdaugh trial, a fiery rebuttal to the closing arguments, before the jury decides whether the disgraced attorney is guilty of murdering his wife and son. i m john roberts in washington. good to be with you. jacqui: murder could get life in prison without the possibility of parole if the jury convicts him of the murder charges. john: defense arguing prosecutors failed to prove their case that he committed the crimes beyond a reasonable doubt. jonathan is live in the southeast bureau with the latest. interesting arguments from jim griffin this morning and now the prosecution with a chance to try to rebutt some of those before the jury gets the charge. as we look at the live feed from the courtroom, you are see
so no matter what the market s doing, he s ready. and that s. how you collect coins. your money never stops working for you with merrill, a bank of america company. john: new at 2:00, watching both ends of pennsylvania avenue. john kirby and karine jean-pierre to face questions at the white house briefing soon but for now the president is back at his old stomping grounds on capitol hill, no matter which side of the aisle seems one topic has everyone talking, china. that s where we begin this fox news alert. within just the last few minutes, defense secretary lloyd austin putting out a new warning on china, a letter to the force, meaning all the troops serving under our flag. makes it clear china is the military s top priority, increasingly aggressive china is trying to reshape the international rules based system to suit its authoritarian preferences. this is a generational challenge and the department will rise to meet it. welcome back as america reports rolls into a sec
gillian: very busy, if the first hour is anything to go by. thanks for sticking with us. gillian turner in for sandra. we ll take you live to the trial in the low country as soon as it resumes, but until then, a lot of news we want to get in for you. start with a fox news alert. oxycodone, morphine, testosterone, hgh, you name it, i got it, homey, 40% off on any medication. john: tell me what you need, i ll tell you what you want. supposed to be a sales pitch to americans in mexico but turns out it could be a death sentence instead. the drug peddler one of many hawking on behalf of mexican pharmacies to entice tourists just as spring breakers are about to flock south of the border. gillian: the cdc says do not fall for that. warn a high chance the pill that those guys are buying may kill you. talking about legal pharmacies, not shady street dealers like that guy. john: a study reveals nearly half the pills bought in pharmacies were laced with fentanyl and other dead
congress finally receives a classified briefing on the matter today. the senate being updated at this hour after the house was briefed earlier today. sandra: all of this as senior u.s. military and national security officials warn and have confirmed that spy balloon shot down off south carolina s coast on saturday was part of a major surveillance program run by china s military. so, what else are lawmakers learning in these briefings? we ll ask tennessee senator marsha blackburn and california democratic congressman ro khanna coming up. john: begin with lawmakers sparring over the politization of the federal government and whether the justice department has been weaponized against republicans. hello, i m john roberts in washington. let me be the first to say it, sandra, happy friday eve. sandra: and we made it to thursday. good to be with you, john. i m sandra smith in new york. america reports. republican-led committee says many questions need to be answered by the f