happy new year, gillian. i am anita vogel. live out west as fires rage. we begin with a special new year's eve edition of "fox news live" with a look at the world ringing in 2022. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> gillian: millions of americans are revving up to celebrate the new year, even amid a nationwide surge of new covered cases, concerns about the omicron variant front and center for other americans once again this new year's eve. the government putting in place limits on gatherings and for travel, both foreign and domestic. compounding the nation's worry is the testing shortage. people are still waiting in line for hours to get tests, then waiting days to get those results. >> anita: but we begin at the crossroads of the world where the ball is set to drop in a little less than 11 hours from now, and our laura ingle is live in times square. hi, laura. >> hello, ladies. welcome to the crossroads of the world, where the crowds are certainly smaller, but they are back this year and they are getting queued up and ready to show identification and the vaccination cards, because that's what you have to do if you want to be inside this very populated area that's going to have some scaled-back celebrations this year. of course, it's one of the biggest places on earth to celebrate new year's eve. so security, safety, it's always a top concern here in times square, and this year keeping covid at bay is also on the list of how to keep people safe. those scaled-back celebrations aren't just for house parties and restaurants. he had the symbolic center of new york city, news of a record number of covid cases reported yesterday is now on people's minds. 44,000 cases were confirmed yesterday in the big apple. that is a number for just one day. the rules are very strict for revelers. only 15,000 will be allowed to attend, and attendees must show that proof of full vaccination, valid photo i.d., and wear a mask to get into this area. >> you have to do what you think is right. >> as long as we are vaccinated and everyone takes care of each other and we are protected and we wear our masks. sitting down and having dinner with my family, i think we'll be okay. >> in years past we have seen approximately 58,000 people crowded into viewing areas. last year the crowds were banned altogether and it was pretty much empty here. as covid concerns are front and center, the nypd also keeping a watchful eye on security, using more than 1,000 security cameras to monitor for threats along with deploying uniformed and plainclothes officers in times square and using mags to screen revelers before they get into the submission area. pulling back on plans, new york is still moving forward with the adjusted celebration, asking partyers to mask up if you are vaxxed up. if you are at home or watching now or listening on your app or in your car, be sure to to an end, because we'll have the celebration coming from nashville and new york. so we'll see you later tonight. keep it here, we will let you know how it goes. back to you. >> anita: smaller crowd but just as much spirit. thank you very much, live from times square. another tough day for air travel is this new year's eve. more than 1,000 flights have been canceled so far today as the covid surge and winter weather cause chaos nationwide. >> gillian: the situation is so bad that one airline is already canceling flights into the middle of next month. from the heart of the nightmare, and philadelphia international airport this afternoon. hi, jeff. >> hello. no celebration at the airports today, i can tell you that. that is jetblue canceling flights already into january. the latest numbers on cancellations, he said more than a thousand, we've got the exact numbers. 1370 cancellations. 1700 plus delays. hardest hit among the airlines, skywest. that's mainly weather out there to the west. 12% of their flights. united, 210. jetblue, 145. as we said, they are already canceling well into the new year. aaa says it's a tough situation right now. it's not a matter of the employees getting sick on the job or having terrible symptoms, but once you test positive, you're out of luck. take a listen. >> they're not going to the hospital and not dying, but they can't go to work, you got airline personnel, be they flight crews are cabin crews or even personnel in the airport, they are member-facing, of close to the public. if they are sick, they have to stay home. >> and this latest news just from the faa, i've got a statement and we don't have time to put it on the air but let me read it to you. they say they are having problems with screeners at the airlines. like the rest of the u.s. population, and increased number of faa employees have tested positive for covid to maintain safety and traffic volume at some facilities could be reduced, which might lead to delays. in addition to the cancellations. seems to get worse. as covid gets worse, the situation at the airports does, as well. oops. the >> gillian: thanks for bringing us another day of dismal news. we appreciate it. [laughter] happy new year to you. seems like a pretty great day to stay home and not going anywhere. right, anita? >> anita: it sure does. i'm getting a little nervous from jeff's report. i'm supposed to fly into philadelphia airport in the next two days, so maybe i'm spending a few more days here. we will see. >> gillian: maybe you can reschedule that flight. i don't know. republican and democratic lawmakers here in washington are entering 2022 with one eye already on the midterms. democrat hillary clinton has this warning for her party. take a listen. >> 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 so-called progressive democrat is going to win. first of all, we don't know what the state of the map is going to be after all the redistricting. it appears as though the republicans, and a number of states, are doing their best to eliminate as many seats that democrats can be competitive in. so we have got to be very clear-eyed about what it's going to take to hold the house and the senate in 2022. >> gillian: let's bring in former deputy white house chief of staff to george w. bush, karl rove. karl, thank for taking time for us on new year's eve. we appreciate it. hillary clinton making this argument that her party should really put politics ahead of policy come the new year. she essentially says there that all the best policy ideas in the world don't mean a thing if you have no platform. she's right, right? >> well, absolutely. i think she was also saying, let's not get out there on the far left of american politics with a bunch of goofy ideas being pushed by progressives that you can sell in a deep blue district but are dead in swing states and purple districts. i think she's absolutely right on that, as well. i think it's a warning to both parties. if you get too far out on the fringes, you lose the places you need to get into the majority, which are more districts more carefully balance between republican and democrat, and more towards the center of the american political spectrum. >> gillian: karl, have you ever agreed with hillary clinton before in your life right now? >> once or twice, i'm sure. but it did feel very strange. i'm ending the year and a very odd place. put yourself in my situation. >> anita: you know, karl, you are predicting a blowout for republicans in the midterm. he wrote something very interesting in "the wall street journal," if we can put that up on the screen. he wrote, "i got a lot right in 2021, that i overestimated biden. as for 2022, the g.o.p. will retake congress and covid will fade in political significance." do you have your whiteboard, do you have numbers for us? what are you talking about? >> i went the opposite direction. an average gain of the party out of power in midterm elections in the house since world war ii has been about 30 seats. i think republicans are going to end up winning fewer than 30 seats. in part, that's because they did something extra ordinary in 2020, and that is they gave 13 seeds in the house at the same time that they are losing the presidency. there's only a 5-c democrat margin. there are two vacancies so the margin is free. the republicans will gain less than 30 seats but it'll still put them in with a comfortable majority because they are so close. the senate is a more iffy deal. it's not going to be easy and it's going to be by one or two seats, and it's going to require republicans to run good campaigns in four states he got to defend. florida with marco rubio, open seats, and in colorado where ron johnson has yet to formally declare for reelection. we have to have good seats in georgia and nevada where they have candidates out in the field who are garnering support. herschel walker in georgia and adam and nevada. but arizona and new hampshire, where the situation is not as clear. at the end of the day, the republicans have their act together and they have some oomph behind them about people's feelings about the biden demonstration, and the need to check and balance. but the senate will be a close thing. >> anita: what about joe manchin? does he stay a democrat? >> i think he does. if he doesn't -- i should say this, i don't think he becomes republican. he could become an independent and caucus with the democrats, but i don't think given his family history, his father and his grandfather were both bigwigs and the democratic party in west virginia. i don't think he switches parties. i do think the democrats gave some gubernatorial seats, but they lose ground in the state legislative races. at the bottom of the pyramid they are not doing too well. >> gillian: we've got to leave it there. thanks so much for joining us today. we appreciate it. >> happy new year. >> gillian: happy new year. i hope it wears off or all of us. >> i agree with hillary clinton, weird. very strange. [laughter] >> gillian: now for something completely different, those massive wildfires blazing out west in colorado are inflicting some major damage, forcing more than 30,000 people to evacuate. we've got the latest from inside the fire zone coming up next. >> and president biden urging russian president vladimir putin to de-escalate tensions with ukraine amid fears that the kremlin may invade its neighbor. more on yesterday's call between the two world leaders. ♪ ♪ 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. ♪ when it comes to autism, only pay for what you need. 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 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. switching wireless carriers is easy with xfinity. just lean on our helpful switch squad whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. to help you save with xfinity mobile. they can help break up with your current carrier for you and transfer your info to your new phone. giving you a fast and easy experience that can save you hundreds a year on your wireless bill. visit your nearest xfinity store and see how the switch squad can help you switch and save. get $200 off a new eligible 5g phone when you switch to xfinity mobile. talk with our helpful switch squad at your local xfinity store today. >> gillian: hurricane force winds field disasters wildfires in colorado. hundreds of homes there have been destroyed as winds topped 100 miles per hour and downed power lines. all of this prompting the governor did declare a state of emergency. jeff paul joins us from colorado where thousands have been evacuated. hi, jeff. >> yeah, gillian, officials wrapped up their third news conference of the day saying most of the larger portions of this wildfire are now out and they are thankful the snow is starting to fall. but they say the recovery effort will be very slow, and it is massive with so many families impacted by this stretch of wildfires. throughout the colorado area. this is just one of the neighborhoods impacted that we are seeing where very few homes still stand. you can see there are some firefighters out there putting up some of putting out some of thespot fir. people are returned to their homes finding they have nothing left. you drive around cities like louisville, this is what we are seeing up close. this is just one of the hundreds of homes in one of the many neighborhoods throughout this colorado area they were burned to the ground in a matter of near minutes. you can see here in this driveway two car has been down to the metal frame. when you look throughout this neighborhood, the only thing that still stands are some of the brick foundations and chimneys. after a strong gusts whip to the area, as high as 100 miles per hour, officials say the origin of the fire has been confirmed but could be down power lines. the speed of the wildfire gave tens of thousands of folks near minutes to get to safety. we know the flames burned an estimated 580 homes, but that number could be as high as 1,000. it also burned a hotel and a shopping center. given the dry conditions and the winds, first responders couldn't do much to stop it. all they could do is get as many people out to safety. >> this is the first time i've really been involved in anything like this, and i'll tell you, it is really scary. >> it was so dark, of course, you just can't see anything. it's like the black of night. >> the governor here in colorado says that at first glance of their damage, they don't believe any schools were damaged and they don't believe in hospitals where, either. he says if it's it holds up that no one was killed in this fight would be new year's miracle. and help folks impacted by the fires listen to those warnings and get out. gillian can expiate some truly terrifying images there, jeff. is it unusual to see these kinds of blazing wildfires at this time of year? we are used to seeing them when the weather is warm. >> it's been one of the driest cold-weather seasons for the denver area. they haven't had much snow if any at all. you have that, those dry conditions, combined with the strong wind gusts that are almost unheard of through area. an ox power lines down , those embers pick up. i will say, of all the wildfires i have covered, i haven't seen this amount of damage in the neighborhood. normally you see a lot of trees and you're in a foyers or a mountainous area. hundreds and hundreds of homes impacted. >> gillian: stay safe out there. we will check back with you later in the show. >> anita: during the second call this month, president biden urging russian president vladimir putin to de-escalate tensions with ukraine, saying the u.s. and allies will, "respond decisively if russia further invades." senior national correspondent rich edson's live in wilmington, delaware, with the president iss new year's eve and maybe still thinking about that phone call from yesterday. rich? >> good afternoon, anita. american officials say they are watching russia's movement along that border with ukraine right now as russia's military has amassed tens of thousands of troops along that area. administration officials say that was a 50-minute call yesterday between the two leaders, describing it as serious and substantive. officials say the russian president requested this call, though it's still unclear exactly why. white house press secretary jen psaki says president biden urged russia to de-escalate tensions with ukraine. he made clear that the united states and its allies and partners will respond decisively if russia further invades ukraine." the previous secretary of state claims the current administration, and their foreign policy, is urging putin here. >> he watches the americans lose 13 soldiers as we wantonly depart afghanistan in a way that was a total debacle, and he sees a leak leadership from the united states. he doesn't see us defending our values and i think he is prepared to push this issue with ukraine to the brink to get what vladimir putin really wants. >> if russia invades ukraine again, the u.s. has promised to bolster nato and ukrainian defenses in the region and threaten unprecedented sanctions. russian state media is now reporting putin told president biden, if the united states and western allies implement those sanctions, that could lead to russia cutting diplomatic relations with the west. a major step, usually reserved for governments with the worst of relationships. ukraine is at the center of all this. its foreign minister is tweeting, "ukraine has been defending itself from the ongoing russian aggression for almost eight years now. not being a nato member, we are capable of defending ourselves. if the west falters and chooses appeasement, we'll still defend ourselves, our right to exist, and choose our own future." american and russian officials are scheduled to meet in person in geneva to discuss all this in about a week and a half. back to you. >> anita: some tough talk coming from russia. rich edson, thank you for that. gillian? >> gillian: let's bring a national a national security institute founder and executive director, jamil draper. let's pick up where rich's reporting left up in this phone call yesterday where putin or poorly told biden that, if he moves forward with any more sanctions against russia, putin will cut diplomatic relations with the united states entirely. should we be quaking in our boots? >> i don't think so, gillian. you know having been to the national security counsel that this kind of tough talk happens from leader to leader at times. the reality is that russia is the one stoking this whole thing. they're the ones who put 100,000 troops with ukraine. we need to stand tough here and make clear to putin that there will be consequences. we don't need to put troops on the line. we need to supply the opinions of the kind of weapon they need now to make this costly for vladimir putin to go in. >> gillian: i guess my question is, when did putin ever respond to threats of sanctions before? back in 2014 president obama told him -- i think it was around march, that if he moves forward, inched any closer towards the confrontation in crimea, the united states would launch devastating sanctions against him and, with in weeks, there was a full-blown competition. >> this the problem, the u.s. relies only on sanctions as our primary form of foreign policy. it doesn't make our adversaries afraid our allies feel like they have their back. if putin invades, we need to give them -- >> gillian: the whole point of deterrence is that they have a tool chest, so to speak, in political science talk, options that you can use against rogue states like russia. the threat of sanctions is pretty meaningless unless it is backed up by other partial penalties like weapons sales to ukraine, or even military action, should putin actually cross the line and launch an incursion into ukraine. >> that's exactly right, gillian. that's why secretary pompeo made the point that vladimir putin, just like president xi of china, or watching activities around the globe and they are not scared of us. they see we are afraid of our own shadow, we are not willing to go toe-to-toe with them. president biden need to change that narrative now, not leader, and make the point to both president xi in china and president putin in russia that we will not stand for this activity and we will take action now, not later. >> gillian: we hear new reporting from the white house that on sunday biden is going to talk to the president of ukraine. that is a good next step, right? that a sort of something encouraging. >> absolutely paid what president biden should say to president zelensky is, today, i am sending c5 player is with american weapons and more anti-errant antiship and antimissile capabilities to helu defend your nation. we are going to be training intelligence to get you help to defend your nation against vladimir putin and russia. >> gillian: what are the odds that president biden will actually say that to president zelensky? >> i worry the odds are not good, but it's the right answer. it's what he should do. looking at the debacle that afghanistan was, we have no choice but to do the right thing here. to send the message about taiwan, they are watching what happens here. if we flinch on ukraine, you can bet president xi will look at taiwan and say, the u.s. is not really in it for real. >> gillian: ahead of this phone call putin laid out demands on paper. biggest her that he wants biden -- these are his nonnegotiable's, that he wants biden to commit to not allowing ukraine nato membership. he also wants to have them commit to not sending weapons to ukraine or eastern neighbors. what are the odds he committed to doing either of those things in the call yesterday? >> president biden has been pretty good. he said he's not going to accept those demands. that's the right answer. we are not going to go back to a cold war-era mentality we are going to give in to russian demands about their sphere of influence. this is not their sphere of influence, these are countries who want democracy and want to be part of the west who have been partnership for peace countries a long time. we should defend that and protect them. if they want to be in nato, they should allow to be in nato pay .we should allow them the choic. >> gillian: happy new year to year. >> seem to you. thanks, gillian. >> gillian: anita, i've got to say, one of the real downsides of the pandemic is that -- who knows if this phone call with putin would have been in person or not, but at least they would have been a chance for a face-to-face during normal times. as a reporter it's very frustrating to have all this buildup towards an encounter like this, and have nothing out of it except reporting based on sort of meaningless, very puffy statements at both sides put out. it's a real let down and a real disservice, i think, to the american people. >> anita: i think it's a different discussion when two leaders are talking over the phone across the world rather than sitting at the table face-to-face. but serious issues on the table, and hopefully we get peaceful resolution in the new year. >> gillian: we can help. >> anita: well, moving on, parents and teachers scramble to find covid test options as more schools require them for in person learning. to the scarcity of tests cause students to fall behind? >> gillian: plus, vice president harris asked about her plans to fight inflation. now her critics are calling her answer a major blunder and asking straight up whether she has become a liability for the white house. that's next. ♪ ♪ first psoriasis, then psoriatic arthritis. it was really holding me back. standing up... ...even walking was tough. my joints hurt. i was afraid things were going to get worse. i was always hiding, and that's just not me. not being there for my family, that hurt. woooo! i had to do something. i started cosentyx®. i'm feeling good. watch me. cosentyx helps people with psoriatic arthritis move, look, and feel better. it targets more than just joint pain and treats the multiple symptoms like joint swelling and tenderness, back pain, helps clear skin and helps stop further joint damage. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections—some serious —and the lowered 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were likely destroyed and there are no known deaths, likely, in a wind-fueled fire outside denver. tens of thousands of coloradans driven from their neighborhood by wind whipped fires, and they're anxiously awaiting to learn what is left standing of their city. the fires erupted thursday outside of denver following an extremely dry fall and winter. so far nearly devoid of snow. at least one first responder and six other people have been injured, and the sheriff says more could be hurt or even dead at this point. but, gillian, as we take a look at these pictures, you can get a sense of how widespread this is. so many homes are leveled. this fueled by 100-mile-per-hour winds, extremely dry conditions, and people just in a state of panic. we heard in jeff paul's report that there was one woman who said it was as if a nuclear bomb had hit that town. >> gillian: terrible optics. these pictures we are getting, anita, are pretty devastating. you can get a sense of how powerful this fire has been in terms of scope and scale. look at this, entire neighborhoods are decimated. a few moments ago, governor jared polis' in colorado says there might soon be a revised estimate and he thinks that possibly as many as 1,000 homes have now been destroyed in addition to the destruction of entire neighborhoods. he said he wouldn't be surprised if it went up to 1,000. thankfully, mercifully, so far no fatalities. and snow is kind of arriving on the front range imminently, so they are not expecting the fire to continue to grow. a couple of points, a couple good items of news to hang our hats on as we look at these grim photos. >> anita: hopefully the weather will provide some snow and moisture. but it goes to show how, when you have a combination of dry winter, dry fall, and 100-mile 100--mile-per-hour winds, it can take us back and spread it so quickly. i believe that's what happen here. the fire being caused by a spark from a power line that fell. the wind picked it up and ran with it. i heard one fire official this morning saying that these fires, you cannot believe how fast they move until you see it with your own eyes. half a length of a football field in just a few seconds. and that's clearly what happen here. this fire caught people so off guard, there were parents and families and a chuck e. cheese's celebrating with their kids and they had to learn run for their lives. i can't imagine how frightening that was for all those families. >> gillian: it strikes me when we look at this footage, anita, some homes in areas they are, entire blocks, are left completely fine where others hae the life torn out of them. it's incredible to see this kind of aerial footage so clearly. a local meteorologist there with the weather service, frank cooper, said a moment ago that the wind is expected to reach 10-15 miles per hour, which will have the effect of trapping the smoke from the fire. what they are looking to combat next, while the fire is out, it is going be a lot of smoke and haze. it's not going to go away anytime soon. so they are advising people with breathing problems to try and get away from the area. if they cannot, they being advised to stay inside or get inside any place that looks to be relatively secure from the outside winds, because that's the next big threat for this community that's been hit so hard. >> anita: no question. looking at these pictures really reminds me of so many different fires that i've covered here in california where you just see streets and neighborhoods like this that are completely burned out after the fire. you almost feel like you are driving on the moon, because there is no greenery, no trees left, it's just what the fire does. as to your point on the breeding conditions, yes, i have experienced that first hand here in california with so many dry fire seasons. the thick smoke left in the air after a fire or during a fire, it's just incredible. it's hard to breathe, you feel like you are choking, and oftentimes there is no escape for these people. there's just no way to go except inside, and wherever inside his left. look at these pictures, gillian. it looks as if -- you can see even the foundation of these homes, there's nothing there. there is nothing left, it's unbelievable. >> gillian: looks pretty post-apocalyptic. we believe this story for the moment, but we will come to it after the break. in the meantime, americans are still facing a nationwide testing shortage and now the crisis is pitting teacher unions against parents he parents yet again. some schools are already announcing they'll go virtual for the new year. others like to bring in fox business channel's lydia, live in washington. hi, lydia. >> just this morning the massachusetts teachers association has the school's staying closed on monday. the teachers union wants to use that day is the testing day for teachers and staff, covid and ts have been delayed due to supply chain. the state of massachusetts is making it clear they will not close close monday, saying it's disappointing that once again the union is trying to find a way to close schools, which we know is to the extreme detriment of our children. the exchange proves the return of the tension between the unions and the parents and students amid this testing shortage. i could tell you here in d.c. the school system is demanding that students test negative before the return on wednesday. tests are being made available to children at the public schools but the mayor's announcement made on twitter drew ire. about two dozen city public schools moved to virtual learning in the past month. meanwhile, chicago public schools said 150,000 covid tests to about 300 schools that were really hard-hit by the pandemic and areas of low vaccination rates. the school system is asking families to voluntarily test students before they return to the classroom, but parents were instructed to return the test for processing by fedex, and they were outraged this week by the overflowing backlog at drop box is that force them to leave these tests piled up, not secured, waiting for pickup. this was chaired by the chicago teachers union which has also clashed with the district about returning kids to the classroom. the school district recently said that it may return to remit learning on a classroom by classroom basis, not a district wide basis, but evaluating on a more granular level as they move forward. gillian? >> gillian: lydia, thank you. another animal in captivity has been killed, this time a tiger in naples, florida. the cat was shot after attacking a man at the zoo. that story coming up next. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> anita: welcome back. a tiger in florida in a zoo was shot and killed after attacking a man who interfered with the animal's cage. take a look at the paramedics responding to the call. preliminary info suggests a man reached his arm into the enclosure and the tiger did what tigers do, he pounced. a county deputy fatally shot the 8-year-old tiger later. william la jeunesse is here with all of the details, and william, it sounds very scary. >> well, anita, i rarely see this but what you are about to see is graphic. if you have the kids there, you might want to move them. this is the malay integra shot by deputies after a custodian at the zoo climbed a 4-foot tall fence, stuck his arm through the fence to pat or feed the tiger, and he called 911 and deputies arrived to find the tiger clamped down on the victim's arm refusing to let go. >> and being attacked by a tiger. please, please -- >> you're being attacked by a tiger? >> yes, please come at the naples zoo. please help me. >> we have them coming, okay? stick okay. [screaming] is there someone there with you? did you get into the cage? >> [screaming and crying] >> deputies arrived and found the tiger clamped down on the victim's arm, refusing to let's go. that's when they fired. >> i'm going to die, i'm going to die. [moaning] >> just keep the light on. >> the emts get a tourniquet on the victim who is in fair condition right now at the hospital. the deputy pounded on the fence to get the tiger to let go. the cleaning company this guy worked for took care of restrooms and gift shop, not animal enclosures, so criminal investigation is underway, anita. only 200 malayan tigers remain alive in the wild. this one is dead. back to you. >> anita: it's amazing that the victim was able to call on his phone while his other arm was being clamped down on by a tiger. that's really something. >> he talked to the 911 dispatcher about 7 minutes, and it's pretty heart-wrenching to listen to. >> anita: oh, jeez. thank you for that report, william. appreciate it. gillian? >> gillian: anita, it sounds like in that instance the guy's also literally saved his life. >> anita: it certainly did. as i was suggesting to william, i can't imagine how he was able to make the call and his other arm is being attacked by a tiger. i mean, that was -- it seems pretty incredible. >> gillian: i have seen these big cats -- not tigers, but leopards and lions in the wild and parts of southern africa, and they were incredibly beautiful. it's also incredibly important to humanity that we keep them alive. in case any of our viewers have not been told this and have not had the bejesus scared out of them watching this report by william la jeunesse, don't get involved in their space. whether you encounter them in the wild or in the zoo, stay away. the cages are there for a reason. that tiger was doing what tigers do when something interferes in its cage. it attacked. this is what happens, and there's terribly tragic outcomes 100 out of 100 times. >> anita: best to keep social distance from a tiger at all times. [laughs] >> gillian: maybe even more than 6 feet. on to something completely different, it looks like not even champagne is immune to this year's supply chain challenges. while you may have more trouble finding a bottle of bubbly later tonight. ♪ ♪ 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. it's your home. one gram of sugar, and there's no place like wayfair to make the morning chaos, organized chaos. however you make it, make your home a place like no other. ♪ 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. (gasps) ♪ did it work? only pay for what you need ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ spider-man no way home in theaters december 17th >> gillian: champagne sails are popping as they usually do this time of year, but a supply chain shortage may make it more difficult to get a bottle of bubbly here in the u.s. this new year's eve. fox business reporter grady trimble is live at a champagne bar in chicago with little details. grady, why do you always get all the good assignments? >> [laughs] well, today i'm the bearer of bad news, gillian. sails are popping, but so are champagne prices. there is an index that tracks bottle prices for champagne, and i'll show you those numbers. they are up almost 34% so far this year. i guess it's the last day of the year. and there's a shortage of some brands of champagne. no shortage here, they are all stocked up for the new year's eve bash tonight. as i mentioned, i am with craig ruffalo, the owner. certain brands have been harder to get your hands on. >> there's a lot of different houses of champagne that have been trickier to get this year due to supply chain issues with covid, like any industry. >> bottlenecks, if you will, no pun intended. or, i guess pun intended. you have been here for 40 years, so you have relationships with buyers, but people going to the story, in a be harder for them. >> i would imagine it would be more typical. over 40 years we made a lot of close relationships especially with some of the producers. we end up ordering our wine once a year. only six months ago now and that wind is coming stateside. >> what is the future looking like? and not just your new year's eve, you're here year-round. i think the i are things a challenge forjan? >> the wine is on the boats and ready to come, he just needs to get into our door and we left open at everyone. >> i guess people use to it at that point. it's not like anything at the grocery store. they have the products you are looking for but they might not have the specific brand. the same goes for wine and champagne this new year's eve. >> gillian: grady, based on that look into the champagne fridge that you just gave us, it looks like you're in a good spot. should probably hang tight until at least tomorrow. [laughs] thanks so much. happy new year! >> you, too. >> gillian: and nita, i know something about this a little bit. if you can't get champagne, you can try and get something from spain or maybe some prosecco from italy. >> anita: bubbly is bubbly, especially on new year's eve. >> gillian: a pro tip from me to you. >> anita: i love it, thank you! >> gillian: stick with us, we'll be back with more than just a moment. ♪ ♪ ot a great deal on our hotel with kayak. i was afraid we wouldn't go.. with our divorce and.... great divorce guys. yeah... search 100s of travel sites at once. kayak. search one and done. hi, my name is cherrie. i'm 76 and i live on the oregon coast. search 100s of travel sites at once. my husband, sam, we've been married 53 years. we love to walk on the beach. i have two daughters and then two granddaughters. i noticed that memories were not there like they were when i was much younger. since taking prevagen, my memory has gotten better and it's like the puzzle pieces have all been [click] put together. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. >> anita: look at the headlines topping a brand-new hour and a brand-new year arriving on the other side of the world. 2022 gets even closer for the rest of us. right now pakistan is among the nations ringing in the new year, where clocks just hit midnight. and with that, we welcome you to a brand-new hour of "fox news live." i'm anita vogel in los angeles, and gillian, so good to be with you today from across the nation. >> gillian: you, too. we have two more hours together. thanks for joining us as we celebrate the beginning of a brand-new beautiful year. they are counting down with just two hours to go in moscow where russia's president vladimir putin is fresh off his phone call with president biden. he asked for that call. it was reported be very tense and went on for about 15 minutes and not clear whether he agreed to any of the strongman's demands. >> anita: but first here in the u.s., thousands of families with no cause for celebration after wildfires seem to have come out of nowhere sent them running from their homes. many of them have now no home to return to after flames burn them to the ground. jeff paul is live in colorado with the latest they are. jeff, it is one thing to see these pictures and images on tv. it's very different to see them in person. tell us about what you are seeing. >> we talked about the number of homes in the hundreds being destroyed, the each of those homes, it's a house with the family inside with its own unique stories. so it's easy to get caught up in these numbers, but just think about 500 plus families trying to figure out what they will do next after they have lost their home. things now are kind of starting to work in the right direction according to officials. the winds have died down, the larger fires are out, and it's starting to snow. that'll help, but the devastation is widespread. that's just one of the many neighborhoods here in louisville, colorado, that's been devastated by this fire. firefighters are trying to put out the spot fires and you can see some folks are now starting to return to their homes to find that they have lost everything. >> many families having minutes to get whatever they could, their pets, their kids come into the car and leaves. the last 24 hours have been devastating. >> the cause of the fire is still under investigation, that firefighters point to a combination of strong gusts down power lines and dry vegetation. some wind speeds around 105 miles per hour at points, and officials say they would not be surprised if that number was closer to 1,000, just given the vast footprint of this wildfire. first responders didn't even have time to fight this fire for the first couple of hours. their focus was just on getting people out. tens of thousands had just a few moments to evacuate and escape the flames. so far only a few minor injuries reported, and the sheriff here says that, if it stays that way, they would be incredibly fortunate. >> it's unbelievable when you look at the devastation that we don't have a list of 100 missing persons. but we don't. again, i am hoping that the miracle, because it would be, given the circumstances. >> while some folks like the neighborhood we are at have been able to come back and see what's left of their neighborhood, others that are hard-hit, they are not letting those folks back in. part of it is because firefighters are still working to tame some of the smaller flames, and you got to think about all these downed power lines. some are still hot, so people could go into the neighborhoods and get electrocuted. they want to keep the number of injured very low, and again, incredible to hear that we don't have any missing people as of now and no reports of any deaths. anita? >> anita: jeff, definitely some silver linings, but a heartbreaking way for so many families in colorado to start the new year. no question about that, and our prayers go out to them. thank you so much for that live report. gillian? >> gillian: the faa is warning air travelers to expect more major delays in the next few days if you can believe that's even possible. they are blaming staffing shortages caused by weather and rising covid cases. correspondent and brand-new all-star dad, mark meredith, is here in washington. hey, mark. >> hey, gillian, good to be here in the studio as opposed to the airport. the faa telling a staffing shortages or possibilities in the next few days and some of those same shortages may lead to delays during peak travel times. we got a statement that says, like the rest of the u.s. population, and increased number of faa employees have tested positive for covid-19. to maintain safety, traffic volume at some facilities could be reduced. "could" being the key word, which might result in delays during busy periods. they are not yet saying which areas and regions will be impacted the most, but we know airlines are already dealing with the staffing issues. travelers are reporting large lines at airports and even long wait times trying to get representative's on the phone. alaska airlines posted a direct message to its customers online writing, this has been the perfect storm of severe weather coupled by crew members and air caps being placed on the country and the continued impact of the omicron variant on staffing levels. despite the threat of a micron this remains a very busy travel season. the tsa reporting more than 2 million people pass through security checkpoints yesterday alone. that's more than double the amount from the same day in 2020. we are here but a lot of people at airports are wondering when they're going to get home. checking flights all around the country, not sleeping awake at night and you don't even look tired. >> oh, yes, i am, gillian. >> gillian: happy new year. >> thanks. you, too. >> the cdc was new research showing that issues among kids ages 5-11 who got the covid vaccine are very rare. this is the number of positive cases across the u.s. continues to grow. on wednesday alone, the daily case total reach more than 488,000. charles watson is live in atlanta with the very latest on these numbers. hi, charles. >> hi, anita. the omicron variant is not only causing u.s. infections to surge, but it's putting a record number of children in hospitals. you take a look at the numbers between december 22nd and the 28th, you see an average of 378 children under the age of 17 admitted daily to hospitals with coronavirus infections. that is a 66% increase from the previous week, and an overall high since the start of the pandemic, according to cdc data. but there's good news when it comes to containing the virus among children. new cdc retreat showing fewer side effects for kids ages 5-11 who got the pfizer vaccine and nearly all the children he became seriously ill last summer were unvaccinated. with the fda reportedly on the verge of a pfizer booster for 12? 15-year-old, parents like kimberly who has an 11-year-old says she is certain she will get her daughter a booster and untig any chances. >> 100% nerve-racking, especially with the amount of cases we have had in the last week. my daughter understands the necessity and need to protect herself as well as her sister, and the rest of the family. so she is willing, able, and happy to wear masks. >> the cdc warning americans to avoid cruise ships regardless of vaccination status due to outbreaks fueled by the omicron variant. the agency says they currently have more than 90 ships under investigation or under observation, because of covid-19 infections. the cruise lines international association is calling the new recommendations disappointing, and seeing the cdc is singling out the cruise industry despite following stricter health protocols than most travel sectors. and public health officials are urging people to avoid large new year's eve celebrations amid record daily infections across the country. festivities will be much lighter than anticipated in new york city as officials limit the number of people flocking to times square this evening to watch the ball drop to 50,000. far fewer than the in-person spectators they had once hoped for. despite the rising numbers in new york, outgoing mayor bill de blasio says the festivities in times square tonight will show the world that new york is fighting back against the pandemic. we will send it back to you. >> anita: we will watch for that. charles watson, happy new year to you. >> happy new year. >> anita: gillian? >> gillian: let's bring in fox news contributor dr. janette nesheiwat. thank you so much being with us. i want to ask you about schools, first. that's on parents minds ahead of the new year. in light of the testing shortage crisis we are seeing, a lot of medical experts including our own dr. makary are saying testing plans for schools are wasteful, he says they are taking a scarce resource and using it on a very low-risk, low-transmission-rate population, which is young students, to the detriment of more vulnerable populations in the united states like the elderly, the immunocompromised. what do you say, doctor? >> absolutely. if you can get a test, that's one thing, but there is such a shortage right now. regardless of test availability or not, we need to ensure that kids stay in the classroom. it's more harmful for kids not to be in class than to be injected with covid. we have seen the past two years the emotional, mental, psychological impact being out of school has had on our children and our teenagers, as far as increase in anxiety and depression and suicide attempts, and pediatric e.r. visits because of being out of school. we need to do everything in our power and exhaust all resources necessary to make sure we keep our kids in school, and testing is not the sole issue that will keep them in class. we know if you have good ventilation, if you have screening, if you are old enough you can wear a mask, if you feel sick then go and get tested, but this shouldn't be the go to. of course it's nice if you have it, but there is such a shortage right now, we need to ramp up the accessibility right now. >> gillian: it seems like the big news is the benjamins agent has approved these new over-the-counter at-home tests that will hit the market presumably in a matter of weeks. their manufacturer is roche and siemens. do you think they are said to be game changers? >> i wish we had them now. that's a big issue, having them i need the most, especially when we are dealing with a massive spike. for example, here in new york city. the better late than not at all. hopefully we won't have future variant player less likely all right now, but it's possible there could be a future variant that emerges down the road. but we will always want to make sure we are well prepared and we plan in advance so we are not caught blindsided like we were most recently. >> gillian: some other breaking news today about a new covid study, there has been a whole bunch of animal lab tests done on this new omicron variant. one of them bearing results today. "the new york times" reporter, and studies on mice and hamsters, omicron produce less damaging infections. the variant did much less harm to the lungs where previous variance would cause scarring and serious breathing difficulties. this is allegedly white omicron is less damaging in humans than some of the previous variants. what do you make of these results? >> yes, this figure solidifies what we had known initially, we thought initially, that less severe, less virulent, but much more contagious. the symptoms i'm seeing in my patients are sore throat, fatigue, headache, body aches. i not seen a lot of that chest tightness, chest pain, or severe shortness of breath like i did last year and with delta, the initial strains that we first had. still we are seeing a massive number of cases, but not an increase in the number of deaths. he could still have a toll on the health care system, so we want to minimize as much as we possibly can. >> gillian: of course. with your patients, do you notice a difference in terms of severity and symptoms? really come in terms of anything between those folks who are vaccinated and those who are unvaccinated now? or are they pretty similar? >> that's a great question. fortunately in new york the majority of new yorkers are vaccinated. so what i'm seeing in my patients is those that i've had two shots only, they are the ones mostly testing positive that i'm seeing. they are the ones coming in as mild symptoms. i'm not seeing so many that i've had three shots. i've only had a very few number of patients that have not been vaccinated, and their main complaint was severe body aches, pain, and fatigue. still not strong enough that they need to be hospitalized. we are able to send them home with supportive care and soon we will be able to use this antivirals. >> gillian: yes, which will, by all accounts, be game changers. what about the under-5 crowd? the last sector of the american public not eligible for vaccines at all. what are you seeing in terms of response to omicron and then? >> that's actually a good question. we are seeing an increase in pediatric hospitalizations. many of them are not eligible to be vaccinated where they have underlying medical conditions, and this is why it's so important for the rest of us to do our part, get vaccinated, making sure we get our boosters, making sure we wear masks indoors so we don't pick up the virus and bring it home to our children who are still vulnerable. that's the purpose of everyone playing their part so we can try and minimize spread, especially to those under the age of five can wear those with underlying medical conditions or who have a weakened immune response, and they can't mount a robust response to the vaccines in the first place. >> gillian: dr. nesheiwat, thank you so much for taking time for us on this new year's eve, and happy new year to year. >> thank you, gillian. happy new year to you, as well. >> gillian: thanks, you bet. anita, one of the things i live in mortal fear of these days is not myself. i sort of emotionally, mentally, and psychologically got over the worst hump of the covid fear a long time ago. as you now, and i have a 5-month-old daughter that has virtually no immune system of her own at this point. she is not eligible, obviously, to be vaccinated. tens of millions of other american parents are in the exact same situation as me, sort of sitting around waiting for something to happen so that our kids have a way to be safe. >> anita: it is, it is very tense, i imagine, in your household. i know you are doing everything you can to stay safe, but it is good news to hear from dr. nesheiwat that new therapeutics are coming out next year, new antivirals for people who are both vaccinated and unvaccinated and need those things. they have to go to the hospital. so we'll see what the new year brings for the little ones. >> gillian: i know. terrible. >> anita: all right, well, over the last year, several democratic leaders faced criticism for their blatant hypocrisy during the covid pandemic. and now that includes one tribe squadmember at raising a cocktan a state she often criticizes. charlie hurt is on deck to react to her visit. ♪ ♪ r bite? i could use some help showing the world how liberty mutual customizes their car insurance. ow! i'm ok! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ only in theaters december 17th. first psoriasis, then psoriatic arthritis. even walking was tough. i had to do something. i started cosentyx®. cosentyx can help you move, look, and feel better... by treating the multiple symptoms of psoriatic arthritis. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting...get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections some serious... and the lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms... or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. tell your doctor if your crohn's disease symptoms... develop or worsen. serious allergic reactions may occur. watch me. ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. want to save on your home internet? xfinity is proud to support watch me. 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. ♪ ♪ >> anita: well, rules for the comment but not for me, took off into a 21 top democratic leaders were under fire for breaking their own rules for pushing mandates upon the american people. joining the list of covid hypocrites after she was captured massless enjoying a cocktail in miami, florida. critics blasting the far left progressive for wining and dining as new york faces record high numbers of covid cases. let's bring in charlie hurt, opinion editor for "the washington times" and fox news contributor. charlie, great to see you. this is rich, isn't it? aoc jetting off to florida, sands mask, drink in hand at miami beach after criticizing the state for more lax covid rules in her state of new york. governor ron desantis, who she has called out many times, had this to say on twitter. he said, "welcome to florida, aoc. we hope you're enjoying a taste of freedom here in the sunshine state. thanks to ron desantis' leadership." >> it is so delightful. and who can blame her? who doesn't want to go down to florida and enjoy a cocktail with your friends and enjoyed the freedom and the fresh air? it's absolutely delightful. the problem is that aoc, along with a lot of her colleagues in congress, and elsewhere, have chosen to spend the last two years politicizing every aspect of this pandemic in order to advance their own personal political careers and goals. the problem with that is you can't then complain when you get absolutely roasted by everybody including ron desantis himself when you go down to the state where the governor is, according to them, a murderer trying to kill all the people in florida and you enjoy his rules as opposed to all of the draconian rules that are in place in your state where covid numbers are spiking like nowhere else we are seeing anywhere in the country. >> anita: i'm kind of curious to see how she responds. you know it'll be on twitter, so quick advice for her -- >> it'll probably be pretty good, too. >> anita: yeah, it'll be good. of course he seen so many of these blunders over rules. as i mentioned at the start of the pandemic mostly, all from democratic politicians here in california, governor gavin newsom eating maskless at the french laundry when many in california couldn't even go to an outdoor restaurant. governor gretchen whitmer allowing her husband to name drop so he could take out the family boat, and the list goes on. quickly before i turned to another topic, do they overlook this and look to the policies? >> i think they do, because the problem with hypocrisy is the way it cuts along, quite frankly, financial lines in a lot of ways. you look at people like avenue cement aoc, the reason they get to enjoy the fruits of their hypocrisy is because they can afford to. the sad part of it is a lot of the people who vote for these people, who live in california or in new york to support aoc, they don't have the means to go get on a plane and fly to florida and enjoy the fresh air. they are stuck, they have nowhere to go. they are stuck with the rules back at home and that is the appalling part of hypocrisy. that's why it is so dangerous in politics and it always comes back to bite these politicians who do this kind of thing. >> anita: yeah. let's switch to another topic. i want to ask you about disgraced cbs anchor dan rather, who tried to wait in on the "let's go brandon" movement sweeping the country. he said "let's go brandon" really means you can't handle the truth. there was backlash on twitter with lots of comments reminding him he had to step down from cbs news for going on the air with fabricated documents related to george w. bush's service in the national guard less than two months before the presidential election, and on "60 minutes," no less. should dan rather have thought twice about treating those remarks? what do you think? >> this above all, to thine own self be true. if you don't know who you are and how the worldviews you, yet quite a disadvantage. dan rather apparently is smoking his own stuff, because he doesn't realize what the world realizes about him. you're exactly right, he went on air with fabricated documents on the eve of an election and it was all part of an effort -- we don't know entirely exactly how much dan rather knew was false and wasn't false, but the fact is, at the very best he was a useful idiot in an effort on the eve of an election to destroy a political candidate. and that's pretty appalling stuff. the whole reason you are supposed to be a smart journalist, a smart reporter, is you are supposed to know when you are being used. again, that is the best light possible. for him to sort of wander out and start lecturing the rest of the world about handling the truth, or the truth alone, is pretty amazing and a pretty startling reminder of how much people are capable of not realizing who they are. >> and he had to step down from cbs news after 24 years they are. thank you for your reaction, charlie hurt, and happy new year to you. >> great to see you. happy new year. >> anita: gillian? >> gillian: tensions are still running high at russia's border with ukraine. president biden on the phone with vladimir putin just yesterday, warning the russian president against any further troop buildup. the u.s. is next going to talk to russia the second week of january. we will talk about it all coming up next. ♪ ♪ complete balanced nutritin for strength and energy. woo hoo! ensure, complete balanced nutrition with 27 vitamins and minerals. and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> anita: president biden speaking with russian president vladimir putin's today at the request of putin. we still don't know the full motive of why the russian president requested the call, the white house press secretary jen psaki saying yesterday evening that biden urged putin to de-escalate tensions at the russia ukraine border, and that biden made clear the united states and its allies will respond decisively if russia further invades ukraine. with more on this, rich edson is live in wilmington, delaware. hi, rich. >> good afternoon, anita. the situation certainly isn't over yet. if that american officials saying they are watching what's going on here as russia continues amassing tens of thousands of troops on its border with ukraine. it's a 15 minute call between the officials, one called serious and substantive. they offered choices, stand-down or russia faces sanctions and a bolstered nato position in eastern europe. jen psaki talking about this has president biden urged the russian president to de-escalate tensions with ukraine, made clear the united states and its allies and partners will respond decisively if russia further invades ukraine, though there are some analysts who stated administration needs more than sanctions to deter putin. >> we don't really have a plan for how this administration plans on shoring up ukraine's territorial integrity, and sanctions just isn't the way to do it anyway. >> russian state media reports that putin told president biden that, if the united states and its western allies implement those threatened sanctions, that could lead to russia cutting diplomatic relations with a number of western countries including the united states. a major step usually reserved for governments with the worst of relationships like when the united states has with iran. russia has already invaded ukraine and seized control of crimea. that was in 2014. it has also enabled neighboring georgia in 2008. top american and russian officials scheduled to meet in geneva, that's we will have discussions about. according to senior u.s. official, they will not be direct involvement. at least that's the design of this, with president biden and president putin in talks. they want to let their senior officials try to talk this out and figure it all out first. back to you. >> anita: rich edson, thank you and happy new year. gillian? >> gillian: let's bring in retired army colonel daniel davis, expert for defense priority. thanks for joining us on this new year's eve. let's pick up where rich's reporting left off. a lot of folks, russia-watchers, are talking about this moment and saying the stakes that have been higher. is that really true? are the stakes higher now than they were in, say, 2014 before the invasion? >> it to mentally consider the stakes for. i believe the stakes for us to make a bad decision and bad policy is very high and we needed to back off of that and do something that takes the situation in stone cold reality and does what's best for the united states. the president, whether it's trump or biden or anyone else, has got to be primarily the u.s. national security and preserving our ability to prosper as a nation. trying to get ourselves in the middle of a dispute between two bordering countries, one of which is nuclear arms, is not a recipe for success. what we should be doing, biden is doing some things right trying to de-escalate the situation, but those who call for more than sanctions and even the possibility of military involvement, it's going to take us down a path that will be very bad for the united states. we should avoid that at all costs. >> reportedly in this phone call yesterday putin threatened or warned, however you want to phrase it, biden that, if the u.s. presses for any additional sanctions on russia, putin will just cut the cord, cut off diplomatic relations with the u.s. entirely. why is that such a terrible thing for the united states? >> any time you've got a hostile nuclear power that is so mad they're cutting off diplomatic relations, the chances of miscalculation and misunderstanding go way up. when you're talking about two countries that could potentially escalate into a nuclear conflict, that is not in our interest. what would be in our interest is to get you came to understand the reality of the situation no matter what anyone wants. they should declare neutrality. they should not go over to the putin circle but stay out of hours. that puts a buffer between nato and russia and lowers the chances that putin would do anything militarily and also preserves our ability not to try to bring the country that is unstable into our lives, which is also not in our favor. that's what we should be doing. >> the next steps in terms of diplomacy are in about ten days, a little more. russia and america, we are going to speak again. it's not at the presidential level, it's at a sort of state department diplomatic level. i guess the question is, that will happen, but should biden continue talking to putin one-on-one? it seems like that is where all the energy is and that's where there's opportunity for real progress to be made. not mid-level diplomats going back and forth with niceties and translated cables and things like that. >> these are supposed to be relatively high level diplomats talking to each other. that's where the meat and potatoes works. that's actually good. i think they should continue talking at the leader to leader level, as biden put it every day. it's useful to continue to not have any misunderstandings. but this one thing we have to take into consideration as your correspondent just a second ago mentioned. when putin feels like his red lines have been crossed and his national security is at stake on his border, he has twice use military means to restore that to what he thinks is okay. it's possible he could do it again. what we could do is make sure we don't take a bad situation and make it worse. you see general eisenhower did that in 1956 with hungary. nobody wanted to see the soviets go there but we threaded them from going further. we didn't get ourselves in any hot water or any military harm. that's a good model to follow. >> gillian: colonel davis, thanks for spending this new year's day with us. we appreciated it and it was you wonderful new year. as new year's eve revelers are in times square, the parties almost over for that city's mayor, bill de blasio. a lot of looking forward, they tell us, to ringing in a brand-new mayor. ♪ ♪ 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. are you one of the millions of americans who experience occasional bloating, gas, what? or abdominal discomfort? taking align can help. align contains a quality probiotic to naturally help soothe digestive upsets 24/7. try align, the pros in digestive health. >> anita: a fox news alert, beloved actress and comedian and american icon betty white has died at the age of 99, just a couple of weeks before her 100th birthday. she was to turn 100 on january 17th. gillian, she was just a few weeks away. it is hard to believe. i really expected her to make that 100th mark. really the end of an era here. the last of the golden girls to pass away. a beloved actress. who doesn't love betty white? we are just learning about the news coming into the newsroom this afternoon. someone who always had a gleam in her eye and brought her good spirits to the screen. i really don't know anyone who didn't admire and love betty white. how about you, gillian? >> gillian: i like what you said about the gleam in her eye. she really did. she was totally a tv bad -- i don't know if i'm allowed to say that. and a trailblazer in tv. i don't know people realize she set the record, the longest running woman on television. that's a record she takes with her, nobody can break it. what's interesting is her career began in 1939. when you think about the state of television then compared to now, it's incredible the scope of the work she's done, the way people looked and talked and acted on. it's all changed and she was able to adapt herself. she was relevant and engaging and people loved her then and she was relevant and engaging and people loved now. so it's really incredible. >> anita: it is. you talk about the scope of her work, she started in radio when she was eight years old. she really spanned all sorts of platforms of entertainment. like you said, she was able to stay relevant and seemingly every young. she has certainly never looked like someone who is in her late 90s to me. he said she was the longest person ever working in television, she earned a spot in "the guinness book of world records" for that in 2018. so many accolades for this woman, and so many people will be so sad to hear of her passing. you know, movie theaters across the country where gearing up to devote a day to her on her birthday, january 17th. perhaps they will still do that. you know fans will flock there. she has a star on the hollywood walk of fame. i can only imagine people going there right now with flowers and notes and all kinds of remembrances. >> gillian: i certainly hope they press forward with that january 17th event. it'll be my daughter's six month birthday, as well. another nice thing to look back at with her and think about. in the interim, we got chief correspondent jonathan hunt taking a look back at the beloved actress his life. take a listen. >> betty marion white was born january 17th, 1922, in oak park, illinois. during the depression, her parents moved with her only child to los angeles where she attended hollywood high school and later got her start on local tv. her break came in 1949 with "hollywood on television," a variety show that ran five hours a day, six days a week. that success led to a sitcom. >> betty white, in "life with elizabeth!" >> and her own variety program, "the betty white show." ♪♪ i am a little lamb who is lost ♪♪ >> after that she took a job that would change everything. as a celebrity contested on the game show "password," she met the man she called the love of her life, host alan letting. >> and will give the first password tonight to betty white. >> then in 1973, she landed the first of two landmark roles. >> i'm sorry, billy, but i cannot do a chocolate souffle with only two cameras. [laughter] >> the happy homemaker who lives anything but on ""the mary tyler moore show"." it was supposed to be a guest appearance, but it became a full-time job and earned her two emmy awards. in 1980, her husband was diagnosed with stomach cancer. he died the following year. that he never remarried and never had children. she continued taking guest starring roles and game shows until she once again found a perfect part. >> yeah, i got a call from a lois nylund? >> that the rose, as in a series of seats in a movie theater. >> on "golden girls," her character was the opposite of the kindhearted scatterbrained rose, known for sharing stories from her upbringing. >> last to misstate a left pageant did you >> 23 years in a row! [laughter] >> along with acting, that he was passionate about animal welfare. she spent more than four decades working with the morris animal foundation and the los angeles zoo, and won a lifetime achievement award from the jane goodall institute. >> my life is divided absolutely and have come half show business and half animal business. i will do anything can to make life better for these guys. >> our guest of honor, miss betty white. >> in recent years, her career enjoyed a renaissance page first she appeared in a hard-hitting super bowl commercial. >> that's not what your girlfriend says! >> than internet campaign helped her host a episode of "saturday night live." he became their highest rated show in two years. >> i'm here tonight because i be wanted me to be. >> then her new show "hot in cleveland" premiered and set a ratings record for the tv land network. >> i've been the caretaker of this house for 50 years. but you can kick me out. >> and all, betty earned more than half a dozen enemies, three american comedy words, a granny, and three screen actors guild awards, including a lifetime achievement. >> this is the highest point of my entire professional life. >> with her wit, impeccable comedic timing, and generous personality, betty white leaves behind a lasting legacy of love and laughter. jonathan hunt, fox news. >> gillian: thanks to jonathan hunt for that great package. anita, tmz is reporting that during the pandemic she was very cautious. she wanted to protect her health. she mostly stayed at home and they say she spent a lot of her time watching tv, unsurprisingly, reading books, doing crossword puzzles. i like to think of her last weeks and months and even days as being spent restfully, peacefully, at home, surrounded by people she loved. we don't know anything yet about the cause of her passing. we will bring you breaking details of course while we get them. anita, what are your thoughts? >> anita: i really enjoyed watching and listening to jonathan hunt's obituary of betty white, and looking at the highlight player less of her nine decades in television. i remember that "saturday night live" appearance, and it was so funny. how many women into their 90s could host a show like that? just thing about that. to have the wherewithal to still have the comedy, the timing, the sense of humor, to do that is really astonishing and it really shows you what an amazing person she was. and to do so many different things in television. there you see her with a snake. she was an avid animal lover as he heard in that report. she didn't have children, so she considered her animals her children and devoted time to the care of animals. as we watch the report, so many things she did. hosting game shows, parts in some of the biggest series on television. "the mary tyler moore show." "life with elizabeth," that was one of her first shadows. it's just amazing to look back at the scope of her career and we really celebrate her life. >> gillian: let's bring in now howie kurtz, the host of media buzz. he's going to join us with some reflections on her, betty. thanks for taking time with us. she is obviously most famous for her work on "the golden girls," but she did so much more. talk about some of her other more famous roles. >> betty white's legacy is so much bigger then "the golden girls." just a few days ago, by coincidence, i happen to watch a movie from about a decade ago, sandra bullock in "the proposal," and there was betty white. it seems cosmically unfair that she did make it to her 130 or 2022. between movies and tv, she was an inspirational person. she had this quality about her that she just seemed really cool, no matter what her age or the venue, whether "saturday night live" or being plugged into internet culture. she changed with the times. >> anita: she was really timeless, howie. that is, she changed with the times exactly like you said. we just watched that obituary and you really saw so many phases of her career from her early stages to hosting "saturday night live." as you know, there are many people that can be so cool into their 90s, right? >> i know a lot of people who can't be cool at half that age! >> anita: [laughs] >> as she got older and played some of these character parts, she would often recite these lines that were pretty saucy, maybe drop a couple of words we can't say on television. and people would say, "betty white, i can't believe she said that!" she played off that, as well. it seems to me that she could have had a very nice retirement 20 years ago. there was something that kept her going. whenever interviewers asked her the secret to longevity, she would say vodka, hot dogs, and french fries. which is pretty cool the way to look at life. >> anita: [laughs] no doubt. you said you were watching a movie with betty white. i didn't quite hear what you are watching. what was that movie, howie? >> it's called "the proposal." >> gillian: oh, yeah. >> sandra bullock was the star paid betty white pops up as a mother of the guy she was marrying because she wanted to stay in the country. she seamlessly fit right in and she could play off other actors, whether it was hosting "snl" or in one of these movies. she just knew what to do. it's just kind of amazing to me. every time i would see here, in any venue, i would say, "how does she do it cannot" is one of your anchors said earlier, who doesn't love betty white? i think it's really sad but we should celebrate her life. we should all make it to 99. and have anything approaching that kind of career. >> anita: fans moments in her shows that had been laughing and crying all at the same time. one thing that comes to mind comes from "the golden girls," when white played rose nylund and took a stand with results that left people reeling. watch this. >> stop wasting the taxpayers' money, take out that tree and start pouring cement! >> think about what you're doing! that beautiful tree is 200 years old! how can you hate a living thing? >> i hate you. [laughter] >> that's it! i have had all i'm going to take from you! now, if you don't have the common decency to treat people like human beings, well, i'm sure to spend time -- if you don't like it, you can sit there and shut up while we have our say! if you don't like it, just drop dead! [audience reacts] [laughter] >> what happened? >> you know when you told her to drop dead? >> i think she did! [laughter] >> gillian: howie, one of the perks that come along with a decades-long career like hers is a whole lot of awards. she had daytime emmis, i think she had a tony award, all kindst awards, a grammy award. a lot of hollywood celebrities like to sort of pooh-pooh that. "i use my words as toilet paper holders." >> [laughs] >> gillian: she was everyone of those. she always expressed such delight in appreciation and talked about every time she got an award how much joy it brought her. very refreshing. >> and a star on the hollywood walk of same. she just brought such enthusiasm to everything that she did. that scene you played was really funny. she aged so well. so many people in hollywood, whether they are that age or some other age, they are often the subject of all kinds of terrible gossip. i don't think i've ever read something where they said betty white was difficult to work with or thinks a lot of herself. she just seemed to be -- the camera doesn't lie, and they captured this zest for life that she had. of course she was a great actress, but she seemed to be a genuine person in real life, as well. >> anita: howie, that was my next question. a lot of times you have actors and actresses who are loved by the public because they are so funny and they seem like you want to be their best friend. but then you hear behind-the-scenes they are really not that person. that was my question. what have you heard behind-the-scenes about who betty white really was when the cameras were off? >> i have never read anything -- and maybe i need to do some investigative reporting, but clearly she enjoyed working with other actors. she did need to do "saturday night live," it was probably a great experience for her. i think it was a rare case, and obviously she garnered a lot of respect as she reach an older age, where nobody on or off the record or even in the gossip-wide gossip columns had anything derogatory to say about her. she seemed to be an authentic person. and a lot of people, exactly as you say, they could be the greatest character actor in the world and then you read that they were terrible offscreen. since she didn't have any children, i think she just kind of devoted her life to the pursuits that she had, such as animals, and to be entertaining. and she never stopped being entertaining. i'm sure she must've had a couple of clunkers somewhere in those 99 years, but nothing immediately springs to mind. >> gillian: a little while ago, howie, a couple moments ago you talked about her adaptability. what other qualities do you see in her that made her so, i guess, amenable to this career? television and movies can be terribly competitive for people. a lot of people sort of end up retiring early in that field because it is just too much pressure, the stakes are too high. you got to bring in a billion dollars every time you put out a movie. but she was able to kind of keep her joy for what she did. she was a true pro in that sense. what intrinsic qualities do you think she had that made her able to do that? >> i had to boil it down to one quality among many, i would say timing. she had this uncanny comic timing. you saw that a little bit in the clip you just played. it's also true in the movie i happened to watch a few days ago. certainly you don't get to do "saturday night live" until he can deliver the zinger on cue, that sort of thing. i think that and a sense that she didn't take yourself too seriously. she could give the impassioned speech when the part called for it, but she really seemed to have that sense of humor. so many people, when they achieve that kind of success -- betty white was a household name around the world. they get pretty full of themselves. if that happened, we didn't see any evidence of it. >> gillian: howie and anita, take a listen to this clip of president biden talking about betty. >> did you hear the news of betty white? >> that's a shame. she was a lovely lady. >> we are so sad about her death. >> 99 years old. my mother was, god love her. incredible. >> anita: you know you've made it when the president's commenting on your death, right? >> exactly. >> anita: you had the first lady and the president say that she's a lovely lady, who doesn't love betty white? >> one more quick point about betty white, she may have had some political issues she took a stand on, but i don't really know anything about her politics. now we are in this era with a lot of obviously younger performers, musicians and others, who feel the need to put their politics -- obviously hollywood leans very heavily to the left. you see that the awards shows. in the late-night comics, in the days of jay leno you gave it to both sides. it's all so politicized. maybe because she was old-fashioned and grew up in a different era, betty white avoided that trap where you might alienate half the audience by taking a stand for or against a political party or particular president or candidate. and maybe that too added to her universal appeal. >> anita: i bet it did. let's listen to another hilarious moment coming from betty white's character on "the mary tyler moore show," the iconic commit maybe a tad ditzy suzanne. let's see her at her best. >> >> i love this apartment. >> i haven't done anything to it. >> i know. it shows. i would kill for a cup of coffee? >> that's why i'm going to offer you one. >> mary, i tell you what here, i decided to audition for that woman's point of view spot on your show. i prepared for what i think is a solid piece of copy on the recent mid slides in alaska? >> do you take it? >> seriously. >> the coffee. >> coffee experts agree, a cup of coffee should be savored as it comes from the pot, hot, rich and black. a double of cream and sugar. >> so funny to watch those old clips. while two great actresses on the screen there. >> yes. i was just thinking that to be paired with mary tyler moore brought out the best in both of them. she was so adaptable. she could play ditzy, more serious. it's hard to play ditzy on television or in the movies. >> howie, do you have a favorite role of hers if you had to choose one? >> i haven't had time to reflect. i was looking at some of her film credits. i can't pick one out. you started out asking about the golden girls. as broad as her career was, it was a classic program. in the era when everybody watched network tv, it would probably have to be "golden girls." >> i'll take it. she was so relevant until -- her relevance doesn't end with her passing. she's been so relevant. even today girls make golden girls packs. they say i have friends that have done this. one day we outlive our husbands, we're going to move somewhere warm and fabulous and a couple or few of us will live together. emulate the golden girls. it was a powerful dynamic on the show. that will live forever. >> the fact that you're day dreaming about it tells us something. if you had to boil it down, a lot of great actors and actresses on the screen. some of them have longer careers. something about betty white. she became part of the culture. it's a hard thing to achieve. we all know it. when you have joe biden reacting to betty white's passing and all of us on television and people that never met her think i liked her in this show or in this movie. i remember her from snl. that's the cultural connection that very few artists achieve. >> since you mentioned that you were recently watching the proposal, she was in that movie with ryan reynolds, we have a clip for you. we're going to play it now. ♪♪ >> i see you're a curious one. come, see how i give thanks to mother earth. >> i'm not that curious. >> you know, howie, a lot of young women that seek to be actresses and go into the world of acting, they always want to be the leading lady, the beautiful a-list leading lady. how many people today want to go into movies and television and want to be the betty white character? you see anybody out there in hollywood that could be following in her foot steps? >> you know, it's a lost art. obviously there's very good character actors today in tv and movies. i don't know that anybody aspires to be that. if you land the big role particularly in some of these action movies, that's where the big bucks are. so i guess, you know, for whatever reason maybe because of her early success and the emmys and starting out in radio, betty white didn't have to worry about that. she was comfortable in the movie like you just showed. she was the mom of the guy that sandra bulloch was going to marry. she made the movie without dominating it or being the person whose name was first in the credits. maybe that's a lost art in our celebrity culture. >> i was going to say, anita, she was asked by "people" magazine recently what her secret to a long and healthy life was. she said she was sort of raised to be a cock-eyed optimist by her mother and she said she avoided eating anything green. i like that. >> that's a funny one. you don't hear that health tip passed out too afternoon, right? but no, it's amazing. she did -- you mentioned this before. she kept that youthful air about her always, up until the age of 99. and that joy for life, which seems to be so real. i think that was part of the -- it drew the audience toward her. like you said, gillian, created fans of young women today that didn't have an opportunity to watch betty white in her hey day. they're cueing up things now from years ago and watching here. >> yeah, howie -- i'm sorry. i was going to ask if you could reflect. before we let you go, yes know about this better than anyone. her career in radio started in the 40s and continued till now. you think about the mediums and how they have changed. they're virtually unrecognizable from 70, 80 years ago. it's very rare just that we have seen somebody that is able to succeed, but you know, succeed at the level she has and maintain that. so it's not just about staying relevant. it's about having stamina and enough understanding of the mediums as they develop in order to physically embrace them and get the job done. >> yeah, the world is so different in a time before television when radio programs, where people gathered around the kitchen to listen to, to have that adaptability and grow in evolution so you could in the 21st century, not just still be employed but adapt to the mediums. it's a singular talent. the word "magnetism" sums it up. especially for women. big stars got older and cuter came along. betty white wasn't subjected to that. she didn't need to be. she was funny, warm, authentic. america will miss her. >> i was going to say, you know, i don't know if -- i don't know if betty white was on twitter. maybe she was. i'm looking now, wondering what people are tweeting about betty white. dwil -- it will be interesting to see what people of all ages will say about her. i'm so interested to see how people honor her today. >> i'm going to go out on a limb and say she's trending. >> yeah? i think you're probably right. >> have you seen every episode of golden girls? i'm close. >> certainly i haven't. we've seen the highlights. they're legendary. no, i can't claim to watch every episode. >> i bet you some of you will be watching those now online. this happened earlier this year when ed asner played lou grant. really held up. we can celebrate her life by looking back at some of the great episodes, not just of that show but others of betty white's career. >> it is sad obviously that she didn't make it to the 100-year mark. she didn't get to be here for her 100th birthday celebration that's coming up january 17 where anita was talking about this earlier. there's going to be nationwide relief and movie theaters and celebration of her birthday party, a lot of celebrities were going to participate in it. she's not going to get the experience that in real time, but it's -- that being what it may, most human lives are viewed with a certain degree of longing. that's not really what matters here. the important thing is that we look back and reflect on the breadth and scope of her career. >> yeah, gillian, you should go to the party. you sound like a member of the betty white fan club. >> i am. >> and to hear you pay tribute to her -- one of the things we got from this conversation is that betty white was so much more because she -- her career was so long and so rich, a lot of new fans could find her even when she was 80, 90 or even older than that. >> howie, we're going to leave it there. we'll continue back and talk about betty white a little later on. but thanks for hanging with us. we appreciate it. >> great to talk to both of you. >> you bet. >> so tracking other breaking news. hurricane force winds are fuelling wild fires in colorado. hundreds of homes destroyed, as many as maybe 1,000 as there's downed power lines and prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency. we have jeff paul in colorado where thousands have been evacuated. hi, jeff. >> yeah, gillian, officials say that the largest fires are now out. the snow is starting to fall, which is a good sign and the winds are dying down. the devastation is still widespread. this is one of the many neighborhoods impacted by the wild fire. you can see the firefighters spotting out the spot fires and people now are returning to the neighborhoods where they used to call home and finding that they have nothing left. as you drive around cities, this is some of what we're seeing up close. >> this is one of many homes that were burned to the ground. two cars here burned down to the metal frame. the only thing that still stands here are the brick foundations and chimneys. now this wild fire started after strong wind gusts whipped through the area as high as 105 miles per hour. officials say the origin of the fire hasn't been confirmed but they point to downed power lines. the speed of the fire gave folks minutes to get to safety. the number could be as high as 1000 homes. given the dry conditions and strong winds, first responders couldn't do much to stop it. all they could to is get as many people out and to safety. >> this is the first time i've really been involved in anything like this. i'll tell you, it was scary. it's so dark. you can't see anything. it's like the black of night. i would imagine this is what a nuclear attack would look like. >> the governor said so far looking at the damage, they don't believe any schools were damaged and they don't believe any hospitals were impacted by the fire either. so far only reports of some minor injuries. no reports of missing people or people who have passed away in this fire. the governor says if it stands, it would be a new year's eve miracle. he thanks the first responders and the folks that live here and listened to the warnings and got out. gillian? >> gillian: the bolder police chief was warning that because of these intense wind gusts, they're scared that they're going to sort of sweep up a lot of the smoke and carry it for miles. we can see the smoke building behind you in the distance there. what are you feeling and smelling and seeing on the ground? is it bad? >> yeah, you get a couple miles away and you see the neighborhoods that were impacted in your car. you can start smelling the smoke already. as we sit here, you know, you can definitely smell it. some areas, you can see the smoke smolders. thankfully we don't have the massive fires. we're going to see the small spot fires spark up throughout the day here. you have to think about some of the things that are in your home, which a lot of these people had are combustible and will continue to burn and on top of that, you have to think about the chemicals that are burning. so it's a massive cleanup. it's truly a nightmare out here. if it holds up that nobody was killed or injured, that would be a miracle. >> would be a new year's blessing indeed. jeff ball, stand by. we appreciate it. anita? >> gillian, president biden just moments ago discussing the colorado catastrophe. let's listen. >> will you travel to california? >> i may very well. >> it was hard to hear what the president was saying there. but i think he was expressing sympathy for what had happened and thanking the firefighters. gillian, were you able to hear better? >> gillian: no, unfortunately. the signal was terrible for that reporter there. but jeff, i want to flag something that jeff paul just reported last hour, which is that in his years of covering wild fires out west, he said he's never seen one where the destruction was this quick and this intense. he said he's been bulled over and shocked by the scope and the scale of the destruction he has seen there in the boulder area. you know, you can see there it smoldering and the ruins behind him in the near distance. it's terrible. >> yeah, it looked unbelievable. always worse to see in person. moving on now. dr. marty makary writing a new op-ed on the push to get teens to get booster shots. it's on the wallstreetjournal.com. he says the science doesn't back this up. dr. makary, thanks for coming on on this new year's eve. really appreciate it. you know, a lot of parents right now are considering boosters for their teens. omicron is out there, delta is out there. you're saying wait a minute, not so fast. explain. >> the immune system works, anita. if somebody has the primary vaccine series or anybody has natural immunity, the risk of them getting serious complications from covid in a younger population is now well-described in the medical literature. it's zero. the risk of someone under age 30 dying of covid after a primary vaccine series is zero. that's from the new england journal of medicine earlier this month. so adding a booster is not going to further lower a risk of zero. and that's why many experts have been concerned about boosters in young people because there are risks to the vaccine, all be them rare. that's why the fda advisers voted 16-2 against boosters in young people. that's why the who is against it and why many of us are very concerned that the fastball is about to approve boosters for kids 12-15 without convening. >> gillian: why are they doing that? why is there this push for teenagers to get booster shots when the science you're saying is not really there? >> because there's a message coming from the white house based on the recommendation of a few doctors that are advising president biden. in my opinion, advising the president poorly. that edict is being handed down to the fda, this is the most political fda in history. two top officials left because of political pressure on this particular issue, boosters for everybody. >> gillian: interesting. i want a headline from "the washington post." it says "crazy omicron surge could peak soon but the virus is unpredictable as it enters its third year." i read in the "wall street journal" this morning that we're watching south africa. things are looking better there. hopefully that mean better days ahead for us in terms of omicron right into the new year's. >> that's right. this is great news. it comes at a great team, anita. south africa has peaked. they're down 25% of the cases in one week. when we look at the u.k. and other places, we tend to follow what we're seeing as a preview in those countries. omicron is not just mild because it's in the upper respiratory system but also conferring immunity to delta. that is very important. it answers the open question whether or not it would displace delta. the answer is yes. for a while, short term pain but we're talking about a mild flu-like illness and a common illness. think of it as something that most of your friends and family will get in the next few weeks or months. >> yeah, with that in mind, you know, as we see some school districts around the nation, not a lot, but some saying they're going back to virtual learning. i was surprised to hear that. what do you think about that? >> it's almost as if we haven't learned or lessons. the brown university study made it very clear that there are profound learning and cognitive delays and lower performance among kids during the pandemic. it's going to take years to truly understand the severe repercussions of this delay in young people. i think if you look at what is happening in colleges and universities right now, it's an abuse of power. some schools in d.c. are requiring boosters. that's unconscionable. some schools are requiring n-95 masks. they're not that easy to wear. they leave lines on your face after you wear them. so what we're seeing is an oververy action. we need the south african medical association head to come to the united states and take dr. fauci's job. she said don't panic. omicron is a mild illness. now they're saying we told you not to panic. >> gillian: i remember she said that in the early days after hearing about omicron. thanks, dr. makary. thanks for being a voice of reason throughout 2021 and we'll look for toward to hearing from you next year. >> thanks so much. happy new year. >> gillian: much more to get to on this on a jam packed new year's eve. stay with us. ♪ limu emu... & doug ♪ ♪ superpowers from a spider bite? 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(gasps) ♪ did it work? only pay for what you need ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ spider-man no way home in theaters december 17th 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. predictable relationship with russia. for a kgb guy like putin, it's an opportunity. he put a choke hold on the ukraine with 100,000 troops and now he's using that escalation to extort the united states and nato to recognize russia's sphere of influence. putin has talks with the united states now and nato. russia has submitted two draft treaties that would recognize that nato would not expand further east. that's what he wants. >> gillian: i was going to say, ahead of the meeting putin released a wish list of his demands. he wants biden to commit to ukraine not becoming part of nato and he wants the united states not to provide more weapons to ukraine no matter what they do on the border what do you think the odds are biden agreed to either of those things? >> i hope he didn't. the disturbing part is the other party to the conflict besides russia is ukraine. they don't even have a seat at the table. i've mentioned before, there's a russia saying that said i was married without being present. putin wants to deal with ukraine without ukraine having an opportunity to negotiate at all. he wants to negotiate directly with the united states. it serves his purpose to appear as a super power even though their gdp is the size of italy, no disrespect to the italians. but what gives russia weight is the nuclear weapons. putin is using that and the build back better to his advantage. >> gillian: yesterday there was a call with reporters. one of the things that biden wanted to press upon putin is how he deescalated tension along the border. what does that mean, dan? let's be real. you have the president of russia amassing 100,000 troops at the seen zenith. he had 100,000 troops there and started to make overt threats aukraine. that's not really tension. >> yeah, putin wants to deescalate. he just wants to do it on his own terms. he withdraw 10,000 troops as a perceived concession because the united states agreed to those talks. i think vladimir putin is fine not starting what would be a prohibitively costly war. as long as he gets something for it. so i think he would be happy to strike a deal with the united states to deescalate. that's why i'm concerned that the biden administration has framed this challenge along the lines that putin would want, to deescalate. let's frame it about ukraine's territory. that's what we should be talking about. not deescalation that vladimir putin fomented. >> single landedly created. so the next step is the white house tells us is for diplomats to talk the second week in january. >> then from there we go -- i don't know. what do you think. what should be the next step? we carry on talking without any real resolve? where can it go? >> vladimir putin has delivered a false sense of urgency here. he wants the biden administration to be quick to get bake to their domestic priorities and putin would be happy to solve this for him to do that. january 10, there's a meeting between the secretary state deputy wendy sherman. that will set the table without ukraine being present. vladimir putin will stick to some sort of a guarantee, he wants a few steps down that path of no nato membership for ukraine. for that matter no european membership as well. if he does that, we're doing irreparable harm to ukraine's democracy. ukraine should be deciding for themselves if they want to apply for nato membership. nato can then decide. russia shouldn't have a say here. we haven't heard anything from the biden administration and standing up for the ukraine. that is of great concern. >> gillian: thanks, dan. happy new year to >> thanks. happy new year. >> gillian: let's take a live look at nashville now. we get ready to ring in the new year. fox news is live in the music city to turn the calendar. hope you join us tonight starting at 10:00 p.m. ♪ move your high-interest debt to a sofi personal loan. earn $10 just for viewing your rate — and get your money right. ♪ (upbeat music) - [narrator] this is kate. she always wanted her smile to shine. now, she uses a capful of therabreath healthy smile oral rinse to give her the healthy, sparkly smile she always wanted. (crowd cheering) therabreath, it's a better mouthwash. at walmart, target and other fine stores. your shipping manager left to “find themself.” leaving you lost. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire >> gillian: cities around the world ringing in the new year as covid cases continue to rise. some celebrations noticeably different with many requirements or cancelled altogether. let's bring in alex hogan live with more. hi, alex. >> hi, anita. happy new year as we ring in 2022. we've seen cities around the world kickoff their celebrations. the very first taking place in sydney with this right here. you can see fireworks show kicking off. again, the first fireworks of the new year taking place in the bridge and opera house harbor. in hong kong, fire works lit up the sky over the city's harbor. the next sell breaks taking place in thailand. the next fireworks are from bangkok. the country allowed parties but common new year's eve prayers were online. other skies went dark as omicron stole the show. tokyo called off their count down and turned off the square's billboards. that didn't stop people from showing up as you can see in this video right here. thousands still came out and over in new delhi, india, the country is imposing a curfew. several hours to go here in europe, a new year's eve celebration will take place and cities are still preparing. paris, berlin and rome have called off their city-planned events where covid cases continue to surge. lock down protests have taken place this week in slovenia and germany. germany's demonstrations monday were some of the most violent of the entire pandemic. only ten people are allowed to meet there at once. coming up, parts of the middle east will ring in the new year here in london. we have a few hours to go. we've seen several people setting off those fireworks likely from home. so again, the would is getting ready to say good-bye to 2021. a lot of people are ready for a fresh start. >> anita: no kidding there. and alex, i wanted to ask you since i think this is your first new year's in london. what are you seeing there? you mentioned you're hearing fireworks what are you seeing there as the new year's there is hours away? >> this is my first new year's here in london. very excited to be with you. what we're seeing here in london, the city cancelled their fireworks show saying that people could celebrate from home, they weren't cancelling parties. the city's event itself was cancelled. they backtracked on that. there is a fireworks show that will take place. the city is asking people not to watch it. instead, it will be shown virtually to them. again, we've seen a lot of people that are excited, ready to celebrate and setting off their own fireworks and people will gather limited but people celebrating nonetheless. >> anita: thanks, alex. live in london. happy new year to you. >> happy new year to you. >> anita: well, gillian, let's take a live look at nashville right now where the fox crew is getting ready to celebrate the start of a new year. big festivities planned there for this evening. >> gillian: it looks awesome. starting at 10:00 p.m., our viewers can join us. the evening will be hosted out of there in nashville. pete hegseth and rachel campos duffy will be there. we have reporters and we have your favorite fox news folks spread around the country. it's going to be a party that goes on to the wee hours of the morning. i'm going to dvr it. having a five-month-old at home, i tend to go to bed at 7:30. i hope everybody else can join them lives. joining us now is a reporter for thedailymail.com. we're going back 0 our top story with the passing of betty white. talk to us about betty white's legacy among her fans in particular. >> there's no one like betty white. her career spans seven decades. she broke out in the 70s on the mary tyler moore show and the 80s with the golden girls and she had the resurgence in 20 with "hot in cleveland." so it seems like her fans are among every single generation. you don't have many talents like that still in hollywood. people will be reeling and emotional from this loss. she was set to turn 100 january 17. she won't hit that mile step. but you know, up until her final days, she was giving interviews, participating in an up and coming documentary and seems like betty white, happy and funny. >> gillian: i want to ask you about that. she was slated to start in this betty white birthday celebration for her 100th birthday. it was going to be airing in movie theaters around the country. you think they'll still go forward and air that now that she's passed? >> i absolutely do. what i think is going to happen and i'm sure they're scrambling since this is not something that they could have anticipated but they'll probably pivot it to being a commemoration to honor betty. all of the people that participated just loved her top to bottom. she was a deslight. it seems appropriate to continue on with that. slated to go out to about 900 theaters. probably streamed to more theaters so more can appreciate her. >> anita: one of the moments that a lot of people remember that came late in her career. she hosted "saturday night live" in 2010. we have a clip here. >> i can't believe i'm hosting "saturday night live." i'm not sure is -- many of you know that i'm 88 1/2 years old. it's great to be here for a number of reasons. you know, i'm not new to live tv. in 1952, i starred on my first live sitcom, "life of elizabeth." back then we didn't want to do it life. we didn't know how to tape things. [laughter] so i don't know what this show's excuse is. you know, i have so many people to thank for being here. i really have to thank facebook. when i first heard about the campaign to get me to host "saturday night live," i didn't know what facebook was and now that i do know what it is, i have to say it sounds like a huge waste of time. >> gillian: you have to live that. at 88, her timing and her mannerisms and spatial expressions, she's gone on so funny. and her jokes still stand. that's i think the best part and kind of the testament to who is betty white. she really remains authentic and genuine in the same throughout every daybreak cade of her career and every new generation in hollywood. just love her and appreciate her. she was spot on with that delivery and spot on with her criticisms of facebook even today. that year i went to betty white's 89th birthday party in new york. she was no bigger than a minute, so warm and delightful and there was food everywhere and drinks. she was seated in a booth eating a burger and fries being betty white. she couldn't have been more warm and adorable to meet her was to love her. >> gillian: kaitlyn, i asked you about her fans. she was be loved by them and we'rely and uniquely loved in hollywood. a notorious cess pool of people running each other's grandmothers for an extra minute on screen. how did she cult investigate and maintain that fan base in hollywood? >> the overwhelming feeling about betty white in hollywood is she was a national treasure and needed to be protected at all costs. nobody has said a bad word about her. everybody that has worked on set has loved her. she's maintained these incredible relationships with her co-stars decades and years after they've worked together. she was an actor's actor. she was hysterical and went on set and maim everybody feel warm and welcome. just this week she and ryan reynolds were still going back and forth with this ongoing bit about how he can't get over dating her, but how robert red ford was still the one to her. even to her 99th year, this is why hollywood loved betty white. i dare you find anywhere who has a mean word to say about her. >> one of the things that is remarkable about her are the quick comebacks. i'm reading an article from "the new york times" talking about an interview that she gave to abc's nightline in 2010. she said i've been working for 63 years. everybody says oh, it's a renaissance. she said, i guess i went away and i didn't know it. mohammed say oh, betty has a renaissance. she's coming back. her point is i never stopped working. >> she never ever stopped working. just as we were talking about a minute ago, she participated in this upcoming documentary to celebrate her 100th year, she she won't get to. but she just was a worker bee. that is why people like being on set with her and liked working with her. like i said, she never changed. her jokes and her comedy were so similar in the 70s, 80s and 90s. when we heard she was 88, her quick wit, her timing worked. it's eternal. it's always funny and always good and you can't learn that. she was innately funny and talented. >> she also served in world war ii, kaitlyn. she was part of the all-female volunteer core. >> throughout her life, she's been involved in animal charities. she was particularly passionate about them throughout her later years in life. i imagine they will miss her dearly now that she has passed. i'm sure she's going to be taking care of all of those charities that she's been passionate about her whole life. >> anita: well, anyone that has ever watched golden girls knows about a town in minnesota named st. olaf. probably too much about st. olaf where betty white's character was from. she wanted everybody to know about it no matter how bizarre. >> they couldn't agree on what to do with the herring. >> that is understandable. the possibilities are overwhelming. >> exactly. the joe hansens wanted to pickle him and the johnsons wanted to train him for the circus. >> anita: so funny. earlier gillian was saying how she's seen almost every episode of that show. gillian, i think you were very young when that show was on the air. you've been a fan for a long time. >> gillian: i have watched her a long time. i didn't have a favorite amongst the four of them but i had a soft spot for her and blanche. what about you, kaitlyn? >> i loved rose. i know there's a cream cheese shortage. if there's a time to have a tribute slice of cheesecake, it's to honor betty white and the golden girls. >> gillian: take a look at this clip. it's betty white speaking at the emmys in 2018. >> thank you. i'm just going to quit while i'm ahead. oh, my goodness. goodness. i just -- this is very exciting. i think the biggest most exciting night i ever had -- i'm talking to lorne michaels now. the night that he gave me -- boy, you topped yourself tonight, lorne. you think i'm going to miss a chance when i get it? >> anita: one of the things that makes her so loveable, she really relished and revelled in the awards that she received later in her life. she appreciated everyone and loved to talk about how much joy they brought her. >> absolutely. she's won multiple emmys and lifetime achievements awards. the actors really started to appreciate her for not only just being wonderful on screen but for being a real talent. she never took that for granted and always really grateful for it. >> anita: just so funny. we'll have more on betty white after the break including reaction from ryan reynolds. so stay tuned for that. betty white, an american icon gone too soon at 99 years old. much more on betty white after the break. ic arthritis. even walking was tough. i had to do something. i started cosentyx®. cosentyx can help you move, look, and feel better... by treating the multiple symptoms of psoriatic arthritis. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting...get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections some serious... and the lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms... or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. tell your doctor if your crohn's disease symptoms... develop or worsen. serious allergic reactions may occur. watch me. ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. ♪ limu emu... & doug ♪ ♪ superpowers from a spider bite? 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(gasps) ♪ did it work? only pay for what you need ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ spider-man no way home in theaters december 17th hey, angie! you forgot your phone! ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ hey lou! angie forget her phone again? yep. lou! mom said she could save up to $400 on her wireless bill by switching to xfinity internet and mobile. with nationwide 5g at no extra cost. and lou! on the most reliable network, lou! smart kid, bill. oh oh so true. and now, the moon christmas special. gotta go! take the savings challenge at xfinitymobile.com/mysavings or visit an xfinity store to learn how our switch squad makes switching fast and easy this holiday season. >> it wasn't a real tuna. it was a float in the founder's day parade. you probably don't know this, but my hometown was founded by the first man to ever can tuna in its own natural juices. it was the 50th anniversary celebration of the founding of our town. my father was chosen to pull the float. he thought it was because he had the newest tractor. actually he was the only one smallest enough to fit in the mayonnaise jar costume. i'll never forget the moment we caught sight of him. something must have happened to the tractor. there he was, this lone little mayonnaise jar dragging this giant tuna up the hill. i don't think i've ever been prouder in my life. >> anita: another hilarious clip from the golden girls there. you're reminded how funny that show was and how hilarious betty white was. back with us now kaitlyn becker from the daily mail. you walked about the relationship between ryan reynolds and betty white. she's played ryan reynolds funny canadian grandmother in "the proposal". we have a response from ryan reynolds now. he says "the world looks different now. she was great at defying expectations. she managed to grow old and somehow not old enough. we'll miss you, betty. now you know the secret." that is from ryan reynolds, her co-star in the movie "the proposal." talk more about their unique relationship, kaitlyn. >> the two of them were like peanut butter and jelly. kind of an unexpected pairing. as you mentioned, they starred together in the proposal in 2009 with sandra bulloch. the whole cast to this day remained close. betty and ryan had this sort of back and forth ongoing flirtatious kind of locallyingly barbs at each other. just this week they were going back and forth in different articles about how he couldn't get over losing her, referring to her as the ex-girlfriend. you just don't get to see those types of relationships all the time. they had a lot of fun with it. they had a lot of fun with it in public for us so we could all appreciate it. i'm sure it was for them but mostly for u fans. >> gillian: let's take a look at this other golden girls clip. >> the butter queen was the highest honor. my folks groomed me for it. singing less sons, dancing le sons, junior butter pageants. for 16 years my life revolved around butter. >> you were so fortunate. so many of us wasted our youth. >> the time came for the pageant, i was incredible. i showed poise and brilliant in the oral butter quiz. they couldn't trip me up with a trick margarine question. >> anita: kaitlyn, it's so nice and heart warming to see those subpoenas. you know, how well that those ladies got along. do you know anything about how they got along off screen? >> off screen they were really close. i'm paraphrasing a little bit but something that betty said about the four of them is that they were four points to a cam pass. that's why they worked so very well together. this was genuine and real closeness.i think their closeness off camera is what translated on screen to being such a dynamic show. to this day every clip -- we come out of it smiling and laughing. this is a sad moment. you think about losing betty white, your heart breaks a little bit and you watch a clip and you can't help but laugh. that really stands the test of time and it was their relationship off screen and their dynamic off screen that made the show work so well. >> anita: thankfully there's so many clips to keep her memory alive forever, both on screen and in our hearts. it is just so -- it's a celebration of her life to watch these scenes again. just be reminded how funny and how talented she was. >> absolutely. she is one of the most unique talents i think hollywood has ever seen. she started in television when television started. she grew up here in -- her family moved to los angeles, which is where i am. she started working in the business before tv was really even tv. this is what her whole life was. >> yeah, gillian is back with us now. gillian, i don't know if you saw that last clip of the golden girls. but i was saying when you watch these clips, they keep betty white alive forever. >> you can scream any time now the golden girls episodes. it's fantastic. kaitlyn, i want to ask you about the last couple years of betty's life. covid was difficult on people around the world. elderly people especially. reporting is that she was very cautious and herself and her family and her health. she spent a lot of that time isolating. give us a tense of what her final years were like for her. >> i think that's a really accurate description of what it's been like. unfortunately with the pandemic, betty wasn't able to probably work as much as she would like or so as many people as she would like. she spent most of her team at her home in brentwood, a lovely area of los angeles. she isolated a lot at home and didn't see many people. she didn't work on many projects. she kept it down. >> anita: yeah, she was in a high risk category. she knew what was best for her health. to stay indoors and protect herself as live as long as she could. it's such a shame that she didn't make her 100th birthday. i think that is a -- makes me sad. >> gillian: kaitlyn, we have to say good-bye. thanks for the breaking news this hour. great talking to you. happy new year. >> anita, i've had so much fun covering the stories today. happy, sad. it's like 2021 in a nutshell of three hours. >> anita: it is. it's been a great three hours with you. happy new year to you and your family. as we say good-bye to 2021 and a giant of the big and small screens, betty white dead at 99. >> jackie: they are getting ready to ring in the new year in times square while on wall street they're ringing up big gains for 2021. the markets soars this year despite the pandemic as high inflation. the s&p 500 finishing out the year up about 27%. welcome. i'm jackie deangelis in for neil cavuto, this is a special edition of "your world." the question is where do we go from here. our market pros will weigh-in in just a moment. first, let's get