the virus is taking no time off. the u.s. had a new single day record for infections, 440,000 not including at-home tests. >> julie: all this is prompting the white house to consider a new vaccine mandate for domestic air travel. south dakota gov government >> he continues to impose mandates on the country. this president has taken unprecedented action to impose on the liberties and freedoms of the american people. >> benjamin: david spunt is traveling with the president in delaware. good morning, david. >> good morning to you. a difficult morning when you look at those covid numbers specifically yesterday we reached the highest amount of daily cases since the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020. getting ready to enter the third year of this nightmare that's really stretched across the world. clearly those numbers not going in the right direction. the white house keenly aware of that situation all the way up to the president of the united states who is here in wilmington, delaware this week. the president on monday made a comment there is no federal response when it comes to covid-19 and trying to eradicate covid-19. but there is a federal plan. he is under increasing pressure to make a decision about whether he will mandate vaccinations for the millions of people who get on a plane or even train to travel. last night while taking a walk on the beach here in delaware with the first lady and his new dog, commander, the president was specifically asked about travel mandates. listen. >> when will you make a decision on domestic travel? >> the president leaving from the camera there. when he gets a recommendation from the medical team. he considers to receive criticism not for the vaccination numbers but the testing. testing is and continues to be a serious problem with people waiting not one or two but three or four hours in line to get a test in some places. the president admitted his team was behind the 8 ball on testing and to make matters worse the fda expressed concerns about the antigen rapid tests where you swab your nose and gives you results in 15 or 20 minutes. there are concerns how accurate they are. the administration plans to send out 500 million tests to homes if people request them. something top medical experts maintain should have been done a year ago if not more on a continuing basis to stay ahead of the testing curve. then there was a "vanity fair" report, detailed investigation into the fact according to the report that the white house turned down an opportunity to get ahead of the testing several months ago. the white house, president says it is not true. the author of that article is standing by her article vehemently. today at 11:00 in two hours we'll hear from the president's covid team and bring any important details from that to all of you watching. benjamin. >> benjamin: thanks, i know you'll watch that for us in delaware. thanks. >> julie: for more on this let's bring in james freeman, assistant editor for the "wall street journal" editorial page and fox news contributor. james, great to see you this morning. >> you, too. thanks, julie. >> julie: let's talk about the cdc's report yesterday saying it was the single highest day of covid test results turning positive because there is a problem here. first of all the tracking situation with home tests not being included in this number. really the white house doesn't really have a handle on not only home tests but the actual number of covid cases in the country considering they can't possibly keep track of every home test people are taking and quarantining since people aren't reporting it. how is it the white house has a handle on the rise in cases if they don't know how many cases are out there? >> he was accurate when he said there is no federal solution although it will make a lot of people wonder since he has emphasized his testing plan since he was a candidate back in march you will recall he enacted a nearly $2 trillion covid plan that included section 2401 on testing. more than $47 billion. if congressional overseers are interested in looking into this, there is a big question of why that wasn't done. however, i think for a lot of people when you see a lot of governors now thinking that the biden testing effort next month, whenever it ends up rolling out, is probably not going to matter much. they are focused on treatment, on hospitalization numbers. the encouraging news as you've noted is while this omicron variant spreads very quickly, the u.k. and south africa research suggests it is not as harmful. so i think if the president wants to try and make himself useful at this point i think he should focus on treatments and getting rid of any barriers to new treatments. they talk about flu ox mean which may be a hopeful treatment as well. >> julie: you are sounding like benjamin hall last week. everybody is losing their voice. let me just ask you. take your time and clear your throat. as far as the president's availability, the president's forthrightness if you will on getting the information out to the american public, he hasn't really said much other than the fact that the federal government isn't doing a very good job at tracking this. he had to walk his dog to the media to get a question to him and how they manageded to get a one on with him by walking his dog. what do you think of the media coverage of this and compare it to how the media covered president trump when covid cases were rising? >> it is night and day, isn't it? i think this recent -- these recent commence from president biden essentially there is no federal plan, the whole premise or one of the central premises of his campaign last year was donald trump didn't have a plan, joe biden did. i think we're seeing there was no plan or it wasn't implemented. i think looking back give a lot of credit to president trump for operation warp speed developing the vaccines. but i think if our colleagues in the press could do some good now it would be really focusing on treatment and motivating the white house. i think we'll find when it comes to that drug from pfizer that the president didn't buy enough of that, either. if he and the media want to focus now, given we can't contain covid, how do you treat it is best and how do you get those resources out to people who need it? >> julie: all right. lastly president biden patted himself about the fact that gas prices had started to dip a bit after they rose but there is a study out there in fact that there is going to be a steady increase, new prediction from gas buddy suggests his actions are only temporary. gas could hit $4 a gallon by memorial day next year and spell lots of trouble for democrats trying to convince americans that they deserve to stay in control of the house and senate. it is not just covid they have to worry about, it's inflation and rising gas prices and it is just this whole mess lumped into one. >> that's right. we hit a 39 year high last month in inflation. it is not just gasoline. gas is a big part of it and a big psychological part of it. we all notice that one. the white house has been trying to persuade oil companies to pump more oil. this is while they are at the same time pursuing lots of policies to discourage the use of fossil fuels. so there is this schizophrenia in the white house policy here. i don't know if oil companies who obviously are under a lot of pressure from investors to deliver profits and not spend too much are going to be persuaded by the white house, even as it continues this push in build back better which would be half a trillion of programs to discourage use of fossil fuels. i don't know why anyone would want to invest in that environment? >> julie: james freeman, good morning and thank you very much for talking to us. see you next time. >> benjamin: concerns about americans' health to shrinking pocket books the u.s. pumped out 13 million gallons of oil per day but it dropped by 2 million barrels daily this year raising fears that energy prices will rise. jeff, is that an oil refinery? >> the cracker unit behind me where they begin the process of turning oil into gasoline. increasingly picking up on the discussion, it is going to cost you more at the pump as we go forward in 2022. gas buddy, the folks that keep track of gas prices put out their price forecast this morning. the numbers aren't pretty. take a look at what the average household spent this year compared to what it will spend next year to fill up their cars and trucks. we spent less than $2,000 this past year on average for households to fill up our vehicles in 2021. 2022 we'll spend $364 more. they break it down by mouth and they say june will be the worst month. the national average could be $4.13, that high. it would be as high as it's ever been. we talked to andy, an oil guru and analyst about the reasons for that. it goes right to your discussion with james freeman about exploration. take a listen. >> they're up about 60% since last december. because the economies around the world have reopened on the one hand but on the other hand there has been a lack of investment in the oil pack in order to get more oil out of the ground. >> as james freeman pointed out the focus on green energy and the deemphasis on fossil fuels has meant a lot less investment and meant less discovery. look at these numbers. last year 4.7 billion barrels of new oil discovered. sounds like a lot, right? not so much. it is just a third of what was discovered in the previous year and the lowest amount of new oil discovery since 1946. that's 75 years if you do the math. now those pipelines that we went to such trouble to build over the course of the past four years the try to move oil make us better at being energy independent and export oil, they are largely empty. about 50% pipeline utilization right now according to the company that keeps track of that. usually it's 70 to 80%. it is going to be a tough year if you have a car. maybe it is time to take a scooter or something. benjamin. >> benjamin: jeff paul live in new jersey. worrying statistics. thank you very much. >> julie: the world of politics, harry reid the former senate majority leader from nevada has died. he passed away in henderson after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. reid was first elected to the senate in 1987 and he never doubted his stance on the issues. reid was always outspoken, never afraid to lock horns with the other side. he was a boxer before becoming a lawyer and entering politics. mitch mcconnell saying the nature of harry as and my jobs are brought us into frequent and intense conflict but i never doubted that harry was always doing what he earnestly deeply felt was right for nevada and our country. harry reid was 82. >> benjamin: a u.s. official is accusing iran of dragging its feet in the latest round of negotiations while ramping up its nuclear program. should the u.s. remain at the bargaining table if iran won't commit to change? plus the death of john madden. leaving the nfl world shaken. honoring him next. >> john was the authoritative voice for our sport and in a lot of ways he still is. veteran homeowners- you made a smart move when you bought your home. now make another one and turn your equity into cash. with the newday 100 va loan you can take out up to $60,000 or more. veteran homeowners- with home values at all-time highs and rates at near all-time lows now's the time to do more with your home equity. veterans are calling newday at a record pace to take advantage of the newday 100 va loan. you can borrow up to 100% of your home's value to upgrade the kitchen, add a pool for the grandkids, or have the security of cash in the bank. with an average cash out amount of $60,000, you can do more. finally. our honeymoon. it took awhile, but at least we got a great deal on our hotel with kayak. i was afraid we wouldn't go.. with our divorce and.... great divorce guys. yeah... search 100s of travel sites at once. kayak. search one and done. with directv stream i can get live tv and on demand anywhere. look, serena williams... matrix... serena... matrix... serena... matrix... ♪ ♪ ♪ get your tv together with the best of live and on demand. introducing directv stream. >> football is my life. it's something i say proudly. but it's complicated. you can't write the history of professional football without john madden. >> yelling and screaming at guys. >> he was a coaching genius. >> julie: more sad news to report this morning. john madden, one of the nfl's most iconic figures has died. he passed away yesterday. they did not give a cause. madden first gained fame as coach of the oakland raiders winning the super bowl following the 1976 season but after he retired from the sidelines, madden turned into a household name as a tv analyst. he practically became the face of the nfl explaining the game in fun and exciting ways that drew in even casual fans. his death comes days after a fox sports documentary on his incredible life. john madden was 85. sports broadcasters do bring the game to life for somebody like myself who watch the game. i enjoy watching them more because they bring so much excitement and passion and you can just see every time that you saw his face talking about the game that he loved so much, his passion just really came through the television screen. >> benjamin: yeah, absolutely. i grew up in the u.k. as an american citizen and it was through madden that an entire generation of people around the world introduced football because of the video game. there wasn't a single household you could go to that didn't have a copy of the game. overnight people in all countries started playing the game and learning the plays. what he did to the sport globally this remarkable. you learn a lot about people when they pass away. i've been doing that today. how humble he was and generous he was. and to all the pictures you keep seeing is his passion for the game. every moment he is loving what he is doing. it was a titan of the sport and one quote he said he was asked whether he was a coach, broadcaster or video game guy and he said i'm a coach. always been a coach. i think going back that is what was in his heart and a titan of the game my thoughts and prayers out to his family. >> julie: once a coach, always a coach and absolutely. that's what made him so great at what he did. he knew what it was like behind the scenes. you can catch a reair of all maden the documentary. he airs tonight at 9:00 and 10:30 eastern on fs1 and tomorrow 8:00 p.m. eastern on fox. be re to watch. >> benjamin: u.s. officials are calling for caution despite iran and russia's upbeat take on the latest round of nuclear talks in vienna. >> there may have been so modest progress but it is in some ways too soon to say how substantive that progress may have been. at a minimum any progress we believe is falling short of iran's accelerating nuclear steps and is far too slow. >> benjamin: general jack keane is a senior strategic analyst and retired four star general. the eighth round of talks coming at a time when iran is enriching its uranium to 60 percent and spreads it nefarious activities around the middle east and renegotiate things in the last round of the talks. how long does the administration try to reach a deal? or should they cut and break? >> i actually this the administration is more anxious to make this deal than the iranians are and that's the problem. that's what we had when the original deal was made and so hefsh lie criticized. we were so anxious to make a deal at any cost. that's kind of where we are now. we have the iranians as you mentioned enriching uranium up to 60%, supposed to be under 4% in accordance with the original deal and they are stockpiling highly enriched uranium in 10 to 11 times greater than what the original deal stipulated. so i think what the united states is trying to do is get them back to the original deal as much as possible and the iranians are likely not going to budge very much. what are they looking for here? one thing and one thing only, remove all the sanctions. that's what is on the table to them. so that's kind of where we are going into this thing. i really think it is a lost opportunity, benjamin. biden administration has a tendency to reject everything the trump people done. with the sanctions on iranians was having a significant impact on their economy, yes, they hadn't come back to the negotiating table. they were waiting to see if trump was reelected or not. the second thing is the killing of soleimani in january 2020 rocked the iranians and put them back on their heels. and we had leverage there with our gulf allies and the abraham accords taking place in negotiation west the israelis. it was the strongest position the united states had been in some time in the middle east. and the administration came in and walked away from all of what i just said. that was really unfortunate. we don't have a strong hand to play in these negotiations to be frank about it. >> benjamin: general i want to get your views on another topic. russia a big issue at the moment. now we're hearing from president biden he is not ruling out a meeting with vladimir putin. what exactly does that say and message it sends that he would be willing to meet with a leader who started to threaten aggressive actions against ukraine? doesn't it send a message that everyone who might do that will get a seat at the table with america? president biden refusing to deny he may meet with putin. what do you make of that, general? >> i'm more concerned about where are we policy-wise dealing with putin as opposed to whether there is actually a face the face or a virtual meeting between the two leaders. putin finally has declared what he is interested in and put it in writing and handed it to the united states. he wants a treaty. he wants an agreement with the united states that there will be a moratorium on any nato expansion whatsoever from this date forward. he wants to make certain there is no arms or lethal aid provided to ukraine. he also doesn't want get this, the nato bases that are in eastern europe, he doesn't want those bases strengthened and the last thing is it's pretty rich, he doesn't want nato to deploy any intermediate nuclear weapons. remember, it was his deployment of the intermediate nuclear weapons that forced the united states to come out of the inf3. it is all about nato expansion. we have to play our cards here. we cannot fold on any of these issues. we can agree with putin to have annual security arrangements discussions about what has taken place to make certain that we aren't misinterpreting what is taking place. but in terms of countries in europe deciding who they want to be politically and militarily aligned with, that's up to those countries, not up to mr. putin. >> benjamin: putin seems to be making demands that nato surely cannot give in to. thank you so much for joining us this morning. we really appreciate it. take care and happy new year. >> same to you, benjamin. thank you. >> julie: the spread of omicron sparking new concerns over keeping schools open. >> my question to the mayor and cps is simply what will it take to shut down a school building when covid is running rampant? >> julie: chicago's teachers union threatening the districts to revert to online learning as students are about to return from the holidays. we'll talk to a father who says that decision would force his wife to quit her job and be detrimental to his child. it was really holding me back. standing up... ...even walking was tough. my joints hurt. i was afraid things were going to get worse. i was always hiding, and that's just not me. not being there for my family, that hurt. woooo! i had to do something. i started cosentyx®. i'm feeling good. watch me. cosentyx helps people with psoriatic arthritis move, look, and feel better. it targets more than just joint pain and treats the multiple symptoms like joint swelling and tenderness, back pain, helps clear skin and helps stop further joint damage. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections—some serious —and the lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. tell your doctor if your crohn's disease symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reactions may occur. it's good to be moving on. watch me. move, look, and feel better. ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. ♪ ♪ learning is hard work. hard work requires character. learning begins in faith. it must move upwards toward the highest thing, unseen at the beginning - god. and freedom is essential to learning. its principles must be studied and defended. learning, character, faith, and freedom: these are the inseparable purposes of hillsdale college. veteran homeowners- you deserve more. more cash, more savings, and more financial learning, character, faith, and freedom: peace of mind. newday can help you get it with the newday 100 va cash out loan. it lets you borrow up to 100% of your home's value: up to $60,000 or more. and veterans are saving an average of $615 every month. with more ways to help more veteran families, no bank, no lender, no one knows veterans like newday usa. >> julie: 911 dispatcher in chicago ripping into mayor lori lightfoot in a 28 minute facebook rant in the surge of violent crime across the city. watch this. >> it is outrageous and i'm not happy. when you say chicago, people are afraid. it's like it's a death zone. some officers who texted me, okay, said they were scared. they are tired of this nonsense. they have no backing and they are still being out there by themselves. this mayor does not care about chicago police officers period. she doesn't care about any police officers or about the damn city. >> julie: keith thornton blames lightfoot's lack of leadership because of the crime spike. an overall increase in murders, sexual assaults and other crimes compared to the same time last year. ♪♪♪ >> benjamin: chicago is also the scene of a brand-new battle over in-person learning and talking about remote learning as covid cases begin to rise. senior correspondent mike tobin is out of chicago with the latest. hey, mike. >> the question really is for parents are you ready for a return to remote learning? winter break for most schools end january 3 or 4. with omicron cases, covid cases surging a lot of teachers are leaning in that direction. chicago teachers union polled the rank and file and the teachers responding said they would support a remote work action and shift back to remote learning. they were demanding that the mayor provide more covid testing, get more access to vaccination and improve contact tracing. with teachers coming down with covid they say they expressed some concern that there were not enough adults in school to maintain safety and order. >> there does nothing -- the members, parents and students are risking their lives and health every single day that they come in dedicated to work. mayor lightfoot, do something. >> it's not just chicago. new york city teachers are demanding that mayor bill deblasio consider the remote option. mayor has made it clear he is against that. >> ours schools have been very safe. the safest someplaces to be. schools need to be open. everybody talks about the needs of our kids, their health and mental health and nutrition needs and social and academic needs. schools need to be open. >> in new jersey patterson public schools announced they will be going to remote learning until at least january 18th and we see similar momentum across the nation. ben. >> benjamin: i shudder at the idea of remote learning, i really do. mike tobin live in chicago, thanks, mike. >> julie: our next guest is the father of a 6-year-old special needs child in the chicago public schools district. he says his son was failing all his classes in his remote learning last year but as soon as he returned to in-person teaching he got top marks all around from his teachers. he joins us now. thank you for talking to us. there are so many people in this country, parents who feel your pain. tell us first of all what it would mean to you and your family if your school district went back to remote learning. >> i could sum it up in one word, it would be devastating. devastating effects for working class families in my city. >> julie: your wife would be affected how? >> yes, my wife would have to lay herself off or quit and go back to the remote learning sphere. that would be her primary job while i'm out being the breadwinner and trying to get a second job to make up for her loss of employment. it would create an entire whirlwind that is not desirable for anybody. >> julie: your son is 6 years old so i can only imagine at the beginning of this pandemic it was two years ago and he was 4. i have a 5-year-old at the beginning of the pandemic was 3 and hard to believe our children have been living this way for so long and that whole year of 2020, it was a year lost and only goes to show the damage that is being caused to these children that will last for years to come because they are always going to be behind. you have a child who is special needs that makes it even worse. how has it affected your son? >> the remote learning was a total nightmare. it would be my son versus the computer versus mom, versus basically the world. so when he was in remote learning he wasn't really getting anything out of it really out of it. and when we saw the change was when he went back to in-person he started to flourish. his teachers said we had him as failing student and all of a signed he is getting straight bs and as. the remote learning is a handicap to school age children especially in elementary school. >> julie: you are absolutely right. they need hand/eye coordination, they need hands-on involvement from their teachers and looking into a computer is just not the way to do it. what makes it more frustrating for a lot of parents in this country is their lack of control, if you will, within the school. what do you make of the power that teachers unions hold compared to parents in schools? >> basically a david and goliath type of situation. you have the teachers unions who are well organized, well funded, and membership pays their dues. so in chicago we have the chicago teachers union, which is 25,000 strong. and they have significant sway over the city. sometimes it even feels like they have a vice grip over our children and they hold our children hostage. they hold our children hostage and they hold their educational needs hostage to their on whim. they will make a list and say we want x, y and z and let's add a, b and c as well and if we get five out of six we won. there needs to be more parent involvement on the local level and making their voices heard across the city. >> julie: you are right. parents, speak up. don't let other people make decisions for your children. thank you very much for talking us to. good luck to you and your family. >> benjamin: thank you. the u.s. economy is struggling to move past high prices and supply chain bottlenecks. we'll look back at the year that was and whether the white house can turn the page. plus a growing number of people packed up and moved out of democrat dominated washington, d.c. what's behind the mass exodus? 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i trust 'em. you can too. you're a one-man stitchwork master. but your staffing plan needs to go up a size. 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 >> benjamin: winter storms are now slamming several states out west. snow squall creating white out conditions in northern utah leading to accidents in the span of a few hours and tripping up traffic in wisconsin causing drivers to take it slow and easy on the highways. while the west is bundling up, the south is bracing for possible tornado threat today. forecasters warning parts of mississippi, alabama, tennessee may be affected. this comes two weeks after tornado outbreaks swept through the south leveling communities and killing at least 92 people. the u.s. is looking to turn the page on a tumultous year for the economy. >> turning the page to 2022. something americans are desperate to do. worries and upset plaguing americans all year. a new president with dreams of leadership. >> president biden: america is back. america is back. diplomacy is back. >> by the time president trump handed the mantel to president biden three vaccines were ready to go. a few months later america was back on her back with joe biden's vaccine mandate facing challenges even by the supreme court, long lines for limited testing of covid, inflation at a 40 year high and crime spiking across the country and all of this as bad policy yielded bad outcomes. president biden pushed his green energy platform and reversed most of president trump's policies including killing off the xl pipeline. the move sent gasoline prices up 60% year-over-year by the end of the year. >> you look at the new inflation number and our economy is on its back. tax experts tell us a third of middle america will pay a lot more. >> easy money policies caused record high inflation and shortage of workers who did not want the job that led to a lineup of stalled boats at the pacific ports leaving empty store shelves. mid year economic growth was spiraling downward, 2 1/2% for the third quarter. fox business poll most independents were disappointed with joe biden's performance. foreign policy mistakes. by the time september 11th came around 20 years after, america was mourning 13 soldiers killed in a botched withdrawal out of afghanistan. with americans left behind now taliban ruled enemy lines amidst a wide open southern border with 2 million apprehensions of illegal migrants for the year and 600,000 others who got away. illicit drugs pouring in, enough fentanyl seized to kill 200 million americans. president biden tried to push through a progressive agenda with high taxes and almost $5 trillion in spending. the build back better bill included money spent on climate initiative and surveillance of people's bank accounts and spending on childcare and parental leave. in the face of high inflation and 30 trillion in debt the democrats didn't have the votes to pass it by year end. despite plenty of volatility the closing bell on wall street tapped a year of big gains for major averages. jay powell announced the fed will pull back stimulus and start hiking interest rates three times next year markets expected divided government go sboong the new election year. maria bartiromo, fox business, new york. >> julie: having a field day with an obscure i.r.s. provision that requires americans to report income from illegal activities on their taxes? that includes money made from robberies and drug dealing? not to mention bribes and kickbacks. you can find the details on i.r.s.gov. that's very interesting. i'm sure people will be forthright, yes, i made x amount of dollars in my drug deals. i'm not sure what the i.r.s. thinks. >> benjamin: i hope you declared all your bribes, julie. >> julie: i will have to put on the curling iron i had to buy if those at home haven't noticed. that's why. >> benjamin: we're getting through it nicely. someone on twitter who joked homeless man steals something from me can i write it off at a loss? makes a good point, i suppose. the tax code is 70,000 pages long and they have to fill it with something. bureaucrat figuring out what to put in there. >> julie: you have to fill it with something, right. >> benjamin: moving on, we are on verdict watch at the moment in the trial of ghislaine maxwell. why the judge may order jurors to work through the new year to reach a decision. the u.s. shattered a new daily record for new covid cases as americans wait in long lines to be tested. should new year's eve celebrations be put on hold? 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>> yesterday they said they were making progress. what it tells me there are some jurors in there fighting. they are sticking to their guns. it may be more than one juror. one juror can be persuaded to switch over. there is an engaged discussion going on there and looking for evidence to support their discussion. >> benjamin: could they be agreed on say five of the charges but just be disagreeing on one? is that a possibility right now? >> absolutely that is a possibility. i think in fact that's probably a likelihood. the things they seem to be asking the most about is about jane, one of the alleged victims and she has the greatest count. the boyfriend they've ask about and asked for tyler's testimony regarding jane. you are right. it could be an option they are agreed on everything except for that one count. >> benjamin: now the judge came out also and said they would have to work extra hours moving forward. she wanted to get this done. read what the judge said on tuesday. she said we're simply at a different place regarding the pandemic than we were a week ago. we face a high an escalating risk that jurors or trial participants may need to quarantine putting at risk our ability to keep the trial. it gives the jury more time in their deliberations. what would happened if it was postponed due to covid? >> one would be a mistrial. case would be over and have to decide whether to try her again is one. second would be the try to reconvene the jury when everyone gets well to start deliberations again. i think that's very unlikely. the third is interesting. they might do something at home. that happened in march of 2020. allowed one juror to deliberate from home. that could happen here as well. benjamin. >> benjamin: very interesting. heather hanson that's all we have time for. we'll bring you back as soon as we get a verdict. who knows when that will be. thanks. fox news alert. the travel nightmare stretching into a six day. over 600 flights canceled and 1300 cancellations yesterday. the country is experiencing more than five days in a row of more than 1,000 flights put on hold. welcome to a brand-new hour of "america's newsroom," i'm benjamin hall. julie, nice to be back with you. >> julie: yes, we have hour two to go. bill and dana have the day off. as if the numbers aren't bad enough they could get worse because millions more are expected to travel before the final busy days of the holiday season after the new year. airlines have blamed the mess on staff shortages due to the omicron variant. vaccine mandates and scattered winter storms. >> benjamin: david lee miller is live at laguardia in new york city. what's the situation like there? >> more cancellations across the entire country, benjamin. we can expect cancellations caused by staffing shortages resulting from the spread of the virus. in addition to bad weather out west. as you so rightly pointed out it's the sixth straight day that we are witnessing these travel disruptions. yesterday alone more than 1200 flights were canceled and 7600 were delayed. more problems. alaska canceling 77 flights because of weather. it is proactively reducing departures from seattle to allow more time to de-ice aircraft. united canceled and delta 3%, 101 flights. that airline says it is trying to change its aircraft equipment as well as routes. american airlines less than 1% of its schedule has been canceled. t.s.a. is reporting it is screening more than a million people a day during the christmas holiday. that number is up significantly from a year ago and lower than before the pandemic. across the country long lines as major hubs as many passengers resigned to the cancellations and delays. >> i am supposed to be at work tomorrow. >> our connecting flight was no longer going to be on time and we had to rebook. the only way we could get out of here. >> benjamin: a cdc decision to shorten the time of quaranty could help airlines. not everyone thinks it's a good idea. flight attendants union says the interests of corporate america rather than being on the advice of medical professionals. dr. anthony fauci says he supports the cdc change. he says it is ample protection after five days in isolation to wear a mask. benjamin. >> benjamin: david lee, thank you so much. >> julie: travel problems are not only involving airplanes but also on the high seas. the cdc now investigating at least 86 cruise ships with covid outbreaks on board. they include disney, carnival, royal caribbean and norwegian. you remember the cruise ship industry was an early epicenter of the pandemic before staging a comeback during the fall. we should also note the cruise ships require for people to be vaccinated before getting on board and showing a negative covid test. these are outbreaks, breakthrough cases many of them. >> benjamin: there is yet another sobering milestone in the fight against covid. the u.s. now breaking the record for daily infections with the seven day average hitting 267,000. delta and omicron has a surge as the nation enters its third year of the pandemic. joining us now dr. nicole saphier. thank you so much for being with us today. these case numbers are skyrocketing. but hospitalizations are not. i want to play something for you that dr. fauci said the other day about where this current wave may be heading in the next few weeks. >> i think it may be that, in fact, we're in a situation where when we peak in the next few weeks, i think it will be, if you look at what has happened in south africa and in denmark and other countries where they have a very rapid vertical increase and they turned around and sharply go down. i think that's quite feasible that that will happen. >> benjamin: dr. nicole, with all of the protect we have. antibodies from natural immunity, young healthy people should we be concerned about this new peak? and when it comes to dr. fauci saying we should cancel new year's eve plans, is there anything behind that? >> we have to look at it and going into 2022. getting to zero is not realistic unless you isolate individuals forever. there will be a lot of consequence west that. what we should be doing heading into the next year is maximizing life while minimizing illness. we can do that. the ways to do that targeting vaccines, boosters in high-risk individuals. insuring we have outpatient treatment medications assessible and afford *bl for people. using the tests in schools, nursing homes, hospitals and small indoor gatherings or some forms of travel and making thoour there are high quality masks in high-risk individuals. removing the single layer cloth masks that given the highly aerosol nature of this virus are doing very little, if anything at all. that specifically means in the low-risk population, our children. children should not be wearing cloth masks anymore and making sure children are staying in school as we know over and over again the consequences of them going to remote learning. in terms of dr. fauci saying you need to cancel your new year's plans. if you are sick you should stay home. we have this mentality before covid but people were still going out and going to work and parties with colds and flu. now in the advent of covid maybe i just don't go out if you are sick and have the sniffles, stay home. it is a good measure. you don't need to go out and run get a test. you shouldn't be nasty. if you are sick, whether it's covid or not, stay home. stop the spread of whatever virus you have. it is safe for people to gather. you can have small indoor gathers. make sure any high risk individual is boosted and if you want to get rapid testing just to give you the layer of protection, good idea. if you can get the rapid test, please don't horde them. we need to make sure they're available for people who are actually sick. >> benjamin: you spoke about the rising case numbsbers and hospitalss and deaths. in december 27, 152,000 new cases, december 25th this year 500,000 cases. deaths were 1,230 compared to 1,33 -- 737 now. a much smaller increase in death. vaccine, natural immunity, omicron variant has given people a level of security to the antibodies? why is that figure changing? >> benjamin it is all of the above. i don't want to say we're in good position. we're never in a good position with such high amount of cases but we have to remember the reason we're seeing a hospital crunch is not because we have a more vier leant strain of a virus. we have immunity of people vaccinated and infected, the strongest of them all and treatments. why you don't see the same increase in hospitalization rate as well as deaths and omicron has a much lower hospitalization and severity rate than previous variants. you have to know the hospital crunch we're seeing now is manmade because of these mandates and because they didn't acknowledge natural immunity, they didn't accept a single dose in people who had already been infected and didn't place reasonable exceptions for certain medical conditions. because of this you are seeing staffing shortages at the level of the hospitals and everywhere else. the first thing president biden needs to do is get rid of the federal vaccine mandate to get rid of this crunch. >> benjamin: i'm afraid that's all we have time for today. thank you for your expertise and happy new year. >> thanks for having me. >> julie: people are moving out of the nation's capital. washington, d.c.'s population shrank nearly 3% from july 2020 to july 2021. the highest percent compared to the 50 states. officials mostly blame the pandemic but the district is grappling with a surge in violent crime, high taxes, rising home prices. mark meredith is live in washington with more. mark. >> good morning. for years washington, d.c. saw record growth. there is new data from the government that shows within the last year more people left d.c. than anywhere else when we look percentage-wise. the government not speculating why people are leaving but from 2020 to 2021 the population dropped to close to 3%. break that down it's 20,000 fewer people in the district now than a year ago and population size which estimates now in the district at 670,000 residents. last year d.c.'s mayor rejected reports people were leaving d.c. in droves. comments came at a pivotal time with the city. several businesses were closed and social unrest in downtown that many people were avoiding the city. people we spoke with said they aren't surprised people are moving from d.c. >> it is so different when i moved in 2019. it is not the best. >> i know people that moved to maryland, virginia or other states where it is cheaper or more safety or more jobs there. or they want to be with their families. >> d.c. is not the only place people are leaving. the government estimates 319 people left new york city and hawaii and california also saw population decline in the last year. where is everyone going? the government estimates there is a handful of states seeing increases in population. they also look at by percentage. idaho, utah, montana look like they're growing and people are heading west. >> julie: all right, thank you very much. >> benjamin: the surge at the southern border is reaching historic levels this year and show you how the crisis escalated under president biden and how it could evolve in the new year. traffickers continuing to overwhelm border agents smuggling people and drugs into the country. lieutenant christopher olivarez is on the front lines with the texas department of public safety and we'll get his views coming up after the break. >> not just the cartels, terrorist organizations also recognize and know and they know this is the time ripe in order to cross. very, very bad actors into the united states. vings, more peace of mind. the newday 100 va loan lets you borrow up to 100% of your home's value. up to $60,000 or more. veterans are saving an average of $615 every month. with more ways to help more veteran families, no bank, no lender, no one knows veterans like newday usa. we're a different kind of dentistry. one who believes in doing anything it takes to make dentistry work for your life. so we offer a complete exam and x-rays free to new patients without insurance - everyday. plus, patients get 20% off their treatment plan. we're on your corner and in your corner every step of the way. because your anything is our everything. aspen dental. anything to make you smile. book today at aspendental.com, walk in, or call 1-800-aspendental. >> benjamin: president biden's first year in office was marched by a crisis on our southern border. authorities reported more than 1.7 million migrant encounters and fox news reports and we had a front row seat. >> look at this. adult men. >> they're completely overwhelmed and holding facilities are completely over capacity. you have more people crossing the rio grande. this is non-stop. this is a non-stop trail of migrants crossing the rio grande. >> record numbers day in and day out not just in del rio in the rio grande valley and southern border. >> the bus pulling out now is full of unaccompanied children and young teenagers. we just watched them all being marched onto that bus. all little kids, all young teenagers completely by themselves. essentially a free for all. if people can get across the river they can walk in and give themselves up which is what you are looking at right here. >> benjamin: bill has been doing remarkable work on the border. live from the west coast newsroom. looking back at the year what stands out to you about this? >> good morning to you. i would have to say what jumped off the page the most wild situation we saw in del rio over the summer with the haitians who showed up under the bridge. the f.a.a. had grounded our fox news drone. we went up in a texas d.p.s. helicopter and live for 30 minutes or so trying to show the country what was happening on ground in del rio. it was a jaw dropping situations. watching thousands of people walking across the dam in the rio grande and showing up in the united states, no resistance whatsoever. and camping out underneath the bridge. we were watching these people walking in from mexico, no resistance on either side. the ground video we shot as well 15,000 haitians showed up and camp underneath the bridge. it looked like a third world refugee showed up. mayorkas came and said don't come. he said more than 10,000 of those migrants were released into the country pending court dates. another thing that jumped out was from august in the city of mcallen when the city had to build an emergency tent compound for covid positive illegal immigrants. the reason they had to do it is they said the federal government was releasing so many migrants into the city of mcallen and so many testing positive for covid-19 they didn't have the infrastructure to house them and a risk of them walking around in public. they had to build a tent compound in the middle of a public park to house thousands of these covid positive illegal immigrants. keep in mind the catholic charity had been quietly trying to house them in hotels without telling local cities. it blew up when some went into a burger place and coughed on people. this was a grade a example in la jolla on runners. border patrol agents get sucked up doing the paperwork an processing of family units and the cartels will send over the runners. they made a run as family units were being processed. you ever drone was over this watching it live at it happened. there weren't enough border patrol agents to track all these people down. there was one pickup truck trying to chase them but half of these runners ended up getting away. the numbers of runners and gotaways are staggering. several hundred thousand estimated in the year 2021. guys who don't want to be caught wearing black or camo and not turning themselves in. not just family units giving themselves up as you see. there are always runners trying to make it across the border. border patrol so undermanned and one pickup trying to chase down 30 guys. that incident, 15 of them ended up got away. another thing we often see is raft smugglers. we see this every time we go to roma, texas like clockwork. cartel smugglers constantly bringing across family units and single adults on rafts right in front of border patrol. nothing they are able to do about this. they just wait for the smugglers to come across, drop the migrants off and take them into custody. it happens every single night. if you were to go to roma tonight you would see this happen yourself. texas d.p.s. and national guard soldiers are frustrated and patrolling the rivers. it is remarkable to watch that in person, benjamin. >> benjamin: we have watched much of that live with you. the drone footage. able to get to us live as it is happening. once again incredible work all year and i look forward to everything that comes in the year ahead when you are out there for us. julie,. >> julie: we're getting new video out of texas and it is alarming. it was taken on christmas day. take a look at this. it shows officers apparently pulling 13 migrants out of a single vehicle. joining us now is lieutenant christopher olivarez with texas department of public safety. this is a public safety crisis. not only an immigration crisis it is dangerous. the video that we're showing now showing 13 migrants were in an s.u.v. goes to show the conditions in which these illegal immigrants are willing to endure to get here knowing when they reach the border, up until now there really isn't much to stop them. why have president's biden's policies proven ineffective. >> great to be with you. a perfect example what we're seeing daily. that particular incident was on christmas day while the majority of people were off that day with their families our men and women of texas d.p.s. and national guard were out protecting the borders and thatth is what we came across. smugglers from large metropolitan areas. that couple was houston, texas, they drove down to the border and become human smugglers. a very lucrative business and it is being advertised by the criminal organizations and why we're seeing an uptake in human smugglers in the southern border. the policies. you talked about the ineffectiveness of what is taking place because of the border crisis. from the beginning we've been talking about this and asking ourselves when will we see a visit from the federal government at the southern border? i can tell you now because of the lax border policies and federal government isn't taking any action, no leadership. we continue to see this uptick in human smuggling. mass migration. criminal organizations exploiting the border. drug smuggling and the question should be asked and there is never an answer why is the federal government not stepping? the state of texas is stepping in from the beginning of the crisis and what we continue doing going into 2022. >> julie: this all comes as texas will add another 38.4 million into operation lone star. how effective has the program been so far and will it continue into the new year? >> it has been very effective. the numbers show that as far as what we've been able to hand. we've been able to seize those resources to avoid them becoming even more powerful because we know they gain their power by weapons and by the money that is going into mexico. operation lone star will continue going into 2022. i can tell you now we'll take a different approach and focus more on the criminal element and exploiting that and going after the criminal organizations, the drug trafficking organizations and what impacts them the most is taking away the drugs and money. that's what we'll go after and we also need to expose the victims of this border crisis. there are a lot of victims out there that we aren't talking about. the ones dying from fentanyl. the drugs pouring in. >> julie: over 164 million cases of fentanyl, for example, confiscated and seized the victims dying of overdoses because of the drugs coming over the border. a huge issue aside from the illegal immigration. christopher olivarez, thank you for talking to us this morning. we appreciate it and good luck to you. >> thank you. >> benjamin: president biden saying it is up to the states to solve the nationwide covid test shortage. >> president biden: there is no federal solution. this gets solved at the state level. >> benjamin: while the president avoids responsibility some states are already ahead of the curve when it comes to testing. we'll speak to iowa congressman about her state's winning strategy and the soaring amount for tests creating long lines like this across the country. look, serena williams... matrix... serena... matrix... serena... matrix... ♪ get your tv together with the best of live and on demand. introducing directv stream. - i served in the korean war. - vietnam. - afghanistan. - the war took my ability to walk. - my hearing. - my legs. - but because of people like mark, who support dav, i'm still here. 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>> another failure of the biden administration. last year the democrats politicized the pandemic in order to affect the results of the election. and so when they came in that they were going to get us through the pandemic and they were going to cure the pandemic and get us back onto a path of normalcy. they weren't going to mandate vaccines. they knew they were coming into office with vaccines that would be approved and they had three vaccines early on. they bungled the roll-out of the vaccines. then they had the hhs take over distribution of monoclonal antibodies. now there is a shortage there and then they had the opportunity to pre-order tests. i think i was the first physician, doctor, congresswoman to mention on monday on fox news the rapid antigen test according to a study out of belgium is not as effective in detecting it. we need to tailor who we recommend testing to so we continue to get differing responses and contradictions from the cdc and dr. fauci and this administration. >> benjamin: congresswoman, iowa is one of the few states staying ahead of the surge and staying on top of it providing home testing kits to everyone. where are you sourcing kits and tests from and how did you get ahead of this? >> i will give the credit to our governor. he has done a phenomenal job handling the pandemic from day one. she was transparent and hold weekly -- daily conferences all through the pandemic. we had people go back -- students go back to in-person school last fall. they were only out from mid-march until the beginning of june. she has done an extremely good job. we had testing throughout different communities in iowa last year, drive-by testing and testing kits which had been pre-ordered and handled. >> benjamin: it has been -- one more point. i just want to get to one other issue, the president biden has signed the national defense authorization act into law including several provisions from yourself. 2.7% pay raise for the troops, improved servicemen mental health services. ban taxpayers funds going to the taliban and require investigation in china's involvement in the origins of covid-19. explain how you got those provisions in. >> they were very significant to get in. there were issues that we have had with the administration looking into the origins of covid-19. we think it's very important to hold the khieb east communist party accountable for releasing this virus onto the world. the pay raise, 24 years in the military. i know how pay is especially in the enlisted ranks and we know how difficult it is to multiple deployments. it was an important provision we put in. veterans mental health and rising suicide and we got things removed. protection for veterans second amount rights. we got that secured and also permitting women from being drafted. those were important provisions we got in. >> benjamin: thank you for joining us. it is a pleasure to speak to you and happy new year. >> thank you. happy new year to you. >> julie: smithsonian in washington, d.c. announcing just this moment that covid outbreaks have forced it to temporarily close four museums and reallocate staffers. the national hugh seem of african art as well as the national postal museum, scheduled to reopen january 3. police departments going hi-tech as america's crime wave shows no signs of slowing down. how the men and women in blue are teaming up with the atf to keep everyone safe. plus a new poll shows house minority leader kevin mccarthy topping nancy pelosi in one voting group. jason chaffetz weighs in. stay tuned. so i only pay for what i need. how about a throwback? ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ okay everyone, our mission is to provide complete balanced nutrition for strength and energy. woo hoo! ensure, complete balanced nutrition with 27 vitamins and minerals. and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. ♪ ♪ 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. earn about covid-19, whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. the more questions we have. the biggest question now, what's next? what will covid bring in six months, a year? if you're feeling anxious about the future, you're not alone. calhope offers free covid-19 emotional support. call 833-317-4673, or live chat at calhope.org today. >> benjamin: violent crime sweeps across the nation, police are trying a new approach to crack down on criminals. local departments are teaming up with the atf using advance technology to analyze gun casings. more on how the technology works and how it has already found success. hi, william. >> when detectives show up on a crime scene they find gun casings. each casing tells a story to tie a crime to a gun. police fire a crime gun. the gun ejects a casing. with this computer the casing generates an image. an image that's like a fingerprint unique to every gun. >> i will search out the he jekor. he fires multiple rounds terrorizing the victims before getting away. all police have is the casings. >> you have the recovered shell casing and video evidence. unfortunately that video evidence only captured the shooting itself and captured the vehicle. >> months later police find a glock pistol thrown in the bushes following a traffic accident. >> that will be good for dna. >> back at the station police fire the weapon and get a match. >> we got an immediate hit and confirmation showing that firearm is matched with the casings that were recovered from the shooting six months earlier. >> based on that the man serves time in prison for attempted murder. the problem is some departments don't use the system. a casing found in vegas could match one in l.a. unless both agencies are entered into the system the detectives won't know it. in new jersey it's a state law. back to you. >> benjamin: interesting. thank you very much. >> julie: president biden taking a hit in the polls after a year of multiple crises on his watch. according to gallup, it shows his approval rating falling get this below vice president kamala harris. still both democrats suffering strong disapproval ratings as we get closer to mid-term elections. what does that mean? jason chaffetz, former republican congressman from utah. always great to see you. you have both president biden and kamala harris continuing to suffer strong disapproval heading into the 2022 mid-term. what does it say for the two top leaders of the democratic party heading into a critical election years. >> america is rejecting their agenda. they didn't have this mandate and pushing so far to the left that they are losing independents and losing democrats. you can't get numbers that bad without peeling off independents and democrats in big, big numbers. republicans are going to say hey they are doing a terrible job but it is the independents that have swayed away from biden and harris and it has to frighten them going into 2022. >> julie: in that same gallup poll kevin mccarthy has the higher approval rating actually than his predecessors. basically house minority leader kevin mccarthy has a higher approval among independents and nancy pelosi runs ahead of president biden. mccarthy has 48%, pelosi 38%. president biden 40%. is this a good sign for republicans who only need five seats to take control of the house in the mid-terms? >> i have never seen numbers this big. remember, after the first -- in the mid-term with barack obama there was a huge sweep and change in the sweeping of power into the republican hands. mccarthy is in a great position. it is not good enough to say hey we're the other party. i think the challenge for the republicans going forward will be to lay out a policy agenda and explain why. why should republicans be in charge and what would they do differently. i know kevin mccarthy is thinking about that. xh summer rolls around you will see a republican agenda that when they go into the summer break go home and campaign on and i don't think that the democrats can recover from this but never underestimate the republicans' ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. >> julie: >> benjamin: inflation and worker shortages have sent wages skyrocketing in florida. a mandated wage hike in one city could cause some businesses to close for good. the media turning a blind eye to the testing failure. a big switch from the scrutiny under president trump. two and a quarter percent. just 2.48 apr. just one call, and you can save thousands every year. there's no money out of pocket and no up front fees. the newday two and a quarter refi. at these rates, you may never need to refinance again. if you have postmenopausal osteoporosis and a high risk for fracture, now might not be the best time to ask yourself... 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"new york times" inside trump's failure. the rush to abandon leadership roll. rolling stone how trump and the cdc failed the covid-19 test. why is mainstream media allowed to give president biden such lee way and so keen to hit president trump back then? >> that's the thing, right. they weren't inaccurate at the time th. was an unprecedented pandemic but we were completely caught offguard in the spring of 2020. now the media can commit the sin of omission all it likes covering for this administration instead of objectively covering it. holding it accountable. painfully obvious to anybody paying attention. if one were teaching a journalism class, are news organizations xyz covering biden with the same terms of scrutiny as they did with trump when presented with the same exact scenario? you don't have to answer that. the american people are not dumb and they are paying attention. like they do with inflation, benjamin or crime or education, they know what they see and feel on a daily basis. poll after poll shows fewer and fewer americans trust the messenger and media. not every news organization but more and more it seems. these aren't the days of con cite or russert anymore. that's for certain. there is no excuse for this president and administration at this point to be lacking testing for americans. we see the lines on our tv screens and we see it in towns and cities across the country when we go out. they had a year to prepare for the winter holiday surge. there was even a report saying we should ramp up testing. let's do a testing surge and the president ignored that apparently. the excuse is we didn't see it coming so fast. moving too quickly for this administration to get ahead of. polling shows the president is down more than 20 points off his high in terms of handling this virus, a virus he said he would control and stop. under promise, over deliver. i used to work in sales. the president did the opposite of that. >> benjamin: i can't let you go. i know you were a sportswriter in the past and so i have to ask for your reflections on john madden on this day. >> he changesed sports broadcasting forever. a great coach for the raiders. won a sup super bowl and video games to get to the next generation. one of the greats of all time. when you hear the name john madden and pair it with pat summerall that's the greatest tandem in sports. they were authentic and people could relate to them and that's all we have to say about the late, great john madden, rest in peace. >> benjamin: thank you for joining us today. happy new year to you. julie. >> julie: "the faulkner focus" is next. thank you so much for all of you at home staying tuned today. we'll be back tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. "the faulkner focus" is now. >> fox news alert. the white house covid response team will hold an update after the u.s. hits a grim no record when it comes to the virus. you are in "the faulkner focus". i'm trace gallagher in for harris. the nation racked up more than a quarter million cases yesterday alone. the most in a single day since the pandemic began. lines for covid testing stretching on for hours and results taking days to come back. it is all leading many to ask why the feds left us so unprepared for