have shown how far xi is willing to go. nathan law is a self-exiled activist from hong kong and lo join us what pro-democracy countries expect from president biden. >> sandra: international effort to avoid war. leaders from the u.s., germany, and france are trying to prevent a devastating conflict between russia and ukraine. something that could happen any day in the words of a senior biden official. hello, welcome everyone, sandra smith in new york. >> john: good to be with you on yet another week in february. john roberts in washington. the french president is now in moscow to meet with vladimir putin in an attempt to lower tensions and now we have reports of at least two ceasefire violations by russian-backed separatists in ukraine. >> sandra: general keith kellogg with more in a moment. >> john: steve. >> russia could take the capitol in just 72 hours, kyiv, three days' time. 83 ba at all -- battalions, 130,000 troops, deescalation up to the worst case scenario, a full scale invasion. and if you look at the u.s. projections for the worst case scenario, as many as 50,000 civilians could be killed, 25,000 ukraine military killed, 10,000 russian military killed, up to 5 million refugees created. and when you talk to people in ukraine, many for generations have cultural and family ties between ukraine and russia. we spoke to a man named ygor, his grandfather was a decorated world war ii veteran for the red army. >> now when we think about russia the word that comes to mind is fear. >> so, he like many others in ukraine could be fighting against the very army that his grandfather fought for. john, back to you. >> john: all the latest developments from steve in kyiv. thank you. >> sandra: general keith kellogg, former national security advisor to mike pence, and fox news contributor. you've been talking through this with your estimates when it could happen, predicting that it will, and a big distraction or it could be from our biggest threat, china. and your foxnews.com op-ed, you say russia, ukraine and nato future, america's next crisis. the united states, you write, moves into a european issue which europeans should be solving. all this, you say is a distraction as we should be focussing on the emergent and most significant threat, china. instead, on a collision course with russia. so, is that -- is that what is happening? are we now being distracted by this while china grows stronger? >> yeah, sandra, thanks for having me today. today it comes down to today a study in contrast. look at what's happening in the white house with joe biden meeting with chancellor schultz of germany and near simultaneously, macron, the president of france meeting with vladimir putin in moscow, and we in the united states are looking at what are we going to do with nord stream 2, what kind of sanctions, and macron is looking at a solution. and i think right now this is the best chance for an off ramp. if macron does not solve the problem diplomatically, i think we are going to be in for a long few weeks ahead of us out there. because he brings something that nobody else can bring. one, he brings a little bit more trust with putin than biden does, because frankly, biden and putin do not get along. and potential solutions. putin's biggest problem is security and talks about ukraine coming into nato. and macron can say it's not going to happen in the near term. all 30 members of nato have to vote to be admitted, and it's not going to happen on my watch. he's always wanted, he meaning macron, has wanted this to be a european issue to solve. that would help us, because if the europeans can solve this issue, allows us to move and pivot to what i think is the emergent threat for the united states of america, and that's china. we keep getting distracted by russia. i've made, and it's a tongue and cheek comment but look at russia like belgium with nukes. dangerous and ominous, the biggest threat is the east in china. >> sandra: and earlier statement about macron looking for solutions here, off ramp, if you will, while we are still talking about consequences if putin does decide to act. here was jake sullivan over the weekend talking to martha, listen. >> we have been absolutely clear that if russia invades ukraine, one way or the other, nord stream 2 will not move forward. that's leverage for us that we have right now. >> sandra: he's still talking about nord stream 2 being leverage for us right now. we are still not doing anything about the energy situation that now puts russia number three on our list of countries that we are purchasing oil from. >> yeah, look. it's going to be an interesting meeting with schultz of germany, because i think they are lagered when it comes to nato and the support of nord stream 2. this is the same country when we were trying to provide military aid to ukraine as was britain, they were providing 5,000 used military helmets and have pushed back on the use of sanctions. we need to lean in on germany. germany should be a leading supporter of what we want to do with russia. i remember back in the middle of the cold war you are looking at a nation, germany, that had 500,000 troops under arms. today it's 65,000. they are not even contributing what they should be contributing to nato, which is 2% of their g.d.p. they are about 1.3%. and they could double that. and i've always said, tongue in cheek, if you want to get the german's attention, rearm germany, they seem to march east and they are not supporting nato. macron sees that. the real leader you are seeing emerge in europe is macron of france. he's taken the lead from boris johnson, from schultz, because merkel who used to be the leader is now gone. let's look at france and hope they get this one right. >> sandra: sets up for a big afternoon as we watch for any developments out of the white house, out of washington, sir, very much appreciate your time. thank you. >> john: good to see the general. fox news alert, trenton, new jersey, governor phil murphy announced seconds ago that his mask mandate in schools will end in a few weeks. students will be able to take the masks off after all this time. the democratic governors move away from masking kids comes at the same time virginia's republican governor, glenn youngkin, is being sued by several school districts for letting parents decide what's best for their kids. david. >> david: governor murphy made the announcement march 7, the date the mask mandate will stop. kids in new jersey can still wear masks in school if they want to, that's what governor glenn youngkin wants to do in virginia but facing an uphill battle after a state judge late friday ruled against him, putting in a temporary restraining order against his executive order. both murphy and youngkin, opposite sides of the political spectrum in in agreement on making masks optional in schools. they are not banning them, great, but they are giving the choice to parents to make that decision about their children. that judge in arlington felt a little differently, the judge ruled in favor of seven school districts, arguing the state law passed last year requiring masks outweighs the governor's order. and wrote keeping rules in place established over the school year helps children, families and staff understand how they may be affected by the pandemic. youngkin's office fired back, this is what is best for the kids' health and who can best make the decision, we are going to appeal. last week governor youngkin was at a northern virginia grocery store touting elimination of the grocery tax, his mask choice policy caught up with him. a shopper heckled him for not wearing a mask. >> where's your mask? >> we are all making choices. >> read the room, buddy. >> read the room, buddy, not even on the job a month. they are appealing that. also today we found out that democratic governor john carney, from the state of delaware, the president's home state will lift his mask mandate policy in school later in march. >> john: delaware, new jersey, pennsylvania now, interesting to see if phil murphy gets sued over this. if not, it's going to look awfully political. david, thank you. >> sandra: and deadline quickly approaching for new york. and some democrats in congress under fire for ignoring mask rules their own party promotes and prioritizes. last week stacey abrams was photographed at an atlanta school without a mask on while the room of children were all masked. the city has a mandatory mask ordinance where she was and probably high gas prices. congressman bowman will go taking a look at the maskless situation of some of the photos going viral. he was another democrat photoed doing just that. new york state has a mandatory mask mandate for public schools. deadline quickly approaching. photos of the new york city mayor eric adams posted on sunday, days after he reiterated masks will be required in public schools. so we have the graphics eventually there. but there has been many or multiple democrats in congress photographed in arizona where masks are still mandated and clearly the photo with stacey abrams, if we have it, pop it up, i don't know if it made air, it has gone viral. sitting in a classroom john with all the young kids following the rules, being asked to follow the rules and she is clearly is not. >> all i can say, sandra, i hope the democratic politicians were following the lead of los angeles mayor eric garcetti, holding their breath during the photo ops. >> sandra: yes. enough said. pictures speak for themselves. >> john: white house officials touting friday's surprisingly good jobs report. but gas prices tell a different story. is the biden administration taking credit for the good, and ignoring the bad. >> uyghurs are being tortured and uyghurs are the victims of human rights violations by the chinese, and we have to keep that front and center. >> sandra: that was the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. describing the torture uyghurs are being subjected to. the next guest is an outspoken critic of china. and he lives in exile in london. he had been jailed. nathan law will join us next on how china could punish olympic athletes for criticizing beijing. living with diabetes? glucerna protein smart has your number with 30 grams of protein. scientifically designed with carbsteady to help you manage your blood sugar. and more protein to keep you moving with diabetes. glucerna live every moment as a struggling actor, and more protein to keep you moving with diabetes. i need all the breaks that i can get. at liberty butchumal- cut. liberty biberty- cut. we'll dub it. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ people with moderate to severe psoriasis, or psoriatic arthritis, are rethinking the choices they make like the splash they create the way they exaggerate the surprises they initiate. otezla. it's a choice you can make. 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energy costs. gas prices hitting their highest nationwide average today in more than seven years. crude oil prices topping $90 a barrel, at one point above $92 a barrel. all of this sparking questions what the administration is going to do to address the problem, including opening up domestic production to help ease the price burden. fox business's edward lawrence is live on the white house north lawn for us. edward, is that under consideration? >> yeah, sandra, not so much at the moment. president biden considering raising the price of fees to drill on federal land at the moment. let's do a little fact check. this is the president last month about the rising gas prices. >> you saw what happened when i was able to convince everyone from china, india, a number of other countries to agree with us to go into their version of their petroleum reserve, to release more into the market. so that that brought down the price about 12, $0.15 a gallon, some places, some places more. >> actually, oil prices rose on the day of the announcement, and only fell in days later because of the threat of the omicron variant and fears of more lockdowns. as you said right now, the price of oil is more than $91 a barrel. some experts predict $100 a barrel by this summer and that directly impacts gas prices, which as you said, $3.44 a gallon for regular unleaded, highest since 2014, when it was vice president joe biden. and ralph norman uncovering three administration members, including the energy secretary with close ties to the green energy industry, calling for hearings on saturday, she sat on the board of patera and held stock in the company when the president promoted in april a virtual tour with the company. >> she was confirmed in february of 2021 and then she had a virtual meeting with president biden in april, and two weeks, i wrote her the letter on may 12. two weeks after that she sold the stock, we questioned it, and made a million 6 profit. >> and the german chancellor will be here, the president allowing the pipeline from germany to russia, to go forward. >> sandra: edward lawrence from the white house, i continued to ask the question on friday, what are we doing about the sky high prices, increase more production in the united states, tough to get an answer, john. >> john: brian did not have much of an answer, but if russia invades ukraine and europe has to rely on experts of american liquid natural gas to cover what europe may lose, what you see now with energy prices where it's going to go. >> john: china's abuses of uyghur ethnic minorities has been called genocide by human rights watch dogs and the united states government. china was putting on a show for the world, congress held a hearing for anti-chinese activists to air experiences. and former secretary general of the hong kong federation of students, nathan, good to see you. thanks for being with us today. i want to first of all ask you about that image during the opening ceremonies of a smiling uyghur athlete carrying the olympic torch into the birds nest. clearly it was a propaganda move by the chinese government. wondering, nothing to see her propaganda or a finger in the eye to china's opponents to say we will do to the uyghurs whatever we want. what do you think? >> i think the image is beijing's propaganda, oh, there are so many uyghurs living happily, and it's impossible to have a concentration camp there. but this is exactly what beijing wants to portray, that they basically 2nd grade the whole region, provide a lot of incentive to uyghurs, they provide them like opportunity and like money in order for them to kind of like obey rulings of the chinese party. the other hand, they conceal the access to information. to another group of uyghurs, they lock into the concentration camp, millions of them and there are no journalists, allowed to report and to, like interview there freely. everything was staged. so i think it's beijing's staged propaganda that they want to show the world that nothing is going on in that region. >> john: and it's an attempt of nothing to see here. put the picture back up on the screen, two athletes in the photograph. it's the athlete on the left, the woman is the uyghur athlete. record low ratings, viewership down 43% here in the united states. a case of americans voting with their feet, do you think? >> it really indicates that people watch the ceremony not because it's fun to watch or amazing, there is values into it. consumers spend their time and their money with certain values that they are align to. most definitely the beijing olympic is rolling for beijing and relation, and really shows that many u.s. audience do not buy into it and continue to boycott the olympics as part of the campaign of saying no to the human violations. >> something nancy pelosi said last week, call for number two. we mentioned you appeared via remote at a congressional hearing on friday. here is what nancy pelosi said the previous day, thursday, to american athletes who will be spending the next two weeks in beijing. listen here. >> i would say to our athletes you are there to compete, do not risk incurring the anger of the chinese government because they are ruthless. >> john: nathan, you have been targeted and jailed on your focus of hong kong. what would happen to the chinese athletes if they did speak out? >> i was personally prosecuted and i know how the chinese party would be. normally if you are a human rights activist you would be charged with at least creating disturbance for those who are really high profile inciting subversion of state power against human rights issues, and that could happen on the athletes. beijing, there is a growing aggression towards like u.s. citizens and u.s. government and like narrative is very impulsive when they deal with like foreign citizens to criticize them. so i think the worry is legitimate. i would also want to say if there are any athletes that would take risk and to speak up, they will get the respect and support from all and the world, i can guarantee that. >> john: you are a person who has a tremendous amount of respect speaking out in the way you did, a very brave man. nathan law, thank you for joining us us. >> sandra: violent crime rages in u.s. cities big and small and now democrats are finally starting to take notice. rafael mangual ahead. >> making the video to talk about the most regretful and shameful thing i've ever had to talk about publicly. >> john: joe rogan talking about his use of racial slurs in the past. c.e.o. is standing by rogan and drawing a line in the sand against cancel culture. chase freedom unlimited. i earn 5% on our cabin. hello cashback! hello, kevin hart! earn big time with chase freedom unlimited with no annual fee. how do you cashback? chase. make more of what's yours. how bout sushi? i just had sushi for lunch yesterday. indian? ehh, maybe... how bout seafood? you know i don't like seafood. [collision beeping warning] [silence] how bout tacos? tacos. automatic emergency braking — one of six advanced safety features standard on every 2022 chevy equinox. find new technology. find new roads. chevrolet. >> john: homicides hitting record levels across the united states. at least 16 cities setting new highs last year and the big three, new york, l.a. and chicago, massive jumps. black males were overwhelmingly the number one demographic killed last year in cities, including st. paul, baton rouge, columbus, louisville and atlanta. complete fox coverage. rafael mangual on democrats turning their focus to crime, taking aim at president biden. but first to matt in los angeles, he dug into the numbers and here to tell us what he found. >> so much reporting now about last year's record high homicides so we wanted to take a look at who were the victims. submitted freedom of information requests to the 16 cities that marked record homicide highs last year, also to the big three, new york, chicago, l.a., and the data shows black males were overwhelmingly the number one demographic killed in most cities last year. chicago saw the highest murder numbers in 2021. 648 of the 797 homicide victims were black. and leading demographic in cities like milwaukee, wisconsin, baton rouge, louisville, and others. and here in l.a., hispanic males were the most killed. and courtland bridges, her 28-year-old daughter was shot and killed in venice beach in 2020, 2 of her alleged killers were just arrested. >> my daughter, she can never call me. her kids, their mother. >> we spoke to a los angeles prosecutor who works in the d.a. george gascon's office, he blames it on the soft on crime policies and across the country. >> right now the system, especially certain types of district attorneys, are siding with the criminal over the victim. you have one here in los angeles that is siding with criminals over victims. you have the philadelphia district attorney, you have kim fox in chicago, those types of district attorneys not interested in dealing with violent crime. >> and sadly, the data show so many children as young as one years old were killed all over this country last year, john. >> john: i did a quick calculation on the figure from chicago, 648 of 797 homicides were black men, that's 81%. that is a stunning figure. >> yeah, john, clarify, those were black people, not entirely black people, but black men were the majority as well. >> sandra: let's bring in rafael mangual, senior fellow at manhattan institute. we have spoken to you throughout this crime crisis. does it appear democrats are just waking up to this and because of the actual crime we are seeing or is it politics? >> oh, i think it's politics. i mean, the left has spent the last decade plus convincing the american public the traditional institutions of law enforcement policing, jails, prisons, were corrupt, racist, etc. but i think they are starting to figure out that they have overplayed their hand and the crime problem that we all warned would come as a result really is posing a real political challenge to them. i mean, you have people like eric adams who ran on explicitly anti-crime platforms as democrats who were elected by an overwhelming majority, you know, are now finding that they need their counterparts to play along, and which is why there is so much pressure put on alvin bragg, a quick turn around at least to a couple more radical policy positions his office has taken. >> sandra: you mentioned mayor adams. here is mayor adams, as well as of the other mayors dealing with the spike in crime. >> we were witnessing this violence isolated to black and brown communities as though no one saw the crisis. >> comes to an end when we take the steps to be more aggressive with law enforcement. more aggressive with the changes in our policies. >> we've got to do more to hold these people accountable and if they are back out on the street after committing horrible crimes of violence, we are sending a message to them that they are free to go about their business. >> we are asking everybody to sep up. >> sandra: who knew in 2022, after what we went through in 2020, 2021, all of a sudden both parties. >> they are sensing their own political vulnerability and changing their tune. the question is whether or not it's too late. the last democratic party has spent the better part of the last decade making a pretty harsh case against the traditional criminal justice system, arguing that it's racially oppressive and ineffective, why i think we saw so much momentum behind the criminal reform justice movement made it so easy for democrats to leap through the open window in the wake of george floyd's murder. i'm not sure that very many americans are going to believe them as they change their tune. i think they are going to look back and see what was said about the criminal justice system, about police. the fact that so many of these people either supported or made way for the defunding of police just two and a half years ago, or two years ago now. so, i think that the public has been raised a little longer than what the democrats hope it is. >> led to the retirements of many here in new york city, low morale for the recruitment of new policemen and women. hope it did not have to hit rock bottom to make the situation better but do hope now we hear the democrats speaking out that it does improve. final thoughts. >> yeah, i think this is an encouraging sign, i do hope that the cities turn it around. the most vulnerable communities need a voice for them and you know, here is hoping they get it. >> sandra: rafael mangual, thank you very much. >> john: bipartisanship has been lacking on capitol hill for many, many years now, but now two senators from opposing parties are endorsing each other. why would they do that? byron york ahead with his thoughts. >> sandra: john, canadian truckers continue their protests of a vaccine mandate. a live report from north of the border coming up. 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 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. it's good to be moving on. watch me. move, look, and feel better. ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. i'm mark and i live in movvero beach, florida.tter. my wife and i have three children. ruthann and i like to hike. we eat healthy. we exercise. i noticed i wasn't as sharp as i used to be. my wife introduced me to prevagen and so i said "yeah, i'll try it out." i noticed that i felt sharper, i felt like i was able to respond to things quicker. and i thought, yeah, it works for me. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. is now a good time for a flare-up? 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>> well, sandra, the headline is enough is enough. i spoke with one of the convoy's organizers and emphasized this is not anti-vax, it's anti-mandate. the plan is to stay peaceful. you mentioned the gofundme against the continue convoy, causing a lot of backlash. a number of lawmakers are calling to investigate the company for fraud, twitter critics are highlighting the inconsistency how they did it in seattle, and censorship are further motivating their efforts. 50 to 60% of vaccinations of the u.s. truckers. half cross the border could be at risk. broader mandate policies have impacted workers across the supply chain. dynamics trickle down to a workforce already short 80,000 drivers, impacting turn around times and driving prices up for americans, and the broader challenges that have inspired the people's convoys, they are trying to represent people across industries, healthcare, education, that have been impacted by these mandates. >> but now here we are violating human rights every single day with these mandates, and it's not just us, it's happening all over the world. so i think everybody, i think truckers, especially, but a lot of people in the united states and around the world have all finally started to say enough is enough. this is -- this is getting out of control and it's time to stand up. >> the convoy is expected to start early next month, part of a broader sentiment across the country. people are rising up and looking to take back freedom, sandra. >> sandra: kelly o'grady from a truck stop in california, thank you. >> john: joe manchin is enforcing a republican, alaska republican senator lisa murkowski in her re-election this year and she is returning the favor. a rare joint sunday morning interview, two senators likelyest to buck their party's preferences. a positive sign of bipartisan or two senators looking to further separate themselves from their own parties? bring in byron york, "washington examiner" and fox news contributor, joe manchin turns to lisa and says i've got your back. listen here. >> i'm endorsing my dear friend lisa murkowski, hypocritical to work with the person day in and day out and then go against them because they have an r or d after their name. >> he's up for re-election in 2024, president trump is backing kelly in the election. what do you make of this? >> similar in their approach, they are both centrist and more in common with each other than the fringes of their party. the most important thing we were saying yesterday, they were calling for a return to more traditional ways in the senate, not rushing through bills when nobody knows what's in them. how many times have we heard reports in the last year or so, lawmakers hope to have a vote on the bill by friday, it had not been written yet but still want a vote on it. and if you listen to murkowski and manchin yesterday you heard them strongly favor something called regular order. you write a bill, put it in committee, they debate it, republicans and democrats offer amendments. you vote on them, then if it passes it goes to the full house or senate where they then have a debate there, and then finally, a vote. so, it's a real process and what they are trying to do, i think, is get rid of this partisan idea of just jamming something through without even reading it. >> john: the senate is supposed to be the cooling pond to the house but in many ways the senate is as rankerous as the house is. could you see him as governor jim justice did, switch parties? >> i noticed the other day senator schumer said something interesting, said it was the longest 50-vote senate ever, meaning there are times in the past when the voters sent 50 republicans and 50 democrats to the senate but it did not last very long. in a few months somebody switched parties to give one party the control of the senate but it has not happened this time. my guess is that joe manchin seems fairly comfortable where he is, enormous power in the democratic party. he just single handedly stopped the centerpiece of the democratic president's agenda. >> john: no question a lot of power. about a minute left, i wanted to talk to you about the november election because despite all indications that there's going to be a red wave, if not a tsunami, some democrats are holding out hope that they are not going to get wiped out and may retain control because and there is, goes to the third call for it here, because of redistricting, the economy, job growth has been pretty strong, the pandemic is beginning to abate, and january 6th is also something the capitol hill attack democrats can use against republicans. 30 seconds left, do you think it's going to be a red wave or the democrats have a chance? >> i still think that the historical factors really favor republicans, the president's team usually loses a lot of seats in the midterms if the president has below 50% job approval, the losses are maybe 35 plus seats in the house. a lot of voters are saying they want republicans and joe biden's job approval rating does not look like it's going to improve significantly. democrats are feeling a little better because biden had a good week. job numbers were very, very good. 467,000 jobs and i think they have done well in redistricting. but those other facts are really strong, strong historical facts, a hard time overcoming. >> john: a lot to talk about between now and november, byron york, thanks for starting us off today. >> sandra: good to see byron, the head of spotify is addressing the latest fallout over joe rogan, this team over his past use of racial slurs. why he's standing by the popular podcast host. >> what are we to criticize china's human rights records, we have assaults on the voting rights of our people of color in states of the country. >> john: espn contributor talks about the uyghurs and voting laws. young kim joins us on that coming up next. for strength and energy. woo hoo! ensure, complete balanced nutrition with 27 vitamins and minerals. and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. ♪ ♪ t. and. throughout history i've observed markets shaped by the intentional and unforeseeable. for investors who can navigate this landscape, leveraging gold, a strategic and sustainable asset... the path is gilded with the potential for rich returns. intense criticism as racial slurs on his podcast are shared online. they say silencing him is not an option. christina, how is spotify responding to all this? >> hi, sandra. spotify c.e.o. daniel ek confirmed that joe rogan removed some podcast episodes over the controversy, and made it clear he's not cutting ties with his star broadcaster. rogan has the most popular show on spotify and $100 million deal with the streaming service. in a statement to employees, the company c.e.o. said "while i strongly condemn what joe has said and i agree with his decision to remove past episodes from our platform, i realize some will want more and one point very clear. i do not believe that silencing joe is the answer. we should have clear lines around content and take action when they are crossed but cancelling voices is a slippery slope". and also says spotify will invest $100 million in music and audio content from historically marginallized groups. multiple musicians have pulled their music, showing him saying the n-word. he said it was taken out of context. he says he used it while discussing how the racial slur was used. >> i was talking about how there is not another word like it in the entire english language. it's a word where only one group of people is allowed to use it and they can use it in different ways. if a white person says the word, it's racist and toxic but a black person can use it, a punch line, term of endearment, lyrics to a rap song, positive affirmation. very unusual word. >> his explanation is apparently working, he has manage today dodge calls to cancel him once again. >> sandra: live from los angeles for us, thank you. john. >> john: just about one hour under ourbelt, another one coming up. new at 2:00, president biden meeting with the new german chancellor with the russia threat topping the agenda. the pair set to hold a joint news conference after their meeting, and fox news will have complete coverage of that important event. plus, democrats who push mask mandates are caught breaking their own rules and some states are getting rid of their mask mandates as we learn to live on with the virus. more on that coming up, and coming up in the next jam-packed "america reports" hour. ision ev. 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>> she is firing back forcefully saying her opponents are trying to score some cheap political points. she was reading to a group of students in a classroom in decatur, georgia, you can see her smiling with the students in the classroom. we know specifically that abrams in the classroom was not wearing a mask at that point when the photograph was taken. brian kemp, her opponent, he tweeted that stacey abrams wants state government mask mandates for georgians and their children but looks like they would not apply when she's attending a photo op. abrams wrote back, it is shameful our opponents are using a black history month reading event for georgia children as the impetus for a false political attack and pitiful and predictable our opponents continue to look for opportunities to distract from their failed records when it comes to protecting public health during the pandemic. sandra, new jersey governor phil murphy, a democrat, made a big announcement an hour ago, he is lifting his school mask mandate policy effective march 7. but there are caveats. >> we are not removing the ability of individual district leaders to maintain and enforce such a policy in their schools or any private child care provider maintaining such a policy in their business. >> and that leads us with the topic on schools and masks. breaking news from the virginia supreme court, governor glenn youngkin is touting it as a victory along with republican attorney general jason, give parents the opportunity to decide if the children should wear masks in schools. the governor says it's a win, second executive order that he signed in office and this comes just days, john and sandra, after the governor was dealt somewhat of a blow by a state judge here in northern virginia who is putting a temporary restraining order on that after seven school districts in the northern virginia area say that children should be wearing masks at school because it's a public health issue. this case continues to go on. >> sandra: david, thank you. >> john: we should point out, this was a separate case from the case of the seven school districts who got a victory in court. the governor is going to appeal that. this is a separate school district, chesapeake, trying to go after the governor, and that was thrown out at the supreme court. so the other decision still stands. let's bring in mollie hemingway. stacey abrams today, spokesperson said of adams not wearing a mask, said stacey trusts science and supports masking in school, the current c.d.c. recommendation. what do you make of that? she wore it to school and only removed it -- >> masking does limit the ability of children to hear what the instructors are saying and great if the children all over the country could hear what they are saying, so stacey abrams is not the only person who finds herself in that scenario. but this issue people say that she's a hypocrite for this, because she does support the forced masking of children while she was not wearing a mask, but its something we have seen so much over the last couple of years where people in powerful positions have one set of rules for themselves, and entirely another set of rules for other people. you might remember two years ago, or even close to two years ago, bans on funerals for normal people, but if you were a politically powerful person you could have a massive funeral, or a series of funerals. protests were strictly banned if you were protesting lockdowns, forced masking or other issues, but the right political views welcome and encouraged to engage in protests, even if they were violent or turned into riots, and we have seen so many pictures like this one of stacey abrams, celebrities or other powerful people, politicians. they are not masked but the lower class people around them are masked and i don't think it's so much hypocrisy, but raw displays of power, a hierarchy of who is in charge and who is not. >> sandra: and showing your smile, we see her smiling. it's lovely to see smiles. those kids cannot see each other smiling and you go back to the statement that she put out about this, pushing back on the claims of hypocrisy that she took off the mask so the students learning remotely could hear her better. classrooms all over the country following mask mandates for the teacher, has to wear the mask in the classroom. therefore, she's making the point for everyone that those kids at home learning remotely can't understand that teacher. it gets you fired up. mollie, it stood out to me when you retweeted a picture of stacey abrams sitting with the school children not masked and they all are, why are democratics still making the forced masking of children one of their signature issues. very simple question. but somehow politically do they think it's working in their favor? >> that's what's so interesting. you talked about what's happening in virginia, the state where i live, the forced masking of children was one of the issues that led republicans to sweep into office in the november elections. also the lockdowns and other measures where parents had more than enough. it is true that democrat voters do tend to support lockdowns, mask mandates and other issues like that, incredibly unpopular among republicans and independent voters. and so heading into already tough midterm elections, it's very odd that democrats are making this, again, you know, no one saying if you want to wear a mask you should be allowed to wear the mask. we are talking about the forced masking of children, and that's a political unpopular position but democrats are clinging to. >> john: put up the series of pictures, stacey abrams maskless with the group of what are believed to be third grade students, and jamal brown, democrat from new york, maskless with high school students and then eric garcetti who took pictures, that's eric adams there, and then we have eric garcetti on the right with magic johnson and others in a series of photographs at so-fi stadium, and garcetti said well, i did not pose a risk to anybody because i held my breath while i had the mask off. and i'm sorry for rendering an opinion here, how stupid does he think we are? >> right. i think it's a great excuse he gave everybody if you are in trouble for not complying with the forced mask mandate, we can all say we are holding our breath. >> sandra: mollie, i believe jacqui heinrich is asking about masks in the briefing room. >> what happened here in new jersey and a couple of other states you mentioned is that they pulled back the requirement, they did not make it more difficult for schools, school administrators, local officials to keep requirements that they made a determination would keep their school safe. >> you expect president macron and president biden will have a follow-up conversation so he can relay any -- >> sandra: mollie, obviously jacqui heinrich asked about when things changed when things changed with the mask mandate. and while there was no innovation and the masking rules, everybody believed it was necessary to get through the pandemic and how not a changing of the rules like restaurants, where the kids could walk through the door with the masks on as they gathered outside and inside, and then go to the desk and take the mask off. so many states are dealing with the mask mandate, and new york is under it, hochul has not changed it, there's a deadline coming up, we'll see. >> tons of studies looking at the effectiveness of forced mask and none show a strong reason to do it, and children thank god at low risk of death or severe injury from getting covid, unlike people who are older or have co-morbidity, that's why a lot of countries never forced masking of children. understanding some people might choose to do it with their parents that might be something you choose to do. but the science really is not there despite what stacey abrams was taking, a clear-cut scientific issue, particularly when you are outside of operation theater in a hospital with very good n59 masking, even the c.d.c. has admitted that cloth masks are not particularly effective at combatting this. and more than anything, we are two years into, so much more we know now and so many down sides to this forced masking of children, particularly when it comes to what they can learn, what they can understand and interact with their peers and elders. >> john: more and more states agreeing with you and giving districts the opportunity, or parents as it were, to let their kids take the masks off. mollie, always great to see you. thanks for being with us today. >> sandra: i should also mention, by the way, john, the white house briefing room back to full capacity today, a regular rotation happening. more appearances by peter doocy and jacqui heinrich in the briefing room. if we have popped that on the screen, looks different now, right? they were sitting sometimes, ok. we are going to listen, i'm told. >> decrease in hospitalizations and the country and we are in constant touch about what it looks like moving forward. our responsibility as the federal government to rely on the data and the science analyzed by our public health experts and rely on that for what recommendations we are making. >> a couple things. we reported u.s. officials are losing patience with the chinese in negotiations -- >> john: questions about masking, obviously, as more states and european countries reduce or remove covid restrictions all together. could we bring back call for number five, bill marr said so well. listen here. apparently -- >> it's time to do what a growing list of countries have done and announced we are going back to something more like normal. beginning with recognizing that what we are doing to kids is unnecessary and horrible and i don't even like kids. [applause]>> john: when you look at the map of all the european nations that have withdrawn covid restrictions and back to life as normal and we are arguing about it. >> sandra: everybody wants a choice, some still choose to wear it, certainly a lot of teachers choosing to wear it. so we are not saying no masks. but -- >> john: it's so politicized, become so politicized and so utterly toxic that you can't venture an opinion without one side or the other. >> sandra: and kids are stuck in the middle. >> john: hopefully not too much longer. jen psaki talking about president biden meeting with germany's chancellor on the threat from russia. >> sandra: critics have questioned germany's commitment to stand up to vladimir putin. energy situation in the middle. a joint news conference next hour. fox complete coverage of that news conference, 3:15 p.m. eastern. as a professional bull-rider i'm used to taking chances. but when it comes to my insurance i don't. i use liberty mutual, they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. wooo, yeaa, woooooo and, by switching you could even save 665 dollars. hey tex, can someone else get a turn? 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>> i think concerning russia it probably can't right now, because russia has germany's number when it comes to energy. the fact that it -- i think the germans sent used helmets to ukraine, would not send weapons, it's not allowing nations that have german weapons to transship them to ukraine, it's a real problem and showing it is not standing up for fellow european state that is facing an imminent invasion. we -- i'll give biden credit for sending weapons to ukraine but in terms of the rhetoric and pressure on putin, both the u.s. and germany are not succeeding. >> john: we'll see if macron can walk putin back from the brink. fred fleitz as always, we'll change the title, by the way. >> sandra: officials warn kyiv would fall in days if russia invades and analysts say it would look different than any other armed conflict the world has ever seen. jennifer griffin has more from the pentagon. >> alarming reports today that a prominent separatist russian leader, asked to send 30,000 troops and new weapons, could be the first war in which russia uses the hyper sonic weapons. this video shows russia's new missile which putin has proudly displayed in the past. and officials expect russia to use a cyber attack in the opening gambit to blind and stun the ukraine military and government. >> turn off the power, water and communications to key milltation facilities and probably to the populus. doesn't take very long for russian tanks to go across the border, 15 minutes of a power outage, all the window they need and they have the ability to did that. >> a cybersecurity expert who spent years in the u.s. navy and now advises industry clients about how foreign adversaries use cyber warfare to attack the u.s. and it's allies. >> i would expect that the majority of the power controlling the weapons systems would go down hopefully and i believe america is working on this, to give them some back-up systems. >> u.s. hyper sonic missiles are not as far along as russia's or chinas, there was a meeting to address the slow pace of development. >> just as the scale, the u.s. has tested 16 times publicly since 2010, hypersonic weapon systems. russia tested ten times in one day last month. >> joe is a former intelligence officer who founded ursa major, he warns the u.s. needs to make this a priority. >> essentially by the time russia decides to use the hypersonic weapon, we would not see it on the radar before it hits the target. >> the looming target and belief at the highest level of the u.s. government that russia will invade ukraine, means the conflict could look different than any armed conflict the world has ever seen. the largest land grab in europe since world war ii. >> sandra: jennifer, thank you. >> john: scary out there. gofundme could be the subject of a fraud investigation. why supporters of the canadian trucking convoy say they stole their money. >> sandra: and is beijing getting a free pass? 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with the newday100 loan, you can get up to $60,000 or more and lower your payments $615 a month. no bank, no lender, no one knows veterans like newdayusa. >> john: american athletes add to the medal count, critics say the united states is being upstaged by our adversaries in the olympics. hi. >> american athletes stepped on to the world stage in beijing, the white house put officials on tv yesterday to reassure americans, no officials at the games, america is not in retreat. first up to bat was president biden's top ambassador at the united nations. she was asked whether the biden administration can promise american athletes will be kept safe in beijing. she said she hopes so, take a listen. >> and we would hope that the chinese would not take any actions but i will be clear that our goal is to make sure our athletes are safe. >> someone who did show up at the games, vladimir putin. he's continued the build-up of troops along ukraine's border as the games unfold. emboldened by his moment in the spotlight without u.s. pushback, struck up a new deal with the chinese president, both promising to take on the u.s. in outer space, in cyberspace, and here on earth in europe and asia. asked what the biden team plans to do to counter the alliance, jake sullivan offered this pep talk. take a listen. >> we need to believe in ourselves, confidence in ourselves. the u.s. and the west collectively comprise more than half the world's g.d.p. russia and china comprise less than 20%. >> china's most brazen act yet over the weekend, using an uyghur athlete as a torch bearer at friday's opening ceremony. intelligence sources report that as the games proceed, the chinese communist party's genocide of ethnic minority uyghur has continued unabated, just about 1700 miles away from the games. today china's foreign ministry defend the the torch bearer, saying people of different ethnic groups of china are "one family." john. >> john: gillian, thank you. sandra. >> sandra: republicans calling out nbc for refusing to air an ad critical of china. >> the world's greatest athletic showcase. just outside the show, rape, genocide, slave labor. american companies are drunk on chinese dollars. >> sandra: nbc has yet to respond on banning that ad from the airwaves. california congresswoman young kim. thank you for joining us. why wouldn't the network want to air it? >> well, first of all, sandra, thank you for having me. this is really sad that nbc is choosing to highlight an uyghur athlete as you just mentioned but this was a c.c.p. chosen recommended athlete instead of showcasing the human rights abuses and the genocide that c.c.p. is committing, they are trying to stage an interview, this is not the way that our media should be reporting and they have a platform, the worldwide platform to showcase the ongoing genocide and human rights abuses and we have a moral obligation to say do this, and the world is watching and tuning in to watch the best athletes compete in the world stage, we need to take this opportunity to continue to speak out against what c.c.p. is doing, and i would like to also echo that we have to support our athletes that are representing our respective nations and sharing the values of freedom, hope and opportunity, but they also have an obligation to speak out and when they do, i want them to know that we will ensure their safety and protection. >> sandra: you know who is not calling out the c.c.p., this is a pundit on espn. listen. >> who are we to criticize china's human rights records when we have ongoing attacks by the agents of the state against unarmed citizens and assaults on the voting rights of the people of color in various states in the country. >> sandra: not sure how you heard it, but appears the pundit was comparing human rights to the voting laws. and enes kantor freedom. >> remove the corporate logos. a form of censorship. the corporate sponsors -- ignore it when it could affect -- >> is that what's happening here, afraid of the blowback they would receive? >> those of us outside of china, we have free access to information and we are able to talk about what's going on in china. for us to be complicit and silent on what's really happening, which is genocide, and some of the corporations are actually profiting from the uyghur forced labor, and we are also seeing some corporations, while they are supporting the athletes to compete on the world stage, i think they also have an obligation, moral obligation, corporate responsibility to talk about the genocide and the human rights abuses going on. we need to use this opportunity while we are supporting our athletes, we need to use that and do not let c.c.p. get away with this. we support individuals, but the c.c.p., chinese communist party and the ongoing treatment of the population, especially the uyghur population and using their forced labor, i think this is what the corporate america, corporations have done and we need to be able to use them and i implore the corporations to use their voice and this platform as well as i implore our athletes while they are competing, use their platform to talk about this, just like enes kanter is doing. >> sandra: he is calling out their behavior for quite some time. >> john: gofundme backtracking big time after some top republicans threaten to investigate the company for fraud. let's bring in jonathan turley, george washington law professor and fox news contributor, talking about the freedom convoy up to about $10 million before it was shut down, raising big questions as to whether or not gofundme was acting politically here. you wrote about this on your website, you said the company has revised an old practice known as the "nag's headlight in luring the unsuspected into what has become a liberal lock box on funds." very poetic, elaborate, jonathan, please. >> well you know, used to be that people that lived along the north carolina shore would put a lantern underneath the head of a horse to bring ships closer to shore where they would crash on the rocks, and then they would salvage the wreckage. sort of what's happening with gofundme, they hold out there that you can raise funds for causes with us, people give them millions of dollars, money that's often urgently needed, and then they lock it away and they say you know what, we have decided we don't support your cause. and this is really tragic because first of all, these truckers are looking for support but also this was a company that was a great advance for free speech and association, like twitter it was supposed to empower average people, to allow them to support others. but over time the company decided to use its platform for its own views, to decide what causes it wanted to support. >> john: it's happened time and time again. you fight the man and eventually you become the man. i mean, it just happens. >> and some of the policies on the company are baffling. for example, they have pooled funds to support litigation. people trying to get into court to test the merits of the challenges to vaccines, they froze the account of kyle rittenhouse, froze the account of people that wanted to help police officers in court. you would think the company would want to support those types of causes because there's a court there that will be able to rule on the merits. people have a presumption of innocence in these criminal cases. with rittenhouse, they released the money after he was acquitted. i mean, how bizarre is that? >> john: well, maybe he did have some lingering legal bills he needed to attend to. now, what gofundme said before it backtracked was they were going to return donations from people who filled out a form and if people did not fill out a form, the remaining donations would be sent to a different charity. you write in the column the practice of soliciting funds for one reason and using them for another constitutes something called fraud in some people's eyes. >> yeah, talking about the ultimate bait and switch. they wanted to help truckers and find out the money later went to another cause, and a lot of a.g.s really threw a flag on the play and said well, you can't do that, you can't induce people to live money for a cause by saying we will get that money to the people that you want to support, and then find out later that you just picked someone else. the company backtracked on that and said we will send the money back. a neutral platform to support people and other causes. i don't care who the cause is, b.l.m., antifa, the g.o.p., the democrats, it's a good thing when people support other individuals with like views. and then free speech really helps us sort it out. we all talk, we all associate, and we work out our disagreements. but instead, this is a company putting a thumb on the scale and saying well, there is just some causes we won't allow money to flow to. >> john: puts the thumb on the scale when it wants to because it says that it decided to lock the account of the freedom convoy because the protest had become an occupation but the same breath, gofundme took plenty of funds to support the occupation of capitol hill and seattle. jonathan turley, great to get your opinion, appreciate it. >> sandra: indeed. next up, sobering look at the impacts of fentanyl on young americans. speaking with one district attorney about his fight to save lives. looking to get back in your type 2 diabetes zone? 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>> well, first of all, thank you for having me on. in riverside county the number of fentanyl deaths in the last five years has gone up 800%. this year we expect to have well over 500 people die because of fentanyl poisoning. you know what, we are facing a crisis here, and in our county, and across southern california especially, district attorneys have gotten together and we are starting to file murder charges against people that deal fentanyl and kill, and i think that's a critical component. we have to push back, get the word out that this will not be tolerated in our counties. >> sandra: a lot of these headlines grab your attention when you realize how bad this crisis has gotten. our own fox news headline on the crisis and the overdose deaths we are seeing, the number one cause of death among u.s. adults ages 18 to 45, calling it a national emergency. i'll put up the drug overdose deaths as we see the numbers, each one of these lives that have been lost due to fentanyl. 21,689 between the ages of 10 and 24. 72% male, 28% female. and this woman shares her story of addiction with lawrence jones. >> what is the breaking point? >> well, the breaking point, i was ten weeks pregnant with my first child and i overdosed. >> what was that day like for you? >> i just knew that honestly, i knew i was going to start feeling her kick soon and it scared me because then it was going to be real. >> that was it for you? why? >> i just didn't want to do that to my own child. >> sandra: we see this and our heart breaks for the people that have gone through the struggle. is increasing the penalty on the drug dealers, is that the answer? >> it's part of the answer. it's not going to be the sole solution, we are working hard to get the message out and you having me on the program and covering this also helps. people need to understand there is no safe way to use or deal fentanyl. the drugs on the streets now are virtually all laced with fentanyl, mixed in. there never was a time when drugs were safe but now literally killing people, it's playing russian roulette. the d.e.a. estimates 40% of the illegal pills on the street now contain a fatal dose of fentanyl, 40%. >> sandra: wow, everyone should hear that. thank you for joining us, thank you. john. >> john: sandra, next. brawl after the pro bowl landed one of the game's biggest names in custody. we have that for you, stay with us. veteran homeowners, need a financial boost? 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>> john: jeff paul with the latest on that. thanks, jeff. hear back from you soon. as developments warrant. we have lots still to come this afternoon. just before we hand it off over to martha. our reports of a potential active shooter situation at the fred and meyer in richland, washington. police are asking people to avoid the area. breaking news on that coming up. >> sandra: also a live look at the white house as we're anticipating the president will take questions at this news conference happening at 3:15 p.m. eastern time, 17 minutes from now. we'll see if that's on time. the german chancellor said it's key that there's a strong unity between all the major partners, the trans atlantic parties and the united states and germany. so they've been meeting behind choiced doors and this will be a very key moment as tensions escalate there on the russia-ukraine border. we'll see what the leaders have to say. i'll be in for neil at 4:00. joni ernst will be joining me. we'll ask the senator her thoughts as we await the president. >> john: there's been a lot of criticism of germany. now the new chancellor that just took over is being accused of being too close to russia. jack keane said that angle merkel moved germany closer to russia and expects scholz to move it closer still. you bring it up, they're tied with the nord stream pipeline and at the flip of a switch, putin could turn off the lights there in germany. the u.s. trying to backstop it with supplies of liquid natural gas and other nations. putin has a big lever over germany right now. >> sandra: if russia cuts off germany, they have to get a source somewhere else. i'm sandra smith. >> john: and i'm john roberts. "the story" with martha starts right now. >> martha: good afternoon, everybody. i'm martha maccallum at fox news headquarters in new york. breaking right now on "the story," we're about to hear from president biden, the pentagon and the state department this hour on the big question of where we are. where do we stand with regard to europe, russia, ukraine, the president right now is in an extremely important meeting with the new german chancellor, olaf scholz that replaced angela merkel in