>> attacks represent a direct threat to international commerce and freedom of navigation. houthis are pulling the trigger, iran is providing the guns. >> john: that was nsc communications coordinator john kirby moments ago saying it is iran who was arming the houthi rebels, the same houthi rebels shooting drones towards navy ships. >> sandra: just yesterday, forced to shoot down another houthi drone in the red sea. united states has yet to take real direct retaliatory military action toward the houthis. awaiting a briefing from the pentagon and bring you the latest as we get it. >> john: john roberts in washington. >> sandra: sandra smith in new york. this is "america reports". today marks two months now of war between israel and hamas. israel battling militants in some of the biggest cities along the gaza strip. u.s. confirming it has resumed intelligence flights, and despite all the devastation, israel is showing now their resiliency through testing, through the major tests that they are in in these trying times as they celebrate the first night of hanukkah across the jewish state. >> john: greg palkot is live in sderot, israel. >> a town hit very hard by hamas on october 7th, some residents are hanging in there, and two months on, they have erected this massive menorah that's behind us right now, marking the holiday of hanukkah. more on that in a moment, but the war raging near by us, pockets of resistance in the north and further into southern gaza, especially that town of khan younis, it's believed many of the hamas leadership and fighters are holding out. 90 israeli soldiers killed in the fight, including the son of an idf chief of staff and current cabinet minister and taking its toll on the civilians. israel hitting supposed safe areas in the south. israel saying missiles were fired from there. and you are right, the u.s. military continues to deal with iran-backed hits on its forces, including the recent drone fly by and knock down of a u.s. destroyer in the red sea. here in sderot, the first night of hanukkah, the first candle of the 40-foot tall menorah, it's where the police station was, a massive firefight at the beginning of the problems, 12 policemen were killed there, 30 terrorist. on this night, soldiers gathered around for prayers, remembrance into the evening. deputy mayor of the town told us the significance of this festival of lights. >> after what happened in october 7th in this building, in this area, and probably in israel, we want to bring the light to the world. >> we want to bring the light to the world. john, sandra, eeriely quiet here. in the distance, hearing the pounding of the war in gaza and one more word from the deputy mayor, his words, we will return. a symbol of that behind us right now. back to you. >> john: greg palkot just outside of sderot, israel. >> sandra: merrick garland announcing the justice department is investigating several hamas members accused of killing or kidnapping americans on october 7th, and he says the doj will hold them accountable. david spunt is live in washington for us, david, what's the ultimate goal of the justice department here. >> ultimate goal to get the hamas terrorists on american soil to face prison time here in the united states for what they did to americans in israel. that will not be a walk in the park by any means. still the doj is adamant about going after these terrorists. >> hamas murdered more than 30 americans and kidnapped more during their terrorist attack on october 7th. we are investigating those heinous crimes and we will hold those people accountable. >> add in extradition delays could complicate things, working to identify all the members of hamas who killed and kidnapped americans. the attorney general made the announcement at a press conference, first use of the war crimes act of 1996 to charge four russians with attacking an american living in ukraine. i asked him about going after hamas when he confirmed the investigation. fox news has told doj several options and using the war crimes statute is just one option. doj also has additional tools to use given that hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the u.s. department of state. i'm told by a source familiar with the probes into hamas that things, sandra, are very fluid but the goal is to find the hamas fighters. the first time we have heard the justice department is actively going after hamas terrorists. federal prosecutors hope to identify these people by name, first and last name, at least put them on blast for the world to see what they did and who they are. >> john: a live look at the pentagon awaiting the briefing there, first since the u.s.s. mason shot down another houthi rebel drone yesterday in the red sea. dan hoffman, former cia station chief and fox news contributor. we see all the missiles and drones coming out of yemen either launched or fired by the houthis. american ships are taking them down, yet unlike what we see in syria, there is no direct response by the u.s. against the houthis as there was against iran-backed proxies in syria. the question is, why wouldn't we respond directly? >> and let's also remember the response against the iranian proxy militants and terrorists in iraq and in syria has not been enough to prevent those attacks from continuing to occur. roughly 80 of them in iraq and syria, and they have caused traumatic brain injuries for some of our soldiers. iran is dialing up the kinetic pressure on us and doing it because they are playing the long game, they want to make it appear as if the united states is at war in the middle east. on the side of israel. so that when the protests occur with pro-palestinian populations in jordan and saudi arabia and egypt, saw some in bahrain, yesterday, united states is lumped into all of that and it drives a wedge between those populations and the governments who are our allies. and that's what iran, what russia wants as well, to reduce or eliminate u.s. influence in the middle east. iran does not want a direct confrontation, that's why they are using the proxies. >> john: in terms of limiting our influence in the middle east, the president of iran is in moscow today meeting with vladimir putin, but even more importantly than that meeting, which is billed as trade and economic cooperation, even though they are deepening military ties, yesterday putin made a one-day whirlwind trip to the middle east which went to the united arab emirates and met with a flyover smoke trailing from the back of jets, and they were not the us-f-16s, and the color of the russian flag and went to saudi arabia, as the west tries to isolate him, he's trying to build bridges in the middle east. what are the implications of that? >> those are significant implications. vladimir putin is doing everything he's always been able to do. remember last month he hosted iranian deputy foreign minister and a senior hamas representative. he's far from being an international pariah as the biden administration would like him to be, he's able to engage with senior leaders in the middle east. back to the days when iraq invaded kuwait, and president bush had a coalition to drive them out. we are not enjoying that diplomatic effects in the middle east, it has to be a huge challenge for the biden administration. >> john: as putin welcomes him, as he travels to the middle east, in the senate, bill for aid to israel and ukraine were shot down because there not being border in it. and support for ukraine is mr. biden's policy, and the failure will be as much his as that of republicans in congress. the kremlin and the world will see more evidence of mr. biden's political weakness. do putin and xi look at what's going on across the street from here and think wow, biden can't even get bills passed to fund ukraine, why should we be worried about him? >> democracy scares xi and putin the most but enjoy how it impacts the united states government. i was very surprised yesterday because you know, back when president biden was vice president, president obama said you cannot get everything but accept what you can get. and i would like to see the politicians compromise, money for the border, and israel and ukraine, we lose if we don't do that. it's a 0 sum game. it's over to them to negotiate a compromise which republicans can accept. >> john: i know you are going to be heading over to the middle east for the security conference soon. we expect and look forward to seeing you on the back side of that, dan. thank you so much. appreciate it. >> absolutely. thanks. >> john: sandra. >> sandra: good to see dan. sky high mortgage rates are making it harder and harder for everyday americans to buy a home. also a big toll on those trying to sell a house. robert wolf and dan greenhouse are here to weigh in on what's happening and when we could see some relief for that market. >> john: also, president biden sticking to his claims of denial when it comes to his son's foreign business dealings. republicans say the president is not fooling anyone, as they continue to turn over every stone in their investigations. >> the american people have common sense. i think they figured this out already and i think the fact pattern related to burisma is the key here. my doctor told me rybelsus® lowered a1c better than a leading branded pill and that people taking rybelsus® lost more weight. i got to my a1c goal and lost some weight too. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood 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(christmas music) ( ♪ ) weathertech gift cards have the power to wow everyone on your holiday list. offering a variety of american made products... weathertech! nice! like floorliners... cargo liner... seat protector... boot tray... cupfone... sink mat... pet feeding system... anti-fatigue comfortmat...and more. order the weathertech gift card instantly for the perfect gift at weathertech.com. you're probably not easily persuaded to switch mobile providers for your business. but what if we told you it's possible that comcast business mobile can save you up to 75% a year on your wireless bill versus the big three carriers? did we peak your interest? you can get two unlimited lines for just $30 each a month. there are no term contracts or line activation fees. and you can bring your own device. oh, and all on the most reliable 5g mobile network nationwide. wireless that works for you. it's not just possible, it's happening. >> sandra: we know high mortgage rates are killing prospective home buyers looking to get a slice of the american dream, but new data from red fin says it's showing an impact on people wanting to cash out on investment. homeowners who wanted to sell will to lower listing prices this fall. robert wolf is a fox news contributor, former economic adviser to president biden, and also ceo and founder of 32 advisers, dan greenhouse, ok, sometimes i worry we had the biggest conversation before we hit air. talking during the commercial break what is going on right now. crazy dynamic in the economy and chatted with charles payne in the last hour bit, about how some resilience from the consumer, right, they seem to be still spending money, but yet with the high interest rates there is this big movement in the housing market. affordability is way down and people cannot get into a house. so renting is going up, dan, characterize what's happening right now. >> i'm going to go first. >> yep. >> i'll take the positive side of things for this conversation. so, if you are a homeowner, the vast majority of people, 130 plus million homes in the country, 85, 90 million are owner occupied, homes are up 40% from covid. so balance sheet standpoint. >> sandra: huge, 40%. >> we have not seen a price increase like that in modern history, plus the stock market basically back to a record high, higher than precovid, balance sheet, you have the issues in your favor. layer on top of this relatively speaking a strong jobs market, a jobs report tomorrow should show healthy levels of job growth. so all together, if you are a consumer, along with the amount of money the government gave you, probably just about running out, you are feeling good about things and you are able to still spend. >> sandra: i feel like there's a but coming. but what, robert? >> he's asking me to be the negative guy, i would rather be positive. i think there is a lot of negativity out there, and sandra, you and i and dan have been talking about it. you have no mobility, people with a mortgage at 4%, they don't want to move because they are locked in. during covid, the most part, no construction. issues with supply so the supply side is upside down. this is the first time in decades that we have seen existing home sales down, new home sales up, but the new home sales buyers are first time buyers. normally they are the ones always buying existing homes. >> sandra: what does that tell you? >> no existing homes to buy and no one is moving because of their mortgage rates, so therefore -- >> sandra: inventory problem. >> the problem with this, to the point, a million homes for sale right now, existing home sales. that should be 2 million or 2 and a quarter million, so short 1 million homes and pushing people into the new homes markets as we have just discussed. however, new homes cost more than existing homes. >> sandra: if you got into a home in covid, you got in free money, basically. and if you see the value of the home up 30, 40% you are not going to get into a bigger home, because you take on a mortgage rate much higher than you are locked in. mortgage rates this year, 30-year fixed, 7%, and obviously that line chart went up up up up for quite a long time, it's now taken a bit of a dip, that should help things out a bit. meanwhile, what people are saying, oh, perhaps this is my favorite story. sorry, i shouldn't say that. maybe i should step back and think this could be pretty rough for some people. >> that's ok. >> there are couples, a trend coast to coast and multiple reports about this, a lot of couples that are deciding to live together even though they are divorcing because of the tough financial environment right now. apparently we have spoken to some people about this, listen. >> it's just a bad idea. they are exes for a reason. >> i would pay any amount of money to not live with an ex. >> they always have home. absolutely not. i hope not. >> sandra: but apparently this is happening. but most people think it's a bad idea. it's a rough economic environment out there, divorce, hard to get into a new place of your own, at least right away, robert. good or bad idea. >> bad idea. i'm actually a producer of an upcoming broadway show called "war of the roses" and if you looked at the movie from years ago with michael douglas and kathleen turner, this is not a good idea. and all i can say is i'm -- first marriage, first house, foreign to me, maybe someone else can talk better about it. >> sandra: i think happily married spouses have it sometimes difficult inside the same walls. can you imagine divorce. >> i concur with the idea that happily married couples have difficulty in the same four walls. i would rather sleep in a dumpster than get divorced and stay in the same house. that seems like a better outcome. >> not a good idea. >> sandra: all kidding aside, these are indicators of the economy. >> sell the house. >> sandra: ok, hopefully i don't have to think about this myself. thank you very much, robert and dan. good to have both of you here today. >> john: a watchdog is uncovering the donors behind a non-profit behind pro-palestinian protests. the big bucks and the big names and speaking of the protests. >> from the river to the sea, palestinian will be free. >> sandra: so how many of those students know the meaning behind what they are saying when they chant "from the river to the sea." one professor took the steps to find out and the answer may shock you. sitting down with the u.c. berkeley political science professor ron haster will join us live next. okay everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. yay - woo hoo! ensure, with 27 vitamins and minerals, nutrients for immune health. and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. 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(music ends) we're travelling all across america, talking to people about their hearts. how's the heart? i feel like it's good. how do you know? let me show you something. it looks like a credit card, but it is the kardiamobile card. with kardiamobile card, you can take a medical-grade ekg in just 30 seconds, from anywhere. kardiamobile card is proven to detect atrial fibrillation, one of the leading causes of stroke. kardiamobile card is just $79 during our holiday sale, a $20 savings. get it for yourself or a loved one at kardia.com or amazon. >> you are committing genocide. >> sandra: a charity watchdog group did some digging into pro-palestinian protests and found one non-profit that has given millions of dollars for groups connected to the rallies. tides has received money from several foundations, including one controlled by george soros who has donated more than $22 million to the group. william has the story from us. what's some of the -- some of this money doing? >> well, the protests, right, they cost money. signs, travel, organizing, but where does it come from? a group most have never heard about, it is called tides and take in most money from anonymous donors or foun