>> welcome to the journal editorial report, i am paul gigot. you covid measures from the biden a ministrations this week and the first cases of the omicron. our confirmed in the u.s. brief the president thursday outlining plan to fight potential pointer search with expanded booster shots, at pump testing new restrictions on international travel. his science really guiding the administration's efforts to combat it? let's ask doctor marty, doctor at the johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health and foxes medical contributor. welcome. this variance was announced to the world a little more than a week ago get popping up all over the place. what does that tell you about fixed spread? >> welcome there's a lot of discussion about it because there were some unknown unknowns initially but based on modeling done by the scientists in absence of any severe infections with omicron, there's a high degree of confidence there's something we need to do differently. there's a report you may be more likely to get a mild or a breakthrough been with delta or previous strains but our battle has never against mild infections, as always against your illness and i was surprised with the conversation moving to boosting the population when our focus right now should be on the ten to 20 million americans, adult will have a risk factor not vaccinated and not natural immunity and they should be concerned, not the general public. paul: as for the spread, why does it spread so fast? should we assume? it was just announced by who that was a variance of concern, eight or nine days ago, should we now assume it is everywhere? why is it spreading so fast? >> first of all, south africa, based on the way they report their numbers, it's not clear spreading super rapidly in south africa, it may have been there for months, close to a strain identified in the past so it is not clear if it's spreading as quickly as delta or more contagious, a strength more contagious and slightly less dangerous, which this may very well be is not necessarily a concern on a mass population public. paul: should we assume it's in the united states pretty much everywhere or will be soon? >> we've known that so now we are just getting confirmation of that. paul: on the question of boosters, why shouldn't you get listed as the president can cdc suggest? particularly, if you're older than 65 or 60 plaintiff give you more protection it's useful to quantify the benefit when we tell people they should or must do something. for somebody over 60 live from the data are compelling and reduces the risk of hospitalization temple and for anyone who got j&j they should get a second dose if they have not had covid already in the past. anyone who's tested natural immunity, there's no scientific basis for needing a booster. the fda weeks ago voted down boosters for everybody because of concerns of boosters and younger people, fda made a second push by circumventing the technical experts, not holding a vote and that's where we get this broad recommendation from. also, if you're fully vaccinated, the risk of hospitalization in the u.s. without a booster is one and 26000, that's a risk tolerance level that may be different than public health officials one they be willing to accept. paul: how do you explain emphasis on boosters by the administration? an adult not over 65, let's say midlife, what you do if you try to make a decision whether to get a booster shot? >> if you look carefully at the conversation the advisors had at the fda and cdc when they were consulted, they said if you're older, it's clearly over 65 or have a risk factor and in that gray area, 50 to 65 or maybe even 40 to 65, then consider a booster. i would add to that if you have natural immunity, there's no scientific basis for it. it's a conversation for you and your doctor. with j&j we are seeing numbers go down lower. the% efficacy as a% efficacy against testing positive, not against severe illness and hospitalization, those are still high. if you have. paul: if you have the alpha or beta variance, the omicron variant if you still have natural immunity, you're not going to get a new infection that's worse. >> that's right, all indication is that the activation is still solid and provides good solid immunity with the information we have, that could change but that's what i would recommend for anybody today. paul: the other measures the president is taking, travel restrictions internationally, masking, mandate extended and so on, do you think these are substantive in terms of really protecting or are they just giving the appearance of doing something? >> it's hurting countries right now trying to deal with the epidemic, they need doctors, suppliers and members of industry who do the interaction to help them with their epidemic, relief workers so it hurting countries right now and we can't be in this mode in perpetuity because it's very clear to me that this omicron variant came from an animal reservoir. it's unlikely it came from a human because in order to have that many notations, 32 in the spike protein, it must have lived in animal reservoir's for a long time. one study showed 30% of dear had in the united states, had the coronavirus so it does live in animal reservoirs so we are going to need to get ready for a new variant every year and we should be encompassing with the immunity, hopefully we won't have white house press conferences every time we have a new influenza variant coming to the united states annually. [laughter] paul: all right, thanks. when we come back, their ministration scrambles to head off the winter search in public cases, could more mandates and restrictions becoming? ♪♪ ♪♪ helping them discover their dreams is one of the best parts of being a parent. one of the most important is giving them ways to fulfill them. for over 150 years, generations have trusted the strength and stability of pacific life. because life insurance can help protect and provide for the financial futures of the ones we love. talk to a financial professional about pacific life. i brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! (sighs wearily) here i'll take that! (excited yell) woo-hoo! ensure max protein. with thirty grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and nutrients to support immune health. ♪♪ this flag isn'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. challenges, the vaccine mandates mount, president biden's approval rating with a clear politics average showing him underwater when it comes to his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. with 47% of americans saying they approve of this, it's down more than 20-point he was first sworn into office. let's bring in our panel, "wall street journal" editorial page editor, dan henninger, kim strassel senior fellow, jason riley. dan, you saw the president laid out his winter covid strategy this week, what you think of it? >> my first question was, why did we need a presidential address to layout that covid strategy? quite seriously, he called on national television to let him say he was reducing the testing time for foreign travelers from 72 hours to 24 hours and extending the federal mask mandate from january into march. that was it. you've got to ask yourself, why does joe biden feel he has to go on television to announce things like that? i agree with doctor marty makary, i think the public remains confused about exactly what the purpose is of the biden covid policy, is it to prevent infection or to prevent hospitalizations and death? if it's just to prevent infections, the omicron carried makes it clear that's not going to happen. nothing will prevent us from getting infected by one variance or another going forward so they would make the policy clearer, it's probable are possible people what understand and try to comply with it but in the absence of any clarity, they don't comply in his approval keeps falling. paul: jason, would you give the president better marks your? he has to feel clear on top of this and show we are concerned show we are doing something so that's what they did even if they don't have a lot of policy consists. >> i agree, it's about looking like you are doing something as dan suggested that didn't seem to want presidential press conference and you put up the numbers on his approval rating for covid, his overall approval rating is in the 40s, if you look at the right track, ron truck numbers, a two to one margin. i think the handling of covid is a drag on the way things are going right now to the extent he continues to double down on the mandates, vaccine mandates or mask mandate, i don't think he's going to do himself or the country any favors. both parties, they are losing him in the courts and we have the court of appeals decision last month, the federal judge in kentucky shot down a mandate workers, federal contractors so these are mandate not only unpopular, they may be unlawful and i don't think this is a direction the country should be going. the biden administration seems to think it's the way forward. paul: kim, he wrote a column this week saying biden has a -- i want you to respond to that but look, we can't predict variant. the omicron, you're asking us to do the impossible here so it is unfair, responsible for these infections. >> sure, you can sternly make that argument and they would have validity but the problem goes back to the fact that they suggested all the way back in the campaign that they could in fact do this. biden promised he would beat the virus and that is what he's in right now because if your goal is to beat the virus and basically eradicated, that's never going to happen. what you need to do is get people to learn to live with it which is what i think doctor marty makary was trying to say and they keep suggesting that they can beat this, wash it so they keep rolling out all of these new roles which are destined to fail because you can't and a respiratory virus and when they do fail and people lose confidence, they fail they need to double down and go on national television when i announced nothing but look like they are trying to do something. you never get out of that unless you finally realize the fact that you're not going to win against the virus. paul: dan, do you agree that in many ways it's the standards he set and criticizing donald trump in 2020? >> i do indeed. it's like when the clip we saw biden saying he would fight the virus with science and not chaos with chaos and disorder. it's always an indirect hit at donald trump, chaos and disorder. it's really not necessary. the question again as we've been raising here, what is the long-term strategy? is it try to suppress every variant that emerges or try to help us live with it? one of the issues we didn't raise that should come up again is the question of natural immunity which is to say the immunity you get if you already had covid, a lot of firefighters and healthcare workers refusing the vaccine mandates, let them declare natural immunity as a qualifier for not having to get vaccinated and let's move forward. paul: maybe the president would help if you would stop overpromising and stick to expectations for people, this is going to be endemic and we will have to -- when we come back, supreme court hears oral arguments in a mississippi case record have the regulation of abortion back to the states. ♪♪ ♪ ♪ (man) still asleep. 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(vo) reflect on the past, celebrate the future. and anything could happen. it could be the day you welcome 1,200 guests and all their devices. or it could be the day there's a cyberthreat. only comcast business' secure network solutions give you the power of sd-wan and advanced security integrated on our activecore platform so you can control your network from anywhere, anytime. it's network management redefined. every day in business is a big day. we'll keep you ready for what's next. comcast business powering possibilities. supreme court heard oral arguments this week and a challenge to mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. with a new conservative majority, the case abandon the rulings of roe v. wade and planned parenthood with court doctors think justices may not only uphold them but overturn the two landmark cases. liberal justice sonja suggesting in wednesday's argument the legitimacy is on the line and any decision to reverse those precedents would be politically motivated. >> will this institution survive the stench that this creates? in the public perception that the constitution and its reading are just political acts. accuracy how it's possible. paul: we are back with dan henninger, kim strassel an editorial board member, kyle peterson. kim, you heard the oral argument, is the high court to overturn roe and casey? >> you never really know, paul, based on oral argument so we will have to see how they came out but what was interesting is it looks like a majority of the justices going through some of the basic problems with roe v. wade including the question of whether or not current standard we have for liability is arbitrary or not. you heard a discussion about whether or not you let rulings stand, not overturn them. a lot of questioning on that so if you are looking for question of whether or not they were willing to go there, they were willing to go there. paul: it looked to me like there were five votes, possible for overturning, three in particular, or such, thomas and alito i think are there and the other two bret kavanaugh and amy coney barrett suggested whether questions could be and then you have chief justice roberts clearly trying to set out a midline, why don't you explain where he's at. >> essentially he seems to be asking if there's a way we can do away with this standard and uphold the law at 15 weeks and not overturn roe v. wade or planned parenthood in the issue with that is where is the line? there will be other court challenges, 15 weeks or a state that passes the law, a ban at 14 weeks or 13 weeks and perpetual cases will be coming up to the supreme court so none of the other justices neither of the lawyers on either side are interested in taking the chief justice up on that offer. paul: well okay but he's a persuasive fellow monk you think you could pull justice barrett and kavanaugh's way? >> it's hard to know, i agree with kim, sometimes they go into these oral arguments and think they, one way and the chief justice finds his keen legal mind and another way to pull together but i think it's telling nobody was interested in going there at the oral argument and i think it's important to say the standard we roe and this abortion regime for 50 years. it's a momentous decision by the supreme court, what you think are the implications here for the court if it goes in this direction? is a going to be under political assault or the other way, what if it doesn't do it? will be under attack a political right? >> well justice explicitly it would be under political assault if it overruled roe v. wade. that is one of the central questions at the center of all of this, we've created certain expectations, abortion being available since that decision, justice and herself set after all, it's 50 years of water under the bridge. that raises the question whether just because they exist for a long time like this can never be overturned, one of the issues being raised here. paul: justices like kavanaugh and barrett, they are younger justices on the court and one of the questions are, are they ever going to decide whether roe is constitutional or not or are they just going to defer the decision as perhaps justice roberts wants to do with this? i thought justice kavanaugh operates good questions about whether this abortion qualifies as a fundamental right, for the government asserted whether it should be regards is more traditional like speech or determination. there issues involved in they will have to be resolved eventually you want kim, justice kavanaugh raised the issue of precedent and he decided whole list of cases including ferguson, separate but equal case from the 19th century overturned by the board of education, the ruling that upheld the states i was overturned later by florence at he said, we've done a lot of overturning. >> right. this is important because presidents really matters it is usually more to conservative justice but it was a recognition that sometimes the supreme court gets it wrong and you mentioned ferguson, separate but equal, i don't think in retrospect a lot of problems with people on the board of education overturning that, that was the question of we are such a moment with roe and casey. paul: let's hope they stick to the law and avoid the politics going on over the head. still ahead, federal reserve chairman jay powell rising inflation may not be transitory after all. 's how long does inflation have to run above your target we force the fed besides maybe it's not transitory? >> it's probably a good time to retire that word and try to explain more clearly what we mean. paul: federal reserve chairman jerome powell on capitol hill this week acknowledging it may be time scrapped the term transitory running describing transitory as prices climb well past 2% target to a 31 year high of 6.2% in october. powell forney the banking committee tuesday he expects prices to continue into next year the new omicron bearings could have a negative impact of inflation and employment. disappointing 210,000 new jobs in november, the fewest in nearly a year. let's bring in kevin hassett, chairman of the white house council of economic advisors under president trump. let's take the jobs report, 210,000 new jobs but on the other hand, who interest in the labor force and unemployment rate of 4.2%, where is the economy? >> basically fourth quarter changed on the outside it's visible on the report. the best single number is to go back to the september reserve meeting, they set 4% an appointment was about what i think is sustainable warm front and they and that meaning forecasted by the end of the year unemployment will be 4.8% it goes down to 4.2 so put an enormous amount of pressure on them to start acting. paul: the economy is pretty strong, who will have a really strong fourth-quarter probably despite omicron. let's talk about inflation, federal reserve chair, transitory climate, it took a long time. what you expect inflation to be in november at december? 6% on an annual basis? >> there's never been year for you kat to 6% as early as we did in that didn't go up from there so i would be shocked about the first time since the second world war if it didn't go up from there. first he got to retire the word transitory. every time we in the white house say it, i was reminded of the princess bride who said you keep saying that word, i don't think it means what you think it means because it's been used for eight or nine months now as the inflation has gone up but the fact is they are attacking supply and stimulating demand and if you do that, you get inflation, that's not rocket science we want that's on the fiscal side stimulus programs and i guess on the monetary side in terms of how accommodating that spent. you've got goldman sachs and wall street guidance think we are going to hit peak of inflation the next two or three months but as the supply chain gets better and as demand goes we are going to go back to two or 3% next year. give us your best estimate of whether that is correct. >> no, i think the best estimate is above this year end the reason is, they were about to enter spiral, something we saw in the 70s. it's going to happen these people pay for gas and they didn't have enough groceries and they go to their bosses and say increase my salary and the possible do that because he's been making so much money to raise prices loosing this over and over around the world and throughout u.s. history it's virtually impossible so there is no way it turns back to normal by next summer or late next year, it's a multi- here phenomena inflation is high always ends with resale eventually the fed decides to do something for jack's interest rates up. paul: that's the issue the pressure is on as you said on the federal reserve to act from a lot of people interpret chairman powell statements as more hawkish but when i heard him say is it me the increasing the speed of the bond buying but i didn't hear him say we are going to raise interest rates any sooner from a few? >> i didn't hear him say that and frankly, i could see where he is now waiting to be confirmed, maybe he's going to hold back a little bit but alan greenspan girlfriend, he used to say running monetary policies, you're supposed to go way ahead of the curve because it takes so long to turn the boat and these guys are behind the curve and they will accelerate and hit the economy hard. paul: the alternative would be the bond market saint there's going to be inflation from my are tenures so low, 30 here so low? typically moving up if you are signaling inflation, what is your response to that? >> i think what's happening is the fed is buying a bunch of that stuff and i don't think the people necessarily believe in that but they will have to start to believe it and my guess also once the fed starts lifting interest rates and you could end up with a curve because people think we will have a recession so i am not super optimistic about next year assuming jay powell does the right thing and i was in the trump white house when he was chosen and had lunch with him while i was chair and i have a high regard for him and i think he will humbly start to do the right thing. we got to where we are way behind the curve. they believe that the only thing that matters for inflation. the supply matters, too and thought was at the end of this year, everybody talk about temporary supply disruptions but going back to fiscal policy, biden is attacking supplies left and right so it's not a simple temporary supply disruption, it's going to make inflation pressure sustainable. paul: quickly covid, if you have inflation at two, you deserve to be reappointed? [laughter] i celebrated the idea he was reappointed because when i looked at the list of candidates, he was someone president trump appointed and he is a solid sensible guy and i think he will do the right thing, more likely to do the right thing. paul: all right, thanks for coming in. still ahead, a spike in violent crime. one progressive mayor is pulling the plug on the plan to defend the police. ♪♪ there's nothing progressive about unbridled nonviolence. this is what lenders want. a comprehensive and effective approach for safety and that includes adequate police. paul: this week saying she would move to reverse cut to police funding to take effect next year. mayors announcement comes amid a surge in violent crime in that city for 27 people have been murdered so far this year including retired police officer was fatally shot last week while he protected a san francisco bay area television news crew covering a smash and grab theft. a rash organized robberies in the region. we are back with dan henninger, kim strassel and jason freilich. basin, tell us what you think we are in this crime search. anytime, we will get their political response but what about the crime search? >> i don't know that it is. what i have seen is a change in attitude in these cities. if you have minneapolis that went down, the attempt of defunding police and now you see mayors coming in atlanta and new york and seattle stressing crime control so there is this new sense that maybe criminality is a bigger problem in policing, who knew? but right now i think what the criminals have going, prosecutors in these cities that have decided they are not would you prosecute, you have bail reforms in place, career criminals where we moved discretion from judges and we've emptied jails out to alleviate crowding for covid and criminals have taken advantage of that and policies are reversed, i think you will see upticks. paul: dan, talk about the difference here because the whole ease on crime had a huge amount of momentum in 2020 and then we've seen this surge and some politicians seem to get the message in terms of backlash but the prosecutors in their jobs, the laws on bail, no cash bail, those laws are still on the books. where do you see this debate now going? >> going into direction, the statement open, there's nothing progressive about unbridled nonviolence. i think it was a big deal the mayor would step forward described as progressive and say that. be that as it may, i am a little concerned because all of these progressive prosecutors, and there are a lot of them in these northern states, they did not seize power, they were elected by the population in those cities, liberals/progressives electorate and it's not at all but clear to me those voters in places like san francisco or los angeles or seattle are prepared to vote the prosecutors out of office. it's the only way it is going to stop because the prosecutors apologizing for their policies, they will continue to do it in the crime waves are one off so i am ambivalent and encouraged by people like the mayor in oakland and adams of new york city are saying. paul: how much is this sinking in with democratic consultant politicians ask you wrote a column wild about, the waukesha problem after that horrible incident outside of milwaukee, is the politics really shifting within the democratic party? >> you can see it shifting in front of your face. in san francisco, the d.a. definitely a big time progressive who has rallied for a lot of these policies suddenly is promising prosecutions, you've got officials and l.a. promising to crackdown oakland mayor and portland establishment putting money back into their police department, these are all democrats and the reason they are scrambling is because they understand from elections jason mentioned that voters want something different, they are unhappy they will play political consequences if they don't do something so i think it's going into a political issue across the country. paul: what would be your advice for the republicans giving the advantage here? got about 30 seconds. >> absolutely, people -- i think this is a nice outreach effort for republicans because they want especially in that neighborhood. paul: thank you all. the latest on the controversial push in new york city to let 800,000 noncitizens vote in local elections. ♪♪ new york city council that the vote next week on a major that would allow noncitizens to cast ballots in local elections the proposal, for the 800,000 ring cardholders and residents with work permits would be eligible to vote for mayor, city council and other invisible officers. mayor bill de blasio thing last week he would not veto the bill if it passes despite questions on its legality and expressing concern it could undermine the value of citizenship. we are back with jason riley and kyle peterson. kyle, who would vote here and what it means in a practical sense. >> people who live in new york who have green parts, permanent residency or work authorization of some kind, 800,000 people and from a practical view, one thing is that new york city board of elections would have to have a separate voter list for them at separate ballots for them because if a non- citizenship shows up, only local races on that so there's one publication but 800,000 voters is a lot of people. eric adams won the democratic primary, about 7000 votes so could make a difference. paul: is it true you only need under the proposal, 30 days of residency, continuance residency? what if your student from over seas and columbia, could you photos well? from paris for the school year, you get to vote? >> as i understand, students are excluded, it's tricky because the wording says work authorization and i think there are some students who work at least on campus so that is the real problem if you decide who gets to vote, citizenship gives you a bright line, citizens if you will, noncitizens don't develop and that's how that are and state elections to interview open up to permanent residence the question becomes, what about students, people who have second homes in the city have an interest in services, police, fire and what about illegal immigrants here who send their kids to new york city schools? they have an interest in the mayor's race, what about them. paul: jason, what is the motive here? proponents as people are subject to new york city rules and laws so they are to have a say, what is your response? >> they may say that but i see it as essentially an extension of city movement on the left we've seen, the border with mexico, abolish ice him and grant the state to everyone in the country legally. the hope is that the voters will vote democratic in gratitude for doing that so that is really what is going on here but i am bothered by a proposal like this. we take citizenship very seriously, he pay seven, you pass 100 question about the constitution and the bill of rights and so forth and we should not undermine that and i fear this is what the proposal with. paul: so you think it is a democratic party expansion plan that they expect once they allow these people to vote, they are basically going to push progressive policies, is that what you think will happen? >> i believe that's what the democrats want to happen. i don't believe these people are automatic democrats, i think republicans can get these votes but the democrats assume they are part of their base and i think that's driving this. paul: what about the conflict here, kyle, between what we are allowed to do for federal and state laws because i understand you have to be a citizen to vote their. with this local law, if it passes, be challenged in court could be overthrown as illegal? >> definitely, repugnance are already saying if it passes, they are going to sue and the argument essentially is new york's constitution has a guaranty for all citizens have the right to vote. they say the constitution is silent about non- citizenship so citizens get the right to vote but the constitution allows new york city to go beyond that so we will find out whether the court will buy that but i'm skeptical given the wording of the new york state constitution. paul: and the devaluing citizenship seems to be significant hear from a very important. we have to take one more break. when we come back from a hits and misses of the week. ♪♪ ♪ ♪ paul: time now for hints and misses of the week. kim, first to you. >> so, paul, a miss to the national labor relations board official that is giving a do-over to the union attempting to organize that amazon facility in alabama. now claiming somehow amazon intimidated employees into voting the wrong way by putting a mailbox outside of facility. st the all nonsense. the nlrb should be ashamed that that it is catering to union officials instead of supporting rights of workers who already made their preference known. paul: jason. >> paul, this is a hit for michael bloomberg, billionaire and former new york city mayor, some billionaires want to send people into space, others want to use taxpayer subsidies to selleck trick cars, mike bloomberg wants give low income kids a shot at a decent education. he's giving clash 750 million over the next five years to expand the number of high quality charter schools in this country. mike bloomberg is my kind of billionaire. [laughter] paul: okay, kyle. >> i'll give a miss to the biden administration for doubling the tariffs on canadian softwood lumber to 18%. lumber prices are already way up, inflation is at its highest in 30 years, the chairman of the federal reserve says it's time to retire the word transitory, and one gauge of home prices that they're rising 20% year-over-year. this dispute with canada about lumber goes back decades, but tariffs are taxes, and now is a terrible time to be raising prices on the american public for basic raw materials like lumber. paul: all right. dan. >> my hit goes to the women's tennis association and its ceo, steve simon, who said this week that women's tennis will not be playing in china this year or next so long as the fate of tennis pro pink. >> way -- pink. >> way is no longer clear. she recently choosed a chinese communist aofficial -- aexcused a chinese communist official of abuse. the wta's decision is a very big deal, and let's hope it's a turning point. paul: all right. and remember, if you have your own hit or miss, between it to us@jer on nnc. thanks to all of you for watching. hope to see you right here next week. jer@fnc. ♪ arthel: we are moments away from defense secretary lloyd austin's keynote address at the reagan national defense forum. the pentagon chief is set to speak of two potential crises, one involving a former superpower, the other with the power on the rise. hello, everyone, welcome to "fox news live," i'm arthel neville. eric: hi, arthel. thank you for joining us in this special edition of "fox news live," i'm eric shawn. secretary austin's remarks coming as china's communist beijing continues tohr