evergreen, but let's go first to jonathan serrie in montgomery with the hatest on judge moore. jonathan, president trump weighed in on the race from pensacola last night. tell us what he said. >> yeah, james. president trump told the crowd this is really about his agenda and getting it enacted. he told the crowd that it's also about preserving the republican party's very narrow majority in the u.s. senate. let's give it a listen. >> we can't afford to have a liberal democrat who is completely controlled by nancy pelosi and chuck schumer. we can't do it. >> reporter: moore did not appear with the president at that rally, but his campaign had been urging moore's supporters to go and attend the rally, the campaign explaining that moore was busy campaigning with alabamians in his own state. james? james: and, jonathan, the moore campaign is also once again pushing back against one of his accusers. >> reporter: yeah. that is beverly nelson. she claims that moore sexually assaulted her back when she was 16 years old after she says that she accepted an offer to take her home from the old hickory house restaurant where she had worked as a waitress, says this happened when she was 16 years old. well, her attorney, gloria allred, hired a forensic handwriting expert who's now determined that a note written in nelson's high school yearbook was, indeed, written by roy moore. listen. >> and it demonstrates that when roy moore stated, quote: i do not know any of these women, end quote, that statement does not appear to be true. >> reporter: but the accuser, beverly nelson, also revealed that she added her own handwriting after moore's signature to remember the date and location he allegedly signed her yearbook. the moore campaign says the fact that she left out this detail until the last minute now casts doubt on her entire story. >> the truth is out there, and until she releases the yearbook, all we know is they're not telling the truth, and they've lied. and under the alabama pattern jury instructions, it says -- it tells a jury if you believe that a witness has lied in anything, you can disregard everything they've said. >> reporter: and the moore campaign is now calling on nelson and attorney allred to release the yearbook to a neutral third party so that an independent handwriting expert can examine it. james? james: all right. thank you, jonathan serrie. meanwhile, democratic candidate doug jones is mobilizing his supporters to turn out for tuesday's special senate election in alabama. as polling data show, those sexual misconduct allegations against jones' opponent have not proved decisive as some analysts predicted. peter doocy is live in alabama with the latest from the doug jones camp. peter. >> reporter: james, we've been driving around in the car through alabama all day long and just heard a radio ad from the doug jones campaign that really puts this entire race into perspective. in this commercial that jones says at the end that he approves of, he says that if he wins as a democrat from alabama, he would work with the republican senator richard shelby, but that is 180 degrees different than what roy moore has been saying whose assault on republican leadership is really what made him so popular during the primary. doug jones, the attorney from birmingham who trailed by 3.5 points in thing real clear politics average of polls, has some high-wattage stars of his party in the state to try and help make up the dumps, both of whom are considered 2020 contenders. deval patrick is in selma, alabama, and new jersey senator cory booker is going to be with him later in montgomery. booker, of course, works with senator chuck schumer who president trump has suggested would be a puppetmaster for doug jones if he was sent to washington d.c. but getting out the vote not the only thing the jones campaign is trying to do, they're also trying to correct the record around his position on abortion. they're not denying that he is running as a very pro-choice democrat in a very pro-life state, but they do suggest with the video on his twitter page that some of the conservative attacks against him have been off base. >> and the abortion attacks? not true. doug jones does not support late-term abortions and never has. >> reporter: the attacks against doug jones more being pro-choice have been the centerpiece of conservative p complaints against him, and they are seen by many analysts in alabama as the main thing that has people who may be skeptical about roy moore still skeptical about doug jones as well. james. james: peter doocy in alabama. peter, thank you. now jules has a guest. julie: new details in the russia investigation. according to "the new york times," the fbi has warned hope hicks, the white house communications director, about repeated attempts by russian operatives to contact her during the transition. meantime, a key member of robert mueller's investigative team has revealed to have close ties to hillary clinton and the democrats. a development that is generating huge concerns from many republicans of a potential bias in mueller's office. let's bring in our panel, ned ryan is the founder of american majority and a former writer for president george w. bush, and scott bolden, former d.c. democratic party chairman. thank you, gentlemen, for talking to us. >> thank you. >> thanks, julie. julie: so this is further proof, ned, that brazen attempts by russian operatives to meddle in the presidential election. it also proves that ms. hicks did nothing improper. >> that's right. julie: what does this do to mueller's investigation? >> absolutely nothing. all it does is actually prove what we've known for decades and decades, russia has tried to meddle in u.s. elections. and, quite frankly, the obama administration was warned almost two years before the 2016 elections that russia was going to increase its efforts to impact and influence democratic elections in the west. so, to me, this is nothing. russia, after decades and decades of trying to meddle in our elections and influence them, is still doing that. so i don't really think this does anything except for, again, it's more breathless, heavy breathing from the left of more proof there might have been collusion. no. just shows russia was methodding in our -- meddling in our elections. julie, the thing that is really becoming very apparent in this last week, this mueller investigation i don't think that anybody with any objectivity can say that his team is not a pack of highly partisan wolves who are on a political witch hunt trying to nullify the 2016 elections. you mentioned anthony wiseman, but jeannie rhea and also ben rhodes, obama's nsa director, now you have aaron seldly who put hillary clinton's private e-mail server together and destroyed some of her blackberries. i think in many ways any legitimacy that it might have had, this mueller investigation, is gone, and it didn't have much to begin with. julie: okay. the look on scott's face tends to disagree with that. [laughter] scott, go ahead. >> i don't think anybody's surprised i'm going to disagree with that. as a former prosecutor, let me just say this: there is no litmus test for whether you can become a prosecutor or not because of your politics and the first amendment. if that gets in the way of doing a fair and independent investigation, then you'll be removed like one of those mueller investigators were. but the allegation that somehow these lawyers represented hillary clinton in a prior life or all of these types of issues, it's not a litmus test. and the doj rules say so. so i think it's a bunch of noise. but i will say this, ken starr was a republican and investigated bill clinton. nobody liked that. but until it gets in the way of a fair and independent investigation -- julie: right, but -- >> -- republicans criticizing the very republicans that praised mueller's selection six months ago. julie: scott, hold that thought. scott, i've got to ask you. the entire investigation into the trump/russia collusion was in large part due to the fusion gps, mueller's team is largely partisan. do you not see any credibility issues here? >> at best you may have some appearance issues, but i -- julie: appearance? >> -- disagree that that report was the reason which drove the mueller investigation. >> no -- >> hold on one second. there were at least 50 contacts during and after the election of donald trump that drove this investigation. and drove the republicans in the house, senate as well as doj to say this needs to be investigated. the other thing that drove this investigation was the fact that russia was meddling in something that was sacred to our american democracy, and that's our elections. that ought to be investigated -- >> of course to. >> -- and republicans and democrat both ought to do that. julie: go go ahead, ned. >> there's a massive difference between russian meddling and the fairy tale of trump/russia collusion which, as julie pointed out, was in many ways based on this fake fusion gps dossier -- >> that's not all it was based upon though. >> -- [inaudible] and the dnc. and i think the thing that's even more troubling, julie, now we're starting to suspect that peter strzok, the highly partisan fbi member of mueller's team, might have used that as justification for fisa warrants to spy on team trump. >> yeah, but -- >> wait, wait, scott. >> okay. >> the only silver lining, julie, of this mueller investigation is i think it shows where the real investigation should be, into the highly corrupt and highly politicized doj, fbi and even our intelligence community. >> the problem with those allegations and that presentation is that it's all based on conjecture, if you will. >> no, it's not. >> the republicans and the trump campaign had over 50 contacts with russia, and, yes, russia was digging deep into the trump campaign, and donald trump, quite frankly, they were digging back. julie: all right. >> because collusion is an act, if you will. it's not a crime, it's not a result. and we know there's evidence that there were conversations going back and forth about getting clinton material to help donald trump win. why are you all -- [inaudible conversations] julie: hold on a second. the reason for the investigation was to prove collusion, to prove that president trump or then-candidate trump actually colluded with the russians -- >> it was to investigate it. they haven't decided that yet. julie: i understand, but this is no, there is no, there is no ed at this point that the president was directly involved. >> okay. and let the investigation continue. julie: of course we know the russians wanted to meddle in our election, they had some leeway here -- [inaudible conversations] >> isn't that worth investigating? julie: yes, absolutely. >> why are republicans so afraid of this investigation? [inaudible conversations] >> there's two different things. >> democrats respect. julie: i've got to say one other thing. scott, you mentioned how there's an appearance. text messages that are cleary aimed at anti-trump, pro-hillary coming from a member of the fbi, he was removed but he still works for the fbi. he's no longer involved with the special come, but he no longer -- shouldn't the fbi be bipartisansome you don't believe when there's investigations being done by political officials, who's watching watchdogs? >> it ought to be independent. julie: that's the problem. [inaudible conversations] >> the fbi and doj should be independent. politics shouldn't even be involved in it, i agree with you there. >> that's the problem, scott. julie: james comey, example number one. >> eric holder, loretta lynch. [laughter] [inaudible conversations] julie: hey, my producers wrapped me 12 minutes ago or something like that. >> oh, let us go. we've got a lot more to say. [laughter] julie: thank you. james: california wildfires taking a deadly turn after a 70-year-old woman is killed while trying to evacuate the thomas fire, the largest of the six wildfires disturb burning through vast verbs of the golden state. california governor jerry brown speaking moments ago. >> we're facing a new reality in the state where fires threaten people's lives, their property, their neighborhoods. and, of course, billions and billions of dollars. so we have to have the resources to combat the fires. james: our dan springer is live in ventura, california, where some people are starting to return home to rebuild shattered lives. good afternoon, dan. >> reporter: we just got some new, updated numbers, and they are sad and staggering. between the six fires, 175,000 acres have burned, that's well over 250 square miles and more than 1,000 structures have been destroyed including what were these homes behind me up on this ridge in ventura. by far the hardest-hit area. many of the 90,000 people forced to evacuate are from here, and most are now finally able to return home to see how bad it is. but the good news today is the fierce santa ana winds are taking a bit of a break. winds are much lighter today and yesterday giving crews a chance to get some containment. in fact, a couple of the fires are well under control. california governor jerry brown, as you said, surveyed some of the damage and met with some of the 8700 people fighting these fires. he praised their efforts and then he got political, talking about climate change and tax cuts. >> this is tens and tens of billions of dollars. i hope the folks in washington realize that as they're spending money or helping others spend it by giving them various tax breaks, we need to invest in our fire-fighting capacity, we need to invest in our whole infrastructure as well as our energy. >> reporter: we've heard some harrowing stories from people who did everything they could to save their homes including 73-year-old larry markworth. he sprayed water on his home and his fence as everything around him burned. take a listen. >> i kept thinking i'm too old to tart over again. [laughter] this is my dream house. we looked for this house for 30 years. ocean view, waterfront, all up and down the coast of california. so this was my house. we've been here 15 years, and i said i'm going to go back. that's the warrior mode. i'm a vietnam veteran, and once you -- and i was in the navy, and we learned a lot about fire fighting. >> reporter: and larry knows he is very lucky to be alive and lucky to still have his house standing. we are still under red flag warnings, they will expire at around 8:00 tomorrow night. the winds are picking up a little bit right now. we're expecting heavier winds, stronger winds tonight, later tonight and early tomorrow morning with gusts up to 50 miles per hour, so hopefully that's this fire's last gasp. james? james: dan springer on location in ventura, california. dan, thank you. julie: a major milestone in the war against the islamic state. the iraqi government claiming it has complete control over its border with syria. so i how could this victory change u.s. strategy in the region? ♪ ♪ when it comes to strong bones, are you on the right path? we have postmenopausal osteoporosis... ..and a high risk for fracture, so with our doctors... ...we chose prolia®... ...to help make our bones stronger. only prolia® helps strengthen bones... ...by stopping cells that damage them... ...with 1 shot every 6 months. do not take prolia® if you have low blood calcium, are pregnant, are allergic to it, or take xgeva®. serious allergic reactions, like low blood pressure; trouble breathing; throat tightness; face, lip or tongue swelling... ...rash, itching or hives have happened. tell your doctor about dental problems, as severe jaw bone... ...problems may happen or new or unusual pain in your hip groin, or thigh, as unusual thigh bone fractures have occurred. peak to your doctor before stopping prolia®, as spine and other bone fractures have occurred. prolia® can cause serious side effects, like low blood calcium; serious infections, which could need hospitalization; ...skin problems; and severe bone, joint, or muscle pain. if your bones aren't getting stronger... ...isn't it time for a new direction? why wait? ask your doctor about prolia®. worsome can hurt.l. others bring sheer joy. and some, you just make up along the way. in the end... words bring us together. and just one can change your life. ♪ download the new words with friends 2 from the app store or google play. ♪ ♪ james: the government in iraq has today declared victory over isis in that country. iraqi prime minister al-abadi said iraqi forces now fully control the iraqi/syrian border. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: we have achieved great victories today. speak speaking tongue. >> translator: i would like today to announce the good news to all iraqis. during the last hours, our forces have completed the liberation of anbar and are in full control of the border. [applause] james: so does that mean that the threat from the terrorist group which once ruled over eight million people is gone? here with answers on that and other global issues is fox news foreign policy analyst clarence skinner, a professor of international relations at carnegie mellon university and longtime friend. kiron, welcome. what threat, if any, do you see isis posing going forward or perhaps beyond iraq and syria? >> that's a big question because although isis has been defeated largely in iraq, there are remnants that still exist. they've just moved into various communities, and they're hiding out. they aren't gone. they will probably re-emerge with kind of guerrilla insurgent tactics in that country. we know that they are working alongside the taliban in afghanistan, and we also know that they have inspired radicalism throughout the african continent in both west africa and north africa in particular. so they're not gone. but what's important about iraq is that the untold story of 2017 is that general mattis, with support of president trump, has put forth a new military strategy for dealing with the global war on terror. a term, james, that you know we could not use officially during the obama administration. that strategy has entailed not abandoning rules of engagement in the global war on terror, but, in fact, enhancing them by making them more precise, increasing the personnel and commitment to the coalition civilian assessment teams to watch over unintended death and injury. we've actually had a major shift in u.s. strategy by, one, declaring the war and by having a different military approach. james: and, of course, we still have a significant number of u.s. troops in afghanistan. professor skinner, i want to turn your attention to europe and specifically relations with russia. our viewers might imagine the greatest irritant in those relations is that conclusion by our u.s. intelligence agencies that russia meddled in the 2016 election which, of course, remains the subject of much investigation in washington. but secretary of state rex tillerson, speaking in vienna this week, cited another issue entirely. >> in syria we can have differences in other areas, but when one country invades another, that is a difference that is hard to look past. or to reconcile. and we've made this clear to russia from the very beginning, that we must address ukraine. it stands as the single most difficult obstacle to us renormalizing a relationship with russia which we badly would like to do. james: kiron skinner, do you see any scenario in which russia withdraws its proxy forces from eastern ukraine, or should president trump and secretary tillerson accept as a practical heart that russia -- matter that russia is in those places to stay? >> i don't know if anyone has the answer to that hard question, but i do agree with the secretary of state. ukraine is a major source of tension in not just u.s./russia relations, but u.s -- russia relations with the west more broadly. because it continues to arm and meddle against with those forces against the ukrainian government. and this is not behavior that is consistent with what other great powers are doing, and it destabilizes much of europe. but there are other areas that the secretary did not mention that i think are important. as major sources of tech between the west and russia -- of tension between the west and russia. for example, the imf treaty. jails james all right. we're almost out of time, i regret to say, but very quickly, what grade at the close of his first year in office would you give president trump on foreign policy? >> well, i probably would give him an a-. and i say that because i think he's been a surprise on the foreign policy scene in the world, but i would like in order for him to get an a++, i'd like to hear him articulate over and over again with a strong echo chamber the america first policy as it relates to the rest of the world. james: all right. kyron skipper, thanks for making time for us on a snowy saturday. >> thank you. julie: president trump heading back to florida after visiting the new civil rights museum in mississippi, so what is next on his agenda? we've got that coming up. plus, protesters taking to the streets again after president trump's decision to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital. we are live in the holy city with very late reaction to this historic move. ♪ ♪ it's ok to crave. and with panera catering, there's more to go around. panera. food as it should be. ♪ ♪ everyone deserves attention, whether you've saved a lot or just a little. at pnc investments, we believe you're more than just a number. so we provide personal financial advice for every retirement investor. ♪ ♪ julie: president trump landing in florida after a short plane ride from mississippi. he was in jackson earlier in the day making a speech during the opening of the mississippi civil rights museum. there he gave a powerful speech. phil keating is live in west palm beach, florida, with more. phil, this is a pretty busy weekend for the president. >> reporter: absolutely, julie. much of the time not even being spent at the winter white house on palm beach. however, air force one is now back at the west palm beach airport, and president trump is now back at his mar-a-lago estate on palm beach having landed in the 2:00 hour from mississippi. and greeting him on tarmac in jackson, mississippi, at the airport were governor phil bryant who invited trump for today's opening ceremony of the mississippi civil rights museum, also there senator roger wicker and charles evers, civil rights activist and brother of medgar evers who fought and died at the hands of klansmen during the struggle. the president took an abbreviated tour of the brand new $100 million museum which takes visitors through mississippi's tumultuous history including slavery as well as the segregated and jim crow '50s and '60s touched on in the president's speech. >> this is an incredible tribute not only to the state of mississippi finish a state that i love, a state where i've had great success -- this is a tribute the our nation at the highest level. >> reporter: last night in pensacola trump held a packed make america great again rally, very reminiscent of last year's campaign trail. and being just 20 miles east of alabama, he again urged alabamians to vote for accused sex offender roy moore in tuesday's potential senate election. >> this country, future of this country cannot afford to lose a seat in the very, very close united states senate. we can't afford it, folks. we can't. [cheers and applause] we can't afford to have a liberal democrat who is completely controlled by that many city pelosi and chuck schumer. we can't do it. his name is jones, and he's their total puppet. >> reporter: that being doug jones, the democrat in the race. notably, several civil rights activists boycotted today's trump speech and the opening ceremony event in jackson, mississippi, specifically because president trump was there. they accused the president of actually making race relations worse. also tonight and tomorrow at mar-a-lago could be relatively quiet, there are no further events on this weekend trip planned, at least not yet that we know of. the president did tweet that he was intending to watch today's army/navy football game and when asked aboard air force one whom he was going to be rooting for the president relied, both. replied, both. [laughter] julie? julie: i like your jacket. i've never seen you sport leather. it's pretty cold in florida. [laughter] >> reporter: it is very cold. julie: you should come to new york. [laughter] >> reporter: this is the coldest it's been in south florida since january, and i can guarantee you you could just walk arounding and find many people with scarves, hats and maybe even some mittens. julie: come to new york -- >> reporter: 60s! julie: it has been snowing all day long, i can't imagine what you'd be wearing if you were here. hope to see you -- james: for more on all of this, let's bring in a white house correspondent at the washington examiner. the last 4 hours really have brought us -- 24 hours really have brought us a tale of two trumps. you saw the perpetual campaigner with 10,000 cheering supporters in pensacola last night, condemning fake news, enforcing roy moore, and this morning in jackson remarks at the mississippi civil rights museum. what does this all tell us about donald trump as a political performer? >> well, he knows the audience that he's playing for, and we saw that both last night and today. last night was vintage trump, he offered a full-throated endorsement of roy moore, he went off cuff, didn't stick to his teleprompter remarks and it felt like the rallies we saw in the 2016 presidential election. and you compare that to earlier today when he offered very sincere, very respectful remarks at the opening of the civil rights museum knowing that he's already created some controversy just by being there at the opening of this museum, knowing that if he drifted from his prepared remarks, that it might create even more controversy. so i think that he was stressed about that and wanted to deliver and make sure that it was a smooth ceremony earlier today. james: i can speak with firsthand knowledge that sometimes the teleprompter is, indeed, your safe harbor. [laughter] the president is losing a key member of his white house team with yesterday's announcement that the deputy national security adviser is moving with her family to to new york. the white house marred by extraordinary staff turnover from mike flynn to reince priebus and, of course, anthony scaramucci. this one's entirely different, right? >> yes, she's emerging unscathed. she has not been involved in any of the ongoing controversy, ongoing war between west wing aides. she has been untouched by the mueller special counsel investigation so far. we're not quite sure whether she's been interviewed by federal investigators, although we have no reason to believe that she has. i think what we've been hearing from the white house for a long time, from sources close to dean that dean that powell has been mentioned as a possible successor to nikki haley. lastly, bruce oher was demoted on wednesday amid revelations that he met secretly last year year -- [audio difficulty] gabby, what would you say is the chief concern in the trump white house right now about where the mueller investigation may be headed? >> well, they think that it's very difficult for mueller's team to be impartial at this point because there are so many individuals working on this investigation who have clearly shown signs of bias whether it's been in favor of hillary clinton, the primary democratic opponent and last year's presidential election, or just sheer anti-trump bias. so this is another case, you know, there's a lot of questions surrounding why this doj official -- a senior member of the agency -- was meeting with the author of this dossier, why a congressional -- or congressional investigators who have been bringing this dossier up in multiple testimonies and hearings weren't warned of his demotion or made aware of it and, ultimately, what impact this might have on the federal investigation into ties between the trump administration and russian officials. james: all right. gabby, thank you. >> thanks, james. julie: middle east tensions spiking after president trump's historic announcement about jerusalem. we have a live report from that holy city just ahead. ♪ ♪ at planters we know how to throw a remarkable holiday party. just serve classy snacks and be a gracious host, no matter who shows up. do you like nuts? 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james: david lee miller, as it nears midnight in jerusalem, thank you. julie: we go now to republican congressman martha mcsally of arizona for more on this. she sits on both the armed services and homeland security committees. congresswoman, thank you very much for talking to us. >> absolutely. julie: what do you believe of the president's decision? was it the right one? >> it was absolutely the right thing to do. look, jerusalem has been the capital of israel and for the jewish people since about 3,000 years ago, and 23 years ago a haw was passed voted on by chuck schumer, nancy pelosi and others to make and identify -- really to recognize jerusalem as a their eternal and undivided capital. and for 22 years america has not been good on its promise. so the president did the right thing in his leadership to say we stand by this promise and recognizing what the capital actually is and moving our embassy there. we are the leader of the free world, and this was a bold move that was the right thing to do, and i really applaud it. julie: what is your reaction to the u.n. council denouncing president trump's decision on jerusalem? >> well, the u.n. has a history of tremendous hostility towards israel, so they don't have much credibility, unfortunately, on this topic. again, we need to show that leadership to say we're going to stand by our strong democratic ally in the region, and we're going to stand against the terrorists who are going to try to destroy them. and, by the way, that includes really the palestinian authority has no credibility here. they're continuing to send hundreds of millions of dollars to terrorists and terrorist families to incite violence and to support terrorism against the israeli people. and i stood on the border of the gaza strip. hamas, the terrorist organization that has an infusion of cash from their supporter iran thanks to the obama administration, is just looking for opportunities to try and attack israel. these are no reasons for us to sop doing the right thing, and we need to march forward to move the embassy the jerusalem. again, it's very much the right decision. julie: okay. meantime, nikki haley has continued to defend the president. here she is speaking at the u.n. yesterday. let's listen to that. >> the united states has not taken a position on boundaries or borders. the specific dimensions of sovereignty over jerusalem are still to be decided by the israelis and the palestinians in negotiations. the united states has not advocated changing any of the arrangements at the temple mount. the president specifically called for maintaining the status quo at the holy site. julie: okay, so there's been so much backlash due to this. a lot of the media was reporting and focusing so much on how, you know, the president is trying to erase 70 years of history, and it was really neglected to be reported and, quite frankly, irresponsible not to bring up the fact that congress actually voted on this in 1995. this is not anything new. it was voted on. >> no. julie: the president himself had made the promise he would do so. he wanted to see if there would be some peace and resolve in the palestinian/israeli peace process, and will hasn't been, so he is basically just upholding a decision made by congress many years ago. >> right. right, he's upholding the law that, again, many democrats voted for. he's fulfilling a campaign promise, and he's recognizing reality, that this is the capital of israel. the parliament is there, the supreme court is there, the prime minister -- they're all in jerusalem. look, people talking about upending diplomacy, diplomacy's not working, and something needs to change. and he is a disrupter, and in this case the failed and stalled talks are not working. so maybe showing some bold leadership and saying we're standing by our ally can actually provide the opportunity for these talks to resume and be sorted out. again, some of these issues need to be sorted out, but they need to come to the table, and the palestinian authority needs to stop inciting and paying for violence. they should really be focusing more on that instead of this issue. julie: congresswoman mcsally, thank you very much. >> absolutely. james: wilefires in california raging with noened in sight burning -- no end in sight, forcing thousands from their homings. meantime, a winter storm is slamming the northeast with snow blanketing the region. we're live in the fox extreme weather center with an update on both stories straight ahead. ♪ ♪ taken tylenol, he'd be stopping for more pills right now. only aleve has the strength to stop tough pain for up to 12 hours with just one pill. aleve. all day strong. we are the driven... the dedicated... the overachievers. we know our best investment is in ourselves. we don't take no for an answer. we fight for what we want. even for the things that were once a given. going to college... buying a home... and not being in debt for it for the rest of our lives. but we're only as strong as our community. who inspires and pushes us to go further than we could ever go alone. sofi. get there sooner. james: wildfires in southern california continuing the rage out of control and burn virtually everything in their path. powerful santa ana winds fueling those flames. meteorologist adam klotz is here with us, he's been tracking the weather on the west coast. >> reporter: it's the wind that you're talking about that continues to strive this, and it's going -- to drive this. everything you're seeing here, these are forecasted wind speeds getting up to 350 miles -- 50 miles an hour. running all the way into sunday, strong winds kicking up all the way until we get into monday. so this is going to be an issue that continues to last. op top of that, what else do you need? bone-dry air, and there is going to be plenty of that. these dark brown areas are humidly down below 10% which is the kind of stuff that gives you static electricity when you touch doors. that's going to be absolutely everywhere. so with that dry air and that wind, no surprise that we continue to see an elevated fire risk really all across portions of southern california from san diego running up to ventura county where we've seen some of the biggest fires so far. unfortunately, the conditions just aren't looking too much better here as we continue through the weekend, james. james: that is scary stuff. an uncommon sight in the deep south as a rare snowstorm has turned parts of texas, alabama and georgia into a veritable winter wonderland. the storm has moved to the northeast, adam. how much snow are we going to see? >> reporter: well, we've been getting it throughout the entire day, some of that snowfall, at this hour we continue to see advisories, watches warnings stretching from maine still down into the carolinas. a lot of cases several inches of snow have fallen. you can still see this mass right along the coast, big corridor from d.c. stretching up to new york and boston all getting snow as we speak. your future radar shows throughout the evening hours -- taking you now close to midnight, you've cleared off in new york, philadelphia, d.c. still some snow lingering in boston, toward the port lan area. how much -- portland area. how much are we going to see? i wouldn't with be surprised a lot of these areas seeing 3-6 areas. i think it's enough to make a couple of snow angels. james: adam klotz, thank you. julie: we are seeing snow right out our studios as well, but that is not stopping people from braving the cold to shop. this video is from bryant park which is just a few blocks away from our building. bryan llenas is live at bryant park. you know, it's funny adam just mentioned snow angels. does that ring a bell a few years ago, i made you drop and give me snow angels in central park? [laughter] my favorite video. >> reporter: it does. everybody can youtube it later. the shoppers are here, they have been -- [laughter] shopping all day. you know, some six million people come to new york city between thanksgiving and new year's, so no matter what people want to come out in the city, in the slushy snow, but they're spending big money this year. the national retail federation says some $967 each, people will be spending. that's some $35 more than last year. but as adam was saying, 3-6 inches of snow expected along the northeast, especially more snow if you're along east coast, along the ocean. we were seeing this very abnormal snowstorm that hit the south, and in georgia, alabama, mississippi, louisiana some 380,000 homes are still without power, north carolina 39,000 homes without power. so the concern now is really with those frigid temperatures as well as those icy roads. we're talking about hundreds of vehicles in virginia, for instance, slide aring according to the police there -- sliding. so make sure you're safe out there even though this is the first snow and it's definitely fun. as for the shopping, well, we talked about in texas, by the way, houston not only dealing with hurricane harvey, but the snow there. it is wonderful snow, but make sure you stay safe when you get your last gifts -- 15 days left on the shopping calendar. raoul jewell bryan, thank you. i like to catch people off guard. james: aye noticed. julie: for example, bryan llenas. fun fact, this guy born in brooklyn, raised in staten island, and you know how he comes across as so proper on tv? can you please do your accent? please! i'm begging you. james: maybe a little bit just for you. julie: give him a tight shot. james: that's going to do it for -- julie: no in an accent! james:e i hear things, sittingn for kelly. julie: loveow it! n't know. shaky on the walk, carriage was off. randy jackson judging a dog show. i don't know dawg. surprising. what's not surprising? how much money lisa saved by switching to geico. wow! performance of the night. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. . . . i cannot imagine managing my diabetes without my dexcom. this is the dexcom g5 mobile continuous glucose monitoring system. a small, wearable sensor measures your glucose every 5 minutes and sends the data to a dexcom receiver. dexcom helps lower a1c and improves quality of life. if you're over 65 and you have diabetes, you should have a dexcom. if you get a dexcom, you're going to be very glad that you did. visit dexcomnow.com to learn more. you're going to be very glad that you did. and her new mobile wedding business.tte at first, getting paid was tough... until she got quickbooks. now she sends invoices, sees when they've been viewed and-ta-dah-paid twice as fast for free. visit quickbooks-dot-com. robert mueller's team getting closer to trump's inner circle as white house communication director is questioned by investigators. welcome to brand-new hour of inside america's news headquarters, i'm arthel neville. eric: and i'm eric sean. hope hicks about attempts of russian operatives to contact her. meanwhile you know the fbi director christopher ray was grilled by republican lawmakers over the agency's fairness in the russian probe. >> there is no