embolden in part because of. biden. he joins us this hour. but first, republican senate eric scott a member of the homeland security committee joins us. thanks so much. so the talks are about a few minutes away. we don't know if we'll get a response. we'll bring you any breaking news as it comes in. the "wall street journal" reminds us in part, obama warned putin not to move russian troops against ukraine and that his country would face painful economic counter measures. mr. putin ordered his special forces to seize the crimeian peninsula two weeks later. and now biden is being tested and the stakes are higher. what should in your estimate joe biden do differently this time, senator? >> he ought to get a backbone. first off, he ought to be very clear that putin that something will happen and it has to happen. what we watched with biden, he's all talk and no action. it's not just putin and it's not just ukraine. what we're talking about, what will happen with lithuania, poland. is putin going to decide who will be a member of nato? xi is watching this closely on what to do with taiwan. biden has to stand up or these dictators will run rough shot over american security. >> one of my questions would be -- there's 100,000 troops. probably 90,000 now. putin has removed about 10,000 away from the border. vladimir putin is the one that prompted this call. he asked for this call to happen today. what is the move here on putin's part? is he trying to set the agenda here? >> oh, absolutely. so one thing biden can do today is look, until you move all the troops away from ukraine, we're shutting down your pipeline. we're not going to allow the pipeline to go forward. biden has to do something. he said oh, we're going to shut down the pipeline in the united states and allow putin to go forward with his. biden ought to say i'm going to stop your pipeline until you get all of those troops away from the ukraine and shut your mouth and quit telling us how to run our national security. >> you look where vladimir putin sits. aside from the pipeline, what other measures or sanctions do you think president biden could impose that would make putin blink? >> first off, he ought to do something about the pipeline and doing something about any economic transaction that comes out of russia ought to be shut down. anything that we can do to work with our allies. so there's a consequence to biden. we have the same problem with obama. we have the same problem with biden. they draw red lines and do nothing about it. so what do dictators think? biden is weak. he's never stood up to a dictator his whole life. >> it's notable in 2018 you disagreed with some of the tactics that president trump was employing in his talks with putin. so you just don't trust this guy. that's the bottom line here. regardless of the president, you do not have any trust for vladimir putin, his word, any of his actions? >> anything that putin says is a complete lie. i mean, there's nothing that putin, xi, north korea dictator, any of these i the ayatollah, they're liars. they act like we're idiots because we believe them and trust them. why would we do that? >> lastly, do you think the threats of russia going in to ukraine is real? >> oh, absolutely. absolutely it's real. we have to take these things very seriously and get ahead of them. we have to do everything we can to help ukraine, help poland, help lithuania. and asia, we have to help taiwan and do it now. don't wait until we have a bigger problem. >> thanks, senate eric scott. we appreciate it. >> thanks, trey. happy new year. >> also with us here, former u.s. ambassador to the ukraine, william taylor and now vice president of strategic stability and security at the u.s. institute of peace. you know the whole idea here is that you have russia and you have the ukraine border here. we talked about the 90,000 troops. you know more about this chess board than anybody. what do you think vladimir putin's play is here? >> trace, i think he's -- he's trying to keep his options open. i really don't think he's decided if he wants to go in to invade ukraine. he know what's will happen to him. he believes that the sanctions that are lined up with our allies in europe are serious. he understands that the ukrainian army is much stronger than it was when he invaded last time. he understands that the ukrainian people are defending their own land. they will fight hard. the military as well as civilians will fight against invading russia. so mr. putin understands the risks. on the other hand, he has this obsession with ukraine. he doesn't want ukraine to go to europe. so he -- putin would love to have us give concessions right away without him having to invade. there's a real chance that he would invade. >> you're not the only one to use that word "obsession". i want your take on this fox news op-ed. it says -- >> do you agree? >> i think that's what putin would like to do. the ukrainian army is equally, if not more able, to fight in the cold. the ukrainian army has been developed. it has been trained. it is better led, better equipped. they have higher tech equipment now and weapons that we provided and others that are a challenge to the russians. the russians know what they're up against. i think putin would like not to have to invade if he can get away with it. >> the concept here is that putin wants the u.s. and nato to pledge that ukraine won't become a full member of nato. analysts said that won't happen. >> that's not going to happen. it's not going to happen for many reasons. it violates the principle of sovereignty. russia believes that big nations have more sovereignty than small nations. we disagree with that. we don't believe in spheres of influence. further, the decision on who gets into nato is a decision for the country applying, in this case ukraine, and the members of nato. it's not up to anybody else. certainly not up to the united states to say. so even if we wanted to, which we don't, we couldn't commit nato not to accept ukraine. ukraine has an open door. nato has said the door is open for you at some point you can be a member. >> you're an expert in diplomacy. what do you think about the two calls this month? is it enough? you have two zoom calls. should there be more engagement? should countries be more involved? lastly. >> absolutely. absolutely. that is one of the other big principles. we, the united states, are not going to negotiate with the russians about ukrainian security or european security without them being at the table. so this cannot be just a u.s.-russia discussion. on january 10 and 12 january, there will be broader discussions. even beyond that. broader discussions of all european nations that are a member of the osce. that's where these discussions about european security should take place. also, any kind of de-confliction of military activity. >> thanks, sir. >> thank you, trace. >> what the white house and other public officials have planned for the future of covid as they're left with many of the same problems that they had at the beginning of the year next. ♪ limu emu... & doug ♪ ♪ superpowers from a spider bite? i could use some help showing the world how liberty mutual customizes their car insurance so they only pay for what they need. 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[cheering] that was awesome. and, the hits won't quit, with peacock premium included at no additional cost. all that entertainment built in. xfinity. a way better way to watch. >> we spent $11 trillion fighting covid.we don't have another trillion. we have to safely learn to live with covid. we're not going to do it in a reckless fashion. we'll make sure our cities are up and thriving and we're going to do it in a safe way. >> trace: indoming new york city mayor eric adams promising to keep the private sector mandates in place. the cdc says nearly two million covid cases have been recorded in the past seven days as the omicron variant puts dents in plans for the new year. let's get to steve harrigan. >> good afternoon. records being set for new covid cases across the country. 15 states reporting the highest single day rates. hospitalizations appear to be low. in atlanta, the cdc says they're seeing a staggering surge in hospitalization with adults and children. the surgeon general had a blunt warning. >> the most important of all of vaccination is to save your life and keep you out of the hospital. >> the real numbers for covid could be much higher than are being reported. that's because so many americans using the rapid at-home tests and not reporting the results. with the new year's eve holiday on the horizon, the guidance from the federal government is grim. >> when you're talking about a new year's eve party, we have 30, 40, 50 people celebrating, you don't know the status of the vaccination. i'd recommend stay away from that this year. >> here in atlanta, for the second year in a row, the peach drop is cancelled. trace? >> trace: thanks, steve. now here dr. bob lahita. thanks. great to see you. we saw a clip there of anthony fauci. i want to play more of him on msnbc and i want your reaction on the back side. >> if you look at the risk of transmitting infection from a person who is infected during the first five days of that period versus the second five days, most of the risk is segregated in the first five days. so the risk is very low of transmitting as you get into day 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. >> trace: is he right there, doctor, or is he just trying to take pressure off of the cdc for cutting the quarantine team in half and not requiring a negative test result to get out of isolation? >> here's the problem. we're running low on police officers. a third of ems workers in the city are not working. nurses and doctors are calling out and having understaffed intensive care units. so the cdc came out with that realistic assessment to overcome. i didn't even mention the airline pilots with thousands of flights cancelled. that's the cdc's point right now. so you're right. your infectious within the first two days of getting symptoms. once the symptoms abate, even though your tests are positive, you can go back to work with a mask for five days and five days after when you're in public. >> trace: and the big frightening headline, there's an increase in child hospitalizations. the "new york times" said omicron is not more severe for children despite rising hospitalizations. more children are being treated for covid but a combination of factors including low vaccination rates most likely explain the increase. and then a doctor at the children's hospital in philadelphia says the following here. i think the important story to tell here is severity is way down and the risk for significant severe disease seems to be lower, speaking about children there. what do you think? >> i agree with that assessment. children don't get very sick generally. they get sick with the delta variant. but that is also very rare. so vaccination is a good idea for kids. but it's not going to make or break the story. there's been an increase of 30% of hospital admissions among children. some of this is the multisystem inflammatory syndrome, which is survivable and worrisome. so yes, i would suggest you take your kids out and get them vaccinated particularly if you have a gathering during the new year's holiday. >> trace: when you hear about schools shutting down, what do you think of that? >> i think that is wrong. schools should stay open. i worry more about the teachers that are fully vaccinated and boosted. i'm not worried about the children. children, again, very few of them get very sick. the omicron variant doesn't cause anything but a cold-like illness in children. keep the children in school. it's more troublesome to take them out and close the school. >> trace: lastly, dr. hahita, is it time to forget about the case numbers? just worry about severe illness and death. >> that's exactly correct. a lot of people are staying at home, they're testing themselves. we don't count those numbers. we had 489,000 cases today of positive infegss. you can probably add another third to that and make it over 600,000 cases. people are quarantining, not going out for new year's. probably not a good idea to gather with your friends, half of which may not be vaccinated. could be a problem, trace. >> trace: a big ask though. dr. bob hahita, great to have you on. happy new year. >> happy new year to you. >> trace: meantime, hillary clinton takes aim at the progressive left and democratic infighting will hamper president biden's agenda in the new year. that's next. >> at the end of the day, it means nothing if we don't have a congress that will get things done and we don't have a white house that we can count on to be sane and sober and stable and productive. throughout history i've observed markets shaped by the intentional and unforeseeable. for investors who can navigate this landscape, leveraging gold, a strategic and sustainable asset... the path is gilded with the potential for rich returns. >> the democrats are 0 for 6. they've been wrong on afghanistan, the border, crime, inflation, energy and now covid. they can't get anything wrong. >> trace: president biden heads in to 2022 with fewer accomplishments than they hoped for despite having control of the house and senate. democrats are left scrambling to find a way forward. aishah hasnie live for us in washington. aishah, good afternoon. >> good afternoon, trace. good to see you. democrats had razor thin majorities. hard to get anything done in a 50/50 senate. they had plenty of interparty fighting going on between progressives and moderates. sometimes it got personal. let's take a look and start with their wins this year. not many of them. the big ones that they passed the $1.9 trillion rescue plan. the 1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and the national defend funding bill. they got that done with the help of republicans. the list unfortunately longer for what democrats failed to accomplish starting with the massive tax and social spending plan that blew up before christmas. no voting rights legislation, immigration reform not happening. police reform, gun reform not happening. leaving dems facing pressure to deliver something in the new year. they hope to start with build back better. >> good policy is good politics. the way folks make decisions at election time is to understand what their member of congress did for them. that's part of what this legislation would do. we did it with the infrastructure bill. we need to do it with build back better as well. >> meanwhile, republicans feeling good about the mid terms. we're getting back to basics. we do it with faith, family, free market and education. we're putting together a task force to give americans what we stand for. >> democrats really need to figure out their own issues within the party. don't listen to what anyone says about that it's the republican's fault. they have their own problems if they want to get anything done in the new year. >> trace: thanks, aishah. let's bring in former republican arkansas governor and presidential candidate mike huckabee. he's a fox news contributor and democratic strategist crystal knight. governor, to you first. aishah hasnie, i'm not sure you heard her, the naughty list was more than the nice list. i want this chart on the screen. it's the consumer price index surge in 2021. the cost of everything keeps going up, governor. the president's poll numbers keep going down. it appears the democrats are digging themselves a bit of a hole. >> there's no doubt about it. when you look at fundamentals, fuel, whether it's for heating oil or for your car. when energy costs go up so dramatically, that hits everybody. it hits that single mom that can barely afford to put enough gas in her car to drop her kids off at day car and work and back and pick them up. it affects every single family. add to that the increased cost of groceries. so already the biden administration was dealing with covid explosion. joe biden said we're going to lick it, we're going to take care of it, we're going to totally control it. its controlled him and more people died this year than last year. he's dealing with it from the standpoint of having inherited a vaccine and a strategic plan. so i'm just convinced that a lot of things that joe biden has tried to sell the american people is he's come up with a new formula for dog food but the dogs won't eat it and people are saying this is not working. >> trace: including people in the democratic party, crystal. hillary clinton really had this warning. i want your response on the other side. watch. >> i think that it is a time for some careful thinking about what wins elections and not just in deep blue districts where a democrat and a liberal democrat or progressive democrat is going to win. >> trace: when you have one of the standard bearers at the party taking shots at progressives, it's significant in some circles. your thoughts. >> i think what secretary clinton is stating is that the democrats have had a tough year. it's no surprise to anyone with getting legislation passed. as the woman in the previous package referenced, the american rescue plan got through but we also have to highlight how republicans have really stalled progress in this country this year. the build back better plan not only would help democratic constituents across this country but it would help every single american. we're talking about social spending plans that would also benefit constituents in their home districts. for them to sit and say that they've had a great year and moving in to 2022, it's really shameful that they stalled important legislation that could help provide economic relief to families across this country. >> trace: what i find interesting, governor, is that the progressives are now willing to sacrifice some people in their own party to get what they want. here's congress woman jayapal saying president biden caved to get the infrastructure bill passed and now joe manchin is running the show. she said "low hanging bipartisan provisions were prioritized. dividing the president's agenda gave corporate america a chance to killing build back better." what do you think? >> let me say to trista's point, she's echoing jen psaki and joe biden that said the republicans messed this up. let me remind everybody, the democrats have the house, the senate and the white house. they own the whole show. if they can't make the play work until the final act, it's not the republicans holding it up. it's democrats, joe manchin, krysten sinema. they don't want to go back and defend this in their own districts.they won't see it publicly and get themselves up messed up with the white house, this isn't a republican problem. this is the democrats continue come together because if they could, they could pass it. they can't. >> trace: its a fair point, crystal. you do own the whole shooting match here. what do you think? >> well, i think that that is a fair point. my hope is that in the new year that the president can get manchin on board, pull in cinema -- sinema as well. to have our future economic agenda stalled by one or two members of the senate is hurtful. it's hurtful to people that are depending on these things like the child tax credits that would help single families and their children moving into the new year. while it's important to note that the democrats do hold a massive majority of power right now, it's also shameful that not a single republican is deciding to vote in favor of the american public because they're choosing party over policy. >> trace: crystal, governor, thanks to you both. happy new year. >> happy new year. >> trace: a new warning from cdc as covid cases sky rocket. avoid taking a cruise even if you're fully vaccinated. the cdc says fully vaccinated passengers may be at risk of getting and spreading covid. again, the cdc is now recommending you do not take a cruise even if you are fully vaccinated. meantime, the trump administration border policy is now in the hands of the supreme court and general jack keane on the biden and putin phone call expected to begin any moment. that is next. i have moderate to severe ulcerative 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that's the case, remain in mexico makes sense. if your goal is to expose the root causes of migration and believe all migrants have a right to file an asylum claim and remain here until a judge decides otherwise, it's a bad idea. president trump implemented the policy to stem the flow of central americans and end catch and release. president biden immediately reversed it and called it inhumane. >> the biden administration is trying to make things safer but unfortunately many of these acts of violence are undertaken by corrupt officials in mexico. >> after texas sued a federal court reinstated the policy. now biden wants the supreme court to overturn it saying mpp is not the best tool for deterring migration. it's exposes migrants to risks. but former trump officials say migrants know the risks when they leave and the policies are not because of persecution but because of a job. >> they're not going to implement policies that we know work, then they need another solution. >> since biden took office, monthly border apprehensions have doubled. >> every citizen should be furious about the actions of this administration trying to overturn a policy that works. >> so people that enrolled in the program, 723 out of 60,000. so trace, at this point, the future is in the hands of the supreme court. >> trace: going to be a battle. thank you, a high stakes call between president biden and vladimir putin scheduled for right now. the white house has not told fuss the call is underway or not. we'll keep you posted. russia's leader threatens to innovate ukraine. let's bring in general jack keane, a fox news contributor news senior strategic analyst, former vice chief of staff of the army. general, great to see you. you have great insight on this. i'm curious what you think putin's play here. he's has pulled 10,000 troops away and asked for this call with biden. is he looking for leverage? >> yeah, we don't know the content of the previous call. i'm not suggesting that we need to know that. based on the first phone call, may have something to do with the following one. but for a fact, he's going to use this phone call to get his oar in the water. he said the one thing that has happened since the first phone call, that proposal has breathtaking in its scope because it's a reconstruction of the european security architecture where he takes the 14 new nato nations that came in after the collapse of the soviet union and says we cannot put nato in those countries and no further expansion of nato. that is obviously proposals that the united states cannot accept. but i think he's also using the most extreme proposal there about the impact on the 14 nato nations as leverage to get concessions. putin is an opportunist. this is calculated on his part. he's got 110,000 troops in the vicinity. i think he believes that given this white house and given the political social division that exists in the united states and also in europe that this is an opportunity for him to get some concessions from the united states, from the european leaders. he's using obviously his troop demonstration and this written proposal as leverage to get it. >> trace: or what? does he go in? that's the question. if he doesn't get the concessions, does he go into ukraine? >> yeah, that's the option that is left on the table, certainly. if we push back like i think we how old the push back on certainly these proposals that he's making that gives him the option to tell his domestic audience, the ukrainians precipitated this crisis. assisted by the nato countries. i tried to work a deal with them. i can't do it. he conducts what i think would be a limited military operation, not an all-out invasion to take control of the ukraine. that would be a disaster for him in the long run. that option is still out there. of course, that's why everyone is concerned. i believe he wants to avoid any military operation that has dire consequences like the united states and the international community can impose on him. that's why i think he's pushing hard. he's very good at this. he's gotten in the head of our presidents in the past. you know, trace. he's very good at getting concessions from them. >> we talked about it in 2014 when. obama made these threats and followed through on none of them. my last question here, general, let's say he does follow-through and goes in. is there some sanctions, something that president biden could do that would make vladimir putin blink? >> well, yeah, absolutely. shutting them out of the international banking system would get his attention. shutting down nord stream 2 pipeline. also something that we should have done already is the military option. that is position troops in the nato countries that are in this vicinity so he understands clearly that we're drawing a line. give the ukraine the aid that they want. not just the aid that we're wanting to give them, which is not as significant that they need. there's a laundry list of things. you don't have time to tis cuss them. give them what they want. increase their capabilities. >> trace: interesting. we should know the call started nine minutes ago at 3:35 east coast time. the last one went about an hour. we expect maybe the same for this. we'll get you any information as it comes out. thanks, general keane. >> great talking. happy new year to you and the team there. >> trace: you as well. the push for more of jeffrey epstein's accused enablers to face charges. ghislaine maxwell could face the rest of her life behind bars next. >> i think she said it well. she said this is one important step towards justice. about 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? ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ what if you could see the details of your great-grandparents wedding day... ...or the record that welcomed your great-grandmother to the world. your family story is waiting to be discovered, and now you can search for those fascinating details for free—at ancestry. >> trace: lawyers for ghislaine maxwell vowing to appeal a verdict that found her guilty on five of six charges in her sex trafficking trial. one of her victims joining the many voices. watch. >> this particular case, we know there's other people involved and other perpetrators. we hope that they will continue to be investigations so that other people will be held accountable for the ways that they abuse people. >> trace: here now attorney brian claypool and former head new jersey county prosecutor bob bianchi. welcome both. you called it, brian. you believe that ghislaine maxwell had a legitimate chance of being convicted here. that said, the lawyer for the other epstein victims is saying this. >> trace: the question to you, brian, will she sing? does she have motivation to sing? >> trace, great to see you again. happy new year. are you serious now? we're going to rely on maxwell? this was her defense, by the way, the case. zip. i'm not saying a word. now she gets convicted in now her lawyers are oh, we're going to appeal. there's nothing to appeal. now we're going to rely on her to provide us with evidence to try to indict other people? shouldn't she have thought -- shouldn'ts her team have thought about that prior to the trial? this porous defense? maybe she should have copped a plea deal and provided information then. you need reliable, credible force to form an indictment. she's the only person to rely on. what about the victims? you and i talked the other day. wouldn't the information already be with the fbi where they could indict others? at the end of the day, the only potential crimes you'll get are conspiracy. there was an agreement with epstein. none of these other people likely engaged with sex trafficking. she's on the front line. it's going to be difficult to indict others. >> trace: what do you think, bob? does she have leverage at all? >> happy new year to you. she has something. i agree with brian and i'll add one more thing. she's damaged goods. she's got a right to a trial. there's not a problem with that. as brian indicates, prosecutors want people to cooperate so it takes the sting outs of the cross examination, which is that you're only doing this to save yourself. but after you've been convicted, prosecutors don't like the idea of giving you the benefit of now being able to cooperate. it incentivizes people to wait to they get convicted until they decide to cooperate. it's going to be difficult to get a witness like this hahn the stand unless they have evidence and they need her testimony as repetitive and then why give her a break? >> trace: the next step. ben sasse, the senator says here, the verdict shouldn't be the end. the doj needs to go after every scumbag that committed crimes with maxwell and epstein. first to you, bob bianchi. deeper investigation could lead to some bigger names. is there an appetite do you believe to go down that road? >> no, i don't think there is for the reasons that brian and myself are both speaking. the prosecutors don't go after people because they have big names. they love big names. if they could prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt. they don't go there to lose the case. if they don't have the evidence and the witnesses and can't prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt, you won't see it happen. >> trace: brian, 10 seconds. >> yeah, trace, this is politics again permeating the legal process. we need to preserve the integrity of the process. these politicians should have spoken up in the 90s when there was an allegation in florida that was never prosecuted. this is all -- this is all lobbying and not a legal basis to pursue. we need to move on. >> trace: we should know that jeffrey epstein was a convicted pedophile. happy new year to both of you. thank you. >> happy new year, trace. >> you bet. >> trace: why suspects in the plot to kidnap gretchen whitmire are accusing federal agents of overstepping their boundaries. that is next. 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(upbeat music) - thanks to supporters like jane, dav has helped me keep on going. - [announcer] for 100 years, our heroes on the battlefield, who gave and lost so much, have been able to count on disabled american veterans, because of the heroes who support us every month. - it's the least i can do, after all you did for us, - [announcer] your gift of just $19 a month, only 63 cents a day, helps dav providing help, and hope to our veterans. - it's so little, compared to all they've given to you and me. - [announcer] we are dedicated to one purpose. we are empowering veterans to lead high quality lives. (upbeat music) - will you be the one who supports our veterans now? - [announcer] together we are keeping our promise, to america's veterans. when you go to helpdav.org right now, and give $19 a month, we'll send you this dav blanket as a thank you, and a reminder that because of patriotic americans, like you, our veterans of yesterday, today, and tomorrow can-- - know i'm not alone. - live with confidence. - keep walking. - [announcer] please call or go online now. if operators are busy, call again, or give right away at helpdav.org. show your appreciation for their service by giving today. >> trace: five men charged with plotting to kidnap gretchen whitmire are asking the judge to throw out the case, a sixth suspect is behind bars after pleading guilty. lawyers for the other five accuse the government of entrapment and overreaching. david spunt has more. >> good afternoon trace. the lawyers said that the men were charged in october of 2020. tj garbin is serving a six-year sentence after pleading guilty. the prosecutors say that they were upset over her stay-at-home orders. according to defense motions, they said that the government developed a conspiracy. when a trial begins, they brought up the name of this man, former fbi special agent richard traffic. he was arrested on a domestic violence charge. he pleaded no contest. he was the lead investigator in the case. prosecutors said that trask posted a tirade about obscenities about president trump. >> and i don't think the dirt about the agents or informants gets a lot of traction. at trial, you shouldn't underestimate that. you have some strange shenanigans with an fbi case agent where the government has announced they're not going to call several witnesses that are probably pretty consistently important witnesses for proving their case. >> the dog and the fbi not commenting as the pending case. the trial is set for march. we'll follow it. trace? >> thanks, david. that is "the story" of thursday, december 30th 2021. happy 90th to my uncle bob. have a great one. thanks for joining us, everybody. "your world" with neil cavuto starts right now. >> jackie: thousands of russian troops remain on the border with ukraine and now the white house warning a severe consequences if russia invades. what happens if it does? welcome. i'm jackie deangelis in for neil cavuto, this is a special edition of "your world." first, we go to riched son traveling with the president in delawar