57-43. ten votes shy of a conviction. 7 republicans join democrats to vote guilty. trump is now in the first president to be impeached twice and acquitted twice more on that ahead but first another major story we're following. growing calls for a federal investigation into new york governor andrew cuomo handling of the coronavirus pandemic. this after a top aid reportedly admitted his administration withheld data on nursing home debt over concern of how the trump white house would respond. we have team fox coverage on both stories chad and mark meredith standing by but we again with alex hogan following the latest fallout in new york. alex. reporter: good evening trace i'm outside of andrew cuomo new york city office and we've seen 16 times the republican senate republicans have tried to rid governor cuomo of his pandemic emergency powers, and all of those have been unsuccessful. but now for a very first time 14 democratic state senators are joining republicans and in a message that they released last night they said in part, the emergency powers that had been granted to the governor to manage this pandemic are no longer needed and must be reevaluated immediately. to blowback over nursing home public stemming from a call from new york democratic and melissa and allegedly admitted that the cuomo administration has been withholding the true number of deaths. and later clarifying in her statement saying, when we received the doj inquirely we need to set aside legislature request to deal with the federal requests first. some lawmakers, however, calling these actions premeditated. >> this was orchestrated conspires cover that likely involves a number of both state and federal crimes. it is very clear that this involves obstruction of justice. >> on wednesday the state revealing the death toll is actually 15,049 people that's up from the nearly 9,000 deaths the health department reported at the end of last month. a separate report obtained by associate the press show it is that the governor's order released more than 9,000 recovering covid-19 patients into nursing homes that's up 43% from numbers originally reported by the state health department. all of this, of course, comes just weeks after another investigation by the state attorney general letitia james. trace. trace: death toll numbers are astonishing alex hogan. putting pressure on biden administration after president met with cuomo and other governors at the white house yesterday. mark meredith has more live from the white house. mark. >> good evening president biden is spending his weekend at camp david we're waiting to see what wife white house there may be to news regarding impeachment but as this town is focused on impeachment there are still grows questions about nursing home deaths. we did see the governor of new york andrew cuomo here at the white house yesterday he had a chance to meet with president biden as well as other governs as they were talking about this covid relief package, this bill that stimulus package that the administration has been eager to get passed the white house press secretary was asked after the meeting, if the administration stand behind cuomo gwinn new allegations of a coverup. >> the president hosted governor cuomo and a bipartisan group of governs and mayors to the white house today to get their perspective from the frontlines. not to give anyone a stamp of approval or seek their stamp of approval, and to discuss the urgency of passing the american rescue plan. >> now cuomo is no stranger to democratic politics and then candidate biden praised him over his handling of the pandemic. the president called him a friend said so on multiple times. >> i think he's dining hell of a job. i think he's been a lead horse here. i've talked to him frequently he's a friend. i think he's doing an incredible job. your governor in new york has done one hell of a job he i think he's -- sort of a gold standard. trace: last month white house asked whether or not to see a federal probe into what's been going on in new york the white house say that was really a question for the justice department that they were not going to engage in questions like that and said going over to the justice department saying that was really more their territory as opposed to the white house. also i want to mention again waiting to see what official reaction administration may have to today's impeachment vote in the senate continue to let you know as hour progresses. trace. trace: mark meredith live in the white house and back to other top story former president trump acquitted in his second impeachment trial today. the senate coming up ten votes shy of the two-thirds needed to convict him of inciting a riot at the u.s. capitol last month. is the vote this afternoon 57- 43 with seven republicans joining democrats in voting guilty. let's get to our correspondent chad pilgrim live with us for the latest on capitol hill. >> there's a famous quote from winston churchill nothing so exhilarating to be shot at without result. democrats will tell you that president trump is the only president to be impeached twice. president trump supporters would tell you he's only person acquitted by senate twice. the vote 57-43, ten short of 67 needed to convict. governor republicans voting to convict mr. trump among them, pennsylvania senator pat tiewmny says former president tried, quote, dishonest attempts to convince supporters he won and then enflame supporters here in washington, d.c. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell voted to acquit and lashed out at former president in a speech. >> that really opened a new chapter of even wilder -- wilder and more unfounded claims. free world cannot speak weeks thonged hearing shadow forces are stealing and then surprise when people believe them and do reckless things. >> house speaker nancy pelosi calls mcconnell remarks disingenuous and mark dismissing arguments made by house impeachment managers. >> nothing really surprised me what had happened was the day before, we demolished their case they were like a dying animal that we had trapped in the corner and so this morning, their last gaps were swinging out at us trying to save their case. and it didn't work. now fox confirm that vandals spray painted words trader and his business is under siege. trace. trace: quickly chad we heard from mitch mcconnell as you said chuck schumer are we expecting to hear from anybody else or you think we're about to move on? >> serving all wrapped up here house impeachment manager held their press conference and house speaker nancy pelosi made appearance there. the senate is out for the week now. not coming back until the 22nd of february now it is on to covid relief on capitol hill. trace: off to the airport for some senators chad pilgrim impeachment acquittal and fire storm let's bring in byron york the correspondent for the washington examiner, of course, a fox news examiner i want to talk on impeachment and we'll do the same as senators kind of get on planes and move on. the idea of mitch mcconnell a pretty, pretty damming speech -- what did you think of that byron? >> well it was a pretty extraordinary performance buzz it went on and on and on and mitch mcconnell did sound like a house impeachment managers for quite a while there and pivoted and said but i don't believe the senate has the constitutional jurisdiction to take this trial and it would be a bad precedent if we tried and convicted a former president. so actually the impeachment kind of ended up where it began remember, we started with a vote on whether it was constitutional to try a former president. and 44 republicans voted that it was not constitutional. in the end, 43 republicans embraced that theory, and voted to acquit the president. nothing really changed. over the arguments -- trace: it is interesting because house managers cam out byron they gave their press conference a fairly long press conference and you know, and chad pilgrim saying look they're done. they're about to move on. is this moving on? do you think it is going to linger for a few days or are we done with impeachment? >> no, i don't think it really moves on. you're right there's -- business to be conducted senate is actually out of washington this week and then they'll come back and be covid relief. but listen, on the campaign trail, and then in the general political debate house and senate candidates will be accused of exonerating president trump. or voting to convict president trump. this will come up in the political debate in the next few months and maybe even years. trace: you know i'll tell you byron guy who wishes most that they had called witnesses you know for a while this morning we thought the senate was actually going to call witnesses in the trial to go on for months guy was hoping for that was andrew cuomo would have taken focus off of him now focus is back on him. [laughter] for this nursing home death thing a horrifying story what do you make of this? i mean, not a lot of coverage so far with some op-eds in "the washington post" "new york times" ran a bit but not as much as i would expect for a story like this. your thoughts? >> yeah. as we've been pointing out, though, the unhappiness with performance here is bipartisan, in new york, this is a really a stunning turnaround. you have to remember that first of all, certainly republicans thought that cuomo did a poor job handling coronavirus epidemic in new york after all you know it was just terrible. in april of last year, the worst experience with the virus and any state that whole time. and yet, he had very high job approval ratings 60, 70% in new york. he was given this emmy for his preference. he wrote a book about his success in dealing with it. and most of all, he emerged this kind of oppositional figure to president trump. here was president trump and democrats were criticizing his handling of the virus every day and they were pointing to andrew cuomo as a model of how to do it you were just playing -- recording some joe biden saying that very thing. and now, president trump is gone. cuomo doesn't really have that value as the anti-trump. and these terrible details are emerging about his performance, and he is being seen in an entirely different light. trace: the question now byron is can he wait this out you talk about book and people bought it, and you know, you have now as you said some bipartisan condemnation coming after him. you know, the question now and tom reid ho is a new york city -- a republican congressman, he said this about this thing is not going away. watch. >> i just tell you the cracks of this defense are coming down accountability is coming thank god it is happening 15,000 souls died as a result of cuomo order he didn't let them go into nursing home governor cuomo ordered patients into nursing homes where people without the virus were living. seniors, and that's what killed them. that's where we're going get justice for these people. trace: seems like politics not many consequences are these days byron do you think there will be consequences do you think this is just the beginning of this for andrew cuomo? >> i do. because of what you just heard because it was a life and death issue for so many people who are touched by it. and for people who weren't they were touched by the larger lockdown and i think it is not a surprise that with our two biggest states new york and california -- and california you have an effort to recall the governor there, and in new york you have this budding anger against new revelations about the governor there. i think it is really not an accident and because this is such a visceral issue so many people did die, and they have families and they are still very, very upset about it. i think this does stay alive as an issue. trace: toipght moves on if i can to the lincoln project that, of course, is anti-trump superpack gotten its trouble, you know, they're handling of the sexual harassment allegations against their leader former leader john leeber what do you make of the timing one of these coming out because we heard grumbles about this byron month and mojts ago. now it is kind of all flooding out. what do you make of this scandal, and steve schmitt allegations against him that he might have tried to kind of -- you know brush this aside. >> well first of all you're right there's been a complete collapse in this group in the last few days, and it stems immediately from the case of john weaver of veteran republican, strategist, one of the cofounders of the group who engaged in sexual misconduct, directed at young men for months and months through the whole life of the lincoln project and there have been complaints about it and allegation now is, is that the leaders of the lincoln project knew about this last year and they were going so well for them and there's that, that's been the cause of a huge controversy there. there's also the issue of money. the lincoln project was very popular with the resistance and negative -- and never trump types who sent small donations they raised 90 million dollars and what we discovered they spent about 27 million of that specifically on ads attacking president trump and other republicans. so you think well where did other 63 million go? and there's a lot of questions about who got how much money and so far, even though they're condemning john weaver on the sexual misconduct issue, they're totally stone walling inquiries about their finances. trace: there's allegations that half of this money they raised went to consulting firms directly connected to the people involved in the lincoln project. that's going to be litigated at sometime but i want to play this sound bite from a journalist ryan, and he's talking about, you know, steve schmitt knowing about all of this. here's him listen to this and i'll get your response. >> though there are now five major credible allegations that steve schmitt knew about the, about john weaver and his predatory behavior as early as august. steve schmitt who resigned due by john weaver behavior as early as august -- >> the question is if he knew about actual harassment allegation did he also know about the money? did he know about some of these other things that were allegedly happening inside this anti-trump superpack? >> yes. now really does deserve credit for getting a lot of this started really starting this story when nobody else was listening at this time. so that's an important thing. but listen, that there's -- there had to be sway that they all were paid out of this. the associated press reported that a number of them for example, john weaver himself had 300,000 plus in back taxes owed had another 3,000, 300,000 debt. and these things miraculously got paid during the -- during the time of the lincoln project, and so there's a lot of questions. about where this money went. listen, political consultants have been kind of legendary for paying themselves really great fees for making ads this is not unusual in this business. it is just such a large amount of money, and it was -- it was all raised for the purpose of criticizing president trump now the election is over. president trump lost, and people are beginning to ask well did you really spend all of that money on what you said you were going to spend it for? or do you have a new house? we'll see. trace: yeah all good questions. the lastly tj duck well detector press secretary at the white house suspended for a week because allegedly threatened politico writer for working and a story about his relationship with an reportedder joe biden said this on his first day in office. watch this. >> i'm not joking when i say this. if you ever working with me and i hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, i promise you i will fire you on the spot. on the spot. no if ands or buts. maybe week suspension if i feel like it on that day. >> yeah. well this is a pretty clear case in which reportedly said to reporter, i will destroy you. and that's, you know, pretty bad right there. what's interesting is, you're hearing on twitter and elsewhere a number of liberal reporters. say look if this were the trump white house, and a male had threatened a female reporter saying i will destroy you. well the press would have been up in arms about it. and here's this case where this apparently happened in the biden white house, and in addition, the president joe biden had made this promise. you just played -- and then they slap him on the wrist with a one-week suspension. so my guess is this is probably not going to go away. the biden white house clearly hoped it would just kind of fade away after a week and it will be fine. but there are -- this is not just republicans or conservatives. questioning biden this is a number of members of the mainstream, corporate media press core who wonder about the biden values -- biden white house's values. president biden first red line put down somebody who crossed it and apparently didn't live up to his threat. byron york great to see you, thank you. trace: cdc releases guidelines and how schools can reopen safely during the pandemic. but how much will they feed up kids getting back into classes? that's the important question and it's next. research shows that people remember commercials with exciting stunts. so to help you remember that liberty mutual customizes your home insurance, here's something you shouldn't try at home. insurance is cool. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ wanna build a gaming business that breaks the internet? that means working night and day... ...and delegating to an experienced live bookkeeper for peace of mind. your books are all set. so you can finally give john some attention. trusted experts. guaranteed accurate books. intuit quickbooks live. if you 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are more of a road plan to reopen safely not necessarily a mandate. the cdc also making it clear, vaccinating teachers is not a requirement to restart in person learning. let's get to lucas tomlinson live for us in d.c. with more. lucas. reporter: over 6 months ago cdc said keeping children out of school posed a greater threat than having them in the classroom. on friday, president biden new cdc director agreed. >> we believe and the science has demonstrated schools can be reopened safely prior to all teachers being vaccinated. what we're finding from the science-based literature is there's nor spread that is happening in the community when schools are not open than when schools are open. statement president biden says he wants teachers moved near front of the line for vaccinations to speed up school reopenings. early this week, some mixed messages from white house press secretary jen sac key said for market of schools to be open at least one day a week before clarifying days later, that the president now wants schools open five days a week. republican lawmakers want all kids back to school asap. up nick teenagers going to e very for mental health visits and emergencies, we have an academic failure rate that's over 600% and this is insane. >> as many as 3 million children in the u.s. haven't received any education since their schools closed nearly a year ago. according to a new report on the affect the pandemic is having on country most vulnerable students, many in urban areas. parents of children with special needs are also feeling left behind. many struggling in some cases to take care of them while working full-time jobs. fairfax county virginia spend three billion a year on education some parents are happy about returning to the classroom. >> i'm superexcited. i have a child with special needs who is in kindergarten he's never been in the classroom. >> president biden was the top recipient from teachers unions by a long shot in 2020. more than 98% of individual teachers in the country two biggest unions donate to democrats. cdc new guidance is not mandatory but what they call a road map for reopening schools. trace. trace: lucas tomlinson in d.c.. lucas be sure to catch fox news sunday host chris wallace will talk with cdc director about agency new guidelines, and whether they will speed up school reopening that a lot of parents are hoping for. and after president trump's acquittal in second impeachment trial chris will have reaction from one of the staunchest supporters south carolina republican senator, lindsey graham, as well as minnesota democratic senator amy klobuchar fox news sunday tomorrow on your local fox station. should the federal government investigate andrew cuomo the governor of new york over accusations that his administration withheld data on coronavirus deaths in nursing homes? a new york lawmaker here with more reaction, next. i made a business out of my passion. i mean, who doesn't love obsessing over network 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refusing to hand over robbed data on early covid-19 cases. as the w.h.o. probes origin of the pandemic. this comes after the organization's investigative team said it was extremely unlikely the virus emerged from a lab in wuhan and most likely was first transmitted from an animal to a human. a powerful magnitude 7.1 earthquake shook the coast of northeastern japan this morning. it lasted had been 30 seconds with epicenter 36 miles off the coast of fukushima where an earthquake back in 2011 damaged a power plapght in one of the world's worst nuclear disasters. today quake injured several people, and left about a million homes without power. and protest continue in burma against the military cue that put recently reelected democratic leader hang seng in prison and suspended laws limiting security forces from detaining suspects and searching private property and ordered the arrest of those backing the mass protest for more on these and other stories download the fox news app scan qr code or go to fox news.com/app. meantime there are growing calls for a federal investigation into new york governor andrew cuomo handling of the pandemic after one of his top aids reportedly admitted the state withheld data on nursing home deaths. with us now republican new york assemblyman kevin burn a minority member of the health assemblyman thank you so much for coming on we very much appreciate it and topped seg wment calls for an investigation we know there's bipartisan support or really bipartisan anger now. is it your sense there will be a full investigation? >> i think we need it. and i heard some of the comments from congress tom reid he's a straight shooter, good man i had fortune speaking with him and many different occasions and we absolutely need a independent investigation. you know, what we heard from the reports from that private meeting that was -- revealed in a new york post and then confirmed by the governor secretary melissa delaware de rosa astound and legislature scdz for it and governor groups asked for and we were told certain set of excuses now all of a sudden learning that it was completely political and that they were, quote, we froze because, quote, we weren't sure if we were going to give it to department of justice or what we were going give to you guys as in us the legislature who was going to be used against us. that certainly has the potential of being criminal intention to obstruct justice so absolutely, it merits federal investigation from a state as well. trace: i want to finish because you mention that quote there from melissa derosa saying going to be used against us while we weren't sure if there was going to be an investigation which is an important context, part of that thing "the new york post" who you also mention is assemblyman said the following wrote the following quoting what truth we now have only came despite team cuomo's best effort it took a damming report from attorney general tisch james and court order in a month's old freedom of information suit to get the health department to cough up anything and lies keep getting exposed it owrns out number of recovering pairnghts sent to nursing homes 9,5 of a, 40% than what d.o.h. climb in white washing july report you look at numbers 9,000 plus you think it is heart wrenching, and someone needs to be held accountable for what happened. >> absolutely. so there's the coverup i think is criminal implication there's the bad policies that we want to investigate as well. but the substantive you know the subject what have they were covering up that's what is so just astonishing here. the fatality numbers as early as january before the report we were being led to believe that fatalities that were from nursing homes was just about 9,000. and then we're learning it was upwards of 13,000 and then you add in adult care facility it is that is outside of nursing homes it is upwards of 15,000. i mean, that's what we're, what they were withholding from the legislature, the public, and it is still unclear if they provided the full information requested bit department of justice to department of justice that i want to know that too. but what they were hiding those are real families that lost loved ones that were -- that wanted answers about how they lost their -- family member. in the nursing home and they were basically just being told well if that was a hospital death, so they weren't being assessed in the same way. so what they were covering up was -- that's really just unbelievable. >> our colleague janice dean lost her in-laws because of covid she said look they were sitting ducks they just didn't know it at the time we're going to have more from van nice coming up agent later democrats talk about an investigation you know i'm looking checking the news sites looking for this story it is a big story not getting coverage i would think it is get but getting bipartisan anger and democrats in your state -- they wrote quoting here while covid-19 has it'sed the limits of our people in state and early during the pandemic, required the government to restructure decision making to render rapid necessary public health it is clear that the expanded emergency powers granted to the governor are no longer appropriate. they are calling for governor to be stripped of his emergency authority as it relates to coronavirus. your thoughts on that. >> too little too late on that, a i'll welcome rolling back the emergency powers. but i actually sense this is going to become like their scapegoat issue roll back emergency powers and then we're done. that's not enough. the coverup wasn't the governor exercising emergency powers. he was dishonest with the legislature, he was dishonest with the public. we need to investigate that. question should rollback mj powers no question. i'm glad i'm coming around to that assembly republican conference and put up resolution to do that sel times already. but they need to go further and you're right. i've heard from colleagues -- on twitter and social media saying, quote, this is criminal. that was assembly member from new york city if you believe it is criminal then you need to get this man out of the office he needs to get out of the office, and he dupght do it then legislature needs to take him out of the offings and should be prosecuted you believe this was criminal. you know, put up or shut up. talk is cheap let's walk the walk. >> new york city public advocate williams tweeted the following quoting here also a democrat, to continual defenders of new york governor cuomo how is this snoke how is it not trump-like and when forced into admission most you get is a sorry we got caught? and not even directly from him meaning the governor. or to the families that's the last thing we want to ask you, assemblyman nots even the families nobody has come out and said to families you know what, we screwed up and we're sorry. >> yeah. and there's absolutely l no excuse for that. zero excuse, governor i think had an opportunity earlier in a pandemic in the spring, to come clean -- and explain himself on that, and he hasn't, and what we're seeing now is again, they department just lie and withhold this information from the legislature this was to public that included those families they said they were fearful of double counting of the numbers. that they had to do a reconcile it, and now we're learning that it was political and they were fearful of a potential doj investigation. it is inexcusable, and you know, what we haven't said is, you know the governor has been kind of silent he hasn't been in media past three days. he needs to provide answers. he needs to clarification because if he doesn't based on what we know now, he shouldn't hold the office. trace: i think you're right. new york assemblyman kevin byrne sir thank you for coming on. >> my pleasure. thank you. >> meantime campaign to recall california govan gavin newsom celebrating major milestone we'll tell you exactly what 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contestant rachel colonel she's accused of racism after photo seen at a party a accuse harrison of defending her today he went on instagram to apologize and said he will be taking time off from the show. meantime the campaign to recall gavin newsom clengted the necessary 1.5 million signatures to get on the ballot christina coleman live in los angeles with more on this milestone. christina. >> hi trace good evening yeah recall effort gained a lot of steam some people even heckled govan about it. at one of his news conferences. >> way to open businesses permanently is to eliminate and end this pandemic. this deadly disease as we made -- >> organizers of the recall petition say they've now collected 1.5 million signatures reaching the min numb needed to trigger special election but those signatures still need to be verified latest update from california secretary of state office shows 410,000 valid signatures so far run about 75,000 invalid signatures so petition organizers are still trying to collect as many signatures can before the march 17th deadline. they say they're at a very critical point in their campaign. >> not only do we need to go to end zone this time we need to -- run to score and run up the score by about an extra 300 to 500,000 signatures. so we have that tab and insurance that we need. >> this recall effort is led by a group called the california patriot coalition. organizers say rising homelessness crime rates, unaffordable house and covid restrictions are fueling their campaign. and this campaign has gained a lot of momentum in recent months, and it is also on the president's radar. white house press secretary jen psaki said in addition to sharing commitment to a range of issues with gavin newsom from addressing climate crisis to getting pandemic under control president opposes any effort to recall gavin newsom this is sixth time newsom faced a recall petition but the first one to gain this much traction. trace. trace: a lot of people have already said they plan to run for governor if this thing happens christina coleman live flangs as we told you earlier this hour steve schmitt resigned from board as faces growing krit sip of the management of finances and its handling of sexual misconduct allegations against fellow cofounder john weaver. david spunt live for us in washington with more on this. david. reporter: trace good evening to you. seasoned republican operativen founded ploing project as way to stop donald trump also those politicians who support his agenda. they raised millions of dollars over the past year and a half to make donald trump go away. they succeeded in that. but now after taking many shots at trumple in that supporters, they're enveloped in their own scandal john weaver one of the founders of the lincoln project known to have been very high up in the john mccain and john kasich for president campaign in serious trouble after some allegations that 21 men told "the new york times" that trace sends sexual explicit text message in some cases promise job and other access in exchange for sex. in one case, the boy was just 14 years old. now there are reports that weaver is under criminal investigation. fox news has not independently confirmed that at this time. the times times reports did not lead to physical encounters except in one con sheen consensual and every level he's a predator a liar and abuser. we extend our deepest sympathies to those who were targeted by his deplorable and predatory behavior and disgusted someone in a position of power and trust would use it for these means no one of the founders of the lincoln project steve schmitt resigned yesterday from the board. now he's staying with the organization schmitt is stepping down after publicly criticizing another original of the project a woman named jennifer horn who expressed public disgust over john weaver allegations and suggested more people knew about it longer than originally thought or originally led on. others with lincoln project they want to be released from their nondisclosure agreements, regarding those john weaver allegations, the lincoln project put out a statement yesterday, said nobody that's under can come to them. they will release those folks from their mba certainly not a story going away. trace. trace: david spunt live for us in d.c. could be biggest sporting event of the covid era that happens tomorrow a live preview of the daytona 500. straight ahead. hi, this is margaret your dell technologies advisor to listen, is to hear more than what's being said... and offer the answers that make someone feel truly heard. i understand, let's get started call a dell technologies advisor today. when heartburn takes you by surprise. fight back fast, with new tums naturals. i understand, let's get started free from artificial flavors and dyes. keeping your oysters business growing has you swamped. you need to hire. i need indeed indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a 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[laughter] >> so glad to be out in new york and down here, it's like almost -- back to normal. >> and trace there's a lot of rain in the forecast form fangs we tiewk say they are preparing for some substantial delays. trace. trace: whey worked in orlando covered it a couple of times you're going to have fun down there in daytona beach good to see you former second impeach account trial ending today with acquittal new reaction from capitol hill, coming up next. how great is it that we get to tell everybody how liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need? i mean it... uh-oh, sorry... oh... what? i'm an emu! no, buddy! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. ♪ wanna build a gaming business that breaks the internet? that means working night and day... ...and delegating to an experienced live bookkeeper for peace of mind. your books are all set. so you can finally give john some attention. trusted experts. guaranteed accurate 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everyone i'm trace gallagher in for jon scott and this is a special two hour edition of the "fox report." trace: senate judges at the respondent donald john trump former president of the united states is not guilty -- trace: historic moment this afternoon when senate voted to acquit president trump of inciting capitol riot final vote was 57-43 that's 10 votes shy of the conviction. we'll have more on that coming up but first another major story we are following here at fox news growing calls for a federal investigation into new york governor andrew cuomo handling of the coronavirus pandemic after a top aid reportedly admitted the state withheld data on nursing home debt over concerns of how the trump white house would respond. we have continuing coverage on both stories congresswoman claudia, chad pilgrim and mark meredith standing by but we begin with alex hogan she's live for us in new york with the latest on the fallout. alex. hi trace i'm outside of the new york city office, now, these new coverup allegations not only enraging the morning family members of some of these patients who died in nursing homes but also lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. >> we need a full investigation. it is the only way we are going to get to the truth. but it's not about us. it is about the public it is about the people that needs an apology. lawmakers sounding off 14 democratic state senators are now joining republicans group releasing joint statement saying, quote, while covid-19 is tested the limits of our people an state and early during the pandemic require the government to restructure decision making to rerngd rapid necessary public health judgment, it is clear that the expanded emergency powers granted to the governor are no longer appropriate. in a private conversation this week, the governor top aid melissa spoke to new york democratic lawmakers searnght to governor appears to admit that the cuomo administration withheld the real number of covid-19 deaths in nursing homes. derosa saying releasing data to federal government before state lawmakers. on wednesday, the state revealing death toll at nursing homes is actually 15,049 people that is up from nearly 9,000 deaths that the health department reported at the end of last month the separate report that was obtained by associate the press shows that after governor cuomo's orders earlier this spring that the number of people who were admitted back to nursing homes was 43% higher than the state initially reported. trace. trace: for us in new york city alex thank you so much. the cuomo scandal putting pressure on biden administration after the governor's vut to the white house yesterday. let's get to mark meredith more from the white house. mark, good evening. >> good evening to you president biden is spending his weekend at camp david we're still waiting to see if there's going to be a new reaction to the developments up on capitol hill today. but what alex hogan was talking about starting to get more buzz in washington, of course, also in new york. governor cuomo was here at the white house on friday having a chance to meet with the president to discuss that huge covid relief bill. now, cuomo did not stop to speak with reporters after meeting but the white house press secretary was asked about the scandal and if the president still has confidence in cuomo. >> the president hosted governor cuomo and a bipartisan group of governors and mayors to the white house today to get their perspective from the frontline. not to give anyone a stamp of approval or to seek their stamp of approval, and to discuss the urgency of testing american rescue plan. reporter: now during after the meeting we did get a tweet from governor cuomo did not tack to reporters but he wanted to thank that president and vice president making it clear they appreciate needs of state and local they want to thank the president for their productive meeting and their support in the first few weeks of the pandemic. we saw a lot from then candidate biden praising governor cuomo's performance an how he was handling the state's response to all of this. it is unclear whether or not they're still beginning to remain friends this is still still so earlier in january the white house was asked whether or not there needed to be a federal probe into what was going on in new york. the white house saying that was really a question for the justice department trace, i do want to mention we just got new news here from the white house press secretary jen psaki saying press secretary duck low was resigning from his position why does this matter? this was a story that started to get steam after a call he had with politico in which he reportedly made some derogatory comments made it very clear he was not story a happy was being pursued regarding his personal life this statement coming out saying that it was a mutual decision. between ducklow and white house chief of staff committing to meet starngdz by the president and making sure there's respect here's where the other headline was just yesterday that the white house announced that ducklow it was getting week unpaid suspense and made it clear on his first day that he was not going to tolerate any sort of inappropriate behavior, this, obviously, will be a some development here at the white house it is not going to change -- everybody at home. but it will certainly be interesting to watch this will be the standard that we'll see going forward as the president talked about on day one. trace. trace: because the president said you would be fired no ifs ands or buts and one week suspension that jpght a lot of pushback thank you for the breaking news back to you mark meredith with anything else on that live at the white house meantime for more on this bring in republican congressman from new york body. i want very quickly we're going talk about this with phil from real clear politics but the breaking news there that joe biden said very quickly hey will be i'm going to fire you if you -- if you know any derogatory treatment about i will fire you no ifs ands or buts now suspension now wheeling this back and tj ducklow. >> negative press and biden excuse me president biden former king the statement there, probably pushed him to go to the resignation route for him i think that's a good thing because we need to have the quorum and i was former newspaper publish sore i know how difficult it is sometimes to report but you have to be aggressive you have to also show respect and for the profession and for the people that you represent as members of the state. >> i think that's a fair assessment now moving on to cuomo scandal heart rendering from janice dean who lost her mother and father-in-law in new york nursing homes to covid. and then i'll get your response on thes other side. watch. >> governor cuomo has never cared about our elderly we knew that from the very beginning hi started to learn about march 25th executive order to covid patients into nursing homes. over 9,000 infected patients went into nursing homes but families didn't know they were sitting ducks. that virus went through their facilities like fire through dry grass ands that a quote from governor cuomo he's never cared about our seniors. trace: we have talked to some state lawmakers, you know there is really some bipartisan anger on this. you know you can give us perspective from the state and federal level. what do you make of this? do you think an investigation will happen? do you think one is necessary? do you think that the governor can wait this out or is this getting enough attention now that somebody is going to have to answer? >> well it is heart wrenching when 15,000 people now we've discovered has been met untimely death due to this policy an my heart goes out to those who have suffered and died in a nursing home due to this policy. i think this is massive corruption, i think our emmy award-winning governor needs to resign along with everyone else who is involved with this. this is become more than just bad policy it has become an obstruction of justice problem, and we need to have a independent department of justice look into this and now we found out that governor secretary is related to someone in the department of justice so this has to be removed to some other region where we can get a clear outcome. i really -- this is really a problem, and i was in new york state assembly. i echo remarks in a bipartisan way from them. i just wish that in congress, there's a bipartisan support of recent bill and amendment by steve scalise congressman steve scalise to actually force governor cuomo to be -- to reveal these numbers and all of the new york delegation on the committee on that particular bill voted against it. i think they would like to take those votes now after the bombshell discover come out in the last few days. >> it does seem very partisan "the washington post" had this op-ed quoting here from months my colleagues have been accused of playing politics when in reality we are trying to get answers for the thousands of families who lost loved ones and nursing homes the leak tape the secret meeting held between administration officials, and legislative democrat confirms that not only did cuomo office deliberately withhold information from the public in the legislature, they did it to object justice and dodge a federal investigation it is an absolute dereliction of duty and breach of public trugs and everyone involved must be held accountable. how deep does it go? what should be the next step in this in your assessment congresswoman? >> i think we absolutely need an investigation. and in fact i actually called for an investigation by the department of justice back in april and mae of this year. when we had a real serious distinct in a nursing home in our region in a number of people had -- have been died because of this policy forcing covid positive patients into nursing homes not using hospital states where we have where they can care for them and thought inspector general look at them on a national level so concerned about one party rule in new york state. and never being so intimidated by governor cuomo, and his power and his abuse of power as a governor so that's why i call for a national investigation because at the time and why our federal government agency should look into this. you know, it calls into question why were patients put in and a political reason but i thought maybe a financial reason of how much money the state reimburses for example, hospital versus con have theyless sent care center is substantially less. could that have been a reason was a financial reason that governor staff and approved this policy was it just politics? to make sure they could cover it up who knows that's why an investigation is warranted at this point. >> i think a lot of those questions are about to be answered congresswoman if you would please stand by so we can come back to you in just a moment meantime lawmakers are reacting on capitol hill after the senate voted 57-43 to acquit former president trump on his single count of inciting the capitol riot chad pilgrim live for us on the hill chad. >> quickest impeachment for a president just five days president trump's attorney bruce casper argued that impeachment managers mangled their presentations. >> they even blew it when they wrote the article of impeachment by failing to break it out into counts. so any one of those things was a loser for them. >> senate minority leader mitch mcconnell exonerate former president but he still accused mr. trump of stoking the mob. >> this was an intensifying crescendo of conspiracy theories or straited by outgoing president who seemed determined to either overturn the voters decision or else torch our institutionings on the way out. >> mcconnell contended necked not vote to convict because mr. trump is no longer the president now house speak or, nancy pelosi accused republicans of, quote, coward and mccounsel tried to have it both ways. recall over the place i don't know whether it was for what for whatever it was, it was a very disingenuous speech. seven republicans voted to convict the president along with all 50 republicans. democrats i should say there have been swift rebukings at the level level of two gop senates who voted to convict chair mark by richard burr shocking and did i disappointing executive committee of the louisiana gop voted unanimously to senture bill cassidy trace. trace: excellent work all day again my friend. thank you sir let's bring back in new york congresswoman claudia on this. your quick thoughts on what happened today congresswoman. you know, the impeachment clearly was never going to -- it was never going to be a conviction. what do you make of what you saw on capitol hill today? >> yeah. i was not surprised, obviously, we all knew the results which is why it was kind of questionable why we even went through this charade i condemn what happened in is the violent actions are never justifiable that happened on january 6th. it undermined our first amendment and our in which -- emphasizing peaceful protest. and today i knew that this was going to be the result and i think my community and how we need -- we need to have resources for our covid problems that we have had. we've had a government shutdown, we have i think a shut down of our communities and small business owners from governor cuomo of all people and our small business communities suffering and meanwhile we have this unconstitutional process going on i'm an attorney and done constitutional law i do any think that we can impeach a person who is not holding office. my view of the constitution is that it is a remove of statute and it is gone. so why are we putting all of this time and effort into this charade and this display on capitol hill there are other ways that we can condemn maybe the actions or find a by to find other that was guilty of what they're accusing him of. i don't think they made a good case and i was concerned watching the final press conference with a impeachment manager where i saw fiery political very divisive comments made in a time of unity where unity is being -- promoted by the democrats especially from the white house and other side, it didn't look like a call for unity and that's what i think we need to do. to bring our country back start getting back into the business what we're supposed to do most are tired of noise in washington and albany. but they would like to see us get back to work and solve problem for the american people. and important constitutional republic and probably most important in our world's history. and we need to lead and i think we need to get back to that i'm glad that this is over. i hope we can get back to doing the business that the people and upholding our oath. trace: i want to tie two stories talking about cuomo potential investigation along with the impeachment washington post wrote this, quoting here democrats have rightly been demanding that former president donald trump be held accountable for the words and deeds that led to death of five people in january 6th capitol riot there's another politician who ought to be held accountable for the deaths of far more americans, new york governor andrew cuomo your final thoughts on this congresswoman. >> again i had not emphasize how much we need to investigate the situation of governor cuomo. i called for his resignation for a long time. he should prevent and should not force the new yorkers to go through this any longer. i think it would be the best thing to do and cleanest thing for him to do is resign. allow us to move forward let the investigation take place. but his leader he's proven he's not a good leader i served under cuomo when i was assembly member. abused power many times in any opinion. during those years, he, obviously, this nursing home policy has been terrible. he botched the rollout of the vaccines, thousands of vaccines were thrown away. many seniors were denied their ability to get the vaccine. and even in my own community, you know we were left with people standing in line with no vaccines. it has to be a happen and can't happen soon enough. trace: his book say he's the best congresswoman thank you for coming on we very much appreciate it. >> i have another title for that book. [laughter] for another time. trace: we'll get -- thank you so much. well the home of one of former president trump impeachment attorneys is vandalized police say it happened last night as michael home according to inquirer painted word traitor in red paint on his driveway. watch. >> my home was attacked i would rather not go into that to answer your questions, my entire family, my business, my law firm are under siege right now. i don't really want to go into that, though. so far no arrests have been made. well, there will be a lot of cold shoulders this valentine's day we also fingers and toes every other body part as a powerful winter storm now expected to batter much of the country with heavy snow. meteorologist adam klotz live for us in fox extreme weather center with the forecast. adam. >> hey trace yeah this is a big winter system covering a large area. you're seeing some of these really cold arctic temperatures already going spill down into middle of the country areas that typically don't see this cold of weather see so much snow are going to particularly tomorrow. these are your winter or excuse me windchill warnings across plains, upper midwest, areas where the feels like temperature is going to be down to negative 35 or so. we're already currently seeing that a lot of spots on here negative 10 negative 20, negative 30 and more we could see some feel like temperatures down to negative 50 degrees and some of the upper areas of the country but not just windchill but winter storm these are winter storm watch and warnings across portion of south texas we're going to be seeing snow and ice on sunday. i'll time that out for you here in your future forecast. this energy lifting from the mountains falling down across texas, mostly a sunday event there's some of the heaviest snow getting into sunday afternoon around dallas we can continue to watch this kind of move across the state. getting into sunday night even early monday morning and shift their way across eastern portions of the country. eventually kind of lifting up into the east coast. there is some more warm air along eastern coast not a big snowstorm there but really across heart land areas across texas -- maybe anywhere from three to six inches of snow and dallas. so spots where you typically don't see that snows on the way. big winter weather system here as we wrap through the weekend. trace back outside to you. trace: adam klotz thank you cdc issues guidelines to reopen schools safely during the ongoing pandemic. but will they help kids get back into the classroom? that story straight ahead. obsession has many names. this is ours. the new lexus is. all in on the sports sedan. lease the 2021 is 300 for $359 a month for thirty nine months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. for thirty nine months. in a recent clinical study, patients using salonpas patch reported reductions in pain severity, using less or a lot less oral pain medicines. and improved quality of life. that's 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are not open than when schools are open. >> in a statement president biden says he wants teachers moved near front of the line for vaccinations to speed up school reopenings. early this week, some mixed messages from white house press secretary jen psaki said president school for majority of school to be open at least one day a week before clarifying days later, that the president now wants schools open five days week. and any republican lawmakers want all kids back to school asap. >> we have had a 31% up nick teenagers going to the e very for mental health visits and emergencies. we have an academic failure rate that's over 600%. and this is insane. >> mas as 3 million children in the u.s. haven't received any education since their schools closed nearly a year ago. according to a new report on the effect the pandemic is having on the country's most vulnerable students many in urban areas. parents of children with special needs are also feeling left behind many struggling in some cases to take care of them wheel working full-time jobs. fairfax county, virginia they spend 3 billion a year on education some parents are happy about returning to the classroom. >> i'm superexcited i have a child with special needs in kindergarten never been in the classroom. >> president biden was top recipient from teachers unions by a long shot in 2020 more than 98% of individual teachers in the country's two biggest unions donate to democrats. cdc new guidance is not mandatory but what they call a road map for reopening schools. trace. trace: lucas tomlinson in d.c.. thank you be sure to catch fox news sunday on host chris wallace will talk with cdc director dr. rochelle we lean ski and speed up school reohmings and now the trump has been acquitted in second impeachment trial chris will have reaction from one of the staunchest supporters that's south carolina republican senator lindsey graham, as well as minnesota democratic senator amy klobuchar that is fox news sunday tomorrow, on your local fox station. well a major shakeup in the white house press office, as joe biden's deputy press secretary resigns. just one day after the administration received a major criticism over punishing him in a way that many called way too light we'll discuss the fallout, next. i am robert strickler. i've been involved in communications in the media for 45 years. i've been taking prevagen on a regular basis for at least eight years. for me, the greatest benefit over the years has been that prevagen seems to help me recall things and also think more clearly. and i enthusiastically recommend prevagen. it has helped me an awful lot. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. it's time for the ultimate sleep number event on the sleep number 360 smart bed. can it help with snoring? i've never heard snoring... exactly. no problem. and... done. and, now, save 50% on the sleep number 360 limited edition smart bed plus free premium delivery when you add a base. ends monday. priceline works with top hotels, to save you up to 60%. these are all great. and when you get a big deal... you feel like a big deal. ♪♪ priceline. every trip is a big deal. trace: breaking news out of washington white house press secretary tj ducklo has now resigned after he reportedly threatened to, quote, destroy a reporter after she asked about his relationship with the journalist david spunt live for us in washington with the latest on the breaking news. david. reporter: hi trace we got news about this 30 minutes via white house press secretary jen psaki tj ducklo was a well known face a spoke person often on television a lot and he was a well known person and a well respected person in the biden press shop for only just a few weeks. we know that he resigned now and let me bring our viewers up to speed about a week ago, people magazine put out a profile on ducklo announcing that-dating female reporter who covered the biden campaign. she no longer is covering biden because of relationship at ducklo as a conflict of interest so people profile was glowing it then came out trace, that a female reporter at politico was initially pursuing that story, and ducklo made some sexist comments and threatening comments toward her. ducklo put out a statement tonight he said, quote, no word can express my regret embarrassment for behavior i used language no woman should have to hear from anyone especially in a situation where she was just trying to do her job. it was language that was abhorrent disrespectful and unacceptable. now trace about -- i think it was friday white house press secretary jen psaki said going to be suspended without a pay for week and raise questions what about biden press shop would do with ducklo's future after all it was president biden himself on january 20th, at the white house swearing in appointees and he said i want to read this he said, quote, i am not joking when i say this. if you're ever working with me and i hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, i promise you, i will fire you on the spot. no if and/or buts that coming from mouth of the 46th president of the united states. tonight we know that tj ducklo has submitted his resignation to no longer with the white house. trace. trace: david spunt live for us in d.c. with the breaking news david, thank you back to you if we get more on this, let's bring in -- for more phil for real clear politics timing here is perfect on this thing ducklo thing we're kind of wondering because as david spunt was just talking about, you have jen psaki i want to play what she said yesterday about this resignation or this one week suspension of tj ducklo and then i'll compare that to what she just released moments ago. watch. >> he spent a reporter a personal note expressing his found regret the ask, he is in place as you noted one week suspension without pay and in addition when he returns, he will no longer be assigned to work with any reporters at politico. >> come on no reporters at politico. i mean how is what, and they said this is jen psaki saying we accept resignation after a discussion request him this evening this conversation occurred with a support of the white house chief of staff. we are committed to striving every day to meet the standards set by the president in treating others with dignity and respect with civility and with a value for others who are own words and our actions. yesterday, it was a one-week us neafntion goods enough and he's not going to be engaging with political reporters today we're holding up, you know, the president's mandate of we're going fire you if you disrespect anybody. your thoughtings on this. >> well david hit the nail on head and laid out case there a second ago president biden ran a campaign on unity and decency and promise he would fire anyone on the spot who demean them and then it seems that the white house press shop didn't get that message in its entirety. because it took them some time to move from putting ducklo on a one week suspension to letting him resign. and what's so interesting about the initial suspension, is when you hear that ducklo wouldn't be dealing with reporters from politico you know that might sound like all right this is no longer an issue in truth that actually would have put politico at a disadvantage. because that's one less point of contact they have at the white house. so this -- this shows, you know, what that standard actually meant in practice. and it was after press criticism that the white house had to live up to biden's promise. trace: smch that press criticism came from mollie hemingway who tweeted this quoting here president biden received a -- coverage from the media when he claimed he had zero tolerance for disrespectful behavior from employees was that true as tj ducklo been fired yet? that, of course, is old tweet hasn't been fired but resign and accepted his resignation pressure was clear because it was first red line laid down by president biden and somebody crossed it and he appeared to do nothing about it did you think this was coming did anybody think this was really going to work out to be a one week suspension phil and that was going to the end of it? >> you know this. conversations between sources and reporters can sometimes get heated. i have been on the receiving rengd of some pretty contentious phone calls but this was different. some of things that ducklo said cannot even be repeated on air. in his statement, he seemed to take it on the chin admitted that his remarks were -- wrong that they were sexist that he was embarrassed but i think that turning point came when you have reporters in the white house briefing room yesterday, i think it was katelyn collins of cnn who actually asked first question about this double standard. and there has been a bit of a honeymoon between the press and this white house, but here the sort of -- tribal mentality took over. reporters stuck up for one of their own, and i think that might have caught this white house by surprise because they were going to be held accountable. trace: i want to get your take on quick stories i can phil because we talked about this andrew cuomo thing starting to bubble up now he's getting hit from both sides you've got democrats in the state new york, republicans saying this thing needs to be fully vetted fully investigated. do you think this has legs? we seen a lot of political stories that we thought were compelling had a lot of evidence just kind of went away. because nobody coffered them with do you think this will be covered more strictly now and do you think it has some legs? >> the family members of those affected in new york certainly expect this to have legs, and if it doesn't they really should be holding media accountable. i mean, this is -- the defining story of what's happening in new york right now. i think that we all remember a lot of the press coverage which was comparing and contrasting new york and florida. the republican governor in florida was treated much more harshly than governor cuomo in new york. who has been awarded an emmy i think he should probably give that back cancel book tour and explain these deaths. this is -- certainly seem like it is malfeasance with what we're hearing from individuals on his staff said they were not forthright with the data. trace: i want to play this from, read this from congresswoman elise from new york she said following here, i have said from the beginning that this is more than a nursing home scandal this is a massive corruption and coverup scandal at the highest level of new york state government implicating governor. the secretary to the governor, the new york state health commissioner and governor staff, and i think she's right. i mean, this isn't just i mean it is -- is the pair mount, you know, topic here is had the 15,000 people who died in these nursing homes question becomes, who wents on number who is is hiding number who is is trying to cover this up? there's a lot we don't know and who gets the ball rolling on this? is this -- is this a federal mandate is it a state mandate what's your thought on this? >> i expect things to begin on the ground in new york with state legislatures holding their own governor accountable but here we have a episode and pandemic politics playing out in real time. this is not an issue that cuts red versus blue. this is a question of what did this governor do to protect those who are the most vulnerable? i mean that's what government exist to do? right protect the weak from strong and this is a situation where the least among us were not protected i think this is something that is -- going to, you know, haunt the governor he's going to be held accountable for this. and anyone who -- who, you know, didn't give him information he needed or didn't, you know, hold him accountable in the moment, you know, they're going to be plenty of questions and i would hope this doesn't simply become a -- you know, democrat versus republican talking point. trace: lastly phil i want to get your thought on lincoln project this is anti-trump superpack is imploding now you have people leaving left and right sexual harassment allegations misappropriation of funds, those kinds of things. what happens here? is this also a story you see going forward getting bigger in the days ahead? >> well it wasn't clear what the lincoln projects long-term shelf life was going to be now that donald trump is out of office but remember central premise of this organization they promise they were going to be the republicans who held other -- republicans accountable. and now we find out that not only were they funneling millions of dollars to themselves. one of their directors john weaver, was saying pretty disgusting gross things to young impressionallable men that i've seen it described as an open secret here in washington, d.c. that is certainly shameful. but meanwhile, if you actually look at their record, while they made a lot of -- noise, while they got a lot of press attention he doesn't seem they actually moved the needle when it comes to changing voter minds but disgrace themselves pps trace: a lot of e grege egregious behavior in the meantime. campaign to recall governor gavin newsom from california says it has collected the 1.5 million needed signatures to get it on the ballot. let's get to christina coleman she's live for us in los angeles. christina. reporter: hi trace this recall effort gained a lot of momentum lately. some people even heckled the governor about it. at one of his news conferences -- >> fastest way to open businesses permanently so eliminate and end this pandemic this deadly disease, and as we -- reporter: organizering of the recall petition say they've now collected 1.5 million signatures reaching the min numb needed to trigger a special election. but those signatures still need to be verified the latest update from california secretary of states office shows 410,000 ballot signatures so far 75,000 invalid signatures. so petition organizers are still trying to collect as many signatures as they can before the march 17th deadline. they say they're at a very critical point in their campaign. >> not only do we need to go through the end zone this time. we need to run it to score and run to score by about -- an extra $300 to a 00,000 signatures so we have that tab and insurance that we need -- >> the recall organizers say rising homelessness crime rate affordable housing and covid restrictions are fueling their efforts today the california republican party announced its giving 125,000 dollars to this recall campaign so again, a lot of momentum gathering here. trace. trace: indeed christina coleman live for us in los angeles christina thank you. meantime a big legal win for meghan markle why a high court accusing paper of violating her privacy. next. ♪ ♪ my grandfather had an amazing life, but ancestry showed me so much more than i could have imagined. my grandfather was born in a shack in pennsylvania, his father was a miner, they were immigrants from italy and somewhere along the way that man changed his name and transformed himself into a successful mid-century american man. he had a whole life that i didn't know anything about. he was just my beloved grandpa. bring your family history to life like never before. get started for free at ancestry.com (dramatic music) (announcer) the right car for you is out there. and at truecar, you can find it and a great price. because truecar knows what people in your area have paid for the car you want and can show you what's an especially high price and what's an uncommonly low price, so you can see what's a great price and get the actual price you'll pay at the dealership. ♪ get your car and a great deal, all from home, with truecar. ♪ trace: hands meghan markle a victory the mail on sunday violated her right to privacy by publishing personal letter she had written to her father. ryan chilcote explains. >> trace meg meghan markle, and she had sued a tabloid many this country called the mail on sunday over publishing a letter that she had written to her father back in 2018. he called publishing that letter an invasion of her privacy. illegal, and something that was dehumanizing well on thursday, a british judge agreed ruling, obvious that this was an obvious invasion of privacy so much so that the judge didn't even see the need to go to trial. a trial which by the way would have pitted meghan against her father on the other. who had provided the letters in the first place to the tabloid and was prepared to testify on behalf of the tabloid. clearly, this was a very sensitive letter meghan is not close to her father as far as we know she hasn't seen him since before her wedding back in 2018 when they fell out, and meghan and harry have had a contentious relationship with the british media especially tabloids ever since then. they always said it was one of the main reasons they gave up formal role as royals moved to los angeles the newspaper on the other hand argued meghan always intended for the letter to be made public. and that it was part of a media strategy. one lawyer kangted by the associate the press said no one saw this verdict coming no one saw that the judge qowld actually say this doesn't even need to go to trial. that lawyer said that this was a bad day for press freedom in the u.k. the mail on sunday said it may appeal. trace. trace: in the u.k. for us ryan thank you if could be biggest sporting event the covid era even bigger than super bowl nt they call it nascar's super bowl, and it happens tomorrow. a live previewr of the daytona 500, straight ahead. 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(judith) our fees are structured so we do better when our clients do better. at fisher investments we're clearly different. ♪ ♪ these days you need more than an education. so that's what we give you. introducing career services for life. learn more at phoenix.edu it's an important time to save. with priceline, you can get up to 60% off amazing hotels. and when you get a big deal... you feel like a big deal. ♪♪ priceline. every trip is a big deal. new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a short list of quality candidates from our resume database. claim your seventy five dollar credit, when you post your first job at indeed.com/home. jon: engines are ready to roar at the daytona 500 tomorrow with about 30,000 on-site fans able to attend. matt finn is live for us in daytona beach, florida. how does an l.a. correspondent even up covering daytona in florida? >> just a few hours ago there was an intense downpour and the crews were circling. we talked to some of the fans. >> we'll be somewhere in this facility and ready to go when it's done. >> there is a possibility of a three-pete winner. he will be the first to win three times in a row. he's also the co-owner of a team with michael jordan. because of the pandemic, the iconic venue that can fit 100,000 will be limited to just 30,000 people. nascar driver kevin harvick says not having the stands full does have an impact on race day. and the reduced capacity has an economic impact on especially the smaller track owners in the country. >> it's disappointing to say the least. these tracks are doing everything they can. >> there are large gaps between the crowds, so people are social distancing in the stands, trace. trace: the wintertime is a great time time to enjoy the temperatures. we made usaa insurance for members like kate. a former army medic, made of the flexibility to handle whatever monday has in store and tackle four things at once. so when her car got hit, she didn't worry. she simply filed a claim on her usaa app and said... i got this. usaa insurance is made the way kate needs it - easy. she can even pick her payment plan so it's easy on her budget and her life. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa. i'm not hungry! usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. you're having one more bite! no! one more bite! ♪ kraft. for the win win. incomparable design makes it beautiful. state of the art technology, makes it brilliant. the visionary lexus nx. lease the 2021 nx 300 for $359 a month for thirty six months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. 7 it's time for the ultimate sleep number event on the new sleep number 360 smart bed. what if i sleep hot? ...or cold? no problem, with temperature balancing you can sleep better together. can it help keep me asleep? absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. will it help me keep up with mom? you got this. so you can really promise better sleep? not promise... prove. save up to $800 on new sleep number 360 smart beds, plus, 0% interest for 36 months and free premium delivery when you add a base. ends monday. trace: the frozen canals in the netherlands, skating conditions are said to be perfect, making for a great escape from the coronavirus lockdown. the 110 kilometer race only happens when it's cold enough to freeze the canals properly. the last time was 1997. i'm trace gallagher in for jon scott. have a great night. [♪♪♪] jesse: welcome to "watters' world." i'm jesse watters. the china cover-up, that's the subject of tonight's watters words. an delegation from the world health organization just visited wuhan and said there is nothing to see here. they said it didn't spring from the lab, maybe it came from australia. the smoke screen gives joe biden a perfect excuse to go soft on china and reward his donors. he'slr