Transcripts For FOXNEWSW Americas Newsroom With Bill Hemmer

your grandma to get out of the hospital. that's what your wish is? that's great. that's better than asking for some toy or something, right? that's much better. >> rich edson is live in florida. rich. >> good morning, cheryl. nothing on the president's schedule thus far on christmas day. it is another beautiful december day here in south florida. the kind the president or anybody else may want to spend . the president and first lady did offer their christmas wishes tweeting out a video a short while ago. >> president trump: on behalf of melania, myself, baron, and the entire trump family, god bless you, god bless america, and have a very, very merry christmas and happy new year. >> the president and mrs. trump attended religious services at the bethesda by the sea where they were married 12 years ago. the president held a teleconference with service members and spoke to kids who thought they were going to chat with santa but instead they talked with the president of the united states. the president also defended his first year in the white house tweeting out the tax cut reform bill including massive alaska drilling and repealing the individual mandate, what an incredible year we had. don't let the fake news convince you otherwise. our insider polls are strong. outsider polls show the president is upside down in his support from the country and a long to-do list in congress when it comes to budgeting, immigration and healthcare. the white house and administration is looking to cut the u.s. foreign aid budget. news on that front where nikki haley, the united nations ambassador, the u.s. ambassador to the united nations announced the u.s. secured $285 million of budget cuts to the united nations budget. she said the statement, the historic reduction in spending in addition to many other moves toward a more efficient, accountable u.n. is a big step in the right direction. while we're pleased with the result of this year's budget negotiations we'll continue to increase the u.n.'s efficiency while protecting our interests and a bit of news here. the president has been briefed on a suicide attack in kabul per the white house press secretary sarah sanders. keep you updated throughout the day. cheryl and leland, back to you. >> we'll try to get more details on that. rich edson live for us in florida. >> let's bring in the deputy managing editor for "the weekly standard" joining us from washington kelly jane, nice to see you. merry christmas to you. start with this. the president clearly is trying to set up his first year wins in these tweets as he is down in florida talking about his first year's successes. what is the white house plan to translate those into 2018 political capital? >> merry christmas, leland. i think this is the first time really all year we have seen the republican party united with senators, congressmen and the president. it is something you could tell the mood was really great and everybody was excited to be this united when mitch mcconnell himself said he actually had been getting used to the donald trump's tweets and didn't mind them so much. that means that they're pretty happy with the tax bill passing and they're in a good mood. the question is will it last? there are a lot of big issues coming up in 2018. there is a lot less agreement on within the republican party than there was on tax reform. i think they are trying to keep this unity going. >> certainly there is a lot more division and a lot harder things coming up. immigration, what to do about daca, much more division within the republican party about that than there is about tax reform. building the wall, how to fund it, etc. we know mitch mcconnell and paul ryan will head to camp david to try to get everybody on the same page whether to go after infrastructure or immigration or defense spending first. what are the must-dos for republicans in 2018 to keep the momentum going into the mid-terms. >> the first thing is to pass the spending bill. they did a last-minute fix that only goes until january 19th. they have to fund the government and this is even here we'll see some disunion amongst the republicans. you have a lot of people, as you mentioned, military spending is coming up. a lot of republicans want to increase military spending with all of the security problems we're seeing around the globe. you have the deficit hawks who are nervous about increasing spending in any direction. and you sort of wonder are some of these republicans going to get democratic support in the senate for this? democrats say they'll only support increased military spending if it goes with increased domestic spending. you add that. >> they have to get democratic support in the senate for any spending bill. you have to get 60 votes in the senate. that's why they've kept kicking the can down the road. what are you hearing from democrats? are they ready at some point to take a stand and to be willing to say we're not going to keep voting for these crs unless there is movement on something like immigration, unless democrats get a win? >> i think that daca is going to be the hill on which they're willing to die. a lot of republicans want to see a fix here. very sympathetic group of people. the young people who came here illegally as children through no fault of their own. a lot of republicans are sympathetic to that. the problem is democrats are really unwilling to give republicans anything that looks like a win because they see trump as toxic and they don't want to aid the republican party with wins going into the mid-terms. >> from their base at least standing up to president trump is something that is helpful for them. want to get your read on this. a tweet that president trump set out. people are proud to be saying merry christmas again he continues i'm proud to have led the charge against the assault of our cherished and beautiful phrase merry christmas. this is something the president has been on for months now. this sort of the war on christmas and championing the merry christmas cause. does that work beyond his base, or is that solely a play there for them to perhaps mullify things like not building the wall yet. >> all of the advertising in december is focused on christmas. i have to say i hear people every year saying merry christmas. maybe i'm hearing a little more this year i have to admit even here in washington, d.c. which certainly is not trump country. but on the wholly think people sort of -- most people other than trump's base think the war on christmas is a bit exaggerated. we see christmas everywhere in december. this is something where trump was partly elected to stick it to the elites and this is one issue where the base see the elites of trying to tamp down on any religious expression in the public square and trump saying i'm against that and i'm standing up for you. >> you do see the president's base rally around him when he takes these stands. great to see you, kelly jane. thank you for coming in on christmas. we'll talk to you soon. >> merry christmas to you and cheryl. >> to you as well. some sad news to bring you this christmas morning. five people are dead after a plane crash on christmas eve. this happened in central florida. the cessna 340 twin engine took off in dense fog and crashed near the end of the runway. the sheriff recounting what a witness told him. >> he said i couldn't believe that they were taking off in this fog. and you can hear the engine as it revved up and as the plane took off and there was not one sign of the aircraft that was obviously soaked in a very dense, very heavy fog at the air base. >> here is what we know. on board that plane pilot, two daughters, son-in-law and a family friend. we're told they had been planning a day trip to key west. the ntsb is investigating. >> the president said there would be consequences and now the trump administration is delivering on those threats to the united nations. ambassador nikki haley announcing the u.s. has negotiated a historic reduction in the u.n.o.'s operating budget for the 2018 fiscal year. this comes days after 128 countries denounced the president's decision to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital. david lee miller live in our new york city newsroom. there is a lot of news out of the u.n. >> last year's u.n. budget was $5.4 billion dollars. according to nikki haley, the u.s. has negotiated a $235 million budget reduction. about 5%. no specifics on how the money would be saved but haley said there have been reductions in the u.n.'s bloated planningment and instilling for discipline and accountability. in a statement released by the u.s., u.n. mission. the overspending of the united nations is well-known. this historic reduction in spending in addition to many other moves toward a more efficient and accountable u.n. is a big step in the right direction. haley's announcement follows a vote in the u.n. general assembly -- after the vote took place the president threatened to cut funding to countries that voted against the united states. ambassador haley warned the u.s. would be taking names and true to her word late last week haley announced that 64 countries that did vote with the u.s. will be invited to a post -- did not vote against the u.s. will be invited to a post new year's party. on the list of attendees, togo, gaunt, gaunt, by the way, announced it will move its emotion -- embassy to jerusalem. u.n. employees got higher salaries. the united states pays 22% of the u.n.'s budget. japan is second at 10%, less than half of what the u.s. pays in. on the complete other side of the spectrum here, 31 countries contribute the bare minimum which is .001% or about $28,000 a year toward the u.n. budget. >> there are some diplomats who wrack up parking tickets that unpaid in new york city. appreciate you being with us. walid phares with more on this coming up. >> a lot more on that story later on in the hour. another nation is following america's example. planning to move its embassy in israel from tel aviv to jerusalem. >> plus the royal family celebrating christmas with one addition to their group. there is meghan markle on the left. >> what you can do now before the end of the year to cut your taxes. you have a few days. >> 3.2 trillion in tax cuts for american families including the doubling of the standard deduction and the doubling of the child tax credit. they will start to see that because we're signing today. they'll start to see that in february. the numbers will speak. >> this is not the christmas card you want. a pennsylvania woman got quite a shock from her electric bill on her statement and there it is, a charge for $284 billion. a lot of things would go through your mind right then. then her son actually called the electric company and, of course, turns out the actual balance was $284.46. they say the decimal spot is in the wrong place. the woman said all she wants for christmas now. it says this, is a heart monitor. the other way to look at this, that's one heck of a christmas light display. that's a really lit up house. >> i think $284 is a high electric bill. she has a lot of christmas lights anyway. >> there you go. >> president trump: here is the bill right here, we're very proud of it. it is going to be tremendous thing for the american people and the economy. all of this, everything in here, is really tremendous things for businesses, for people, for the middle class, for workers. and i consider this very much a bill for the middle class and a bill for jobs. and jobs are produced through companies and corporations and you see that happening. corporations are literally going wild over this. >> president trump keeping his campaign promise to cut taxes signing the tax reform bill right before his christmas deadline. tax experts are offering advice how to lower your taxes in the final days of 2017. joining us now is gina marks, a small business activist. owner of the marx group. great to see you again. last time we spoke we were going through what we thought the tax bill was going to be. the biggest question is. americans are asking if there is some last-minute moves in deductions they should be taking this year, this week such as charitable deductions to take advantage of the last time they'll be able to use those deductions. >> 100%. let's remember we still have six days left in the year. you still have plenty of time to make your move. by all means, cheryl, you want to speak to your accountant before the end of the year if you can get them on the phone and ask advice. i recommend that to all people who work with accountants. deductions. the goal here is move as many expenses as you legally can into 2017 where tax rates are higher and you want to defer an income where you legally can into next year when tax rates will be lower. so specifically you mentioned charitable deductions. absolutely. if you bump up a charity, make a few more deductions take full advantage of that this year and it will impact your taxes more now than it would next year. another big one property taxes. if you've got the ability to pay your property taxes in advance now, the tax deduction is bigger in 2017. the same thing goes for any state or local taxes. your township, county. if you can pay that stuff early this year that will really benefit you for your tax situation going into next year. >> just to be clear if your county allows it. a lot of folks are looking at that thing. can i pay my taxes for 2018. not all counties are allowing it. in new york they don't. you have to look at your local laws. >> yeah, such a great point. you're right. because it's christmas week you might have more of a challenge getting somebody on the line. if your county does allow it and you can make a payment this week, by all means do it. >> again, i've been telling friends and family the 29th, if it's not done by then you won't get the transaction completed. let's talk about small businesses. say you have the client that owes you $5,000 for work you've done. instead of pestering them now a good thing is to wait until next year. you would rather have that extra income come in 2018, correct? >> you have to be careful. if you are a cash basis filer as a small business. a lot of small businesses are, you're right. try to get that payment next year and that way you'll pay the taxes on it in 2018 when the rates will be lower for small businesses and pass-throughs. just be careful. if you are the kind of business that invoices on an accrual baseis, that may or may not have an impact. try to accelerate your expenses. pay out bonuses. if you have office supplies and you know you'll use them next year, buy a bunch of office supplies this year, take the deduction for it. stick them in a supply closet and use them next year. that's the best thing you can do. >> we have to talk about the stock market. what a year for stocks. folks were in the stock market this year you really missed a rally. i was looking at a frequent guest on fox business saying he thinks that next year the s & p 500 will gain 15 1/2%. this means that basically if businesses -- if stocks will be higher and economy booming we'll see jobs in small and large businesses, correct? >> i don't know if that's correct or not. i'm the last person to try to forecast where the stock market will go. >> with the jobs you can with small businesses. you are in touch with these folks. are they saying they will hire and start to expand, start to build extra plants for instance? >> the answer is definitely yes. listen, cheryl, when you have extra money in your pocket from tax relief you have to do something with it. so if you aren't going to hire and pay your people better. if you pay your people better they go back out to the communities and spend money and if you want to invest you have extra cash to invest. i am confident in the stock market next year but be careful, everybody. it will be a risky place. >> merry christmas. >> merry christmas to leland as well. >> a good place to be very careful. also on the ski slopes as hundreds of people were stranded on a sky lift in the french alps. we'll tell you how they finally got down. some parts of the country didn't have to dream of a white christmas. we'll tell you where they have one in a little video coming up. remember sales event. o lease the 2017 is turbo for $299 a month for 36 months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. you've got to get in i know what a bath is smile honey this thing is like... first kid ready here we go by their second kid, every parent is an expert and... ...more likely to choose luvs, than first time parents. live, learn and get luvs a trip back to the dthe doctor's office, mean just for a shot. but why go back there, when you can stay home, with neulasta onpro? strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection, which could lead to hospitalizations. in a key study, neulasta reduced the risk of infection from 17% to 1%, a 94% decrease. applied the day of chemo, neulasta onpro is designed to deliver neulasta the next day, so you can stay home. neulasta is for certain cancer patients receiving strong chemotherapy. do not take neulasta if you're allergic to neulasta or neupogen (filgrastim). ruptured spleen, sometimes fatal as well as serious lung problems, allergic reactions, kidney injuries, and capillary leak syndrome have occurred. report abdominal or shoulder tip pain, trouble breathing or allergic reactions to your doctor right away. in patients with sickle cell disorders, serious, sometimes fatal crises can occur. the most common side effect is bone and muscle ache. so why go back there? if you'd rather be home, ask your doctor about neulasta onpro. >> hope you're having a wonderful christmas morning with you and yours. a lot of places when you woke up for christmas it was a white christmas especially in the northeast, even the midwest. that storm system bringing some dangerous driving conditions as well across new england and the great plains. out west powder day on christmas morning. adam, they certainly needed that out west. the ski resorts in colorado, wyoming and montana were hurting. >> they got what they needed. cold air funneling in around that region. these are the current windchills to our north. spots in the negative 50s in canada. that has settled into north america and we have spots that are frigid. these are the current windchills. atlanta, georgia, the mid 20s. run up into the plains states, 36° below is the feels-like temperatures in fargo. negative 16 to getting up towards negative 20. the northern plains and great lakes. very cold in the center of the country. in front of this that area is dry. in front of this is where we're seeing snow falling. sweeping across the great lakes overnight running into the mid-atlantic and stretching farther up into new england. if you target maine, they will see a lot of snow before it's all said and done. we have winter weather storm watches and warnings across new england. i'm highlighting an area into maine where we'll see the snow start to pile up along the coast it hasn't been much in the way of snow. folks have seen flurries. mostly a rain event. the colder air is on the back side of this where the snowfall totals are going to start to pile up throughout the rest of today and then taking you into eventually tuesday and wednesday. right there is your legend just behind me. i'll get out of the way. when you start to see the darker colors that's getting up to two feet of snow. maine one foot of snow and pay attention to the lakes. this is an area where it is very isolated but that's just off our great lakes down wind there will be areas, leland, where we could see three or more feet of snow in isolated areas, part of the system that moved across the midwest. >> the fire, eggnog, a great christmas afternoon. >> now you get stranded on a ski lift for two hours. that what's happened to 200 skiers and snowboarders in the french alps on christmas eve. rescuers had to get the folks out, lower them to safety. nobody was injured. >> luckily they were in a gondola and not a chair lift. >> days after president trump's jerusalem announcement another president is following his lead. we are talking about the country that will also move its embassy to jerusalem and perhaps what it means for peace in the middle east. >> christmas being celebrated around the world today. ahead we'll hear some of the messages shared from leaders abroad. i am totally blind. and non-24 can throw my days and nights out of sync, keeping me from the things i love to do. talk to your doctor, and call 844-214-2424. my dbut now, i take used tometamucil every day.sh it traps and removes the waste that weighs me down, so i feel lighter. try metamucil, and begin to feel what lighter feels like. >> big news just before christmas. guatemala becoming the first country to join the united states from moving its embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem coming just days after a united nations resolution that condemned president trump's decision. guatemala was one of the few countries that stood up to defend the usa. walid phares, foreign affairs analyst. a good friend to have on christmas, nice to see you. >> thank you, merry christmas. >> merry christmas to you. as you break this down and this news coming so soon before christmas, was this about guatemala supporting israel or guatemala trying to curry favor with the united states? >> that's a very good question actually guatemala has good relations with israel but definitely the way we see it from a geopolitical perspective guatemala is aligning with the united states. it is one of a number of countries which voted with or in defense of the united states at the united nations and we expect that guatemala and other countries in this camp will be moving their embassies. the other interesting group of countries are those who abstained, leland. these are large countries. canada, mexico, argentina, australia. spanish speakers and anglo-saxons, it will be played in the next few weeks and months and we'll see the final map of who will move their embassies or not. >> we heard the czech republic and romania discussing it. still on the fence. you talked about the countries that stood with the u.s. guatemala, togo, for a total of nine. we think about the people who abstained. you mentioned canada and the people who voted against the united states. we have part of that list. unfortunately it is a long list so we can't read it all. 128 in total. the united kingdom, germany, france and japan all voting against the united states taking a position against america. with friends like these, who needs enemies? >> well look, to analyze it properly they don't have domestic constituent east in all of these countries who are our all aisles across the pond and members of nato. they don't have a constituent as in the united states that supports the move. second, these countries will move or not their embassy depending on another block of countries, the arab countries, 57 to 58. and the europeans have so much interests with these countries that they are going to wait for that to happen. now, within that group of countries arabs and muslims we have more radical regimes who will oppose the peace process. you have allies, saudis, egypt, jordan. egypt and jordan already have relations with israelis but they were waiting for different timing to be with the united states. >> you brought up jordan and egypt, two arab countries that have good relations with israel and have great relations with the united states and we give them a lot of money. he talked to folks in the region, lebanon as well that voted against the united states. gets a lot of american money. are they worried about president trump and nikki haley's threats that the united states is taking names and might dock their paychecks? >> those who are receiving aid would be worried about every single dollar they receive from the united states and every sing -- there is a whole battle game. it seems to me the number of arab countries, they don't receive foreign aid from us. the saudis or uae. they want a different timing but they'll find a way to reconnect with the united states and have a peace process. the key matter is to have the palestinians being embraced by the arabs and come to the table and produce peace. >> the palestinians are cozziing up to the turks more than the saudis. merry christmas to you and yours. always great to talk to you. good to see you. >> christmas day celebrations underway around the world. pope francis delivering a traditional christmas message calling for peace in the middle east. expressing sorrow over conflicts around the world. meanwhile the royal family attending a christmas church service before queen elizabeth delivered her annual christmas message. katie logan is live in london. a special guest arriving, i see, there for their holiday celebration. good morning, kitty. >> good morning. as usual we first heard from pope francis today and he spoke as he so often does about the trouble spots around the world and he was addressing from the balcony. he called for a two-state solution for the middle east. he hopes dialogue will resume and prayed for peace on the north korean peninsula and he talks about the long-running war in syria and what he calls the forgotten conflict in yemen. now in the west bank itself christmas was quieter this year. fewer people were seen on celebrating put off by the clashes. but as usual christians attended a morning mass in bethlehem and here in the u.k. the queen and members of the royal family attended church this morning and met with crowds who gathered to meet them there. prince harry's new fiance was there, too. the first time she has appeared in public with the queen. in her christmas message broadcast to the public here in the u.k. the queen paid tribute to those effect by recent terror attacks in london and manchester as she described visiting some of the survivors in hospital as a privilege. slightly better news coming up for the royal family. the queen also referred to the upcoming birth of a new grandchild next spring. that wedding, prince harry and meghan markle coming up in may. >> we love a royal wedding in the united states. merry christmas. >> the news of 2018. from president trump's inauguration and the me, too movement 2017 has an understatement been a wild year of news. fox news chief news anchor shepherd smith with a run did you know of the year's top stories. >> in 2017 a new president took office while powerful men fell as women came forward to say me, too. those stories and more dominating the headlines in 2017. the year start evidence with a big change in washington the inauguration of president donald trump. >> president trump: the people became the rulers of this nation again. >> the next day millions protested the new president at the women's marches across the country. the biggest single day of demonstrations in american history. the president also confronting north korea. after the test firing of its first intercontinental ballistic missile. the north testing its new weapon a hydrogen bomb and lunching a missile that can hit the united states. in february trump fired james comey and led to the announcement of a special prosecutor mueller to look into the russian investigation and paul manafort was indicted and the former campaign aide rick gates. also the former national security advisor general michael flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the f.b.i. about his contacts with the russian ambassador. he is now cooperating with the special counsel. charlottesville, virginia became the scene of deadly demonstrations. a man plowed his car into a crowd of people and killed a woman. americans continue to recover from three devastating hurricanes which hit during the end of the summer. first harvey slammed into the u.s. as a category four storm causing damage in houston and the texas coast. >> we are just beginning the process of responding to this storm. >> next irma, one of the strongest atlantic hurricanes on record. it slammed florida and the caribbean with rain and finally hurricane maria carving a path of destruction through puerto rico killing dozens of people and wiping out power to the entire island. on october 1st, o.j. simpson walked free after spending nine years behind bars following a botched robbery in las vegas. and just hours later in las vegas, the deadliest mass shooting in american history, 58 people killed and more than 500 wounded when a gunman fired into a crowded country music festival on the las vegas strip. still no word on his motive. just a month later, another deadly mass shooting. 25 people died including a pregnant woman during a sunday church service in sutherland springs, texas, the most deadly shooting at a place of worship in american history. >> no attack or act of violence will ever break our spirit or diminish the faith of the american people. >> the october harvey weinstein lost his job and so much more after dozens of women accused him of harassment, assault and even rape. democratic lawmakers john conyers and al franken announced their resignations and then roy moore and the alabama senate race. women accused him of assaulting them as teenagers. he lost the election to doug jones. finally the house and senate passed separate tax bills calling for the largest overhaul of the american tax code in more than three decades. looking ahead to 2018 the mid-term elections coming up. the whole country waiting to see if voters will reject or reward president trump. we're keeping a close eye on tensions with north korea and the latest sexual misconduct accusations. of course, we'll be here for all of it. i'm shepard smith, fox news. >> well, the new "star wars" movie is showing plenty of force at the box office. how is it doing and how much could it bring in today alone? >> plus not many folks at the capitol on this christmas day. when lawmakers return from an extended vacation, they have got a long to do list. we'll break down whether they can work together to get something done. >> we're working through some of the top priorities. you can expect welfare reform, infrastructure, immigration reform, all to be top of mind and something that certainly will be looking at and talking about a lot over the first part of next year. i mean wish i had time to take care of my portfolio, but.. well, what are you doing tomorrow -10am? staff meeting. noon? eating. 3:45? uh, compliance training. 6:30? sam's baseball practice. 8:30? tai chi. yeah, so sounds relaxing. alright, 9:53? i usually make their lunches then, and i have a little vegan so wow, you are busy. wouldn't it be great if you had investments that worked as hard as you do? yeah. introducing essential portfolios. the automated investing solution that lets you focus on your life. which means everyone has access to our real reviews that we actually verify. and we can also verify that what goes down, [ splash, toilet flush ] doesn't always come back up. find a great plumber at angie's list. join today for free. >> when you get done watching us christmas day is a wonderful day to go see a movie. "star wars" right now proving the force is still on its side. the last jedi raked in $69 million over the weekend bringing its worldwide total to $745 million. that makes "star wars" leading the top five list of the holiday weekend followed by welcome to the jungle, pitch perfect iii. the greatest snowman and ferdinand rounded up the top 5. i don't recognize any of those titles nor have i seen them. >> you were dedicated to your work. >> an golf game last weekend. >> that's more important. i know it was fun for you. well, the president and of course congress have a long to do list waiting when they get back to work after new year's including government funding, immigration reform and disaster relief. infrastructure a big item on the agenda. mitch mcconnell suggesting republicans and democrats can work together. >> there are a potpourri of year end things that weren't addressed yesterday that we'll have to turn to in january. we'll work most of those out on a bipartisan basis and pass what we need to pass. >> let's bring in chris bedford, editor in chief of the daily caller news foundation and doug schoen, fox news contributor and former advisor to bill clinton. merry christmas to both of you. doug, i want to start with you. let's talk about infrastructure. you would think that's the one thing that could be bipartisan. do you foresee that happening? >> well, i would like to think it would and certainly we all have a common interest in fixing our roads, bridges and highways. the but is how do we pay for it? the president has been on record basically supporting a private/public partnership with the emphasis on private funding. the democrats have traditionally supported higher taxes on the wealthy to fund the whole program. obviously that's a non-starter. i would say on christmas day given that we all use, need and rely on our roads, bridges and highways, we ought to get together and i think the president proposes a good starting point and i as a democrat believe it's essential on something like infrastructure which has to do with our well-being and national security that we commit to it at this time of the year. >> chris, will the president have struggles in the new year considering that he has had -- they have had losses in virginia and alabama, new jersey, so we're talking about the mid-terms in 2018. campaigning starts next month, let's be frank for these seats. the president would have to be careful about the rhetoric he uses with the democrats. he needs them for infrastructure but can he get them on board and still maintain the strength of the party as we go to 2018? >> republicans are going to get some bruises in this coming mid-term elections. that's what happens when you are the party in control of the white house you get a bruising. that's worse if it's a divisive president who can activate some of the base. some of the things republicans have going for them. the senate seats they have are largely safe. they have such a strong majority in the house that though they might lose colleagues, most likely keep -- hold onto it. democrats are pointing excitedly at elections like alabama. they should keep in mind their guy ran against an accused child molester. democrats need to issue -- they could hurt the gop but i wouldn't be so worried. >> if you look at the strengthening economy, gdp above 3%. the stock market projected to do better in 2018, that's something democrats will have to fight and contend with. they can take jabs at the president all they want. if americans feel better about their paychecks, that's going to be a struggle or democrats. >> well, if that's the case, yes, cheryl. but right now the democrats have a double digit lead in the mid-terms which traditionally if it holds up translates into pretty substantial double digit gains in seats. there are a couple of republican seats in arizona and nevada that are vulnerable. so far the economic benefits that you talk about, which are real, haven't translated into real world impact on people's lives in a way that impacts voting behavior. so democrats are in pretty good shape as we go into 2018. >> chris, final word on this. >> he is right. there are some things that have helped. the republicans got an early christmas gift from companies like comcast and at&t deciding to hand down $1,000 christmas bonuses and immediately creates a constituent who supports them. it will take a while and the president has an uphill battle. the gop will have to fight for this. >> a lot of companies giving out huge bonuses this month. thank you very much, gentlemen. merry christmas. >> perhaps the presents under your tree are waiting for the kids to get up and rip into or maybe you are sitting down to breakfast. the salvation army is still doing a lot of work to help folks. they need your donations. coming up we'll tell you what a few dollars can do. >> volunteers we ask a minimum of two hours. everyone has been generous coming in with two or four hours to ring bells to be out here in the cold. it's a beautiful night tonight. it makes it a lot of fun. >> while we're celebrating with our families this christmas day, more than three million people this holiday season look to the salvation army for help with a hot meal, a warm place to sleep or a christmas present. meantime, to help with that an anonymous donor in minneapolis dropped a check made out for $200,000 into one of those red kettles. let's bring in the secretary for the salvation army. merry christmas and thanks for the work you do and being here with us rather than your family this morning. >> it's great to be with you and merry christmas to you and all those listening today. >> salvation army shelters around the country today, what is happening? give us a blow by blow. >> well, today is a very special day. today, of course, is christmas. it's an opportunity for the salvation army to feed many more than the 28,000 who slept at a salvation army bed but we'll feed hundreds of thousands of people today a nice christmas meal and there will be thousands of volunteers who come in and gift part of their day to make sure that today is a merry christmas for anybody who wants a good, hot meal. >> and that hot meal doesn't come free. we have a little bit of information about exactly what a donation means. when you put it in the red kettle. $2.70 provides a meal for someone in need. $25 helps give a child christmas. $30 will provide a night of shelter as you talked about. we've done so much the past couple months about the stock market going up, about consumer confidence going up, people spending more on christmas presents. are people donating more or is the need as still as significant as it used to be? >> the need is still very significant. there are many people out there who live from paycheck to paycheck and with the pressure of providing something for your children, quite often they overextend. the salvation army can help them at christmas but also after the first of the year they can help them with utilities and they can help them with rent, things like that. but this is an opportunity for people to give and the spirit of christmas, the spirit of the season is about giving and it's the people around this country, this great country who give and make it possible for the salvation army to help so many people. >> it is not just as christmas. what strikes me is what you said. utility bills through the winter but also it is at the hurricanes irma, harvey and maria you guys were there as well. >> 25 million people received help this year from the salvation army and that's pretty significant number around the country and yes, we're still working in places like puerto rico and florida and texas. i've gotten reports where the salvation army has gone out -- gone above and beyond to provide even more christmas assistance in places that were devastated by this summer's storms but also out in california with the wildfires. we don't want to forget those who have lost homes because of the wildfires. >> it's so easy, especially for us in the media, you leave a story after the floodwaters recede and it's forgotten. the folks without a home or who have lost absolutely everything, they are the ones looking to you. >> that's right. well, and the salvation army never leaves. we operate in every zip code in america. when the storm -- when hurricane maria hit puerto rico, we had 14 locations where we were already serving people before the storm and as soon as the storm passed we were able to provide meals and shelter for people there and have continued to provide assistance to those who have been devastated by these storms. particularly in puerto rico. >> still the recovery effort there in many ways is just beginning. lieutenant colonel, appreciate you being with us. thank you very much. hopefully some folks put in tax deduction donations to help you out. >> it is very important this year to go online, salvation army usa.org and make those year-end deductions. this year will you be able to deduct them. next year you may have problems. make the donations before the end of the year. >> thank you, sir, all the best. merry christmas. >> more coming up. recreational marijuana about to become legal in california. ahead how pot businesses are getting ready. >> people all over the world celebrating christmas today, including president trump and the winter wonderland that is south florida. he and the first lady attending church services in palm beach. the same church that they got married in 2005. hello. merry christmas to you. welcome to america's news headquarters. >> great to be with you and you at home as you wake up on christmas morning. hope you're having a great christmas. before the first couple went to church yesterday, they took some christmas calls from kids who were phoning the santa trackers at norad to see where the man in red was and instead surprise, as you can tell, they got the president of the united states to help them track santa. rich edson live in west palm beach where the president is not far away enjoying christmas with his family. rich? >> good morning. a mostly quiet day for the president and the first family. a beautiful day in the southern part of florida. the president tweeted a message from him and the first lady. >> the entire trump family, god bless you and america and have a very, very merry christmas and happy new year! >> some official business for the president of the united states this morning as the white house press secretary sarah huckabee sanders says aides have briefed the president on a suicide attack on the afghan capitol. the islamic state has claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on kabul's intelligence agency killing a few people. the president signed off on a strategy to increase the military presence there. while the administration also is looking to cut the u.s. foreign policy budget, he has received push-back from democrats and members of the foreign policy establishment and some republicans and those in military leadership. success on the front internationally. the united states ambassador to the u.n., nikki haley, has negotiated a cut in the budget of $285 million. nikki haley say the historic reduction in spending in addition to many other moves to an accountable u.n. is a big step in the right direction. while we're pleased with the results of this year's budget negotiations, you can be sure we'll look at ways to increase the u.n.'s efficiency while protecting our interests. she says the u.s. has reduced the bloated management and support functions. so a quiet day thus far near mar-a-largo where the president is spending the christmas holiday with the first family. back to you. >> rich edson spending his christmas with sarah gomez, one of our fearless producers. thanks nor being down there. >> not a bad place to spend your christmas. for more on the u.n. budget cuts, let's bring in katie pavlich, fox news contributor. good morning. merry christmas. >> merry christmas. thanks for being here this morning. >> great to see you. >> this $285 million cut that haley is proposed for the united nations, we fund 22% of the u.n. she made it very clear enough is enough. do you think this is the right decision by haley and the administration? >> absolutely. the number that we have here, the $200 plus million is pretty small compared to what we funnel in to the new year every year. the truth is that money going to an international body with countries that don't have the best interests of their people in mind isn't always the most efficient way to use that money. we've seen it abused in a number of places. so it's long overdue that there's a full audit of the funding that goes to the u.n. it's a good thing the trump administration is taking a serious look at where we can cut some of the budget. on the criticism from democrats, that we shouldn't be doing this and foreign policy establishment types, this is not something just being proposed by the united states. you can remember at the beginning of the year, the secretary general sat down with president trump and agreed that reform is necessary. he's proposed budget cuts. this is how the money being spent. is it being spent efficiently and going to countries and projects that don't have human rights in mind. >> the other question is what president trump is doing in the new year. he's on his holiday right now, but it's about national security when he comes back. he laid out the plan. one of the things the president said, which is very telling, which is a foreshadowing of what he's going to do. a nation that does not protect prosperity at home cannot protect interests abroad. the president is saying enough with the united nations and funding 20% of your budget. let's focus on the security here at home and he has rolled out that national security platform. >> we saw him be successful with nato and saying we're doing the majority of the funding here. it's time for these countries in this body together to pay more of their fair share for the national security of their own countries but also for the best interests of the united states. one of the main pillars of the national security plan is national security at home. that's an argument we've heard for a long time. you can't protect yourself from foreign threats or on foreign soil, whether it's on fiber or the battled field unless you have a strong base. they're well on their way to making sure the promise is kept. in the foreign policy field, funding will be a big issue. it's not something that hasn't been done before. barack obama cut funding to egypt over human rights abuses. this is not something that the trump administration is doing. it's something that hasn't been been done by previous presidents to push accountability and make sure that taxpayer money from americans is used efficiently. >> we were giving hundreds of miles to pakistan and they were hiding osama bin laden. he campaigned on that. >> exactly. >> let's talk about his rhetoric when it comes to china and russia. he talked about a rejiggering of the relationships. what do you think he meant by that? you think he's talking about being tougher on russia and china when it comes to north korea or you think he's going to reach out to vladimir putin to try to smooth things over? >> based on what he laid out in his national security strategy and what he's been saying about china, what china keeps talking about trade, reciprocity, having a friendlier business environment in china and in terms of intellectual property. in terms of north korea, there's talks about taking away 95% of the oil and gas. but pushing china to do more. i don't know how that will work. on the russia side, there was an acknowledgement that russia is trying to put propaganda in other countries to change the opinion of voters in terms of what they think going into an election. the cyber security thing is a big issue with them. north korea is something that china and russia thinks is our problem to deal with and ultimately we'll deal with it. >> we'll see how this shakes out after the new year's. katie pavlich, thanks very much. >> merry christmas. >> domestic news now. president trump using the holiday weekend to take aim at a top fbi official. the president criticizing deputy director andrew mccabe amid reports that he may retire next year. laying blame on the russia investigation. >> the president believes americans have a right to know what happens with that investigation. we put all of our confidence in the fbi. he needs to make sure there's no bias. there's serious concerns about whether there was or was not. >> watch the white house continue to talk about this. ellison barber live in washington. merry christmas, ellison. >> merry christmas to you, leland. so sources are telling fox news acting fbi director andrew mccabe is eligible for retirement in march. for weeks there's been rumors about a potential mccabe retirement. a handful of news outlets reported that yesterday, that mccabe would retire in the new year. we don't know that for sure. just that he's eligible. the reports seemingly led to a tweet storm from president trump. in it he attacked mccabe and said he's racing to retire with full benefits. ted leu says that potus has tweeted quite a bit about andrew mccabe who could be called as a witness against trump in an obstruction of justice case. merry christmas, robert mueller. trump defended the tweets sunday. >> is that helpful for the president to repeatedly attack top officials of the fbi? >> chris, i think the president believes the american people have a right to know what happened with that investigation. >> mccabe spent two days and over 14 hours testifying on capitol hill last week. democrats said the closed-door meetings were not meant to find facts but in his view to discredit the special counsel's russia investigation. >> what's going on behind those closed doors? we all know what is going on. it's not a search for the truth. it's a search to undermine the legitimacy of mueller's investigation. >> it's critically important that we republican the independence of the department of justice and the fbi. no one is above the law. >> another person trump tweeted about, james baker, an fbi official that sources say was removed from the fbi's general counsel. the counsel is in on all of the investigationed handled by the fbi. forces say baker is not fired by reassigned and his reassignment may somehow be tied to a separate leak investigation. fired fbi director james comey defended mccabe. he said he has honorably served the country for 25 years. leland? >> we'll hear more from james comey with book coming out as well. sheryl? >> pope francis sharing his christmas message to the world what he had to say about north korea, the middle east and his hopes for 2018. >> another christmas message. this one coming from joe biden. so is this the start of a biden 2020 campaign? >> and who says the police can't have a little holiday fun? the special reason these officers laced on their skates. ♪ things than rheumatiod arthritis. before you and your rheumatologist move to another treatment, ask if xeljanz xr is right for you. xeljanz xr is a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. it can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. don't start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. xeljanz xr can reduce the symptoms of ra, even without methotrexate. ask your rheumatologist about xeljanz xr. these are difficult times for elderly holocaust survivors. with no food and no heat they get weaker and more die every day. i want you to see their faces. look into their eyes that are haunted still by the memories of the past. they desperately need our help now. with heating, food and medicine during the holiday season of hanukkah. for only $25 you can help save a life with a special hanukkah gift of bread, a blanket and medicine to a holocaust survivor suffering alone. thank you and god bless you for showing you care. i hope and pray you will do so before time is up and it is too late. >> merry christmas! san francisco's finest lacing up their skates for holiday fun with neighborhood kids. police officers are taking a spin around an ice rink with 200 students. the san francisco police department hosts the annual event with the goal of bringing the community together. >> pretty common to get christmas wishes from politicians. a video making its way around twitter has a lot of people asking questions if the holiday message from joe biden means that he's soft launching a biden 2020 run. it was put on twitter by joe biden along with his wife, jill, encouraging small acts of generosity and addressing troops far from their families this holiday. let's talk about it with our political p political panel. we have antoine here with us. great to see you. antoine, at least the former vice president leaving open the popty of a 2020 run? >> it's very smart politically smart for the middle class messenger and chief vice president biden to flirt with the idea of running for president in 2020. he's still very popular among the democratic base. when you look at the early primary states, the road to the democratic nomination, it comes through states like south carolina where i'm from. he's still very popular here with working class democratic voters. it's very small for him to continue to flirt with the idea. let's keep in mind, we have a very unpopular president that occupies the white house. it will be an opportunity for the democrats to flip the white house in 2020. >> many are talking about how popular joe biden is. when they're not in office, they're popular. just ask hillary clinton. >> yeah. hillary clinton has one of the highest disapproval ratings right now not being president. of course, she's not the president. joe biden, who is a very favorable member of the democratic party. however, he's 75 years old. if he were to run, he would be 77, 78 years old by the time we would be considering electing another president or trump getting a challenger. at this time, joe biden is distancing himself from president obama in 2016 probably helped him but he missed his window. he had a very good chance of beating hillary clinton and beating donald trump in the general election. >> timing is everything. obviously he was dealing with the death of his son. that's the reason he gave for not running in 2016. he said he wasn't emotionally ready. let's listen to that video message and get you to dissect it. >> to all of our troops spending this holiday season away from their families and loves ones, please know that we think of you and we have your backs. we know what it's like. and we're looking for you to come home safely. >> he know what's it's like to be the father of somebody that was overseas as well. antjuan, what do you make of how that video is produced, well-lit. dare you say almost looks presidential or wanting to look presidential? >> again, most people will view our current commander-in-chief is not being so presidential. so that video speaks to the heart and minds of the average every day american citizen in this country. we know that the military issue, it cuts into party line whether democrat or republican. so he's speaking to the real heart and soul and the heartbeat of the american people in that video. i commend them for putting that together. >> you have a possible run by joe biden. a lot of democrats jockeying for position. on the other hand, you have jeff flake, the senator for arizona. a trump supporter. basically said he was going to drop out. he told abc this week, i don't rule anything out but it's not in my plans talking about a possible primary challenge in 2020 against president trump. what does it say whether you agree with him or not, if you think he's disloyal or a man of principle, that that is a conversation of a republican trying to primary president trump? >> right now, jeff flake has a lot of issues. he's in the running for being one of the most hated men in america not named trump. his most recent accomplishment was giving $100 to democrat doug jones in the alabama special election and turning his back on a lot of democrats and voting for the gop tax bill. so he's not making any friends right now in the republican and democratic party. the fact that he has a chance of running against trump in 2020? it's slim to none at this point considering the fact that president trump has been doing a lot for his base if not for the establishment republicans that he's trying to represent. >> gentlemen, have to let it go there. i will say this on this christmas. may all political conversations around the christmas tables around the country be as civil as this one was here today. nice job, guys. merry christmas to you and yours. >> merry christmas. >> all the best. >> i suck at that big time. keep it peaceful today, folks. president trump promising to get america working and wealthy again. a look back at the impact his pro business policies have had on wall street in 2017. a big one. a white christmas in some parts of the country. we'll tell you where the snow is falling. ♪ looking for balance in your digestive system? try align probiotic. for a non-stop, sweet treat goodness, hold on to your tiara kind of day. get 24/7 digestive support, with align. the #1 doctor recommended probiotic brand. also in kids chewables. >> hope you are having a wonderful christmas with you and your family. it's a white christmas in at least some parts of the country. that storm system bringing slick and dangerous roads. portland, oregon, 8:30 a.m., they're waking up to a mix of sleet and snow and freezing rain. washington state, some areas got up to three inches. enough for some to have their very first snow ball fight ever. in an area more used to rain typically around seattle, the national weather service defines a white christmas as 1 inch of snow on the ground on christmas morning. >> pope francis in his traditional christmas message today calling for peace in the middle east. praying that tensions will ease on the korean peninsula amid a growing nuclear threat from north korea. even with protests in the holy land over president trump recognizing jerusalem as israel's capitol, christmas offers a hope of peace and earth for 2018. let's bring in pastor robert ever-reese. merry christmas, pastor. >> merry christmas to you. >> you know, we talked earlier about the fact that christmas day in particular should be a day to be with your family, sit around the table. go to church. you went to midnight mass. maybe it's not a day for politics yet. you think we can take a day and have some peace around the world, sir? >> well, i think we can. you know the message of christmas is regardless of what is going on in the world today, god is on our side. god loves us. while that doesn't erase our problems, it certainly puts them in perspective. the apostle paul said is god is for us, who can be against us? the great message of christmas is, god has given us what we need most. somebody said if our greatest need was for education, god would have sent a teacher. if our greatest need were money, he would have sent an economist. but our greatest need is forgiveness. that's why god sent a savior. the angel said to the shepherd, unto you is born this day in the city of david a savior who is christ the lord. >> and the holy hand has been a big news topic, a political topic with the united states making the decision to move the embassy back to jerusalem. you think they can find a way to still be peaceful in the holy land or do you think the tension will get worse over there? >> i'm not a prophet. i can't predict. i can tell you this, president trump did the right thing in acknowledging jerusalem as the capitol of israel. a couple of weeks ago, he invited me at the white house christmas party to say a few words before i closed in prayer. i think the president for having the guts to do what no other american president has done. i said to the audience, this president is on the right side of history. he's on the right side of god. interestingly the christmas story verifies what the president did. you know, when the maji, the wise men came to search to herrod because that's where the capitol was, the palace was. that was 2000 years ago. >> and it is christmas day. there's a lot of divisiveness in the country what is your message to americans? >> my message this morning is we can be at peace with one another because we have peace with god. the greatest need we have is the need that god met at christmas. you know, the bible says just as god has forgiven us through christ jesus, we ought to forgive one another. paul said be kind to one another just as christ has forgiven you. >> that is true. pastor jeffery, thank you for being here. merry christmas. >> merry christmas to you. >> well, apple admitting that slowing down some iphones on purpose and didn't take long lawsuits have already been filed in several states. so is apple in the wrong? our legal panel on what this could actually mean for you. >> and exactly a week, recreational pot will be ready to be sold in the state of california. we'll talk about it. and i take trulicity once a week to activate my body to release it, like it's supposed to. trulicity is not insulin. it comes in a once-weekly, truly easy-to-use pen. the pen where you don't have to see or handle a needle. and it works 24/7. trulicity is a once-weekly injectable medicine to improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. it should not be the first medicine to treat diabetes, or for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. do not take trulicity if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, if you have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you're allergic to trulicity. stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or symptoms like itching, rash, or trouble breathing. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. taking trulicity with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases your risk for low blood sugar. common side effects include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, decreased appetite, and indigestion. some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. to help lower my a1c i choose trulicity to activate my within. ask your doctor if once-weekly trulicity is right for you. ♪ ♪ >> so starting january 1, it's legal to buy and sell recreational marijuana in the state of california. the rules are already published, but there's still more questions and answers about how this will work. will carr live from los angeles this christmas morning. good morning, will. >> looks like it will be a merry 2018 for pot companies in california. there's still a bit of a haze lingering over a lot of the rules and regulations. that said, one thing is for sure. california is trying to send a message to the rest of the country. >> it's the beginning of the end of the war on marijuana. this means it's the beginning to the end of the war on drugs. you can't criminalize your way to good behavior. >> while sales are expected to boost california's economy, the state didn't finalize its list of regulations until mid november. that lets cities which have to come up with their own regulations scrambling. some like san francisco and los angeles won't grant business licenses until after january 1. >> so businesses will still have to come to the department, get temporary approval to do legal adult sales. >> then there's the law enforcement side. police departments expect duis to go up and plan to adjust the overall focus. >> still be focused on the large grow houses, maybe in neighborhoods that bring other criminal elements to the neighborhoods. those are the quality of life-type of issues that we still need to deal with. >> it's already legal to use recreational marijuana but you still may not be able to buy it legally depending on what city you live in, cheryl. >> fascinating how they will figure this out. thanks, will. >> merry christmas. >> a lot of people bought or gave new iphones this christmas because they thought their old ones were slow. you weren't just thinking that. apple admits they slowed down older phones. it's to save the older batteries. lawyers say it's tantamount to fraud to get people to buy new phones. admittingly, you have a dog in this fight. your iphone 7 is one of the ones that was slowed down. do you have a case against apple? >> my iphone 7 here, it's been slow. i've assumed i need to get a new one. the only reason i don't have a new one is because i haven't had time to grow to the iphone store. apple comes out and says well, we slowed the phones down on purpose. i think what apple is definitely guilty of, they're guilty of poor communication. that's for sure. in other words, they said recently we slowed them down, but they did not say that originally. so it looks like they weren't transparent. looks like apple fumbled the communication so cause as lot of people, including me to say, wait a second. were they pulling one over on me? were they not honest with me? that question comes up. >> there's the what you do and how you do it as my grandmother used to say. there's the legal issue. whenever you do one of those new apple updates, they have the terms of service, which if you have ever scrolled through, you're still scrolling because it's impossible to get through. but you click agree. so somewhere buried in that is there something that apple says hey, we can do what we want to have the best user experience and it's maybe not a get out of jail free card for the communications but would be for a lawsuit? >> we'll see. i agree. you never -- i'm trained as an attorney. that thing is impenetrable. hard to know what it means for every day folks looking at that. it's so long, you don't even scroll through it. so apple has very smart attorneys. i've met a number of those folks that are attorneys at apple. they're smart people. they cover their bases. but you know what? it's legal mumbo jumbo to most people. when you look at the language about the upgrades, it talks about enhancements and improvements. most people think it's going to make the phone run faster. i'll mention one other quick thing. they said if you need a new battery, get a new battery. on the laptops, often they tell laptop users, you need a new battery. they should have done that in the iphone case. >> again, a little thinking ahead saves you in the communications world. how does this play out? so often we hear about these class action lawsuits. the lawyers get about $645 million in a settlement and then we get an e-mail saying congratulations, here's $3.25 to spend at the itunes store. >> yeah, it's frustrating and i agree. i've seen it happen many times. how this plays out is along those lines and i don't think it's right. it's likely apple will want to make this go away. they don't want me and you and others in the media to talk about this and go through discovery. they want to get rid of this in all likelihood. that probably means eventually there will be a settlement or a number of settlements. consumers, some will get something back. it won't be a lot. but to your point, the lawyers, they usually clean up. i don't think that's right. >> yeah, clean up would be an understatement there. you make a good point. so many of these class action lawyers know when they're going after a company as big as apple with billions and billions of dollars of cash sitting there that don't want the p.r. nightmare, it's a little bit more about the hold-up game and the shakedown game than it is about whether apple did anything right or wrong. >> completely agree. the people that we're talking about that bring the cases, they're plaintiffs, class action lawyers. different than those on the defense side that represent the companies. the plaintiffs class action lawyers, you're right. they bring these claims. they know the companies will want to settle. they're going to make money whether they settle or whether it goes to trial, which is unlikely. in some countries, in england, for example, they have what are called loser pay rules. that causes lawyers to be very careful about filing claims. they could have to forfeit the fees and the loser has to pay the fees. some say we should take a second look at the rules here in the u.s. to prevent this from happening in the future. >> the trial bar spends a lot of money on lobbyists on capitol hill to make sure that doesn't happen here. ken, great to have you in. merry christmas to you and yours. you never know. maybe you get home and a new faster iphone for you. >> i would love it. merry christmas, leland. take care. >> take care. cheryl? >> it's called the 10. president trump promising jobs in america. major mergers rocked wall street. maria bartiromo has the business year in review. >> for the economy and the stock market, 2017 was the year of the business man turned president. donald trump. >> together we will make america strong again. we will make america wealthy again. we will make america proud again. we will make america safe again. and yes, together we will make america great again. >> his blunt speech on inauguration day setting the cone for a contentious year in politics. a successful year for much of the business and investing word. all the major stock indices shattering milestones along the way with about $6 trillion in value added since his election. >> this is a very big day for your money. look at that. 24,000 on the dow. >> business leaders credit much of the run-up to the pro business, pro growth agenda of the trump administration. a roll back of regulations and the promise of tax reform helping the rally. he ends the year with the tax overhaul and economic growth of 3 percent or better for two straight quarters. >> a tremendous enthusiasm for business in this country. a lot of things have changed. >> there were setbacks in the white house as well, a thumbs down from john mccain killing the gop promise to repeal and replace obamacare. >> this doesn't have to be the end of the story. >> in the climate of less regulations, megadeals lettered the landscape of north america. cvs trying to reshape the healthcare industry. at&t fighting the government in its bid to own time-warner. the good and the bad of technology was on display in 2017. artificial intelligence and robotics taking major leaps forward hackers making their mark, too. a huge breach of the very information equifax was supposed to protect. 150 million americans, personal and financial data stolen. but all and all a great year for technology as well. amazon and google crossing $1,000 a share. apple marking the tenth anniversary of the iphone. apple has sold more than $1.4 billion iphones in the last decade. the scandal decades in the making. rocking nearly every industry in america. sexual harassment from the slew of high profile people like harvey weinstein and matt lauer and bill o'reilly and charlie rose. to numerous reports in silicon valley, taking down several executives including powerful men losing their positions as the #me too movement gained steam. the year end with a question everybody is asking. is bitcoin a bubble or the real deal? it exploded starting in $1,000 and cracking the $20,000 range. where it goes from here will be a major story next year as we close out a remarkable business year in 2017. i'm maria bartiromo. fox business network new york. >> and you know she mentioned it just there. the stock markets under president trump. you can't deny what he's done ands will for regulation, pulling back for every new regulation that they implemented, they killed 22. helps the economy and business. >> for sure. and inspires more investment. the follow-on effect. we haven't seen all of the effects this year. it's 2018 and 19 that you'll see the return on deregulation and what people have been willing to invest now. we've heard boeing talking about building new facilities as well. >> and the average american, trust me when we say this, you'll get .5% jump or 2% jump in your salaries because of tax reform. thank you. and mother nature putting on a red hot display sending a torrent of lava down the side of a mountain in a vacation paradise. >> plus, heading home for the holidays? it can cause a great deal of stress. so how do you handle the pressure? perhaps destress as you head into the new year. we could all use that. if yor crohn's symptoms are holding you back, and your current treatment hasn't worked well enough, it may be time for a change. ask your doctor about entyvio, the only biologic developed and approved just for uc and crohn's. entyvio works at the site of inflammation in the gi tract and is clinically proven to help many patients achieve both symptom relief and remission. infusion and serious allergic reactions can happen during or after treatment. entyvio may increase risk of infection, which can be serious. pml, a rare, serious, potentially fatal brain infection caused by a virus may be possible. this condition has not been reported with entyvio. tell your doctor if you have an infection, experience frequent infections or have flu-like symptoms or sores. liver problems can occur with entyvio. if your uc or crohn's treatment isn't working for you, ask your gastroenterologist about entyvio. entyvio. relief and remission within reach. when it comes to moving packages on a global scale, nobody does it better. he's also an avid cookie connoisseur. dig in, big guy. but when it comes to mortgages, he's less confident. fortunately for nick, theres rocket mortgage by quicken loans. it's simple, so he can understand the details and get approved in as few as eight minutes. apply simply. understand fully. mortgage confidently. rocket mortgage by quicken loans. >> on this christmas in hawaii, lava is flowing down the slope of a massive volcano there. if you're in hawaii for christmas vacation, you can see it. this is the u.s. geological survey's hawaiian volcano observatory. it's the kilauea volcano. as of last night, it's still erupting. not threatening communities but perhaps the observation point. >> you know, a lot of us are feeling stressed out from the year-end holiday activities. shopping, travel. you got your family all around you. maybe that takes a toll. destressing is always a good idea. we have tips on how to cut stress for the new year. doctor, good to have you here. >> merry christmas. >> it's funny. this survey out of the u.k. says 84% of respondents says being with their family took away their stress. i big to differ. that is wrong. but let's talk about this. obviously stress can hurt the body and in particular we're learning how women's hearts are affected by continual stress. >> sure. so actually women may be more susceptible to stress in terms of blood flow to the heart. the way to think about it is the heart pumps blood to the rest of the body. it also needs blood flow. so typically you think about stress tests as a physical stress. you're walking, running. doing all he's things. but it doesn't have to be just a physical stress but mental stress is enough to kind of increase the demand for the heart. >> sure. >> so public speaking, any of these things. family events like we're talking about with the holiday. >> even today, if your football team starts to lose, that could be a big deal. >> exactly. to see the changes in the heart is concerning. >> yeah. because it can affect the body. what can we do to minimize stress? we hear the regular things about do meditation, get more sleep. what do you say? >> i agree with all of those things. first and foremost, to take the time to do those things is hard for most people. they feel if they have the time, they wouldn't be as stressed out. maybe we should separate the actual problems that you have to deal with versus other problems that people put on you. so if you can separate those things out, kind of give people maybe solve strategies to deal with their own problems but not get embroiled yourself, that is first and foremost. after that, getting enough sleep, having enough exercise. so within your range. you know, you don't have to go out and physically tax yourself, but even walking can improve circulation and blood flow to the organs. >> i was going to say, isn't that another way to deal with stress, to exercise? if i'm stressed, you know, i start running. i get my shoes on. is that -- >> exactly. that's a great way to do it. has a lot of benefits. minor things like walking. some people can adopt a pet, let's say. the daily activity of walking with a pet can make a difference. listening to music, even at the same time, can make a difference. all of these things, especially getting enough sleep can make a huge difference. specifically for today, i'd say the things are if you can avoid family arguments about politics, that can make a huge difference. people tend to drink more, which can be more relaxing, more festive. be careful what you say if you drink more and you're cautious about the hangover side effects. >> which can be a stress as well. >> yeah. >> and what is interesting that we're talking about women's he's and stress during the holidays. it's the woman, the mom of the house that does the cooking and the decorating. doing the shopping. >> looking out for everybody else. >> about to be a mom yourself, what would you say to moms out there? >> there's evidence that being generous and spending time on others decreases stress and joy. at the same time, take it easy on yourself and remember to have time for yourself as much as possible. try to delegate. >> everybody is getting their 2018 resolutions together and not stress out as much. it's one of them. >> exactly. hopefully we can do it. >> dr. devi, maybe just not talk about politics for one day. >> nice to see you. >> thanks very much. we have to destress a little bit, leland. that's the point. >> there will be eggnog for everybody after the show. another thing that is stressful is meeting the family for the first time at the holidays. here it was, newly engaged prince harry and meghan markle stepping out in public for the holiday. we'll tell you how they're dealing with the stress coming up. hi i'm joan lunden. today's senior living communities have never been better, with amazing amenities like movie theaters, exercise rooms and swimming pools, public cafes, bars and bistros even pet care services. and there's never been an easier way to get great advice. a place for mom is a free service that pairs you with a local advisor to help you sort through your options and find a perfect place. a place for mom. you know your family we know senior living. together we'll make the right choice. . >> it's christmas day. as we heard from the salvation army earlier, it's a somber day for some that are so desperate. in houston, they're still reeling from hurricane harvey. as douglas kennedy reports, they're not blaming the storm for their troubles. >> the water just kept coming higher and higher. >> val aldred's home was flooded from harvey but he doesn't blame this on the hurricane. >> so you blame this on the federal government and the army corps of engineers. >> yes. this wouldn't have happened. the rain didn't cause this. >> aldred says his and others have flooded after the rain had stopped. he and others are suing the army corps of engineers for choosing to spare downtown infrastructure at the expense of the western populated suburb. >> so to you, this is a taking of your property and you want to be compensated for that. >> that's right. when the government wants to build a highway and your property is in the middle of the highway, they will approach you and negotiate to buy it. >> at issue, the barker and addock reservoir systems. during harvey, there was so much rain, both reservoirs got full to maximum capacity. so the corpses had to release some of the water, which then flooded neighbors in the surrounding area. >> so was this a malfunction? >> no. the dams worked the way they were designed. >> nicole galinnas is an expert from the manhattan institute. she says the water release saved dozens of downtown hospitals as well as houston's oil and petrochemical infrastructure valued at over $60 billion. >> i understand that these people are frustrated, but the reality is, this is a general problem of american infrastructure not keeping up it's like suing if you're stuck in traffic because they didn't build enough transit. >> the water didn't drain and backed up into my neighborhood. >> he said they could have easily given him warning before they released the water. the army corps would not comment on the lawsuit citing pending litigation. at the barker dam in western houston, douglas kennedy, fox news. >> there are movies made about meeting the family for the first time at the holidays. but it's a little different for newly engaged prince harry and meghan markle and meghan markle is meeting the royal family and spending the holidays with the queen. kitty logan live in london with more. hi, kitty. >> that's right. the family has been gathering early this morning at the church service. but later this afternoon, we heard from the queen if her traditional costume at the u.k. she paid tribute to those affected by the terror attacks in london and manchester and praised the people of the city for being resilient. she referred to the more positive news of another child due for prince william and the duchess. today prince harry was seen attending a church service with the queen along with his fiance, meghan markle and now this is the first time that miss markle has appeared in public with the queen. the couple met with members of the public that gathered to meet them. earlier on today, there was a message from pope francis overlooking st. peter square. he called for a two-state solution for the middle east and hoped that dialogue will continue and prayed for peace on the north korean peninsula. he talked about the long running war in syria and the war in yemen as he described it. on the west bank itself, christmas was quieter this year after recent violence. fewer people seen celebrating and put off by the clashes. christians did attend a morning mass in bethlehem. calm on the west bank. the pope hoping his message of peace will be heeded. leland? >> a good message. kitty logan where it's already christmas night in london. we'll be right back. to make me feel sluggish but now, i take metamucil every day. it traps and removes the waste that weighs me down, so i feel lighter. try metamucil, and begin to feel what lighter feels like. ♪ as soon as i became a parent i changed as a person, drastically. ♪ i tried hard to quit smoking. ♪ but when we brought our daughter home that was it. ♪ now i have nicoderm cq. the nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release technology helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. it's the best thing that ever happened to me. can you say thanks nicoderm cq? every great why needs a great how. >> soldiers around the world will tell you they dream of being home for christmas and the video of it's happening never gets old. huge hugs for this reunion in tacoma, washington. 160 troops have been fighting isis. they didn't know if they would get home for christmas and it happened as their flights finally came through. >> well, it is christmas morning. i wanted to give a shout out to my niece and nephews that are down in texas. i want to say first merry christmas to jackson and william, my nephews and to my nieces, molly, emmey and george. missing a lots of you. hope you have a great morning. >> the thing i miss most is the food. a big thanks to our crew and producer. merry christmas. >> welcome to "outnumbered." as we wrap up 2017, we look back on the accomplishments of the president in his first year and a look ahead to what it will mean for his second year in term. merry christmas, happy holidays. happy everything. i'm harris faulkner. the editor of townhall.com, katie pavlich. and democratic strategist and fox news contributor, jessica tarlov and "outnumbered," david ovella is here. he's out numbered on this before christmas day. he rolls like it doesn't

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