president jay wallace -- while not condoning the antagonisticking tone -- said we do support open exchanges for the american people. and fox announced it would file a friend of the court brief in the case in which cnn won. i have been extremely critical of acosta, but i said the white house shouldn't revoke his pass. fox has been under fire this week over january 6th texts from three of its hosts, and here's what don lemon had to say about this network. >> why does jen psaki even continue to call on fox in the briefing room? your network is promoting bs and lies about what is actually happening in the country and helping to inspire and incite an since protection, why should they be able to take part? howard: i'm sorry, but this is a really low blow. if he wants to score cheap points by pretending fox doesn't have a news division, by ignoring the fact that peter doocy often generates news by asking important questions, he has lost sight of what matters in journalism. by that reasoning, what would stop a conservative president from declaring that cnn is a propaganda outfit and should be barred? funny, i haven't heard any media critics salem monowent too far -- say lemon went too far. i'm howard kurtz, and this is "mediabuzz." ♪ ♪ howard: i spoke just moments ago to bret baier, fox's chief political anchor who you see nightly on "special report." welcome. >> thanks, howard. howard: don lemon saying fox news should be barred because he doesn't like them. what's your take on that? >> it's silly. it's an effort to get clicks or eyeballs. listen, we're a news organization that has been part of the white house pool really since the beginning, and we've been advocates of fighting for ow -- other journalists including cnn. you mentioned jim acosta as well as caitlin collins who was going to be kicked out of a gaggle, and i put out a statement supporting that. listen, i think this is all about semantics and trying to get attention. but they know that we're working hard to do journalism every day. howard: look, detractors and critics can say what they want about fox and fox hosts. people who pay for their opinions can dish out the criticism, but is there a fiction that gets perpetrated because it doesn't fit the narrative? there isn't a real news division here, that you and your "special report" team and all the journalists and hosts and anchors and producers somehow don't count? >> it's really silly. you know, for 24 and a half years, almost 25, i've been working here, and it's the same thing. it just goes in iterations in which the focus is all on the opinion folks who do do opinion and sometimes they're very controversial, but we have a news operation that's breaking news every day. you can't tell me what jennifer griffin and lucas tomlinson do at the pentagon, what our white house team does, what bill melugin along the border -- we're one of the only networks covering the border situation which saw the most, the highest number of illegal immigrants crossing in november ever in the history of the country, and yet we're the only network covering it. that is news. that's not made-up stuff. and, you know, we've been fighting that battle a long time. but just like a paper, there's a news side and an opinion -- howard: i was going to say, in all the years i worked at newspapers, there were columnists who had fury opinion -- fiery opinions, and then there were the reporters. do you think journalists have now extended their hatred of trump to fox? fox is the big cable news network in the space right now. >> i do. i think there's emotion at play, there's a motion to figure out an angle at play. the biggest, the loudest critics of fox are not ones who watch fox and see the difference between "special report" and sean hannity and tucker carlson. anybody who watches sees the difference. and, you know, i say watch three times and then drop me an e-mail or a tweet or a facebook post and tell me if you think it was fair. and people who do that come back and say it was. i think in this environment there are people hungry for fair coverage. it's really starting to disappear, and there are only a few places you can get it, and fox, "special report" and other programs, is one of them. howard: we'll show the january 6 texts later from laura ingraham, sean hannity and brian kilmeade. and, again, detractors are free to criticize, but wouldn't the public want these hosts who have interviewed trump many times and mostly sympathetic to donald trump to do whatever they could to get him to halt the violence? >> yes. it was a lot of stir-up that day that we hadn't been covering it. but we did on air. chad pergram did from capitol hill, i did it on "special report," and, you know, the big thing was what critics said was the hypocrisy of what they were saying privately on texts and publicly on their shows. i called all three of them directly and said what do you say about this. and they said, we stand by everything we've said publicly and privately. we reported that. you know, sometimes we have to report on things that are in the news that are us, and it really stinks because i'm trying to never be the news and trying to report and cover things fairly. sometimes it has to be us, and we did it that way this past week. howard: yeah. and i think that's a fair approach. and we'll show some of what they said later. i get it, fox is fair game, anybody in the media is fair game, but you're right, it can be uncomfortable being the story. and the same thing goes for there's a whole lot of republicans out there who believe donald trump's unproven claims the election was stolen. this news division, we have reported about the claims and whether there's any evidence based on all the investigations and all the lawsuits and all of that. >> we've been clear. i mean, there's not been -- howard: no gray area. >> yeah. howard: it was breaking news on my show last week when our colleague, chris wallace, announced he's leaving fox after 18 years, and it's a major loss for our network. you worked with chris at debates, on elections nights, but he's not the only person who can host a sunday show. in fact, you filled in today on "fox news sunday." >> yeah. listen, they're big shoes to fill. i worked alongside him for 18 years, have a lot of respect for him and his craft. and i wish him well. he's doing something different. but that does not mean that we don't have really accomplished journalists who are breaking stories and who can cover things fairly. and right now there's going to be a rotation on "fox news sunday." we'll see what ends up, the executives decide, but i'm honored to be a part of that rotation. howard: we're glad to have you. i've criticized president biden for doing very few tv interviews, he hasn't sat down with major newspapers as well. he's not appeared on fox. i know you've asked -- >> really every week. howard: yeah. do you think, don't you think it would benefit the president to be able to reach this audience and sit there and field questions? >> yes, i do. i don't think that he's been put out overall. i mean, he hasn't -- he's only had a select few outlets, and you've done it many times, how many interviews he's done compared to previous presidents. howard: it's a very low number. he did go on jimmy fallon. >> he did. he did. and the ore thing is that -- the other thing is that we're covering this white house, and we're getting calls answered. i'm having conversations at the highest levels about issues of substance and things, and the conversations continue despite all of the noise around fox and democrats. we have a lot of democrats on, and our show has the biggest dispersion of ideologies watching it according to pew research. so, listen, i think we just keep doing what we're doing, and we're judged by what we do, not what people say we do. howard: these are such polarizing times in which it seems to me to be more challenging than ever to just do straight news. there are an awful lot of people on both sides, on all sides who want you to root for their team. but that's not what journalism is about, and journalism often means that you're going to be on any given day, any given hour unpopular with this group or that group or this faction because you're not siding with their view of the world. >> that's right. i mean, all you have to do is look at my twitter feed -- [laughter] it says i'm in the tank for trump and then i'm so anti-trump -- howard: right. sometimes on the same segment. >> i say bob, meet sally, sally, meet bob, i'm going to cover the news. my biggest job is to try to stop the bad pucks from getting through. and with social media and online presence, people getting information from a lot of different places, there are a lot of bad pucks. and so we have a big job to do, and is we take it seriously every day. howard: right. i just think there is this sort of refrain now particularly among more activist journalists, maybe others, that if, you know, there's a threat to the country and if you don't rise -- which really means be anti-trump -- that you are a wimp, you are doing both sides, you're not telling people the real truth. and i think that it's important to resist that no matter how popular it may be in some circles because then you give up the thing that, i hope, gives all of us -- not just here at fox, all of us in the business -- credibility, which is you're trying to be fair to all sides. >> right. and i think we're empowered by that. i've been on the back end of a few trump tweets because we heard from people who were very critical of the president. we also heard from his supporters. you have to kind of lay it out, and it's really not just a slogan. we report, you decide. i'm really reporting so that people can say here's what i think about that. and i don't know, i take it that that's my mandate. howard: i'm very glad we had a chance to have this conversation. brett behavior, thanks very much for -- bret baier, thanks very much for joining us. when we come back, another house contempt citation for mark meadows. are we getting both sides? ♪ the journey is why they ride. when the road is all you need, there is no destination. uh, i-i'm actually just going to get an iced coffee. well, she may have a destination this one time, but usually -- no, i-i usually have a destination. yeah, but most of the time, her destination is freedom. nope, just the coffee shop. announcer: no matter why you ride, progressive has you covered with protection starting at $79 a year. voiceover: 'cause she's a biker... please don't follow me in. 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. [ coughing and sneezing ] cold season is back. bounce back fast with alka seltzer plus. with 25% more concentrated power. alka-seltzer plus. ♪ oh, what a relief it is ♪ so fast! also try for cough, mucus & congestion. xfinity rewards are our way of thanking you just for being with us. enjoy rewards like sing family fun nights! rent sing for $1, then belt out all your favorite tunes from the movie with sing karaoke. plus, see sing 2 in theaters with buy-one-get-one free fandango tickets. join over a million members by signing up for free on the xfinity app. our thanks. your rewards. howard: there has been enormous coveragf the house vote to cite mark meadows for criminal contempt for defying a subpoena including the january 6th text from donald trump jr. among others, and most of the media are piling on. >> make no mistake, when democrats vote in favor of this resolution, it is a vote to put a good man in prison. >> whether we tell the truth, get to the and defend ourselves against it ever happening again is the moral test of our time. >> it's not about holding me in contempt, it's about coming after president donald trump and, sadly, that's what tonight's vote was all about. >> at least what the committee is painting a picture of is mark meadows, at a minimum, was at least the concierge desk of january 6th. meaning he seemed to either hear of or know of a little bit of everything. >> that's pretty dramatic, when the president's own son, when the president's namesake is unable to get through to his own father and is reaching out and pleading with the chief of staff to do something. howard: joining us now to analyze the coverage in new york, kat timpf, and in los angeles, leslie marshall, radio talk show host and a fox news contributor. kat, have much of the media been rooting for the house to hold mark meadows in contempt and now for the justice department to prosecute him just as many of them were when it came to steve bannon? >> yeah, absolutely. and, look, there's a few things that can make a story, you know, really people passionate about it. one of them is emotion and partisan politics, and this story has both of those things. because, obviously, january 6th has been widelien condemned by -- widely condemned by most people who aren't super fringe right. but because it was so awful, i think it creates a lot of passion in the democratic party and people are, obviously, really going to be following a story like this. howard: i think what paused a lot of journalists is he had been cooperating, and he wrote a book and then suddenly citing executive privilege and now risking prosecution. >> executive privilege doesn't extend to mark meadows. we all know that, and donald trump is no longer president. that aside, howie, you said it. we can't even go beyond. he defied a subpoena. i have a jury summons on my desk over there in my office. if i defy that, they can put out a bench warrant for my arrest. no one is above the law. if you are subpoenaed for jury duty, if you are subpoenaed for -- by congress, you have to show up. you can't do this, no one is above the law. and the problem is for many of us on the left especially, it is viewed that after the last administration there were a lot of people that are, you know, putting up their middle finger, if you will, at our constitution and our laws, and we just can't have that. our leaders that we elect and those who work for them need to be setting examples and to be living not above the rest of the rules that all of us have as citizens, but living by the same rules that we have as citizens. howard: well, i disagree on one point. i think there is at least a legal argument that a former white house chief of staff could be covered by executive privilege at least for some of his communications. but, kat, new york times has this huge piece citing evidence that a half dozen right-wing members of congress became key foot soldiers including the justice department on fraud charges, pressing state legislatures. is that fair or unfair based on what we know? >> i think it depends what you mean by that, right? i think it's something that we sort of argued already. i know the text messages make it a little bit different, but i think there's the temptation to say, okay, you know, this is completely trump's fault, and these people did this, and, you know, they didn't want to stop it and saying, hey, maybe they didn't do enough to stop it. again, i think partisan politics and passion make it really difficult to have any kind of nuanced conversation about the facts of any case no matter what it is. and there's really no story that is more partisan than this one. people widely condemn it, but when it goes to who was responsible and if they should be punished in some way, that is sharply divided along partisan lines. howard: yeah. it's such a tragedy that this terrible moment has become so embroiled in partisan politics, and one of the examples is congressman jim jordan forwarding to mark meadows on january 5th a legal argument from a conservative lawyer and ex-trump adviser that mike pence had the authority to reject the electoral college find gz, which he did not. let me turn to this lesley. are the media failing to draw a distinction, and i think it's an important one, between members of congress who would not vote to accept the electoral college results in some statements which many of them -- states which many of them did even after the riot and the violence that happened under the dome on january 6th? >> i think they're covering both. i think they're both being covered accurately. and, you know, to say that everybody's, you know, denounced this, that's not true. marjorie taylor green, matt gaetz are two people that have been -- >> not those two. i said most people. [laughter] >> right, right. but in addition, in addition to that, if you have -- i don't care if they were democrats, i don't9 care if they were democrats or republicans, you have evidence that on the 5th of january, the day before this happened, that there were conversations about bringing in the national guard to do a recount, about having a state of emergency, about defying the constitution of our nation to prevent an election from going forward, an election of a president and to usurping the will of the american people and the american voters. that is beyond disgusting. and, honestly, every american should be ashamed of any elected official who would do that, left or right. and when the evidence comes out, there needs to be decisions by voters and certainly by members within these individuals' own party. howard: well, speaking of the evidence, kat, i've got about half a minute here, is the committee playing the press by putting out a couple of texts a day to generate a fresh round of headlines rather than waiting and presenting the whole thing in hearings early next year? >> absolutely. i think that that is not unique to this story. i think that's something that we see with many stories where the media wants, you know, a new hook, more clicks. so, yes, but i don't think that unusual. howard: it certainly has been done before. let me get a break here. up next, three fox news' hosts responding to criticism of their january 6th texts to mark meadows which has gotten lost amid all the attacks. ♪ ♪ ♪ i had a dream that someday ♪ ♪ i would just fly, fly away ♪ i may have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. or psoriatic arthritis. but we are so much more. we're team players and artists. designers and do-it-yourselfers. parents and friends. if joint pain is getting in the way of who you are, it's time to talk to your doctor about enbrel. enbrel helps relieve joint pain, and helps stop permanent joint damage. plus enbrel helps skin get clearer in psoriatic arthritis. ask your doctor about enbrel, so you can get back to your true self. play ball! enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders and allergic reactions have occurred. tell your doctor if you've been someplace where fungal infections are common. or if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if you have persistent fever, bruising, bleeding or paleness. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. visit enbrel.com to see how your joint damage could progress. enbrel. eligible patients may pay as little as $5 per month. ♪ howard: much of the media world went by fox's -- led by fox's rivals has been beating up on this network over the disclosure of texts that three opinion hosts sent to mark meadows on january 6th. seems to me that's exactly what you would want them to do during the capitol riots, urge the chief of staff to have president trump do something. now, it's fair game to question whether some of their public comments differed, but since the coverage has been rather one-sided, let's take a look at how they responded. laura ingraham texted: mark, the president needs to tell people at the capitol to go home. he is destroying his legacy. here's her response, including her tweets, from that day. >> the regime media was somehow trying to twist this message to try to tar me as a liar, a hypocrite who privately sounded the alarm on january 6th but publicly downplayed it. 2:37 p.m., security breach at the capitol is disgraceful. the president needs to tell everyone to leave the building now. 2:44 p.m., anyone who thinks this is going to grow the maga movement is delusional. it hurts the movement, the trump legacy and, of course, the country. both publicly and privately, i said what i believe, that the breach at at the capitol on jany 6th was a terrible thing. howard: sean hannity texted meadows on january 6th about trump -- can he make a statement, ask people to leave the capitol. here's what hannity told viewers on the night of january 6th. >> those who truly support president trump, those that believe they are participant of the conservative -- part of the conservative movement in this country, you do not, we do not support those that commit acts of violence and all of today's perpetrators must be arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. howard: and here is his response the other night. >> in a weak attempt to smear yours truly and presumably, i guess, president trump, congresswoman cheney presented one of my text messages from january 6th to mark meadows. and, by the way, where is the outrage in the media over my private text messages being released again publicly? do we believe in privacy in this country? i am an honest, straightforward person. i say the same thing in private that i say to all of you. howard: brian kilmeade of "fox & friends" also texted meadows, please, get him on tv. destroying everything you have accomplished. now, here's what kill immediate said the next -- brian said the next morning. >> the president's speech lit the fire, rudy giuliani did not help. the fallout for the president, it might be something he cannot overcome. the president did not think that breach was going to happen, but when it did happen, he did not act quick enough. there's no way i'm going to sincerely say it was not donald trump's fault this happened. howard: mark, protesters are literally storming the capitol, breaking windows on doors. is trump going to say something? we are all helpless. >> we felt scared. i'm not afraid to admit it. i felt frightened for my safety. i did what i knew how to do which was to reach out to somebody who had the ability to do it, and the idea that i should have said this publicly earlier, i'm not sure what gd what they all had to say and make up your own mind. next on "mediabuzz",the press isn't buying the idea that president biden will run again and is handicapping the 2024 field without him. ♪ ♪ ♪ welcome to allstate. where everything just seems to go your way. ♪ ♪ you're in good hands with allstate. click or call for a lower auto rate today. ♪ howard: the press is so skeptical of president biden's insistence that he'll run again that the new york times and cnn are handicapping the 2024 democratic field if he doesn't, and time columnist brett stephens says biden should announce soon, and that's generating lots of media chatter. >> no one should think biden's going to run for re-election. it would be the kiss of death for the democratic party. >> i've known joe biden for a long time, and he is running. period, full stop. >> if your polls are down, you might owe it to your party to let younger legs grab the baton. >> with trump out of the picture most of the way, it's about biden, and people aren't thrilled about what they have. howard: and we're back with cath temp and leslie marshall. -- cath temp. let's start with biden not running again because he would seem more statesman-like. a self-professed lame duck is not going to be able to rally the country. >> right. that's the argument against it. but his argument was people are concern about this even when they're saying he's not, and the more there's a will he run or won't he run, that prevents a new face from saying, hey, this will be our next candidate. especially because kamala harris is the most unpopular vice president in recent history, even less popular than mike pence. he made that point as well. you know, obviously, this is not the kind of speculation you normally have when you have an incumbent president in his first term. you normally don't have that. so it's going to be different. and whether that's a distraction that's bad or, you know, would be worse as a lame duck, that's up for debate. howard: that's not going to be happen. but what does it say about the media view of the president that there is all of this skepticism just 11 months into his term? >> and we wonder why the approval ratings aren't good -- [laughter] when legislation's being passed that a majority of the american people favor. and this is why. this speculation is completely wrong. joe biden, unless there is anything, you know, physical or mental that prevents him, will run for a second term. look, i don't think anybody gets into this game and looks at it as a four-year deal. everybody wants the full two terms, the eight years. we are beyond a lifetime from the midterms, never mind from the general election of. so i think it's premature to say this. the entire country, covid, the approval ratings, the list goes on, could be different, i certainly hope it'll be different by the time the general election comes around in 2024. howard: kat, now we're into the pete buttigieg, amy klobuchar, warren, what about membership daniel -- mitch daniels does any of this media speculation make sense three years out? >> no. but, again, there is media speculation which is, i think, kind of one of the points that brett stevens was making. also kamala harris was going on on the supreme court. to be on the supreme court. there's all this different speculation, and is that a distraction from being able to, you know, promote joe biden, oh, as the next candidate is a distraction from pushing for him for re-election. howard: lesley, just briefly, does all the media chatter -- much of which is just filling air time -- could it change the public perception. and make a lot of people think that, yeah, joe biden's going to be a one-termer? in other words, be a self-fulfilling prophesy. >> absolutely. [laughter] hillary clinton 2016, a lot of people thought it was in the bag by a lot of the reporting and didn't show up to vote for her in various states and, certainly, it could go the other way around. the media has a lot of influence over other people as does the internet. and there are a lot of untruths like joe biden's not going to run again or shouldn't, and this is just another one. howard: i don't think he's made a final decision. joe manchin this morning essentially buried president biden's nearly $2 trillion spending bill on "fox news sunday." i cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation, i just can't. i've tried everything humanly possible, this is a no. kat, will the press -- which is always insisting it'll pass by thanksgiving, by christmas, next year or the next lunar eclipse -- describe this as a major defeat for the president who's been pushing it for months? >> i think they might acknowledge it, but i expect to see a lot of people upset with manchin which has been kind of the theme here, right? that he's the one to holding it up. of course he's not, because he's not the only one who voted against it. i'm not surprised by this at all. i'm not surprised at all that he said he couldn't vote against it based on what he said he would need to vote for it. howard: this thing has barely had a pulse for months and the press really was beating up on senator manchin back when he first emerged as a major roadblock, and bernie was on cnn today saying manchin has no guts to support it. but to the extent that the press is going to deal with manchin, what about the president who, after all, ran as the cons may not senate deal maker and has -- consummate senate deal maker and has not been able to get the bill through? >> this is almost exactly what senator man chip said with infrastructure -- manchin said with infrastructure. and we've got a bipartisan deal with infrastructure. this will be done. it won't be done in the time frame, and i can't stand when my party or any party puts out time frame. can't about do that. just say we're going to get it done. deponent9 give a date -- don't give a date. manchin is not going to walk away from this entirely. the majority of voters want this including voters in his own state. this is where he's at right now with this particular piece of legislation as it is in its current form with the current price tag. it'll change. howard: when he talked to bret baier, he sounded very much like somebody who was walking away from the legislation. i want to talk about donald trump with comments about jews in a podcast he did with an axios reporter. take a look. >> the jewish people in the united states either don't like israel or don't care about israel. when you look at "the new york times," "the new york times" hates israel, hates them. and the jewish people run "the new york times." howard: lesley, do you think the former president's comments about the times and salzberger and israel plays into an old trope about jews control the media? >> yes. my father's jewish. we just talked about that off the air, so i'm half of the tribe. look, this is very concerning. you can be pro-israel and pro-peace and pro-two state solution and jewish. that does all come in. i know many friends, relatives, etc., colleagues that feel that way. what concerned me even more about this interview is he said there was a time israel controlled congress, now congress controls israel. further to that, you know, jews have historically votessed -- voted in this country for democrats. they weren't abandoning donald trump, they were voting as they did historically, with the party whose views align mostly with theirs as a religious community. howard: yeah. i think it's important to point out that some american jews have been critical of policies of different israeli prime ministers. it doesn't mean they're anti-israel and, by the way, there are people in israel who vigorously disagree with the government's stance. the times has been accused at times of being in its coverage not sympathetic to israel or too sympathetic to the palestinians. you would expect that in such a volatile region. that's hardly the same thing as saying the newspaper hates israel. [laughter] >> i agree. [laughter] i agree that it's hardly the same thing. i also think when you talk about anybody, you know, jewish people or anyone else, a group of individuals, they're going to have individual views on certain things. you don't have to all think the same way. howard: that is true, and i just thought it was important to put this on the table because, for example, a statement from the anti-defamation league criticizing president trump's comments. all right. thank you very much, lesley and kat. after the break, with omicron surging, are the media adding to coronavirus confusion? ♪ ♪ what do we want for dinner? burger... i want a sugar cookie... wait... i want a bucket of chicken... i want... ♪♪ it's the easiest because it's the cheesiest. kraft. for the win win. look, serena williams... matrix... serena... matrix... serena... matrix... ♪ get your tv together with the best of live and on demand. introducing directv stream. >> man: what's my safelite story? with the best of live i spend a lot of time in my truck. it's my livelihood. ♪ rock music ♪ >> man: so i'm not taking any chances when something happens to it. so when my windshield cracked... my friend recommended safelite autoglass. they came right to me, with expert service where i needed it. ♪ rock music ♪ >> man: that's service i can trust... no matter what i'm hauling. right, girl? >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ ♪ howard: there's been a dramatic surge in coverage of the omicron variant as some parts of society are once again shutting down. "saturday night live" last night sent its studio audience home at the last minute. cnn is closing its offices to all but emergency personnel. joining us now is mike emmanuel, fox's chief washington correspondent. the media have been all over the map. the atlantic ran a couple pieces saying rural people think the pandemic is over, generation z doesn't care. then this weekend, america's not ready for only. caron, worse than anything we've seen before. it feels like whiplash. >> absolutely. and i think people are just burned out. it's been a year and a half of this, and here we go again. the challenge for our industry is we tend to sell stories, right? it's to be very responsible, be very careful the numbers you select. maybe positive cases is not the best metric. maybe it's the people who end up in the emergency -- or in the icus is the proper number. are they vaccinated? is are they unvaccinated? if you tell people those numbers, that's the way to go. we've heard about omicron, oh, it's very con contagious, but te symptoms are mild. is that true, those are the kinds of things we need to tell the american people. howard: right. but the experts don't agree. there was a kind of relaxation, well, it's pretty mild, and now a new says, well, it could be as powerful as the delta variant. furthermore, it seems to me people are angry and frustrated, as you said, sick of the pandemic, and i don't think the heat immediate rah -- the media are helping here. the cdc is constantly changing guidance on masks and things of that nature. >> well, and dr. anthony fauci was on abc today saying he thinks we're going to be wearing masks forever if on airplanes, and i think a lot of the american people are like, come on, we've been good citizens in terms of wearing our masks, being careful, social distancing, but saying we're going to have to do this for the rest of our lives, really? howard: yeah, that's pretty depressing and leads to criticism of the government. also fauci said on cnn he thinks the normal vaccines will be less effective against omicron, but "the new york times" has a story saying it will hardly be effective at all. now, it is very difficult to get an at-home virus test or even to go to a clinic because appointments are booked, pharmacies are sold out. i tried to get one yesterday for one of my kids. i don't think it's fair for the media to blame president biden for the fact that about 40% of the country remains unvaccinated, but is it fair for the press to hold the president accountable nearly two years into this pandemic over the lack of adequate testing? >> over the years we've when you are president, you get the credit, you get the blame. yeah. it's been about a year he's in office, so if people can't get enough testing or supplies to help get through this, then now it's on his watch. now it's no longer blame president trump -- howard: right. >> and so is i think that's the situation we're dealing with. howard: right. you mentioned should we measure it by hospitalizations. unfortunately, in a number of areas in this country hospitals are starting to report that they're getting pretty overloaded, and there's even some places that are postponing elective surgery and that sort of thing, so that could be the next big story. but, you know, we have such a powerful megaphone here, and if you trumpet each negative development from this city or this county, doesn't necessarily apply to the whole country, but it does kind of fuel fear. on the other hand, some of what we're hearing is pretty concerning. >> absolutely. and you've seen people across the country getting together for the holidays. christmas is less than a week out, and i think a lot of folks are wondering, like, should i go over to aunt so and so's house and have a little christmas tree or do we have to go back to last year and stay home? it feels like groundhog day to a certain degree. howard: yeah. unfortunately, that's the case. yesterday the national football league announced that it's dropping itsen mandated weekly its mandated weekly test for players who are vaccinated. is this moving the goalposts? >> perhaps, but i think they're trying to also incentivize the guys who were doing what they've asked them to do in terms of getting vaccinated, being a good citizen of the national football league. and there's this threat if they have to forfeit games, you would lose game checks. incentivize the guys by get your vaccination, if you're asymptomatic, you can continue to play. lots of football players when they have the new, and if that's kind of what it is, then at some point they're going to let them play. howard: i think the nfl's trying to save the season -- >> sure. howard: and, you know, there still can be breakthrough infections and changing, dropping the test doesn't change the reality. but i take your point. great perspective. mike emmanuel, thanks so much. >> thanks, howie. howard: still to come, cnn fires a producer, "the new york times" -- says he was wrong on inflation, that and much more coming up on the buzz meter. ♪ ♪ t but it's not like that's my only interest. i also love cooking with heart-healthy, idaho potatoes. always look for the grown in idaho seal. it's the season of smiling. and at aspen dental, we make it easy to gift yourself the smile you deserve. new patients, start today with a full exam and x-rays, with no obligation. if you don't have insurance, it's free. plus everyone saves 20% on their treatment plan with flexible payment solutions for every budget. we're here making smiles shine bright so you can start the new year feelin' alright. call 1-800-aspendental or book today at aspendental.com where's mom? she said she would be home in time for the show. don't worry, sweetie. she promised she'd be here for it. ooh! nice shot! thanks! glad we have xfinity, with wifi speed faster than a gig! me too! woah, look! mom is on tv! she's amazing! 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"the new york times" has fired a top editor for its section of consumer reviews after she left an angry and profane voicemail for a michigan gun rights group following the school shooting. how do you sleep at night, and aren't you just a little bit worried there might be a hell? adding that she's letting everyone at "the new york times" what -- know what she thinks of the group. a spokesperson says it imperils the reputation of wire cutter, the times and all of our journalists and is a clear violation of our policies and cannot be tolerated. meanwhile, times columnist paul krugman's been saying for months that the rising inflation caused by president biden's policies is just temporary. and, hey, he's won a nobel prize in economics. now he's admitting he blew it. economists like me were wrong while economists who did predict inflation were arguably right for the wrong reasons, and nobody really knows what's coming. that clears it up, but we appreciate the mea culpa. time may have elon musk as its person of the year, but the cover story noted that his sustains -- tesla and spacex -- have been accused of sexual and racial harassment, that self-driving cars have been invested for a number of crashes that caused injuries and one death, that musk was removed as tesla's board chairman. great choice, huh? but in fairness, musk has many successes. he's revolutionized battery-powers cars and space travel, and time doesn't mix -- pick the most heroic person, though it does sell magazines. cnn has fired a producer who has been accused of horrible misconduct. john griffin was arrested by the fbi over accusations that he groomed young girls for sex. in one case offering a mother $3,000 to return for access -- in return for access to her 9-year-old daughter. cnn called the charges deeply disturbing and quickly moved to terminate griffin. the allegations appear unrelated to his job at cnn. the customs and border control agency used a secret dethat base to -- database to achieve records of many journalists. agent jeffrey rambo, who sometimes used a fake name, explained to yahoo! news that his boss told them to vet the news. a customs official told yahoo! they don't investigate without a legal and legitimate basis. bruce just got a whole lot richer, bruce springsteening sold his writing catalog to as much as $500 million or more joining bob di loan, paul simon, neil young and others. i guess aging rock stars have to find a way to make some cash. get ready for all the born to run car commercials. and i'll spare you my rendition of my favorite springsteen songs. that's it for this edition of "mediabuzz." i'm howard curtis. let's continue the -- howard kurtz. check out my podcast, media buzz meter, you can subscribe at apple u tunes -- itunes or on your amazon device. we added that segment pretty much at the last minute at the omicron story has gotten bigger and bigger, and believe me, it is as frustrating for us in the business as it is for you out there. i think the media have to be really careful in their coverage. hard to do. we're back here next sunday. we'll see you then with the latest buzz. and a new seat at the table. ♪♪ i may have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. or psoriatic arthritis. and a new seat at the table. but we are so much more. we're team players and artists. designers and do-it-yourselfers. parents and friends. if joint pain is getting in the way of who you are, it's time to talk to your doctor about enbrel. enbrel helps relieve joint pain, and helps stop permanent joint damage. plus enbrel helps skin get clearer in psoriatic arthritis. ask your doctor about enbrel, so you can get back to your true self. play ball! enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders and allergic reactions have occurred. tell your doctor if you've been someplace where fungal infections are common. or if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if you have persistent fever, bruising, bleeding or paleness. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. visit enbrel.com to see how your joint damage could progress. enbrel. eligible patients may pay as little as $5 per month. if you used shipgo this whole thing wouldn't be a thing. yeah, dad! i don't want to deal with this. oh, you brought your luggage to the airport. that's adorable. with shipgo shipping your luggage before you fly you'll never have to wait around here again. . . easy way to travel. eric: fox news alert, pt, presit biden's build back better plan now in doubt. fellow democrat west virginia senator joe manchin announcing on fox news this sunday morning, after months of negotiations he is know on the president's two trillion dollar spending bill, dealing potential fatal blow to the president's domestic agenda the least for now. welcome to "fox news live." i'm eric shawn. hi, arthel. arthel: hello, eric, everyone, i'm arthel neville. the west virginia democrat says

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