stuart: almost out of town, but, will cain, it was fun to have you on the show, and we're going to be watching you on "fox & friends" tomorrow 6-10, this man does four hours. will: that is right. this was fun, thanks for having me. stuart: merry christmas, neil, it's yours. neil: you know, he also rappels down buildings, so that's putting the pressure on us, stuart. i mean, i don't even rappel down an's calculate or. [laughter] holy toledo. fun to watch, guys. great job, all. we are following, as you might imagine, stuart, some of these other developments here. we are, as the number of the show would indicate, coast to coast. first of all, on the east coast we're looking at what's happening in washington, d.c., if anything, on progress for stimulus, progress to keep the government lights on. they're working on both of those. on the orr side of the country in san diego, a judge ruling that restaurants and strip clubs could be exempt from shutting down.

there is a caveat here for the strip clubs though, we are, indeed, abreast of it. [laughter] all right. you try that on basic cable, and you always take course risk. -- talk your risk. waiting on all of these developments, the dow, not only on what's happening on the vaccine front, the fda meeting as we speak, could happen this hour that they officially approve that pfizer vaccine. i'm sorry, the moderna vaccine. we're also getting word that johnson and johnson could be close to something as well, some promising trial news to report, and we will share that with you. it could be the next out the gate with a potential treatment for the coronavirus. we are also following developments, as i said, on stimulus. close to that or a covid-19 deal, we could be reversing these red arrows very, very quickly. so on that, let's go to chad pergram, get a sense of where we stand right now on all of the

above. hey, chad. >> reporter: good afternoon, neil. we are on the precipice of a government shutdown if something doesn't happen fast. the government is funding through 11:59 p.m. eastern time tonight. mcconnell says things are trending in the right direction. >> talks remain productive. in fact, i'm even more optimistic now than i was last night that a bipartisan, bicameral framework for a major rescue package is very close at hand. >> reporter: now here are the contentious issues. the length of extra unemployment benefits and a gop demand to restrict the fed from using certain lending practices. fox is told the house hopes to put out bill text today and maybe even vote this afternoon or this evening on the coronavirus package. there is skepticisming among members on both the left and the right, members on the left don't think the bill does enough, on the right some conservatives

call this a railroad. >> this is nothing but political she man if gans going on trying to pressure everyone at a time of christmas in order to try to pass things that are horrible and pass things that we don't even know what's in the bill. >> reporter: now, negotiators worked all night. you know how i know that, yogi berra said you can see a lot by watching. there was some light snow flurries in d.c. about 4:00 this morning, some of the aides were just loving, and they were -- leaving, and they were cleaning snow off of their cars. neil: wow. all right, chad, thank you very much on that h. if we find out any news on this, of course, we'll pass that along to you. meanwhile, i want to go to edward lawrence on the news on moderna and its potential vaccine. a lot of benefits to that, they could get millions of doses out if it is approved by the end of the day, and they could have them out hate this weekend, maybe even soon orer. edward lawrence on all of that. >> reporter: hey, neil.

moderna vaccine in the final step right now, awaiting that final stamp of approval from the fda for emergency authorization use, emergency use authorization. the distribution has been set up, this time 5.9 million doses of the moderna vaccine will be delivered through operation warp speed. moderna vaccine will be distributed by mckesson, one of the world's largest drug wholesalerrers. that process will be backed up by the u.s. military if there are any issues. this morning vice president mike pence took the pfizer advantage seen. 2.9 million doses have been pushed out so far. the second lady and u.s. surgeon general also got that pfizer vaccine this morning. jerome adams giving a thumbs up when the shot went into his arm saying that we need to still -- the vice president saying that we we need to still use masks and social distance as well as getting this vaccine. >> was the beginning of the end of the coronavirus. pandemic. but with cases rising across the

country, hospitalizations rising across the country, we have a ways to go. >> reporter: and this is part of the education campaign to let americans know the vaccine will be safe and effective. last week i was in clear water, florida, where the police chief told me 40% of husband officers say they're skeptical about taking a vaccine, the fire department saying about half of the firefighters might not take the vaccine. dr. anthony fauci saying the fears are misplaced. >> speed was a reflexion of extraordinary -- reflection of extraordinary sign tuck advances and dud not compromise safety or scientific integrity. >> reporter: so we're on the verge of the second emergency approval for a vaccine. just look at what moderna's stock has done this year. it was $18.64 one year ago today. it might be down today, but it has done very, very well over the past year. back to you. neil: all right, edward lawrence, thank you very much on

that. the vaccinations continue, certainly you saw the big ones with the vice president and his wife and the surgeon general. we are getting word right now that later today, maybe as soon as today, nancy pelosi and mitch mcconnell will get vaccinated as well. my next guest will be among those getting some doses, we'll see, congressman ken buck, colorado republican who sits on the house judiciary committee, house foreign affairs committee, much, much more. sir, good to have you. have you gotten any word when you'll be getting your vaccine in. >> i will not be taking the vaccine, so i don't know when they're going to be giving members vaccines. neil: is that your choice, congressman? >> it is my choice. i'm an american, i have the freedom to decide if i'm going to take a vaccine or not, and in this case i am not going to take the vaccine. neil: can i ask you why. >>? >> yeah. because i'm more concerned about the safety of the vaccine than i am the side effects of the disease. i'm a healthy person, and i

think most americans are healthy. i think what we should do is we should focus on the at-risk populations in america, make sure those are the people that get this vaccine first, make sure that the health care workers who want the vaccine get the vaccine as soon as possible. but i am, i am not going to take a vaccine. neil: so when you said -- you're certainly not in the at-risk population. you're a little older -- [laughter] by the way -- i'm leave it there, congressman, if you don't mind, but what are your concerns? because you always hear this back and forth that it's good for you, some businesses might, in fact, order their workers to get the vaccine. you have reservations. why? >> well, i have reservations because we have gone through this process very fast, and i have reservations because when i look at who is impacted by the disease, it tends to be older people with several co-morbidities. and i don't fit into that category.

so i think it is one of those issues that americans have to hawk that decision for themselves -- make that decision for themselves, and i hope that we don't get to the point where either corporations or the government are requiring this advantage seen. i think -- vaccine. i think that is a terrible mistake in this country. neil: i'm -- i don't want to belabor this point, congressman, i didn't know how you held to this, but if everyone had the same view on this vaccine, no one would be talking the vaccine -- taking the vaccine. and in an environment where the virus seems to be kind of running out of control -- worldwide, not just in this country, and this is the only means, of course, it might be just the second, moderna, along with pfizer, maybe johnson & johnson, a host of others to deal with it. so you're of the view that regardless, better not to take than take. so for all those who are being urged to take, those with extenuating circumstances, maybe elderly, it might be okay for them, everybody else no?

>> no, that's not what i'm saying, neil. what i'm saying is i think it is an individual choice, and i think people have to weigh the risks against the benefits of taking this particular vaccine. if i was in a senior home and i had copd, i absolutely would take this vaccine. but i, i think there are a lot of americans -- number one, we don't even know how many americans already have the antibodies because they've had this disease. neil: true. >> number two, i think there are a lot of americans who do not need this vaccine because they are not in an at-risk category for this particular disease. neil: do you think they rushed this out, the phase vaccine, potentially the moderna one? is that your concern? >> it, obviously, was rushed out. and i'm not saying that it was rushed out in a way that is medically unsound, but i don't think we'll know for several years whether it is, in fact, safe or not safe. neil: all the top medical

experts, as i'm sure you're well aware, congressman, from dr. of paul shi -- fauci to the surgeon general is saying this is something you should do, they're trying to show the world no harm, no foul. you know, you might have some, you know, rash right after taking, you know, some flare-up right after taking it, but besides that, no danger, no risk. you seem to have concerns about that. that might not be the case. >> well, i don't think we'll know for several years whether the vaccine is, in fact, dangerous or not. and in my view, the disease and the impact, the members that i have seen that have had this disease, senator grassley, 87 years old, my understanding is that the 14 days that he had this, 13 of those 14 days he actually was out running, which is an incredible feat by itself. but i have talked to a number of members who have had this

disease. they had flu-like symptoms and got over it. i don't take a flu shot, and i'm not going to take this particular vaccine. neil: real quickly on stimulus measures on the hill, sir, i mean, if you think about it, the whole covid-19 thing is the reason why they're kicking around this nearly trillion dollar package. as things stand now with it, congressman, would you vote for it? i know it is a moving target and the pieces in it are moving and being switched in and out, i guess, on an hourly basis. what do you think? >> well, one, i haven't read the bill and, two, i've heard a lot of rumors about what's in the bill and what's not in the bill. the truth is that a week ago it was a $750 billion bill, now it's a $900 billion bull. i hope they call the vote soon or we're going to have a $1.2 or $1.3 trillion bill. it's a serious problem. i doubt i will vote for this bill because i it doesn't deal with the two categories that i

am most concerned about, those small businesses that are at risk and need economic help right now and those who are unemployed and need economic help right now. those are the two categories that i think we should be focused on. we have over $150 billion left over from the cares package if that can be moved into different categories to help those folks. but to start spending another trillion dollars at a time when this country is $30 trillion in debt is, i believe, a serious mistake. neil: all right. congressman, thank you very much and, please, i hope you took no offense to my hinting you were old. i meant older. when people tell me that, congressman, i always say what you mean is more seasoned and wise. [laughter] and then they walk away. we'll see what happens but, sir, i hope you have a merry christmas. thank you. very interesting views on this vaccine. he's not alone in that view, by the way. a lot of people are saying, wait a minute, why is everyone pushing me to take something about which i have some doubts?

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neil: well, apparently enough californians are a annoyed that they're signing petitions to call, you know, for the governor to step down. are you entered in challenging him -- interested in challenging him if it gets to that point if not in a recall, you know, in the next election? >> well, absolutely. and i'm giving it very serious consideration. and we need new leadership. neil: all right. now they're pushing california to get that new leadership sooner than the next election with a growing write-in campaign to recall governor gavin newsom whose handling of the covid situation in california has gotten criticism on both sides. now, whether this becomes a thing, remember when they recalled him and arnold schwarzenegger took his place. it's a rare event, but it is live and well right now. william la jeunesse following it in los angeles. where is this going? >> reporter: well, neil, number one, announcing a recall is easy, right? succeeding, that is a different

story. they've tried four times to recall gavin newsom already without success, but supporters have gathered this time half the signatures needed to get on the ballot. you know it's serious e when this morning the l.a. times and the san diego union both begged voters to back off, because a lot of the anger is nonpartisan. businesses leaving the state, record homelessness, higher crime, exloading pension debt -- exploding pension department, high taxes on affordable housing, and despite all of these lockdowns, finger-pointing and threats from governor, california's among the world's worst with at containing the virus with new cases ahead of germany, britain and india. huge disparities between rich and poor, and available icu beds, zero in almost half the state. recall supporters have characterized newsom's performance in this. >> i am voting for the recall because i really want a governor who's going to tell the truth. >> i think he's trying to

protect us, you know, from the corona. >> reporter: so recall supporters have about 800,000 signatures but need twice that by march 15th to got on the ballot and will likely need a few million dollars to get there. neil? neil: all right. william, thank you very, very much. jim destin joining us right now, very good to have you, los san o county supervisor. what you've been doing to help restaurants and help those stay active, but i do want to get your thoughts on this recall effort, whether you see it amounting to anything. >> well, i think, like your reporter said, it's -- getting the effort and getting the signatures is one thing, but actually having the californians vote to recall him, that's the bigger lesson and the harder thing to do particularly in california with the way the registration is. neil: all right. you know, a lot of people who do

not live in california always shake their head, what's going on in california. obviously, san diego county, it's a beautiful neck of the woods, i understand that, but it's a confusing neck of the woods. i'm talking about the whole state, this idea to penalize restaurants while, you know, strip clubs, by and large, go free. i am overgeneralizing it, and i understand that, supervisor, but can you explain this latest judge's move to address this and to treat both it sounds the psalm without message using one over the other? >> well, sure, i'd be happy to. the, you know, lockdowns are not working here in san diego county, and, you know, it's strange, young with, in california and san diego county you can go to a strip club, but you can't go to church. and what happened was two strip the clubs sued the state and the county over the fact that they were being shut down and there was no evidence that showed that they were any, you know, the cause of the spread of the virus. and these strip clubs also

happen to serve food. and so the judge ruled that the state provided no evidence to prove that they were helping spread the virus, so he is allowing these strip clubs to be open. and he also a stated that restaurant thed in san diego county can also be open because there's no outdoor strip clubs, so they're going to be serving food indoors, so our restaurants in san diego county are going to be able to serve food indoors and outdoors. and i'm sure the state is going to appeal this and try to fight it, but for the time being we have many, many restaurants that opened up yesterday and, hopefully, you know, we're a week before christmas, they're going to be able to capitalize on some of this, you know, christmas spending and get money into their employees' pockets and their own so they can pay their bills. neil: you know, the one thing that's always confused me, supervisor, and i know you're an electrical engineer by training, i know you were a pilot, so you're obviously a very smart guy. and i'm sure your data -- you're

data-conscious, the data to support whatever decision is made. i know in the new york area the data doesn't support shutting down restaurants to indoor dining because they're not even, you know, they're a barely fifth on the list of major culprits that have led to a spike in cases. i don't know what the situation, sir, is in california, but i suspect it might be similar. and so it always seems odd to me to target those tube of businesses -- type of businesses when, in fact, they're not the source of the problem. what is it in california? >> well, and that's exactly what the judge ruled, that there was no evidence. and, you know, people like to say, well, i follow the science. well, science relies on data, and there is no data that was even provided to the judge that link ared or was a mention us -- linked or was a nexus to, you know, these businesses, the restaurants and even the strip clubs. and he actual went on in his decision to also state that

churches and gyms and salons and barbershops also did not have that, you know, any sort of nexus or link to the spread of the virus. although his ruling only affected strip clubs and restaurants, you know, this kind of opens the door for others, other businesses to potentially open up. and people, they don't want handouts from the government, they want to get back to work. they want to do their jobs. you know, dealing from a, you know, mostly from these lockdowns spread fear, stress and anxiety, and that in itself lowers people's immune system and makes them even more susceptible. let 'em get back to the workplace where you have to wear masks, you have to wear the protective equipment. it's actually a safer environment than sometimes your own house. neil: san diego county supervisor, very good having you on. be well, be safe yourself. >> thanks so much. happy holidays, bye bye. neil: all right, thank you. to you as well. ing how would you like an at-how

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vehicle by which you get your hands on it. doctor, very good to have you. can you explain how this works? >> neil, first of all, thank you for having me. and as you know, we have all seen the challenges with testing, right? the long lines either in your car or standing in line, the hours or days' wait for test results and the limited is the point. so e-med wanted to be a part of the solution, and so,-med partners -- e-med partnered with abbott labs to deliver the rapid antigen test. as you note, fully at how many, results within 15 minutes -- at home. but through the e-med platform, we have e-med cert fewed guides that walk the individual through the entire process which we think enhances the reliability of the process and the validity of the test. neil: it costs about $25, and

how quickly would you get the result? 15, 20 minutes? is that right? >> yes, you will get the results within 15 minutes, and you're right, it's $25 per test. and that is the all-in price for the eligibility screening, for the guided testing process, the prescription and the results. and, neil, if i could just saw, you know, you get this box, you download the navica app. here is a photo or here is an actual test that i just took yesterday. and at the end, you get a digital certificate that you are negative and here is my digital certificate showing my negative results. so we believe that, certainly, it enhances the validity and the are liability of the test -- reliability of the test. but most importantly, this entire process is within the comfort of one's home. neil: how accurate are the results, doctor? >> yeah.

so as you know, this abbott test has been on the market for several months, and their original results were 97% agreement with positivity and 98% negativity. when we went through the process, our results were 91% agreement regarding the positive and 100% agreement regarding the negative. that's adding our platform. so these results are very good results. of course, whether you are negative or when you are negative, certainly we are recommending that you follow up and follow state, local and federal guidelines. neil: what -- how is it -- you're doing it at home, i understand that part, doctor, but is it a nose swab? how do you describe it? >> yes, it is an anterior nose swab. you open up the -- it's a

lateral flow immunoassay, but it's a card, right? you swab your nose, you put some drops on the card, you insert the swab in the card and wait 15 minutes for your result. neil: so if i were going to go into the office, doctor, and we're very vigilant about this at fox, and they have a test you have to administer to clear getting in the building. what if i have this from you and i flash it to them, will they accept that? if or will they say, no, neil, we just want to make your life even more embarrassing because we want to tape you getting this here? i jest just to make the point, do companies recognize this as a legitimate test that doesn't have to repeat it on site? >> well, you know, this is a wonderful advantage of this test, that you get to take this test at how many rather than coming into a site. you might be infected, and this certainly could.

-to mitigate the spread. help to mutt gate the spread. we are talking with states as we speak, we're talking with employers, businesses, we're talking with schools, and it will be up to those particular institutions to decide on their protocol. and as you may know, there are a lot of thought leaders who are recommending that we repeat these tests frequently. and so, again, it will be up to your with own employer as to develop their own protocol. but this is certainly an important tool in the toolbox regarding access, regarding affordability and all in the comfort of one's e home. neil: yeah. that sounds very intriguing. that old cliche, getting a it's at home, there's an app for that. there literally is. dr. thank you very much. keep us posted on how it's progressing. dr. patrice harris, e-med ceo. we are watching developments

on vaccines to treat the disease itself, moderna very, very close to getting approval. keeping track of the number of people who have had vaccines across the world right now, and in some four countries 1.1 million already have. we just started, what, this week. after this. ♪ baby, i don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight he can if muck i love cheep thrills. ♪ baby, i don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight ♪ to support a strong immune system,

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neil: all right, do want to update yon a couple of things out of washington, so many things going on simultaneously. top leaders getting vaccinated, we're just hearing that speaker nancy pelosi received her vaccination in her office this afternoon. it wasn't televised, the same thing that we had vice president go through, the surgeon general and mrs. pence, and as that's going to play out, a lot of these guys want to show the

world if and when they can that it's o.k., it's safe, even though we had a congressman on earlier who said he is not a fan. in the meantime, we've been doing reporting on what is holding up this covid-19 deal, better than $900 billion measure that seems to be arguing over the details. for example, should the unemployment benefits, $300 a week as republicans want or back to $600 as they were prior to the pandemic ending when these expired in, you know, late spring. they might split the difference, they might not, they might demand that states kick in $100, but that is proving to be a real sticking point. then there's the issue of whether the relief checks, the so-called stimulus checks, remember, in the beginning of all of this when they were handing out $1200 checks? republicans are saying it should be limited to no more than $600. senator hawley thinks $1200 is a

better figure, and they're also narrowing the base of people who could qualify for that, upwards of $75,000 income and then it begins to phase out entirely when you approach $99,000. so, obviously, this would be a limited pool of people getting this. further more, $330 billion for small business, but where democrats are balking is taking a huge chunk out of that. but i think the thorniest of all of these issues -- it's just me, but republicans are really leery of giving the federal reserve these emergency lending powers. you've heard about the lending programs where the federal are serve buys up mortgage bonds and municipal bonds and regular bonds, corporate securities and the like, that this is so sweeping and runs potentially into the trillions of dollars as it already has, they want to limit that power. now, democrats disagree. they like the convenience and

the speed with which the fed can act, and they'd rather give them more money than less, more power than less. so any one of these issues could be thorny enough to delay this or maybe torpedo it. having said all of that, we should let you know that mitch mcconnell has said we're working through the weekend, we do not leave town until we have a covid-19 deal. so just want to bring you up to where this all stands among lawmakers, and we will, of course, keep you posted. in the meantime, keeping you posting on the incoming biden administration. big plans i afoot not only on the inauguration u.s., which might be a smartly-attended affair by design because of the covid-19 threat, but for some businesses that are sort of waiting in the wings to see how they could be impacted by the potential of higher taxes and booms that could go bust particularly in housing. jackie deangelis here following that in new york. >> reporter: hey, good afternoon, neil. today's 30-year mortgage rate from freddie mac is 2.67%, so or

mortgage rates in this country are at record lows, and it sounds like good news. but as covid-19 pushed people out of crowded cities into the suburban areas, housing prices have shifted. prices on single-family homes moved higher, and where we are here in new york city, there's been an exodus. the real estate market, of course, is suffering. president-elect joe biden wants to stimulate the market, make it easier for people to own homes. he's talked about a tax credit for down payments and that kind of assistance, but that could actually cause a flurry of first-time home buyers into the market and drive these elevated housing prices up even more. the other issue is that because of the pandemic, there's actually a lack of inventory. new building permits for single-family houses dropped drastically e in april, and they've slowly been rebounding. listen to this. >> one of the biggest issues with the proposals from the biden administration is that we do need more inventory. it's certainly going to be an issue if the government becomes the largest home builder in the

country in order to create this inventory. what we really need to do is incentivize the private sector in order to make this happen. >> reporter: now, there's another wrinkle here, neil. the moratorium on evictions is still in place. if that's lifted, it could mean that a lot of people will quickly be out of their homes and need housing. the regulators and the banks, they're going to have to protect mortgages that they write. remember, it was a housing bubble and lax standards that led to the great recession in 2008 and 2009. so a lot to watch for as we go into 2021 here. neil: all right, jack key, thank you very much, jackie deangelis following all that. we are also following developments right now on google increasingly becoming a target on the antitrust suits that essentially come down to in thi: we want to rein you in, brach you up, maybe both -- break you up, maybe both. hillary vaughn with more on maybe how a potential biden administration would address this. hill erie, what are you hearing? >> reporter: hey, neil. well, president-elect joe biden

and president trump actually agree on one thing. section 230 that shields tech companies from liability has got to go, and biden in the past has gone even further, singling out facebook's mark zuckerberg saying it's possible he might need to face personal liability for how he moderates content on his platform. >> never been a big zuckerberg fan. i think he's a real problem. whether he engaged in something that amounted to collusion that, in fact, caused harm and would, in fact, be equal to a criminal offense, that's a different issue. that's possible. that's possible it could happen. >> reporter: biden is famously not a fan of big tech executives. he called one video game maker he met with in silicon valley a little creep in that same interview with the new york times, but biden's beef with big tech has not brought him to back a breakup. he didn't support senator warren's plan calling for that during the campaign, but federal lawsuits pending against big tech like facebook and google will still be underway with unless biden pushes his doj and

ftc to dismiss them. during the campaign facebook's cofound or and google's,-ceo team thed up to dump millions into their own super pac to boost biden, and now there's concern they might be ready to cash in on that investment. they wrote to the biden team asking the administration not to bring any ex-tech execs on to their team writing this: the time to rein in power is now. however, we can only bring these companies to account if you do not relie on a billion of these very companies to make up your companies. biden is not listening. dozens of tech alumni are snagging spots in his transition. apple's former lead lobbyist is a top adviser for widen, and twitter's -- biden, and twitter's former director of public policy also on the team. neil? neil: all right. hillary vaughn, thank you for all of that. in the meantime here, it is

very, very tough to be a restaurant owner these days, and a lot of states and cities -- new york comes to mind most notably -- you're pretty limited. you can't have it at all. when it comes to outdoor dining, of course, you're dealing with snow and cold weather and now a limit on whether folks can use restaurants in those facilities if they're dining outside. incredible. ♪ ♪ when you switch to xfinity mobile,

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♪ ♪ >> i have to ask for loan, you know? because it's not easy, you know? it's not easy. three months was closed, we didn't have any money, you know? we need money to survive. neil: if you noticed, that was a server in new york city. the only thing they're allowing is outdoor dining. they have tables open, and this poor guy is out there in just a shirt, no jacket, serving customers who are all bundled up warm and coz city, but that's what it's come down to. if you want to be a thriving restaurant, these are the things

you have to do. try to make outdoor dining work, maybe see what you can do with delivery. camilla marquez knows it well, restaurant owner, much, much more. camilla, very good to have you. how are you holding up? >> you know, really this is unconscionable. it's hard to believe that we're really back at march 15th, you know? this time around it was knowable, and it seems that we have no governance and no industry-specific relief still nine months in. neil: have you gotten any word how long this could go on? a couple of weeks, more? the reason why i ask is i'm already harding about new york considering even tight or reductions, lockdowns -- restrictions, lockdowns, the kind of which we were having back, like you say, in the spring. what do you think? >> e hear things as the public does, which is part of the problem. there's been no indication of how long the latest reductions are going to -- restrictions are going to last. every day there's a new extra

restriction from the city in new york. it's, again, you know, we've been saying since march the fact that your largest private employer does not have a seat at the table and this is not a collaborative or even an open book process, that's not governance. affecting the most amount of people out of most industries, and we're bearing the brunt of protecting public safety. we're all for protecting the public and fighting this pandemic together, but the word together steams to be lost on all -- seems to be lost on all levels of government. neil: you know, i have checked around some of the numbers, particularly the new york metropolitan area, and i'm sure you know these numbers far better than i, but restaurants are not the problem for these spike in cases. >> correct. neil: they're not the first, second, third or fourth contributor, they're between fifth and sixth. yet you guys are the ones that invariably get targeted. >> it's honestly hard to make sense of, the day that 100% -- data shows that we are nowhere close to the epicenter of the spread. we were told that regulations

would be based on data, we were told that it would be collaborative, that we would be part of problem-solving together, and neither the state nor the city of new york has upheld their end of the bargain. it's glaring. and i hope the public is as outraged as we are. you know, this is the holiday season. like i said, almost one million people in new york are not going to know how to make ends meet during the holidays no less when the government, you know, gets to go home and celebrate. neil: you know what's weird too about it is it used to be just the small restaurants that were feeling that pinch, and lo and bee hold, we've seen some of the big restaurants, in new york, the 21 club had to shut its doors, to this is impacting everybody. >> it was affecting everybody back in march. i mean, if you look at our membership, it's big, small and everything in between. everyone across the state is feeling it. you know, we've been hit the hardest in new york since march, and you're seeing the psalm with this wave. the question i have is why was

there no plan? if that's what we should be out really yelling about. this was knowable. it was very clear as of lawsuit spring, early summer there would be another very sharp wave that coine sided with flu season and the hitting of winter. lo and behold, i it seems there are no plan. day by day restrictions. it's a fall in the coffin to an industry that's 6 feet under that's received not a single lifeline, like i said, from the any of our representatives. how is this fair representation, how is this equitable? it's hard to imagine how many people are being devastated and how many businesses are being crippled by this. and to your point, you know, it doesn't seem in service really of the data we were promised would be upheld. neil: how have you or any of your members been able to take advantage of any of the federal programs, you know? paw check protection -- paycheck protection program, all these others that were deemed to be working just fine.

and i know now in this latest stimulus package they're working on there is going to be small business relief, i believe about $300 billion. i don't know how that sorts out, how much will make its way to restaurants and the like, but what do you think? >> we have to remember ppp was created in the midst of a crisis under a very short time constraint the, right? so to see that is still the right solution, i think, is an unreasonable assumption. ppp was never designed for restaurants. we shouldn't be lumped in with small businesses. we are too vast as a large industry in this country to continually be lumped in. it was an eight week loan which we don't need more debt when we are shut down and unable to make sales. there's no work from home in restaurants. so we don't need eight weeks for an 18-24 month problem, and we certainly don't need more debt when we're shut down across the country more and more, you know? again, like i said, it's like living the worst déjà vu that

you could imagine. we're back at march with a solution are, you know, quote-unquote solution, the ppp program, that we said back in march, april, may and onward that it does not work for our industry, and why our congress is doubling down on that is atrocious. one in four people unemployed right now come from restaurants. restaurants received less than 8% of the last round of ppp. it's hard or to make sense of this. again, the numbers are out there. they don't show that it works for us, and yet the latest text on the relief bill that was released earlier this week, 525 pages, and the word restaurant appears once. live venues, museums as well as airlines yet again were provided for. why we continue to be left out, it's hard to make sense of, and it's really getting interesting. neil: we're going to keep an eye on it. camilla, hang in there. i know that seems cliche these days, but best i can offer these

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neil: all right. welcome back, everybody. i'm neil cavuto. the second hour of our show commences right now. we are waiting word from the food and drug administration whether that formal write-off on this latest vaccine is going to be approved. it is looking like it will be.

it's crossing the ts and dotting the is. moderna will join pfizer with available and working vaccines to be dispensed to the american people by the millions, the doses, we are told. how it gets distributed is really an army of people, the companies behind it, the logistics, it's a huge undertaking. we are following it all in riverdale, new york, with how the rollout will go and the key players. brian? reporter: good afternoon. today, walgreens began administering the first doses of pfizer's covid-19 vaccine in long-term care facilities in ohio and connecticut. it is part of a herculean and historic national effort to vaccinate four and a half million elderly residents and staff members at these long-term care facilities. here's video from inside one of those facilities in ohio. the vast majority of the nation's 55,000 nursing homes and assisted living facilities

nationwide have opted into a federal program that will deploy pharmacists from walgreens and cvs to administer the vaccines beginning monday, december 21st. here's walgreens. >> we have 27,000 pharmacists alone that are raising their hand saying i am ready right now to administer the vaccine. so ultimately, what we're waiting for is we just need more vaccine so that we can then continue to immunize as many people as we can to help our communities. reporter: now, more than 110,000 elderly residents in long-term care facilities have died of covid-19. that is a staggering 39% of all coronavirus deaths in the u.s. the hebrew home at riverdale is new york's largest nonprofit nursing home with 600 residents and 1200 staff. they lost 54 residents to covid-19. they are now educating staff, residents and families about the vaccine. >> start with our residents who

suffer with dementia because those residents are the least able to follow the social distancing and masking and hand washing. so we want to be sure they are protected. then we will be doing one-third of our staff with each tranche. reporter: the vaccine can't come soon enough for 85-year-old harriet. we spoke to her. she can't wait. she lost unfortunately two neighbors to the covid-19 virus earlier this year. take a listen. >> a little bit nervous, but i'm definitely going to take it. i became a grandma twice this year and i haven't seen the babies yet which is hurting my heart. it really is. reporter: yeah, look, when we speak to the residents, they are almost 100% willing to take this vaccine. we spoke to staff. there is more trepidation among them than with the residents but a nurse we spoke to said ultimately they know they need to set the example for these

residents who are so vulnerable to covid-19 and they are going to get the vaccine because of that reason. neil? neil: all right. brian, thank you very much. to brian's point, we have to address the trepidation on the part of many people, including a u.s. congressman, in just a second here. dr. nina radcliffe is a big fan of this vaccine, took it herself. doctor, always good to have you. when you look at the reaction right now that people are having to this and the relief for many that it's out there, others skeptical which i will get into with a u.s. congressman in just a second, what do you tell people? i'm sure it was by example you wanted to take it, let your patients know it's a good thing to consider down the road. your thoughts? >> i'm so grateful for this moment in time. the science, the cutting of the red tape. i have been a front line physician since day one on this and you can't unsee putting a breathing tube in somebody who cannot breathe, who is blue and gasping for air, or holding that

patient's hand because their family member can't be there as they die. so i'm very grateful for this. you have to remember, today, there's over 100,000 americans in hospital beds because they are so sick that they cannot recover at home and there's 3,000 people who will die today because of covid-19. so i'm hopeful that this will be what it takes to crush this pandemic the way we did with measles, with mumps, and that we can get to pre-pandemic life. that's what we want. i think history will record that this is the moment that is the beginning of the end of this pandemic. neil: you know, doctor, i spoke to a congressman, ken buck of colorado, republican, who is not going to take this. he's very leery about it, thinks it was rushed, not a fan. listen to this. -- when you will be getting your vaccine? >> i will not be taking the vaccines. neil: can i ask you why?

>> yeah. because i'm more concerned about the safety of the vaccine than i am the side effects of the disease. neil: what do you make of that? he went on to say it was rushed, he went on to say that the jury's still out on this thing. what do you think? >> i disagree. i know it was created with speed but these are abnormal times. we needed a solution fast. it was because of projects like operation warp speed that we were able to super-charge it. again, with 3,000 people dying a day, you know, efficiency was necessary. no corners were cut. tens of thousands of people were tested in these clinical trials and there were no serious complications. and the fda is not going to just let this go on. they are going to continue to monitor this. we are going to keep watching for it and make sure that safety and the efficacy is the priority. neil: so doctor, down the road, assuming moderna's is approved for use, j & j we are told is very close, astrazeneca, we could have quite a few players, quite a few different potential

remedies for this thing. how do you advise your patients on this and how do you pick and choose which might work best for them? >> at this time it's not available to everybody, but as time progresses, i want people to do their research and rely upon not social media where there's a lot of misinformation from the anti-vaxxors. i want them to rely on the cdc, the fda, the local health department to get the facts and understand what vaccines are, and i want them to talk to their doctors to create a vaccine plan. some people may have allergies and that's concerning. or they may have certain immunocompromised conditions and that can be concerning. or you may have had covid already. it's important to create a vaccine plan, how you will get it, when you will get it, what plans you will make for after that. neil: all right. we will watch closely. all good advice. we appreciate it. dr. nina radcliffe, board certified anesthesiologist, has had the vaccine herself.

all right. in the meantime, there are a lot of companies that are looking very closely not only at whether you get the vaccine or whether they should demand you get the vaccine but where you are going, period, whether or not you are getting the vaccine. kristina partsinevelos on companies now that are looking at your holiday plans. not just for christmas holiday. what's going on here? reporter: no. neil, it's the season to stay home or possibly risk losing your job. i know so many of us, myself included, are itching to travel to see family over the holidays. hence the reason we came to penn station. this place is usually booming with people trying to head out of the city for the holiday. but we know people are scaling back because of the increase in cases as well as travel restrictions across the country. but if you plan to travel, the big question is, should you tell your boss or if you don't tell your boss, what will happen once you come back from vacation? the answer may surprise you. >> legally and technically they could take it back but the

reality is, unless they are doing that on a truly consistent basis, many of them are finding it's helpful to be as encouraging as they can and strie de strident in their warnings. reporter: that means your employer can cancel your vacation request if they deem you to be too risky to your co-workers or your work environment. they can actually kick it up a notch. they can actually fire you if you go ahead, go on vacation, don't tell anybody, and you've gone against company policy, because companies, employers need to ensure a safe work environment. we are already seeing people canceling their travel vacation plans. you had southwest airlines say they are seeing an influx of cancellations for the month of december, and then united said that bookings have dropped 70% for december as well as january, compared to last year at this time. so we know maybe some of this could end up in court, you know, the legal battles over your

holiday vacation, but if you want to just avoid all of that, maybe wrap those gifts, send me one, pack your car, and check with your boss or if you don't want to do that, at least check your travel policy. back to you. neil: you could also opt not to tell him. i guess if you came back and had a tan, they might just say where have you been. man, oh, man. reporter: exactly. neil, don't post on social media. nobody will see you. it didn't happen. neil: yeah. it didn't happen. operation ignore. all right, thank you very, very much. i wonder how kennedy feels about this. join her 8:00 p.m. on this fine network. that's pretty strong, shall i say, advice in italics there. i know where companies are coming from, but how do you feel about that? >> i feel like they should have more testing. if you are that concerned, you know, i don't think it's time to be that punitive. i think that you should test

workers if they are working in that kind of close proximity that travel is going to infect an entire workspace. that's what we do for those of us who are in the building, you know. we test twice a week. nice nurse, get a little nasal swab, very intimate. neil: you know what's weird about it? they are going to enforce this if it gets to that point, no matter what trip you're coming back with a tan, i'll always say it's the makeup, baby, it's the makeup, really. what do you do? kennedy: you save the tan in a can. you wait a couple weeks to post the pictures. go some place you have already been and then you can just say no, those were old pictures that i forgot to throw up. then put them up in a few weeks. you're fine. everybody's fine. you have to be safe. planes are relatively safe. they really are. it's much safer than going to the grocery store or going to a

family potluck because on united, i can tell you they clean the planes three times, three different ways, then they give you your own giant alcohol wipe to wipe down your personal area, meaning your seat. that sounded very suggestive. neil: got it. kennedy: so flying is safe. don't touch things in the airport. don't touch people. stop hugging strangers. if you see someone coughing, call the police. neil: very good. i want to get your thoughts as a libertarian and free thinker. we have this colorado congressman on earlier in the show, said he's not going to take the vaccine. he thinks it was rushed out. he's not telling other people to do the same but for him, and he's an older guy. he doesn't have any of these other conditions that would make him part of that risky group, but he's just not a fan, not going to do it and no one can tell him he has to. what do you think of that? kennedy: i don't think we have reached critical mass in terms of people's confidence in the

vaccines that are coming out. but the more people who get it and the fewer people who have side effects, the more people are going to get it. because the more people who have it, then you can really start to resume life and 57% of people who were recently polled said they think it's okay for private workplaces to enforce a mandatory vaccine rule for people to come back into the building. that's an agreement that you have between you and your employer and if there's going to be an entire anti-vax crowd and they want unvaccinated schools and unvaccinated workplaces, then they should just go move to a lovely island somewhere and co-exist together. i'm fine with that. neil: so as a libertarian, you would draw the line at something that could harm other individuals, if you want to be insistent about not taking this vaccine, has the risk of imperilling others so it's not about personal freedom, it's about doing personal harm,

right? kennedy: it's part of your personal freedom, the freedom of association, and that means that you get to apply for a job and if you are hired and if you agree on the conditions, that's where you are going to work. if one of those conditions from your private employer, not from the government, there's a big difference there, if they say if you want to remain employed here, you have to get the vaccine, i think that's fair. neil: you know, i think we will get to a point where companies will demand it. i think even the government's going to demand it of federal workers, state workers, because it has gotten so big and out of control in so many areas. but you don't worry about the next step that, you know, they can force that, they will start to force other things and push their luck? kennedy: i do. i worry about the next step in terms of the government tracing your steps and you know, the government getting in bed with big tech and certain apps to keep tabs on your health. i think that can be incredibly

intrusive and that's something that we have to be mindful of and certainly keep an eye on. but again, you know, you touched on it, it boils down to personal responsibility. you have to take care of yourself and you have to make sure that your actions don't harm others. neil: well said. kennedy, great catching up with you. be well, be safe, healthy, all that stuff. no more sneaky trips, young lady. we're watching you. kennedy: oh, okay. neil: i don't know. kennedy, great seeing you. meantime, we are learning joe biden and his wife, dr. jill biden, will in fact receive their first dose of the vaccine on monday. they are going to do it in public. they are going to be doing it in delaware. a number of top politicos and the like are doing the same. nancy pelosi, mitch mcconnell are supposed to get treatment today. nancy pelosi has, in her office. i don't believe it was televised. mitch mcconnell planning to as well. so now that we hear joe and jill biden will, lot of people are saying when, mr. president, the

current president, are you? - hello, friends. michael youssef here.

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at the hip with a government spending measure to keep the government lights on a while longer. blake burman monitoring all of the above, joins us right now at the white house. hey, blake. reporter: house speaker nancy pelosi was expected to be having a news conference at 2:00 here in washington, d.c. however, we have just learned that will be postponed. what exactly that means for the negotiations and for the prospect of this covid-19 relief, unknown. we literally found out about this in the last couple minutes. as for the ongoing talks, at least as of this morning, some of the things that still needed to be worked out, including the framework and structure around the $600 direct payments and the fed's ability to set up credit lending facilities and whether or not that ability should be wound down. in any event, this morning the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell took to the senate floor and continued to talk in optimistic tones about the prospects of a deal. >> democratic leaders, speaker

pelosi, leader mccarthy and i have been in talks for several days now. the talks remain productive. in fact, i'm even more optimistic now than i was last night. reporter: while these negotiations are ongoing, there was a bit of a moment on the senate floor this morning as the republican senator josh hawley tried to put forth a bill that calls for $1200 direct payments, just like they were in the cares act. however, that was blocked by his republican colleague, senator ron johnson, who expressed his concerns about even more spending. by the way, elsewhere on the hill, we now know the house speaker nancy pelosi received the pfizer covid-19 vaccine today. she tweeted out pictures just a little while ago of her taking that vaccine. members of congress are going to be among the first to get vaccinated. the attending physician laid out the case as to why that should happen in a letter to congressional members, writing quote, the small number of covid-19 vaccine doses we will

be provided reflects a fraction of the first tranche of vaccines as is distributed throughout the country. he goes on to say my recommendation to you is absolutely unequivocal. there is no reason why you should defer receiving this vaccine. back over here at the white house, we also saw today the vice president mike pence and the surgeon general jerome adams also receive the vaccine. you are seeing some of the most senior-most members in washington, d.c. today get their pfizer vaccine shot. neil, back to that pelosi press conference, supposed to be at 2:00, in 38 minutes' time. not sure what that means. something we will have to track down here in the coming minutes. neil? neil: interesting. thank you, blake. blake burman at the white house. want to go to charlie gasparino. he has been following this as well. charlie, no matter whether you are for or against stimulus relief, whatever, we are talking some big eye-popping numbers, aren't we? charlie: you know, neil, the deficit was going to be pretty

substantial before covid, tax cuts kicked in. the economy was doing better but still, there was a trade war which depressed gdp growth, which also, you know, didn't hurt the economy in a way it's hurting now, but it depressed economic growth and that led to more of a deficit. we were talking before pandemic a $1 trillion deficit which sounded large. now we are talking by the end of the year more than $3 trillion, depending on what statistics. some people say it's 3.1, some people said, i think the cbo said it could be as high as 3.7 but you get the idea. the deficit has basically tripled in the last eight months. i just want to put it into context a little better. the overall size of the debt now, the deficit is the difference between what the government brings in and gives out to people, that's $3 trillion. the debt itself is $27 trillion.

that's about $69,000 per u.s. citizen. that's a lot of benjamins to be owing to the communist chinese. little more context here. the debt as a percentage of gdp, now that's engaged in the country's ability to repay its borrowing based on the size of its gdp, is the highest it's ever been since world war ii, where obviously we went into massive debt essentially to defeat the nazis and the japanese. it was 113% of gdp, debt to gdp, back then. it is now around 98% which isn't that far off. you get the picture here. this is a lot of money to pay back. we are going to have to pay it back, unless you ascribe to the modern monetary theory which says you can just keep printing money forever, there will be no consequence, there will never be a run on the dollar or there

will never be a time when someone switches their reserve currency to a more stable fiscal entity, maybe china becomes more stable in the future, and people start making that the currency that they should trade on. you know, then this isn't a big deal. but if you follow what most economists believe is the truth, that if you make something more of something, it's worth less in the long run, this is pretty staggering stuff. there's going to have to be a tax increase at some point which isn't good as we are coming out of the pandemic. back to you. neil: all right. charlie, thank you very much. charlie gasparino following all of that. california, of course, is no stranger to tax hikes and the like, but we are always hearing that even if it doesn't happen at the federal level, states like california it's happening, in new york it will be happening, in new jersey, it is happening. so we have a question in our

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neil: all right. what if we raise something that goes against consensus? we are looking at a lot of people pooh-poohing the exodus of people from places like california, high tax states. we told you about hewlett-packard enterprises, oracle, elon musk who personally wants to move to texas over california, but the general view is it's not long term because california is the place to be, there will still be population growth but what if that doesn't happen? if it continues at the pace it's

happening, forget about population growth slowing. population itself will be inverting, in other words, it will be seeking out these lower tax environments like texas, like florida, and the big high tax states will suffer immeasurably. my panel is with me now. inez, what do you think of that? >> i think this is just a capstone on a lot of pressures, particularly in california, my former home state here, on the middle class particularly. some of those pressures are political, some have to do with taxes and high regulation but others of them have to do with cultural issues and finally, in recent months, of course, very very stringent lockdowns in the state of california in comparison to some of the surrounding states, including more difficulty getting schools open. that has a lot of people, especially the middle class in california that's been squeezed for years finally considering to get out. i personally know a bunch of

families who are, you know, fourth, fifth generation families in california for the first time are actually considering leaving the state and some of them have left the state. i mean, there is a real movement here. neil: you know what changes, ethan, whatever people personally decide to do because of their own financial circumstances, when their bosses do it for them, when oracle does it, when hewlett-packard enterprises does it, is there concern that that scenario becomes reality? >> yeah, this is a really big issue, neil. you nailed it on the head. really, with the companies when they start moving employees, for example, toyota moved to the dallas-ft. worth metroplex a couple years ago as well and employees had the choice to move to texas or stay here and not have a job anymore. look, it is a real concern. it's not fake news that big companies calculate how the cost of living and taxes affect the

key employees and that they are, some of them are leaving. i have a very close friend who himself has just moved out of the state of california and moved his company to texas. these are real things. however, the answer isn't just to take pot shots at california. we need to look at what is exactly going on and there's been conversation for 20 years here that there's an overreliance on income taxes, whether it's personal income taxes or corporate taxes, and we need to shift that away and look at what prop 13 did to our property tax system and how that actually benefits the 1% who choose to quickly move to a state like texas or florida like you said, but still own a house in california and benefit from all of the wonderful things like the beach, the mountains, the snow, the desert, all the great, glorious environment that this state offers, but we tweaked it in a way that benefits the 1% and the middle class gets carved out. let's take the focus off of income taxes and shift it where it could be. neil: you're right about some of

that but probably it was 13 that helped a lot more than the top 1%. there was a limit in how much they could push real estate taxes up. but you do raise a good point when it comes, and inez, you can help me with this, he's right to talk about why are we just picking on california. because we want to pick on new york and new jersey as well. i could joke about it but to make the point, is there a lesson here that's being lost? because the reality is these states still have very very high taxes and the reality is that unless the senate, you know, switches democrat right now, joe biden might have difficulty raising taxes on the federal level, but all this is going on at the state level and more states like new york are considering hiking taxes on the wealthy and whathave you, so the backdrop for incoming biden administration is all these states raising taxes to balance the books and compounding the recovery problem here. what do you make of that? >> well, i think the balance is

off, right. people were willing to pay very high taxes to live in california, to live in new york, because there was a lot -- first there were a lot of high-paying jobs in those areas. the cities of california and new york have themselves been attractions, great restaurants, great cultural attractions, museums, the city lights, people were willing to pay to live in some of these places like san francisco and new york because of that. now there's a couple factors that are sort of rejiggering that balance, right. one of course, a lot of that stuff is shut down and two, even companies that are staying within the area right now, a lot of people are working from home and that is allowing them to move all around the country, to perhaps look for a place with a lower cost of living and so on, somewhere where their families can be more comfortable. those forces are not going to immediately go away, especially as most companies are looking at working from home through 2021,

that are working from home now. so and finally, i just have to say something about prop 13, as a native californian. it's prop 13, first of all, only capped the rate of increase in property taxes. california still has quite middle of the road property taxes. not like they had extraordinarily low property taxes. second of all, prop 13 went into effect because you have a lot of people in their 70s and 80s who had paid off their home when it was worth a lot less when they bought it, that were getting driven out of their homes because of burgeoning real estate in california. so there's a very real problem there and i always find it kind of laughable the way californians blame prop 13 for everything, not the massive spending that california has been doing. no, it's the fact they have this one tax despite all the other taxes that they have that are ranked one or two in the country. neil: let's let ethan answer that. [ speaking simultaneously ] >> it's easy, prop 13, what you

need to do is do like other states. by the way, inez is a little bit off. california is 35th out of 50 states in terms of property tax. it's in the lower third. here's what you need to do with prop 13. it really needs to be abolished immediately. what you do is you triple the property tax rate across the board and then you give a 67% deduction for homesteaders and then you give a 75% deduction for homestead people that are of retirement age. you saw everything prop 13 was supposed to do and then you make sure the 1% and the foreign investors who have created this housing crisis in the state of california by owning homes that are empty, you resolve that problem by raising their property taxes dramatically, offsetting a reduction in income tax rates. it's actually not that hard to do. politically it's very hard to do because of what inez just put out there. that's the argument we can't change because it's something that was done in the '70s. that can be easily addressed. neil: all right.

we've got to see. [ speaking simultaneously ] i wish we had more time. blessedly, we do not. i want to thank you both. have a safe, healthy holiday. it's going to be crazy times for sure. when we come back, what do you think is one of the things that's really boomed during the shutdown? we're not going to talk about this little baby boomlet that's starting. don't think that way. i want you to think gaming. serious gaming. after this. everyone wants on the 5g america's been waiting for. verizon 5g is next level. now get one of our best 5g phones on us when you buy one. and get $500 when you switch. plus select unlimited plans include disney+, hulu, and espn+. 100% obsessed with "the mandalorian." i watch a lot of sports. it has all my favorite shows. and right now, the gaming the whole family will love is also on us. it's like a gift on top of another gift. gifts keep coming at you. everywhere.

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solarwinds hack you just described that apparently emanated in russia is described by microsoft president brad smith last night as, listen to this, i'm quoting here, an attack on the united states and its government and other critical institutions, including security firms. it illuminates ways the cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve and become even more dangerous. as much as anything, this attack provides a moment of reckoning. yeah. a moment of reckoning. originally the reporting on the breach focused on the hacks of u.s. governmental agencies like the department of commerce, the department of treasury, but now we are understanding there was much more thorough going, making clear in the statement released last night the attack is ongoing and that it has targeted scores of corporate players. microsoft said it has identified and has been working this week to notify 40 of those. now, the security software

company solawinds has reported the malware was inserted into the company's orion products that may have been installed by 17,000 customers. the map you should be looking at is giving you a sense of how widespread that targeting has been. amazing, right? well, the infotech sector, software firms, i.t. services, equipment providers, they represent about 44% of the targets of recent attacks and that's according to microsoft. government and government contractors representing about 27% of those targets. and according to smith, such attacks are increasingly becoming privatized. 21st century mercenaries, think of that. smith notes the range of targets has grown and he says some of these nation state actors are even targeting some six of the companies out there that are making covid-19 vaccines.

so it's really a range of possible attacks and a range of possible targets out there, really, that these bad guys are going after. really an unbelievable and everybody involved saying this is probably the worst cyberattack ever, full stop. neil, back to you. neil: yeah. scary as well, to your point. gerri, thank you very much. gerri willis following that. another thing that's grown a lot, particularly during the pandemic, just as my next guest forecast when we were talking to him way back last spring, when we were all just hunkering down, gaming. it's up more than 46% during that period. i remember when kurt knudsson, the cyberguy, discussed that possibility and we sloughed him off. i don't think i will slough him off now. good to see you. doesn't surprise you, right, everyone hunkered down and now gaming like crazy, right? >> exactly. no wonder why gaming is up 46% this year to an all time high

according to nelson media research. it's not just fun and games. let's start with smart toys topping the holiday list for the best gifts for kids. this right here is brilliant. it's getting a whole bunch of best-of reviews and awards. it's the botley 2.0 coding robot. it's really just genius screen-free coding robot to learn resources, gets kids ready to code right out of the box. it makes them smarter, it's 100% screen-free coding challenges, night vision, it's awesome and fun. then you jump to this. a smart watch for kids. it looks like a grown-up's watch but it's actually just a $60 amazing piece of technology called kiddy zoom smart watch. you can snap selfies, take pictures, and this right here is

selling out. it's about $359 and because it's designs to build a robot inventor app. kids can gain easy essential s.t.e.m. learning stills kills y build and code with this. it keeps them busy for a super long time. this is a dell gaming laptop xps13. great gaming laptop, great for school, gets it done. it is the number one most awarded laptop dell has. this is the latest one. why are they buzzing about it? right here is the screen that is edge-to-edge on that. two great games to keep in mind. marvel adventures for $60 and the e-football 2021 huge series, just got bigger. can't go wrong at less than $30. more at cyberguy.com. i will review all of it in greater form. neil: so while i have you, i didn't want to just throw a curveball. sony and the ds5 and to a lesser

extent, the xbox offering. people can't get their hands on them. i hear people say bots are running this, they buy up everything, then they leave you to figure out whether you are up to paying -- >> you're right. and the way out is to go brick and mortar. gamestop, the actual store, they are dropping five units or so per day. throughout the week spot inventory will happen. try to get it online, you're right, the bots are going right after it. ps5 is the hottest game console this christmas, no doubt. neil: incredible. you have been remarkably prescient, all these developments. i remember you talking about gaming would be big and i should have put two and two together and invested accordingly but i did not do that. have a very very happy holiday and a safe one, at that. the cyberguy. he knows of what he speaks. we are down about 182 points right now. everyone waiting for a couple of things. first word on stimulus and whether we will get it and a vaccine and how soon we will be

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neil: you know, today's selloff notwithstanding, it's really been a remarkable year. going into the day with the dow up 6%, s&p 15%, the nasdaq even with the downdraft today, up more than 42%. a lot of people say how do you repeat that in the new year, how do you financially plan in a year where you had something so stunning offset obviously by the pandemic but maybe rising because of the pandemic. tom wheelwright knows, he's an accountant by training. i always think that helps and gives him a lot more credibility. tom, very good to have you. thank you very much. how do people play it, you know, a lot of their finances, the markets notwithstanding, were banged up during the pandemic. a lot of people saved a little more. but there are a good many in a world of hurt. how do they prepare for '21? >> well, first of all, make sure that you have money set aside. we have a potential stimulus package. hopefully we will get that this weekend. but i don't think you can

guarantee it. so you might actually have to look for other income sources like starting a new business which is always a great way to earn a little extra money. neil: you are also a big believer in watch what you're spending. millionaires can go broke and people who have decent salaries can go broke because they are spending more than they're taking in. will that remain an important theme? >> oh, you know, this pandemic is far from being over. the pandemic is as much an economic pandemic for many, many, many millions of people. so you definitely want to watch what you spend and make sure that that money's going to last you for the foreseeable future. neil: i always tell people you are the expert here but if you are planning on spending money you haven't gotten yet, maybe you should rethink that. to your point about the stimulus package and whether stimulus checks are going to go out, $1200 or $600 or anything, don't spend money you don't have yet because you might not get it.

right? >> well, that's for sure. in fact, you want to make sure that money that you do spend, i would plan on having a surplus. you want to make sure you've got surplus set aside. if somebody offers you money, if somebody offers you a loan for your business, if the government offers you money, don't be turning that down. neil: the government is going to be offering people money. some of them with the paycheck protection program require a little more than proof that your revenues or business have been hurt by the pandemic. others like to treat it as a loan. it becomes as a loan, albeit with low rates. what do you do? >> you take the money. because for example, the eidl loans, this is money that's readily available, there's new eidl money in the new stimulus package, and you just take it. yes, it comes with low interest rates. if you don't need it down the road, then pay it back. but for right now, it's important to have cash on hand

because you don't know what's coming down the road. neil: well said. worst case scenario, just be ready. tom wheelwright, "tax-free wealth" the book. good read on all things money. do not spend what you don't have yet or what you don't have now. t-mobile is upgrading its network

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neil: all right. all this could change at the corner of wall and broad if we can get a deal, confirmation of, you know, a new vaccine out. for now we are down about 185 points. still an up week for the dow. so far, so good. here's charles. charles: thank you very much, neil. so far, so good, is right. i'm charles payne. this is "making money." breaking at this moment, yeah, the markets are edging lower but it's a quiet, orderly trading session. it could become explosive, even volatile into the close. you've got six new names joining the nasdaq 100 and tesla joining the s&p 500. don't let this lackluster action of these major indices fool you. there are several big-time rates inside this market. the question is, is it too late to join the fun? the clock ticking on a government shutdown as the street is waiting for potential fiscal stimulus to happen over the weekend. each day, more signs the v-shaped reun