continues. new year's celebrations are being scaled back or canceled altogether, and businesses are closing because workers are forced to quarantine. all this as we see an increase in hospitalizations in children just days before schools reopen for the holiday break. >> gillian: fox team coverage, dr. marc siegel joins us in a moment. >> mike: but we begin with steve harrigan in atlanta, home of the cdc. steve? >> mike, more of these covid records are being set, but yesterday almost half a million new cases, almost double the amount that the previous single day had cases, 50 states have set records for new cases. the cdc says hospitalizations are lagging behind the new case numbers, that they are comparatively low. but just a short time ago six atlanta hospitals said they were suffering a staggering surge of covid patients, both adults and children, almost all of the nonvaccinated. for the surgeons and doctors on the front lines who have to deal at this, it really does seem like an agonizing process. >> it's going to be hard because some of them can't believe it. it's scary for them. many of them will be vaccinated. they will have regrets. some have asked if they can be vaccinated tonight but i'll have to let them know it's too late. >> despite how startling these numbers are, they might be underestimating the actual spread and it's not clear how much. keep in mind millions of americans are using home tests and not reporting the results. tennessee has decided not to report daily test results anymore. they will go to weekly. in michigan has decided to refuse federal guidance to isolate covid patients for five days instead of 10. they will stick with that ten-day isolation period. michigan has been hit hard by covid. their death till recently almost doubled the national average. mike, back to you. >> mike: steve harrigan starting us off. many thanks. gillian? >> gillian: washington, d.c., mayor muriel bowser is pledging to keep schools open after the holidays, but the mayor's office is scrambling out to roll out new guidelines before kids return to class next week. listen. >> we want to put ourselves in the best position to reopen our schools for winter and keep them open. the way to do that is to ensure every child in every adult that enters the building next week can produce a negative covid test within 24 hours. >> gillian: let's bring in fox news contributor and professor of medicine at nyu langone medical center, dr. marc siegel. doctor, bowser is making moves here. she wants every kid returning to school to have a negative test. sounds reasonable, as long as they can get their hands on one. what do you think? >> i think it's a problem. there's a lot of problems. first, there's already a mandate in d.c. from the city council that everybody has to be vaccinated, all the kids. among the black community, it's only about 40%. that is going to keep minority children out of school. i'm bothered by that, especially at a time when, despite all the vaccination efforts -- and i'm an enormous proponent of this vaccine -- you just heard from steve harrigan that everybody going to the hospital, practically, is unvaccinated or unboosted. we want to get people vaccinated, but i also don't want schools to close under any circumstances. you know why, gillian? when schools closed, kids spread covid at home and that's been shown throughout the pandemic. to your point and question about testing, first of all, we have a scarcity of these tests she's talking about. i don't know if everyone is going to be able to get one. will everyone be able to afford one? they are supposed to be free, but they are not everywhere. and then you're supposed to take your result and put on a government website. we have had enormous problems with government websites throughout the last several years, and during the pandemic. what i like better is having the school have tests available to test kids. i want the kids to be tested. i believe the rapid tests don't work quite as well against omicron, but the schools should have them. >> gillian: i want to drill down on something you just said. bowser says they have to have proof of vaccine to do pretty much anything indoors, inside, that's not their house. critics of this policy are saying, look, great idea, but this disproportionately affects the majority of d.c. residents who are black. the vaccination rate for black d.c. residents is 46.4% with one shot, 39.4% fully vaccinated. >> that's the problem. i think we have it figured out exactly how to overcome that. we talked about it, but we need more community leaders involved, church leaders, doctors involved. i have been calling for months to get that vaccine into my office. i think that is where you overcome hesitancy. nothing have to do, and that other countries have done, you include the immunity you get from getting over covid. we are not doing that in the united states, and that causes a political backlash. they do it in israel, in the european union, and a study out of south africa yesterday shows substantial t cell immunity from both vaccine and getting over covid. that's got to be factored in, too. >> gillian: let's talk about the sort of big news today, the buy demonstration rolling out two new over-the-counter covid-19 tests you can take it home. one is manufactured by roche, the other by siemens. once they are available, i do think they be game changers? any expectations in the medical community as to how effective they are? >> the medical community is very excited about them, especially the roche one, which has shown 100% specificity. what does that mean? if you have the sniffles and you're wondering whether they cut are covid, they are. that's 100%. the other part is, do we miss infections because you are not symptomatic enough? that the 85%. i talked to the fda and they are saying is less sensitive than omicron. you miss more. another expert i spoke to says you have to retest with omicron, because omicron is so transmissible that you might not get it the first time around. if you retest, you'll pick it up the second time around. again, we don't have the tests. we need the tests. >> gillian: here is something we want to pick your brain about. cheryl casone on "outnumbered" said her sister has had it three times now, a triple whammy. are you seeing that happen? i haven't heard somebody having a triple dose of covid. >> i am seeing a lot of the infections. not so many triple, that a lot of three infections. all across the board, if you had covid before and you've been vaccinated, which i call super immunity, you are not going to get more than a mild, mild case. but we don't know, actually, who's got the best immunity and who doesn't. i can do a spike protein test to give me an idea, but if you are boosted and you've had covid before, if you get it, and you can get this variant this way because of the mutations, chances are almost 100% it's going to be a very mild case like a bad cold. it's the people that are unvaccinated and never had covid before that are getting the serious cases. >> gillian: very quick follow-up, five seconds left. is the spike protein test something americans should be asking their doctors for? >> yes, because if it's low, it's helpful. then i might say get a booster. it's not 100% accurate, that yes, i like to follow that test. >> gillian: awesome. good to know. haven't heard that elsewhere. dr. siegel, thanks so much. >> always great, gillian. thank you. >> gillian: mike? >> mike: president biden and russian president vladimir putin are set to speak on the phone this afternoon. this comes as the pentagon remains deeply concerned about an imminent russian invasion of ukraine. rich edson is traveling with the president and his live in wilmington, delaware, with the latest. hello, rich. >> good afternoon, mike. russian president vladimir putin requested this call today, according to white house officials. this will take place on the u.s. and from here in wilmington, delaware. that is where president biden spending the rest of the week and the rest of the year. the russians appear, again, prepared to seize control of its neighbor's territory as it did in georgia in 2008, ukraine in 2014. this time officials say the russian military has about 100,000 troops along the border with ukraine. russia claims it wants security assurances. senior bided administration officials say the west plans on raising its own concerns and is also threatening sanctions if russia invades. >> we have been very clear that we are prepared to issue sanctions like you've not seen before. >> republicans claim biden policy toward russia has been too conciliatory. they pointed the administration waving sanctions against the builders of the kremlin-backed natural gas pipeline to germany, nor did stream 2, which would weaken the position of allies like ukraine and strengthen russia's hand in europe. they cited the u.s. relationship with germany in waiving those sanctions. they said moves like that only encourage the kremlin. >> leasing over these past days and weeks is putting pressure on the americans, looking for concessions, trying to achieve something through threats and collation that he doesn't want to do militarily but he's prepared to push the biden administration to the edge. >> this conversation today is ahead of an expected conversation between russian and american officials on january 10th. white house officials say on those discussions january 10th there will not be direct involvement between presidents putin and biden. back to you, mike. >> mike: rich edson lives up the road in wilmington, delaware. thanks so much. gillian, big phone call between the world leaders. we will see what we get out of it. >> gillian: it's not just diplomacy on the line here and threats of new sanctions. the national security counsel had a background call with reporters yesterday. they said, actually, the u.s. is prepared to respond militarily if russia can continues to troop buildup or actually invade. we'll see. laying it on the line there. >> mike: we got general jack keane and marc thiessen coming up. plenty more on this straight ahead. >> gillian: the white house making a last ditch effort to avoid enforcing president trump's border wall policies. critics are warning that if the administration is successful with the planned and that policy, the effects at the southern border will likely be devastating. plus, this. >> i was supposed to come home sunday. my plane was supposed to land in seattle at 6:00. it was canceled. we have been trying to get home since then. >> mike: travel troubles continue at airports nationwide as hundreds of flights are once again canceled. an update on all the chaos, and when customers may get some relief. ♪ ♪ knabout customization. that's why i love liberty mutual. they customize my car insurance, so i only pay for what i need. how about a throwback? 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(excited yell) woo-hoo! ensure max protein. with thirty grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and nutrients to support immune health. ordinary tissues burn when theo blows. so puffs plus lotion rescued his nose. with up to 50% more lotion, puffs bring soothing relief. a nose in need deserves puffs indeed. america's #1 lotion tissue. every day in business brings something new. so get the flexibility of the new mobile service designed for your small business. introducing comcast business mobile. you get the most reliable network with nationwide 5g included. and you can get unlimited data for just $30 per line per month when you get four lines or mix and match data options. available now for comcast business internet customers with no line-activation fees or term contract required. see if you can save by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities. >> mike: another brutal day for air travelers as flight aware reports more than 1100 cancellations of u.s. flights so far today. the covid surge causing industry-wide staffing shortages for several airlines, and experts say omicron could continue to disrupt to travel well into the new year. winter weather also adding to the chaos, grounding many flights out west. boy, heart ache for people trying to get from maybe visiting family to home or wherever they're trying to get. what a bummer. >> gillian: sounds like another great day to stay here in washington, d.c., and not fly anywhere, mike. that's my take on that. >> mike: well done. >> gillian: the biden administration is taking its fight to end the trump era "remain in mexico" policy elevated supreme court. the move comes amid a record-breaking migrant surge at the southern border. national border patrol counsel president brandon jed joins us in just a moment. first, we go to william la jeunesse who is tracking all the record numbers. hi, william. >> the timing, as you mention, is a little odd. right now agents will tell you the border is out of control, and this overturn effectively invites migrants to cross illegally into the u.s. because there's no consequence. the trump administration implemented remain in mexico to stem the flow. president biden ended the policy to focus on the root causes of migration. that does not work. monthly apprehensions have doubled since he took office. the federal court reinstated remain in mexico, that biden wants the supreme court to overturn that decision, saying it's not the best tool for deterring unlawful migration. it exposes migrants to unacceptable risks and tracks with foreign relations efforts to manage regional migration. the policy requires migrants to remain in mexico until a u.s. judge he was their asylum claim, which could take months, even years. critics say that exposes migrants to unacceptable risks. >> many of these acts of violence are undertaking the complicity of corrupt officials in mexico. border agents, police, national guard. so it continues to be extremely worrying to us. >> migrants, however, know those risks when they choose to migrate to the u.s. because most are not fleeing persecution, staying in mexico frankly isn't worth it. many illegal entries fell under mpp until biden reversed it. >> what we have seen since january is an administration willing to break open and dismiss all the policies that were working to control that border, in favor of some kind of open border. >> so the last 24 hours, agents in just two areas of texas apprehended illegal immigrants who would claim asylum. under this policy, most would get released in the u.s. back to you. >> gillian: william la jeunesse in l.a., thank you. mike? >> mike: let's bring in brandon jed, president of the national border patrol counsel. welcome. >> thank you very much for having me. let me start by saying every single u.s. citizen should be furious about the actions of this administration, trying to overturn a policy that has been proven to work. then of course they use rhetoric instead of actual facts when they say that it puts them under unacceptable conditions. they don't have any facts whatsoever, or evidence to prove that those conditions are unacceptable. that is rhetoric they are trying to deflect from their failures on the border and all of this is going to cause even more chaos and put more pressure on our agents to get the job done better when they can't do it. it's a policy that dictates what we are able to do. >> mike: why, in your view, brandon, is remain in mexico so effective? >> because the cartels understand and recognize all of our movements. they surveillance, they watch us. they know how many agents we have in the field at any given time. they understand that if they flood a certain area with a large number of illegal immigrants, it takes more of our agents out of the field. when they do that, they are able to cross higher-value products. look what happened yesterday. cbp said eight-week by chris clement out of yuma, arizona, was law enforcement sensitive. that was not law enforcement sensitive. that was information the american public should have, has a right to know, and yet cbp forced him to take that tweet down because it was embarrassing. that is why it's so important. the criminal cartels do not fear law enforcement. what they fear is policy. they fear if they're going to be prosecuted, they fear if mpp will be brought back, because then they can't go into countries and advertise their services and make millions of dollars off our policies. >> mike: i want to play a clip from former acting dhs secretary chad wolf. >> we know the biden administration doesn't like the policy. this latest ploy to ask the supreme court to overrule it is yet another issue with a messaging. you can't emblem of the program at the same time say you want to dismantle the program and think that's going to resonate with migrants and cartel members and other smugglers. >> mike: why is the administration so eager to have the supreme court step in here? >> they are pandering to their open border base. they understand they have a huge problem. their numbers are underwater in every single category, whether it's the economy, border security, foreign affairs. they are underwater in everything so they trying to energize their base. that's all they're doing. the other good thing we can fall back on as we know the supreme court is going to rule against the administration because the mpp is perfectly lawful. therefore we are in a good position, but all this does is it allows the administration to slow-walk the reimplementation of mpp, which is what they're trying to do. >> mike: it sounds like the problem is extending beyond texas and arizona. there are now questions being asked in pennsylvania about immigrants being flown in there. what do you know about the situation in pennsylvania and other states far beyond texas and arizona? >> this is happening every single day. when we take children into custody, or unaccompanied minors, we turn them over to health and human services and they then fly them throughout the united states, including pennsylvania, and do it under the cover of night because they don't want the american public to understand what's going on. the reason why this is so scary is all we have to do is look at florida. we have to look at the 24-year-old who claims he was 17 years old when he was branded by the border patrol and he was flown to florida and he killed san francisco heavier not his stepfather, but the home that the health and human services placed him in. that's why it is so scary and why the public should have a right to know what this administration is doing. because it's embarrassing, they don't let the public now and they try to hide it under the cover of night. >> mike: thanks so much for your time. >> any time. thank you. >> gillian: the president's multitrillion dollar spending bill remains on life support now but democratic lawmakers are insisting it could still make a big comeback. senator schumer is promising a vote on build back better early or next month. progressives have a different idea in mind. congresswoman nicole malliotakis reacts to the bold plea, coming up next. >> mike: plus, president biden offering vladimir putin a diplomatic path ahead of their call today. mark t's and on whether president biden will get tough on russia if talks don't go as planned. ♪ ♪ when it comes to autism, finding the right words can be tough. finding understanding doesn't have to be. together, we can create a kinder, more inclusive world for the millions of people on the autism spectrum. go to autismspeaks.org >> gillian: back to our top developing story this hour. president biden and russian president vladimir putin are about to square off for their second phone call in less than a month. the white house has said the talks will ease tension and ultimately deter putin from a full-blown invasion. the president says he's ready to impose tough sanctions on russia. if the talks don't go as planned. and maybe even respond with military action. let's bring in marc thiessen, "washington post" columnist, former white house speechwriter to george w. bush, andy fox news contributor. some russia-watchers are saying that biden diplomacy is already paying dividends, because he got putin with dominic to withdraw some of the troops he had stationed along ukraine's border. >> oh, yeah, showing such strength. look, the reason we are in this mess right now is because joe biden is projecting weakness of the world stage. putin detests weakness. president obama failed to enforce his redline in syria and reach out to russia to find a negotiated way out of it, and a few months later putin seized crimea. it is no coincidence he is threatening ukraine just a few months after the disastrous withdrawal from afghanistan and his capitulation on the pipeline, which would allow russia to send natural gas under the baltic sea directly to germany, bypassing ukraine, meaning they could cut off the natural gas supplies without jeopardizing their sails and western europe. all these are projecting weakness, and it's provocative. that's why we're in this mess. >> gillian: he said in a holiday message he is convinced the u.s. and russia can work together based on "mutual respect and consideration of each other's national interests." what kind of phony baloney is that? >> it's hard to explain. right now joe biden is channeling his inner neville chamberlain. according to the associated press, he is pressuring ukraine to make concessions on autonomy for the eastern region that russian separatists are rising up to take, and he -- nato allies are reportedly furious because he is willing to sit down and talk about concerns and ways to accommodate them. you don't accommodate somebody when they are threatening to invade a country. that only invites more aggression. what biden should do is sit down -- when he talks to putin's day, tell him, "because of your aggression, we are sending an immediate package of military aid to ukraine, american planes flying into deliver that aid. there are also not going to make any concessions when it comes to ukrainian membership in nato. we will not meet your demands to draw stomach withdraw forces from poland and the baltic. if you take any military action against ukraine, you will suffer the kind of sanctions that were literally shut down the russian economy. will expel you from the international banking system and your economy will collapse if you take this action." because putin only recognizes strength, he doesn't recognize weakness. >> gillian: it seems unlikely that scenario will play out, marc. >> [laughs] that is true. >> gillian: at least on paper, his demands are that the u.s. makes a couple guarantees. he wants the u.s. to promise no nato membership for ukraine, that we are not going to sell any weapons to ukraine or any of its neighbors. it sounds like he probably wouldn't be sitting down to talk to the president and the first place if the white house had already taken those off the table and shut it down. >> exactly, that shouldn't be up for discussion. if you have these forces, there are no concessions being made. we won't negotiate at the point of a gun and we certainly won't push the ukrainians to make concessions at the point of a gun. withdraw your forces and we can have a diplomatic solution. as long as he has 100,000 -- he reduced his forces by 10,000? oh, my gosh, he's got more than 100,000 troops on the border ready to invade. by the way, if he invades, it would be a done move because ukrainians won't take this lightly. there will be an uprising which biden should say we will support, and russia will look at ukraine and regret ukraine the way they regretted their invasion of afghanistan in the 1980s. >> gillian: i mentioned this a moment ago to mike, i want to ask you what you think. yesterday the national security counsel told reporters that the administration is prepared, if putin launches any kind of an invasion in ukraine officially, or even builds up more troops, they are prepared to respond militarily. you think they are blessing? >> my old boss donald rumsfeld used to say, you better be ready to throw it. i hope if they are making those kinds of threats that they are serious, because you don't make empty threats like that. putin took the measure of barack obama and found wanting and he was right. there are no consequences for the annexation of crimea. he better not make it fit like that if you want back it up. but we should be doing what george w. bush did when putin invaded georgia. if you recall, back then he was miles away from the georgian capital and we sent in american planes and called it the berlin airlift, with supplies and humanitarian aid. that told putin, you march on the capital of georgia, you will meet american military. we should be doing the same in kyiv right now. >> gillian: thank you. mike? >> mike: at least it has not come to this. a debate between lawmakers coming to physical blows. the parliament erupting in violence as members debate whether to add a female noun to a section of the constitution. it was captured on live stream showing lawmakers pointing to each dominic fingers, shouting, and restraining colleagues. as a long-time congressional server and capitol hill correspondent, i have often wondered is if you fisticuffs might actually clear the air and let them get down to business. your thoughts, gillian? >> gillian: i guess nothing terrifies the jordanian parliament like women having civil liberties and basic human rights. >> mike: female nouns, look out! >> gillian: how about this? lawmakers on both side of the aisle want to break up big tech, but he is pitching a very different solution you haven't heard before. he will make his case next. >> mike: five men charged in the alleged kidnapping plot of michigan's governor being set up. why they say they're asking the attorney to toss out the case. n? 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you should stay with us. it's no trouble. it's no trouble for him. fine, don't stay with us. i didn't really ask to... okay. ♪ when you have nausea, ♪ it's no trouble for him. fine, don't stay with us. ♪ heartburn, ingestion, upset stomach... ♪ ♪ diarrheaaaa.♪ try pepto bismol with a powerful coating action. for fast and soothing relief. pepto bismol for fast relief when you need it most. ♪ ♪ >> mike: u.s. navy officials announcing a massive drug bust after the navy's big bus where they seized 849 pounds of heroin worth some $4 million. the navy saying the fishing vessel where the drugs were found lightly came from iran since all nine crewmembers identify themselves as iranian nationals. iran shares a border with afghanistan, which is the world's largest producer of opium. a massive bust. >> gillian: five men who were charged with plotting to kidnap michigan's governor gretchen whitmer in last year now asking the judge in the case to drop the indictment against him. they claimed they were trapped. >> gillian, in a 20-page motion recently filed, defense attorneys for the men accused of plotting to kidnap the governor in 2020 say it was a set up and their clients are completely set up by the fbi and the justice department. we have mug shots for the six men originally rested. the bottom right of your screen, he pleaded guilty including a 6-year sentence in prison. the men were charged with that kidnapping plot. prosecutors say they were upset over gretchen whitmer's covid-19 measures. they staked out her home in northern michigan, according to an affidavit. according to a 20-page motion filed just days ago, a defense attorney argued that doj and fbi and others invented a conspiracy an end trapped the men, who could face life in prison. >> generally that strategy is not particularly successful. there's a lot of room for mischief. the government can do a lot of enticing, persuading, cajoling to get people to commit a crime, and it's uphill to even raise the issue of entrapment for a jury, much less get the case dismissed pretrial. >> when the trial begins, the defense to bring up the conviction of this man, former fbi special agent richard trask, he was arrested on a domestic violence charge involving his wife in a separate case. he pleaded no contest recently. he also posted a tirade full of obscenities about former president donald trump on his facebook page. the attorneys are specifically asking the judge to throw out the conspiracy charge, which would knicks the main part of the government argument the trial is set to begin march 8th. the parent of justice and fbi not commenting as the case is pending. gillian? >> gillian: wow. david spunt here in washington, thanks so much. >> mike: big tech being accused of censoring conservative viewpoints. g.o.p. lawmakers have called on companies like facebook and twitter to be punished or broken up, but tech entrepreneur peter rex has a different idea in a new op-ed. the headline reads, "big tech is still radically leftist and intolerant. here's the real way to beat it." he joins us now. he is the founder and ceo of an ecosystem of tech companies based in a beautiful city of austin, texas. welcome. >> thanks for having me. hope you had a merry christmas. >> mike: thank you, sir. and you. he said it won't work. "tech will still be envisioned, underwritten, and assembled by the same silicon valley set, a group that is radicalized, uniform, and overtly hostile to anything and everyone who thinks differently. the new fruit would be poisoned the same as the old because it springs from the same tainted soil." why is big tech, and your view, so universal he woke progressive? >> well, as you quoted me there, i summarize that as we need to create new tech leadership, and i'm going to get into why they are the way they are just right after i make this comment. we have got to uproot that i have already uprooted my company. we need others to join in and create new tech leadership outside of silicon valley. d.c. is also not going to be the answer. when are they ever really the answer for anything? when they get involved in the government, they will create moats are on the income and social disadvantage entrepreneurs like myself building new technologies that are going to challenge them. >> mike: here's more from your op-ed. instead of turning to government that can only call and trim, the focus should be in planting and harvesting new tech. apps, algorithms, and platforms are inevitable and they need to be built on a firmer foundation, a deep respect for human dignity, free speech, privacy, democracy, religious belief, individual liberty, and the limitless potential of every person. how does that get started? >> first of all, we need to back and support entrepreneurs who are principled and grounded in virtue and dedicated to serving people. we have built out ten technology companies that we are cultivating and growing aggressively. the problem with big tech leaders as they think they are gods. when he reject god and make yourself into a god, it's a dangerous scenario where the rules don't apply to you. and you can sort of do whatever you'd like to others. >> mike: is their financing behind it? are there more conservative entrepreneurs looking to step up and challenge progressive big tech? >> there absolutely is, mike. my message is really one of hope for people. it's for them to be not afraid. we are going to do this. we are going to succeed here. it seems like very dark times. they are controlling a lot their underlying technologies. highly debated in public, how we have public discourse, and how we are really carrying on this democracy, this american experiment. but we are going to succeed in what we are doing, and the good news about the american people is they are very much awake right now and aware of what's going on. it's no longer allegations or suspicions. we know what's going on. people know what's going on and they are stepping up. talent is joining our company from all over. they are uprooting their lives and joining us from chicago and new york, as well. and capital is stepping up, as well. >> mike: peter, do you think big tech should be punished or broken up or are you solely focused on creating an alternative? >> i'm an entrepreneur, i'm focused heavily on creating an alternative. i would say also i did attend harvard law school, i do have a j d, so i understand illegal things, as well. what i would caution congress about, and americans, d.c. is going to be the solution. the reality is that big tech is pretty much in bed with big government through its lobbying. when government gets involved in general, in my opinion it's usually a bad thing in business. because it ends up stifling entrepreneurship and creates moats for incumbent businesses by the regulations they've set up. these modes are difficult for entrepreneurs to step up and challenge those existing incumbents in big tech. >> mike: peter, thanks for your time today. my best to folks they are in the live music capital of the world. >> happy new year, and we've got this, mike. thank you. >> mike: interesting conversation, gillian. your thoughts? >> gillian: it was. it strikes me, mike, if the big tech companies want to follow peter's advice, a good challenge for them to start with would be to focus on their internal house of cards first. to become more tolerant as a staff, inside the companies, and maybe that will help them become more tolerant of different political ideologies and beliefs expressed by americans on the platforms. you got to start somewhere. >> mike: to get out of groupthink and bring in different viewpoints and hopefully make you stronger, right? >> gillian: exactly. well said. on to another social media platform now. there's funny dancing videos you kids are watching all day and they may not be as harmless, mounting evidence that tiktoks is worsening the team mental health crisis. when employee is suing the company alleging ptsd. we've got the details coming up. >> mike: hong kong facing crackdowns from mainland china as police raided a pro-democracy media outlet. the response, next. ♪ ♪ real cowboys get customized car insurance with liberty mutual, so we only pay for what we need. -hey tex, -wooo. can someone else get a turn? yeah, hang on, i'm about to break my own record. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein. earn about covid-19, boost® high protein also has key nutrients 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. >> mike: elton john's performance at princess diana's funeral became a signature moment of the area, and it came close and never happening at all. newly released documents from the u.k. national archives showed the royals were concerned that "candle in the wind" would be too sentimental for the royals who traditionally keep raw emotion under wraps. a high-ranking church official urged the royal family to allow the song, a symbol of the family's embrace of the modern world that diana represented. so there was apparently a backup song ready just in case the palace pulled the plug. elton john and princess diana were close friends, and even though the song got lots of airplay play after the funeral, elton said he would not and has not ever performed it again. i've got to say, one of my early reporting gigs as a fox news correspondent was that funeral, answer elton john's performance was truly moving. >> gillian: mike, a quick pop quiz for you. are you ready? >> mike: shoot. >> gillian: who's better then elton? >> mike: nobody? >> gillian: you got it right! moving on, china shutting down what remains of the independent press in hong kong. police arrested to kill senior journalists. their crime? pointing out the government should serve the people rather than the other way around. the state department is getting involved. alex hogan is joining us from london with the details. >> this involves 200 officers who went in and seized computers and phones and even arrest seven people. these are senior and former senior editors at this organization and law enforcement are charging them with conspiring to publish seditious material. the most prominent pro-democracy media organization. after this raid, the company dismissed all its employees and said it will shut down. antony blinken condemned this, demanding they release those detained and stop targeting the press. chinese officials are disputing these assertions today, defending their actions. >> interpreter: not aimed at the media with opposition positions. we will take action on what these media outlets have done suspected to be illegal activities. >> a meeting in october that some have called beijing's most assertive attempts to influence hong kong. catholic clergymen in hong kong were briefed on president xi jinping's view on religion, that it encompasses chinese characteristics. new this week, critics sounded the alarm in hong kong over the removal of statues honoring the victims of tiananmen square. the statues at the university are some of the last remaining tributes, commemorating the many victims who died in tiananmen square. gillian? >> gillian: you know the saying, alex. it's all very shocking but not surprising. thank you. mike? >> mike: president biden said to speak with vladimir putin at any moment as russia is prepared to invade ukraine. general jack keane will join us about the strategy. and congressman nicole malliotakis, all coming up in the next hour. stay here. ♪ ♪ 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. 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. ♪ ♪ i'm so glad we're finally on vacation. yeah, and kayak made it so easy - searching hundreds of travel sites to find us a great flight. my ears still won't pop after the flight but i don't even care.... what? kayak. search one and done. >> gillian: we've got a fox news alert to top a brand-new hour of "america reports." president biden said to talk to vladimir putin in minutes. the call comes as russia has amassed 90,000 troops near the border of ukraine, sparking fears that an invasion may be imminent. welcome to a brand-new hour of "america reports." i'm gillian turner. >> mike: a diplomatic resolution is still on the table, but that further escalation would result in devastating sanctions. on the other side, putin's demanding assurances that nato will not expand its influence into ukraine. speed we've got general jack keane joining us in a moment. >> mike: senior national correspondent rich edson is traveling with the president live in wilmington, delaware. hello, rich. >> good morning, mike and gillian. it is still unclear as to why exactly russian president vladimir putin has requested this call. president biden is spending time at his home in wilmington, delaware. a senior white house official says that we are reaching a crisis point and have been for weeks, they say, as russia has deployed tens of thousands of troops at its border with ukraine. russia invaded and annexed part of ukraine in 2014 and also invaded neighboring georgia in 2008. top biden administration officials say the united states is prepared to hit russia with sanctions but the kremlin has never seen them before. >> we are having direct conversations with russia. we are clear that russia should not invade the sovereignty of ukraine, that we must stand up, and we are standing up, for its territorial integrity. >> republicans have criticized the white house for its russia policy, including the decision earlier this year to waive congressionally mandated sanctions against a kremlin backed pipeline project to germany, nordstream 2. analysts say that would strengthen their position in europe at the expense of american allies like ukraine. republicans are also pushing the administration to send more weapons to ukraine. >> president biden has to make clear that there will be costs and consequences to whatever putin does with the ukraine a lot of people are commentating that these warmongers are just trying to get us into war. hold up a little bit. there's a lot of options between doing nothing and war. >> "the wall street journal" reports the administration is considering redirecting weapons to ukraine once meant for the now disbanded afghan army. the senior white house official says the u.s. is prepared to buy you can further assistance to defend its territory. specifics on that are unclear. this is the head of the january 10th meeting between senior american and russian officials. the white house officials say that presidents putin and biden are not expected a part of that discussion. back to you, mike. >> mike: rich, thanks very much. gillian? >> gillian: let's bring in fox news strategic analyst and retired four-star general jack keane. everybody's talking about this moment and saying the stakes have never been higher. is that true? >> i think the stakes are pretty high here. putin is an opportunist. he is not reckless as some people want to describe him. he is quite calculating and can be quite deliberate in terms of his planning and preparation. i think that's what we have seen here. i think behind this is his perception that there is a real opportunity here, and it is driven likely by the political and social division that exists in europe and the united states, and i believe he sees this particular white house and many of our western european leaders as being willing to make concessions versus stand up to the threat of his military intimidation. and i believe that is the crucible that is driving putin forward. he senses that he will get something for this military demonstration that he has got going outside of the border of ukraine, and if he does not get anything whatsoever, he still has the option to do some kind of limited military occupation inside of ukraine. that, i think, is where we are. it really comes down to white house, president biden's resolve and determination, as well as the nato leaders. >> gillian: ahead of this meeting, putin is laying out some demands. he wants the u.s. to guarantee they will not welcome ukraine as a nato member. he also wants the u.s. to guarantee we will not sell any more weapons to ukraine or its neighbors. there is no real chance jill biden is going to commit to any of that on this phone call, is there? >> i can't imagine it. listen, i read the document that putin has proposed to the united states. it is breathtaking in terms of its scope. he is reconstructing the security architecture of europe, and what he's actually saying, in addition to those two proposals, he wants the 14 countries that joined nato after the collapse of the soviet union, post-1997 -- the soviet union collapsed in '91 -- those 14 countries, he wants them to no longer have any nato forces in them whatsoever, or any nato weapons. that rolls us back to the cold war status. obviously that would undo nato. it's an unrealistic request to be sure, but just think of the scope of what he is suggesting. that is really what he wants. the sphere of influence over those countries, he resents significantly the fact that they are under the umbrella of nato now when they used to be part of the former soviet union. that is what is driving him. but it gives him an opportunity to play that chip. even though it's unrealistic, he can use it as leverage. much as he is using his troops as leverage. >> gillian: putin sort of yearning for the old days when the soviet union was an empire and had control over all these smaller satellite states. i talked to marc thiessen last hour about putin and he said history has made very clear that he responds pretty much only to action. he doesn't respond well to concessions, he doesn't respond well even to threats. he really looks at what is on the table, or what is on the ground, happening right now. and everything else is just talk. do you agree with that? >> yeah, pretty much. putin has always recognized strength when he sees it and recognize his credibility. deterrence is number one. the capability has got to be real, and you have to be willing to use it. certainly it gets his attention when we are telling him -- and i trust we are telling him very specifically, the nordstream pipeline will be shut down. cronies and oligarchs will be sanctioned, who are close to him in terms of his money, and the third thing is we will deny him the international banking system. the other thing, and this is significant, it gets putin's attention, we'll put increase military forces into the eastern european nato countries as a result of his moving into ukraine. that is something i think we should have done when this thing began, and i think we also should have increase military assistance to ukraine. listen, the biden administration is telling us, gillian, that we are providing military assistance. but it's not the military assistance they really want. yes, they've got some antitank weapons from us, but they want antiaircraft weapons and they also on antiship weapons, helicopters, and some other things on that laundry list. we could give them that increase military capacity that would truly make a difference, and in the discussions with him, tell him that this is what we are going to do. make no mistake about it. we have to pin the rows on him. his disinformation campaign is that somehow the ukrainians precipitated this crisis, and he had no choice but to do what he's doing with 110,000, possibly 175,000 troops. that is a boldfaced lie. pin the rose on him. you precipitated the crisis, mr. putin. we will hold you accountable for that crisis, we are not making concessions to you because you precipitated the crisis. >> gillian: it is interesting how perverted his perspectives on world affairs at any given moment in time. he got to leave it there, but thanks so much to you and happy new year if i don't talk to you before then. >> happy new year to you, gillian, and the team there. >> mike: fascinating conversation pit i could listen to general keane about all afternoon. >> gillian: me, too. >> mike: it seems to me you don't listen to his words, president putin. want to listen to his actions and make sure he follows through on whatever he's told you he's going to do. >> gillian: according to general keane, he responds in kind. it's not really talking the talk, it's walking the walk and that's all that counts. >> mike: it's tough. america's national debt is close to hitting $30 trillion, the democrats are still pushing for trillions more in spending. congresswoman nicole malliotakis up next on which party will really pay the price. ♪ ♪ real cowboys get customized car insurance with liberty mutual, so we only pay for what we need. -hey tex, -wooo. can someone else get a turn? yeah, hang on, i'm about to break my own record. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ i recommend nature made vitamins, because i trust their quality. they were the first to be verified by usp, an independent organization that sets strict quality and purity standards. nature made. the #1 pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand. 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. want to save on your home internet? xfinity is proud to support whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. the emergency broadband benefit program. for a limited time, you may be eligible to qualify for a credit of up to $50 a month toward your internet service through this program. that's right! you could qualify for a credit of up to $50 a month toward your internet service and equipment. for even more value, switch to xfinity mobile, and you could pay as little as $15 a month for wireless. click, call, or visit a store to learn more. >> gillian: as democrats mull over reviving president biden's multitrillion dollar spending bill, the u.s. is on track to kick off the new year nearly $30 trillion in debt. lydia is here with the details. >> hi, gillian. that debt already cost the country nearly $1 billion in interest per day. that's according to the peterson foundation. now lawmakers are considering more spending with president biden's $1.7 trillion build back better agenda. as we entered the new year, the congressional budget office found the version of the plan that passed the house in november with ad $355 billion to the deficit through 2031. that is not including $207 billion in revenue from irs enforcement. but some republicans are calling for more oversight, demanding a balanced budget amendment to the constitution. it would force lawmakers to balance the budget each year. some experts say not taking action on the budget will have dire consequences. >> debt growing at the rate it is expected is going to slow our overall economic growth. that will mean lower wages, more unemployment, and it can also crowd out other priorities that we have in the federal budget. so it'll be harder to keep taxes low. >> now it seems the national debt is snowballing. take a look at this. when president clinton left office in 2001, the debt was more than $5.6 trillion. it nearly doubled during president george w. bush's administration to more than $10.6 trillion, and nearly doubled again to almost $20 trillion during president barack obama's administration. almost $8 trillion was added during the trump administration to reach more than $27 trillion and, gillian, i looked at the u.s. debt to see how much to clear for the country right now. this morning it was $230,000 per taxpayer, but already by this afternoon about $1,000 to $233,000 per taxpayer. >> gillian: yikes. i don't know whether to thank you are not for that, lydia, but we appreciate it. mike? >> mike: let's bring in nicole malliotakis. welcome. >> welcome. thank you. >> mike: we took a pause over the holidays. build back better, the fight for it will continue when he returned to the capital. what are your expectations? >> i think the bill as is, it's dead. republicans unanimously voted against it in the house. we see senator manchin coming out, and other democrats, quite frankly, not voting down that comfortable voting for this bill. when taxpayers pay taxes, they expect certain things in return. there obviously things like national security, making sure we have strong defense, making sure we have money for quality education, medicare for seniors, and of course infrastructure. we've got to modernize our nation and keep up the pace, and that brings gdp money and revenue in. democrats and i want to create unnecessary new social programs, welfare without work programs, and other entitlements that we just simply cannot afford. so i think this is going to certainly be a show down. i think the democrats are going to try and continue to push forward with various pieces of their agenda. i will say this, republicans have been very good at stopping major pieces of their agenda. if you look what happened, we expose that for what it was and ended up dying because democrats didn't want to support it. we stopped using taxpayer money to fund political campaigns. all the radical campaign election law changes. the anti-police measures taking away qualified immunity from police officers. packing the court, another big one. republicans have done a good job despite being in the minority. >> mike: the piece talking about the national debt approaching $30,000 is stunning. what will it take to get both parties at the table at some point to figure something out? >> i think republicans are right when they say they want to see a balanced budget. if you're going to spend money because there is a necessity here, you need to cut the money from somewhere else. one of the things i have proposed is looking at making sure we are auditing these programs. the inspector general's have caught tens of millions of dollars in waste, fraud, and abuse, money that's been spent in afghanistan. as a member of the foreign affairs committee a talk all the time about money we are sending to other countries. is it really being used for its intended purpose? and then the covid relief programs, for example. how much waste and abuse has been identified there? we need to make sure we empower these inspector general's. i introduced a bill to go after the states and municipalities of a million or more, and like new york city, that receive a lot of federal funds, to make sure that being spent properly. it's important we look to this, but the democrats are not fiscally responsible as we are. they want to create new programs and entitlements and give money away, where we are trying to say we need to be responsible here going forward and spend on the things we truly need. >> mike: the head of the progressive caucus in the house, pramila jayapal, writing in "the washington post" over the weekend, "this moment for the biden administration and congress can either lead to our greatest failure or our greatest success. if we use every tool at our disposal to redouble our efforts to deliver for our communities, with the most urgent needs of the american people as our guide, success is possible." that in reference to the build back better package, either encouraging president biden to use the pen to go around congress were to continue to fight to get it through congress. your thoughts? >> the people in this country elected representatives to do a job, and that is to go to washington and vote on the best interest of the district. to try to take away that representative democracy is wrong. this is something that you would hear in my mother's homeland of cuba, that unilateral dictatorship. the president can enforce these things and go around congress. we will certainly be pushing back and fighting against that every single step of the way. look, we had a lot of success in stopping bad policies. we have to keep a strong defense in 2022 until we can take back the house the following year, and there can be a balance once again. we know particularly of new yorkers, will the 1-party rule is no good, and we see that playing out of washington right now. >> mike: we are nearly out of time but i want to put on the screen the fox business headline about gasoline prices, looking at inflation heading into the new year. gas buddy says $4 per gallon national average is not out of the question for 2022. americans will feel the biggest impact. how does that affect what happens on capitol hill in 2022? >> major issue. not only the gas prices but inflation across the board compared to under the current administration. if you look at illegal immigration, all the issues in comparison from this year to last year, we are much worse off under joe biden. we have encouraged him to pursue a more independent strategy when it comes to energy. let's do domestic exploration, the keystone pipeline was a major issue that he killed. we cannot rely on foreign entities. we know that, and we continue to push him to be a little more responsible and not only energy exploration, bringing out supply chain, bringing people back to work, securing our border, addressing all these issues that are the top amongst americans' thoughts. >> mike: nicole malliotakis, thank you for your time. happy new year. >> happy new year, thank you. >> mike: so, gillian, should be some big fights to head back on the hill and lawmakers get back from their break. >> gillian: yeah, and there is reporting of this move afoot that, should build back better ultimately not get through congress yet again, the biden administration is looking at parsing it out into smaller chunks and pushing some of those provisions through executive order. so there truly is no end in sight. >> mike: which can be very satisfying to the party in power during that administration, but if the new administration comes in, it can be wiped out pretty quickly. we can see how it plays out. >> gillian: new daily covid cases are spiking setting records this week, glitter lines around the block for covert testing, and chaos at domestic airports. >> mike: plus the border crisis ramping up ahead of the new year. will the migrant surge continue to dog president biden in 2022? arizona attorney general mark brnovich, the state seems to be agreeing done like dealing with some of the big increases and he is on deck. ♪ ♪ [narrator] this is steve. he used to have gum problems. now, he uses therabreath healthy gums oral rinse with clinically-proven ingredients and his gum problems have vanished. (crowd applauding) therabreath, it's a better mouthwash. welcome to silversneakers. are you ready to get moving? (throws punch) at walmart, target and other fine stores. our new virtual classes were designed for you and millions of seniors like you. you can now choose from thousands of live virtual classes every week. get moving wherever you have an internet connection. and when you're ready, enjoy access to thousands of locations nationwide. with silversneakers, you're free to move. enroll today at no additional cost by visiting getsilversneakers dot com. oh yeah, we gotta take off. you downloaded the td ameritrade mobile app? yeah, actually i'm taking one last look at my dashboard before we board... and you have thinkorswim mobile- -so i can finish analyzing the risk on this position. you two are all set. choose the app that fits your investing style. ♪♪ >> oma cron is so transmissible that you might not get it the first time around. if you retest to pick it up a second time around, but again we don't have the tests. we need the tests. >> mike: dr. marc siegel for my last hour, as cases hit a new high in the u.s. nearly 2 million cases reported this week alone. those numbers forcing schools and cities to change plans as we head into the new year. steve harrigan's live in atlanta, home of the cdc. steve? >> mike, a new high in the u.s. overall. in the least 15 states as well notching new individual highs for cases of covid. the cdc director said that hospitalizations, however, remain comparatively low. a different picture is given from six atlanta hospitals who just issued a statement a short time ago saying they are seeing a staggering surge of patients into atlanta hospitals, the home of the cdc. people of covid, both adults and children, almost all of them unvaccinated. the surgeon general today had a blunt and direct message. >> the most important role of vaccination is to save your life and keep you out of the hospital. >> in spite of these record numbers, the real numbers might actually be considerably higher. that's because so many americans are taking rapid at-home tests and not reporting the results. finally, michigan has decided to reject federal guidance so far on isolating people with covid. the cdc cut that from ten days? five. for now, michigan is sticking with ten days in isolation. back to you. >> steve harrigan live in atlanta. many thanks. gillian? >> as the holiday season rolls on, a seventh day of coast-to-coast flight cancellations is continuing to short-circuit millions of american airline travelers. david lee miller is at laguardia airport in queens, new york, tracking on the progress. hey, david. >> gillian, as the day progresses, sell, too, does the bad news for airline passengers. today alone there are now more than 1100 cancellations, and 3700 delays at airports throughout the united states. in addition to staff shortages, severe weather is causing slight deceptions. the seattle seatac has canceled more than a quarter of its flights. passengers are tired, angry, and frustrated. >> there is mad dash' to get a new flight. they want you to schedule with a different airline. i would like, i'm not going to try to squeeze into different flights. so we canceled it and bought a new flight. >> i was supposed to come home sunday. my plane was supposed to land in seattle at 6:00. it was canceled. we have been to get home since then. >> looking now at the individual carriers, jetblue has canceled 17% of its flights for the day. according to a report, the airline said it will offer fewer flights through january. they want to give passengers time to consider other options. other airlines reporting significant cancellations include alaska air, 14% of its flights grounded today. united canceled 8% of its schedule, that airline issued a statement saying in part, and i quote, "the nationwide psychonomic on cases that had a direct impact on our flight crews and operations. as a result we have been fortunate had to cancel some flights and are noticing customers in advance of them coming to the airport." as you mentioned, after seven straight days now a flight cancellations, passengers are increasingly becoming more and more anxious when they arrived at the airport. we are told that there are now tomorrow scheduled in excess of 1200 flights for new year's eve, and that is a figure we expect we will see increased during the next several days. back to you. >> gillian: david lee miller in queens, new york. thank you. mike, for so long i've been so jealous of folks who have continued to travel throughout covid, going to fabulous places, taking vacations. for the most part i have not gone much of anywhere. now i don't -- it seems like i don't really have to feel that way anymore. >> mike: your heart goes out to people just trying to get from point a to point b, but her to get home or another destination, and the stress they must feel as they get to the airport thinking, should i just bail? >> gillian: what awaits me, yeah. >> mike: the border crisis showing no signs of slowing down as we head into the new year. in texas, migrant and cancers are up nearly in all sectors. a similar story in southwest arizona where local officials declared a state of emergency earlier this year. joining me now, mark brnovich, arizona attorney general. welcome. >> thank you, mike, for having me on. >> mike: is president biden, vice president harris, or secretary mayorkas were to call you and say, how do we fix it, what would you tell them? >> it starts with recognizing the problem. second, it continues with following existing law. as you know, we have numerous losses. i'm going to be arguing a case in february at the u.s. supreme court about the biden administration incentivizing, monetizing people coming year. they won't even recognize as a problem. you mentioned kamala harris, she is involved in this. it shows the lack of seriousness that president biden. nothing is getting done. they want to acknowledge a problem. the border is the man-made disaster. it is not climate change or whatever aoc and her enablers want us to think in d.c. we are seeing a record amount of people coming into this country and a record amount of drugs like sentinel and methamphetamines, which are killing our sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, flooding into this country. the biden administration has created this problem. they need to recognize it and start following existing law so we don't have to sue them all the time, to get them to just do the right thing and enforce the law as it is. >> mike: we have had reporting teams on the texas-mexico border all year. you are obviously a border state. i want to put on the screen the numbers from the yuma sector, really stunning numbers. fiscal year 2021, 1777 contacts. fiscal year 2022, 44,000 512. an increase of 4500%. what is the impact on state resources and what is the impact in places like the city of yuma? >> i was down in yuma recently and you had people literally walking across the border illegally entering this country with their bags, their luggage. you and i would get more of a hassle at the airport, assuming the airline didn't cancel our flights, trying to go through airport security. that is why we know people are watching them be apprehended, which we know is a danger. we know it has an impact on our schools and resources. state taxpayers, federal taxpayers are subsidizing this. i eluded to the supreme court case, that is what the biden administration wants to give government benefits, essentially welfare to people coming into this country illegally, which i think is fundamentally unfair to hardworking taxpayers. then when you put on top of that the fact that the cartels have seized essentially operational control of our border, and we in arizona, just this year, more than 9 million sentinel pills just this year in arizona. enough to kill possibly the entire population of the state in one year. and this is not staying in arizona. it's not staying in texas. this will be spreading throughout the country. the biden administration sees tonic seems more focused on being woke and greedy than protecting hardworking taxpayers of this country. >> mike: i had the president of the national border patrol counsel on last hour. let's play this clip about the cartel problem. >> criminal cartels do not fear law enforcement. what they fear his policy. they fear if they're going to be prosecuted. they fear if mpp will be brought back, because then they can't go into countries and advertise their services and make billions of dollars off of our policies. >> mike: attorney general brnovich, your thoughts on that comment? >> one of the reasons why we sued president biden over the interim and nonpermanent guidance is, they are refusing to deport people. there's more than a million. we keep throwing around these numbers, the more than a million people in this country who are supposed to be deported. as a result of the biden administration refusal to do so, you literally have people, not only in arizona but in other states, as well, being released from jails and prisons have been convicted and charged and dangerous crimes and being released into our community. when you throw in the amount of drugs coming into this country, the amount of money, this is not a problem for just this coming year. it's becoming a generational problem. i think it's aptly heartbreaking. i'm a first generation american, i know why people want to come to this country, and it's about the rule of law and opportunity. the bi administration and one year has completely eradicated that. that is not fair, as i said, to anyone paying taxes and he works hard every day in place by the rules. >> mike: arizona attorney general mark brenda mitch, thanks for your time. gillian? >> gillian: a chicago teacher who tested positive in a plane headed to iceland, said she quarantined in the bathroom for four hours. she posted about it all on tiktok. she said she got a sore throat somewhere over the atlantic. she packed some rapid tests in her hand luggage and decided to take one into the loo. the plane didn't have space to properly isolate so she stayed in the restroom. and her tiktok now has more than 4 billion views. i think the only thing to say here now, mike, as an envious as i am of her, i would prefer to be quarantined in an in-flight restroom than, say, a gas station bathroom, or even a bathroom on the ground at the airport. >> mike: i mean, good for her that she had tests with her, then think about the guys and gals knocking on the door like, "hey, i need to use the restroom!" >> gillian: year going to be waiting off a long time! >> mike: come on, get out of there! [laughter] it's supposed to be three strikes and you're out, but in one american city three strikes gets all criminal charges tossed out. an accused antifa agitator somehow still got off scot-free. but it's at the expense of crime victims who don't get the justice they deserve. joe gamaldi sounds off on the shocking details of this case. ♪ ♪ so glad we're finally on vacation. yeah, and kayak made it so easy - searching hundreds of travel sites to find us a great flight. my ears still won't pop after the flight but i don't even care.... what? kayak. search one and done. i brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! (sighs wearily) here i'll take that! (excited yell) woo-hoo! ensure max protein. with thirty grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and nutrients to support immune health. earn about covid-19,ugar, 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. >> gillian: a federal charge against a portland antifa rider has now been dropped. eva warner, also known as joshua, was arrested at totaled three times during the summer of 2020 in connection to rioting and was then released without bail every single time. eva completed just 30 hours of community service before the judge dismissed the case. let's bring in fraternal order of police national vice president, joe gamaldi. joe, portland police say here that eva directed a high powered laser into the eyes of police, trying to disperse the crowd, and then resisted arrest. >> you know, i really wish this was a bad joke, but sadly it's not. it's an example of what we are seeing across this country with our revolving door criminal justice system. here we have an antifa terrorists, because that's what they are, terrorists. she is arrested three separate times for assaulting police officers and rioting. she's gotten 30 hours of community service for this? look at it this way, the teacher in your last segment spent more time in the airplane bathroom then this terrorist will spend in prison for doing what she did. what kind of message does this send to terrorists and nt for? you can do whatever you want to there's no consequences for actions. the worst is the message that it sent to the community of portland. these individuals react to that city for months and basically what the system is saying is we don't give a damn about your community or what they did, because no one will be held responsible. >> gillian: it looks like they are not taking a softer approach to crime now, but in this specific case they are moving retroactively. this person convicted of this crime was just absolved, committed back in september 2020. absolved of all charges. >> yeah, and over the last two years we have seen a toxic cocktail being shoved down the throats of law-abiding americans. it is a rogue prosecutor getting sweetheart deals to violent repeat felons, the continued demonization of law enforcement, and the unmitigated disaster that has been bail reform. it's a horrific consequence. we sought 20,000 murders in 2020, the first time we have seen that number so i since the mid-90s. the american public is fed up. a recent fox business poll said 27% of americans believe violent crime is a major problem in this country, and they are right, and it needs to stop. when he startled and criminals accountable, make sure that we are giving police officers the tools they need to do the job. >> gillian: let's talk about crime in the heartland for a moment. if you live on the east coast like i do, you are used to seeing security guards, private security guards, posted inside pretty much all stories. all individual stories, too. this is now something we are seeing happened in the midwest with the grocery store chain called hyvee creating its own private security force. what does that tell you? >> i'll tell you, and apprehensive any time a private company starts an armed security force like this. as police officers we go through significant training, significant oversight, despite what the virtue signaling politicians and keyboard warriors will tell you. but i get it. i am empathetic to these business owners because we have these politicians instituting these woke policies, and impacting the business trying to make a living. it's not just the story, we are seeing a walgreens close dozens of stores in california because we've got people going in there with trashbags and steering products and walk out of the store. we have other stores that look like military installations at this point because the private sector is responding to what these woke politicians have done. they destabilize our communities and we are all suffering the consequences. they need to start looking in the mirror to understand what they've done. >> gillian: wow. joe gamaldi, we've got to leave it there. thanks for joining us and happy new year. >> thanks for having me on. happy new year. >> gillian: you bet. my? >> mike: gillian, tiktok taking it on the gym. controversy has become part for the course. >> gillian: plus, the damage your holiday shopping may have done to your debt portfolio, next. ♪ ♪ ["can't buy me love"] age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein. i've been telling everyone... the secret to great teeth is having healthy gums.ts crest advanced gum restore. detoxifies below the gumline... and restores by helping heal gums in as little as 7 days. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. >> tik tok taking a lot of heat over its impact on kids this year. mark meredith has more. >> tik tok has over a billion users on its platform. a former moderator said she suffered emotional distress after reviewing hundreds of videos an hour. the woman said she was mentally exhausted after watching videos of graphic sexual content, violence and animal abuse. the lawsuit alleged that she suffered severe psychological trauma including depression and symptoms associated with anxiety and ptsd. so we reached out to tik tok. it says they're not commenting on the specific lawsuit but put out a statement saying they partner with third party firms and they continue to expand on wellness services so moderators get support. the "wall street journal" is investigating growing cases of teens self-diagnosing themselves with mental disorders because of what they're watching on tik tok. cases like these are exactly why parents need to set limits on social media. >> they should know what their kids are posting. they should have access to what they're viewing and also reacting to what their kids are posting. >> tik tok says they need to look at issues like harassment. mike? >> thanks, mark. as a father of two teens, the tik tok stuff worries me. that's what kids are watching and no really tvs anything. >> as a mom, i'm more terrified of her having a social media account than i am about her dating, trying drugs or anything else out there sounds like the more and more evidence we get, mike, social media is hurting kids more than we can do these days. so retailers are celebrating soaring holiday spending now, a lot of americans are facing serious credit card debt. jeff flock has the details. hey, jeff. >> terrifying in its own way, gillian. we're out here at the mall, this is one of the malls in central pennsylvania. a great year the for christmas but the bill is coming due. over a third of americans finance christmas with debt. the amount of debt per person is less, but we're financing it in different ways. this buy now paid later stuff has caught the attention of the federal government. in fact, the consumer financial protection board is looking at five different firms investigating them saying that they perhaps are putting consumers at some disadvantage. retailers like the idea buy now pay later. >> it's helpful for people making larger purchase. >> of course, you can always return and a lot of people are doing it this year with extended return policies by some of the major retailers. up to 90 days in some cases. you can take back what you bought and some cases you'll can keep it. the total amount of returns supposed to be an all-time record. supposed to be 114 billion. from the mall, back to you. >> jeff, quick follow up question for you there. are you seeing any evidence where you're staked out today that people are doing stress shopping? i mean -- >> i think you're right. perhaps we leave you with a picture of the folks out here doing that. people are getting out again. we don't see any masks here. we see people enjoying the holiday shopping. i think you're on to something there, gillian. >> jeff flock in lancaster. thanks for joining us today. i'm gillian turner. >> i'm mike emanuel with trace gallagher in for martha. have a great show. >> thanks, mike and gilligan. good afternoon. i'm trace gallagher in for martha maccallum. this is "the story." as his administration grapples with shortages and sky rocketing prices, president biden turning his attention abroad. he's minutes away from speaking with vladimir putin in what one senior administration official calls "a moment of crisis. 100,000 russian troops loom at ukraine's border as putin issues his list of demands for security guarantees. weeks ago, biden told his russian counterpart that there would be severe consequences if ukraine is innovated. general jack keane says putin