Blacked Out in New York

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The show airs from NYC tonight… and the legal panel should be back on the show with me tonight from NYC — if all goes as planned.

Here is the Web site I promised two nights ago, where you can — if you want — sign the petition for Duane "Dog" Chapman.

By the way, Duane "Dog" Chapman's lawyer is on our show tonight — I hope you watch. He will have the latest development in this continuing saga: Will the U.S. send "Dog" to Mexico to answer to the Mexican charges? Will Mexico go through with this?

Here is a factoid I stumbled upon while researching for our show: The father of General William Casey, Jr., who is the current commander of Multi-National Force-Iraq and oversees all forces in Iraq, was also a general — he was the a major general commanding the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division in South Vietnam and was killed in 1970 in a helicopter crash.

Under the headline "never dull," on Wednesday night viewers in New York were unable to watch our show for 50 minutes. Yes, 50 minutes! That is almost the entire show! We literally went to black for 50 minutes of our show in New York (10:13 p.m. to 11:25 p.m. ET.) I was told it was a Time Warner cable created problem, not a FOX News Channel created problem… and it only affected our show and part of Bill O'Reilly's 11 p.m. ET show, not our competitor cable networks. The good news? In spite of Time Warner blacking out our show for 50 minutes in NYC — the largest viewer market in the country — we still had more viewers than our competitors in the same time hour. I can hardly wait to tease my friends at CNN, since Time Warner owns them and this did not happen to them — only us.

If you missed Thursday night's show, Joran van der Sloot and the two Kalpoe brothers will remain suspects per a court ruling in Aruba.

Here is a question for you: What do you think of the kidnapping charge against the parents who took their daughter for a ride so that she missed her wedding? They face prison if convicted of kidnapping. The daughter is an adult and says she was taken against her will. Your thoughts? E-mail me.

Now for some e-mails:

E-mail No. 1

Greta,
I couldn't believe you were really dissing Steve but, truthfully, I couldn't tell. I am a big joker and tease all the time and I really couldn't tell. I just assumed that you couldn't be serious but it looked like you were. Maybe you're too good at it and should stick to your normal, great work.
Susan Palmer

ANSWER: I am quite stunned that so many viewers had a question whether I was teasing Steve or being serious. Why would anyone think I would be such a jerk and be so public about it? Is that really the way you perceive me?

E-mail No. 2

I thought your e-mails and comments to/from Steve were hysterical! Some people just can’t "read" sarcasm when they see it. Maybe you need to resort to the Monty Python's “nudge, nudge, wink, wink” to let those viewers in on the joke!
As a matter of fact, as you were reading that e-mail out loud, I was thinking how much I appreciated your sense of humor, and knew we would get along great… but, I also said to myself that not everyone would know it was a joke.
Laughingly,
Anita
Indianapolis, IN

E-mail No. 3

Greta, I don't really care what the Mexican government wants! They don't care about our laws or problems; they just keep on supporting their own people, and providing their own people with the ways and means to cross over the border into America illegally, including maps and info on how to get into America via the desert alive.
For years the Mexican government refused to turn over criminals that ran across the border into Mexico to escape prosecution in America because we have the death penalty; has our government forgotten about that?
The "Dog" is not a criminal, period ! In fact, to many, he and his family are heroes!
How can our government possibly turn him over to that backward, corrupt, third world country that couldn't give a rat's ass about our country?
Maybe our government is afraid of losing the lobbying money that the Mexican government gives them to keep our borders open to illegal immigration! I don't believe what Ms. Rice said about honoring some stupid treaty... OH PLEASE, SPARE ME!
Thanks for a Great Show, keep up the Great Work you do; we need to keep fighting for the "Dog" and his family.
Lois
Lakewood, CA

E-mail No. 4 — this next e-mail is VERY funny… and this could happen to me:

Hi Greta,
This electronic world can drive me crazy at times even though I can't live without these gadgets anymore.
I not only watched a commercial in Spanish the other day I was watching
"Desperate Housewives" in Spanish!
I accidentally hit a button on my TV controller that changed it from English to Spanish. I couldn't figure out what was going on. My son called me from Indy a few weeks ago and was all upset because he was watching the last show of "Dancing with the Stars" in Spanish. Seems he did the same thing I did. As far as my cell phone I'm right there with you, I keep calling people in error and apologizing. I feel like a fool. I thought it was only me.
Take care Greta, love your show, and Merry Xmas!
Audrey Lyons
Chicago, IL

E-mail No. 5

Greta — tears to my eyes — that's what I must say. Peter and his brother look just like 2 normal little boys — thank God for miracles of medicine — and I do believe Peter might look like his momma!
Thanks so much for showing us this — they'll be fussing and fighting with each other before you know it — just like all brothers
MSS
Mississippi

E-mail No. 6

What is wrong with these people? It's very apparent that you are joking with Doocy with the e-mails he sends you at the end of the show. I find it humorous and a nice light hearted way to end a show that covers a lot of sad things. I think those that are upset need to lighten up. I'm sure Doocy loves it.
Paula
Lee's Summit, MO

Finally, here are some articles that caught my attention:

• Prosecutors say death penalty didn't fit in girl's death

FARMINGTON, Utah (AP) — Prosecutors acknowledge the facts are horrible but said the death of a 10-year-old girl at the hands of her father does not meet the threshold for a death sentence.

Police said Shelby Andrews had bites and bruises on 80 percent of her body when they arrived at the Syracuse home.

Ryan Andrews, 38, pleaded guilty to murder Monday and described what happened Aug. 1.

He said he and wife Angela trapped the girl in a tight space within a closet as a punishment. He said his wife smacked Shelby in the chest so hard the girl was "heaving to catch her breath."

While the couple watched TV, the girl called out, saying she could not breathe and was vomiting, and ultimately "her lifeless body fell to the floor" when they opened the closet.

"Everybody wants these people to die and everybody agrees the crime was heinous in nature," prosecutor Mike DiReda said.

"The problem was did they intend to kill her? We could establish that they intended to inflict serious child abuse on Shelby for disciplinary reasons, but not that they intended to kill her," he said.

"I'll admit the line is very thin, but we all agreed as a staff, we did not have evidence ... that they wanted her to die," DiReda said.

The murder case against Angela Andrews, 36, is pending. She also is charged with sexual abuse of a child.

"The evidence was very compelling this was a case of child abuse and discipline gone awry to horrific proportions, but the intent was not to kill her," said Troy Rawlings, who is prosecuting the stepmother.

"When they opened the closet door and Shelby fell out, they immediately began CPR," he said.

Investigators said the abuse appeared to have lasted as long as a year and the girl likely had been beaten daily for about a week. On the day she died, Shelby had been forced to eat her own feces.

Ryan Andrews faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 22.

Information from: Deseret Morning News, www.deseretnews.com

• Missing 12-year-old girl has been found

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (AP) — A 12-year-old West Valley City girl missing since yesterday has been found safe.

Police say Samanthia Stayton showed up at school this morning. She had apparently spent the night at a friend's house, without telling her family.

Officers say neither police or Stayton's parents knew of the friend, so they didn't know to contact that person.

Officers were out all night searching for the girl.

Authorities say she was reported missing yesterday after her father went to pick her up from school and she wasn't there.

Send your thoughts and comments to: ontherecord@foxnews.com

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