holiday surge although the less severe omicron may mean fewer hospital visits. people looking to get tested are still finding long lines and delays getting results. this comes as thousands of travelers nationwide additional flight delays. and president biden criticism for saying there is no federal solution for is popping the sto. rehoboth beach traveling with the president who kept to himself. mike tobin at airport where flight cancellation and delays travelers trying to return home from the holidays. we start with steve harrigan in atlanta home of the cdc. good evening, steve. >> bret, good evening. the cdc made it official saying omicron is the most dominant strain of covid right now in the u.s. 58.6% cases in the u.s. are now the omicron variant. more than double the percentage of just one week ago. omicron has been more contagious but less lethal than delta. some medical warn the worst is still ahead. >> most of us are concerned there will be, over most of the country, a surge of cases and consequence hospitalization because of all of that mixing and reunion in getting together closely. we anticipate seeing that in the beginning of the new year. >> record case loads set this week in new york, new jersey, massachusetts, delaware and puerto rico. israel has begun a fourth dose of the covid vaccine. the one bright spot, hospitalizations lag behind the increasing cases. the cdc has cut its recommended isolation time for those who test positive for covid without symptoms in half from 10 days to 5. in part to reduce disruptions to the workforce by the rapid spread of omicron. >> the staffing shortages are certainly driving part of this. but there is science to indicate that infectious period is toward the beginning of when you are sick and often before you are tom is a. >> there is no requirement to test again after isolation ends. with tests in short supply people are waiting hours in lines or try to find home test kits for sale. >> i have been to seven pharmacies today and probably 8 yesterday just looking for the at home test kits. there are none to be had. somebody has got to do something. this is ridiculous. >> winter break will be extended for some students as dozens of universities have the start of spring semester including princeton which is going one step further. those princeton students will have to stay on campus for at least the first two months of the semester and we just learned that the holiday bowl, the college football bowl has been canceled clean ucla and nc states. reports that the bruins defensive line hit hard by covid. bret? >> bret: steve harrigan live in atlanta. thanks. tough for people who traveled out there for football game. with new year's eve around the corner, speaking of travel. holiday travel troubles not letting up. hundreds more flights canceled today on top of the thousands rounded since christmas eve. some airlines are blaming staffing shortages in part on the omicron variant. senior correspondent mike tobin is live at chicago o'hare international airport tonight. good evening, mike. >> >> bret: okay. we will go back to mike once we have him there you go, mike? >> yeah, i'm here. i hope we are okay. i was just telling you that i spoke with an airline spokesman who said they are moving staff around trying to fill staffing shortages, turns out the weather is not cooperating. let's take a look at the latest number. just over 1,149 flights were canceled today and that is still climbing. a slight improvement over yesterday. which saw more than 1400 flights canceled. saturday, some 15 -- or sunday i should say some 1500 flights were canceled. christmas day, people on just under 1,000 flights got the bad news. things started getting bad on christmas eve as cases spiked. people called in sick. and soon not enough staff to operate all of the flights. winter weather and people got stuck. >> i had originally a five hour layover which turned into like 11 hour layover and then the flight got canceled. >> they canceled the flight again. what are we chopped liver or something. >> down the runway and stopped and sat there for a second and pilot come on and said we are have got bad news for you and everyone goes. [sigh] >> yesterday the cdc cut in half the isolation time for employee who test positive. 10 days cut down to five if a person is asymptomatic. that raised from the group airlines for america issued a statement reading in part we appreciate the cdc's announcement today updating the isolation guidelines. the decision is the right one based on science. united arlings, delta, alaska airlines all saw more than 100 flights canceled today. weather is a factor. take, for instance, southwest airlines, they saw more than 80 flights canceled but a spokesperson says none of those flights was canceled due to illness or staffing issues. bret? >> bret: mike tobin live at o'hare, thanks. president biden is largely staying out of the public eye today despite growing criticism over his 180 on the federal government's role on controlling the pandemic. senior national correspondent rich he hadedson traveling with the president in rehoboth beach, delaware. >> a day after meeting with a grouch bipartisan governors president biden stressed quote my administration has the back of every governor fighting covid-19 in their state. we're going to get through this by working together. that tweet followed a day of relentless criticism from republicans over his message yesterday to governors. >> there is no federal solution. this gets solved. [clearing throat] at the state level. >> president biden campaigned last year promising a campaign response a day after taking office, he wrote in his national strategy, quote: for the past year we could not turn federal government for a national plan to answer prayers with action. until today. >> i think what changed his -- they had to actually govern and they found that it's a lot more difficult to govern than to just take pot shots at it. >> biden administration has relied heavily on vaccines. the cdc says more than three in five americans are fully vaccinated. though even the president acknowledges his administration should have pushed more testing months ago. the white house is now trying to secure 500 million at home tests to send americans free. though some governors worry that plan may hamper their plans to buy kits. >> the production of 500 million rapid tests that will be districted by the federal government but obviously that drives up the supply chain for the solutions that we might offer as governor. >> with more at home testing kits, there are concerns among health officials americans will refuse to share positive tests with local governments. meaning they may miss the full extent of omicron's spread. the president canceled another travel ban today. this was the one focused on several countries in southern africa about a month old. designed to slow the spread of omicron in the u.s., not needed anymore from the onset. the president also just briefly spoke with reporters. he was out taking his new dog commander for a walk. he says he has been on the phone much of the time here and that he has made some progress in procuring those at home tests. bret? >> bret: rich, another problem the administration is facing. a new report warning of more inflation ahead? >> that's right. bret. this is food, specifically it comes from a iri survey. it's a research firm. they are looking at 5% food and grocery inflation for the first half of next year. they say though that that varies by the type of grocery and the region where the groceries are sold. this is on top of the "wall street journal" report that says a number of different companies are already planning on food price increases next year. whether it's mustard, cookies, jell-o, those are all in the works. and also on top of a labor department report from november saying that the united states had inflation 6.8% compared to november a year prior, that's the highest level this country has seen since '82. bret? >> bret: rich edson, live in rehoboth beach, delaware with the president. thanks. stocks were mixed today the dow gained 96. the s&p 500 lost 5. the nasdaq dropped 90. officials at the cdc say influenza hospitalizations are on the rise with at least two child deaths reported so far. according to the newest data, the most intense flu activity it is in the nation's capitol, washington, d.c. states with high flu activity mexico, kansas, indiana, new jersey, tennessee, georgia and north dakota with that let's bring in fox news contributor dr. marc siegel. doc, thanks for joining us, let's start there. we have to remember as we battle covid that there is flu out there. and influenza can be a very serious thing. >> absolutely, bret. last year we had a mild flu season. and there is a couple of things that are worrying us this year. number one not well covered by the flu vaccine this year. you have to see what the southern hemisphere is doing. you make a guess, actually. this time they're off because there was a very mild season down in australia. and then the third, that we don't -- we mixing it up with covid. like the symptoms are too similar. flu doesn't have the same nasal congestion as covid does but same body aches and weakness and fatigue and fever and seeing kids getting sick with the flu. two deaths have occurred already. flu hospitalizations are going on. all of this taken together, make it a lot harder on me as a clinician to decide what's the flu and what's covid? good news, i can do tests for both. the flu test is a lot more available than the covid test. >> bret: but in an average flu season or aggressive flu season we have 30 to 60,000 people die from the flu, right? >> exactly. and, you know, that's what we're worrying could occur this year 30 to 60,000. nowhere near the order of what we are seeing from covid. the other problem with covid is you are seeing a lot more long term effects of covid. long covid. you are not seeing that with the flu. the flu tends to hit younger people more. you see more very sick children and teens with the flu. so we have got take the flu very seriously. >> bret: yeah, you know, i talk to a lot of folks in and around the country and there is just this sense of fatigue about covid. like they are just so sick of it especially now with omicron, possibly being less severe. there are some people that say why don't i just get this thing and get over with it. what do you say to them? >> i don't like that approach but i will say, bret, that it is less severe. multiple studies now have shown it's less severe. what i say instead is this: i say that if you get boosted the chances are you are going to have a very mild version. if you had covid before of a different variety and you get this with one shot or two shots, you are going to get a very mild variety. seeing the more severe omicron variety among those that haven't had a vaccine at all. i will say this, if you have omicron and looking in the rear view mirror, you have a super booster out of that not only that finding in a study from south africa yesterday that omicron actually decreases your ability to get delta. it actually gives you antibodies to delta. not just omicron. so in the rear view mirror, omicron is actually going to lead to a situation where we're going to get milder disease and may even get out of pandemic. but you don't want to get there by deliberately getting this virus. >> bret: yeah. last thing. and very quickly. speaking of south africa. you wrote a great op-ed about south africa canned unfortunately that affected them negatively but they have been pretty good when it comes to covid, fighting covid. >> you know, there are great scientists there they're the first to warn us about covid way back in early 2020. and then they came forward and they figured out that omicron was it can get you even if you had previous covid or if had you vaccine you could still get infected. they figured out it was very mild. now they figure out it actually gives you antibodies against delta. got hit for this. they got punished. that wasn't correct. the scientists i spoke to there, bret, are saying, you know what? we would do it all over again. they are true scientists and they are a paradigm. the world should learn from south africa where they did the first heart transplant, too. they were right at the forefront here. >> bret: dr. marc siegel as always, thank you. >> thanks, bret. >> bret: up next, democrats pivot to another legislative priority as president biden's social spending bill remains in limbo. first, here's what some of our fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight. fox 5 in san diego where federal investigators say small jet that crashed monday evenings originally taken off from orange county. four people on board. officials say firefighters found no survivors at the scene. an investigation is underway into the cause of that crash. fox 32 in chicago, our affiliate there where a lawsuit filed against the chicago blackhawks is dismissed. a former michigan high school student claims he was sexually assaulted by exassistant coach brad aldrich. the attorney for the former student and the black hawks both designed. this is a live look from wavy. we have a big story there tonight. conservation experts pulled books, coins, documentation and other artifacts from a time capsule believed to be from 1887. crews unearthed the aged copper box pedestal once held the statue of robert e. lee, it's the second time capsule to have been found in that pedestal. that's tonight's live look outside the beltway from "special report." we'll be right back. ♪ growing up in a little red house, on the edge of a forest in norway, there were three things my family encouraged: kindness, honesty and hard work. over time, i've come to add a fourth: be curious. be curious about the world around us, and then go. go with an open heart, and you will find inspiration anew. viking. exploring the world in comfort. 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(combative yelling) therabreath, it's a better mouthwash. at walmart, target and other fine stores. superpowers from a spider bite? i could use some help showing the world how liberty mutual customizes their car insurance. ow! i'm ok! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ only in theaters december 17th. new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. when you sponsor a job, you immediately get your shortlist of quality candidates, whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. visit indeed.com/hire and get started today. this is elodia. she's a recording artist. whose resumes on indeed 1 of 10 million people that comcast has connected to affordable internet in the last 10 years. and this is emmanuel, a future recording artist, and one of the millions of students we're connecting throughout the next 10. through projectup, comcast is committing $1 billion so millions more students, past... and present, can continue to get the tools they need to build a future of unlimited possibilities. >> bret: jurors in the sex trafficking trial of british sloot ghislaine maxwell heading home tonight after wrapping up day five of dlingzs. the judge says he will require deliberations every day moving forward including over the weekend until they reach a verdict citing the omicron surge. jurors say they are making progress in deciding whether maxwell aided jeffrey epstein in the sexual abuse of teenage girls. police in colorado are search for a motive after gunman went on a shooting spree stretching from denver to nearby suburban lakewood friday night. five people including the gunman killed in that incident. the suspect died in a shootout with officers. at least three people were also wounded including a police officer. just moments ago, president biden made brief comments to reporters -- let's take a listen. rehoboth beach. okay, we don't have it yet. we will get that for you momentarily. meantime, democrats are shifting their legislative focus tonight after president biden's massive social spending package was put on hold. they are now honing in on the controversial voting rights bill which critics argue gives too much power to the federal government. here is congressional correspondent aishah hasnie. >> fight to voting right returns center stage as the democrats try to hand the president legislative win. >> 20th century jim crow assault is free. >> a number of red states passed restrictive voting laws this year. in georgia the controversy cost the state major league baseball's all-star game as the counter measure democratic lawmakers are pushing legislation that would create an automatic voter registration system. ban photo i.d. requirements. create nonpartisan redistricting commissions, and prevent states from rolling back pandemic voting practices. majority leader chuck schumer is even threatening to change the filibuster threshold to just 50 votes in order to bypass a g.o.p. blockade. as vice president kamala harris warns the u.s. will lose its standing in the world if congress fails to act. >> we're about to take ourselves off the map as a role model. >> as fox news analyst found it's not always red vs. blue. the president's home state of delaware, for example, has fewer days of early voting than georgia or texas. and georgia does not require voters to give an excuse for absentee voting while delaware and new york do. in fact, in november, liberal new yorkers overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to change that. republicans say the left is waging a battle based on falsehoods. >> most americans understand that certain basic ballot security measures guarantee the integrity of their own vote do and prevent the temptation to cheat by others. >> and, bret, leader schumer wants to hold a vote on the filibuster early in the new year. but without two key democrats, senators kyrsten sinema and joe manchin he won't have the votes to change the longstanding senate rule, bret? >> bret: aishah, thank you. speaking now of that soundbite we thought we had it but the sound is not that great. but here's what the president said. he said he has not talked to senator joe manchin this week about moving forward with build back better. also hasn't determined whether he is going to meet with vladimir putin on january 10th. he says we'll see. again, the audio was not that great so we are not going to play it how about that? up next, the latest on the crime crisis plus one of america's closest allies indicates it may be changing its stance towards the iran nuke ler deal show you what's at stake with that beyond our borders tonight taliban fighters bring abrupt end shooting gunfire into the air. footage captured afghan women demanding food supplies and work opportunities screaming and fleeing the shooting. sought to project more moderate image saying women and girls will be able to attend school and work in accordance with slack law. a famed russian novelty artist gives a nod to 2022 the chinese year of the tiger by sculpting a family of the big cats with manure. the artist says he has been using manure as primary creative material since 2011. his previous works include a giant cobra, horses, monkeys and a covid ramming bull. just some of the other stories beyond our borders tonight. we'll be right back. ♪ among my patients, i often see them have teeth sensitivity as well as gum issues. does it worry me? absolutely. sensodyne sensitivity & gum gives us the dual action effect that really takes care of both our teeth sensitivity as well as our gum issues. there's no question it's something that i would recommend. >> bret: grim new data as the nation's crime wave continues, at least 16 cities stretching from coast to coast have broken their all-time homicide records in 2021. hundreds of others are seeing their highest rates in more than two decades. we still have a few more days in this year. it's not over yet. national correspondent shows us tonight. >> start off with two minutes and 14 seconds recognizing the 134 lives that have been lost in the city of oakland to homicide this year. >> oakland is not alone. at least 16 cities this year saw their highest homicide rates since the 1990s. >> violence, dangerous offenders on the street has reached a tipping point. >> even some big city democratic mayors are being forced to confront their own statistics. >> it's time that the reign of criminals destroying the city time to come to an end. >> some residents leave their cars unlocked to prevent thieves from stealing their vehicle. >> it's never been safe to be a criminal and never less safe to be a citizen. >> after the death of george floyd and protests to follow. many democrat led cities defunded police and voters then elected prosecutors who favor lesser charges and shorter sentences like philadelphia's larry krasner who argue despite a 1% jump in homicides there, other crimes are down. >> there is not a big spike in crime that is not true. there is also not a big spike in violent crime. >> krasner is one of eight progressive prosecutors in major u.s. cities now playing defense. some of the d.a.s blame the media for copycat crimes like smash and grab robberies. critics, however, blame them for no bail and less jail policies. >> when you think chicago, people are afraid. it's like it's a death zone. >> nationwide, police faced a 50% increase in physical assaults this year. and 24% increase in gun fatalities. >> this is taking an incredible toll. >> no surprise this year is on pace for record gun sales and that fear of crime goes to the polls next year as voters seek to answer the question has the pendulum swung too far to the left do and americans want it to return in the other direction? bret? >> bret: william, thank you. a fresh round of negotiations underway in vienna, iranian officials are meeting with five world powers today trying to restore the tattered 2015 nuclear deal. and now israel appears to be shifting its position signaling it is open to an accord it deems beneficial. correspondent alex hogan shows us tonight from london. >> israel announcing it won't automatically dismiss a nuclear agreement with iran. prime minister that tally bennett says he will support a good deal despite skepticism of such a possibility. israel's former prime minister benjamin netanyahu strongly opposed the obama administration's nuclear deal with iran in 2015. the country demanding tighter restrictions this time around. >> israel will not let iran become a nuclear threshold state. if necessary, we will act alone. we will defend ourselves by ourselves. >> this week's negotiations in vienna mark the eighth attempt to resume talks. the u.s. and iran speaking indirectly. russia calling today's work indisputable progress. iran also optimistic so far. >> intent is seen alongside resolve and future round of talks, even reaching a quick agreement in the near future is foreseeable. >> critics cautioning the white house to take a stronger stance. >> in if the iranians are not willing to negotiate in good faith. walk away and return to the maximum pressure trump administration. this comes amid tightened restrictions in the middle east. israel launching an airstrike early this morning on syrians main commercial port. israel has recently ramped up attacks targeting iranian backed fighters in syrians civil war. over in iran this week, the military firing off 16 ballistic missiles sending what it calls a very clear message to israel. the long range missiles can travel up to 1200 miles potentially putting israel in its path. iran, however, argues its nuclear ambitions are peaceful as this latest rounds of talk continue. bret? >> bret: alex hogan in london. alex, thank you. up next, the panel on america's crime crisis and democrats' legislative pivot to voting rice bill some republicans are calling a threat to democracy. >> this new sinister combination of voter suppression, election subversion is unamerican. >> this whole idea that they are trying to save the voting rights act is a lie. ♪ priceline can help you make the most of your budget, saving up to 40% on your flight. ooh, we have a comment from the airport announcers. 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(muffled, distorted) ...43... not better. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ experience the power of sanctuary at the lincoln wish list event. before nexium 24hr, anna could only imagine a comfortable night's sleep without frequent heartburn waking her up. now, that dream... . ...is her reality. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts, for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? ♪ >> i said before we are facing the most significant test of our democracy since the civil war. that's not hyperbole, since the civil war. >> this is enormously important issue. democracy is at stake. >> our democracy is at stake. >> people around the world watch what we do as america and right now we are about to take ourselves off the map as a role model. >> they want a federal takeover election. >> the direct threat to our republic. the threat to our national security is sitting right there at 1600 pennsylvania avenue and both the vice president and the president. >> bret: the shift has happened now from build back better, although democrats say they are still going to try to move forward. we heard from the president tonight. he hasn't spoken to senator joe manchin about a way forward for his vote. but the voting rights bill is now the focus. they don't have the votes though. manchin, kyrsten sinema from arizona are not there on this. the federalist, which is against this bill writes it this way: democrats pivot back to radical election bill that would ban voter i.d. it would force states implement automatic voter registration, early voting. same day registration and no fault absentee balloting. it would require states to allow ballot harvesting. ban voter i.d. laws nationwide and limit access to federal courts for anyone who challenges such legislation. if passed, democrats' extreme elections laws would cause widespread chaos othat would make the 2020 election fallout look like a walk in the park with that bring in our panel syndicated radio host hugh hewitt. former white house press secretary co-host of outnumbered kayleigh mcenany, and harold ford jr. former tennessee congressman and ceo of empowerment and inclusion capital. howard, let me start with you. obviously the federalist has a point of view what they are saying the list of things actually are included in the bill. it's still negotiating about the around the edges. but while some of that everyone is fine with, there are some things in there that are major problems, especially for republicans. >> well, first off, thanks for having me on, merry christmas and happy new year. i think that there are probably some democrats who may have some issue with some of the things in the legislation in the package. i think the john lewis act, which is not this bill, calls for something narrower and really focuses on two things. how do you get and ensure as many people as possible can vote. how do we ensure we know who those people are who they are. and how can we ensure those votes can be counted quickly and efficiently and honestly that should be the focus. i would imagine if senator manchin and others including senator sinema will demand that i do hope that some of my republican friends though as concerned as they bore things that happened in 2020, we should all be reminded that there was no widespread fraud. there was little to no fraud and that was decided not by democrats or republicans in congress but by the courts themselves try so sit down, take a deep breath and figure out how we do the basics and things in this bill which are sort of outside the norm. >> bret: kayleigh, there are things that republicans could be pushing for when it comes to voter rights, for example voter i.d. that they may think improv the situation but it's done from a federal level in these bills as opposed to state by state. >> and that's just it the "wall street journal" called the fact that this bill did not pass, it was 49 to 51 the last time it was voted on back in october. they called that a victory for constitutional democracy. i would agree with that constitutional federalism, rather. when you look at what this bill would do in practice it would wipe out voter i.d. laws in 36 states. neuter them. voter i.d. is very popular. majority approval. upwards of 80% i have seen in some polls. wipe out 36 state laws and wipe out another 16 state laws because it would federalize, give you a right to get a mail-in ballot and on top of that 27 more laws in states across the country that do not allow felons to vote until they have gone through parole. those would be wiped out. total and complete federalizing of elections and also very curious to me, bret. i will just end with this that kamala harris, the vice president has so elevated this battle in the public eye by talking about the lack of passing this bill as a national security threat she has really elevated the rhetoric puts a huge spotlighted on a bill that is going to be doomed. >> bret: yeah. we are talking about the substance of the bill. but, obviously, to get there, hugh, we have talked about changing of the filibuster in the senate, the 60-vote threshold in order to get there without the votes of manchin, sinema, others. just because we can we go back to the tape from senator biden, 2005, about majority rule. take a listen. >> we represent the majority of the american people. but in this chamber, it's irrelevant. and it should be. this never intended in any sense to be a majoritarian institution. this distinctive quality of the senate was part of that great compromise without which we would not have a constitution. >> bret: now, that congress, the 109th was majority republicans 55 to minority democrats 44 seats. hugh? >> well, chuck schumer is going to give harry reid a run for his money as worst majority leader ever, bret if he brings this to the floor in the face of an obvious defeat. senator sinema is from arizona. arizona sued and successfully won their challenge to uphold in the brnovich vs. democratic national committee voting rights case last year their right to ban ballot harvesting. now, yesterday the president embraced federalism. he said only the states can save us from covid. the collision you played tonight are the most anti-federalist clips possible. they want one system, a national takeover. they want a preclearance of any new state law passed by any state legislature, democrat or republican. it is political malpractice. now, if the democrats want to go into 2022 with their signature issue being preclearance of voting law changes, let them. it will be a massacre but if they have got nothing else to talk, about i guess chuck schumer has to talk about that. >> bret: all right, panel, stand by if you would. up next, the omicron case surge. the president's response. we'll talk about the crime crisis as well. ♪ ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high 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last look at my dashboard before we board. excellent. and you have thinkorswim mobile- -so i can finish analyzing the risk on this position. you two are all set. have a great flight. thanks. we'll see ya. ah, they're getting so smart. choose the app that fits your investing style. ♪♪ >> why should have had tests available hopefully now as we get into the first couple of weeks of january it will get much better. >> they want everybody to take these tests but weren't making sure supply was there to take the test. >> we had a short fall under the trump administration we started with zero and needed to build the entire infrastructure. we were not going to stop until we had a billion per month. they stopped couple hundred million per month in the midst of a pandemic we don't have fda commissioner and testing coordinator there is no accountability. >> bret: criticism is building for the biden administration on the issue of covid. something that he obviously ran on as a candidate to get leecketted. back with the panel. harold, how big a problem politically is this about the testing and about where we are with what the administration has done so far? >> well, this is a shortcoming. we should have more tests. i listened to the previous speaker there. and he is right. i do think those who are being critical of the administration around the testing have every right to do that. but i would hope it would give them some credit for urging people to be vaccinated. one thing we do know is our greatest weapon against hospitalization and death whether it's omicron and fortunately, thankfully, prayerfully omicron seems to be affecting people in a milder way. the real weapon against delta and against covid-19 in terms of hospitalization and worse is being vaccinated. so, the administration is going to hope that dr. fauci is right at the beginning of the year get more tests, i have young kids back in school in new york city. i hope the kids are able to get tested there for that matter all across the country. >> bret: you, kayleigh, fielded a lot of questions about the federal response vs. the state response and then when the president, president biden said that this week about the federal government is not really can't solve, this what were your thoughts? >> i was a little stunned by it because obviously it runs contrary to his words as a candidate. so, they were a bit alarming to hear because the federal government certainly has a huge role in amplifying supply, providing supply to states i think it says it all when you compare year 2020 and year 2021 this is a novel pathogen came into our country which we had no test and no therapeutics, the drad got 100 emergency use authorizations between march and july, upscaled testing by 32,00, the united states had the most advanced testing system in the world, administered more test in the western hemisphere combined. that's a compelling story that the trump administration had to tell. you have to wonder why in june and july abbott scaled back their testing i had a source tell me there was no indication from the federal government as for the demand for testing. why did the administration drop the ball? we had the most advanced testingment? world and no we are behind much of the western world. >> bret: i want to turn topics and crime is another topic that is really affecting the country coast to coast. the number of big cities seeing high homicide rates. take a listen to a couple folks on the crime crisis. >> the president has never supported defunding the police. he has always been adequate for adequate funding and ensuring that police departments and community policing programs have exactly what they need. >> you elect prosecutors and city officials in places like chicago and san francisco that basically delegitimize and stigmatize law enforcement and they will not prosecute crimes and so you see more of it. >> bret: to that point, the "the washington examiner" hugh writes cities that broke homicide records in 2021 veered right on crime and policing. many of the 12 cities that experienced record levels of violence in 2021 moved over the past two years to cut police funding, overhaul law enforcement policies or put fewer people behind bars, even some democratic lawmakers have begun to rethink the reforms championed by activists as the number of homicides nationwide has climbed. the biden white house for example has repeatedly attempted to distance its policies from the defund the police movement that some democrats have come to view as harmful to their electoral prospects. hugh? >> you know, bret, this is a series of non-prosecutors. they are not prosecutors. they are non-prosecutors. boudin in san francisco. krasner was on earlier saying up is down, down is up. everything is fine in philadelphia. this is a crime wave. it is brought about by nonenforcement, boot demoralization and defunding of the police it's sitting on the democratic shoulders. and especially sitting on non-prosecutors. fox 26 in houston ran a story 155 people had been murdered in the last period of time by people who are out on bond. so these non-prosecutors are driving a serious deterioration of the quality of life in america and it will be an issue in 2022. >> bret: you have some democrats, for example, the new mayor of new york, harold, who has taken a different approach and maybe that's going to have to be the approach for some democrats to take. >> i tend to think that most democrats are where eric adams our new mayor of new york city is around crime. is he going to put a lot of the units back on the street that were taken off the street under the previous mayor. if i were president biden, i would partner with adam and other mayors, i would create task forces across the country. flood these cities with fbi and more police officers. and even swat teams. you cannot have criminals believing that they can smash and grab in communities and neighborhoods and cities across this country without not only an overt but a massive response. not only from local officials but from federal officials as well. >> bret: all right, panel, thank you. when we come back, sr tuesday tweets. ♪ your shipping manager left to “find themself.” leaving you lost. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire at university of phoenix, we have scholarships for everyone hard at work, no matter where you work. get up to a $3,000 scholarship, starting with your first course. explore your opportunities at phoenix.edu >> bret: it's time for tuesday tweets. first, from mr. tate. what's the best interview you think you have ever done on your show. that's a good question. i think candidates during election years and presidents are big interviews. actually where i felt most prepared was for former fbi director james comey. that interview and that back and forth. all right, next, from david, what do you believe is the top story of 2021. finish the republic great read. thanks for reading it. appreciate it obviously i think afghanistan and that debacle is a big story but overall 2021 is going to be about covid and how it was handled or not handled. all right. ing doggy does the 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. time spot make it hard to get to the cap's game a section 116 fan? i am a season ticket holder i do go to games as much as i can it is tough to get there usually mid first period we make it if we can. all right, go caps. tomorrow on "special report" we will dive into why residents leaving the nation's capital at higher rate than any other city. that's it for "special report" fair balanced and unafraid. "fox news primetime" i guess for the rest of the week hosted by ben domenech starts right now, right, ben? >> ben: as far as i know if they will let me. thanks so much. [laughter] >> ben: good evening and welcome to "fox news primetime," i'm ben domenech. well, so that is that. now we must dismantle the tree, putting the decorations back into their cardboard boxes. some have gotten broken and carrying them up to the attic, the holly and the mistletoe must be taken down and burnt and the children got ready for school there are enough leftovers to do warmed up for the rest of the week not that we have much appetite having drunk such a lot. stayed up so late. attempted quite successfully to love all of our relatives and in general grossly overestimated our powers. i hope

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