moscow denying that, but, you know, putin's been moving more troops and arm as towards the border, surrounding ukraine by three sides. this as president biden met again with his national security team and secretary of state antony blinken warns that russia will face a swift and united response from the west if any russian forces, large or small, enter ukraine. >> this is very much part of the russian toolkit. it runs the gamut from a large conventional incursion or invasion of ukraine to the kind of destabilizing activities in an attempt to topple a government. and it's important people be on notice about that possibility. eric: senator roger wicker is just back from ukraine. he will tell us what he saw in just a moment. and we'll also be joined by the british ambassador to the united states, karen pearce is here, to outline how washington, london and our nato allies can confront putin. but first, greg palkot is in the ukrainian capital of kiev, amy kellogg in moscow, alexandria hoff in washington with the latest from our nation's capitol. >> reporter: the president has declared if russia further invades ukraine, the u.s. alongside allies and partners are ready to impose consequences. the statement was made this weekend after president biden met with his national security team at camp david to discuss what they call continued russia aggressive action towards ukraine. in geneva, top diplomats once again failed to come to agreement over the brewing crisis. secretary of state anthony d antiincentive blinken said in this today. >> we've given russia two paths, one i engaged in just last weekend in geneva, but there's also a path of renewed aggression and massive consequences that we have been building mow for many weeks. >> reporter: blinken also authorized a shipment of military equipment including javelin anti-armor missiles made here in the u.s. that are now on their way to kiev by way of baltic nations. the hope is to dissuade russian forces and their tanks from continued advancement, but former secretary of state mike pompeo feels that the biden administration has lost credibility in the eyes of vladimir putin, and he shared this on "fox news sunday." >> it's awful late. the real hard work of deterrence would have happened a long time ago, a year ago, when president putin demanded that we give him a new s.t.a.r.t. treaty expense tension, we gave it to him for nothing -- extension. >> reporter: it continues to be an area where the president struggles even domestically. the late fox news poll shows that 54% of registered voters here in the u.s. disapprove of the president's job performance on foreign policy. now, if you'll remember in early december, president biden said that deploying u.s. troops to ukraine was off the table. eric? if merck. eric: thanks, al a lex. arthel is? arthel: a ukrainians say they are ready to defend their country from a potential russian invasion as the first shipment of, quote, lethal aid from the u.s. government arrives there. it includes 200,000 pounds of ammunition and weapons. senior foreign affairs correspondent greg palkot live in the ukrainian capital, kiev, with more. greg. >> reporter: yeah, folks here nervously watching the buildup of russian troops around their bold -- borders. the number of forces now said to be over 125,000. the new information confirmed today is that a deployment of soldiers arrived in a town in the southeast portion of neighboring belarus. that is just 30 miles from the ukrainian border and just a little more than 60 miles from this very city. carrying with it the threat of invasion. meanwhile, in eastern ukraine government troops have been facing off against separatist fighters for years detected by international observers, newly-deployed multiple rocket launchers. fuel, arms and mercenaries being sent into the region in recent weeks. the first tranche of a new u.s. military aid package to ukraine even more important, comes out to about 100 tons' worth including ammunition and other supplies for those ukrainian troops in the east. u.k. and baltic countries as noted and others are also step ising up with military aid in past -- in the past week. more than enough bad news to have people frocking -- flocking to area churches hoping for the best. take a listen to what some folks told us today. >> translator: i'm scared. i used to believe that russia was our friend. >> translator: i am scared. it is outrageous that a russia's doing something like this. >> translator: we are praying and hoping that it's not going to happen. >> oh, everything's going to be fine. >> reporter: that was our favorite, everything is going to be fine. we can only hope. back to you, arthel. arthel: we can only hope. greg palkot in kiev, thank you. eric? eric: as for those allegations, russia rejecting the british claim that it plans to install a pro-moscow government in kiev. russia's ministry of foreign affairs calling that disinformation. after the british foreign office also accused several ukrainian lawmakers of maintaining ties to russian intelligence services and saying that putin plans to install that pro-moscow former ukrainian politician as the country's new leader. senior foreign affairs correspondent amy kellogg with the latest on that. amy is now live in moscow. amysome. >> reporter: -- amy? >> reporter: hi, eric. well, russia's ministry of foreign affairs has taken to social media quite vigorously, putting the stories up with big, bold red stamps across them labeling them as fake. these are stories that it believes or that it claims are fabricated by the west, and story, eric, about putin planning to put a government into kiev is no exception. so so the ministry of foreign affairs put out a tweet which says disinformation by the foreign government, the foreign office of the u.k. government is an indication that it is the nato members led by the, quote, anglo axon nations who are -- anglo-saxon nations who are escalating tensions around ukraine. we urge the foreign office to cease these activities. well, the kremlin plot story is not getting much play here on tv news in moscow, but this story sure is. the head of germany's navy having to resign after saying at a think tank conference in india that ukraine will never get cry crimea back. he says he said it in an informal capacity, and he also basically accused the west of not handling russian president vladimir putin very skillfully. >> and if someone respects -- [inaudible] so if i was asked if it's easy to even give him the respect he really demands and probably also dedeserves. >> reporter: people here say the feeling is mutual and that putin doesn't respect the west much either anymore at point after years of of building tensions as speculation builds about the end game here. people i've spoken to in moscow say the russian president is, in fact, obsessed with nato expanding and has reached breaking point over it moving even an a inch further east. in some of the lines coming out of here, eric, are that ukraine has been overrun by nazis that ethnic russians and russian speakers there are not safe and that, basically, it is being used as a tool by the west to turn against russia. now, of course, those stories coming out have created an atmosphere where russians would generally like to see ukraine remain closely in this sphere, but i cannot say i sense that there is much appetite here for war, eric. eric: yeah, and we will have more on putin and nato in a moment, amy. british ambassador to the united states is here to talk about that. amy kellogg with us. thank you, amy, from moscow. arthel: and right now, eric, we're going to get back to washington. of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are rallying support for ukraine. a bipartisan group of senators traveled to kiev last week and met with president zelensky as a show of solidarity. one of those lawmakers joins us now, senator roger wicker, a republican from mississippi who serves on the armed services and commerce committees. senator, i want to get, first, your reaction to these reports of putin's government plot. what do you think? >> well, the quotes we were getting from vladimir putin sounded just like adolf hitler in the late 1930s. hitler couldn't have said it better. saying that we're just interested in protecting our own interests, we're just interested in protecting our own ethnic brothers and sisters in different countries. but here's who vladimir putin is. putin ran the kgb station in east germany. he was devastated when the ussr brock up, and he's -- broke up, and he's nostalgic for a return to the evil empire that reagan denounced. and so, yes, it is absolutely believable that this person who has assassinated former members of his government, who has attempted to poison political opponents, who's invaded two of his neighbors is absolutely believable that he would find it a lot more convenient to just install a russian leader as the new president of ukraine in a political coup. that's the sort of thing that vlad vladimir putin has always done, and no one has ever challenged him. putin is the neighborhood bully, and nobody has ever given this neighborhood bully a bloody nose. arthel: so then, senator, excuse me -- >> -- some resistance this time. arthel: sorry. so how would you do that? you said this is his m.o., and no one has ever stopped him or challenged him, so that means this plot, if it's true, to install this puppet government, is just going to happen. >> you're right. so why wouldn't he think he could get away with it? i hope greg palkot talked to a lot of folks in kiev that showed resolve. i know some of the folks who he was talking to were going to church and getting about the city are fearful, and you would expect that. i think our bipartisan delegation also saw a lot of resolve. if we give the ukrainians the tools they need, they will fight to the death, and they'll fight block by block, house by house and town by town to defend their country from going back under the thumb of russia. now, if there is an outright invasion, the russians will have a pretty good couple of days of it, because they're -- they can way outgun what the ukrainians have now. but when the war drags on or when they try to install some puppet -- as they tried to do in afghanistan -- they'll see the people rise up in resistance. and it would be, i think, the gravest mistake that vladimir putin has ever made. i hope our allies are telling him the same thing. president putin, you don't want to do this. it is not in your interest, and it will be a grave mistake that you will regret for a long, long time. arthel: so a couple of follow-ups to that, and let me throw those out there, and then you can take them as you'd like. then how -- what's the offramp, as we say, for putin? how does he save face in in this situation? also, you met with president zelensky. what was your takeaway from that meeting, and is there any way at this point to resolve or des calculate the situation without military action or defense? >> well, i don't know if there is an offramp of face saving for vladimir putin which is why it looks so much like he's actually planning something. he not only has taken over crimea and not only the -- but he's moved russian regular troops in to the east, and he's bringing elite troops into belarus which is sort of a client state now of russia. they're very, very close not only to the ukrainian border, but also to the polish border. and poland is a member of nato, and we are -- it is absolutely in our nation's interest worldwide to make sure that nothing happens to our friends in poland. so i don't know how, i don't know how putin can find any face-saving techniques. he needs to withdraw troops. he's the aggressor here. arthel: but he's not going to do that. >> -- this aggressive is something that he has done, and he's always gotten away with it. arthel: so why would he withdraw troops now? what are the real consequences for him in i mean, does the u.s. and the u.s. allies, do they have any real leverage that would be consequential over vladimir putin? >> well, the number one foreign oil goal of putin at the beginning of the biden administration was the nord stream 2 pipeline. arthel: right. >> he was given free rein on that on the very first day of the biden administration. i hope the result of this would be total unanimity of the french, the germans, nato and the united states that nord stream 2 will not happen if he proceeds with this. as a matter of fact, 55 of us in the senate, a clear majority but not a veto-proof majority, voted to sanction the nord stream 2 pipeline even now because of the aggressive actions of mr. putin. arthel: and we're short on time here, but that's complicated because, as you well know, first of all, the pipeline is completed. they're now just in the process of, you know, getting reserve pressure into that pipeline from russia to germany and throughout europe. at first germany was -- they wanted this pipeline because they depend on that for their natural gas. but now germany is saying, wait a minute, maybe we're onboard with these sanctions. so does that change your calculus about the in order stream nord stream 2 -- nord stream 2 pipeline? >> i'll tell you what, we've got a bunch of natural gas and energy in the united states. we would be glad to ramp up and supply to our friends in europe and in nato, and we're a country that absolutely does not threaten them at all. i hope the message with this new government in germany now is they're not quite so wedded to giving russia this great foreign policy tool where ho-ho 40% of their a economy is determined by this nord stream 2 pipeline. it would be a crushing blow to putin to lose it, and we still have within our means -- the united states alone has within our means the ability to stop that pipeline from opening, and we should have already done that. p but, certainly, i hope we have the resolve to make our words factual if, indeed, he takes one step into our friend -- arthel: into ukraine, yes. >> -- ally, ukraine. arthel: senator roger wicker, my next door neighbor in mississippi, i'm from louisiana. >> thanks for having me. arthel: absolutely. eric: it was another tragic night for the men and women in blue. after that ambush killing of a new york city police officer, now a houston deputy has been shot and killed during a traffic stop. his killer still on the loose. ♪♪ helping them discover their dreams is one of the best parts of being a parent. one of the most important is giving them ways to fulfill them. for over 150 years, generations have trusted the strength and stability of pacific life. because life insurance can help protect and provide for the financial futures of the ones we love. talk to a financial professional about pacific life. i brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! 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the chevy silverado with the available multi-flex tailgate. find new flexibility. find new roads. chevrolet. eric: police in houston are calling it an ambush, another police officer shot dead targeted or if upholding the law. a manhunt now underway in u.s.en after corporal charles galloway, who was a 12-year veteran of the force, was shot by a driver after that driver got out of the car during a traffic stop. christina coleman now with more. >> reporter: eric, authorities are calling this a brutal attack. they identified the victim as 47-year-old corporal charles galloway. hay say he pulled over for a traffic stop early morning in southwest houston just before 1 a.m., and the driver in the other vehicle got out and fired into galloway's patrol car multiple times and then took off. galaway is a 12-and-a-half year veteran with harris county. he leaves behind a daughter and a sister as well as numerous officers he trained. fellow law enforcement describe him as someone who was love ared very much by the people he served. authorities are now searching for the suspect. they say he is a hispanic male who was last seen driving a newer model white toyota avalon. >> we cannot have people like this on our streets. i don't want to raise my family, my grandchildren in a county where this type of crime is running rampant. >> it makes no sense whatsoever. our special investigative unit with homicide is taking lead on it, and the message to this suspect, the best thing you can do is turn yourself in peacefully if. >> reporter: it's unclear why the man at the traffic stop opened fire on galloway. again, the constables describe what happened to the deputy as a brutal murder and an attack. >> these are men and women who go out there on a daily basis not because of the pay and not because of the days off and not because they like to work day shift or night shift, it's because they want to make a difference in their communities. of and this is what's happened. we have to be able to address this across the board, and this county and the city of houston has made that commitment. >> reporter: houston police are handling investigation. meantime, officers are urging people to keep the deputy's family and his brothers and sisters in blue in their prayers. eric? eric: and we are too. christina, thank you. arthel? arthel: yes, we are. meanwhile, new york city, eric, holding a candle-lit vigil for the rookie nypd officer shot and killed in the line of duty on friday. 22-year-old officer jason rivera. his partner, officer wilbert mora, is still clinging to life in the hospital. alexis mcadams is live with more reaction from a grieving community. >> reporter: this is just a horrible tragedy that unfolded here in new york city. right now the families of the fallen nypd officer planning his funeral as weaver hearing new dispatch audio which shows just how quickly this tragedy unfolded. listen are. >> what's going on? >> [inaudible] [inaudible conversations] >> reporter: now, the shooting happened inside harlem apartment complex on friday night. you can see that heavy police presence there. three nypd officers responding to a 911 call from a woman who said she was fighting with her adult son. when two officers tried to walk in and speak with that man, he opened fire. that ambush left one officer dead and another in critical condition. nypd now identifying the officer killed as 22-year-old jason rivera. the medical examiner telling fox news that the rookie was shot at least two times, hit in the head and in the torso. rivera joined the department in 2020, wanted to be part of the police to make a big difference in his community. he was a husband, a friend and a son. investors telling fox news -- investigators telling the 47-year-old sean mcneil, that's a previous mug shot, saying he was on probation for a felony drug charge. his rap sheet, pretty lengthy, arrested nearly a half dozen times in other states for a variety of offenses. also the gun was reported stolen back in 2017 in baltimore. new york's mayor turning the focus on illegal guns, even asking for federal help. >> we need help from the federal government. we're doing our job in nypd, taking thousands of guns off the streets. every one they take off we're having five come in. how do we stop this if the federal government does not stop the flow of guns in this city? >> reporter: as the mayor says, he continues to ask for federal help here in new york city. the funeral for officer rivera, we know, is on friday of this week. once again, just like they are in texas right now, everyone asking for support and help for the police department here in new york city. arkansas hell? arthel: a support, help, prayers. it's just too much. it's sad. alexis mcadams, thank you. eric: well, they have been calling to defund the police. well, now with the savage ambush here in new york some apparently showing some second thoughts. or are they? shut case of one new york city council member, christine richardson jordan, a controversial democratic socialist. the congresswoman has called for abolishing the new york city police department. she's called for freeing all the inmates and criminals from the city jail. she said this just a few weeks ago, quote: the nypd is still the biggest gang in new york city. well, on friday night after shooting she said i'm saddened, the loss of one is a loss to whole as it creates ripples and ripples of pain. i stand with the families of the fallen. joining us now is -- [inaudible] the founder of blue lives matter nyc foundation. that stands with police officers across the cup. first, joe, our thoughts, of course, with the family of officer rivera and officer mora who's in the hospital now. do you think the progressive politicians who have so slammed law enforcement for several years now with this horrible ambush, point blank shooting, are they sincere and genuine in their maybe change of heart, or are they just saying these words now in faux shy? >> they're not genuine whatsoever. i'm frustrated. i think law enforcement nationwide is frustrated. myself and so many others the last few years have been saying the defund the police movement, the bashing of police officers in front of a podium spilling lies, not giving facts,st going to to lead to terrible situations. we've seen the rise in crime across the nation. why? because criminals believe they can get away with pretty much anything because the politicians say they can. we've seen record high numbers of officers in the last year shot in the line of duty. a 22-year-old boy lost his life trying to make his community safer. this is a problem. i'm sick of it, i think every union head around the nation is, and we have to get back to common sense. allow officers to do their job, take the bad guys off the street, and let's get back to real police work. eric: well, the suspect, apparently, he was in the bedroom after an altercation with his mother. he was a vegan, his mother didn't want him to have a vegan diet. the guy's in the system, he's got felony probation from assaulting police officers in the past in north carolina. he's got a slew of priors. do you think in his mind he's got a glock, that had -- do you think this atmosphere in any way contributed to that, or is it just mental illness? >> well, mental illness isn't always the problem. let's go a step further. it wasn't just the glock .45 he had, he had something that looks like a tommy gun that attaches to the bottom of it that no one should have a reason to have. i'm getting so frustrated with the training and tactics sessions across nation because over the last few years it was let's make police departments softer. as you see this morning, a houston police officer is killed. killed. do you think the bad guys are going out there and making it softer and treating communities safer? no. they're becoming more violent. it's not only mental illness, it's people that don't care, people that believe they can go out day in and day out and do whatever they want and cause chaos. let's get back to not worrying how the criminal feels and get back to every single victim around this nation, and from there we can move forward and make a positive change. erin everything what causes this? -- eric: what causes this? let me read you some tweets from that councilwoman in harlem. this is what she said during the election campaign in 2021. let's make harlem and new york city safer by defunding the police and funding the people. in june she wrote: always remember that police and prison systems were created to preserve slavery. we must fight for total abolition. she wrote this: we cannot reform a system of policing that is so firmly rooted in racism. defund and abolish nypd. the police have never served our communities, they don't prevent crime. they are an occupying force created to terrorize poor people and enforce racial hierarchies and class divides. finally she wrote: we demand an immediate end to the racist and classless cash bail system and the immediate release of all new yorkers incarcerated at riker's island and in all new york city jails. in other words, that's -- let's let all the criminals out, she said back then. last night or friday night she did tweet that it's a tragic death and she stands with the families of the fallen. what do these types of statements -- how did she get elected? if what type of thinking causes this, and how does that impact the criminal mind? >> well, she among so many others have no business being in politics, and she can keep it up because people are starting to see through the nonsense. people are going to start coming and going for her and other seats. start bringing back common sense in law enforcement and law-abiding citizenship. she's just going to keep on going and spin her words, and people are going to look and say we cannot have this. you know, we cannot have any of this anymore. we have to stop electing people that are going to go out there and be more divisive. the number one reason why you get elected is to bring people together, to worry are about the safely of -- safety of your constituents and then everything else falls into play. this whole nonsense of the defund the police and racism, we're seeing through it. enough is enough, let's get back to reality. we have to let our cops be cops because if we don't, we're going to continue to see the lawlessness and bloodshed that we've been seeing the last few years. eric: we have asked councilwoman for a reaction, for a statement, we have not heard from her office. joe, blue lives matter, thank you. arthel: eric, thank you. well, coming up, reaction to the rising tensions between ukraine and russia when britain's ambassador to the united states joins us to weigh in on last night's bombshell intelligence report. ♪ ♪ d it's easy to get a quote at libertymutual.com so you only pay for what you need. isn't that right limu? 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excuse me? do the research, todd. listen to me, kayak searches hundreds of travel sites to find you great deals on flights, cars and hotels. they're lying to you! who's they? kayak? arr! open your eyes! compare hundreds of travel sites at once. kayak. search one and done. arthel: texas is reporting the first line of duty death linked to operation lone star at our southern border. public safety officer anthony salas was killed in a tragic accident during tactical operations near the u.s. and mexico border. bill melugin is live in la jolla, texas, with more. bill? >> reporter: yeah, arthel, good afternoon to you. some tragic news to report as you just mentioned, the very first line of duty death associated with operation lone star. if we can pull up his photos this is dps trooper anthony salas, only 37 years old. friday night he was working in eagle pass, texas, they were arresting a group of six illegal immigrants when he was involved in a car accident. he died in the hospital yesterday. again, the very first line of duty death associated with this operation lone star. he was also a former united states marine. texas governor greg abbott posting this statement, if we can pull this up, expressing his condolences and saying, quote: this tragedy is a somber reminder of selfless sacrifices our law enforcement make to keep us safe. end quote. meanwhile, crazy video out of the el paso sector, what you're looking at are operations in the middle of the night as illegal immigrants are trying to get into the country. you can see there's a border wall there, and border patrol and the national guard are on the other side moving around in trucks trying to deter these people from getting into the country. some of them actually appear to be climbing up on the wall in an effort to get over. you'll see those people moving back and forth forth, then you're going to see in the background another group of migrants heading towards a part of the wall further in the background. those border patrol agents had to patrol back and forth to make sure those people never crossed over the wall. and take a look at this mug shot, this was a sex offender just arrested in the tucson sector, a mexican national who was convicted of third-degree rape in the state of new york. that's the one they caught, countless others get through. they end up never catching. we'll send it back to you. arthel: bill melugin from la jolla, texas. thank you, bill. ♪ >> one country, mr. president, russia which is playing fast and loose with our collective security and the international institutions that protect us. it is that reason, mr. president, that leads people to accuse russia and to take steps against it. eric: that's the british ambassador to the united states, karen pearce, confronting russia at a meeting of the united nations security council a couple years ago when she was the u.n. ambassador. she has long held vladimir putin and russia to account, but can the u.s., britain and our nato allies really stop him? dame karen pierce, the british ambassador to the united states, joins us now from washington. ambassador, good to see you again. >> and you, eric. thanks for having me. eric: of course. do you think that putin can be pushed back to prevent a possible invasion of ukraine? >> i think the decision is president putin's. but there's no doubt that we are ready to talk. we want to use diplomacy to show this, to resolve the situation. but there's no doubt that if president putin keeps on with his aggression, with his campaign to subvert ukraine and the disinformation, that will be not only a massive strategic mistake for russia, it will be met with a very severe cost by the west and by nato. eric: when you say severe cost, what do you expect? >> well, i won't go into the international nato planning, but we look at a range of responses, we look at a range of scenarios. we obviously think about sanctions in that respect, very severe sanctions which will be much, much worse for russia than she faced in 2014 when she seized crimea. but i stress we want diplomacy to resolve this. we want russia to end her aggressions, deescalate, come to the table and talk to us and use the instruments that european security has negotiated over many years. europe is a region that has the most security agreements and international binding commitments on russia and on nato of any region in the world. we want russia to use those, we want her to come to the table, and we want to deescalate. eric: can you explain what those instruments are? people may not know. how do they work? >> sure. your yo-atlantic security -- euro-atlantic security in the area, that's the territory of europe out to the urals in russia, it includes u.s. and canada as nato members x there are agreements such as the conventional -- [inaudible] europe treaty, the organization for security and cooperation in europe, the helsinki final act from 1975, there's the nato-russia council, the e.u. has to sign off with russia. there are all these existing international and diplomatic ways of addressing legitimate concerns. president putin doesn't want to use those. instead, he wants to threaten ukraine and mass troops on the border. that's not the way that europe's security should be dealt with. eric: yeah. i mean, you've got all these treaties and agreements with moscow, but he doesn't pay any attention to them. do you think he believes nato and the west is a paper tiger? >> no, i don't think he believes that. that's why he's got quite so many troops on the border and is thinking about a campaign like disinformation and cyber attacks. he knows though that nato is a defensive alliance, and nato, the nato-russia council was set up to give russia reassurance about its place in europe. and president putin doesn't want to use those instruments. he wants to threaten ukraine for his own purposes. he wants to destabilize ukraine. eric: and you talk about sanctions. you have talked about -- the president has talked about massive financial sanctions, you've talked about cutting him off from the global economic system. what would that mean if moscow's cut off from the financial system used across the globe? >> well, i don't want to go into details, but i think it all points to the very severe costs that russia would suffer if there's any incursion into ukraine. you know, properly target thed financial sanctions, wide-ranging sanctions, those are the things we're discussing with the and our european part aer ins right now. -- partners right now. eric: and finally, will he roll over ukraine? >> i don't really want to speculate on president putin's motives. in my experience, he has a range of options that he runs in parallel. but we really do call on him to deescalate and step back, to end the campaign of disinformation and ability to subvert ukraine and to come to the diplomatic table and talk to us in the interest of european security and stability. eric: british ambassador to the united states karen pierce, ambassador pierce, thank you for coming -- >> thank you. eric: of course, and thank you for your work on behalf of democracy and all our shared standards. we appreciate your work and certainly hope that it will work out well. and we'll be right back. >> thank you, eric. we stand with the u.s. thank you. eric: we stand with you. nature, because i trust their quality. they were the first to be verified by usp, an independent organization that sets strict quality and purity standards. nature made. the #1 pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand. i've always been running. to meetings. errands. now i'm running for me. i've always dreamed of seeing the world. but i'm not chasing my dream anymore. i made a financial plan to live it every day. ♪ at northwestern mutual, our version of financial planning helps you live your dreams today. find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com ♪ ♪making your way in the world today♪ ♪takes everything you've got♪ ♪ ♪taking a break from all your worries ♪ ♪sure would help a lot ♪ ♪wouldn't you like to get away? ♪ ♪ ♪ sometimes you want to go ♪ ♪where everybody knows your name ♪ ♪ ♪and they're always glad you came ♪ your kindness outshines your highs and lows. your strength can outlast any bad day. because you are greater than your bipolar i, and you can help take control of your symptoms - and ask about vraylar. some medicines only treat the lows or highs, once-daily vraylar is proven to treat depressive, acute manic, and mixed episodes of bipolar i in adults. full-spectrum relief for all bipolar i symptoms. elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis have an increased risk of death or stroke. call your doctor about unusual changes in behavior or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children and young adults. report fever, stiff muscles or confusion which may mean a life-threatening reaction, or uncontrollable muscle movements which may be permanent. high cholesterol and weight gain, and high blood sugar, which can lead to coma or death, may occur. side effects may not appear for several weeks. common side effects include sleepiness and stomach issues. movement dysfunction and restlessness are also common. you are greater than your bipolar i. ask about vraylar. ♪ arthel: well, medical professionals are divided on the omicron varian a i can't and whether it may signal the end of pandemic. some are content to treat it like the flu or common cold. others say it's more important to keep folks out of the hospital so they don't get overrun. dr. anthony fauci isn't ruling out the worst case scenario. >> we'd like it to get down to that level where it doesn't disrupt us in the sense of getting back to a degree of normality. that's the best case scenario. we've got to be prepared for the worst case scenario. i'm not saying it's going to happen, but we have to be prepared. arthel: okay. former cdc director dr. tom frieden joins us now. we're talking about preparation. with that in mind, dr. frieden, where is the covid wave heading nextsome -- next? >> well, omicron is more of a flash flood than a wave. it comes, it spreads amazingly quickly. there are tens of millions of people with omicron today in the u.s., but it's already beginning to ebb in many places. and over the next two weeks, it will ebb. what comes next, arthel, no one can tell you for certain. what we can tell you for certain is that if you're vaccinated and when it's spreading, mask up indoors, you can put the pandemic behind you. we don't have to allow covid to disrupt our education, covid to overrun our hospitals. for the next few weeks, we have to be really careful because there are so many people with it that even though it is much less severe on a case-by-case basis, people who are vulnerable and especially people who haven't been advantage cincinnatied are filling up hospitalled -- vaccinated are filling up hospitals, and that means people with heart attacks, strokes or broken legs may not be able to get the care they need as promptly and as well as they need it. arthel: i want to look at the latest cdc numbers on vaccination rates based on total population. at least one dose, you've got 75.5%. fully vaccinated, 63.3%. vaccinated with booster, 39.7%. so, of course, you used to run the cdc. do you think the cdc should update its definition of fully vaccinated to those who have gotten three shots? fully vaccinated? >> the most important thing here, arthel, is if you haven't gotten your first shot, if you're one of the 1 out of 5 americans or so over the age of 5 who hasn't done that, 60 million people, you know, 80% of people have already gotten their first shot. start your series now. because the concept we're going to have to use is up-to-date with vaccination. we don't know what will happen next with covid. we do know we'll be learning more. maybe you need a booster, another booster, maybe you don't. maybe we'll have a tweaked vaccine, maybe not. what we do know is the vaccines we have are remarkably effective at preventing hospitalization and death. the overwhelming majority of people who are very sick or dying are people who haven't been vaccinated. so if you haven't started, get started, because if you're up-to-date with your vaccinations, we can put the pandemic behind us. arthel: and you call it a flash flood, not a wave. we're talking about omicron, but it's more transmissable, as you well know, but causes less severe illness. is so should people be casual about catching covid now with the attitude that it's not so bad and they'll have natural a immunity in. >> it's never a good thing to get an infection. that doesn't mean you have to seal yourself with off and stop everything, but if you can avoid it, you should. and especially if you're older, if you have a health condition that makes you more vulnerable like an organ transplant. and if you haven't been vaccinated, it can be much more severe. arthel: don't gamble. get vaccinated. >> right. arthel: all right. i have. i've gotten three so far. i'm wondering am a i going to have to get a fourth, but we'll have you back to talk about that. i have to go right now; i'm up against a hard clock. nice to see you with, former cdc director tom frieden. thank you very much, and we will be right back. mm. [ clicks tongue ] i don't know. i think they look good, man. mm, smooth. uh, they are a little tight. like, too tight? might just need to break 'em in a little bit. you don't want 'em too loose. for those who were born to ride there's progressive. with 24/7 roadside assistance. -okay. think i'm gonna wear these home. -excellent choice. eric: well, a heart-warming better late than never story for you now. a 98-year-old world war ii veteran apparently got his high school diploma. he was drafted into the u.s. army back in 1943. that was six weeks before his high school graduation, so he never could get his diploma, and he didn't attend a graduation ceremony because he was off to the war. in november he was telling women an -- at the local v.a. center that he always regretted never got his diploma. so she called the principal of his high school and arranged not just for a graduation ceremony, but also to finally get his diploma. congratulations on being a graduate and, of course, thank you for your service. wow, greatest generation, they really were the greatest generation. that's a great story. arthel: that is a wonderful story. so glad we could end on such a wonderful, heart warming, exciting, positive story. uplifting, i love it. we're back at 4 p.m. eastern. hope you can join us then. ♪io i found the experts at safelite autoglass. they have exclusive technology and service i can trust. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ ♪♪ three times the electorlytes and half the sugar. ♪♪ pedialyte powder packs. feel better fast. feeling sluggish or weighed down? pedialyte powder packs. it could be a sign that your digestive system isn't working at it's best taking metamucil everyday can help. metamucil psyllium fiber, gels to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down. it also helps lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption to promote healthy blood sugar levels. so you can feel lighter and more energetic metamucil. support your daily digestive health. and try metamucil fiber thins. a great tasting and easy way to start your day. plaque psoriasis, the burning, itching. the pain. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge tremfyant® with tremfya®... ask you doctor about tremfya® today. mike: tensions rising in russia and ukraine and first shipment of lethal arrives. russia is seeking to replace ukraine's government with a promoscow administration. we have fox team coverage with david spunt live from the white house and greg palcock in ukraine. david: mike the story continues to evolve. one of the top russian alleged plotters named by the british