today, charles payne, adam lashinsky, charlie gasperino gerri willis. >> i'm used to by nancy pelosi. overarching democrats, anything that republicans want to do that smacks of fiscal responsibility is mean-spirited. beyond mean-spirited they hate, children, hate seniors, hate, hate, hate. just in the name of getting the country fixed up so we have longevity and continued prosperity. it's a terrible way for someone in that power position to govern, i really think so. >> neil: it's a tough way to come back to the negotiating table from the other side. >> exactly, where are they? they went home. where are our leaders, a pox on both of your houses is what i say. they're both having their problems and you know, two weeks ago now that harry reid was spending all of his time trying to find popcorn for a special showing of the lincoln movie? get to work people. >> neil: that's right, by the way, we have it on good authority he did find way to get a waiver so they could have food in the auditorium. i don't think it was buttered, just regular. >> no way, that's so good. >> neil: ben stein, the

melissa: here comes gerri willis. ♪ ♪ gerri: tonight a warm and likable a. what they say could damage your car and the triple a agency. welcome to "the willis report." senator kay bailey hutchison and sarah gerri: hello, everyone. speaker john boehner and nancy pelosi threatened over the president had to go over the president had her go. we have two guests. welcome to you both. last night, we covered the details of the president's opening gambit in the fiscal cliff talk. he wants a $1.6rillion tax increase, 50 billion and stimulus spending. and the white house has the ability to raise the debt ceiling without congressional approval. a very big deal for folks there. today, the president is out there, trying to drum up support among the public. not in washington or with congress or the senate. here is what he had to say. >> it is not acceptable to me, and i do not think it is acceptable to you for a handful of republicans in congress will middle-class tax cuts hostage simply because they don't want tax rates on upper income folks go up. gerri: it sounds like t

"the willis report" is next. stay classy, san diego. gerri: hello, everyone, i am gerri willis. retailers dealing with the fallout of shoppers not showing up this holiday season, dc starbucks store is urging lawmakers to come together tomorrow and friday. they will come back to work in a mighty more to to the point. the senate is back tomorrow morning. treasury secretary tim geithner is one congressional leaders about december 31. that's next monday, my friends, five short days from now. we have michael burgess of texas with us. i want to read you what the treasury secretary wrote to harry reid. he said i'm writing to inform you that the statutory debt limit will be reached on december 31. he went on to say that they have special gimmicks they are going to deploy to allow us to go past december 31. we have to tell you that here we are again. nothing is being done. we have no resolution of the fiscal cliff him and we are about to hit our heads on the debt ceiling. what you have to say? >> first off, let's remember that the debt limit is no surprise. the surprise is that he should

i'm joined by gerri willis, anchor of the willis report on the "fox business" network. break it down for everybody. happens when we hit midnight on tuesday? >> the big fear and threat is that this political impasse turns into a economic mess and here's why. everybody is forecasting recession. if we can't find some resolution, businesses stop spending, people stop getting hired and here's what happens. we could lose as many as $10 million jobs. gdp could drop of%. we could have a 2% increase in unemployment. the stakes couldn't be bigger in terms of the economy. >> you know, you heard about the politics of this very early on but that sounds neutra, like if we don't get a deal, everybody feels this. so there's a big chunk of money that's basically going to be taken out of the economy. what is that number? >> exactly. $600 billion. that's the tsunami, the wave of money that will hit the economy. $440 billion in tax increases. what are those tax increases? bush tax cuts expire at midnight tomorrow night and you'll wake up the next morning and face a higher tax rate unless c

i hope yo gerri: hello, everybody. i am gerri willis. tedays until we got the fiscal cliff. president obama speaking moments ago, saying that maybe some time off will give both parties perspective to drink some eggnog, ng some careless, maybe reached the fiscal cliff deal. how speaker ohn boehner is doing damage control on their plan b mess. before heading out for the holidays. even as americans are facing more than $500 billion in tax hikes coming on january 1. with more on this, we have peter barnes, fox business sr. washington correspondent. what did the president have to say moments ago? >> john boehner did say that this would be a cooling off period. maybe they would have some time to reflect here. the president said that he did speak on the phone to speaker john boehner this afternoon. he also had majority leader harry reid to avoid the fiscal cliff and figure out a passport. he said he is ready and willing to try to get a compromise package done. all at once or stuff like that. but we'll have to wait until after the holiday. the president planning to hold out for the

"the willis report" is coming up next. ♪ gerri: hello, everybody. i'm gerri willis. we begin with breaking news, democrats attempting to kill a measure sponsored by republicans that would shield the defense department from huge spending cuts. meanwhile in just 90 minutes, the house will start voting on at least one bill from republicans. that is the big one. their plan the it joining me now, peter barnes in a fox business senior washington correspondent with the very latest details. how close will this be? >> the vote on that tax bill, the one that would raise taxes on people making more than million dollars a year, they are still working on getting the republican leader, the speaker still working on getting enough votes to get that to pass later tonight. we expect that around 8:00. as one price for votes, right now than house republicans have also got a bill on the floor which would impose new spending cuts. what it would be technically is it would replace the sequester, get rid of those big cuts in defense spending. replace that with about $300 billion in new spend

gerri willis and "the willis gerri willis and "the willis right now. >> biological attack is possible. >> swine flu panic grips the nation. >> climate change is killing people. >> the media says life is horrible. >> poverty has reached new depths. >> but the media missed the big picture. >> i was only four when i saw my motherlode a washing machine for the first time. >> this is a wonderful word and getting better. his grandmother was thrilled by a washing machine. >> she sat down and watched the entire washing program. >> two, one, fire! >> the machines coming next or better thanks to competition. and they build school cars and space ships. >> entrepreneurs do what only governments did before. >> maybe cities will be built on water flow from big government. >> this is outside the united states jurisdiction. >> life gets better because ideas have sex. >> wait, ideas hav sex? >> yes. >> ideas spread. when they meet they can mate. >> because of that we live in a wonderful world. that is our show tonight. >> now, john stossel. ♪ i think to myself ♪ what wonderful world >> what a wond

gerri willis and "the willis report" will stop where we leave off. gerri willis is up next to explain all this for you. have a great weekend, everybody. gerri: hello, everybody, president obama calling on congress just moments ago asking to avoid the fiscal cliff. he said he is moderately optimistic that a deal could be done by december 31. congressional leaders are working on crafting a bill. certainly no grand bargain here that would improve entitlements. if they can't get a deal, the president has told harry reid to put the white house proposals up for an up or down vote. the details just keep on coming out. with us now are two guests. first, we are going to go rich edson. he is here with the very latest. tell us what you made of the president's comments. he was very direct. reporter: he was. and now he passes on to the senate. senate majority leader harry reid, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. they are trying to come up with something that can pass the house and the senate. the president laid out a proposal earlier this evening. at the beg

gerri willis on a new proposal to help avoid the fiscal cliff. take a look at some of the winners and losers as we take a break. tracy: 30 past the hour. from the new york stock exchange. nicole: just watching, can stop trading for a second. you're always so gracious, take time to speak with us. what are your thoughts on the market? >> this is the same scene we have seen for the last week. the market wants to move higher, test ambition, just need the sentiment to move higher. as regulator of the afternoon, i think portfolio managers, traders, investors, the time horizon has gotten so sure towards the end of the year any risk on the table comes off rather quickly. working friday or this morning some profits off the table. nicole: when you look ahead, less risk at this point, telling them to sell and set it? there must be something to do. >> you have to be aware of what is going to happen by the end of the year. there are great companies that are investing in the long-term, so let's not get too scared just yet. i think it is very crowded at this po

gerri willis. gerri: this year is almost over. alleluia. merry christmas. charles: driving in, i was listening to "earth, wind and fire." do not change. do not be swayed by what is going on around you. love life and good things will happen to you. stuart: a couple years ago, we were closing out on the show right before christmas

gerri willis and elizabeth macdonald are here. it makes me feel uneasy the idea you have a armed teacher in every school. how about you. >> the n.r.a. suggested, we'll have a armed guard in every school and trained in using a weapon. and i think at the end of the day, the more guns you have in schools the more possibility they might be misused. and the kids might steal that's my worry. stuart: it will be in a locked cupboard accessible only to one-- >> how well do you see things working. >> civilians are less likely to hit the target versus law enforcement and representative ron paul is against all of this. he's saying this is not the answer, this or wellion surveillance totalitarian way to go and total state control he says will be invited into the schools if you're armed teachers. >> ron paul says that. >> representative ron paul is against this. >> use it as a extension of government. >> yeah, he does, i understand the man's point, i'm just surprised to hear this. >> he's vehemently against this. >> not every teacher is so stab

tracy: thank you so much, gerri willis. ashley: thank you so much. gerri: merry christmas. ashley: oil closing down $1.47, $88.66 per barrel. a loss of one and two thirds percent. the snowstorm to hit the midwest, leading to car crashes across the region. including a 25 car pileup in iowa. what if the government contract drivers actions just before the accident? requirement to have so-called black boxes in every new car. by september of 2014. jeff flock is in chicago with more. reporter: actually, we are rolling down the highway of chicago right now. looking for action as we take a live look outside the vehicles. this is an example of the obama administration on being able to get something passed through congress. they are going to spur congress and try to require the black boxes in every new vehicle. before you get set, there are multiple sides to the story. the insurance companies and the automakers -- the transportation department and the safety folks as well as law enforcement, they all like this idea. because believe it or not, when we get into auto crashes, we somehow

welcome to "the willis report." ♪ hello, everybody. i'm gerri willis. time running out for washington to get its act together to keep us from falling out the fiscal clef. president obama and the speaker sitting down at the white house today after the speaker offered his latest proposal which sources say includes tax hikes on millionaires, anchoring several conservative organizations. it turns out his concessions are not good enough for the president. the white house making it clear the only balanced plan on the table is the presidents. where do we stand? with more on this, president of the american action forum and former ceo director. welcome to this show. always great to see you. what do you make of this idea that this is not balanced enough rest? >> look, the only thing the president has put out publicly was the initial request that there be over one half trillion and higher taxes, and that would have net deficit reduction which means there was nothing in the spending side, and that is not balanced by any measure. since then, most of the talks have g

gerri willis? >> good to see you. >> thanks very much from the fox business network. >> people in the south picking up the pieces after the largest christmas tornado outbreak on record swept through the region. the latest on the damage and the ongoing travel delays coming up. boy, i tell you. if you are hitting a flight. have you got it see what's coming up. plus, the feds considering a plan to make airline fees easier to understand. on travel sites like expedia and/or bits but the airlines have other ideas. and have you found a stray dog lately you? just might have won your place in a famous author's next book. that's next. @ ♪ sing polly wolly doodle all the day ♪ ♪ hah @ >> a famous author is threatening to name a famous character in next book for anybody who finds his lost little dog. dennis has written books including shutter island, gone baby gone and mystic river. is he a big deal. facebook page beagle jumped the fence at his home in brook line, massachusetts. he said tessa is very sma

gerri willis is live in our new york city studio. why were sales so disappointing? >> mostly weather in the northeast. super storm sandy knocked as much as 1.4% of northeast sales, 3.9 on the mid-atlantic but the fiscal cliff, consumers are taking note and this is the season for retailers. as much as 40 to 50% of sales occur in november and december. some dis counting 75% pre-christmas. >> so bad news for retailers but the weak sales could be good for consumers. >> i have been reading up on this. everybody and their mother, wal-mart, target, best buy, toys "r" us are putting on major discounts. they're better than usual. it's some kind of discounting, as much as 15% of holiday sales come in the next week. >> wow. what about online sales? it sound like they're up. >> christmas day alone online sales up 22.4%, 8% up season to season. more and more people shop on line abuse of the convenience, the ability to comparison shop. it's easier. if you don't think it's going to be up next year, i don't think what you're thinking because it grows and grows. >> and grows and gro

gerri willis from the willis report is here to discuss this. you got to be kidding. >> what got our attention is private companies can cart away gold and silver for free. when did that happen? must be true but it is a possibility. i can't imagine how or why but if you are asking me the question can these groups come together and avert the fiscal cliff, is betting that anything can happen, 26 minutes away from this session, will include the president, congressional leadership, harry reid, john boehner, last-minute invite and mitch mcconnell. here is what they are considering. we have $5 billion in additional taxes kick in after the first of the year. this will affect everybody including middle-class people, $3,500 is the average tax hit for american families. what happened to consumer confidence? is down dramatically. people getting a sense of what will look like and constrain their lives. the wealthier you are the more you pay. a lot of people out there are suddenly and the only now getting the sense of how much money this is going to be and th

welcome to "the willis report." ♪ gerri: hello, everybody. i'm gerri willis. a bold counter ofer to president obam on the fiscal clef. the new plan contains 800 billio in new taxes, half of what t president was looking for. more importantly, the gop plan keep tax rates the way they are now. we kw that is a deal mker for the tie-breaker for the presidents. joining me now, theman some democrats blame for the fiscal cliff impasse, grover norquist, president of americans for tax reform. and the many ands a finger to about fixing it, michael reagan, founder of the reagan group. i wantto start with the republicans plan that they put on the table. they have been accused of doing nothing and all. they come up with their own plan which inclus 800 billion in revenue from closing loopholes and eliminating deductions and then 1 billion in spendin cuts. it is being rejected from the get go by democrats. grover, what do you say? >> i think the republicans had a very good pl called lorraine budg. they alloted for it in the house. itsaves $6 trillion over the same decade, and

gerri willis is here from fox business network. you she natural disaster after natural disaster. some take a hit and some get a boost. >> car sales big boost, 20,000 to 30,000 vehicles. i have got to tell you november sales overall looks mighty gadd no matter where you were. five year high. honda sales up 39%. exoit up 17. domestic producers not so much. bmw saw 45% increase. >> bmw. >> year over year. >> got to be construction boom given all the destruction we have seen. >> highest in three years. commerce department says it's not mostly sandy. it's other stuff. we are expecting home building to have the first positive impact on construction this year since 2005 think about that that's very good news. sandy will have a impact next month. >> haven't been able to get in there much yet. >> that's right. >> gerri willis, good to see you. >> good to see. >> you there is a shortage of small town doctors, anybody in a small town knows that national health fewer than 10% practice in rural areas. even though a quarter of the u.s. population lives there but medical schools are trying to r

gerri willis is on that story next. ashley: first let's take a look at some of today's winners and losers as the dow is drifting slightly higher. we do have winners. starbucks, raise a cup of coffee to them. they're up 6% today. netflix after the big disney announcement up again today 5%. we'll be right back ashley: it is 30 past the hour. let's check the markets as we do every 15 minutes. nicole petallides on the floor of the night see. take it away. nicole: i am here with keith blitz and we were talking about the fact we are not far off of the unchanged line. you were saying middle around the edges. what is going on? we have market direction. why we not seeing more? >> we are floating around in the ocean waiting for a lifeboat to come and take us back to land. we are going to sit here and you will be placid. i expected real volatility. we are not seeing -- the longer they talk about the fiscal cliff everybody is talking about talking about fiscal concluding me, until we get some resolution you won't see any movement h

right now "the willis report" is next. ♪ ♪ ♪ gerri: hello, everyone, i am tracy byrnes and for gerri willis. it won't be long until more than $500 billion in tax hikes hit america's wallets. that isn't yours and mine. congress is out for held for a long weekend. john boehner skipping town. those sources say his meeting with the president failed to make any progress to avert the fiscal cliff. even if washington doesn't get its act together, there are steps you can take to lower your tax burden next year. you can empower yourself. in a moment, we are going to get advice from the founder and president of diverse financial consulting. it looks like congress will have no choice but to punt the fiscal cliff debate until next year. we have a guest from the cato institute. sequestration kicks in, maybe talked about? >> i certainly agree with the sequestration part. we should be able to find 100 belden and spending cuts. we should be able to find 50 billion in spending cuts on the front. i think the sequestration and spending cuts should happen. unfortunately, many of the tax increases, if we

"the willis report" is coming up next. gerri: hello, everybody. i am gerri willis. it is a war of words over the fiscal cliff in washington. the president blasting republicans today for their refusal to take his latest offer, calling it puzzling. republicans are doubling down on the plan b. he called the veto threat bizarre and irrational. $500 billion in tax hikes closer to every american. >> there has to be a recognition on the part of my republican friends that take the deal. but they keep on finding ways to say no. i don't know how much of that just has to do with this. it is very hard for them to say yes to me. gerri: what he stated that? >> it is incredibly sad and frustrating, that's what that is. the president, through the entire campaign, says he wants a balanced approach. we have increased spending from 2007 to 2012. $1 trillion. year over year. a trillion dollars. revenues at record highs. >> let's talk for a second about the republican response. gerri: white house is opposition for the backup plan. it is growing more bizarre and irrational by today. is t

welcome to "the willis report." ♪ gerri: hello, everybod iim gerri willis. getready. a flood of obamacare rules re coming, and it will take a mountain of paperwork to get in all the fine prnt. fox buinnss liz macnald this year. let's break it down. >> you know wh i lov about congress? i don'really le it. they pass a law and th it's sort of like the irshas to do it. the irs hato enacted ad oversee. anthe joke is that the iris is operating on pneumatic ubes. the amacare law is going to basically blow a lot of circuits and burn a band with. so the deal is made if you hae investment income, capital gains or dividen, not only do you have to pay taxes when youou cah out, you're going to have to pay an extra surtax on top of that. so whate're seeing is the ira saying, we have to a shoot ibly 1509 pages of rules. it becomes -- >> a little bit about this and then it diappeared. apparently it disappeared from the irs. all of a sudden out of the blue have that already april april 15th. >> nancyeli said we have to pass it to see what's in it. well now we're seeing what's in it. t

gerri willis is on the story. gerri: estate taxes definitely, higher collections of estate taxes. that will be exciting. a lot of attention today, what is going on with consumers, and the federal government. you look at the federal reserve saying consumers are paying the debt down faster. the fastest since 1994. tracy: we had a dismal spending season and they are charging it. gerri: four years of trillion dollar debt, $16 trillion of debt, it goes on and on and no solution in sight. rich edson, something out of the brady bunch or the addams family, people can't agree on absolutely anything at all. shocking the degree to which we have lost all spending control whatsoever. we want to keep on spending instead of paying our bills. this happening at the same time taxpayers are getting their act together. tracy: we are talking-ceiling on monday, we are potentially cutting here, cutting their, it is no the engineers at that end of the day. we will approach this again in february. >> we're blowing right through the deadline. put a fork in it. no way will get done and we had hopeful segmen

feedback from our fox business studios, here again is gerri willis. gerri: hammering the northeast, you can see the winter storm that is supposed to dump a foot of snow or more. parts of ohio and indiana are expecting the snow as well. this ne's system has been blamed for six deaths so far in. tens of thousandsf people also without power. it also disrupted holiday travel. they are expected to be coming back tomorrow. the big news story that is not getting a lot of attenti that it suld. a shocking new government report shedding light on the biggest bankand how they are being run. within 2.5 years after the passage of dodd-frank, another financial crisis, if it happens right now, we might need another taxpayer bailout. welcome back to the show. >> one of the big regulators, the office of the comptroller of the concert on concurrency, decided we weren't getting things right. so we are going to start looking into more broadway with the banks do and we look at the 19 biggest banks. in five different categories from that virtually all filled up. >> that doe

welcome to "the willis report." hello, everybody. i am gerri willis. anher bailout from president obama. that is what some in detroit say they deserve for helping reelect their commander-in-chief. the city on the brink of financial collapse and will soon lay off thousands ofity workers to pay off bills. the total outstanding debt is more than a billn dollars. that is according to mdy's investor services. joann watson city councilmember, her comments are sparking controversy. she claims the president owes the city another bailout because they voted them into office. >> he went to washington dc and he came back home with some bacon. that is what you do. that is what you do. are people overwhelmingly supported him in the election. not just at, buthy not? gerri: quid pro quo, bring home the bacon. very controversial. we are going to have one out in just a moment. but first, it could be a day of reckoning lawmakers in michigan considering changing the status to a right to work state, giving workers the freedom to opt out of paying union dues. we have the ab

"welcome to "the willis report." hello, everybody. i'm gerri willis. tonight no progress on the fiscal cliff as democrats and republicans trade barbs over the issu. one group of americans is finding a way through this regardless of congress and the president. small-business owners in this countryare prepari to hire. join me now, chief .s. economist for i may just pull one side. heart of america group founder, and member of the jobs creation alliance and actual job creators in this country who say their voices not being heard in this office took with debate. also with us from the weekly standard, steven haze. welcome. great to have you here. i want to start with the conversation in washington and what the speaker had to say about the status of the fiscal here is mr. boehner. >> this is in the progress report because there is no progress to report. when it comes the fiscal cliff that is turning our economy and jobs, the white hhuse is wasted another week. gerri: what do you say? we wasted another week. we seem to be getting nowhere, and now folks are say