and full coverage after open heart surgery today, paul is a champ and we are confident he is going to pull through and be better than never. our prayers are with the family. "the story" hosted by martha maccallum starts right now. good evening, martha. >> martha: well said, mike, and we all echo your thoughts and prayers going to the bear family. as far as lou holtz is concerned, we are revving up for another championship this year so we know he is going to enjoy that, as well. thanks, mike. good evening, everyone, i'm martha maccallum in new york and this is "the story." let's take you back for a moment, in 2018, the governor's election in georgia, stacey abrams lost the race to brian kemp, who is now the governor. that was 758 days ago. and she has still yet to concede the race. >> let's be clear. this is not a speech of concession. because concession means to acknowledge an action is right,

true, or proper. as a woman of conscience and faith, i cannot see dad. >> martha: her supporters never, ever gave up that fight. in fact, they still refer to her as the legitimate governor of georgia. she even participated in the governor's panel with all of the people who actually are governors during the dnc. so, stacey abrams has spent the last couple of years not only casting doubt on the result of the elections she lost, but also working furiously to change the system in georgia in ways that she hopes will drive upvotes for democrats, and it worked in the national election peered one of the groups she helped launch, called the new georgia project, is one of the groups under investigation by the secretary of state, who is looking for any instances of groups that try to register out-of-state, or dead voters to vote in the presidential election, a state where the president lost to the former

vice president joe biden by two tenths of 1%, very, very slim margins, so you can bet that for both sides, they know that every vote is going to count and matter a lot in this georgia senate race, so president trump is heading there. he will be there on saturday for a rally for kelly loeffler and david perdue as they content those senate races. in many ways, the leaders of the turnout machine in georgia is going to be president trump and stacey abrams. that is why today, the trump side sort of began to turn the way they were looking at these two so-called advocates of the presidents fight for the election. attorneys at lin wood and sidney powell have been telling republicans in georgia on the ground not to vote on january 5th or before, when voting starts. >> i would encourage all georgians to make it no that you will not vote at all until your vote is secure. >> do not be fooled twice.

this is georgia. we ain't dumb. we are not going to go to vote on january 5th, another machine made by china. >> martha: all right, so tonight, we welcome georgia congressman doug collins. congressman, good to have you here tonight. >> good to see you. >> martha: it was a pretty subtle shift in the way that the trump team and his supporters and allies started to look at the situation after we saw that moment yesterday with lin wood and sidney powell on that stage, exhorting people, republicans in georgia, not to vote in this election. then, we saw this tweet from the trump war room, saying, "lin wood has for decades voted for and donated to democrats, including barack obama and david produce 2014 opponent, then newt gingrich, support of the president, chimed in, "lin wood and sidney powell are totally destructive, they are "don't vote" strategy will cripple america." what do you think about that?

>> is a simple choice. if voters like what has happened the last four years, this is about going forward and not backward. we have to have everybody turn out. there are issues with the election. i respect everybody -- there's others filing suits, going through the process, but if georgia republicans and conservatives do not show up and vote, then there is no way that we keep these seats, and that is what has got to happen. i do not want to see chuck schumer become the leader in the senate, in which we don't have just a change in the senate, we have a reversion in the senate. you want to see the tax cuts go away, these legislative victories the president has made, you've got to let david perdue and kelly loeffler, because if we don't, for trump voters, it is a vote not to keep what trump has done. we've got to make that clear. this election is that important. >> martha: let's talk about the dynamic and how that has changed. you heard the intro about stacey abrams and how she never conceded her election for the governor's race. she and others have worked really hard to drive up the

democrat vote in georgia. you know, what is your assessment of how effectively they have done that? it seemed like it works for the squeaker in the national election. is anything going to change in terms of the dynamic on januar january 5th? >> we have been shining a lot of sunshine and making -- including asking questions harder questions than the secretary of state. why did they enter the decree -- why did we go ahead and agree to sending an absentee ballot request to every registered voter in georgia, no matter if their address -- >> martha: have either one of those things change for the next election? >> yeah, we are not -- we are seeing the signature ballots, asking still for an audit, but at the same point in time, when you are now putting the pressure on to make sure these things happen, we need to make sure the election office and secretary of state are making these fair elections. while we are doing this, people cannot give up on the system.

right now, we have to turn our voters back out. if stacey abrams has never conceded the governor's race, i don't know if i can call her a former governor, but here's the problem she had: she worked to try and weaken these standards, she got in the consent decree that was signed, and they went out and encourage their voters to use the absentee ballot system to make it work. that is what we saw. so, for republicans, it is time for us to also get back out and make sure every vote we have gets out to vote. >> let me ask you a civil question, then. the two things you mentioned, the weakening of the signature match, will that be any different for this senate election? >> i think it is actually now calling attention to and we will have more, there have been discussions with secretary of state investigating how these are actually done. i believe there is going to be more scrutiny that we've had in the last election -- >> martha: you've got people started voting in a few days in georgia, so i'm hearing that so

far, that rule has not changed, is that correct? as of right now, has a change? >> no, it has not changed. the problem is, the issue in a middle of an election cycle, i would like to say the general assembly would have a chance to act on this, they did not. that is what we are in the middle of now, with six weeks left -- >> martha: the general assembly, correct? >> it is. >> martha: why wouldn't they act on this if they felt like it was, you know, not handled correctly? and also, is everybody going to get a ballot, just like they did last time? or do you have to apply for one and ask for one if you can make it to the polls? does that change? >> yeah, nobody actually got a ballot, they got a request for a valid sent out. that is what democrats asked for. and what we did see a saw a lot of people who had never voted in a long time actually use the absentee process. the general assembly could with three fifths votes. they don't have three fifths votes. the governor's reason for not calling it is no matter what they pass, it would not be effective for this campaign

because he believes the courts would strike him down. that is his reason for not doing it. there's a lot of people, though, i want to see this taken out. that is why we have lawsuits to see if we can get this to work. right now, it is imperative that we take what we have been given and have turn out to be the key in this race. georgia, it has always been the issue for republicans turning on special reelections, we have to do that because democrats see the really real possibility of taking the senate and less. >> martha: lindsey graham was here last night, and he said all you need in georgia is for one person to verify a signature. every signature on a male invalimailingballot to be verif. >> we have been talking so much about this consent decree and why there has been so much scrutiny placed on the secretary of state, not as a personal attack, but why did we sign this that now you can take any signature and match it to the ballot? also in georgia, we take this out, once they are separated from the envelope, the ballot doesn't have a mark on it to

identify it back to the actual signature, so if they are separated, it makes it even harder. these are things that have to be corrected, but also, right now, there are things have to deal with in this next election. >> martha: in some ways, it makes you understand why people are frustrated when they go back in there to vote again, they feel like the same thing is wheo them again, since there has not been a concerted effort to change what they feel was wrong last time around. we are going to stay on it and loswatch it closely. congressman, thank you. >> take care. >> martha: joining me now, katie pavlich, townhall.com. and guy benson, a host of "the guy benson show." katie, what is your reaction to those questions? >> well, i think there is a big risk to some of the language and strategy of some of the folks who have been down in georgia trying to sort out some of the things that have gone on that are completely valid, but this idea that if you think the president won georgia, and you

believe that he is going to still win the white house, why would you then decide that you are going to saddle him with a democratic senate and a democratic house, where he would be unable, and really not capable of standing up in a big way against big policy agenda items the left has been pushing, and they need a democratic senate -- a democratic-run senate to get it through. why would you want to deal with that, rather than a republican senate that has been so crucial to his legacy over the last four years? and also, if you want to protect his legacy, you want republicans to win in georgia. you don't want chuck schumer going in and rewinding the clock on a number of policy initiatives that the president has put forward during his time in the white house. >> martha: so, guy, it's fascinating because this whole "don't vote" thing that you saw orchestrated by lin wood and sidney powell, has democrats in

georgia have jumped on it. they love it. they want to sort of exacerbate it with their own voices, and they are doing these kind of parity billboards, i think we have a picture of one of them, saying that people should write in president trump percentage, and then you've got celebrities, daniel newman, doing this thing, another parity, here is what he said, his appeal to georgia voters, listen. >> listen, i like kelly loeffler just fine, okay? but the truth is, she is a girl. she can't be a senator. for the senate race, we are all going to write in donald trump. >> that's why i'm asking you to write in president donal president donald j. trump for senator. >> martha: so they are having a field day with this. guy? >> well, it's understandable,

right? the biggest smiles in the room are chuck schumer and kamala harris, the latter of whom would be the tie-breaking vote in the senate to make the former chuck schumer the majority leader, right? and i think the only way republicans come if you look at history, they tend to do well -- doug collins mentioned this, the congressman a moment ago -- republicans historically do very well in runoffs in georgia. the way they can lose as if the democrats are united, which they are, and republicans are at each other's throats and divided. and even if you get -- because i am hearing on people on ground in that race, saying it is a very close race, both of them. perdue and loeffler have very tight races on their hands. it just takes a small sliver of trump supporters and republican voters to say it's not worth it, it's not worth my time, the whole thing is rigged, i'm not going to participate. if they sit out, that is the path to victory for the democratic party. they know it, which is why they are stoking these fires. and by the way, as you mentioned, lin wood, that attorney who is pretending, at

least, to be, or putting himself out there as a big trump supporter, he is a two-time barack obama donor. he donated against david perdue's democratic opponent last time. he has voted in democratic primaries. i mean, he is stoking the fires that democrats hope turn into a blaze to burn down the republicans chances and hand the senate and the federal government completely over to the democrats. it's pretty extraordinary to watch. >> martha: indeed it is. indeed it is. it is an unbelievably tight race. i want to ask both of you a little bit about this, as well. this is what president trump was asked today, because he has been frustrated with the lack of action, as he sees it, on the part of the department of justice into these election investigations. here is what he said when asked about attorney general barr. >> he hasn't done anything, so he hasn't looked. when he looks, he'll see the kind of evidence that right now you are seeing in the georgia senate, you know, they are going through hearings right now in georgia, and they are finding

tremendous volume. >> do you still have confidence in bill barr? >> ask me that in a number of weeks from now. >> martha: katie, what did you think about that? >> i think that the president is being extraordinarily unfair to attorney general bill barr. he is the one who warned in september that mail-in voting was like playing with fire, citing voter fraud in mass mailing voting, it's not that the -- the u.s. attorney in nevada looked into that vote question, but ended up being military votes. when bill barr is talking about evidence, he is talking about evidence that can be resented to a judge or a jury with no reasonable doubt and be proven in court. bill barr is not saying that there aren't some irregularities, that there may be evidence of very suspicious situations we've seen all over

the country that continue, but he is talking about evidence that his attorneys, u.s. attorneys and prosecutors, can bring to a judge in a court and prove, and they are continuing to look at cases that continue to come in, but they have to build a case on these things, which they have been unable to do. >> martha: guy? >> can i just say what she said. >> martha: [laughs] >> that's exactly right. that final question, that piece, are you still satisfied with the performance of bill barr, do you have confidence in bill barr? he says talk to me in a few weeks. it should not be outcome-oriented. either bill barr is doing a good job as attorney general or he is not, and that does not depend on whether or not some magical evidence is conjured by barr and the doj. i think, as katie said, that is an unfair characterization. >> martha: yeah, and it is worth pointing out, when bill barr -- he saw evidence that there was spying on the trump campaign, he was one of the most, biggest bulldogs in fighting for that.

i think he has been looking with the evidence lies and where it doesn't, and that's what it is right now, if anything comes to change that opinion i imagine they would look at it again. guy, thank you. katie, thank you. good to see you both. >> thanks, martha. >> martha: so, there is an election fraud hearing that we have been monitoring in nevada. it just wrapped today. this is the first official hearing for the trump campaign is expected to offer sworn testimony in front of a judge into alleged voter irregularities. rnc chairwoman ronna mcdaniel is here to walk us through what is going on there, and elsewhere, when we come back. don't go away. ♪

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♪ >> martha: soul, breaking moments ago, they wrapped up in nevada tonight, the first official election fraud hearing in front of a judge, where the trump campaign will offer sworn testimony to their alleged irregularities in last month's election results. it is different from the other hearings we have been watching play out over the last few weeks because those are not technically legal proceedings, so they were not in front of a judge. so tonight, there is a judge, and most of the witnesses are going to remain anonymous, we are told, for their own protection. here is what both sides said in their opening arguments moments ago. >> to avoid the debasement and pollution that comes with the vote fraud and irregularities is

to grant the contest and to strike the biden voters from representing nevada in the electoral college. >> this election was fair. the votes were counted correctly, joe biden won. it is time to accept that and this case comes to an end. >> martha: joining me now to discuss what we are watching and how republicans will try to hope to see this play out is rnc chairwoman ronna mcdaniel. ronna, great to have you here tonight. >> great to be with you. thanks for having me. >> martha: i want to put up with the nevada g.o.p. just tweeted out, because they claim this is the testimony and information that they have submitted to the judge in nevada. it says that we have almost 8,000 ballots cast by voters with addresses that are physically nonexistent in nevada, approximately 15,000 votes registered to vacant --

voters registered to vacant or commercial properties that cast ballots, these are actual ballots that were cast, 2,468 votes by voters that legally change their address to another state or another country, approximately 42,000 voters who voted twice in nevada, 1500 voters who were listed as deceased by the social security administration. almost 20,000 nevada voters with a nonnevada mailing address, and about 6,000 usps flags on vacant addresses of votes that were cast in the election. we haven't seen those, but that is what they are saying is the evidence that was submitted. what do you think about this nevada case, it is a different than what we have seen so far? >> well, obviously, martha, if you total all of that, it means donald trump will win nevada. if you have 42,000 voters double voting, including people voting from abandoned residences and casting votes, we've had staff on the ground, knocking doors,

and actually collecting this evidence, and running against our data, and i do think it is important that we get to the bottom of this, especially with nevada and the law changes they put in place before this election, which we sued them for doing. we lost in court because they codified it into law, but they absolutely try to make it the most porous election, so everybody got a ballot, so that anybody could vote, whether you live there or not, they did not check their voter rolls, and this is what you are getting, chaos on the back end, and i think it is good we called it to attention and we make sure we don't let this happen again, and i'm glad it's in the court, and the rest of the country needs to pay attention to what is happening in nevada. >> martha: so we will see what the judge, what his assessment is of this evidence, and the sworn testimony that he will be reviewing, as well. there was a piece today in ""the federalist"" and it was entitled "were insecure voting processes this year's insurance policy?

"for democrats, election tampering happened in plain sight and getting a chaotic mess of constantly changing voter rolls, layered atop early in person and mail-in voting that started long before election day." i imagine you agree with that take? >> i absolutely agree with that. i think covid gave a cover for democrats to strip election integrity. i was saying that when it was happening back in august, when they were just sending live ballotballots to people who do t live at the address. there are things that ensure a safe and fair election. a person actually requesting a ballot is part of that, and democrats stripped that away. voter i.d. laws, signature verification, changing the settings o on the machine in nevada, what they did in georgia in the do consent decree, what's hard for the rnc and trump campaign families were codified into law, legislatures called into special sessions and laws were changed by governors, 30, 60, 80 days out from an

election. there is nothing unconstitutional about that, but it absolutely wreaks chaos in the selection and why so made republicans feel something that happened, this election that was not right, and you should not have a 45-day election or a two month election, there is an election day for a reason, and this election is proving that and democrats used covid to create chaos. >> martha: you make an interesting point, and that is why i think it is very difficult to get anywhere in this fight, in a lot of ways, and perhaps why the attorney general looks at the legislation you talked about and said, you know what, they change the rules. it might be -- you know, and might have been sneaky, but it's not illegal, so that raises the question, i interviewed brad parscale the other day, and he suggested we wanted to have a day of election teams in place all across the country, an army of people who are watching this process very closely, and he said it didn't happen the way it was planned to happen.

what do you say to that? >> well, i love brad, but i disagree with him on that, because i worked with justin clark at the campaign, who put that together, and there were hundreds of people in detroit and philadelphia and maricopa county. what i am talking about with nevada, they change the setting on the machine, that happened months earlier. we sued against that, and we lost. pennsylvania, we took it to the supreme court, we lost. so, some of these things were done by legislatures and democrats changing laws on the fly and using covid as an excuse, and georgia, those are republicans who did that come and they weaken the election process, but it's hard for parties or candidates to sue when it is codified by legislative authorities, and that is the problem that we have, but i will tell you, they weakened our system, they made it porous, and they allowed room for fraud, and this is what we are seeing across the country. >> martha: so, is georgia going to be any different this time around? that is a question a lot of people's minds. >> it will be.

it will be. and i say this to people, get out and vote for kelly loeffler and david perdue. we can walk and chew gum at the same time, keep the senate and fight for the president of the same time. people down there working on behalf of the president are saying don't keep the senate, shame on them. we have to do both. this is our country, and if we want election laws to be put in place that keep our elections fair and free, we need republicans in the senate to push that forward, and we know chuck schumer won't do it. >> martha: ronna, thank you very much. good to have you here tonight. >> thank you. >> martha: ronna mcdaniel. right now, in kentucky, you can go to work, the gym, and go out and see a movie, but you cannot send your child to a religious school. those are locked down tight. the kentucky attorney general is not happy about that. he says it is a blatant -- on the first amendment, and he is taking it to court. daniel cameron is up next. ♪ at visionworks, we know it's easy to forget

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>> martha: breaking news tonight in california, governor gavin newsom has now announced severe new mandatory lockdowns that will impact the majority of residents in his state, beginning this week. the capacity of local hospitalse units falls below 15%, he will initiate new stay-at-home orders in state, and those will stay in effect for up to three weeks. so far, it looks like the intensive care units in four of the states five regions will fall into that category. that means the majority of california is looking at a lockdown for the next three weeks. also says they plan to implement more strict rules on community gatherings and in person shopping, as well, they also limit restaurants and take out delivery openly, so changes

afoot in california tonight. kentucky's attorney general and a private christian school filed an emergency request with the supreme court trying to overturn an order from kentucky's governor that shut down all in person learning at k-12 schools in states to the end of november, including private religious schools due to covid-19. kentucky's ag writing this: "in kentucky, one can work out at the gym, attend a wedding, sent his or her child to day care or preschool, college students can attend classes, but all of kentucky's religious schools are shuttered. now, justice brett kavanaugh is asking kentucky's governor, democrat andy beshear, to respond to the high court by 4:00 tomorrow afternoon. so far, the governor's attorneys insist that executive order does not infringe on religious freedom. >> the governor is determined to take the right steps to solve our increasing surge of covid-19. we now have 117 counties in the

red zone. >> martha: here now, kentucky republican attorney general daniel cameron. general cameron, thank you for being here. explain to everyone with the legal argument is here, why these christian schools are treated differently than other private organizations across the state. >> well, look, martha. i think the question is pretty simple. it's the one we put forth in front of the supreme court, which is canning governor used his executive powers to infringe upon the first amendment rights that we all hold so dear, in particular here, the free exercise of religion? i know parents all across the commonwealth who, in exercising their right to free religion here in the commonwealth, are sending their children to private christian schools, and the governor has infringed upon that right. the question that we raised with the united states supreme court, and i'm optimistic about what we'll hear from them in light of the diocese case that came out of new york last week.

>> martha: so what does he say about what he signaled out these private institutions when he allowed other private institutions to continue to be open? what is his argument for that? >> it doesn't make much sense to me. you have heard dr. fauci this past weekend, the cdc even put out, put forth language suggesting that it is important to have our kids in schools, that it is not the super-spreader that a lot had feared. dr. fauci talked about the importance of the developmental aspects of being back in school. we wholeheartedly agree with that. again, i know parents all across the commonwealth send their children to religiously affiliated schools, not only so they can learn reading, writing, and arithmetic, but also so they can learn about the values of faith that are intertwined with the curriculum. >> martha: we've seen a big resurgence in religious schools that are private, independent schools, because their public school is closed, and those who

have been able to find the ability to transfer their kids into those schools have really build a resurgence in a lot of those schools, but it's very interesting to me, kentucky governor andy beshear said we all want to get our kids back to in person instruction, united states court of appeals for the sixth circuit recognize that doing so now would endanger the health and lives of kentucky children, educators, and families, which is absolutely the opposite of what we have seen in two very significant medical studies from jama and the landsat, which we have also heard backed up by dr. anthony ouchi and many others, so how would that argument hold water when there is not evidence to support it in a court of law? >> well, it doesn't hold water, martha. the fact of the matter is daniel christian, one of the plaintiffs in this case, has spent nearly $30,000 to make sure they are doing things consistent with the cdc, taking the proper precautions to keep their students safe. another school here in the

commonwealth of kentucky, lexington christian, has spent nearly $400,000, again, and fomenting safety procedures -- >> martha: and they can't be open. >> exactly right. >> martha: it's incredible. this could be something that comes before the supreme court. justice amy coney barrett would obviously be part of that decision. they have ruled in favor of religious institutions in new york and new jersey. what do you think would happen if the ghost of the supreme court? >> well, look, we filed our petition, you mentioned the diocese case out of new york. the court has come a time and time again, stood up for religious freedom. that is all this case is about, is the ability of parents to send their kids to religiously affiliated schools. this is an exercise of the first amendment right that kentuckians hold so dear. if the attorney general here in kentucky, i got the responsibility to stand up for the liberties that we all hold

so dear. >> martha: before i let you go, i want to ask about this. obviously, you are involved with the breonna taylor case as the attorney general of kentucky. the mayor of louisville, kentucky, where that happened, greg fischer, now says this: "our systems are more than broken, they must be dismantled and replaced. that's why i'm announcing today i am signing an executive order declaring racism a public health crisis in louisville." what is your reaction to that? >> well, i know the mayor, and i recognize that he has put forth that declaration, but i want to get past talk in our respective community and make sure that we are finding justice. we had a pretty significant case. it is important for the attorney general to make sure that we are marrying the law with the facts. that is what i think most folks expect out of their prosecutors. that is what we tried to do in that case. i have complete confidence in our justice system. obviously, there are always

challenges, and we have to build a more perfect union, and i look forward to being part of any productive conversation about some of the challenges we have here in the country. >> martha: attorney general daniel cameron of kentucky, thank you, sir. good to have you here tonight. so, throughout the russia investigation, adam schiff was adamant the special prosecutor must be protected. donald trump, president donald trump, can ever be allowed to fire robert mueller. he said. so, what does trey gowdy make of his latest 180-degree turn, suggesting that now john durham should not be protected, in fact, it is time to fire him? ♪ ♪ ♪

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♪ >> martha: this week, attorney general bill barr announced he appointed u.s. attorney john durham as special counsel in the investigation into the russia probe. the move gives a durham extra protection from being fired by the biden administration. house chairman adam schiff -- >> can be rescinded i think by the next attorney general. i would presume the next

attorney general will look to see whether there is any merit to the work john durham is doing, to make a rational decision about whether that should continue at any level. >> martha: but that is a very different tune then schiff was singing in 2018 when he called to protect special counsel robert mueller from getting fired. >> we have to make sure mueller is protected so we don't have to wonder what happens to the kind of constitutional crisis that would follow a fast or slow moving saturday night massacre. >> martha: joining me now, trey gowdy, former house oversight committee chair and fox news contributor. trey, great to see you tonight. what do you make of adam schiff's shifting opinion on this? >> you know, martha, he spent his entire career, what is left of it, on this russia collusion. he told us, he promised us he had evidence, more than circumstantial but not direct,

remember when he said that? lay aside the fact there is no category of evidence like the one he described, but that is what he said. he told us there was no fisa abuse. remember, he belittled mike belittled devin nunes and kash patel and others who wrote the new naz memo. he told us it was likely the president would go to jail based on colluding with russia. so far, the house and senate intelligence committees have debunked what schiff said. mueller debunked it, and michael horowitz, the inspector general. so of course, the last thing he wants is one more person to remind us of just how tragically wrong adam schiff has been. and i don't think it is lost on the democrats, either, martha. you and i have a better chance of being appointed to that vacant california senate seat than he does. no one is talking about him for that. he has not been talked about for cia director, o.d. and i, i think even the democrats are tired of the charade of adam schiff.

>> martha: good point. when you look at the difference in the way he handled it, and what bill barr is trying to do to protect durham at this point, how do you see all of this playing out? and everybody has a bottom line, basic question about, where is the durham investigation at this point? which we now learned is pretty much narrowly defined to crossfire hurricane, and it is an fbi investigation, no longer cia or any agency investigation. >> i mean, honestly, i can't imagine anyone, any reasonable minded person that doesn't want to know, look, this thing our country went through for four years, what were the factual origin? i can't imagine anyone would want t not want to know, we give law enforcement power, we want to know if they are good stewards of that? tell us, but the notion that we have something to fear from a career prosecutor providing

oversight over doj, the fbi, at essentially the surveillance of a political campaign, the only thing adam is worried about is that it will be now five people that tell him he is wrong, as opposed to the four that already exist. >> martha: do you think it is going to come out before januar? they said it was delayed because of covid and other issues, but when is it coming out? >> martha, i -- their system runs on a different calendar. >> martha: come on, trey, tell me when it's coming out. >> whenever they have interview the last exhibit, they are oblivious to politics. at least good prosecutors are oblivious to politics. >> martha: thank you. trey gowdy, good to see you. >> you too. >> martha: when we come back, a treat for everybody. kathie lee gifford to share some stories you haven't heard before when we come back. ♪ (vo) when subaru shares the love, good things happen...

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♪ >> martha: legendary notre dame football coach lou holtz humbly accepted the presidential medal of freedom today, highest civilian award in the nation. watch. >> i recognize from what other people did come i never made a block or a tackle, but i did trh people to make good choices, that's all i've ever tried to do. thank you. >> martha: to help people make good choices. one of lou's dear friends would be so proud today. i love this picture. never a bigger fan of notre dame then regis philbin, who was laid to rest there. notre dame a lou holtz on the show, when i used to watch way back, here's what i had to say to students in 2012. >> some people, who thought maybe i was infatuated, they would ask, how great it really is it? i told them from my heart, it's

the closest experience you will ever have two being in heaven. >> martha: i would have to agree with that, actually. regis' longtime cohost kathie lee gifford, author of a new book "it's never too big," done so much in her life. kathy lee, always good to see you. thank you for coming out tonight. >> thank you so much for having me on, i finally made prime time, thank you. >> martha: [laughs] i watched you with "fox & friends," and i wanted you to coming on. just about that, first of all, it was such a moving moment with lou holtz in the white house, and he is such a genuine, real, humble person, and regis has those qualities, you have those qualities. why was regis such a big fan of this man? >> oh, he has a very lovable man. i didn't know him well. i only met him a couple of

times, so i am certainly not the person to speak about him. but regis loved his integrity. i used to tease regis, all he talked about, notre dame, notre dame. i'm so happy for you. isn't it sad the greatest years of your life, for 50 years -- [laughter] >> martha: and he just kept going back to the well. >> it was totally legitimate, his feelings for that place were as legendary as regis was. and i loved what lou said. i've been doing interviews all day long, so i didn't hear, but that is one thing we are sadly lacking in our world, its humility, modesty, gratitude, and attitude of awe that god chose you to me that much for so many people. i did that, and tomorrow, -- the arrogance is so offensive to me, when people take credit for something that a lot of people help them do. you know, and it's like, they

don't exist, they are suddenly invisible. and lou holtz had that humility. and my husband, frank, did. frank was in eight hall of fame, and never met a more modest man in all of it, because he was the most grateful person i ever met, and so was regis. they came from very humble beginnings. frank, even more so than reg. frank used to say to me, if they thought i was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, he goes, "kathy, we didn't have any." grateful to have it. just worked hard, and there are so many people in this world today, it seems to me, and there are a lot of great, wonderful, hardworking people, but we hear so much about the ones that feel entitled. they want what you had, but they haven't worked for it. they want to sit where martha maccallum is sitting, but haven't done the work, they haven't earned it yet.

i know in my 65 or so years in this business, if i hadn't worked for any of it, i wouldn't appreciate it. i wouldn't be grateful for it. i just be looking for the next thing i was entitled to. i'm tired of that in our culture. we've got to get back to hard work and honest work, and gratitude for our blessings, instead of moaning and groaning about, you know, what we don't have. it was robert kennedy, or john f. kennedy -- one of the kennedy brothers said, you know, ask not what your country can do, but for what you can do for your country. where did that go? >> martha: i think you make such a good point. we need to instill that in children, this virtue of humility. that was one of the other things lou holtz said today. there's two reported days in your life: one is the day you were born, and one is the day you figure out what you were born to do. you, kathie lee, have known what you were born to do. i watched you on stage, all of the things you've done, and when

i was starting out in new york and watching you and regis every single morning together, and you have never stopped working and enjoying life, and the new book is called "it's never too late." what do you want to say to women, to people out there about reinventing yourself all the time, never stopping working? >> well, you know, when people use the word "reinventing," i know what they mean, but it's not what i mean, at all. i didn't invite myself, so i can reinvent myself -- >> martha: you are what you are. >> i am created in the image of god, just as you are, just as every human being is, i believe. i am cocreator with my creator god, that means walking with him every day, not just visit him on the weekends at church. i'm not talking about religion at all. in this book, i talk about partnering with god for your entire life, basically womb to tomb to beyond. i am not a fan of religion. people think i am so religious.

i am the least religious person you will ever meet, but i love the living god with all my heart, and i want to know him better, and i want to walk purposely with him every day, and i don't want to waste a moment of it. it was paul newman, the story i tell in the book, who told me "if you have a pulse, you have a purpose," you have to understand the whole context of the story to understand what you say it, but that stayed with me. and then when i held my husband, who had passed on just a few moments before, and i found him gone, but gone to glory, this look, and i said, oh, my god, he saw jesus, and jesus took his breath away. i was sobbing, but it wasn't tears of anguish, i was rejoicing with him, and that is what i tried to explain to regis before he died. he came to lunch at my house, he goes, where do we go, what happens to us? and we had yet another talk like we have had, you know, this 35

year friendship. >> martha: i'm grateful for your time tonight. the book is called "it's never too late." thank you very much, kathie lee. >> bless you. happy holidays. >> martha: bless you, too. that is "the story" for tonight. we will see tomorrow night. ♪ >> tucker: good evening, welcome to "tucker carlson tonight." christmas is almost here, the best week on the american calendar, the happiest time that we have. this year, of all years, christmas has a deeper way to be closer to its original meaning. in a time of crisis, you think of the things you might otherwise ignore if you are busier and more content, things like, what is the purpose of all of this? what matters most in my life? and what happens when it ends? in general, people tend to become more spiritual, more openly religious, when they are suffering. that is not an accident. in fact, it may be