1996 at a time when he was the senate majority leader of course, he famously ran against bill clinton during the 1996 presidential election, a special report anchor bret baier right now takes a look back at the life and legacy of bob dole. >> i've never been prouder in my life than to have been the republican nominee for president of the united states. >> reporter: as the 1996 republican nominee, bob dole came as close as he ever would to winning the presidency. a dream he chased three times. he made his concession speech in kansas, to the people who had known him since his birth there in 1923. world war ii took dole from kansas to italy and just before the end of the war, nazi machine gunfire shattered his upper body and destroyed his right shoulder. >> it was 11 months before i could feed myself. i think i could have done a frankly to be honest about it probably eight months but nurses were very attractive. >> reporter: after his recuperation he was elected to four terms as county prosecutor and in 1961 he was sent to the house of representatives and reelected there four times. in 1968, dole ran for t senate and won, spending the next three decades in the u.s. senate. he became the senate majority leader in 1984 with an often self depre kateing wit, he established himself as a tireless power broker, able take work out compromises with democrats. in 1976 gerald ford had selected dole as his running mate. after their defeat. dole sought his own nomination for president unsuccessfully in 1980 and 1988. but in 1996 he decided to try again. he resigned his senate seat to focus on the campaign. >> this makes the moment far less the closing of one chapter than the opening of another. >> reporter: in 1996 dole won the republican nomination. >> i accept your nomination to lead our party once again to the presidency of the united states. >> reporter: on the campaign trail -- >> we're going to win today, senator. looking good. >> reporter: 73-year-old dole's boundless energy overshadowed his age. >> i think i have my strengths. i think the best thing going for bob dole is that bob dole keeps his word. >> reporter: ultimately, though, americans chose to reelect bill clinton. after the election, dole remained prominent in more ways than one. he lent his image to big name products like viagra and pepsi. >> i feel like a kid again. >> reporter: he wrote several books including an auto biography. shortly after dole's loss to clinton he visited the white house where he was awarded the presidential medal of freedom. >> no one can be claim to be equal to this honor. >> reporter: it was at that ceremony that president clinton announced the design of a new world war ii memorial, a sight that dole would go on to visit on a regular basis, arranging travel for fellow world war ii veterans to do the same. he still never completely left the political world. >> now had that i'm out of work i watch the senate a lot. [laughter] >> reporter: he spent his time helping his wife elizabeth win a senate race and accepting an appointment from president george w. bush to co-chair a commission on problems at the military hospital. >> senator dole, who is himself a veteran and a wounded veteran at that, former distinguished senator, a man who knows washington well, but more importantly knows the kind of questions to ask. >> reporter: he continued to push for answers on capitol hill as well, traveling there in support of legislation for disabled veterans. >> just the right thing to do. >> reporter: and advocating for politicians who share his vision like kansas senator pat roberts, also urging congress to confirm mike pompeo as the head of the cia and robert light hiser as a trade representative. >> i'm proud to be here. i know this man and i noel do a great -- know he'll do a great job. >> reporter: in 2012, dole entered the capitol rotunda to visit the cass set of his friend and former world war ii veteran as he laid in state. the pair met while recovering from combat injuries during world war ii. they had been sent to the same hospital in michigan after suffering injuries from nazi gunfire in italy. there, dole convinced innaway to go into politics after the loss of his arm dashed his dream of becoming a surgeon and in a way did, making it to washington as ah ha which which representative -- a hawaii representative. several months later dole made it to the capitol himself. he needed the help of his wife and an aide to take the steps on his own feet. senate majority leader harry reid of nevada told him dole told him he wasn't going to let innaway see him in the wheelchair. at 95 years old he returned to the rotunda again, standing to salute another fellow he soldier from the greatest generation, the 41st president of the united states, george wh bush. a long-time friend. that determination is how senator dole earned respect from both sides of the aisle. >> we're also proud to be joined by a true american pay t trot, a world war -- patriot, a world war ii veteran, one of the finest public servants we've ever known, senator bob dole. >> senator dole fought bravely in world war ii and was severely wounded by german fire and bob, i know i speak for millions of grateful americans when i say thank you. thank you, bob. >> reporter: some of those grateful americans were his own kansas constituents, they continued the to attend his speeches years after he left public office. >> that's another bill that i'm very proud of and helping get this american disabilities act passed. >> reporter: but a more permanent reminder of the former majority leader from kansas is back on capitol hill, a place he could never seem to leave. >> i may run again, so i'll probably be up here looking for bipartisan support. >> reporter: there on the t senate side of the capitol, a balcony, named after him, when he left the senate in 1996, just steps from the republican leader's office. >> see in big letters or neon or -- [laughter] >> reporter: during dole's tenure, his colleagues had inform nailly referred to the -- informally referred to the bay balcony as dole's beach. >> we will refer to the balcony as the robert j dole balcony [applause] >> reporter: the robert j dole balcony is a tribute to the service he made within the halls of congress, also to his membership in the group of americans who served their country in world war ii. >> out of the 16 and-a-half million world war ii veterans, there are a half million of us left. and we lose about 1,000 a day. >> reporter: in early 2021, dole shared that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. in a statement, he said, quote, while i certainly have some hurdles ahead, i also know that i join millions of americans who face significant health challenges of their own. days later, he was visited by newly inaugurated president joe biden at his watergate apartment. the two had a bipartisan friendship and served in the senate together for almost 25 years. months before his cancer announcement, dole spoke remotely to the national press club about reaching across the aisle and his hopes for america. >> i had a great ride. i mean, i made so many, many friends, democrats and republicans and when i was the leader, i reached across the aisle a lot because i believe that most controversies could be settled with a little time and a little compromise. i believe god has a plan for all of us and doesn't matter whatever happens to me, i'm 97 but i still have all my marbles and that helps. i think we have a bright future. >> reporter: in washington, bret baier, fox news. eric: god did have some plan for bob dole. he was a man of principle, dedication, whoever came -- who overcame tremendous personal setbacks. he was a man of cutting humor and optimism. are thoughts are with his family and his wife. for more on the life of the senator, let's bring in idaho senator, republican james riche. you knew him for many years. your thoughts on the passing of this american giant. >> it's always sad when something like this happens but having said that, your package that you just ran i think really laid out in summary form the great contributions he made to america, his service to america, his dedication to america, had a great family surrounding him. the thing -- one of the things i appreciated really most about bob dole is he had a great sense of humor and no matter how tough things got, he was always able to add some dry wit to it that helped get through. so god bless bob dole. we'll miss him and he was a great american. eric: god bless bob dole. you talk about his how more. that kind of was counter to his critics' image of him as this tough, bluff type of guy. tell us about the personal bob dole that you knew and his humor. >> you know, i tell you, it wasn't a lot different than john mccain's. john, again, had the reputation for being very tough and he was and so was bob in that regard but on the other hand, they could always see the light side of things. usually a little dose of humor has an ability to get you through something that might be a lot tougher without it and both of them, both john and bob were -- and maybe it was their military background in world war ii that did it. i don't know. both of them were great joke tellers and -- but like i said, just in ordinary conversation, bits of dry humor was not lost on them at all. eric: he had friends on both sides of the aisle. so well liked. you could disagree with him politically but not personally. he was so well liked. don't we need that more in washington, that could be a legacy of bob dole. >> no question about that. it was a different time in washington than it is now. the country is polarized right now. i can tell you this, the media underscores a lot the fighting we do up there and the disagreements we have but that's democracy. it's intended to be that way. but on a personal basis i can tell you that it isn't like that at all. we get along quite well when we have conversations and our personal conversations with each other. we're still friends. but because of the polarization in the country, we do have differences on the big picture of what america should be, do we want the nanny state or do we want what the founding fathers gaves us? it is a robust discussion always. it's a push and a shove. but on a personal basis i can tell you that we still get along really quite well. we have dinners once or twice a year and they're open seating, democrats and republicans mix freely in those dinners and we have good conversations like people do. eric: you talked about his service, forging that cutting wit and humor. it put steel in his spine and in his soul. he was not expected to surviving, he was -- survive, he was hit in the back and the side by a german shell, he was paralyzed. his temperature spiked at one point to 109 degrees. he wasn't expected to live. he was a fighter. he was paralyzed in the right arm. he always held a pen in his hand like this. and he would shake your hand like this, kind of upside down. tell me about the intrepid principled bravery optimism to go through life and achieve and accomplish what he did did having had that paralysis and being a role model. >> actually, if you were meeting him the first time and didn't realize that he had the physical issues that he had, you may not notice it because he did, as you said, hold a ben in his hand or a pencil in his hand like he always did. the only time you would notice it, he shook hands a little bit differently. but beyond that, i mean, it was -- it certainly was no impediment to him of any kind as he went forward. when i was around him, i never saw that bother him or get in the way or anything else. so he overcame that and did the things he did in spite of those limitations that he had. eric: and as a conservative, as a republican, as a bed rock of the party, legislatively in terms of his policies, what was important to him and what was important to him for this country and for the republican political party? >> well, i think bob dole really represented what america stands for the best and he was always on message, he was always on point. he believed in the exceptionalism of america. he believed in the exceptionalism of americans and the fact that we had the moral high ground in the world and that whatever shortcomings we may have, that none the less this country's the greatest in the world and he believed that and he believed that in his heart and his soul and he acted like it. eric: on a personal note, i was a student of georgetown and my roommate was an intern in senator dole's office and we picked up when he was trying to run for president, drove him to a fund raising dinner that he had. what struck me, here i'm a kid, i mean, he's bob dole, pay attention to me. we went home, bob and i went home and my dad cooked us dinner. he was personal. my dad served in world war ii. he wanted to know where, questions and sincere interest and that is the touch of a sincere human being who cares about people, who carries the values of lawrence kansas and the midwest with him and i was so stunned that he was not -- in person, he was not the person that the media made him out to be. caring, warm, as you said, funny, hilarious, cutting guy as we drove him around manhattan. >> well, thanks for that. the fact of the matter is, we're all human beings and i think sometimes we get painted with an image in the media that is very different from who we actually are. look, we're just human beings like everybody else. bob dole certainly fit that category but he was an exceptional human being. eric: bob dole, an exceptional human being, an exceptional senator, presidential candidate. our country mourns the loss today. our thoughts to his family and his wife. senator jim risch. you will be with us later on in the hour, talking about iran. thank you for your thoughts. arthel. arthel: right now we're going to bring in special report anchor and fox news chief political anchor, bret baier. he is on the phone right now and we just heard eric share his personal memories and i wanted to ask if you have any personal a memories to share with us about senator dole. >> sure. had met and talked to him numerous times over the years. and the last time was up on capitol hill for an event, i happened to be up there and i saw he was over and i made my way over there and his lovely wife, former senator, former transportation secretary elizabeth dole brought me in to talk to him. he said i watch the show all the time, every night and keep up the good work. he was just a solid guy and if you look at him as in the scope of history, there aren't that many people who have as great a span of service to the country. all-in, about 79 years. but 36 in congress and he was a part of some of the biggest pieces of legislation that passed in a bipartisan way. a lot of people say that's when congress worked in regular order and he was senate majority leader, worked across the aisle for a number of big pieces of legislation, worked with people like ted kennedy and george mcgovern. he was always coming up short on the presidential ambitions, running in 1980 and 1988. he was vice presidential no, nomineefor gerald ford in '96, y gets the nomination in '96 to run against bill clinton. at that time the republican party flag was not the one to be behind in a time of peace and prosperity after 1992 and 1996. but he always kept this ability to be bigger than the moment and he kind of had those kansas roots that showed through. arthel: yeah, indeed. he served with distinction in the army during world war 2 and he was awarded the medal of freedom by president clinton, he challenged for presidency and didn't win what does that say about senator dole and those times to see american patriotism front and center? >> well, arthel, he was the personification i think of the greatest generation and he became a symbol for veterans. he was really instrumental in push for the world war ii memorial on the national mall and the freedom honor flights that bring world war ii veterans to washington and to that spot and he was really a driving force, really up until the end at 98 years old. and if you think back, we are losing more and more of that greatest generation who served in world war ii and it's just a time to reflect on how much they did for the country over many, many decades. arthel: yeah. president obama called him a true american patriot and as you know, senator dole's endless drives was for bipartisan politics. it was always engaged and on display. so with the passing of this republican giant, this american hero, do you think senator dole's legacy could impact politics of today somehow, bret? >> i mean, it's hopeful to think that way, arthel. i think we're in a different spot. we could use a few more bob doles and, you know, in how they operated. we haven't operated like that in a long time up on capitol hill and in this environment. so, you know, there's hope. hope springs eternal and maybe this day and looking back at his legacy will spur somebody into that action but it was a different time and he was a different kind of leader. arthel: so is there any way perhaps that we can cling to the sentiment of senator bob dole? >> well, of course. i mean, his legacy is one that is substantial and if you look at the things that have passed under bob dole and for his decades of service in the senate, i mean, we're talking about big, big pieces of legislation. social security, voting rights, you've got major tax cuts under the ronald reagan era, and to shepherd all that through, through congress, takes a lot of logistics. he was just a creature of the senate. he had been there and figured it out as majority leader but his legacy is bigger than that and i think his service to the country is really what people should focus on and that we all have to do something to make this place a better place. arthel: yeah, of course. and i wonder, you know, you talk about all the major pieces of legislation that have been -- that we are now experiencing and living and enjoying as americans, you know, at the prompt of senator dole and to see that a lot of that being dismantled, i just -- i do hope that somehow that his sentiments again can prevail. >> and their foundation i think will do that. obviously he's survived by his wife, elizabeth dole as i mentioned former secretary of transportation, former head of the red cross, former senator and she will take that legacy and move on. i'll be interested to see how the memorial plans move forward. we're expected to see a statement from the foundation in coming hours and i'm sure there will be a lot of people in washington and around the country who pay their respects to former senator dole. arthel: absolutely. in fact, right now, a tweet from speaker pelosi's deputy chief of staff that's saying speaker pelosi has ordered the flags at the u.s. capitol to be flown at half staff due to the passing of former senator bob dole. and the tributes begin, bret. >> and they'll continue. and there will be -- you know, he was considered someone who crossed party lines as far as a level of respect and at the beginning of his career was kind of a partisan slasher or considered that but later in his life became a lion of the senate and someone who was clearly respected and will be in memory as well. arthel: absolutely. well, you started with your personal story and memory of senator dole who told you at a function d.c. to keep up the good work so you do just that. bret baier thank you. >> we'll see you. arthel: eric. eric: you think of senator dole as a senate leader but he also served in the house. he was first elected in kansas in 1960. he was in the early '70s chairman of the republican national committee. he at one point partnered with liberal senator george mcgovern to expand food stamps and he dedicated so much of his life to the men and women like him who served this nation to veterans. let's bring in congressional correspondent chad pergram who is reflecting on this loss today. chad, your thoughts on the passing of senator dole. >> bob dole served as the russell county attorney back in the 1950s. he won the first house race by 982 votes in 1960. he beat gary sidilus who was the father-in-law of kathleen. there was a famous quote when bill clinton was elected in 1992. bill clinton won 43% of the vote and he reminded people that there were 57% of the american people who didn't vote for bill clinton, they voted for ross pert or george bush. he said the good news is is there's a honeymoon and the bad news i'm the chaperone. he had a wit that everybody discusses and bret alluded to as well. he had flashes of anger sometimes which, remember, somebody talked about earlier him being a quote, hatchet man. that vote came in 1971 from former republican senator william saks and you had bob dole in 1988 when he lost the presidential primary, the republican primary in 1988 against george h w. bush and the famous video clip of this, quit lying about my record and also having president bush went back on his no new taxes pledge, he said, well, it's time for him to get some lip balm. i hear those are good for cracked lips. again, he would let both sides have it. but even just a couple months ago, you might remember that norm mcdonald died from saturday night live who did a very good impersonation and he always appreciated that i'm personation, appeared on saturday night live with him as well and that's the type of thing that you will remember bob dole for is that he also had this witty side. in retirement, he appeared in a pepsi commercial. so these were kind of the lighter sides of bob dole. and here's kind of a funny story too. he was serving in the senate as majority leader in 1996 and it was clear he was going to run for president and was the odds-on favorite in 1996 and back in those days i worked at c-span and we had at that point and c-span does to this day have a program called road to the white house they would air every sunday about who is running for president and bob dole was the odds-on favorite. this was before internet and everything else. dole would come to the senate floor with stacks of binders and would read different statements into the record about foreign policy or arms control or health policy or something like that and i joked at the time when i worked at c-span, i said we ought to put up a graphic that said road to the white house because this is what bob dole was doing time and time again. he left the senate early in 1996 in the -- in june of 1996 to focus exclusively on running for president. that was the one thing he a wanted to do, kind of the one part of his repertoire, the box that had not been checked and to put all of his energy in trying to beat bill clinton in 1996. one of the most touching stories, i related this to howard kurtz, that i've ever seen is when daniel inouye passed away. he was lying in state in the capitol rotunda and they met when they were both convalescing from war injuries in italy, they were wounded one hillside away. bob dole basically did not have use of his right arm, daniel inouye had his arm shot off. he want todd be a doctor and realized the dreams were dashed. dole said you ought to think about getting into politics, the type of thing i want to do when i get back to the states and get my health back. even though they served across the aisle, they worked together on many, many things and this is what happened in december of 2012 when inouye late in state in capitol. he came from the senate side of the capitol, i was staning a couple feet away from this. the casket is laying and he's in a wheelchair with elizabeth dole, the senator from north carolina, his wife. dole got up from the wheelchair and with assistance walked very gingerly, hard to get around here, over to the casket. there's was a tear in his eye. he touched the casket of daniel inouye and said i didn't want my friend dan to see me like this and i've never quite seen a scene that emotional at the u.s. capitol. eric: i'm going to see if we can get that footage. it was so touching. it was so moving and it speaks volumes about the man that he had such determination and grit and caring to in his state get up out of his wheelchair, saying he did not want his friend to see him in a wheelchair. we're trying to see if we can get that footage to show. that is so memorable. when senator dole did that, and touching, emotionally touching the casket in the capitol rotunda, it's so memorable and it speaks so well and gets to the very soul and essence of who bob dole was as we wait to try to rewrap that footage to show our viewers and show you. >> and again, that's one of the things -- i would actually expect the flags at the capitol have been ordered to half staff by house speaker nancy pelosi right now but i would fully expect and in fact years ago probably when bob dole passes on he would probably lay in state in the capitol rotunda. that is the highest honor on capitol hill. usually reserved for presidents. we have people who lie in honor which technically is one level below that but significantly daniel inouye lay in state, john lewis, the congressman lay in state. it's not official. i would expect based on how they do things around the halls of congress that bob dole will probably lie in state in capitol hill sometime in the next week or two. eric: and so deserving of what he represents to our nation. chad pergram, thank you for your thoughts on former senator dole. our thoughts and a prayers of course to his family, to his widow, former senator cabinet member elizabeth and we will continue our coverage about the death of senator bob dole later on here on fox news. stay with us throughout the day for continuing coverage of his passing and we will hear from president biden, we are told now, who served with senator dole in the senate and we will bring you the president's remarks when we get them. bob dole, an american hero, an american giant, now gone. ♪ (man) still asleep. (woman vo) so, where to next? (vo) reflect on the past, celebrate the future. with the season of audi. this isn't just a walk up the stairs. (vo) reflect on the past, celebrate the future. when you have an irregular heartbeat, it's more. it's dignity. the freedom to go where you want, knowing your doctor can watch over your heart. ♪♪ arthel: ought f ought three members of the crumbly family seem likely to spend holidays behind bars. the parents of michigan high school shooting suspect ethan crumbly in the same jail as their son, being held separately. his parents jennifer and james pleading not guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges yesterday after police found them hiding in a detroit warehouse. steve harrigan is live in oxford, michigan right now with more. steve. >> reporter: that's right, arthel. mother, father and son all in the same jail but they're not communicating. it's not clear the son knows his parents are in jail. he's being kept in isolation. according to officials, none of the family is talking to law enforcement. there could be charges coming against the owner of the building. he's talked to police already, that's the building where the parents hid out on friday. they failed to attend their own arraignment. there was a manhunt to try to find them. the parents face four charges of involuntary manslaughter. bond is set at $500,000 apiece. they are seen to be a flight risk. the school now saying that the alarming violent drawings that were discovered in the desk of the 15-year-old shooter, that the 15-year-old shooter explained he was trying to design a video game. the police say they were never looped in about the emergency meeting at the school and the sheriff said it was the quick response of deputies that prevented the tragedy from becoming even worse. >> to ignore that, because you hear chaos or gunshots and that's what they did and as a result when he was taken into custody, there were some 18 unexpended rounds. that's what i keep reminding them, 18. 18. could have been 18 more kids. >> reporter: this entire area now is being plagued by copy cat threats of school shootings. at least seven students have been arrested including one 15-year-old male just 30 miles away here who entered school with a loaded handgun in his coat, another student tipped off the principal to prevent any tragedy in that school as well. arthel, back to you. arthel: absolutely nothing to emulate there. steve harrigan live in oxford, michigan. thank you, steve. eric. eric: arthel, new surveillance video from california's crime wave shows those thieves, well, looting a bay area cannabis store. 15 weed shops have been hit over the past month. we've seen a surge in smash and grabs throughout the state and a elsewhere in our country. in california, that's being blamed by some on the relaxed bail policies and making matters worse, critics say the suspects are put right back on the street to do it again. christina coleman live in los angeles with the latest on the smash and grabs. >> reporter: hey, eric. sadly, we're used to hearing about mobs of thieves in california looting and stealing from high end stores now. apparently, they're also targeting bay area cannabis dispensaries. this video shows a group burglarizing a dispense sigh. this is one of 24 businesses targeted by smash and grab thieves in san francisco or oakland recently. police say more than 175 shots have been fired during the cannabis robberies. here's the owner of the oakland blunt store reacting to the violence. >> i was safer selling it on the streets than i am illegally. that's a problem. it's crazy to say but it's the reality i'm living in right now. >> reporter: southern california, critics of the county's justice system who say it's too soft on crime are reelings over the fact that 14 suspects arrested in connection to 11 smash and grab robberies that happened around the thanksgiving time are already back on the streets. they didn't spend a single day in jail because of la county's zero bail policy for certain crimes including burglary. the courts have a rule in place to reduce jail populations during covid. the police chief says repeat offenders are gaming the system. critics question whether the newly released robbery suspects will return to court for their hearings. legal experts also reacting to the zero bail policy. >> it's a stupid policy. it's turning criminals who we have on video committing crimes back on the street the day after they commit them. >> reporter: the 11 smash and grab crimes that the suspect were arrested for resulted in $338,000 in stolen merchandise and police are searching for dozens of other suspects for other flash mob thefts. eric. eric: thank you. the other major story is the death of bob dole. the former republican kansas senator and presidential candidate has passed away. he was 98 years old. in february, the senator was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. he had been partly paralyzed from severe wounds he suffered in world war ii. a giant of the senate, a giant of republican politics and a great advocate for our nation's veterans. we will have more on bob dole's life and his death ahead. music: ♪ “i got you babe” by etta james ♪ get groceries, gifts, & more fast and easy so last minute guests are the only thing you'll be waiting on ♪ ♪ joy. fully. ♪ ♪ ♪ aloha! isn't this a cozy little room? sorry your vacation request took so long to get approved, so you missed out on the suite special. but lucky for you, they had this. when employees are forced to wait for vacation request approvals,it can really cramp their style. i'm gonna leave you to it. um, just— with paycom, employees enter and manage their own hr data in a single, easy-to-use software. visit paycom.com and schedule a demo today. arthel: a year-long civil war in ethiopia showing little signs of letting up as government forces say they recaptured a key historical site in the country's north. senior u.s. officials warn that a conflict that killed thousands and displayed millions could cause the country to implode completely. right now we're going to bring in the press secretary for the prime minister of ethiopia. i want to start with your administration saying that the liberation front, tplf initiated the conflict. why do you think they're doing it? what do they want? do they want to resume power? >> thank you very much, arthel. it's a very critical question to provide context that you have just launched. the regime had been dominating the politics, the economy and the military of the ethiopian space since the early '90s. prior to that they were a rebel force engaged in several years of war, trying to topple the previous regime before they came into power. in 2018, following -- arthel: i apologize. i want to get a lot covered here. i don't have time to review their entire cv. as i said, i asked you, you mentioned they were in power and that's why i asked you, do you think they want to resume power, is that what they're after? >> definitely, there is a desire to resume you power for the international community. that's not what they're saying. they're lodging a complaint. but ethiopia dealt with three wars in the past 30 years. the common denominator has been tplf. arthel: the prime minister asked citizens to take up arms to block them from advances to the capital. he wept to the front lines to confront tplf saying we won't flinch until we bury the enemy and ensure ethiopia's freedom. ethiopia is on the verge of collapse and the prime minister has promoted a platform of unity. is this what the prime minister wants on his watch, for his people. is he doing everything in his power to find a diplomatic solution to stop the horrible civil war. >> the characterization of ethiopia about to collapse is not true. it's he pedaled by a certain -- arthel: this is by the state department of the united states. >> i understand. just to give context, the conflict is contained to the northern part of the country, tplf escalated it to the far end, the regions in the northern part of the country. what the prime minister has been doing has been trying to protect the people of ethiopia from this overt threat that the tplf has been waging of on the people of ethiopia for the past three years and over the past 27 years they've been ruling and didi is a unifier. you have the gestures he's been engaged in the past three years prior to the altercation last year has been a peace offering and a manner of engaging with the tplf for them to also be part of an inclusive process. this is something they have outright rejected on several occasions before. at this point in time -- arthel: unfortunately, it's not working. so i mean, is the tplf stronger, more strategic, more savvy, more clever than the ethiopian national defense force? >> that wouldn't be the case because what you have witnessed over the past two weeks is the prime minister headed to the front to lead the tropes from the front -- troops from the front is seizure or reversal of all the gains that the tplf has made. the tplf is beginning to weaken, is clear that they're also starting to he retreat as well with these gains that have been made, the ethiopian people, the prime minister had has got wide popular support, the government has wide popular support and through this unity there is an effort to make sure that the tplf is not a threat for the unity of ethiopia. arthel: meanwhile, more than 2 million people have been forced from their homes. i heard you say there is perhaps some sort of advancement towards the direction of unification but you've got thousands of people who are dead. now, this is even though that in the past four years, up to 2020, the united states has provided $4.2 billion in development and humanitarian aid to the ethiopian people, more recently, the biden harris administration and congress provided tens of millions of dollars in new development assistance, and yet there is widespread familiar in. 9 of -- famine. 90% of the population depends on aid. up to 900,000 people are facing f amine. why is humanitarian relief not getting to these people who so desperately need it? >> so as i was just stating earlier, over the past year, until the unilateral cease fire and the national defense forces withdrew from the region, the government has been providing up to 70% of humanitarian assistance. since the national defense forces withdrew, there hasn't been any presence of national defense forces or any conflict within the tigre region. this spilled over through the active biligerence of the tplf. they want to nationalize this -- internationalize this issue. issues of genocide and issues of rape are international issues and they have been putting this as a political agenda to gain the attention and sympathy of the international community which they have done so. arthel: let me jump in. i've got a short time. i want -- people care about ethiopia, so you know. that's where we're coming from with this. you keep mentioning how powerful tplf is. mr. abbi is the prime minister, okay. he is the leader. so i want to find out if you can tell me, does he have a plan? what is it that he's willing to do, to end this horrible civil war? what is it that you want the world, the -- the world is watching ethiopia right now and a pulling for peace. will prime minister abbi succeed in achieving peace? >> prime minister abbi has got a track record of achieving peace and bringing harmony among the community. the way this has been characterized, the narrative of the tplf, air waves has taken over the international committee. he is committed to peace. he has the responsibility to ensure that state order is maintained. which the tplf is a clear threat to. so alongside the goal of ensuring that the tplf are pushed back, there's processes laid out to ensure that any -- there is a space to address them adequately and nobody more than the prime minister and the ethiopian people and government are more concerned about their country. i think the clear message of the international committee is stand by the legitimately elected democratic government of ethiopia, ensuring we are overpassing this turbulent period. arthel: we are pulling for ethiopia, trust me. >> thank you, arthel. arthel: we wish you the best. thank you very much for your time today. >> thank you, arthel. eric: as jews across the country and around the world prepare to celebrate the seventh night of hanukkah, a stark reality looms. the fbi says anti-semetic attacks make up half of all religious bias attacks in the united states. a new report from the american jewish committee says one in four jewish americans has experienced anticipate semitism over the past year. brooke olstein joins us now. she is in israel. brooke, except for like mass you attacks like unfortunate and tragic synagogue shootings, it seems like anti-semetic attacks they're a daily hidden and ignored hate crime, sadly. it's been increasing. what are you seeing and why? >> eric, first of all, i want to thank you for doing this segment because you are exactly right. there is an alarming rise of jew hatred to the point where it has become systemic and yet many want to sweep this under the rug. the truth is, okay, that the fbi has recently reported that jewish people are three times more likely to experience a hate crime than any other ethnic group, that's 2.6 times more likely than the black community and 2.2 times more likely than the muslim community and over one-third of jewish americans have personally experienced a hate crime, an anti-semetic hate crime. these are alarming numbers and people would like to pretend as though this is a political issue, that this has to do with israel. it is not. this is a civil rights issue of epic proportions and anybody who cares about minority rights must care about the issue of jew hatred rising and anti-semetic attacks and i use the word systemic for a reason, because jew hatred is no longer on the fringes of society. it has become systemic, whether it's politicians like ilhan omar who accuse jewish politicians of -- or the council on islamic relations that just said that zionists are enemy, aka jews are the enemies, this is coming from someone in the united states right now in a position of power. this is a systemic issue and we must pay attention to it. eric: how come it doesn't get as much attention do you think and we condemn all type of attacks and hatred, of course, how come you think it doesn't get as much attention as other cases? >> well, i think there are several reasons but the number one reason is because politics are being used as an excuse for jew hatred. there are jewish students on campus who are being targeted because their ethnic, cultural and religious identities and a israel, whatever is happening in israel is being used as an excuse. so the schools say, well, this is a political issue, not a civil rights issue. there are jewish people in the workforce. there are jews who experience anti-semitism every day where a foreign conflict is used as an excuse to turn around and target a jewish person. the equivalent would be for example if you had a problem with a government of china, turning around to a chinese american and discriminating against him or her or if you have a problem with iran, discriminating against a muslim american. everybody would recognize this as bigotry. when it happens to the jewish community, when we're in the age of minority rights movement, we have failed to recognize this as a civil rights issue. eric: we just showed -- let's show the graphic again. it's shocking. there have been more than 2,000-2,100 assaults, vandalism and hairsment of jewish -- harassment of jewish americans, according to the anti-defamation league. take a look at the states, just in the past month, folks, just in one month, 16 states there have been attacks, assaults, all sorts of things. these are the states, i'm going to give you a list. we don't have it. albany -- alabama, arizona, california, colorado, florida, idaho, pennsylvania, texas, washington state, virginia, wisconsin, it's all over the country. how do we stop it and what should people do? >> so we stop it number one by talking about it which is why i'm so grateful that we're having this segment. but we also have to look at the root causes of why this is happening. if we focus for example on campus, there are governments, foreign governments qatar which is the second largest sponsor of terrorism around the world that are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into our institutions of higher education, they're not only indoctrinating toward jew hatred. they're also indoctrinating toward anti-americanism and anti-democracy and the saying is, for example, jews are the canary in the coal miner's tunnel so it is really important to focus on the rise of jew hatred because it is a symptom of further radicalization in the community at large. eric: brooke, we're out of time. thank you. thank you for the work you're doing. calling for jewish civil rights movement. brooke, thank you. arthel: hatred is ignorance. we're back at 4:00 eastern with more news, right here on fox news. mike: long career of public service, three decades on capitol hill, horribly wounded in world war ii, legendary senator bob dole has died at age 98. here is a look at his historic life. >> i've never been prouder in my life than to have been the republican nominee for president of the united states. >> as the 1996 republican nominee bob dole came as close as he ever would winning the presidency, a dream he chased 3 times. he made his concessionpeh