authority to enforce the 14th amendment. >> the conservatives on the supreme court who usually go on and on and on about states' rights are hypocrites and they are comfortable being hypocrites and they will overturn colorado's own state court process but they shouldn't. >> todd: 20 seconds to attack all those mistruths, joe. >> look, the media, as you can see is happy that donald trump was taken off the ballot in colorado. he has been put back on. they are happy he is off the ballot in maine. they will be happy if he is taken off in other states as well. that is literally an attack on democracy as we know it because voters should decide in 311 days during the next election who should be the next president. not the courts, todd. we got to go. >> todd: just think 2024 is going to be even more wild, the most wild year yet. joe, we love you. happy new year to you. "fox & friends" right now. ♪ >> griff: we begin this morning

with a fox news alert. overnight california's secretary of state keeping former president trump's name on the state primary ballot despite efforts to keep him off. >> carley: trump is off the state of maine. ruling he violated the second amendment making him the second state to disqualify him from holding office. >> joey: alexandria hoff joins us live. she has the latest on this. >> the decision out of maine is the first for elected official taking unilateral action to remove former president trump from the ballot. sheena bellows ruling that the 45th president is ineligible to run. holding government positions if they engaged in insurrection. here she is yesterday. >> the events of january 6th, 2021, when which were unprecedented, tragic were an insurrection. after the section 3 of the 14th amendment that mr. trump engaged in insurrection and therefore is disqualified. >> so, like colorado supreme

court bellows based her ruling on a section ever the u.s. con steetion make no mistake these partisan efforts are assault on american democracy. biden and the democrats simply do not trust the american voter in a free and fair election. so secretary of state bellows has suspended her ruling until maine's courts can rule on that appeal, still sends a statement. similar efforts to bar former president trump from the ballot are being pursued in 13 other states. trump will appear on colorado's primary ballot unless the supreme court affirms colorado's state decision california voters will have the option to vote for the former president that ballot was certified last night. motion filed to impeach maine's secretary of state over her decision. come from state rep john

andrews. we will hear from him coming up at 8:00. >> carley: so much going on and every state is doing something different. alex, thank you so much for keeping track of it all. >> sure. >> carley: do you believe that this happened? if you thought that colorado did was an overreach, i guess now we can say it was seven people and it was a court decision. she developed walked in the room and like hold my beer i will be the judge, jury and executioner. by her saying she is going to take trump's name off the ballot. she really signaling her spn more important than the 1.3 million people who live in maine. because donald trump hasn't been found guilty or even charged with insurrection, so right now all this is her opinion. >> joey: kind of ironic that california confirms trump's place on the ballot maine and colorado individuals and groups of people working against president trump when the demographics in those three states are kind of opposite. colorado and maine votes blue

but a lot of red voters in maine. most of maine is outdoors and things like that. to where california you think well there is not going to be a huge uprising if you take trump off the ballot there. >> griff: one of the things alex started that report with which is really important this is the first secretary of state to unilaterally make the move. there is no court, state court, or any other court that has deemed him guilty of engaging in an insurrection, a charge for which he hasn't been charged. it's just her. she is not even an elected official. the state legislature appoints her. she is a highly publicly partisan progressive democrat. she was a state legislature that got crushed by susan clintons when she challenged her in 2014. she has taken to social media. numerous times in the last year talking about how she believes trump did engage in an insurrection and is guilty of all of these things. and so she has just made this decision. and it's going to be interesting the challenge is quite similar to the one from colorado.

so, obviously, the high court will likely have to come in and knock this down. we will see what they do. we don't know that we are going to do it. we will talk ask her questions about that. if it wasn't clear before. now it is very evident that there are a handful of democrat partisans in state legislators, like the secretary of states regardless of how frivolous the legal challenge or legal standing may be, they are going to try to kick him off the ballot simply because they don't like him. >> carley: without question. she is not a lawyer. also not elected by the people of maine. she was chosen by the legislature. peek politics. like clockwork of the republican presidential candidates who are supposed to be trump's political rivals rushing to defend him. >> it opens up pandora's box. can you have a republican secretary of state disqualify biden from the ballot because he has let in 8 million people illegally.

i think that we win when we hold biden accountability and talk about the issues that matter to the american people. so i think the democrats, they want the election to be about all these other issues. they do not want to face accountability for their failed policies. >> i say this as somebody who is running in the same race as donald trump. this is not how we should want to win. so i stand by the pledge i made earlier on the back of the colorado decision. and i reiterate it today, that i will voluntarily, as a republican candidate, remove myself from any g.o.p. primary ballot where one of my competitors, donald trump included, is forcibly removed through this unconstitutional maneuver. >> nikki haley's campaign also released statement saying nikki will beat trump fair and square it. should be up to the voters to decide who gets elected. >> joey: go ahead, griff. >> griff: here again, it does benefit. as we are pointing out, all the candidates are talking about trump again. and so whether the unintended consequence of these democrats that don't want him to run,

don't want him to win, they are putting him in the spotlight. >> joey: yeah, no one stands to benefits more from this than those rivals like ron desantis or maybe nikki haley. but they understand winning this battle is not winning the war. and trump voters are they are in mass. >> carley: let's bring in may to talk about all of this. good morning to you. so, right after this maine secretary of state released this decision that she is taking trump's name off the ballot. trump's campaign spokesman released a statement and quick saying that they're going to file a legal objection. so what is your reaction to this and, also, what happens next? >> yeah, so the maine secretary of state called clawed gene gay and copy and pasted the colorado supreme court's decision. as you mentioned earlier, she paparazzid any effected to her ruling for president trump to sort of appeal, you know, file this petition in the maine lower

court. so now president trump doesn't even go to maine's highest court. he has to go maine's lowest court and move up from there. so i think that the maine secretary of state knew that there were no consequences for her decision. that the u.s. municipal court was going to make a ruling before there was anything in effect in maine. so she gets to please democrats, including as you said the maine legislature, about you she doesn't actually have to deal with the consequence of what it would mean to actually kick someone off the ballot who is the republican frontrunner what happened next, i think the u.s. supreme court does take the colorado case because now there's a split. you got colorado going one way. you got michigan going the other way. you have already had the republican party appeal to the supreme court. really this maine decision is going to be sort of forgotten in the end, but she gets to say

that she tried to kick off president trump. >> joey: when it comes to setting precedent through the supreme court, if the supreme court gets this colorado decision somehow before january 5th, will that essentially settle the maine case and other cases like this? or are there avenues of approach that could still get president trump off the general election ballot through similar secretaries of state or even supreme courts of state that maybe are politically partisan? >> that's the funny thing. the maine secretary of state says in her fake opinion that she knows that what she says might be nullified by the supreme court. so i think she is acknowledging that her decision will change based on what the united states supreme court says. but, at the same time, this is what is so dangerous about the arguments that the leftists are making here which is that the 14th amendment is self-executing, meaning anyone has authority to do anything about it. so, even if the supreme court

were to rule, what's to stop some random poll worker from scratching off donald trump's name? there really is an endless amount of mischief that can happen when you have every person on to themselves. maine secretary of state, the colorado supreme court, et cetera. just saying i am the interpreter of the 14th amendment. i don't need any guidance from anybody from congress, from the courts, from anybody. >> griff: that's exactly what i want to ask you about, may. i'm holding the 14th amendment. it's only got five sections. in the fifth section one sentence says the congress shall have the power to enforce by appropriate legislation the provisions of this article. and so, my question to you is, as we see these playing out and there is 35 pieces of section 3 litigation out there, what -- when it comes down, is the supreme court actually going to decide that any state, regardless of the secretary of state or their high court has any authority to bring this? >> yeah.

that is one of the main questions. one of the main appeals. so, there is guidance, actually, from way back when, so one year after the 14th amendment was passed in 186 #, the chief justice of the supreme court, who was appointed by abraham lincoln, said i'm looking at the 14th amendment. i see no indication that everyone is just supposed to nullify any act from anyone who ever engaged in insurrection because it would be totally unworkable. so i think that reading this provision, living during this time, what we need is some act from congress. and guess what? there is an act from congress implementing this. there is a legal provision that criminalizes an insurrection. and not only has president trump not been convicted of an insurrection, jack smith, the most aggressive prosecutor that we know of has not even brought

the charge of an insurrection. all we can do is look to, you know, the time of the 14th amendment, see what they thought, and we have an indication from somebody who is extremely persuasive who is the chief justifiable of the supreme court at the time. car carp if the supreme court rules in trump's favor, then this is all a gift to him. this is publicity money can't buy. may, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> griff: thank you, may. the idaho murder house where four college students were killed now demolished despite objections as the aaccused killer awaits trial. >> joey: nikki haley cleaning up comments she made about the civil war. more on that ahead. >> carley: from barber heimer to travis kelce mania. we have the top stories of 2023 and "fox and trends" ahead ♪ welcome to new york ♪ welcome to new york ♪ it's been waiting for you ♪ welcome to new york ♪ welcome to new york ♪

hi, i'll have the avocado toast... minus the avocado. so, toast? yeah. everything is so expensive these days. hey, chevy gets it. that's why they're keeping prices down to earth. like on the most affordable ev in america. ♪ a super strong and capable chevy truck. ♪ and a high-tech chevy suv. ♪ why is chevy making affordable vehicles, connected by onstar? so together we can do more. new emergen-c crystals pop and fizz when you throw them back. and who doesn't love a good throwback? [sfx: video game]

emergen-c crystals. only sleep number smart beds let you each choose your individual firmness and comfort. your sleep number setting. and actively cools and warms up to 13 degrees on either side. the queen sleep number® c2 smart bed is now only $990. plus, no interest until january 2027. ends monday. only at sleep number.

i'm a little anxious, i'm a little excited. i'm gonna be emotional, she's gonna be emotional, but it's gonna be so worth it. i love that i can give back to one of our customers. i hope you enjoy these amazing gifts. oh my goodness. oh, you guys. i know you like wrestling, so we got you some vip tickets. you have made an impact. so have you. for you guys to be out here doing something like this, it restores a lot of faith in humanity.

♪ >> carley: texas police releasing chilling video of the

persons of interest in the murder of pregnant teen savanna soto. her unborn baby, and her boyfriend matthew guerra the footage shows a man getting out of a dark pickup truck and approaching a man driving guerra's kia, the car the victims were found dead. in police believe the exchange included something to wipe down the side of the car. here to react to this is joseph scott morgan who was a forensic's expert. joseph, you are the perfect person to talk about this because sometimes these surveillance videos and the description of them can be a bit confusing. so, when you see this, what stands out to you? >> well, i think that you have got this interpersonal contact that's going on relative to, perhaps, the individuals that may be responsible for these deaths. remember, texas is now saying that they are investigating this as not a double but a triple capital homicide. so any kind of information that they can glean that will put

into focus the individual that might be a suspect here and might have these capabilities to, i don't know, perpetrate sump a horrendous crime is going to be critical. >> carley: from one horrific crime story to another, there is a major update in the murder of those four university of idaho students that took place last year. that off campus house where they were murdered was demolished yesterday. some of the family members of the victims say they can't believe this happened. they are worried there is evidence inside that house. what do you think about this? >> i think that it's absurd. it's absolutely absurd. when you have a case like this and, listen, once this bell is rung, you can't -- you can't retrieve that sound. that met for. it plays forward so well in this you lose all context especially to spatial orientation like where the remains were relative to where they were positioned in the home, their bedrooms.

also, any kind of sound that may have emanated from one floor to the other. here's kind of a critical issue as well when you begin to think about points of observation from this home, there were -- there was a lot made early on in regards to this, carley about could you sit in the bushes and observe and see what is going on? wouldn't you think that would be a valuable piece of information to take a jury to to be able to view that and contextualize that? that's all gone. you can't retrieve that now. >> so, if those questions still remain and the evidence is gone, then what happens during the trial? could this be a win for the suspect? >> i think it could be. i know who it's a major loss for. it's a major loss for the jury. the jury was not there. the police were there. and even representatives of the defense were there at one point in time.

but the jury doesn't have this context. reflect back to the tragedy that happened at parkland, right? and that was a powerful moment when the jury got to walk through that structure to understand what had occurred in that -- in that structure, that horrible valentine's day all those years ago. you are missing that here. and even things like, you know, people in my field, you know, we talk a lot about forensics. that's what we do. the jury wants to understand that. they want to understand relationship between blood dynamics, the dripping of blood, just passive blood dripping as an individual might be exiting a home, were they carrying a knife? how far is it from the upstairs bedroom to the rear exit? all of these things are lost forever and ever. >> carley: joseph, another case making major headlines today but gypsy rose blanchard. she was released from prison yesterday after orchestrating her mother's 2015 murder. and that's because this mother,

she killed -- she had her boyfriend kill her mom because the mother kept up this years' long charade of convincing doctors and charities that gypsy rose as a child was terminally ill when she was completely healthy. what do you think about this case and how could someone convince doctors that another person is sick when they're not? >> very difficult. and i think that her mom had perfected this, had become a true pro-at it. and this young woman, gypsy rose, had actually become, you know, kind of a bit of theater. she was a performer for her mother. she could cry on cue. she could perform before these doctors. you know what is really going to be fascinating about this case moving forward, i'm really curious in the courts if they're going to move forward with any kind of civil liability that might be laid at the feet of these doctors that subjected -- subjected this young woman to all of those treatments.

she went through multiple surgeries. she even had her salivary grands removed. eye uregs is, bowel surgeries, all these sorts of things. it's the tragedy that her mother died this way. as a matter of fact, her mother was almost decapitated but, this young woman sustained horrible, horrible injury that she is going to have to live for the rest of her life. >> carley: now she says that she has found god and she regrets every day for convincing her boyfriend to kill her mom because she believes that her mother's place was in prison instead of dead. so, three very different cases, three tragic cases and thank you for following all of them for us, joseph. >> yes, ma'am. y'all have a good day. >> carley: yes, happy new year. griff over to you you have some headlines for us. >> griff: i do indeed. turning to the headlines. second american hostage confirmed dead inside gaza. officials say 70-year-old new york native judith weinstein died during the october 7th attacks and hamas is still holding her body.

her husband, pictured here with judith, is believed to have been murdered by hamas. meanwhile, a freed israeli hostage 21-year-old mia shem is speaking out against the terrorists who kidnapped her she says, quote: went through a holocaust during 54 days in captivity. and g.o.p. presidential candidate nikki haley now clarifying her remarks about the civil war after getting some backlash on the campaign trail. >> i think everybody thinks that the civil war is about slavery. it was more we want people to be able to live their way without anybody doing anything to hamper that. if it required clarification of saying yes the civil war is about slavery i'm happy to do it. >> griff: haley's comments come after she didn't mention slavery mentioning why the war broke out different town hall earlier in the week. and to college football, the

university of arizona beating the oklahoma sooners 38-24 in the alamo bowl. the wildcats getting six take aways in first bowl win since 2015. >> slant, spun, intercepted. arizona gets the break that they need he has blockers. here goes number 9. stoop is the last man to beat. touchdown, arizona. >> he goes all the way. speaking of wildcats, kansas city stated getting the win nc state first ever pop-tarts bowl. story of the night first ever edible mass scout. strawberry mascot made his debut after the game lowered himself into a giant toaster. players were very excited to eat him while saverring that victory. those are your headlines and i was telling you at "fox & friends first," i think now we have ended that debate about whether you toast pop-tarts or

not. >> carley: yes. >> griff: pop-tart has proven you should not eat the pop-tart without toasting it. >> carley: edible mascot cute one. if there are any impressionable children watching and everybody is eating the mass scout a little scary. >> griff: coming up, chaos at the border. u.s. and mexico agreed to open crossings to normalize the situation as we are on track to see the highest monthly total of migrant encounters on record. tom homan reacts. plus, pennsylvania problems. democrats on the critical battleground state, president biden's birthplace are switching to the g.o.p. in droves that includes our next guest. he will tell us why. ♪ ♪ my a1c was up here; now, it's down with rybelsus®. his a1c? it's down with rybelsus®. my doctor told me rybelsus® lowered a1c better than a leading branded pill

and that people taking rybelsus® lost more weight. i got to my a1c goal and lost some weight too. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. need to get your a1c down? you may pay as little as $10 per prescription.

sleep more deeply. and wake up rejuvenated. purple mattress's exclusive gelflex grid draws away heat, relieves pressure, and instantly adapts. sleep better, live purple. visit purple.com or a mattress store near you.

[raining] >> carley: we are back a fox weather alert. massive waves and dangerous storm surge pounding the -- pounding the northern california coast line and causing some serious flooding. water rushing on to a restaurant patio in santa cruz and a similar situation unfolding in nearby san matteo county the white wash ended up on the patio of an ocean front home and in southern california, a massive wave tops the sea wall in ventura county, sending people running and sweeping away that pickup truck you see there my goodness adam klotz is here with our fox weather forecast. a lot going on on the west coast cam dam a ton going on, carley. we are seeing all of that because of some really powerful winds coming off the coast of the pacific ocean, forces all of that storm surge right up along the coast, on top of that, we are about about to see big rounds of heavy rain. this is what it looks like on live radar outside here early this morning in future fox model, you will see rounds of storms moving on shore today

running through the overnight hours into the morning. the second not quite as powerful. rounds of storms going to add to flood risk. not just the flood risk but actually downpours. yellow colors along the coast line two to three inches. mountainous region along the coast that could add to the risk of flooding. certainly something to be concerned about. that is going to be our best chance of seeing some sort of delays over the next couple of days. the spots somewhere you are seeing the yellow delays weather related that's going to be a problem today and tomorrow particularly on the west coast. those are the weather headlines for now joey throwing it back inside to you. >> joey: thanks, adam. president biden may be getting a warning sign from his home state and crucial battleground state that's pennsylvania as more than 35,000 swismd party affiliation to republican. while less than half have floind

democrat. next guest pennsylvania voter levied the party and registered as a republican a few months ago steve joins us now. i don't know if you made more friends or maybe lost some friends along the way but you switched your party affiliation. unlike some that came in with president trump you did this after supporting biden pretty strongly in 2020. you have done this during the biden administration i would love your thoughts why you switched your party affiliation. >> part of the reason this wasn't the joe biden that i voted for in 2020. this joe biden is now a bernie sanders light. he came along and he promised to be a unifier. he promised to bring the country together and he has con the exact opposite. and he has let his own party dictate what he wants to do when he should be dictating what he wants to do for me personally i look at the economy and our in pittsburgh in the last two years

we lost green steel plant, a billion dollars deal just a month ago we lost a natural gas plant that was a billion dollars deal in the valley. and, i look at the criticism of my own county where i grew up in beaver county cracker plant the last 10 years or so. >> joey: failed green new deal and rising crime rates and politics something you have taken issue with. looking at 35,000 democrats, what is watt common thread, what were they passionate about that they may find in a republican candidate? >> well, i think the biggest thing they are passionate about right now is inflation and the economy. everybody is hurting, you know, a couple years ago you could go to the grocery store and spend 100 bucks. you get a couple bags of groceries. now, you are are going into the grocery store and one bag of groceries and maybe have you not even a week's worth of food there you know, that's for a person -- one person. i'm not talking a family. when you are talking a family,

you may have a couple days on that now. and i think the jobs here, you know, we obviously have suffered some job loss here, you know, our -- we have actually lost jobs in pittsburgh since 2020. so, you know, as strong as the economy is, it isn't working. >> joey: i hate to have you answer for a whole state but do you think the republican nominee, no matter who it is, wins the state of pennsylvania? >> i do believe so, yes. >> joey: we will find out. we have to wait and see i guess. depending on who that nominee is and if we can get these ballots straight. thanks for joining us. >> have a good night -- day. >> joey: you too. a harvard history professor now linking the college to a medieval dictatorship for refusing to take the president's plagiarism probe seriously. more on that. but, first, a free for all, the border of cbp sources telling fox the u.s. just saw the highest monthly total of migrant

encounters on record. that's huge. former acting ice director tom homan gives us his reaction here, next. ♪ hi, i'll have the avocado toast... minus the avocado. so, toast? yeah. everything is so expensive these days. hey, chevy gets it. that's why they're keeping prices down to earth. like on the most affordable ev in america. ♪ a super strong and capable chevy truck. ♪ and a high-tech chevy suv.

♪ why is chevy making affordable vehicles, connected by onstar? so together we can do more.

>> griff: brand new numbers. the highest month ever on record in more than 760,000 since october 1st. the highest first fiscal year quarter ever recorded. this comes as the u.s. and mexico agreed to normalize the situation by keeping all railroad bridge crossings open. tom homan retired ice director and fox news contributor. a lot town pack i want to get to the blinken mayorkas meeting with president obrador. before i do that cbp sources excliewnkly telling me that you now have and there is a couple days left in december, more than 276,000 migrant encounters this month in december, the highest ever on record. the previous record set last december with 269,000. what do you make of that? >> i object knew it was going to happen. i called november would be the highest november ever. i told you two weeks ago i told you december will be the highest

month in the history of this nation. we are three years in this administration. you and i have been talking about this in three weeks from now we have been talking about this for three years. one two of things happening. either this administration is incapable of securing the border or they're unwilling i say they are unwilling. if they want to secure the border they have the trump plans there reimplement the plans and resecure the border. they haven't done a damn thing not one thing to slow the flow. we are on a scale this area. first year historic record. second year biden broke his own historic record. third year he broke his own historic record again. and this year we are on a path to have a fourth historic record if congress doesn't get off their butts and do something. >> griff: tom, we now are learning because there wasn't much said and very little put out about the blinken mayorkas trip to mexico yesterday meeting with mexico's president. we now are learning that they and by the way this came from

the mexican press that put a readout that they discussed amnesty, legal pathway for not just daca recipients but also those that are legally already in this country. what do you -- what does that tell you? i think it's quite eye opening. what's your read? >> well, two things. and trust me, i know this issue. when you start talking about amnesty, that's going to drive more people to get here more quickly. so that's just going to fire up the numbers beyond historic numbers already. it was stupid to even talk about amnesty. that's going to be enticement for more people to get in the country so they qualify for amnesty. second thing, who the hell does the president of mexico think he is to make demands of us. is he demanding ports of entry be open. demanding rail stations and amnesty. going to drive even more illegal immigration. this administration is pathetic and they are weak. under the trump administration, i was very proud of the work of

president trump. he secured the border at unprecedented levels. he didn't take squat from mexico. he didn't take demands from mexico. he demanded mexico take action on the southern border. he demanded mexico be in the remain in mexico. he demanded mexico participated in the first safe country agreement. we had a strong president who secured the border because he wasn't taking squat from those people who are on the take and they're corrupt. this is where we are at from this duration. back door amnesty policy. >> congress needs to shut it down. do not negotiate the white house anymore. if they're not going to secure the border. shut it down no. more budget negotiations. demand action, impeach mayorkas. do what you are supposed to be doing. protect this country and keep your promise.

>> griff: tom homan, great insight as always. thanks for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> carley: headlines starting with a fox news alert. russia carrying out a deadly missile and drone attacks in major cities across ukraine overnight. keep calling it the biggest aerial barrage of the war so far. at least 18 people have been killed. and 86 hurt in the aattacks that unfolded over 18-hour period. >> this is the fiery arch math of a strike on a shopping mall. the ukrainians say the russians almost hit a maternity hospital as well governor of ohio has less than 24 hours to decide if he will ban gender reassignment. safe act stop doctors to performing sex reassignment surgeries on children it. would also prevent transgender women and girls from participating in female sports. divine is expected to reveal his decision at 10:30 a.m. eastern

time it. sun clear which way he is leaning. so one to watch for sure. new year's eve is just days away and many people are already making their 2024 resolutions to cut back on screen time. a new study shows the average american spends around 7 hours a day looking at screens and that can have a negative impact on mental health. so what is your new year's resolution? email us at friends at friends@foxnews.com. i'm excite god that are one because i haven't decided what i'm going to do yet so i need ideas a lot of room for improvement in my life irtake if it's worth changing in your life do it today. what, wrong with december 28th or december 2 #th for changing that in your life? >> griff: i had a resolution and i forgot it so i don't know if it's going to happen. >> carley: didn't work. >> griff: well-thought-out one if i think of it i will let you know. >> carley: we have another story we got to talk about. it has to do with harvard and embattled president claudine gay. not only facing allegations of

anti-semitism for failing to say that genocide against jews is hate speech, she is also facing allegations of plagiarism by some but the powers that be at harvard were quick to brush those allegations aside which is why there is one harvard history professor getting a lot of attention claudine gay and why academic honesty matters politicization and lower standards jeopardize harvard's standing as a great research institution. >> griff: this is a really interesting op-ed because here is, you know, harvard has sump a -- almost unchallenged reputation for decades of particularly academic research. and so here's a guy, james hankins, you never heard of before standing up saying hey, enough with, you know, louing our great institution to be

turned into up doctrine nation lab, socialist thinking and, you know, what claudine gay did. forget the hearing where she refused to basically say that, you know, condemn the october 7th hamas attack, this is the academic integrity of the university. here's a quote from hankins. he says this. in appointing ms. gay, the heart of the governing board seems to have shifted the institution's priorities. it revealed those goals in its december 12th statement noting that ms. gay is the right leader, quote: to address the very serious societal i we are facing. harvard's mission is no longer simply advancing knowledge, but knowledge that will help address deep societal issues and promote constructive discourse. from such a perspective, academic honesty seems to matter less than having the right progressive values. and the refusal to disclose underlying data is permissible.

so, long as conclusions support a preferred narrative. powerful piece he wrote. and really just driving right at the heart of what is happening to institutions like harvard and the people that are upset to see it. >> joey: what he points out what a lot of conservatives say. you are promoting or putting people in power not based on their qualifying credentials but maybe based on what societal issues they're more sensitive to or exposed to or represent. identity politics. i think what's funny about this for me is, you know, if you are a truck driver you have earned a license to drive a truck or you haven't. if you are a basketball player can you either dunk or shoot a ball or can't. you can't kind of think it. in academia it's a world of ideas. it's a lot easier to steal ideas than someone's driver's license for your job. it's even more important in academia to have integrity standards that are harshly enforced because it's a little bit easier to cheat.

it's a little bit easier to fake a great idea if you can find some obscure quote in a book somewhere. that's why plagiarism matters. >> carley: academic honesty seems to matter less than having the right progressive values. according to him, she fits the progressive model of who they wants to see lead harvard so much that even though there is proof that she didn't add the proper quotations to papers that have gotten students suspended or expelled, it's looking like she is getting to stay. >> griff: yeah, that's right. >> carley: first, as we count down to the new year, we are looking back at the top pop culture stories of the year from basham heimer to travis kelce mania. we are going to break it down in "fox & friends" next. ♪ flush

while i am a paid actor, and this is not a real company, there is no way to fake how upwork can help your business. upwork is half the cost of our old recruiter and they have top-tier talent and everything from pr to project management because this is how we work now.

>> griff: it's been a wild year for pop culture. >> carley: what the are the top moments 2023. go through them and start with everybody's favorite couple prince harry and meghan markle. he released memoir spare on january 10th of this year. the king's coronation was a few months later so let the drama begin. the mirror headline is the best, prince harry not welcome at coronation as royals fear chats will end in paper back. so he wound up going, meghan markle stayed home. the execution that she didn't go she had to stay home with the kids because it was her son's

birthday. the year started off with the royal drama. >> griff: have you read it? >> carley: i have not. >> griff: me either. i like the older brother i went to his wedding not theirs. remember gwyneth paltrow ski trial? it caught fire, gwyneth paltrow had this accident in 2016 with this optometrist named terry sanderson. it's going back years. he sued her. she counter sued him and she won in a big way. did you watch that? >> carley: she won in a big way in that she won. but she got a dollar. all she wanted was just one dollar to prove that she was right and he was wrong. then at the end of the trial i thought this was great. she wished him well and he responded by saying thank you, dear. so now they are best friends. >> griff: yeah. sanderson's attorney fan girled over gwyneth paltrow. i don't blame him. >> carley: i didn't really follow that one that much. but it did happen this year so

we're talking about it now. if you though forgot about it nu remember. the hottest movie duo of the year called barbernheimer. that's because barbie and oppenheimer came out on the same day. some people watched those movies at the exact same time let the barbernheimer drama and saginaw start and this was oppenheimer two hours long. we saying there is a chance when we push that button we destroy the world? >> chances are near zero. >> near zero? >> can you go back to your regular life or you can know the truth about the universe. the choice is now yours. >> the first one, the hard you. >> you have to want to know. do it again. >> barbie made $1.4 billion. oppenheimer made almost a billion. i watched both of them.

i like oppenheimer more than barbie. >> griff: yeah. i would agree with you right there. let me tell how is going to make a billion in his life. oliver anthony. the voice, the blue collar ballad. the rich men north of richmond caught like wildfire. the weekend i happened to be here on "fox & friends" hang corresponding and they said what if he got on a plane and went to one of these shows and went down to north carolina showed up with ari our producer and actually ran into him. i think we are one of the only people who interviewed him. here is some of what he told me. >> rich men north of richmond, lord knows they all just wanna have total control ♪ wanna know what you think ♪ wanna know what you do ♪ and they don't think you do ♪ but i know that you do >> it resonates the suffering right now. ever time you look at tv or get online severing negative. people are desperate for something positive again. >> griff: what do you hope comes of the song and your music.

>> just people starting to appreciate each other as human beings. >> griff: such a great message people appreciate each other. >> carley: definitely a moment in time in august when this story and the song was everywhere. gas even the first question by martha at the first republican presidential debate. that's how big it was. speaking of big, we got to get to travis and taylor swift mania people call them trailer. travis and taylor. took over everything. dating football player the biggest pop star in the world. i was looking down at my notes, taylor swift after attending the first game travis jersey saw 40. so then. >> griff: of course. >> carley: did taylor swift make travis kelce famous even though he is one of the biggest football players in the country. >> griff: bigger than the nfl and the chiefs. i will make a prediction for 2024 they are going to get married. you heard it here. >> carley: something to look forward.