anchor of the u.s. supreme court is retiring. 83-year-old stephen breyer will step down from the bench some time this summer after the current term. but how the announcement came out and what comes next is the definition of washington palace intrigue. we have fox team coverage tonight. shannon bream has the roster of possible replacements for justice breyer. we begin with white house correspondent peter doocy and the biden administration reaction live from the north lawn. good evening, peter. >> peter: good evening, bret. president biden is about to get his first chance to replace a a retiring liberal supreme court justice with a younger liberal supreme court justice. that is a process that the senate majority leader chuck schumer wants fast tracked but the head of the democratic party says it's okay to wait a little bit. >> every justice has the right and opportunity to decide what he or she is going to do and announce it on their own. >> peter: when bill clinton nominated stephen breyer in 1994. >> judiciary or the executive? [inaudible] >> judiciary lasts longer. >> joe biden was there. >> judge and mrs. breyer, welcome. we are delighted to have you here. >> nearly 28 years later, biden picked breyer's replacement. >> let him make whatever statement he is going to make, and i will be happy to talk about it later. >> progressives are celebrating. congressman mondaire jones writes we can't risk losing yet another seat on the high court to the radical anti-democracy right which why i was the first member of congress to call on justice breyer to he radio tire nearly a year ago and why i commend his decision to do so today. republicans have a warning. senator john cornyn says there will be immense pressure from the radical left to replace justice breyer with a partisan who will legislate from the bench. as a super charged political fight looms, president biden's short list is secret. >> supreme court? >> he has promised to nominate a black woman. >> i'm looking forward to making sure there is a black woman on the supreme court to make sure we in fact get every representation. not a joke. not a joke. i pushed very hard for that. >> so far officials are not ruling out vice president kamala harris. >> would someone who was an attorney general of the large state and who served with many key senate votes be an attractive candidate to the president for an open supreme court seat? >> i see what you did there, peter. but, the president has every intention, as he said before, of running for re-election and for running for re-election with vice president harris on the ticket as his partner. >> peter: this gives biden a chance to do something reaganesque. after all, reagan promised during his campaign to nominate a woman to the supreme court and he did. biden promised to nominate a black woman and he can you just got a taste of it from jen psaki here. officials are not answering even the most basic questions about this with a yes or a no. they're acting like there is no open seat on the supreme court until breyer says so. bret? >> bret: peter doocy live on the north lawn. peter, thank you. let's bring in fox news chief legal correspondent anchor of fox news at night shannon bream. good evening, shannon. so who are the frontrunners? >> shannon: confirmation today as peter just reported there, bret, that the president will stick to his vow to nominate the first african-american woman to the supreme court bench. these are the names that we have been tracking dr. jackson sits on stepping stone to the supreme court the very powerful d.c. circuit. she was nominated and confirmed to that court less than a year ago but prior to that, she sat on the federal bench at the district court level since 2013. she has got the resume. went to harvard undergrad and law school and she clerked for justice breyer. she sailed through her last confirmation months ago 53-44 that includes votes from republican senators graham, collins, and murkowski. and just a tid bit, she is related to former house speaker paul ryan by marriage. judge jackson 51. the other frontrunner at this point california state supreme court justice leandra krueger. she has served in that position since 2015. a former obama justice department lawyer. argued 12 cases before the supreme court. but she is also well-verse in the inner workings of the supreme court because she too was a clerk will paul steven undergrad and law school. viewed in her job as a moderate often called a swing vote. she is 45 and has young children. another federal judge who recently went through the senate confirmation process is judge candace jackson acomey. she is in her early 40s serves on the seventh circuit of appeals. princeton and yale. only been in current position less than a year. 54-48, same g.o.p. votes. both parents served as judges, she also has worked both in private practice and later as a public defender for several years. now, those three potential nominees getting the most attention tonight. all of them, bret, considered young by supreme court standards meaning they could give the president a legacy on the supreme court for decades to come, bret. >> bret: so what about what about how this played out today. >> we don't have an official from justice breyer or the court. numerous told he was not intending to make the announcement today. however, the announcement was described to me this way as imminent. justice breyer had firmly decided already he was ready to step down at the end of the term that is not in question. i'm told he did not feel political pressure but was ready to wrap up his career on the bench. clearly like everyone else in washington he is aware of the current climate. now, i have gotten multiple descriptions of how he has been feeling today when this news broke but overall more that he was surprised by the news coming today because this is not how he had planned it. but he has been at peace with the decision which had already been made. bret? >> bret: bottom line, shannon, democrats are probably going to move pretty quick, even maybe before this term ends to start this whole process, judging by what we heard from senator schumer today. >> yeah that would make sense. i mean, they know the seat is going to be open probably late june, early july. you want to get that confirmation done, if you can, before the new term starts october 3rd. but there are a lot of political considerations in play here because of the midterms. but, yeah, they could definitely start the process of a nomination of meeting the senators, of vetting, of all of those things before justice breyer actually steps down from the seat if and when he does so. >> bret: okay. we will see you don't. thanks. senior administration officials say nato will not rule out expanding further into eastern europe. the biden administration responded in writing today to russian demands for security guarantees. the kremlin has yet to react publicly but one russian senator says the response is unacceptable. we'll have a live report from the state department shortly. tonight we follow up on our in-depth report tuesday and the search for the origins of the coronavirus. what was said and written privately versus what was said and written publicly. white house press secretary jen psaki was asked today whether china will ever pay a price for the cover-up and whether president biden is committed to getting to the bottom of the coronavirus origins' question. >> peter: what about sanctions for china at any point for ms. leading the world about the early days of the global pandemic? >> we have used sanctions as a tool as it relates to our concerns about the behavior of a range of countries, including officials in china. >> the answer is that we did -- did i raise the question of transparency. >> is there a reason your press staff was unaware of that and what did you say to the chinese president. >> and they weren't with me the entire time. >> bret: joining us this evening our former cdc director dr. robert redfield is amalc medical adviser and former white house chief of staff to president trump mick mulvaney, gentlemen, thanks for being here. i know both of you saw that piece yesterday, looking in some of the emails, what was said privately in the earliest stages of the coronavirus pandemic. i want to start with you, mic, and your role as kind of running point to getting the task force, the coronavirus task force together as white house chief of staff. some of these immunologists in these emails were expressing real not certainty but definitely thinking that this came from a lab, the wuhan lab. one of them saying accidental release for natural event 70/30 accidental release. was any of that brought forward in the earliest meetings from dr. fauci or dr. collins? >> no. it wasn't. keep in mind, we started having the covid meetings, what became the covid task force later on, we started having these meetings in mid to late january, when covid was sort of making its presence known. and at no time, at no time did dr. fauci, who was at every single one of those meetings ever raise the possibility that this could have been something that was manufactured. in fact, the exact opposite. early on in the discussions, in the meetings, he made it very clear that there was no evidence that was man made and that he believed, without reservation, that it was a naturally occurring phenomenon probably from that wet market from that wild animal market in wuhan. and we never went back to talk about it he was so convinced and so convincing that it was not manufactured, that it was not man made that we never really revisited again. i was surprised to seat emails when they came out the last couple of days. >> bret: dr. redfield, dr. fauci has responded to multiple questions about this saying he still believes that most virologists in his words believe that this was evolutionary, it jumped from animal to animal to human. you are a virologist who does not believe that. who thinks it's more likely, most likely that it came from an accident from a lab. what was your take from the story that we had last night? >> you know, bret, i thought you did an excellent job. i was, you know, most disappointed in what's important is that it just reflected that the approach that the leaders of the scientific community took was really not scientific. science loves rigorous debate of different hypotheses and used that debate to try to get to scientific truth. instead, what happened here was there there appears to be a consensus among a number of individuals that they were going to portray the point of view that there was really one, only one credible perspective here and that's what it was evolutionary. i have said before that i don't think it's biologically plausible that it came from nature where you had a virus that went from bats to some intermediate animal to humans and then was one of the most infectious viruses we have seen. i have told people that sars went from a bat too civic cat to humans and now 18, 19 years later there has been less than 10,000 cases in the world. mersz in 2012-13 from a bat to a camel to humans, less than 10,000 cases nine years later. these viruses that come from nature don't immediately become highly infectious for man this virus had to be educated in how continue to perfect man with greater efficiency. and so, therefore, i think really the evidence really points, if you want to have a rigorous scientific debate that this virus emerged from the laboratory. and i'm disappointed that science doesn't embrace science. science embraces debate. >> bret: dr. redfield, to that point, you have these doctors christian anderson, robert garry and a number of others expressing in emails who think it can't happen naturally but, yet, days later they write this report provided to dr. fauci and collins that makes it definitive and then that is referenced in the white house as the definitive word. why do you think that happens. >> one of the challenges is they believed they were somehow helping science by not having science implicated as potentially being the source of the pandemic to begin with. and, you know, this is what i have said before. rather than try to package something in a way that, you know, prevents people from thinking what you don't want them to think, i think it's just much better to tell the truth. >> bret: yeah. >> i don't think that was done here. >> bret: they are try okay capitol hill to get to the bottom of this, mic. representative jim jordan who is on the oversight committee, the ranking member tweeted this: january 27th, 2020, fauci learned that his agency had been indirectly funding the wuhan lab. january 21st, 2020 fauci learned the virus looks engineered. over the next two years fauci works behind the scenes to squash the covid lab leak theory. for people who say why does this matter, the whole story of the origins, why does this matter as we are fighting this pandemic currently, what do you say to them? >> it matters for a couple of reasons. >> bret: let me start with mic. >> i put my old budget director hat on and want to know if tax dollars are used to do this. not just because fiscal policy but could have given us more leverage to get more information out of the chinese if they were using our money and gave us another avenue to possibly put pressure on them. more importantly, i put the old chief of staff hat on and i'm wondering why none of this was shared with the if the of the united states as we are sitting there in the oval office late january and early february trying to formulate policy. the president should have known about the other opinions e should have known about the possible financial connection between taxpayer dollars and the research that was being done. should have known about the connection between dr. fauci and mr. collins about what was happening. none of that none of that was disclosed to the president of the united states. and that is unconscionable when you are a senior adviser to the most powerful man in the world. so the process broke down. could we have done a better in response to it? possibly. we will never know. i do think this screams out for the type of investigation that jim jordan is talking about. >> bret: again, we have asked for all of these questions from dr. fauci, dr. collins, nih and haven't gotten a response. >> we have quickly, dr. redfield. do you think we will ever find the true answer here? >> yes, bret. i think, again, if we can get back to focusing on science and let science do what science does and have that rigorous debate, i think we will. i do think it's really important to add what mic said, the real issue here is a policy decision about gain of function research. i have called for a moratorium on gain of function research. i think the broader society needs to debate that to determine if it's necessary and, if so, how to do it safe and responsibly. i do not think it's something that a group of scientists should decide on their own. there is a very serious possibility that this pandemic actually was a result of science sibsz doing gain of function research with the think nothing bad outcome from it critical to get to origin. not some hypothetical exercise it really is going to form the basis, i think, for a global scientific policy to reevaluate this concept of gain of function research. >> bret: gentlemen, we appreciate your time. we hope to continue to look for answers. thanks. >> thanks, bret. >> thanks. >> bret: later in the program how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting american families. and up next, a live report from the state department on the major disagreement between the u.s. and russia that's fueling the ukrainian conflict. ♪ ♪ throwback? ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ cranky-pated: a bad mood related to a sluggish gut. miralax is different. it works naturally with the water in your body to unblock your gut. free your gut, and your mood will follow. hey lily, i need a new wireless plan for my business, but all my employees need something different. oh, we can help with that. okay, imagine this. your mover, rob, he's on the scene and needs a plan with a mobile hotspot. we cut to downtown, your sales rep lisa has to send some files, like asap! so basically i can pick the right plan for each employee. yeah i should've just led with that. with at&t business. you can pick the best plan for each employee and get the best deals on every smart phone. it's been nearly two years since the pandemic started. our students and teachers tried their best, but as a parent, i can tell you that nearly 18 months of remote learning was really hard. instead of helping students get back in the classroom, the school boards spend their time renaming schools and playing politics. schools that weren't even open. on february 15th, please recall school board members collins, lópez and maliga. our kids cannot wait any longer for new start. yep, it's go time with wireless on the most reliable network. ok, that jump was crazy! our kids cannot wait but what's crazier? you get unlimited for just 30 bucks. nice! but mine has 5g included. wait! 5g included? yup, even these guys get it. nice ride, by the way. and the icing on the cake? saving up to 400 bucks? exactly. wait, shouldn't you be navigating? xfinity mobile. it's wireless that does it all and saves a lot. like a lot, a lot. ♪ >> bret: federal reserve chairman paul does not expect supply chain issues to be worked out this year. he tells fox news that the economy is not making much progress right now. he says he expects some progress in the second half of the year. meantime, the federal reserve is signaling it will raise benchmark interest rate as soon as march. this is seen as a key step in reversing its pandemic-era low rate policies blamed by some for escalating inflation. well, stocks were mixed today on that news. the dow lost 130. the s&p 500 was down 7. the nasdaq gained 3. ♪ >> bret: breaking tonight, a spokesman for the state department says russia's nord stream 2 pipeline project will not move forward if moscow invades ukraine. that's a red line there. this comes as one russian official is expressing disappointment over the u.s. refusal to guarantee it will not further expand nato that region. meanwhile, there is growing pushback against russian leadership here in the u.s. with all that, state department correspondent benjamin hall has the latest live from the state department. good evening, benjamin. >> good evening, bret. certainly that's far more definitive than we have heard so far about nord stream 2 ned price saying that if russia invades ukraine that will not go ahead. and we don't know if it has to do with the discussions that germany have been involved in. but certainly a big move. particularly at a time when the administration is trying to also focus on the diplomatic part. as russia continues its apparent march to war and as weapons continue to arrive in ukraine, the u.s. is doing everything it can to keep diplomacy alive. today delivering written responses to russia's concern. >> we hope and expect that russia will have the same view and will take our proposal seriously. >> delivery of a document had been agreed when secretary blinken met russian foreign minister lavrov last week and laid out where the u.s. hopes agreement can be reached. limits on military exercises. force posture in ukraine. arms control and missile deployment. off the table however is any discussions on nato expansion. >> i can't be more clear. nato's door is open. remains open. and that is our commitment. >> the kremlin has yet to respond. but within hours, it was rejected by one russian senator saying the u.s. response to moscow's security proposals cannot satisfy russia. it cannot be accepted. even secretary blinken admits russia may not be negotiating in good faith. >> just buying time to will invade ukraine? maybe jump through hoops like hand delivering written responses to questions that you have answered time and time again in the past. >> you may well be right but russia is not serious about this at all but we have an obligation to test that proposition, to pursue the diplomatic path. >> there is a growing sense that russia has gone too far already and the time to act is now. >> putin deserves to be sanctioned now. he has put over 100,000 troops on the ukraine border. we're having to withdraw american citizens and government officials because of the provocation. >> the pentagon and the white house both say they are yesterday for any outcome. >> we have to be ready in case this happens very, very soon. >> they have the ability also to make the decision to deescalate, to bring troops back from the border. >> but as troops continue to mass, the administration is hoping their letter will do the trick. >> right now, the document is with them and the ball is in their court. >> and, bret, in a further sign of deterioration in relations between the two. today over two dozen russian diplomats in the u.s. flew back to moscow. the ambassador saying the request at the state department. more to do with long simmering dispute about how long democrats can stay in each country. however they weren't due to leave yet. at a time when tensions are so high is certainly very worrying. bret? >> bret: benjamin hall live at the state department. thank you. up next how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting american families like yours. first, beyond our borders tonight. emergency officials in spain's canary island say 319 people, including 5 women and 24 children have been rescued from boats trying to reach the arc pellow in the atlantic ocean. at least 18 migrants have died. most of the rescued are believed to be from northern and central africa. kurdish led forces have wrestles control of the last section of a prison held by islamic state militants. they report free ago number of child deeveryone takenees used as human shields. the defeat andy's week long assault by extremists on one of the largest detention facilities in syria. and this is a live look at paris. one of the stories, not really big but it's a story. french fashion house chanel shaking up conventions by sending a horse onto the catwalk during its hot couture show. the horse was ridden by a niece of prince albert of monaco. she a competitive show jumper and chanel brand ambassador. not every day on the runway. just some of the other stories beyond our borders tonight. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ i'm a marvel ♪ you know what i mean ♪ and i do my little turn on the catwalk ♪ yeah, on the catwalk ♪ on the catwalk (other money manager) how do your clients know that? (naj) because as a fiduciary, it's our responsibility to always put clients first. (other money manager) so you do it because you have to? (naj) no, we do it because it's the right thing to do. we help clients enjoy a comfortable retirement. (other money manager) sounds like a big responsibility. (naj) one that we don't take lightly. it's why our fees are structured so we do better when our clients do better. fisher investments is clearly different. i >> bret: tonight, we take an in depth look at life in america during the coronavirus pandemic. families are grappling with vaccine and mask mandates, inflation causing breaks bank, making drives to school the most expensive in years and dramatic rise in violent crime across the country. tonight correspondent gillian turner reports on the day in the life of american families dealing with this pandemic and many challenges. >> alexis, are you ready? >> it's another busy morning for ken i can't understand brianna howard, full-time working parents raising an active 8-year-old daughter in northern virginia. >> thanks, mommy. >> the morning routine making waffles and straw enters were and then school bunch. >> is your backpack heavy. >> followed by a quick turn around out the door. >> do you want to put your gloves on. >> mom and daughter walk to the bus stop after alexis boards the bus briana has a moment for a cup of coffee starting day in healthcare from her dining room table. she says both her husband and daughter alexis contracted earlier variants of coronavirus and have come out of it more resilient. >> we are taking the necessary precautions but i don't want to stop living our lives in fear of covid, either. >> but not everyone is as upbeat. suzanne and anthony based in chicago both began working from home full time when the pandemic hit. they say their kids gianna 12 and roman 5 were forced into remote learning and the threat of getting covid has up ended their lives ever since. >> it's what we base our activities on, everything in our lives is based on covid. >> i got the sniffles or i got a headache, is this covid? you know, you are on high alert all the time. >> president biden recently called covid one of the most formidable enemies america has ever faced. >> omicron has now been challenging us in a way that it's the new enemy. >> for the family in denver, fear of getting the virus is still very real. now two years after covid first hit the u.s. >> i have been collecting at home tests. so that we don't have to go out in a shortage and look for them. >> i feel like i need to test all the time. >> heather greg whose daily life now is more complicated than it used to be and it would be helpful if the federal government and states came up with some clearer guidance. >> there isn't some sort of protocol that everyone recognizes as this is how we do it. >> suzanne lewisio agrees and says now with school open again getting the kids out the door every morning seems infinitely complex. >> when i wake up in the morning, i have to get the disposable masks out for my children. to identify make sure that i order the 4-ply disposable masks. >> it's not just what kids wear to school that's changed, it's how they are learning. >> may i have a cookie, please? >> parents are worried about the effects remote learning has had on their kids. >> she didn't get to have a first day of kindergarten. imagine taking your kids to the first day of school and pictures just looking at a screen? she has spent almost half of her academic career now behind a computer screen. and we really don't know the long-term impact that virtual learning will have on our students. >> nicole and her husband have raising two sons outside of san antonio. she says one of the major challenges compounding the difficulty for families is record inflation. it's a pocketbook pinch being felt all around the country. >> second grashed, his fee for camp is about $75 more. i have never been a person who is closely followed my grocery budget, but i have noticed the prices of some things are just so insane. gas prices are about as predictable as covid. we don't know from day-to-day is it going to be 30 cents higher? is it going to be 30 cents cheaper? >> be mindful of what you are spending. >> briana's husband kenny changed jobs twice during the pandemic to spend more time with his family and less time commuting. >> i actually had to take a 25% pay cut. >> record numbers of americans have been without work during the pandemic. kenny says despite his own hardships, covid has been good for his career. >> it's a blessing in disguise. because now i love what i do right now and it's awesome. i have learned a lot. i want to keep driving. >> i am just giving you a follow-up call. >> briana was firsted to work from home when the pandemic hit but now does so voluntarily twice a week so she can watch her daughter compete with her cheer team. >> i have never seen her cheer without a face mask. i would love for the day to come to just see her smile while she is performing. >> kids even younger than the howard's daughter may not even remember life precovid. >> my 5-year-old doesn't really know a world without covid. she is used to wearing a mask. she doesn't know what a play dated is. >> parents of small children like the lewisios say keeping their kids healthy during covid is what matters most. for parents in some pockets of the country is coupled with concerns about crime as the pandemic has co-insighted with a dramatic spike in violent crime. >> there is a couple carjackings over here. just people walking up armed robbing people. >> for the carney family of amherst, new york, the crime spike hits close to home. >> over the course of the last 18 months, being the wife of a police officer has been an incredible challenge. >> the children are twins who are l. soon head off to college. she is optimistic. >> hopefully they know what to do and they adapt quickly. >> adaptability is a skill families have been forced to learn during the pandemic. making hard choices has become just part of the routine. >> i found a school that was really just running things as cautiously as they could. they still let the kids just be themselves. >> we kind of backed off date nights to save extra money. >> for the howards less evenings out means more evenings at home as a family. >> we can have leftovers tomorrow. >> something all these families agree on, they want their kids to be okay. >> i think every mother, you know, wants the very best, you know, for their kid and that's what my husband and i want. >> looking at the future, the moms, the dads, even the kids we talked to say they want more than anything for life to get back to normal. they say that might not be next month or even next year, but they all have a lot of hope. bret? >> bret: good job gillian turner in arlington, virginia. thanks. up next for the second time in a week, another mass release of illegal immigrants into the u.s. by the biden administration is caught on camera. we have that exclusive video. ♪ share the love event, we are proud to have donated over two hundred and twenty five million dollars to charity. you can get a car from any company, but none will make a difference like subaru. (jeff) thank you. (bonnie) thank you. (robert) thank you. subaru. more than a car company. (burke) with farmers auto multi-policy discount, the more policies you have with us, the more you could save on your auto insurance. (man) hey, hon! (wife) hi, honey! (man) like what? (burke) well, you'd get a discount for insuring your jet skis... and boat...rv...life... ...home and more. you could save up to forty-five percent. (man) that's a whole lot of discounts. (burke) well, we offer coverage for a whole lot of things, and you could save a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. (kid) sup, dad! (burke) seventeen-car garage you got there? ♪we are farmers♪ ♪bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum♪ [♪♪] did you know you can shorten your cold with cold-eeze® lozenges? cold-eeze® can shorten your cold by 42% try cold-eeze® the number one best-selling zinc lozenge. and try new cold-eeze® ultramelt™ chews in a great-tasting orange flavor that quickly dissolves on your tongue. hearing is important to living life to the fullest. that's why inside every miracle-ear store, you'll find a better life. it all starts with the most innovative technology. like the new miracle-earmini, available exclusively at miracle-ear. so small that no one will see it, but you'll notice the difference. and now, miracle-ear is offering a thirty-day risk-free trial. you can experience better hearing with no obligation. it's time for sleep number's january sale on the sleep number 360 smart bed. call 1-800-miracle right now and experience a better life. what if i sleep hot? ...or cold? you can experience better hearing with no obligation. no problem, the sleep number 360 smart bed is temperature balancing so you both sleep just right. and it senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. so, you can really promise better sleep? yes! you'll know exactly how well you slept, night after night. we take care of the science. all you have to do is sleep. and now, save $1,000 on the sleep number 360 special edition smart bed, queen now $1,999. plus, 0% interest for 24 months on all smart beds. only for a limited time. ♪ >> bret: we have another fox news exclusive tonight from the southern border it involves the practice of releasing large numbers of illegal immigrants into the u.s. correspondent will melugin is on the border in brownsville, texas tonight. >> adult male migrants have their chains and cuffs removed as they're released from ice custody in brownsville today. the men were then escorted into a parking garage, where a black tarp was set up to obstruct public view and they were discreetly taken away by a nongovernmental organization, which will facilitate their travel. throughout the day, we saw more single adults being released from ice custody, including this large group of predominantly adult men being walked to the bus terminal by the ngo. many of these men tried to hide their faces from our cameras. and now ice is responding to fox news' reporting on the mass release of these adult migrants telling us in part, quote: ice focuses its civil immigration enforcement priorities on the apprehension and removal of non-citizens who pose a threat to national security, public safety, and border security. individuals deemed suitable for release are released in coordination with local partners and are subject to reporting requirements. on tuesday, fox news reported hundreds of adult men were dropped off by federally contracted buses ankle monitors. the men were assisted by ngo and given travel packets to go wherever they want. scenes have since going viral and drew some strong reaction. >> when someone crosses our border illegally, their final destination should always be turning them around and sending them back to their home country. >> not only sending them their final destination, the u.s. taxpayer are paying for it paying for air flight. once again, this administration got caught lying to the american people. >> and, bret, the biden administration's restarting of the remain in mexico policy is off to a very slow start, brand new dhs data shows for the month of december out of approximately 179,000 migrant encounters, less than 300 of those migrants were put into the program. we'll send it back to you. >> bret: bill melugin in brownsville, texas, thanks. up next the panel on justice breyer's retirement from the u.s. supreme court and the situation in and around ukraine. first, here is what some of our fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight. fox 6 in milwaukee war sheriff's deputy is hospitalized after being shot several times in the arms and torso during a foot pursuit. authorities are trying to determine whether a man who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound as officers closed in was the same person who shot that deputy. fox 2 in strand san jose becomes the first city to require liability insurance for gun owners. it's also instituting an annual fee between 25 and 35 bucks to go toward firearm safety education and services. opponents say the measures violate their second amendment rights. and fox 29 in buffalo, kansas city chief fans donate $178,000 to a buffalo children's hospital following the play off victory over the bills sunday. owe shy children's hospital thanked chiefs fans who donated money in increamments of $13. a nod to the final 13 seconds of regulation when kansas city came back from a 3-point deficit to force overtime. the chiefs won the game to move onto the afc championship contest. buffalo fans happy with the donation, not happy with the results. that's tonight's live look outside the beltway from "special report" without the live shot. we'll be right back. ♪ i'll give a little bit of my life for you ♪ ♪ ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ your eyes. beautiful on the outside, but if you have diabetes, there can be some not-so-pretty stuff going on inside. it's true, with diabetic retinopathy, excess sugar can damage blood vessels, causing vision loss or even blindness. so, remember this: now is the time to get your eyes checked. eye care is important to your long-term diabetes management. see a path forward with actions and treatments from a retina specialist that may help protect against vision loss. visit noweyesee.com and take charge of your sight. cough cough sneeze sneeze... that may help protect agai[ sneezing ]oss. needs, plop plop fizz fizz. alka seltzer plus cold relief. dissolves quickly. instantly ready to start working. so you can bounce back fast with alka-seltzer plus. now available for fast sinus relief. ♪ >> if i'm elected president i have an opportunity to appoint someone to the courts who will be -- i will appoint the first black woman to the courts. it's required that they have representation now. it's long overdue. >> in the senate we want to be deliberate. we want to move quickly. we want to get this done as soon as possible. >> if the republicans take over congress, take over the senate in 2022, which is entirely possible, it's going to be harder for the biden administration to get the nominee they want on the court. they have to deal with the republicans in a way that they won't have to between now and the next congress. >> bret: well, justice stephen breyer is retiring after this term; however, that has not come from him today. officially. through sources. that is the confirmed news and obviously everyone reacted to it today. but how it came out and what comes next is really interesting. let's bring in our panel "the washington post" columnist marc thiessen, kimberley strassel a member of the editorial board of the "wall street journal" and jeff mason white house correspondent for reuters. marc, let me start with you it was quite something the way this came out it appears from a leak somewhere. we are told that justice breyer told the white house last week. >> yeah, pity poor justice breyer has served honorably on the high court for 28 years and basically hounded out of his job by the left and they didn't even wait for him to announce his own retirement. give him the graciousness to announce his own retirement and already speculating about his replacement. look. this a story about joe biden's weakness. breyer obviously didn't want to retire but he saw the polling -- he probably saw the falling poll numbers biden is collapsing in the polls and republicans going to take the senate mitch mcconnell said if republicans take the senate they might not confirm his successor. he had no choice but to move now. also a sign of biden's weakness. is he only going to get one shot at this. is he only going to be able to replace a liberal with a liberal. donald trump fundamentally transformed the court. he is powerless to undue the ideological changes that trump did with the 6-3 conservative majority. so, you know, this is not a moment of strength for joe biden. this is actually a moment of weakness. >> bret: here is mike davis, a former clerk at the supreme court. >> he has shown independence as a justice. he has been very outspoken about the democrats pushing to pack the supreme court. justice breyer last has come out and said that's a bad idea. there is just no way that demand justice or any of these left wing groups forced him off the bench. he hasn't put out a statement yet. you would have to wonder where this leak came from. it certainly wouldn't have come from the supreme court. >> bret: jeff, it's interesting to see how the white house dealt with this today. it's likely it came from somewhere in that territory 1600 pennsylvania avenue. but, they didn't officially comment today but, also, are kind of making plans for what's next. >> well, i'm not sure that it did come from that area in 1600 pennsylvania avenue. although i don't -- dispute the possibility that the outgoing -- potentially outgoing supreme court justice did inform the white house about this last week. it looked to me like the reporting came from people who are close to breyer. but, in any case, there is no one disputing it. and it is a big opportunity for president biden and, you know, marc says it comes from a position of weakness. it's certainly true that this president will not have the number of opportunities to shape the court that the previous president did. but it certainly is important to democrats. and to this white house to be able to fill this seat with justice breyer being the oldest member of the court and now deciding to step down. it will lead to, of course, a big push from interest groups over the next coming weeks and months to influence the white house over that pick. but i do think president biden will stick to his pledge to put an african-american woman on the court and that obviously will impact the list of potential nominees that he will look at. >> bret: yeah. and the white house reiterating that today. kimberly "the national review" writes it this way one political aftershock from stephen breyer retirement barring some disastrous stlection biden is likely to get his nominee confirmed on party line or near party line vote. they might think they scored a big win. most women americans are likely to onor nod or say great. i can't afford as much as i used to and costs an arm and leg to fill up my tank and the stores don't have the products i'm used to seeing there and every business i walk into is short-staffed and et cetera, et cetera. it will just be another case of joe biden's priorities not matching the electorate's priorities. this obviously, kimberley does not change the ideology. it doesn't shift as marc was talking about the court. but, still, any time there is a nominee to be, that changes the political environment. >> yeah, look, there is no question that the biden administration, and i think it did come from 1600 pennsylvania avenue, put this out there because they wanted to change the headlines. and they thought this was a chance to re-set the national conversation. problem is it is that editorial notes this is going to come and go but not going to change the fundamental dynamics out there. and also remember, democrats, too, they have never actually got as impassioned about supreme court nominees as conservatives have. i think the biden white house was looking at this as a chance for a reset. it's probably more like lay short turn blip with a ups and downs on the long road of inflation, falling economy, jittery stock market. >> bret: jeff, you were with the president yesterday as he was in that store and made those comments to the press pool about the situation in ukraine. being pretty definitive about what might happen where do you see this white house and now this back and forth on diplomacy trying to give this letter to the russians about what they will agree to do or not do? >> yeah. and also definitive about what would not happen. president biden made very clear yesterday, as he has before, that he has no intention of sending u.s. troops into ukraine. ukraine, of course, is not a member of nato. as far as what goes forward next, it's a little bit, certainly in russia's hands. at least in the short-term in terms of its response to the letter that was delivered today outlining the u.s. and allies positions. and, of course, as the white house continues to say the ultimate decision lies with president putin as to whether he intends to invade ukraine and follow through on that or doesn't. the white house is watching closely, and president biden is obviously watching it closely. it would lead to a -- what he said, the biggest invasion since world war ii and it would change the world. those were his words yesterday. so, right now i think they are just waiting to get a response to that letter. >> bret: right. marc? >> i hope that that letter not only answered russia's questions but included specific sanctions that the u.s. would impose, including energy and gas sanctions, banking sanctions, all the things that the biden administration has refused so far to say publicly they would do because russia doesn't want energy sanctions, bikd is under pressure for gas prices here at home. he doesn't want energy sanctions. putin thinks he is bluffing. i hope he disabused him of that. >> bret: all right, panel. when we come back a pair of dramatic rescues. ♪ ♪ thankfully, voya provides comprehensive solutions and shows me how to get the most out of my workplace benefits. voya helps me feel like i've got it all under control. voya. well planned. well invested. well protected. >> woman: what's my safelite story? >> vo: my car is more than four wheels. it's my after-work decompression zone. so when my windshield broke... >> woman: what?! >> vo: ...i searched for someone who really knew my car. i found the experts at safelite autoglass. with their exclusive technology, they fixed my windshield... then recalibrated the camera attached to my glass so my safety systems still work. who knew that was a thing?! >> woman: safelite has service i can trust. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ with directv stream i can get live tv and on demand anywhere. look, serena williams... matrix... serena... matrix... serena... matrix... ♪ ♪ ♪ get your tv together with the best of live and on demand. introducing directv stream. your record label is taking off. but so is your sound engineer. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. ever get a sign the universe is trying to tell you something? the clues are all around us! not that one. that's the one. at university of phoenix, you could earn your master's degree in less than a year for under $11k. learn more at phoenix.edu. >> bret: all right. time for "special report" salute. caden reed of mobile alabama being hailed by his community including local firefighters the 6-year-old just returned home from the hospital after putting it all on the line to rescue his sister from an oncoming vehicle. in the process, he was struck by the car. he is doing better now definitely a little boy with a big heart gets a special report salute right there. and the dramatic body cam image shows the moment delaware police officers and a good samaritan lifted an suv off a 70-year-old woman who was pinned under that vehicle. everyone involved in these two wild rescues will give them both "special report" salute. tremendous. tomorrow on "special report," we will talk about the situation in and around ukraine with the german ambassador and a french filmmaker and author who has been to the front front lines there between russia and ukraine. if you have a special report salute by the way, let us know. thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. that's it for this "special report" fair balanced and unafraid, jesse watters the show starting right now. ♪ ♪ >> jesse: a lot of you out there watching are parents. you know the ups and downs of dealing with children. they throw tantrums, make messes and can drive you crazy. your kids will hit you up for money, beg you for a ride somewhere. and make you late for more events than you can remember. but every once in a while as parents we get to flip the script and use our kids as an excuse to not do something. have a family barbecue you don't want to attend oh, sorry, my kid is sick. got stay home. ask to stay late at work? can't, got