with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, my skin was no longer mine. my active psoriatic arthritis joint symptoms held me back. don't let symptoms define you. emerge as you. with tremfya®, most people saw 90% clearer skin at 4 months... ...and the majority stayed clearer, at 5 years. tremfya® is proven to significantly reduce joint pain, stiffness and swelling it's just 6 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge as you. emerge tremfyant®. ask you doctor about tremfya®. eric: you're looking live at eagle pass, texas, that's where state authorities are now rolling out more barbed wire at

shelby park and blocking access to federal agents. right now it's unclear who will blink first in this showdown at the rio grande between the state of texas and the biden administration. texas digging in its heels after the supreme court ruled the federal government had the right to take the state's fencing down, but governor greg abbott insists he is acting within his rights to protect his state for what he calls an invasion. hello, everyone, and welcome to the a brand new hour of "fox news live," i'm eric shane. hey, or arthel. arthel: hi, eric. hello, everyone, i'm arthel neville. so the constitutional battle over border enforcement comes as we get staggering new numbers on border encounters. customs and and border protection reporting 302,000 migrants tried to illegally enter the u.s. last month. this is beating the previous record high by more than 32,000. we are covering the border crisis from all angles. florida attorney general ashley

moody standing by, she is one of 25 state the a.g.s joining texas in the standoff. also former assistant f if b with u director chris swecker on his new security warning to congress, and lucas tomlinson covering the white house. eric: let's begin first with matt finn with the latest on the lone star state versus the biden administration. hi, matt. >> reporter: hi, eric. the state of texas has now not complied with two deadlines issued by the biden administration to reopen this park back to federal agents. the latest deadline was yesterday that texas dud not comply with and, in fact, the texas state attorney general wrote a letter to the biden administration writing in part: i respectfully suggest that anytime you might spend suing texas should be redirected towards enforcing the immigration laws congress already has on the books. you now claim texas has somehow restricted access to land owned by the federal government, yet

your first demand letter acknowledged that shelby park is municipal land owned by the city of eagle pass, not the united states. which is it? u.s. customs and and border protection tells fox news that border patrol agents don't want to come back into this park to tear down texas' razor wire border wall; rather, border patrol would only remove it on an emergency basis. i asked texas lieutenant governor dan patrick if right now texas would be open to a scenario in which border patrol is allowed back into 24 park as long as it didn't touch the razor wire, and patrick says texas does not want biden's border agents in here at all. >> we've got it covered. mr. president, mr. president, you say you want to secure the border, texas has secured it. leave it alone. we don't need you down here, we got it. eagle pass is secure. >> reporter: so texas has not cooperated with two federal deadlines here in shelby park, and in its latest letter, texas

now issued a deadline to the biden administration asking the biden administration to prove why it thinks this land that i'm standing on is owned by the united states. texas argues that this is state land, and it has the constitutional a right to protect it. eric, arthel? eric: standoff on the rio grande. math, thank you. arthel? arthel: all right, more on more than two dozen republican governors siding with texas in this border battle. that includes florida. governor ron desantis says he is willing to send the florida state guard to texas to help with the flood of migrants. joining us now is florida attorney general ashley moody. thank you for joining us. and i want to start here. why do you support this bill that removes the requirement that florida's state guard be used exclusively within state? >> well, you know, governor desantis has been clear there are many reasons within florida

that we need, you know, additional help in times of emergency that are directed by state leadership, but what i think you're really seeing now and why americans are just aghast at what is happening is you have a federal government that every step of the way under a president who is charged with defending and if standing strong to secure a nation has been undermining that security from the day he took office. just to put it in an example, yesterday florida was back many court arguing against -- in court arguing against the federal government who's been fighting us after a federal judge found that everything they've done, their policies, everything has turned the border into nothing more than a line in the sand and that their policies and what they're doing is encouraging this record-breaking surge every month. arthel: okay. >> and so -- all right. ms. moody. >> -- keep up their physical

barriers, we're fighting against mass release. arthel: okay. so, you know, you well know that the supreme court has said that the u.s. border patrol agents can remove the razor wire that texas put in place along the rio grande river. of course, texas governor abbott saying, no, texas' constitution rules and supersedes any federal laws basically, you know, telling homeland security do not enter. but isn't it the other way around, that federal law supersedes state law? >> so there are federal laws that require this administration to enforce the security of the border and detain individuals crossing illegally. when i was at the border with governor desantis and law enforcement, we watched as border patrol was ordered to walk and cut through all of the physical barriers that texas had put up. finish it was -- it was astay tuned sounding watched those that are charging with securing and enforcing the border tearing

down what a state had done to help them -- ashley: arthel: right, but the supreme court said that they could take it down. >> yes. but that -- they said they could, but they said that texas -- they didn't say texas couldn't keep put it back up. and the reason why we're in this, this challenging situation is you have a state that is building barriers, trying to secure it. you have, you have former officials that are saying there are fighting-age men from countries that want to do america harm pouring into our country. so you have a state trying to secure the border, a federal government tearing down everything that they're doing. and so while you have a state pushing back an invasion, you have a president aiding and abetting an invasion. and so we're coming to this kind of constitutional question of does the -- will the constitution allow a state to, you know, take control and push back -- arthel: supersede, right. >> -- control their own borders. and it's very important.

we've never been here. we've never been in a situation where a president has undermined a state's border as we have, as we're seeing right now. a. arthel: well, listen, there are lots of voices in this debate here, and let me play right now a series of remarks from republican governors, you've got two of them, one are from georgia and south carolina is, and then we're going to follow that by white house press secretary karine jean-pierre. let's take a listen. >> this buck stops with the white house and president biden. he had both houses of congress from 2020-2022 and didn't do a damn thing about the crisis at the border. >> the president's not enforcing the law as he's required to do by the constitution. they're just totally abandoning the immigration laws designed to not let this kind of thing happen. so we're in deep trouble. >> it's shameful. it's shameful that politics is being played here, political

stunts are being done here as we're trying to deal with an, issue that americans really care about. right? and all we are asking for is border patrol to have access to an area so that they can enforce the law. that's what they're trying to do. arthel: okay. a.g. moody, before i get your reaction to that, i want to add this to the mix, and this is from the "wall street journal" editorial board. this is just january 25th. a couple of days ago. it says, quote, giving up on a border security bill would be a self-inflicted gop wound. president biden would claim, with cause, that republicans want border chaos as an election issue rather than solving the problem. what do you say to that? >> first, let me just say it's shameful that this white house would blame this on or even suggest that this is politics. this is, this is a national

security issue. this is a president that has broken records like we have never seen before because he has dismantled purposefully the security at the border, broken down every program that stemmed the tide of immigration, asked for less resources, created the crisis and then blamed the crisis for asking for a new law are. president trump in his -- arthel: well, but -- excuse me. i'm sorry -- >> go ahead, sorry. arthel: madam a.g., just to set the record for everybody listening to us, so of course there is bipartisan legislation right now. that would include some of president trump's policies on immigration, remain in mexico, you know, etc., that was popular when he was president. so i guess the question is in short order here, why not take the win? why not have the gop lead on this and say, look, this is what

we got done? and then come november if should it be an election between president biden and former president trump, you can use that as a cudgel against president biden. why not do that and solve this issue now while you can and not wait, basically, a whole year? >> so i'm listening to you and saying, look, why not take this win, it is not a win. president trump had all those processes in place and operated under the current, existing federal law. this president could do that tomorrow. he has not. he's created new programs to bring more people here. he has broken down any sense of security and if released everyone. he has asked for less resources to detain people. so if people suggest that this is about politics, it is not. it is simply about enforcing the law. we had a court side with us and say that they are consistently violating the law. when they told them to stop itr policy, had to go back in court,

and the judge said again with follow the. it's your policies that are doing this. it's like an orphan who kills their parents and then cries because of what's -- that he's an orphan. it's like a child that kills their parents cries because they're an orphan. biden created this crisis. he could follow the law tomorrow and control this border. and met me just say it is not about resources -- let me just say it is not about resources. trump did it with the same amount of resources. biden could do it tomorrow. the fact is he count want to. arthel: well -- he doesn't want to. arthel: well, everyone can agree there is a border crisis, and for the sake and security of this country, we hope that some resolution comes in short order. madam ashley moody, thank you very much for joining us today. >> great to be with you. arthel: eric? eric: president biden is urging the house now to pass the bipartisan borderer deal negotiated in the senate. the president says the reforms will give him new emergency authority to shut down the border when it gets overrun, and

he says he would do that. but house speaker mike johnson says the bill may already be dead on arrival in the house. lucas tomlinson at the white house with the very latest on this. lucas? >> reporter: well, eric, former president donald trump has come out and said he's against the bill which means many republicans particularly in the house will follow suit. now one house democrat says that's just too bad. he spoke earlier on fox. >> house and senate republican leadership is saying the quiet part out loud. they are saying, both mitch mcconnell in a closed door meeting and speaker johnson publicly, that they would rather campaign on this issue than govern on it. mitch mcconnell said, oh, boy, the politics have changed now that trump is the de facto nominee. >> reporter: mandatory detention of all single adults, mandatory shutdown of the border once the average a daily migrant encounters hits 5,000. the shutdown would not lift until daily encounters are reduced to less than 3,750 encounters per day. so what does this amount to,

eric? it a amounts to 150,000 migrants per month, that's 1.8 million per year coming into the country. that's about the size of phoenix. president biden responding to this in a statement about the senate plan saying, quote, for too long we all know the border's been broken. it's long past time to fix it. what's been negotiated would, if passed into law, be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we've ever had in our country. it would give me as president a new emergency authority to shut down the board border when it becomes overwhelmed which is exactly what many republicans say is. earlier on fox, texas republican tony gonzalez. >> this is where the administration gets ig it wrong. it's trying to find a number that is acceptable or a situation that's acceptable. the answer should be zero, you know? we should allow no illegal immigration. >> reporter: now, marine one has a just landed on the south lawn. president biden is heading to south carolina today. of course, his name will be on the ballot for the first time

next week. he is not on the ballot for the iowa caucuses and new hampshire primary. of course, back in 2020 he finished fourth and fifth in those last two states respectively. eric? eric: all right, lucas, thanks so much. well, the record number of migrant encounters last month is only part of the story on the southern border. agents say they've caught at least 50 people on the terror watch list since the start of the fiscal year. that was in october. you know, there are concerns that terrorist groups like al-qaeda, the taliban, islamic jihad and others could sneak if terrorists into our country. that led a group of former fbi officials to issue a warning to congress old leaders this week saying, quote: in its modern history, the u.s. has never suffered an invasion of the homeland, and yet one is unfolding now. military-aged men from across the globe, many from countries or regions that are not friendly to the united states, are landing in waves on our soil by the thousands. not by splashing ashore from a ship or parachuting from a

plane, but rather by foot across a border. former fbi assistant director chris swecker is one of the ten security experts who signed the letter and joins us now. mr. swecker, thanks for joining us. how worried are you about terrorist groups potentially using this very well known method of coming into our country? >> well, we're very concerned. i mean, the ten that a signed this letter, including myself, represent pretty much most of the leadership of the fbi pre-comey. and we're concerned. this is not a political statement, this is a statement that calls attention to something that's just not debatable. border security is national security. we can take all the security precautions we want at the airports and other, you know, other -- you know, we can spend a trillion dollars on our intelligence agencies who work around the clock, but if we throw open 851 miles of southern border and just say, come on, and turn our board or or patrol into walmart greeters, that is a huge breach of our national

security, and we just want to call attention to it. eric: about 294 people who are on the terror watch list have been discovered and caught in fiscal year 2023. almost 300. does that give you any confidence that they're doing the correct job, or does that show that a there's the potential for others that get into the country? >> no, that's just a good bell with weather. it's a canary in the mine, if you will, that tells you that they are coming across. and we don't -- and, what, 2 million gotaways over the last year, 1.8 million goesaways? we don't know who they are, and that's a wild guess to that number. let's say over 2 million gotaways. we don't have any if idea who they are or with they went. and, frankly, we're not really vetting the people that are coming in that we are actually detaining. most of them don't have id. they can say, you know, who -- they're from a certain country. we wouldn't know. so we've got every nationality coming across the border right now, and frankly, this is the

greatest security threat in the last 40 years. eric: yeah and -- >> the ten of us, and there are many others besides the ten, we just wanted to keep the number manageable, are gravely concerned. we know what terrorism hooks like, and we know the motivation es and the ideology. and they're coming after us. eric: you have a good point. i mean, an official can ask who are you, and how do you know who they are? in act four iranians were caughr iranians were caught, two on the terror watch list. do the cartels work with foreign terrorist groups and/or is there any connection between the cartels, and how easy is it for a foreign terrorist group to get someone onto the cartel list and bring them in? >> yeah, without a doubt the cartels over time, over the last 20 years have worked with terrorist organizations. and they help them get across, they help raise funds for terrorist organizations. we -- that's a whole with other topic that we could cover.

but, yeah, there's a relationship there. and so, you know, they can use terror -- cartels to help get across, but they really don't need the help. i mean, they're good at this. they have trade craft. what we're concerned about, we're concerned about lone wolves and, you know, single, ideologically-motivated individuals, but we're also concerned about the professionals who know how to get across, they can smuggle equipment. and one or two or three operating in tandem can inflict mass casualties on this country like what you saw in israel. so we just want, we want to call it out. it's not political. we just want awareness here and, again, it doesn't take a security expert to see this. we are security experts, and we have 250 years of experience between all of us, but it's just common sense. eric: and what's even shocking is that the northern border actually has more people on the terror the watch list in fiscal year, 430 who were on the watch

list at the northern border. i mean, look, canada has had, you know, an islamic radical problem. i've covered al-qaeda suspects and members going back 30 years, 20, 25 years ago -- >> right. eric: -- in the late '90s coming over the border from canada in new york state. >> right. eric: is that, do you think, something that is not being watched properly must have, the northern border? we're being besieged. >> yeah. these are the back doors, if you will. both borders in general, back doors. front doors, you get on an airplane or you just come across and try to blend in, you're a professional, you have a fake id, etc. borders are the back door. and if we throw the borders open, and you make a good point about the canadian worker. i worked a -- border. i worked a hezbollah cell when i was in north carolina, and there was a pipeline between a very active hezbollah with cell in north carolina and canada. and canada straight into

lebanon, and the entire hezbollah leadership. so they've been here. they have cells here. they're, you know, there's no reason to believe that they're not planting more cells in here, and they're raising money right now. they raise money in the u.s. eric: chris swecker, thank you to your duty to this country and trying to protect us from radical islamic terrorism. and you have a warning that we must all listen to. former assistant director of the fbi. >> thank you. eric: arthel? arthel: eric, thank you. well, president, former president donald trump is campaigning in las vegas this afternoon. his first rally since a civil jury ordered him to pay journalist e. jean carroll over $83 million for defamation. will he defy court orders and speak on the case? if. ♪ ♪ ♪ than help you reach your goals. -you can make this work. -we can make this work. it can help you reach them with confidence. no wonder more than 9 out of 10 of our clients are likely to recommend us.

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♪ ♪ eric: well, former president donald trump ordered by that new york jury yesterday to pay more than $83 million to columnist e. jean carroll. the verdict that the former president calls, quote, absolutely ridiculous. those damages are for defamatory statements trump made about the columnist in 2019. this verdict, after a previous jury found the former president was liable for sexually assaulting ms. carroll in a

department store dressing room in 1996 and then defaming her with his comments. c.b. cotton is with us now in new york city with the very latest on this. $833 million, c.b., what are the chances -- 83 -- or the likelihood that he will eventually dole out, it's so much, i can't even say it. [laughter] that he'll have to dole out this money? >> reporter: eric, it's a lot of money, and it might not be anytime soon. former president donald trump and his attorney have already vowed to ace people. honestly, this case could be wrapped up in the court for years. trump is facing multiple criminal and civil case, but this verdict might actually help the gop front-runner. >> so in some ways, the astronomical verdict may actually help donald trump politically because it's going to show that, you know, people in these blue cities and blue states really are willing to do anything to punish donald trump for just about anything. >> reporter: the jury deliberated on friday for less than three hours award, kay roll

$1 million for reputation repair and $65 million for punitive damages. during the 2-week trial, the jurors were with only tasked with weighing damages because the judge cited a jury's verdict from last year and carroll's first defamation lawsuit against trump where a jury found trump had, indeed, defamed the writer and was liable for sexual abuse. during this second trial, care roll's legal team argued trump used his status the as president in 2019 to deny the allegations prompting a wave of criticism and threat against the writer. trump's attorney, alina habba, arguing trump could not control what people wrote online and that carroll had actually been elevated because of drum's statements. throughout the trial trump continued to deny carroll's allegations against him. after the verdict, habba staid trump -- said trump had been, quote, stripped of every defense. >> we will immediately appeal. we will set aside that ridiculous jury.

and i just want to remind you all of one thing, i continue with president trump to fight for everybody's first amendment right to speak. >> reporter: carroll's attorney saying the verdict, quote, proves that the law applies to everyone in our country, even the rich, even the famous, even former presidents. in the coming week, there could be a decision in trump's $370 million civil fraud trial which threatens the future of his business doings here in new york. eric: yeah. the judge has said he will decide by next wednesday, so that could be coming. >> c.b., thank you. arthel? arthel: well, eric, georgia's republican-controlled state senate voting to form a special committee to investigate if fulton county district attorney fani willis. she faces multiple ethical and legal issues including allegations of having an affair with the special prosecutor she hired to lead the election interference case against former president trump. madison scarpino is live in atlanta with the very latest. madison. >> reporter: hi, arthel. yeah, those accusations, those

legal issues, they just keep piling up for the t.a. and her special prosecutor, nathan wade. just yesterday a member of the georgia house introduced a bill to impeach willis along with that senate investigative committee. >> obviously, if it's instructly a personal relationship, that's not what we're interested in. but to the extent that ethical lines were crossed, legal lines were crossed, that state funds were used in the furtherance of this, that's what we're interested in finding out. >> reporter: the senate committee would be able to call witnesses to testify, but it wouldn't be able to discipline the d.a., just to make recommendations. also this week the former president joined motions by his co-defendants to dismiss the indictment and disqualify willis e from prosecuting the case. court documents filed by those co-defendants accuse willis of having a romantic relationship with wade. in addition, trump's attorney accuses willis of inserting racial animus into the case. his attorney cites a recent

church speech in which the d.a. suggested that she and wade faced criticism because they are black. if one law professor says the allegations against willis and wade pose a significant threat to the case. >> the threat is considerable even because of the likely delay in the case if the motion for disqualification was granted. and even if, ultimately, district attorney willis and mrn with, it could be an extended fight, could go all the way up to the georgia supreme court. >> reporter: now, no word yet from willis when it comes to these a allegations. she has until friday to formally respond. and the judge overseeing the case has scheduled a hearing on the matter for february 15th. arthel? arthel: madison scarpino in atlanta, thank you. eric: right now president biden is on his way to south carolina for what his party considers its first nominating primary.

he skipped new hampshire but he won easily there as a write-in candidate. democrat senator joe manchin, well, he's been teasing a possible third party run are. will he run for the white house? we'll try to have an answer for that. joe manchin for president? straight ahead here on "fox news live." ♪ ♪re' help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need... ...without the stuff you don't. so, here's to now. boost. pain hits fast. so get relief fast. only tylenol rapid release gels have laser drilled holes. they release medicine fast for fast pain relief. and now, get max strength topical pain relief precisely where you need it. with new tylenol precise. oooohhh, it is cold outside time to protect your vehichle from winters wrath of course the hot sun can be tough on vehicles too you need weathertech all year round!

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arthel: well, president biden is on his way to south carolina where he'll be on the ballot for the first time this primary season. if one week from today. but his campaign is lacking enthusiasm there from a key voting bloc. white house correspondent peter doocy is live in columbia, south carolina, with all the details. 9 peter. >> reporter: and, arthel, this is going to be the democratic ticket's 2024 debut. president biden made the decision to blow off iowa because he did not want his first contest this cycle to be a caucus like they have there, and

new hampshire because he wanted a state to go first that has more diversity. so we're told when the president gets here later on today, we believe that he just boarded air force one and should be in the air any minute, he is going to talk at a democratic party of south carolina dinner about promises that he has kept over the last three plus years in office to black voters. he is also going to turn his attention to the threat he sees posed by donald trump. on the republican side, we know there is still an unsettled trump versus nikki haley race. haley people see south carolina possibly as a last stand. but president biden is going to turn his attention to donald trump and towards the general election. they are not taking democratic challengers or that seriously, particularly dean phillips. you talk to people in biden world, they say, well, dean fill lips did not one, and he was actually on the ballot, president biden was not, in new hampshire. but just because they think president biden has very, very

overwhelmingly good odds near south carolina, that doesn't mean that they're not deploying the campaign's most valuable surrogate so far, gavin newsom. he is here, and he's talking about how he does not think it's going to work gaming the system. south carolina has an open primary which means that democrats have to pick, do they want to vote in the open primary where it's pretty much uncontested, joe biden, or do they want to go to the republican side and vote for nikki haley over trump. newsom is saying that never if works, they have an open primary system california, so he has been here laying the groundwork for the president. the first lady was here last night beforehand, and she was telling south carolina there would be no president biden without him, remember, this is where james clyburn pulled him across the finish line on leap day of 2020. the rest is history. arthel in. arthel: yeah. you know, peter, when i was tossing to you and i was hesitant to say the south carolina primary is in one week,

i can't believe it is one week. i had to double check my calendar. you'll be there covering for us, i'm sure. white house correspondent peter doocy, thank you. >> this is not the normal. we're not living in normal times, normal political times. i've never seen anything like this. and i think people are scared to death. i've never been more concerned about my country and, than i am today, about my children and grandchildren. eric: that's west virginia senator joe manchin in south carolina last week -- actually, this week. and, you know, a lot of speculation that he made that appearance there, and he could potentially make a third party run for president. the veteran democrat says he does not want to play, quote, the spoiler to president biden. but, you know, he's continuing that there's the possibility of his own white house bid, and he is out there visiting states with this message. what's he doing? who better to bring in for that question is the former senior adviser to senator manchin, jonathan. welcome. what's your old boss up to, do

you think? >> he's going on a listening tour. when he said he was retiring from the senate, e said he was going to go around the country and see if he could give a voice to the moderate majority that he thinks is 60% of the country, the people that have been homeless and helpless and voiceless, and he's going around doing an actual listening tour. you have him up there talking, but he took questions for about an hour. we were in georgia yesterday, he took questions at georgia state university for almost two hours. and he just wants to hear from people to hear what they want out of their government that they don't think they're getting right now. eric: you know, when you say he's on a listening tour, you know who else is on a listening tour? hawaiian. remember that? she went -- hillary clinton. she went on a listening tour. so, obviously, what are the chances that you think he's setting this up for a presidential run? >> i think right now he's just trying to see where the country is. we've got more trips planned in the next couple weeks, and he wants to get more people involved. i think, ultimately, he wants to make sure the people in the

middle have a voice. and if he can be that voice for them, he's going to do it. and he said he'll make his decision by super tuesday, and i hope -- i trust that's what he's going to do. eric: tell us about that a middle. remember president nixon's silent majority, the majority of americans in the middle. have they been heard? >> i don't think they have. and i think that's what he wants to do. i think he's looking at, you know, what's happening right now in congress. there's a bipartisan immigration bill that could get done, but donald trump9 and the extremes on the right want to keep it as a political issue, so they're not going to -- they're doing everything they can to stop that from passing. and we're growing our debt at, you know, enormous rates, and nobody's stepping in to stop that. and i feel, you know, senator manchin wants to do something to let those people know, hey, this isn't how things should work, and i'm here to give you a voice, and i'm going to do whatever i can to make sure your voice is heard. look, what he goes around the country saying and it may not be appropriate here, he just wants to get shit done, and that's what he's trying to do.

[laughter] eric, all right, i get that, what you just said. all right. here's the senator in his own words talking about, basically, the left and the progressives who he thinks have captured the sole of -- the soul of the democratic party. let's listen. >> joe biden's been going to the left, and i've told him, i said, mr. president, when he first got elected, you've got the most liberal administration i've ever seen. and he said, joe, it's not that the i have the most diverse -- i said, sir, i'm not talking about diversity, i'm talking about [bleep] crazy. eric: woe apologize for the profanity a moment ago. just beeped that one out. he may have a point. you look at the middle, you look at the democrats. scoop jackson, mayor ed koch of new york called himself a liberal with sanity. has the party, in your view, been captured by some of the, extremist elements? >> i think he feels that the the left is pulling the democratic party so far over that it's not where it used to be, and he wants to bet -- get back to the

days of the17th congress which aren't that long ago where they were able to get bipartisan stuff done, a chips bill with, an infrastructure bill, a gun safety bill done, all sorts of bills done because they worked together. and when one party or another pulls you to the extremes, which is only about 15-20%, the people in the middle lose. and he just wants to make sure those people are still heard. eric: yeah. you're talking about the people in the middle. look what's happened in the democratic party, the blue dogs. what they say, the blue dogs are the middle, conservative democrats like mr. manchin, comprised of moderate, fiscally responsible democrats who represent every corner of the country and continue to work to end the divisive and toxic nature of politics today. they have a long history of working with members of both parties to find areas of compromise and to advance public policies that benefit the entire nation. finally, if there's any indication of what you're talking about, jonathan, 2009

there were 54 blue dog democrats in congress. now there are only 10. do you think that the senator from west virginia could potentially recapture that and propel the conversation? >> well, i work for one of those blue dogs and, yeah, i think the that's what he's trying to do. he wants to make it, you know, easier for people in the middle to have the voice and shout loud. look, on the right and the left the loudest voice on twitter gets heard the moments he wants to give those 60% in the middle an even bigger voice. i remember when i started working in the senate for senator evan bayh, there were 20, 30, 40 moderates that you could work with. that number has dwind. inged far below 15 by now, and he wants to bring it back with. he's going to support candidates who want to work on both sides, he's going to support house and senate candidates and governors who want to work on both sides and get stuff done. eric: jonathan kott, adviser for west virginia senator joe manchin, we'll keep an eye on mr. man manchin, see what he

does. jonathan, thank you. erik. arthel: and, eric, we are learning more about the latest attack by the iran-backed houthis. a british oil a tanker engulfed in flames in the red sea. we'll have more on that and how the u.s. is responding, that's coming up next. ♪ ♪ marcus is a connoisseur of anything that's free.. so he was happy to read the disclaimer on turbotax free edition. roughly 37% of taxpayers qualify... form 1040 and limited credits only... see how at turbotax.com... that's me! file your taxes 100% free with turbotax free edition and get your max refund guaranteed.

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eric: well, britain, finland and australia have joined the u.s. and canada in suspending their funding to the u.n. agentty for fall stint january refugees joan as unrwa for the united nations relief and works agency. this comes after israeli intelligence says that the agency staff theres were involved in the october 7th hamas if terrorist attacks. unrwa has fired a dozen employees in response to those claims. the u.s. provided the agency with nearly $340 million in aid in 2022. none of the countries say how long they will continue this

freeze. arthel? arthel: well, eric, meanwhile, more hostilities in the red sea e. the pentagon confirms u.s. forces fired a defensive strike at a houthi anti-ship missile today after determining it was an imminent threat. the iran-backed militants have been targeting commercial shipping in the red sea since mid if november if. stephanie bennett is live in london with more. steph incentive if. >> reporter: arthel, tensions are rising and so are the number of attacks. now, the u.s. saying they act ad out of self-defense. this comes as we get new details today about that british tanker that was hit and caught fire yesterday. now, u.s. central command saying the ship issued a cities stress signal. the uss carney and other coalition ships came to help. the vessel, obviously badly damaged, but no injuries were reported. we also know that the oil tank or has links to the u.k. and flies under the flag of the marshall islands. interestingly though, reports say it was carlying russian fuel at the time. the iran-backed movement says it

targeted the ship in response to american-british aggression. new today the u.s. military says they struck and destroyed a houthi anti-ship missile aimed at the red sea. u.s. central command forces say it presented an imminent threat to vessels and u.s. navy ships in the area claiming that yemen missile was ready to launch at any moment, so they responded in self-defense. now, since november the houthis have launched dozens of attacks on commercial vessels traveling through the red sea, one of the world's buzziest shipping lanes -- buzziest shipping lanes. now, houthis say they're targeting vessels in support of palestinians in gaza and in response, the u.s. and u.k. have launch. ed airstrikes on houthi targets triggering this back and forth motion we've been seeing. meanwhile, national security or spokesman person john kerby saying strikes are effective and other countries are in support. >> separately, i'm also sure that you saw yesterday a joint statement from 24 countries

expressing support for the action that the united states and our united kingdom armed forces with support from australia, bahrain, canada, netherlands took against the houthis on monday. i think it's notable that more and more countries now are wanting to show that they condemn houthis' indiscriminate and unlawful attacks on international commerce and and that they support the actions that we and our parter ins are taking. >> reporter: yeah. and for now, no signs of slowing on either side. arthel? arthel: live in london, stephanie bennett, thank you, stephanie. we will be right back. like the boss with the new footlong cookie. this might be my favorite sidekick ever. what? every epic footlong deserves the perfect sidekick. ah mornings! cough? congestion? i'm feeling better. all in one and done with new mucinex kickstart. headache? better now. new mucinex kickstart gives all-in-one and done relief

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eric: vince mcmahon is resigning from the wwe and its parent company after a lawsuit accuses him of abuse, sexual assault and trafficking. mcmahon, who cofounded the wwe, denies the claims and is vowing to fight back. chris e teen ya coleman with more. christina? >> reporter: hi, eric. the former employee is sue ising vince mcmahon and a former wwe executive for unspecified financial damages. grant says she experienced physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault and trafficking while working at the company. her attorneys say she will prove

at trial that she will need lifelong treatment because of the pain and suffering she endoured. the graphic federal lawsuit was filed in connecticut on thursday where wwe is based. grant says mcmahon forced her into a sexual relationship to keep her job and shared exis eulogy-explicit videos and photos of her with other men both inside and outside of the company. mcmahon pressured her into signing a nondisclosure agreement in exchange for payments which is he stopped making. in this lawsuit, they argue the n da is void is under the speakout act in instances of sexual aa salt and harassment. wwe's parent company says it's taking these allegations seriously and addressing the matter internally, and mcmahon strongly denies grant's claims. in a statement to fox digital, quote, i stand by my or prior statement that the lawsuit is repleat with lies, instants that never occurred and is a vindictive distortion of the

truth. i intend to defend myself and look forward to clearing my name. mcmahon says he resigned out of are respect for the wwe universe and others associated with the business. eric? eric: quite an icon in that wild. christina coleman, thank you. we'll be back at 4 p.m. eastern with all the news, arthel and i, here on the fox news channel. arthel: "the journal editorial report" concern i'll buy you a pony. pedialyte's advanced rehydration isn't just for kids. so hydrate and feel better fast.

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