secret service this year and tomorrow the first family will attend the same tree lighting ceremony where the president's late son bo proposed to his wife back in 2001 but on the first thanksgiving with the widely available vaccine, the president gave special thanks to those who cannot be with their families tonight. >> president biden: what am i thankful for? i'm not joking when i say i'm thankful for these guys. >> spending thanksgiving on nantucket, the commander in chief and first lady making a stop at brent point where they dialed into a virtual call with service members from all six military branches to give thanks. >> president biden: i've watched these people, i've watched them in the south china sea, watch them in afghanistan, iraq, wherever they are people wonder what america is, they look to this staff. they make me proud. >> president biden's island holiday marks a return to a 45 year tradition only broken a few times, including after the death of his son beau, and amid the pandemic last year. the first family sharing a message to those greeting this holiday. >> president biden: as we give thanks for what we have, we also keep in our hearts those who we lost in those who have lost so much. and those who have an empty seat at their kitchen table or their dining room table this year because of this virus or another cruel twist of fate or accident. we pray for them. >> the president's own health also coming into focus after the white house announced a polyp removed during biden's colonoscopy last week is a benign, slow-growing, but thought to be precancerous lesions for which no more action is required at this time. the tubular adenoma is similar to one biden had removed in 2008. white house physician dr. kevin o'connor said in a letter advising routine surveillance and another colonoscopy in seven to ten years, when biden will be in his late 80s. two areas of observation outlined in the president's physical included keeping an eye on his frequent throat clearing and noticeably different gate compared to last year. while the white house dr. initially deemed him healthy, vigorous and fit to ask to get the dash he is the oldest president in american history and fox news poll showed that half of voters think the president ages interfering with his job, including 49% of voters over 65 and 28% of democrats. and when the president heads back to the white house next week, there will be a renewed emphasis on getting his nominees confirmed, including his pick for the office of management and budget, if confirmed, she will be the first black woman to hold that office. mike buried >> mike: jacqui heinrich live in nantucket. jacqui, many thanks. a new variant has been detected in south africa. scientists say it is a concern because with higher members of mutations and rapid spread among young people. here in this country there is continued resistance by many to vaccine mandates. correspondent kevin corke shows us tonight. >> with numerous lawsuits pending over vaccine mandates from group representing teachers, airline workers, law enforcement officers, and firefighters, it is certainly arguable that there's a growing resistance to being compelled to take the shot. but thousands of americans now willing to fight and/or walk away from their jobs to preserve their bodily autonomy. in fact, texas, louisiana, mississippi, south carolina, and utah are among the more than half of all u.s. states filing or joining lawsuits in opposition to the federal rule which would require businesses with more than 100 employees to enforce vaccine mandates. in the recent challenges may be turning the legal tide. at citing a recent court order by the u.s. court of appeals for the fifth circuit that granted a motion to stay the vaccine mandate, osha, the occupational safety and health administration has announced it will temporarily stop its enforcement efforts. "pending future developments in the litigation." this as some federal workers are now also pushing back with a lawsuit filed just this week on behalf of the u.s. military member charging that the government's mandate is unlawful and unconstitutional. >> we are getting ready to start kicking out her service members pick over this vaccine. is this not make us question what are the priorities of the said administration? is it national security or is it this woke movement? >> but the white house insists mandates work. noting that just one day after its deadline for compliance, that some 92% of the 3.5 million federal workers affirmed that there were at least vaccinated partially. >> president biden: let's be clear, vaccination requirements should not be another issue that divides us. every day we see more businesses implementing vaccination requirements and the mounting data shows that they work. >> still, critics question the efficacy of heavy-handed mandate policies, pointing to states like michigan, which up until june had a mask mandate and get now leads the nation in new daily cases. all despite having more than 60% of its state's population partially vaccinated. mike. >> mike: kevin corke here in washington. kevin, fix a lot. let's bring a doctor marc siegel, professor of medic fox news contributor, happy thinks giving. >> happy thanksgiving, mike, good to be with you. speeone's on these mandates, there's a question about whether they're legal. we will let the courts sort that out but are they helpful, effective in terms of stopping the spread of covid? >> welcome you know, they are helpful in terms of compliance in certain areas, as kevin just said. here in new york city when they imposed a mandate on workers, front-line workers, they got all the way up from 70 to 93% but i question, you know, what are the other options here? because there's other countries like israel and in europe, mike, where the mandate isn't really a mandate. it's an incentive thing. if you want to go to a public area, you either have the vaccine or you got over covid, and they give you credit for that. we are not given credit for that here in the united states even though there is some immunity involved with getting over covid or having a testing option. germany calls that the 3g's. the third is a rapid test. a rapid test may be the most predictive of all that you're not contagious or infectious but germany, as you know, under the new incoming chancellor may be about to go to a more superimposed vaccine mandate and lockdown. so these are shifting terrains, but i think the question is how do you get people to comply, how do you get people comfortable without them quitting their jobs. >> mike: we have a reporting on a new variant out of south africa, concerns about it spreading, hitting young people. what do know about it, how concerned are you? >> i've said before i'm not a was concerned about these variantses of concern, but these -- this one, b11529, does concern me. i'll tell you why. it's got 32 mutations in the protein which is how the virus spreads, and in the province around johannesburg, there's about 2500 new cases over the past day and they think, not proven yet, that this is the predominant variance. in other words, delta on the wane, and this one increasing. it looks like it's highly contagious. and that is what concerns me, because the other variants that have emerged haven't had a chance against delta because delta is so contagious. the other issue is will the vaccine protect against this variant? will the treatments protect against this variant? we are keeping a really close eye on this one. >> mike: okay, boosters, should we wait for the elderly and folks with pre-existing conditions to get them, or should we line up and get them as soon as possible? >> we have enough vaccine in this country for everybody to get one right now over the age of 18, which is what i said in my "wall street journal" op-ed. i think everyone should get them, but i do have an ion places like south africa where i just mentioned i'm only 20% of people are vaccinated and we've got to get enough vaccine to everybody in the world. we are 3 billion people in the world that haven't been vaccinated yet, we need to walk and chew bubblegum at the same time, mike. the rest of the world has to get vaccinated. we do need boosters here. evidence is emerging that shows these vaccines are waning in the boosters bring you back to where you need to be, so everyone over 18, booster. >> mike: all right, president biden tweeted a week ago, today am announcing we purchased 10 million treatment courses of the covid-19 pill, vaccination still are most important will put this new pill may dramatically reduce hospitalizations and deaths and help accelerate our path out of this pandemic. merck and pfizer are going through the fda process with these pills. how big of a deal are these pills, and how much should they help the fight against covid? >> i think they're huge, i think both drugs are very exciting, the pfizer, which has something called a produce inhibitor may stop the virus in its tracks, but mike, key thing here is rapid testing needs to accompany this. we need to know that you were exposed and that you're in the very early part of the illness, and i've been saying for months now, let's have a public, private partnership to get a rapid test in every house in america. that's how we know who is contagious and who is going to need these antiviral treatments. >> mike: to the president's quizzical, we are told he had a potential precancerous polyp removed during a colonoscopy, 3-millimeter polyp identified as a tubular adenoma, similar to one he had removed in 2008, how much of a concern is that? >> i'm not concerned about this but it's a wake-up call for everybody over the age of 45 in america to be considered for a colonoscopy. you know, 30-50% of americans over 50 have these polyps, twice that if you're over 70, and he's had one before. mike, 4-5% of these tubular adenoma's, 4-5%, turn cancers, but it means he has to have a follow-up colonoscopy. his doctor is saying ten years, our doctors would say more like five years, three to five years, just to be sure, you know? but the chances of it turning cancerous is about three to 5% in most cases. >> mike: interesting and obviously as leader of the free world he will have very close supervision. dr. marc siegel, thanks so much for your time, happy things giving. >> happy thanksgiving, mike mcgray to do with you. >> mike: thank you, sir. this things giving is a lot closer to the traditional holiday than last years, many observances that were canceled or curtailed because of the pandemic have returned in some form this week end. correspondent bryan llenas takes a look from new york. >> the 95th annual macy's day thanksgiving parade came back this year in full force. >> it's live and awesome! and there is everything here! it's the whole vibe of the city coming together. >> last year's parade was only televised and featured no crowds and the parade route was shortened. this year, thousands of spectators and families lined the street, masks required, as two dozen floods, 8,000 marchers and ten marching bands lead the way for the real stars of the show, 15 gigantic helium inflated balloons standing as tall as 62 feet, this year's balloons included new additions like baby yoda from "star wars." and eight a twist from netflix as well as classics like snoopy, ronald mcdonald, and the pillsbury dough boy. the events culminating of course with the one and only santa claus. of the turkey day parade also made it triumphant return in chicago and runners in dallas and beyond took part in annual turkey trot's. for millions of americans, it's the first time in two years that thanksgiving feels like, well, thanksgiving. sure, there are reminders we've got a way to go. the pandemic, supply shortages and inflation, your thanksgiving dinner costs were up 14% this year compared to last year according to the american farm bureau federation. aaa says it will be more expensive to drive back home, thanksgiving gas prices are at an eight year high. even the liquor industry is facing supply hiccups. >> the shortages are crazy, and so we are buying as much champagne as we can so that we can continue to fill ourselves. >> still, reminders of the true spirit of thanksgiving are priceless. more than 28,000 u.s. troops stationed in south korea away from their families celebrated with their fellow soldiers. >> so this is a family, so i'm okay. i still feel the love in the spirit of thanksgiving. >> and a new york city today, an nypd officer received a hero's walkout as she was released from the hospital. last night she was shot in the arm twice. tonight she's home with her family. happy thanksgiving, in new york city, bryan llenas, fox news. >> mike: consumers shopping online have spent $76 billion in november so far. that's according to the latest data collected by adobe analytics, that figure surpasses last year's 63 billion in revenue generated during the same time. back. up next, an update on the afghan family as they come to the u.s. following the military withdrawal. tonight, how the children are adjusting. first, here's what some of our fox affiliates on the country covering tonight. fox 11 in los angeles where police are investigating a robbery at a nordstrom store in canoga park. five suspects carried out the crime. california is experiencing a rash of robberies at high-end retail centers. fox 5 in new york as the city of austin is highest ranking uniformed police officer is retiring. rodney harrison is the first person ever to rise from cadet to chief of the nation's largest police department. the first african-american chief of detectives, and this is a live look at san antonio from fox 29. one of the big stories there tonight i'm a texas governor greg abbott serves up holiday meals to texas department of public safety troopers and texas national guard service members stationed around the border for operation lone star. abbott launched the mission in early march to help secure the border and combat the smuggling of people and drugs in texas. that's to next live look the beltway from "special report," we will be right back. ♪ ♪ a mountain of toys to fulfill many wishes must be carried across all roads and all bridges. it's not magic that makes more holiday deliveries to homes in the us than anyone else, it's the hardworking people of the united states postal service. bogeys on your six, limu. it's the hardworking people they need customized car insurance from liberty mutual so they only pay for what they need. woooooooooooooo... we are not getting you a helicopter. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ i was just blown away by how much my 23andme reports taught me about my health. and that's why i knew how meaningful this gift would be for my family. this season give the most meaningful gift for just $99. 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[laughs] she loves pizza. get into coming to school every day and learn, especially as a girl, they are just so excited and are little sponges. >> is thanksgiving, one afghan family has brought so much joy to this north carolina community who opens their hearts and help them start their new life in america. >> beautiful to be safe here -- grateful to be safe here. and for this first thanksgiving i'm here with my family. >> at the pentagon, jennifer griffin, fox news. >> mike: beautiful story. up next, how government informants are getting rich on your dime and getting a free pass to break the law. ♪ ♪ (man) still asleep. (woman vo) so, where to next? 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[engine humming] [clapping] “we will rock you” by queen ♪ the new gmc sierra with hands-free driving offers the most advanced and luxurious pick-up in its class. ♪ yeah, it rocks. ♪ ♪ >> mike: tonight we examine how your tax dollars are going towards informants working for federal agencies. it turns out your money is making some of them rich. and also free to commit crimes. correspondent david spunt has details tonight. good evening, david. >> mike, good evening to you. at this is eye-opening. according to a new report published by government watchdog, federal law enforcement informants deceive millions of dollars and permission to break the law. the founder of openthebooks.com, a nonpartisan government watchdog group, he and his team poured through government congressional testimony dating back about a decade to compile this information. according to a 2016 justice department inspector general report, and amtrak employee made $962,000 between 2010 and 2015 to serve as an informant. the inspector general called it a waste of funds, arguing a paid informant was not necessary. we spoke to former assistant fbi director chris swecker, who authorizes thousands of dollars in payments. not a net amtrak case but in other informants during his time at the bureau. >> they really are the lifeblood of these cases. you have to be able to get inside. you know, most people -- i'd rather have an informant i was paying then someone you have over the barrel and is getting a plea bargain some kind of consideration. >> in a statement of fox news, the fbi had atf wrote in part, "sources provide valuable information regarding criminal activity and national security matters in dealing with confidential sources, we adhere to all justice suburban guidelines." some of the money going to informants is taxpayer money, prompting this investigation to bring the attention to the story, mike. >> mike: david, what about informants breaking the law legally? >> yet. this is how business is done. it's been this way legally on the books as far as 1980 is concerned. one law enforcement source told me that this is something that's been going on and it probably will, allow informants to break the law but with permission, according to the government account ability office. informants have been able to do this and they will be able to continue to do this. of we have a report from the government accountability office that says in the appropriate circumstance, an agency could authorize an informant to purchase illegal drugs from someone who is the target of a drug trafficking investigation. >> it's all legal but we think there needs to be more transparency on the entire federal law enforcement complex when it comes to confidential human sources. >> that's adam, the whistle-blower here. he's calling for the federal government and law enforcement community to release payment information to the public after a case is closed, so basically, mike, this has been going on for decades. it's eye-opening. if not illegal but he's calling for more transparency. >> mike: great reporting, thanks, david. >> you bet. >> mike: there are still dozens of cargo ships in tens of thousands of container sitting up the california coast despite the president's effort to address the supply train crisis. william la jeunesse has an update tonight from san pedro. >> [indiscernible]. >> managing america's supply chain begins here. >> these guys are all loitering. >> inside the control tower handling ship traffic at the port of l.a. and long beach. >> if they're coming from asia, it normally takes two weeks to cross the ocean at 18 knots. >> officials hope the logjam here is over. shipping cost and container volume from asia is down but it doesn't mean lower prices or more inventory at christmas. the gap, nordstrom, nike, all save supply chain problems are hurting sails. >> holiday goods or shipping right now at unprecedented rates, 20% above what the prepandemic numbers. >> because of that unprecedented volume, new rules. instead of ships racing over from china only to sit offshore for a month spewing pollution into the l.a. basin, going forward, ships must wait 150 miles offshore until a birth is open. >> if they can slow steam from the last port of call and come here and arrive closer to the birth time, that's a benefit for everyone. >> we have a massive backlog of ships and those ships are emitting pollution into this region, which is already home to some of the worst air quality in the united states. l.a. long beach is number one for smog. >> changes off the water are helping as well. port officials say the threat of fines were reduced the container backlog 33%. labor is still tight. inside the seafarers union hall in san pedro, there's not a cruel man in sight. >> i can't say we are short, because we got manpower, but we are looking for more. >> local officials are optimistic. >> things are still tough but they are getting a lot better. in a few months they're going to be a lot better. >> that's yet to be seen. west coast dockworkers just rejected a contract extension and if they stop working, gridlock returns. and with it, the price spikes and shortages that experts already say will extend well into next year. mike. >> mike: william la jeunesse, thank you very much. forecasters are warning that multiple so-called atmospheric rivers threaten the northwestern u.s. over the next few days. this comes a week and a half after damaging floods in washington state. the latest weather event expected to bring up to 3 inches of rain and some areas already hit hard by the recent flooding. up next, how ukraine is preparing for a possible invasion from the russians. ♪ ♪ now subaru is the largest automotive donor to make-a-wish and meals on wheels. and the largest corporate donor to the aspca and national park foundation. get a new subaru during the share the love event and subaru will donate two hundred and fifty dollars to charity. 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what was behind it of the fact that the president is turning 79 years old? is tomorrow have anything -- >> secretary psaki: the president is well aware that his birthday as a matter of public record. knew what he wanted to do and committed a physical before the end of the year, so this is obviously meets that timeline. >> what is the state of your health? >> president biden: good. they're going to release all the detail. i feel great, nothing has changed, we are in great shape, and so -- i'm looking forward to celebrating my 50th birthday. >> mike: when you are commander in chief, leader of the free world, your physical gets scrutinized and then there's this from u.s. news. the polyp removed from president joe biden's: last week was a benign slow-growing but potentially precancerous lesion that required no further action. his doctor said in a follow-up memo. biden, who turned 79 last week and is the nations oldest president, remains healthy and vigorous and fit for duty. dr. kevin o'connor said in his initial report after biden's first routine physical in office, the president is showing some signs of aging, the doctor noticed. if with that, let's bring in our panel. juan williams is a fox news analyst, former utah congressman jason chaffetz, and fox news political analyst gianno caldwell. welcome, happy thanksgiving. >> happenings giving. >> happenings giving. >> mike: your thoughts and what we are hearing what the presidents physical, the state if his health, 79 years old? >> well, he's our oldest president, as you said. i think in keeping with that, it's just a good thing for him to be transparent with his medical procedures and medical records. i think the white house was very, very transparent in telling us about the precancerous lesion that was found, the polyp that was removed. they don't seem to be treating it with any great urgency, they said he doesn't have to have another colonoscopy for 7-10 years, but the reality is that lots of people are talking about his age. i think the critics use it as one of the ways that they, you know, buff at him, along with talking about hunter and talking about his gaffes and vice president harris, but the reality is at this point, you know, he's been performing pretty well. got the covid relief will come of the infrastructure bill, he may get build back better, the stock market i think gained 25% this year, job numbers look good, gdp i think is the best sense '84, so not bad for a guy who's the oldest president we've known. >> mike: no mention in any of the paperwork about cognitive testing, a lot of folks saying that should be something checked if you're the oldest living president. jason, your thoughts? >> well, one of the side effects of covid over the last 18 months is that people have been shedding aside and not going to their preventative health screenings. my own father lost his life to colon cancer. if he had any screening eight years before -- i'm glad the president was out there getting a colonoscopy as a short and that's a message to a lot of others that they should. i still think there's some deep concerns about the cognitive capability of this president. you just have to look, listen to the daily gaffe and understand that he can't seem to answer a question from anybody in the media in a spontaneous way without creating a national scene, so there are still those concerns. >> mike: while the white house says the president has every plan to run for reelection in 2024, there's a lot of democrats who don't buy that. thoughts on the president's health and how he's doing at this point? >> the health should be -- a magazine article reported in june of 2019, said that 40% of americans didn't want to president that was in their 70s, and we see where joe biden is on that scale. when you compile that with the fact that we see on television daily images of the president falling asleep around world leaders when we see that he loses his train of thought in the midst of press conferences, we see what experts, medical experts across the spectrum have said that there's signs of mental decline there with president joe biden. i think we all should be very, very concerned. when you also mention the fact that poland has shown the majority of americans don't believe that he's competent, they think that he's unfit to lead this country. i mean, i don't know what he has to be thankful for this year, maybe because he's underwater with bowling and so is his vice president. >> mike: so it is thanksgiving day and there are some signs of returning to normal. we've got family traveling to see other family members, i've got a house full of family right now as a matter of fact. so that's good. we also saw the macy's thanksgiving day parade, juan, your thoughts on covid and getting back to an all american holiday? >> i just got to say, to me this is been a very special day because you're right, mike, just like your family, my family was able to get together. didn't happen last year. i have to say i have strong memories about taking the kids up to new york to sit on the sidewalk early morning, central park west, to see the big balloons. to see that back in the parade taking place and see all of the bands from all the high schools around america, it is a delight. it made me emotional. i hate to sound like i'm the old director, but it's really a sweet memory, a sweet reality. >> mike: you realize how much you missed it when it's been gone. and so some of the messaging about covid over the holidays, let's play this clip. >> if it feels like it's going to be weird, may be make it kind of fun, say we are going to start with hors d'oeuvres in the garage, we will have drinks, we will do our rapid test and then come on in, right? you can make it playful, make it fun. >> take away the anxiety, take away the concern about -- and you can enjoy the holidays very easily. >> mike: pretty sure were not doing hors d'oeuvres in the garage, your thoughts about the messaging? >> i never thought i would do hors d'oeuvres or any eating really in the garage, that seems kind of silly. look, i think thanksgiving is one of our nations greatest moments and i hope we do pause and we give thanks to those men and women were serving overseas. there's a lot to be grateful for in the united states of america. the mere fact that you're born here gives you an advantage in this world and the freedoms and the hundreds of years of history in our country, all those freedoms, they didn't come by accident. there are men and women who laid down their lives to make it so prosperous. i know there's a lot of discussion about covid but my goodness, take a deep breath and be with your family and loved ones and enjoy some cranberries. you've got to love a holiday that focuses on cranberries. >> mike: today in new york city, the parade was back, the floats, the balloons, here's outgoing mayor bill de blasio. >> the macy's thanksgiving day parade is back, it's going to be safe because people have gone out and got vaccinated in this city in a way that surpasses almost everyplace else in the country. come on out, it's going to be amazing moments, part of the rebirth of the city. we are leaving covid behind, we are moving forward. >> mike: your thoughts? >> well, i can appreciate the sentiments from our dear colleagues here. i appreciate those thoughts, but we've got to understand too to recognize the fact that normalcy looks different everywhere, where you feed go in new york city, you've got to be fully vaccinated in order to walk into a restaurant to share dinner with your family, same for places like los angeles, california. this is not what many would consider normal, so i appreciate the fact that we've got parades and there's a lot of other positive things going on in the country and people are getting back to some sense of normalcy, but we are not fully there yet and until these mandates are lifted, we probably won't be really there. >> mike: juan, and a concern about the possibility of all these folks getting together and people thinking perhaps this whole thing is over? >> that would be premature as he was just saying. i was particularly paying attention to the little kids, people who are under 5, still in vaccinated but it was such great news that the people 5-12 were able to get vaccinated. at least they had their first shot, some will soon get there second, and that's been a big breakthrough. those concerns exist and of course you have to trust that everybody who says there vaccinated is vaccinated. >> mike: all right, panel, that was great. when we come back, reasons to be thankful. a special holiday segment with our all-star panel. please stay with us. ♪ ♪ t backwards. it's facing this way because it's moving forward. ♪♪ just like the men and women who wear it on their uniforms and the country it represents. they're all only meant to move one direction which is why we fly it this way on the flanks of the all-new grand wagoneer. moving boldly and unstoppably forward. (vo) the more we do with our phones, the more network quality and reliability matter. and only verizon has been the most awarded for network quality 27 times in a row. that means the best experience with calls, texts and data usage of any major carrier, according to customers. there's only one best network. the only one ranked #1 in reliability 16 times in a row. we are building 5g right. >> mike: finally tonight, the all-star panel on what they are grateful for this thanksgiving. our many blessings. john will lead us off. >> well, i'm thankful for the many christians across the united states and the world who continue to lift my family up in prayer. it has been a tough, challenging, earth-shattering year for us and i am thankful for my pastor who has been a constant guide to me through this very challenging time. >> mike: amen. one? >> well, i just want to say to john oh, i hope you are well. going through these last couple years with covid, to me, it is a reminder of how important family is, mike, and the stability and love we get from those closest to us. if my family got together this summer at the beach, the outer banks of north carolina, here we are, so it was after a year, that was a pretty sweet moment. i am so grateful. then we had a very special addition to the family this year, there we are at the christening outside chicago for miss margo. miss margo williams. and of course, here she is, just before her thanksgiving, having a little something to eat. >> mike: jason, bring us home. >> that's great. in july, our son-in-law had an accident, much the way charles krauthammer had. we thought he was going to be fully paralyzed, and through prayer and modern medicine and love and caring and amazing miracles, the strength of our daughter and son-in-law, i think he is going to be all right. >> mike: that's beautiful. >> wonderful. >> mike: thanks for holding dinner for me. thank you all. tomorrow on "special report," a look at the afghan women's soccer team. thanks for watching "special report," i am mike emanuel in washington. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [cheering]