>> katie: hippo. >> greg: let daily beast know. i'm just kidding. you can't really have a hippo host a tv show on cnn. all right? i know you will have to fact check that later. >> dana: don't tweet him. >> greg: don't tweet at me. what a wonderful show. >> dana: amazing. >> greg: "special report" is up next with mike emanuel. hi, mike. >> mike: hello, greg. >> dana: that's it. ♪ >> mike: good evening, welcome to washington. i'm mike emanuel in for bret baier. breaking tonight, president biden is trying to unify the country behind his new pandemic strategy as we learn of two more confirmed cases of the omicron variant in the u.s. the president outlined his plan to deal with the new strain during a visit to the national institutes of health. meanwhile, health officials confirm vaccinated individuals in minnesota and colorado have tested positive. senior news correspondent rich edson starts us off tonight from the white house. good evening, rich. >> good evening, mike. president biden dondz he is

pulling no punches in this latest round in the fight against covid-19. he says americans should not make this pandemic political and says americans need to come together to fight this virus. >> think of it in terms of literally a patriotic responsibility rather than somehow you are denying people their basic rights. >> another pandemic winter, another covid-19 variant, and another set of guidelines from the white house. but the national institutes of health in maryland president biden outlined new rules and measures to address the pandemic. boosters for all adults, free at home testing. pushing vaccines for children. covid guidelines for schools. and tighter requirements to travel to and within the u.s.thl require travelers arriving from other countries to test negative for covid-19 within 24 hours of their departing flight. previously they had 72 hours. the administration is also extending mask mandates for public travel and domestic flights.

the president says these latest steps feature no mandates. though the white house maintains that they are effective. >> vaccine mandates work. and we are seeing significant increases in vaccination rates. and that's so important because we talked about the best tool we have is vaccination. >> it's still unclear how effective current vaccines and boosters will handle the new omicron strain. the white house says the working with pharmaceutical companies to potentially develop newer vaccines and boosters. there are also concerns this new variant could pose new problems for the economy on top of worker shortages, inflation and supply chain disruption. the white house says the administration has made a lot of progress to relieve supply chain bottlenecks. >> we have done a lot to prepare for this moment. but we will continue to assess. >> delay may be many, many months. >> in august haven't kamala harris warned parents should start buying their christmas presents then because of shortages. though the president contended this week that the vast majority

of americans are not experiencing those issues. and as the president's poll numbers have fallen significantly since the summer, the president ended his remarks stressing his plan will help keep businesses open. while defending his administration's economic record. >> we're on the track to the fastest economic growth in four decades. >> the number of americans applying for unemployment insurance rose last week. the labor department says it was 28,000 more applications than compared to the previous week. so that prior week was the lowest number than we have seen in 50 years. mike? >> mike: rich edson starting us off live on the north lawn. many thanks. breaking tonight, there is movement in the quest to keep the federal government up and running. congressional correspondent chad pergram joins us now. hello, chad. >> good evening, mike. >> mike: tell us what just happened. >> the house just approved the interim bill to avert a shut counsel. the vote 221 to 212 this funds the government through

february 18th. but the problem isn't the house, there's an issue with the senate. most senators oppose a shutdown but the government closes if a small group of g.o.p. senators filibuster over vaccine mandates. >> if the choice is between temporarily suspending nonessential functions, on the one hand and on the other hand standing idle, i will stand with the american workers every time. that's not a close question. >> roger marshall demand a vote to repeal federal vaccine mandates. marshall says he's willing to hold up funding. >> we understand the clock is going to roll out on this probably by monday and we end up at the same place. do you know what i hear from cans sans they want to know republican is fighting for them. where is the fight. i will be doggone if i will get rolled on this right now without a fight. >> most g.o.p. members oppose

the shutdown gambit. senator mitch mcconnell is among them. >> i don't think outcome. if will only create chaos and uncertainty. >> close the government do you a pandemic. >> i don't think that the republicans in the senate want to shut down government. i don't know that they would even have the votes to do so. but, it is, yet again, a double, a double sense of irresponsibility. >> president biden says congressional leaders have a plan. if someone, quote: decides to be totally erratic, mike? >> mike: chad, this is not about the math. explain how senators marshall and lee can hold up past the deadline for those who don't live this process like you do? >> that's right. well capitol hill usually is about the math whether or not they have the votes to pass a bill or break a filibuster.

but, on this occasion, it's not about the math, it's about time. if marshall and others stand in the way, the senate cannot pass the bill before the deadline. mike? >> mike: chad pergram live on the hill. probably a busy weekend for you. thanks, chad. we are learning details about a shakeup in the vice president's office it comes amid media reports of dissatisfaction from and about kamala harris. white house correspondent peter doocy has our report. >> i know the vice president is grateful to all of the staff who have served her. >> but harris' staff are jumping ship. most recently the v.p.'s press secretary and senior advisers symone sanders who got physical on campaign trail to keep protesters from the bidens. >> i love symone. and i can't wait to see what she will do next and i know that it's been, you know, it's been three years of a lot of jumping on and off planes and going around the country. >> white house veterans blame

broken promises. >> border, inflation, supply chain, gas prices, now covid has got a new variant. the president said he was going to get it under control. he has not. and then you have got a vp that is unpopular. >> that's the trend, harris clocks in at 40% approval in a recent fox poll. 10 points lower than june. so the harris office is taking applications. >> it's also an opportunity, as it is in any white house to bring? new faces, new voices and new progressives. >> if harris continues to struggle expect more medicine lines like this you been in politico. buzz buttigieg 2024. the transportation secretary responded today on a trip to north carolina. >> it's 2021. i'm excited to be part of the team led by the president and vice president. >> the harris portfolio includes voting rights, the space council and addressing the root causes of migration. all issues the v.p.'s office has

struggled to address so far. >> is the vice president not satisfied with the staffing that she has had so far or do people just not want to work for her anymore? >> well, peter, i would say that working on a presidential campaign, maybe covering one, too, i would say, to be fair and working in the first year of a white house is exciting and rewarding but it'sing will grueling and exhausting. it's natural for staffers who have thrown their heart and soul in a job to be ready to move on to a new challenge after a few years. >> is any of this going to affect harris' odds of becoming the democratic party's nominee for president in 2024? too soon to tell. but there is another more complicating factor and that is an encumbent president, joe biden e says he intends to run for re-election and that is going to make things a little bit difficult for every other ambitious democrat. mike? >> mike: we will see. peter, what are white house officials telling you about recent smash and grab robberies in major cities across this country? >> they have seen the videos.

they think the retail theft surveillance clips are disturbing. they say they are unacceptable. and they are doing whatever they can to make sure that american rescue plan covid stimulus funds are used in big cities to keep cops on the beat because officials around here insist that this crime wave is driven by covid. >> so when a huge group of criminals, organizes themselves, and they want to go loot a store, a cvs, a nordstrom, a home depot until the shelves are clean, do you think that's because of the pandemic? >> i think a root cause in a lot of communities is the pandemic, yes. >> so, crime now joins high gas prices and the supply chain on a list of things recently that officials around here have said are affected by covid. mike? >> mike: covid's poll numbers are down. peter doocy live on the north lawn, peter, thanks very much. stocks surged on wall street the dow was up 618. the s&p 500 finished ahead 64.

nasdaq jumped 127. ♪ >> mike: breaking tonight, the justice department is investigating claims of sexual harassment against former new york governor andrew cuomo. correspondent bryan llenas has details tonight from new york city. good evening, bryan. >> mike, good evening, the civil division of the justice department began probes former governor andrew cuomo over shower. allegations after the new york attorney general's office released its report in august which concluded cuomo sexually harassed multiple women in violation of state and federal law. this, according to the "new york post," which through a foia request, uncovered the probe this in a legal services contract signed by a law firm hired to defend the embattled governor. in a statement to fox news, cuomo spokesperson acknowledged there was a civil, not criminal probe launched into harassment allegations. quote: our understanding is that the civil division opened

an inquiriy in august based upon the a.g.'s politically motivated sham report and we have heard nothing since. this comes after the new york state assembly impeachment inquiry found overwhelming evidence that cuomo engaged in harassment further a.g. reported. this week released videoed interviews conducted by investigators with at least six cuomo accusers as well as cuomo being uncooperative during his deposition. >> did you date her? >> how do you want to define date. >> how do you define date? >> it doesn't matter how i define date. how do you define date because it's your question. >> do you understand what a girlfriend. >> girlfriend means different things to different people. >> aside from this reported new doj civil probe, cuomo reportedly remained under fbi investigation over potentially falsifying covid-19 nursing home death data and a criminal complaint has been filed by the albany sheriff against cuomo for allegedly fondling his former

executive assistant. mike? >> mike: lots of legal trouble, bryan llenas, thanks. bret speaks with the newest candidate in the pennsylvania senate race tv's dr. oz. fox 11 in los angeles as california governor gavin newsom says the confirmation of a case of the omicron variant is not surprising. newsom says it should not force another shut down heading into the holidays. fox 5 in new york city where an armed man outside of the united nations headquarters surrenders to police. the man was pacing outside the building with a shotgun for nearly three hours. the entire u.n. complex was placed on lock down and employees sheltered in place. and this is a live look at cape canaveral, florida. the big story there tonight from fox 35 a falcon 9 rocket is just moments away from launching. another batch of starling satellites into orbit. there it goes. it is the third, 32nd for

spacex. the rocket lights up the night sky is carrying more than 50 satellites. pretty spectacular launch to watch. they are heading into space. that is tonight's live look outside the beltway from "special report." we'll be right back. oh yeah, we gotta take off. you downloaded the td ameritrade mobile app? yeah, actually i'm taking one last look at my dashboard before we board... and you have thinkorswim mobile- -so i can finish analyzing the risk on this position. you two are all set. choose the app that fits your investing style. ♪♪ (kate) this holiday, verizon has the deal that gets

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♪ >> mike: in tonight's "special report" focus on the midterms, bret baier interviews the newest republican candidate for the pennsylvania senate seat, tv's dr. oz. bret? >> bret: thanks, mike. in tonight's "special report" spotlight on the midterms, the pennsylvania senate race received some star power this week. dr. mehmet oz of the dr. oz tv show is now running as a republican candidate for senate. the current senator, republican pat toomey will not run for re-election. one g.o.p. candidate, sean

parnell, who was endorsed by former president trump has already dropped out after a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife. but there are still almost a dozen other candidates in the republican side who have announced and they are already a dozen democrats in the running. tonight, we have dr. mehmet oz with us to explain why is he entering the race. dr. oz, thank you for being here. >> glad to be with you, bret. >> bret: a lot of people look at this and say why? i mean, you have got a successful tv show. you have had a tremendous run on television and around the world. why do this now? >> bret, my parents were immigrants to this country and were afforded unbelievable opportunities. i owe a debt. i have always felt it and america is in crisis now. so i think it's an ideal time for me to repay that debt by serving this country and running as a senator from the state of pennsylvania. i see our values under attack. many of the issues you talk about frequently keep me up at

night. i believe americans deserve better and there are solutions out there that are evident that we are not taking advantage of. we are spending too much time taking people who have good ideas and shaming them and silencing them and bullying them and canceling them. bret, i will tell you something, in medicine, if we cannot say what we see with our own eyes, people die. and these choices, i think, should people watching the show right now specifically the supreme in pennsylvania. i have fought power folks my whole career i have taken on big pharma. i have the scars to prove it i can't be bought. if this is ever the time to do it jump out of the are tv show frankly in the operating room attacked by people. make our country succeed. i'm optimistic. >> bret: you have a primary to go through on the republican side i put up the candidates already out. one not declared yet but might david mccormick is being recruited former stretchry under secretary for international affairs, combat veteran, business executive.

do you expect is he going to get in and why are you better positioned if he does? >> i'm not sure what's going to happen with mr. mccormick. i haven't spoken to him. i know i have 94% name recognition in pennsylvania. it's very hard to get there. it takes years and years of hard work and lot of effort talking to people in their own living rooms. i know i farewell with republican audiences who know i share their values. i don't speak generally on the show overtly political issues but during covid i got political because, unfortunately if you mickelson medicine and politics you get politics. i have to get engaged to try to help our country deal with the fact that we were myopically focused on some issues and blind to others. taking chances by using our children as shields and addressing other changes that happened under our society under the cover of covid. >> bret: i want to talk to you about covid and the biden administration policy. but you mentioned pennsylvania, specifically and your running here. already there are some people that are suggesting that, you know, you are moving in basically to run for this senate

seat. here is stephen colbert on this issue. >> he may have fake pennsylvania claims he is running there despite living in new jersey for years. and there is a big difference between pennsylvania and new jersey. [laughter] something to do with hogies. i don't know what it is. they will murder you over it. >> bret: joking about the hogies, what about that the carpet bagging charge? >> you know, i grew unjust south of here. i'm in philadelphia just across the state border. i went to medical school at penn here in philadelphia. i went to wharton business school. i met my wife, the best decision of my wife was marrying here here in philadelphia at the church down the road. i had my first three kids here. i spent a lot of time in pennsylvania. did i move to new jersey because television is done in new york city and it was convenient but we came back here all the time and we moved back last year. both to spend time with our parents and also because this is home. we feel very comfortable hear.

>> bret: you mentioned covid and the policies and considering travel restriction based on new omicron variant we had our first case discovered and there probably have been cases here in the u.s. the first official one in california, what do you think about this biden policy? >> you know, we have started off with very simple approaches. like we don't know what we're dealing with. let's bend the curve for two weeks. do you remember that comment, bret? that metastasized into this overreaching authoritarianism. we almost had a reflexive response start doing things we would never think of allowing even two years ago. and omicron is a virus 52 mutations. spike protein i have done my homework on it. we just don't know. we don't to f. it's more contagious or more likely to get sick or more likely to get ill if vaccinated. in the face of a lot of unknowing we don't go snap decisions about big time changes that will affect our economy, affect our people and bring fear to a population just getting out

of original covid pandemic. i think we need to go slowly with a calm hand like you would in surgery. don't rush to decisions. one thing i think we have seen a lot of people just don't know the answers start barking out authoritarian comments because it makes them seem like they are in control. if you don't have a good understanding what's going down, it just means you are making mistakes. >> bret: you run your show, you run your operating room. if you win, are in the senate you are one out of 100. are you okay with that? >> i'm okay. you know, in the operating room you are not by yourself. on the show as you know where you are right now there is a dozen people staring at you. i build teams. i make sure we respect each other. we work together. and that's why we win because we are working together. >> bret: 2004 oprah winfrey brings you on the show you become a success. a friend of hers, obviously, throughout. she is known to be a democrat. is she going to endorse this run? >> i actually spoke to oprah recently. she told knee follow my heart. she has been a wonderful mentor to me. fairest woman i have ever worked

with and great and adviser of mine. i actually don't want her to get involved in any way. first i don't want to hurt her and biggest advice i get from my friends is thank you you going, to get hurt. i think that's true. i don't want people taking bullets when i should be taking them myself. i will be calling her and asking her advice and interested in her comments. both oprah and many other people in my life that have been mentors of mine i want them safe. >> bret: dr. oz, thank you for following this race. thank you for coming on. >> god bless you, take care. >> bret: mike, send it back to you. >> mike: thanks, bret. up next exclusive interview with a man accused of ramming his suv ina crowd at a christmas parade parade. . ...and in kevin's. voya. well planned. well invested. well protected. >> man: what's my safelite story? my truck...is my livelihood.

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attack on himself and paid him and his brother to carry it out. osundairo testified at smollett's trial in chicago that the actor gave them lines to shout and pointed out a surveillance camera he said would capture the hoax on video to use for publicity. smollett's attorneys say he is the victim of a real attack and

suggest the brothers lied about it so they could get money from the actor. tonight a fox exclusive. our digital team has secured the first interview with the man accused of killing six people by driving an suv into a crowd at a christmas parade. senior correspondent mike tobin tells us what darrell brooks is saying. >> when visited in jail by reporters from fox news digital, darrell brooks said he has been dehumanized. he went on to say i just feel like i'm being monsterred demonized. brooks is now facing six counts of intentional homicide, each with the potential for life in prison. on november 21st, brooks allegedly slammed his suv into the crowd of people at the waukesha christmas parade. in the jail house interview, brooks didn't explain what motivated the attack. he did say no one has been to see him, not even his mother. she did release a statement to the local cbs affiliate stating darryl has suffered from mental

health issues since he was very young. in those years, he received counseling and was on medication. that stopped when brooks became an adult. court records show his adult life is filled with crimes, many violent and occurring in three states. with three kids, records also show he fell behind on child support. he currently owes more than $41,000. the mother of one child told fox digital brooks has always been in and out of jail. he was not a present father. in a child support case from 2009, he wrote to court commissioner laura lowe i feel i was treated unfairly. in a 2011 case he wrote to waukesha judge thomas pfeiffer that he failed to pay child support he lost his benefits. the reason his benefits stopped was because i was being incarcerated. brooks was arrested and bailed out last year. arrested again this november. court documents acknowledge he was mentally ill, not on medication, and very likely to reoffend. still, he was released just days before the parade attack.

mike, back to you. >> mike: mike tobin, thanks very much. the biden administration has struck an agreement with mexico to reinstate a trump era border policy that forces asylum seekers to wait in mexico for hearings in the u.s. mexico week's revival policy comes under court order even as the administration maneuvers to end it in a i think that survives legal scrutiny. president biden scrapped the policy but a lawsuit by texas and missouri has forced him to put it back into effect. tonight, we look at what is happening to hundreds of millions of dollars of materials purchased for border wall construction that has been canceled by president biden, that is your tax money. national correspondent william la jeunesse reports from huma, arizona. there is supposed to be a gate here. just a hole here now renders this part of the fence ineffective. >> miles of fence no cameras, gates no power. >> without it we are blind. >> border chief exams miles of

fencing that remain unfinished. >> you are talking probably at least 100 miles or more before you will see other cameras. >> where did all the equipment go? we found one stockpile near huma. >> a mile down the road is something the government doesn't want you to see. miles of fiberoptic cable for detection system. lights, cameras, sensors, polls, miles of electrical cable so the gates actually work. so there is power here. all left baking in the sun, exposed to the elements. now, you paid for but it sits there because president biden canceled those border wall system contracts. president biden canceled the evening tialy $16 billion in wall contracts stopping not just wall construction but installation of supporting technology. >> a lot of this would be litigation probably for years. but it's going to cost more to cancel the contract than it would have to just complete the wall. >> former border patrol chief rodney scott calls a taxpayer waste. in canceling the contracts, the federal government also

relinquished any contractor guarantees when they were forced off the job. >> it's absolutely sickening to be transparent. >> tcial most of the canceled contracts are in texas where the immigration crisis continues. >> we are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars at a minimum probably that they have row purposed for what they call humanitarian effort. disgraceful. >> dhs said today it doesn't know exactly how much it's going to cost to unwind these contracts. how familiar money could be redirected from the wall to humanitarian efforts, and how much unused inventory remains. >> what we do know is the corps of engineers is now offering that stockpile to other government agencies before it can go to auction or scrapped. mike? >> mike: william la jeunesse on the border in huma. william, thanks. up next, conservatives accuse the biden administration and social media companies of trying to muzzle their voices. >> joe biden wants to use

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>> mike: the house panel planning to investigate the capitol rights public hearings next year according to republican committee member liz cheney. pursue contempt charges against jeffrey clark, a former justice department official who refused to be interviewed citing former president trump's legal efforts to block the committee's investigation. tonight conservative lawmakers are calling out the biden administration and social media companies for what they perceive as censorship. president biden's controversial nominee to sit on the fcc, the federal communications commission is refusing to answer questions about her past hyper partisan remarks. fox business correspondent hillary vaughn shows us tonight. >> so, you are referring to my

tweets that are now pretty famous. >> or pretty infamous. biden's pick to be fcc commissioner tried to convince congress she should be news agencies she has publicly attacked repeatedly on twitter. state sponsored propaganda. she also questioned sinclaire's fitness to be a broadcast licensee asking if the fcc will ask to take sinclaire off the airways, stone also had some sharp jabs for the g.o.p. republicans say stone is just the latest example of a pattern of biden nominees. >> it seems like one of the ways you get nominated for a position in this administration is if you have some really good nasty tweets against republicans, you know, republicans are racist, the usual b.s. >> maybe the tone was a little sharper. maybe i should have it a little bit. those are my words and my opinions. but they have no bearing on how i would act if i'm confirmed. >> she has a decade lodge of

experience as advocating on important telecommunications policy. >> stone says she regrets her tone but she was silent when we asked her if she takes them back. >> do you still stand by all the things you said on twitter? >> no comment. >> do you stand by those comments? as fcc commissioner stone would be a key factor in making changes to section 230, the rule that shields social media sites from being sued over their content decisions. as social media sites make content calls that continue to churn up questions on capitol hill. >> do you believe big tech should be censoring more or censoring less than they do right now? >> i don't have an opinion on that. >> if stone is confirmed, it would give democrats the majority at the fcc and she was asked by lawmakers if she is going to have a problem getting along with the other republican commissioners still there. she assured them that will not be a problem. and she even bragged to lawmakers that she was in the former fcc chair and trump

appointee ajit pai's fantasy football league. mike? >> mike: hillary vaughn live on the hill. hillary, many thanks. breaking tonight, now that the house has passed a stop gap funding bill to keep the government open, it appears there is movement on the senate side of the capitol. congressional correspondent chad pergram joins us again. good evening, chad. >> good evening, michael. we have an update here the senate majority leader chuck schumer says it looks likely that the senate will vote later tonight to sink up with the house of representatives to try to avoid a government shut down. ted cruz republican in texas indicated it was likely that they might have a vote tonight on their vaccine amendment epeel. that's the one thing that was holding this up. they were threatening to shut down the government over that but they seem to have worked that out. chuck schumer did not commit, necessarily, to having a vote on that tonight. probably will vote on the c.r., mike? >> mike: thanks. up next, the panel on president

biden's plan to deal with the omicron variant. first beyond our borders tonight. secretary of state tony blinken is warning russian officials that a confrontation with ukraine may be met with consequences. blinken met with russian foreign minister sergei lat love in stockholm. possible separatist in eastern ukraine, unvaccinated visiting nonessential businesses and recreational businesses. the parliament considering a general vaccine mandate. astronauts replaced a broken antenna outside of the international space station. nasa had delayed because of dangerous space debris. tom march burn 16 years old became the oldest person to conduct a space walk. good for him. just some of the other stories beyond our borders tonight, we'll be right back

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♪ ♪ >> coast has been very divisive in this country. it's become a political issue, which is a sad, sad commentary. this is a moment we can do what we haven't been able to do enough of through this whole pandemic. get the nation to come together. >> nothing is off the table. we do have some protections, some strong protections already.

mask wearing intensive. doubling of fines. if people are not in compliance. >> what i do hope the strategy isn't going to be is one that is counter productive. forces people to do things that we don't need to do. because all that does is create more strife, more economic pain and, frankly, more division in the country. >> mike: so the omicron variant is here. the white house doesn't want you to panic, but the question is next steps and how far they want to go to get a handle on it we have popping up in new states. we reported just moments ago, five cases reported in new york state. bring in our panel former white house press secretary ari fleischer. harold ford jr. former tennessee congressman and ceo empowerment and inclusion capital and brian kilmeade co-host of "fox & friends" and author new book abraham lincoln and frederick douglass. was this the president trying to

get ahead of this today? >> yeah. he has been trying to get ahead of it for years, ever since it happened. in a political fashion. so let's start with joe biden. he has been all over the map. and that's the problem with the president. you know, he said we shouldn't politicize it, of course he spent all of 2020 politicizing it he said he wouldn't support a mandate. he supported a mandate. so, joe biden has not been a steady leader. he has been a politician on this. don't just stand there, do something is really biden's approach. and when it comes to the vaccine and the mandate, i do think this is gray area. i know a lot of opeople want to make it black and white but i see it as gray. when you think about the principle of mandating vaccines for grave, health related issues, we controlsed that line 150 years ago. in massachusetts in the 1850s small pox was mandatory vaccine since then rubellas, texas hepatitis b. polio mandated vaccines in

schools. so, i don't philosophically oppose a mandate necessarily, but i do think you have to be realistic and stop pushing when so many americans will not accept it. most americans have, are double vaccinated. 17% of all americans over 18 are fully vaccinated. but to those who don't want to take it, it shouldn't be a mandate. >> mike: brian, your thoughts on covid tonight? >> number one, according to this omicron variant, over the weekend you want us to relax not panic but you ban 8 nations from africa us going there and them coming here. not the only country to tell us to overreact. tells us on monday tells us on monday don't worry about it the south africa can medical community and other african nations are saying i feel so ridiculous that i brought this unjust to be transparent and now my country is paying the price for no reason. because the people that she has

treated have a runny runny nose runny nose get sin nateed runny nose and low fever. it's restriction, restriction, restriction, that's what he is talking about today. keep the mask on on planes, even though the air cycles through, one of the keenest places can you be on the indoors, we are going to continue with the same things on trains and other things and schools, there is no push to get the masks off kids only developed country second grade investor a mask two years. polarized. because he has not done the easiest things possible. harold, i think you backed me up on that. do not say it's donald trump's vaccine. i am just getting it out quicker. so for those of you who don't feel good about democrats or me, it's your guy's vaccine. he doesn't do that he buries it with the abraham accord. being. >> mike: sorry, brian, i jumped on the segue segue, harold, take

it away. >> great read and important part of our history. i would agree with brian's last statement. i disagree with the early part. the last statement is right. this is a vaccine that we would not have but for operation warp speed. and i think the incredible work that scientists and medical professionals and pharmaceutical companies were able to do largely because the way it was paid for them to do it. i think when you look at serious health professionals, which i consider every health professional to be serious, when you look at the serious community of professionals and take out politics, there are two things they agree upon. that the vaccine is our greatest weapon and protection against the covid and against its mutation and variant. and that the variant are able to -- are able to, excuse me, develop amongst the unvaccinated and that's how we are getting the break through cases with those of us who are vaccinated. i happen to think that ari had had it most right. he had to contort himself a

little bit to get to the end of it we should have a mandate around this. as ari so apply said, we have a history of this in our nation. this is about public health. and unless you have a compelling health or religious reason for not getting the vaccine, i don't see why we wouldn't want to force people to make people get it because no one is dyings from the vaccine or getting very ill from the vaccine itself. >> brian: harold, there is a little bit of problem with the vaccine. a lot of elite athletes including five different ones i know going to college have swelling of the heart. that is an issue they never talk about it. if i can just add to this, we already got one shot, we got johnson. two shots, now we want a booster and now got to get one every year, i looked at my card it now expires in three months. i got polio and whooping cough i understand that. with this new cycle of brand new vaccines which i got, and i was happy now i'm going every three months to go? now we got a booster? now we have a designed booster that could be coming for the omicron variant? people are getting a little bit

worried about it. >> mike: okay, harold, quick response? >> harold: look, i follow the health professional's advice here. if getting a fourth booster and i got my third booster two months ago. getting a fourth booster come march recommended to ensure i don't get this virus and i'm able to be around my kids and my family, i will do it. everyone has to make this decision for themselves and there are consequences if you don't. the biggest is you can get this virus and you can make others infected with it and i hope that's not what we want and i hope people choose to be vaccinated. >> mike: okay, ari, your turn. >> the crux of the matter isn't those getting the booster or a shot. it's those that are not and can those people be treated the same way we treated rubella and measles, i come to the conclusion no. this was pandemic shut down the economy. you think the supply chain is bad now, wait until you tell truck drivers that don't want to take the shot they must or lose their jobs. ambulance drivers, emergency personnel. government has to be realistic. yes, it's a good thing to have

incentives and posh for the booster and shot for everyone, but stop pushing when people won't accept it you cannot shove a vaccine down someone's throat. if they don't want it the harm to the country, the harm to the economy and the psychology of our nation is immense. so, don't mandate it. >> mike: there is ongoing political fight across the street on capitol hill on the vaccine mandates also playing out across the country. so fight also taking place in the nation's courts. panel, we will leave it there for now. when we come back, tomorrow's headlines. ♪ christmas music ♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ if your dry eye symptoms keep coming back,

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>> mike: so it sounds like we could be heading for a government shut down. now it sounds like they may wrap things up tonight a day early. finally tonight a look at tomorrow's headlines and hopefully none of you guys were going to talk about a government shut down. brian, why don't you lead us

off. >> i will lead you off because the big story? sports is how many people have fake vaccine cards one of antonio brown and two other bucks getting fake cards they are out three games with no pay. my sense is remember aaron rodgers started this whole thing off by saying that, you know, i'm immunized but i'm not vaccinated. i think this is going to get bigger and bigger. they will ask everybody. it turns out most of these athletes have fake cards this going to be bigger than you know. >> mike: all right, harold, your turn. >> u.s. olympic team one step closer to not participating in the olympics in china. from the human rights violations to now the women's tennis association coming out with its strong statement and denying one of its season end go ahead tournaments to be in china. i think it paved the way, in indeed we are not able to extract concession from china before the olympics. >> mike: sports theme so far. ari, your turn? are a are a sorry, back to covid.

covid won't die whether it was the delta variant or this variant or the next or the next one after that get used to it we will be living with covid for years. that's the fact, that's science and so live your lives, don't let this stop you from living your life. >> mike: thanks, gentlemen. tomorrow on "special report," bret will be at the ronald reagan presidential library in california. eick mime emanuel, good night from washington. >> pete: great show. it's mike emanuel. it's christmas evening after all. 7:00 p.m. on the east coast and 6 p.m. in god's country. i'm pete hegseth. this time we are seeing the culmination of hard work, important work and principled work. after hours of oral arguments, the supreme court appears set to uphold a mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks.