the virus rate is down. the deaths are down. i would call those all positive. and the dow industrials and the s&p and nasdaq responding with record highs this monday morning. time's up for me. jerry baker. sir, it is yours. >> welcome to "cavuto: coast to coast." thanks very much indeed, stuart. i'm gerry baker in for neil cavuto. stocks starting the week in sea of green. we'll ask republican congressman tom reed about a new plan to send families with kids extra money. as teachers unions agree to return to class, others say they will stay virtual. we'll talk to former education secretary margaret spellings

whether the fallout is just beginning. alabama workers are set to vote about one of the most consequential decisions in decades. cowe see the first hourly union for workers in at some con coming up. first to the stop story we're following today. democrats want to send families an additional $3,000 per child as part of the stimulus deal. hillary vaughn is in washington with the details. reporter: gerry, top democrats in congress are about to introduce a bill today that would offer direct cash payments to some families $3,000 per child in a direct cash benefit. the bill would be in addition to money that families will get if congress passes the $1.9 trillion stimulus package later this month. in this proposal pioneered by house ways and means chairman richard neal, making $7,500,000,

3,000 -- $3,000 for kids up to age 17. republicans are sounding the alarm that this will add to the taxpayers tab. former advisor to obama that helped steer recovery out of 2008 resession warning that the stimulus package is already too big, saying in an op-ed the package would paid off lower income workers thousands more than they would be making if they were working. writing this yesterday in the "washington post," quote, i'm all for doing everything necessary to help the direct and indirect victims of the pandemic but i do not think the case has been made that this requires the proposed level of total stimulus. at the proposed level of unemployment benefits more than half of laid off workers will see their incomes rise. but treasury secretary janet yellen is pushing back on her predecessors current criticism of the stimulus side. >> my predecessor, you know, he

has indicated that there is a chance that this will cause inflation to rise and that is also a risk that we have to consider but we face a huge economic challenge here and tremendous suffering in the country. we've got to address that. that is the biggest risk. reporter: some conservatives, gerry, worry that this benefit would not expire after one year like the bill plans but instead become permanent a way for democrats to get some version of a universal basic income in place. gerry? gerry: thank very much. just to be clear that 3,000-dollar per child extra benefit is in addition to the 1400-dollar per adult benefit that the bill already includes, right? >> yeah. it is completely separate from stimulus checks that anyone would be getting but this is in place, phased out over the year in a monthly payment to families. gerry: hillary vaughn, thanks very much indeed for joining us. there are fears this benefit is extremely expensive as you heard

larry summers in his op-ed pointing out. this is an enormous fiscal expansion that it may not be very efficient the way it is targeted and impact it may have on the overall economy. joining me is problem-solvers caucus co-chair congressman tom reed. congressman, thanks for joining me. >> good to be with you. thanks for having me on. gerry: this is another significant benefit democrats want to add in addition to the stimulus we saw in december, the one in the covid relief bill we're talking about now. this sounds like really significant expansion of benefits. do you think these are actually, these are affordable? >> obviously there is always a opportunity to come to an agreement and we're willing to negotiate in good faith but also understand what this 3,000-dollar tax credit, it will impact the existing 2000 tax credit already there for children. if you look what they're doing

to target the benefit, you will increase taxes on those that receive the existing 2000 tax credit out there. "the washington post" had the commentary. for somebody who ran on the idea of not raising taxes on those making $400,000 or less, that question has to be asked as we go through this debate and that is something i don't think there is an answer for as i look at there proposal coming in front of the committee on ways and means f you raise taxes on people with that 2,000 tax credit, that is existing by what you're doing with this 3,000-dollar tax credit, i think someone has got to answer that question. but that being said we need to be working together. that is why we in the problem-solvers caucus broke off $160 billion for immediate vaccine distribution and assistance. we should come to agreement easily on that. we have variants going on in the economy. with variants and virus itself that need to be addressed. let's work together to get this out the door asap. gerry: congressman the other thing that concerns people, larry summers hinted at this in

his op-ed, others on democratic side, republican side, at least the big payments are not very well-targeted, are they? we've seen with the first round of stimulus checks last year, a huge number of them were saved. obviously very poor people need that money to pay for basic necessities but the vast majority of people who are in work simply save that money t wasn't really very effective getting money out to the economy in a way people spend in a way to stimulate the economy. >> now you're getting it and that is why i think the american people are. they recognize as republicans and democrats our fellow americans need help and need relief. you can do it in targeted way. we have $900 billion out the door. of the problem-solvers caucus got that taken care of december 27th, this past year, and that money is still going out of the door in washington, d.c. let's be smart. larry summers was an economic advisor of president clinton, president obama. he was a treasury secretary that

really gets it now. he is understanding look it, don't go too far. make sure you get the goldilocks type of position. i got to tell i think he is on to something here and there are republicans that want to work with president biden, that want to come up with a targeted package that can be reasonable and give relief to our fellow americans that we need. that is where we need to be smart. don't worry about the politics. we're in a emergency. we're in a crisis. let's work together. gerry: thanks, congressman. looks like democrats are split on key elements of the covid relief plan including who should be eligible to get the checks. bernie sanders for example, says he opposing cutting income gap for the 1400-dollar stimulus. listen. listen for a second. >> from a political point of view it is absurd to be telling working-class people, somebody has a decent union job, making 55, $60,000, sorry, you're not eligible for the program. makes no sense to me at all. nor do i think it makes sense to the american people. gerry: congressman, you heard

that heard what other democrats said, there is significant support among democrats for much wider, much wider estimate us are. how is the government eventually going to pay for all of this additional stimulus? >> no. exactly i think that's where recognizing that as you do reconciliation, try to do this as a one party only and not look to reasonable republican like us in the problem-solvers caucus that want to work together, find common ground, 80% is a victory, not a defeat, i think you will see as you go through this process, more and more of us stepping up. put the american people first. what this divide you're seeing from bernie sanders and others start to come into focus, there will be a need for us to step up, to have a conversation. to president biden we want you to succeed. as a republican who believes in america, we want the president to succeed. we want president trump to succeed. because when the presidency wins, when the congress works, america wins. that's what we should be focused on as we go forward.

gerry: congressman, briefly, are you getting indication. you're willing to support the president. getting indication that the president, white house, the maybe moderate democrats are willing to come to meet you on this? >> they are. that is why we were able to break out the 160 billion in the problem-solvers caucus. we got to bipartisan support. we got to 70%, 75% consensus. we were able to say 356 members of us came together, 160 billion vaccine relief. get it out the door, iasp the white house met with us. olive branch goes to the presidency. time to set politics and partisanship behind us. we're in a emergency. 200,000 potential deaths over the next two months. we cannot break down. we need to prevent the deaths. let's get the vaccine, get that out. fine common ground as we go through the process. gerry: congressman reed, thanks for joining us. >> good to be with you. gerry: investors look to signs of stimulus.

let's bring in market watchers, larry and barry glazer. start with you, another pretty positive day on wall street, new highs. lots of optimism about the virus, stimulus what are the main issues that are driving this continued, this continued positive investor sentiment? >> i think a couple of things. one is really macro level. even concern about whether the new varian includes issues. there are multiple vaccines on the market. they are being distributed. the pace needs to pick up. there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. that is number one. the second piece of this, this has been a very busy earnings season and more than 50% of the s&p have now reported. 80% have been beating other earnings estimates. when we actually look at the context business is performing very well in light of a health environment in terms of covid containment that looks as though there is a plan to get it under control. those are the sentiments i think are driving the type of

performance we've been seeing over the course of today. gerry: larry, we've seen great earnings numbers. there are forecasts for economic growth this year once the virus, once the vaccines are really in place. upwards, six, seven, 8% forecast for 2021 growth i've seen. i wonder if the market, assuming all that, discounting all that, priced for perfection, if anything goes wrong we could see some tumbles from these highs? >> look, there is no doubt that expectations have become very high in the financial markets. of course optimism around the virus, optimism around the reopening, recovery trade. all of those are true. expectations of continued stimulus coming out of washington. more importantly if we look at sector leadership from the market, we are starting to see inflation creep in how market reacts. energy up dramatically this year ironically in the ev and energy leadership sector. consumers, staples, other areas reflecting this reopening trade. the defensive stocks are

starting to lag cyclicals. industrials are starting to lead. with that comes an elevated level of expectation. and i think the stimulus you talk about is a really important jump oaf point. stimulus is chicken wings at the super bowl. first couple is good idea. too much you get heartburn the next day. that is the fear investors have. will we get a sustainable recovery and sustainable financial markets or get a up and down jerky markets? that is the worry of investors. perspective valuation, valuation is very rich and it is enabled because of this government stimulus. the wealth gap has gotten greater in this country as a result of record stimulus we already seen in the spring, when the government was in freefall and the wealth gap may get greater result of additional stimulus, one of the unintended consequences of a lot of policies coming out of washington right now. gerry: we've seen a significant

steepening in the yield curve, short-term treasuries are down very close to zero. 10-year treasurys, you know up above relatively recent highs, up above 100 basis points and longer dated treasurys, longer that that. that is sign investors expecting rapid inflation growth and something as larry said should be a at some point a cause for concern? >> i don't think it's a concern right now. i think the thing people are most focused on making sure there is sustained recovery. when it comes to looking at inflation, janet yellen has been very clear. her primary focus has been insuring back to full employment next year. i think if there is concern, it is not manifesting itself right now. that is something we would look to more, as we get to the later part of this year, we see whether yellen's prognostications are true. gerry: larry, briefly, bitcoin prices are surging, tesla purchased 1 1/2 billion in bitcoin and plans to tip the payments.

it has been very volatile. there is tremendous interest in it. can that be sustained? >> you may have thought this was a car company selling electric vehicles. it is really a car -- masquerading as a car company. of course it is now a bitcoin play. maybe elon musk should focus more on making cars. it is going to get very competitive. last night gm talked about cars coming online be electric. europe is chasing him. he will have competition on the high-end, competition on the low end. a lot of electric vehicle cars. he needs to focus on his day job and stop tweeting and day trading. gerry: he also was weighing in last week on the great gamestop, the great gamestop surge too. he is busy man. he has plenty of time to dispense advice on all kinds of things. larry, ann, stay there we'll see you later in the show. meantime the battle to reopen schools rages on. have teachers unions taken

things too far? we'll talk to former education secretary margaret spellings after the break. ♪. the lexus es, now available with all-wheel drive. this rain is bananas. lease the 2021 es 250 all-wheel drive for $349 a month for thirty six months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer.

♪. >> i mean we've been an emotional roller coaster with all of this. we've been told, you know, extension after extension after extension with little time to prepare for it and i'm very apprehensive to tell my one daughter we'll be back on the 17th. my one daughter in high school there is no plan for her now to get back to the classroom. gerry: students could be returning to the classroom soon in the windy city. teachers seemed to reach a tentative agreement over the weekend. mike tobin is live in chicago with the latest. reporter: tentative is the a key word there, gerry. at long last there could be a deal that gets teachers and students back in the classroom. the mayor and the chief of schools announcing the development yesterday. >> this most recent process with the ctu has been very hard and complicated, particularly because we've been wrestling with health and safety issues in the middle of a pandemic when

emotions are fraught and the fear is real. i am confident, confident, that the measures that we have and will put in place will make our schools even safer than they already are. reporter: the teachers union says not so fast. tweeting there is no agreement yet between the union and the board of education. what they have is a framework. the agreement needs to be approved by the ctu house of delegates and ratified by the vote of the rank-and-file but essentially it allow as phased in return to the classroom if teachers have access to the vaccine and there are thresholds to shut down if the virus surges. the vote to ratify could come as early as tomorrow when we could see the phased in approach to get students back in the classroom begin this week. e gerry. gerry: mike, as you saw from the tweet they haven't necessarily, not absolutely a done deal. is there anything else, anything that could derail it, is there anything else they're demanding?

reporter: the first step there is a board within the teachers union the house of delegates. they have to approve it, send it to the rank-and-file. the development that could tank it the rank-and-file doesn't approve it. not a done deal but they're calling progress. gerry: very h thank you very much. teachers facing a lot of heat over all the school closures around the country. have they maybe pushed it too far? they alienate ad lot of parents. they seem to be alienating a lot of their democratic colleagues in local governments. president biden weighed in too, suggesting they need to go back. former education secretary margaret spellings joins us now. secretary, thank you very much indeed. >> gerry, great to be here. gerry: this is going on a long time. there are kids who have not been in school in places like chicago almost a year. maybe there is a deal in chicago as we heard from mike tobin, do you think this may be, people are angry with what is going on the fact that kids are losing

out not being in the classroom. will this deal a blow to the teachers union? will this change the way perhaps the power that the teachers unions have? how do you think this might change the way people view, not the teachers themselves but the unions who seem to have so much power? >> you know i think it really could. i think the unions have really overplayed their hands. moms in particular, but moms and dads are shaking hair heads, pulling their hair out. they need their children back in school for the functioning of our communities and our families. science tells us it is one of the safest places you can be, far safer than community spread generally. we have reduced incidents in our schools and yes, i think they're overplaying their hand in this instance. gerry: do you think the biden administration has given a clear lead? we've been back and forth, the cdc said the science is clear, there is no significant threat from being back in school. that was, we were told speaking only in a personal capacity by

the white house press secretary. the president weighed in over the weekend. democratic administration, democratic unions are very important contributors to democratic covers. do you think, do you think that the administration is on top of this? do you think they're finally sending a signal to these unions it is time to get back in the classroom? >> i do. they have admonished us to follow the science and dr. fauci has been very clear about one of the first things we need to do is get our students back in school. you know, there are not risk-free propositions today. the risks that our students are suffering educationally, mental health, food and other supports is tragic. and frankly you know our private schools, charter schools. many suburban communities are back in school. it is our disadvantaged communities. our low income students are suffering harshest consequences of all of this. it is really tragic. gerry: madam secretary, thanks very much indeed for joining us. >> thank you.

gerry: still ahead on coast to coast, many blue states are facing, encountering blunders over their vaccine rollouts for the covid-19 vaccine. why some say the progressive leaders are simply missing the mark in these states and they're sacrificing efficiency at the worst time possible. ♪.

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gerry: fox has learned republican congressman ron wright of texas has died. wright tested positive for coronavirus several weeks ago. he also battled lung cancer, he was 67 years old. a statement from a spokesperson says over the past few years, congressman wright kept a rigorous work schedule on the floor of u.s. house of representatives and at home in texas being treated for cancer. they were admitted to baylor

hospital in dallas after contracting covid-19. our thoughts and prayers for his family. astrazeneca shares found small scale study found it is less effective than the vaccine distributed in south africa. they are developing a new generation of vaccine after the officials suspended the vaccine's distribution. president biden will visit a vaccine facility today in arizona. we're learning in many blue states they're struggling with the distribution of the vaccine. edward lawrence has the story. reporter: this really boils down to process versus flexibility. what we're finding that some governors move quickly in creating guidelines but not hard and fast rules to get the vaccine distributed. for example, florida, florida's governor prioritized getting as many shots in arms as possible. almost immediately, opening up the vaccine distribution to the most vulnerable and senior

citizens. whereas a state like new york, set rules that only first-responders could get it early on as well as nursing homes and the shot sat in freezers, about 50% of medical professionals wanted it. the brooks institute researched all of this. west virginia has been very good getting 92% in arms and marylander has the same ratio as california, 64%. listen to him. >> state officials, will very frankly admit that maryland and other states as well got off to a very slow start because they were just beginning to administer a very complex system and problems cropped up that they did not anticipate. so a number of states are experiencing a tension between speed on the one hand and other desirable features of the distribution system on the

other. and there is no way around this tension. reporter:galston said in part a large supply went to hospitals and nursing homes which didn't share with the health departments. waiting on their own people to be vaccinated. health departments that struggle to get enough doses themselves. in fact governors are starting to reallocate some of that supply. the governor of south carolina tweeted out by mistake extra supply went to nursing homes. they will be reallocated to the health departments. california, texas seeing the same mistake, doing the same thing. back to you, gerry. gerry: there has been some suggestion in some states, bill was as you heard was hinting at this, some states prioritized other issues than getting vaccine out quickly. they have been maybe prioritizing who gets it there is lot of conversation about equity and making sure right communities are getting it. is that part of the explanation of very wide explanation in the

way the vaccine is rolled out? reporter: it is, what he is saying, in some research what he found there were hard and fast tiers in some areas. those states stuck to those tiers around waited it out to make sure to see if folks, more folks would come get the vaccination. it ended up not happening. 50% of those front line workers are actually taking the vaccines. most of it is sitting in hospitals. it is sitting in freezers. some in hospitals. some in nursing homes. we're starting to see redistribution take place. states are slower to recognize this. you look at california, look at new york, illinois is another one of those which is only 67% to the shots that they have gotten to shots going in the arms, they are slower to recognize this. as they do, that is when the vaccine, gerry is going back into the arms there. this research is showing to come to that conclusion with some of those states. you mentioned most of them. most of those were blue states.

gerry: thanks, edward, there is interesting pattern between the red and blue states. let's bring back the panel. ann berry and larry glazer to talk about this. there is concern, the cloud out there on the horizon for everybody as we look at vaccines being rolled out and hospitalizations declining and numbers generally going in the right direction, but the clouds out there is concerned about the variants, have the uk variant, brazilian variant, some getting most concerned about the south african variant, numbers from astrazeneca, seems very ineffective against, how much, doesn't seem to weigh as far as the market is concerned, to the general optimism at least in much of the world we're going to start seeing the beginning of the end of this later this year? >> i think in terms of the optimism there is general, which you mentioned, gerry, optimism will remain there. people will get used to the idea

of being boosted, getting generations of the shot and science, continues to unpack what they are doing with variations look like. certain sectors whether optimism will be so strong. while these variants continue to be -- quarantines will stay in place and like international travel they may not be quite optimistic so they see a bit of a better handle keeping variants uncontrol. gerry: larry, markets again seem to be shrugging this off. the good news is that even for these vaccines that don't seem to be quite as effective dealing with these variants they do seem to protect against more serious cases of the disease, more hospitalizations, that seems to be generally speaking leading to more positive sentiment? >> gerry, that that is a good p. in a sense investors say things are better in the future. we're not out of woods in the

economy. not out of the woods in terms of virus, variants are still out there. investors are not only suffering from covid and covid fatigue and low interest rates. the low interest rates created to help stimulate the economy have had unintended consequences forcing investors to do something with their money with higher return. we're moving out of cash probably something it doesn't want to be in, that keeps boosting the financial markets, as long as interest rates are zero. they will look to generate yield and also return that has effect of boosting asset prices, real estate, second homes, all over the country in different asset classes as policy changes. gerry: as we switch gears we will talk about senator bernie sanders who seems to be determined as you probably would expect to continue his campaign to get the minimum wage increased in, get an increase in the relief package even though president biden says it won't survive. take a listen to this. >> you cannot make it in any state on this country on nine or 10 bucks an hour. we have to raise the minimum

wage to 15 bucks an hour. as chairman of the budget committee have a room full of lawyers working as hard as we can to make the case to the parliamentarian that in fact raising the minimum wage will have significant budget implications. gerry: congressional budget office actually is saying that a 15-dollar minimum wage increase would, would add another $54 billion to the budget deficit. so, ann, obviously the concerns about, well, the there may be a case for a lot of people, a lot of low-paid workers would like to see a higher minimum wage, many businesses are struggling to stay open, especially many workers, businesses that employ workers on minimum wages like the hospitality industry. is this a good time for the economy to be doubling the federal minimum wage? >> it is a great question, to be clear, the -- minimum wage wouldn't be instantaneous, wouldn't changeover night. it would have a path of several

years towards raising the rate to that standard. i think part of this would be really understanding how it would be part of the negotiation if it is not the minimum wage concept isn't completely removed which president biden is anticipating, a long enough runway to have it come in we make sure we don't see hospitality simultaneously get burned with cost basis and no recovery in their revenue. if this happens it will be a important piece of this to see if sectors impacted can be sustained there. gerry: larry, thank you very much indeed. coming up president trump's impeachment trial gets underway tomorrow. as democrats seek to tie him to last month's capitol riots. we're breaking down how that is playing out in washington after the break.

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♪. >> there has to be a consistent standard and to my mind it's a partisan farce and zero chance

ever conviction, 45 republicans have said it is not even a legitimate proceeding. it is really over before it starts. gerry: senator rand paul casting doubt on the legitimacy of donald trump's second impeachment trial which starts tomorrow. my colleague "wall street journal" editorial page writer jillian melchior joins me now. thanks for coming. thanks for joining me. >> thanks for having me. gerry: so we know how this movie ends, right? we've seen it once before in the last couple of years. we saw from the vote a couple weeks ago that there aren't the votes almost certainly, very unlikely enough votes to convict donald trump t would require 17 republicans. that seems pretty unlikely. so what is the point of this spectacle? what can we expect? what are the political factors that are driving it? >> i think democrats have two main goals. one to define the entire republican party by what happened on january 6th.

we've seen a really concentrated effort to do that, to paint republicans as far right radicals, alt-right. people hello bent on destruction. i think the goal here to put republicans in a tough spot, they have to vote on principle against donald trump and upset their base, or further the narrative donald trump continues to define the republican party. this is a very much a political decision. we'll see how it plays out. gerry: and exactly as you say they're putting republicans under pressure. we saw last week with the back and forth over congresswoman liz cheney who in the end obviously was elected to the leadership position in the house quite comfortably. she is phasing a primary challenge. ben sasse, senator ben sasse censured by his own party. there is pressure on those that

will vote for impeachment or vote on his convict. how much support do you think at the grassroots level in a way that will make live difficult for those republicans who choose to vote to convict him? >> i am spending the winter in cheyenne, wyoming, going out a couple weeks ago, when there was a rally against liz cheney. matt gaetz speaking, pretty sensationalistic terms about a primary challenge. it is interesting. anything that gets several hundred people in the small state state of wyoming is pretty big deal. i think republicans have to contend with a base that like trump more than they like. gerry: democrats, some democrats i've spoken to, putting donald trump straight back in the spotlight what he wants. it serves his benefit. it doesn't really serve the party very much to be talking once again about donald trump for the next two weeks. there is concern about that. is there risk there for the

democrats in pursuing this. >> there is risk that half the country feels politically frustrated and politically disenfranchised this is a defining moment for the biden administration. we're looking at stimulus, several policies that are politically polarizing, i think that there is some attempt to define the republican party by donald trump and demonize the republican party what happened on january 6th. a lot of people who may not have liked trump's personality are completely horrified what happened at the capitol who also don't like the far left's politics of the democratic party right now. so, i do think that they're playing with fire in that respect. gerry: keeps the focus on the republicans rather than on some of the things that they're doing. gillian, thank you very much. >> thank you. gerry: still ahead new immigration rules are set to reduce arrests and deportations. how i.c.e. officers will be limited how they handle everything from assaults to

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williamwilliam la jeunesse is in los angeles with new guidelines i.c.e. officers may be facing. reporter: white house said the southern border is not open but three things happened over the weekend that sends a very different message. number one that i.c.e. directive that agents concentrate on national security threats and violent felons released from prison and not deport migrants arrested or convicted of assault, drunk driving, narcotics, money laundering, fraud, threat or bribery, or domestic violence. one agent they have abolished i.c.e. without abolishing i.c.e. the pendulum is so extreme it feels like we've gone from the ability to fully enforce our immigration laws to being told to enforce nothing. second president biden said on saturday, he terminated agreements with guatemala, honduras, el salvador requiring asylum seekers apply there, not here. that allowed the u.s. to more

easily deport a asylum seekers. that is gone. u.s. is returning to catch-and-release. cpb provided apprehended families in texas to go live elsewhere relatives in the u.s. with promises later to appear in court. >> you send signals out that our border are open. you remove tools and policies clearly effective, what is the results going to be? increase in illegal immigration, shocker, right? reporter: central americans have more amassed americans at the border. mexico is refusing to accept more deported families. forcing cpb is release them. two problems with the policy. it incentivizes. border patrol arrested 254 people in one hour, in one area in the rio grande valley. u.s. cities, u.s., gerry, is not covid testing those it releases. if you enter the u.s. by airplane you have to have a negative test.

to arrive at the border there is no requirement, despite they have no travel or medical history. gerry? gerry: william, combined with the biden administration ambition to get illegal immigrants already here on a path to citizenship, sounds as though america is opening its doors once again to significant increases in immigration, legal and illegal. thanks very much. iran's supreme leader was urging the united states to lift all sanctions if it wants to iran to live up to the country's commitments under the iran nuclear deal. president biden says not so fast. >> will the u.s. lift sanctions first in order to get iran back to the negotiating table? >> no. gerry: let's bring in former national security advisor to vice president dick cheney, john hannah. thanks for joining me. >> sure, gerry. gerry: this sounds like a standoff. president biden supposedly committed to getting united states back in the jcpoa, the

iran deal, intended to reduce iran's nuclear capabilities but he is saying he won't do that until iran reduces uranium enrichment below levels it is supposed to. iran says, no, no, get sanctions off first. how does this end? >> this routine of you go first, you go first is a bit of a red herring. we're in a period of prenegotiations of the biden administration is trying to get its ducks in a row. in the meantime they're at this kind of standoff but this is what state department diplomats were made for, to figure out these kind of tactical questions of sequencing, synchronizing, choreographing this diplomatic theater. the really big question what exactly it is that the united states is about to agree to here? gerry: what, exactly, what do you think that is? you say once they have resolved

who goes first, as it were, they are, u.s. wants, plans to be back in the iranian nuclear deal with the europeans, chinese and russians and others, and will presumably enable iran to continue what it supposedly its peaceful nuclear enrichment, while once again benefiting from economic relationships with the united states. what we saw where that went after 2015, when iran was able to generate tremendous amounts of revenue, right, to be able to do all kinds of things in the region and without actually, without abandoning its ability to actually create nuclear weapons? >> yeah. that is the fundamental question here, gerry. is the biden administration really prepared now to lift all of these economic sanctions that have been imposed and really put the iranian economy under so much pressure to hand billions of dollars over to a regime that remains the foremost state sponsor of international

terrorism, has the largest and most dangerous ballistic missile program in the region and continues to relentlessly attack the interests of the united states and its allies across the middle east. in exchange for nothing more than going back into an obama era deal that at best, within seven or eight years even if the iranians strictly abide by it, will make them a threshold nuclear weapons state. that's the question that we face, that the biden administration fundamental dilemma. gerry: it is a big strategic and diplomatic shift as well, is it by the biden administration by president trump. attempt to isolate iran. strengthening relationships with israel and saudi arabia, being on that side of this developing cold war in the region because iran has been able to, been so powerful over the past few years. now we seem to be shifting away again from those strong alliances with saudi arabia. certainly with israel. who knows what is going to

happen? iran once again will be able to exercise the sway the in region, doesn't it? >> if the biden administration goes down the route of straight compliance, do nothing more than go back into the obama era deal will buy itself a huge fight not only with the congress and all the republicans in congress but obviously with our most important allies in the middle east itself who let's face it, are on the front lines of facing iranian terrorism and iranian missiles and any future iranian nuclear project. gerry: have to cut you off, john. thanks very much for joining us. president biden is vowing to be the most union president. top union bosses are voicing disappointment over his early actions. second hour of "coast to coast" begins after the break.

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♪ ♪ gerry: welcome to the second hour of "coast to coast." i'm gerry baker in for neil cavuto. happening this hour, optimism over the covid relief package is lifting markets to new records with google hitting another all-time high. meanwhile, philadelphia's teachers are taking to the streets to protect the plan that would have had pre-k-second grade teachers back to school today.

plus, the happiest place on earth may be on the move. disney is reportedly considering moving some of its corporate operations to a lower tax state. but first, markets kicking off the week with new record highs. let's go to lauren simonetti with the stock movers today. lauren. lauren: just keeps on going, right? let's take a look at the winners, and those are essentially the stocks that stand to benefit from the economy reopening and, of course, stimulus coming down potentially from congress. big energy, banks and entertainment. let's look at the dow, because disney shares hit a record high. they do report their earnings on thursday. goldman sachs, a bank, chevron -- an oil company -- as well as cisco e and caterpillar. the s&p 500, the broader market record or high nearing 4,000, the nasdaq is nearing 75 points away from 14,000. so this record streak continues. investors today once again are cheering optimism on stimulus and on vaccines.

we are seeing the number of new infections and deaths from covid-19 both fall, and that optimism is reflected right here in the steepening yield curve. the 10-year, close to 1.2%. the 30-year actually hit 2% earlier, that is the highest of the year. and what this does, itals that higher -- it signals that higher interest rates could be coming. of course, that is good for the bankings. financials are one of the best performing sectors today. oil prices hit $60 a barrel for brent earlier, wti is pushing closer to that, right under 58 right now. these are levels, gerry, we haven't seen since before the pandemic started. and there's this amazing hope --i'm one of those people -- that leisure travel can return soon. so a lot of the airlines doing well today as well. but, look, as oil gains, so too do shares of tesla, the electric car company. it will now accept bitcoin as payment for its cars.

it bought $1.5 a billion in the digital currency. that spikes bitcoin to a record $44,000 earlier. ceo elon musk, he's been a proponent of crypto, also talking up doge coin too today. yes, that raises eyebrows with regulators, but it speaks to this interest in everybody to be part of a market in a new and different way. as you know, doge coin is cheap, right? it was started as a joke, and it's spiking. both the price and the interest in as their cheerleaders include snoop dogg, gene simmons, elon musk -- [laughter] gerry: yep, it's quite a cast of characters. everything's up. i mean, we've got oil, as you say, stock interest rates, bitcoin. you wonder when things are going like that how much longer it can go on like that. lauren similar net -- simonetti, thanks very much for joining us.

a warehouse in the alabama could become the first amazon to unionize in the united states. hillary vaughn has the story. >> reporter: hi, gerry. those ballots are going out today to amazon workers in alabama today basically asking if they want to be represented by the retail wholesale and department store union. if workers vote to do that, they would be the first amazon facility to unionize here in the u.s., and some are concerned that the move could spark a wider movement to unionize at other amazon warehouses around the country. workers fighting to join the union in alabama say they face grueling production quotas and want more input into the workplace. but in response, amazon has gone on an aggressive counter-campaign, discouraging workers from unionizing, even placing fliers in bathroom stalls. a spokesperson saying, quote:

the truth is amazon already offers what unions are requesting for employees, industry-leading pay, comprehensive benefits from the first day on the job, opportunities for career growth all while working on an inclusive work environment. workers at that facility make over $15 an hour and also get health care, vision, dental and a retirement plan, but amazon employees pushing for the union there are getting high profile support here this washington. the union president says he talked to the white house about their campaign to unionize, and pro-union workers also got support over the weekend from senator bernie sanders who sent pizza to workers rallying for the unionization. he also tweeted this: it cannot be overstated how powerful it will be if amazon workers in alabama vote to form a union. they are taking on powerful anti-union forces in a strong anti-union statement, but their victory will benefit every worker in america. i'm proud to stand with them. gerry, voting ends in mid march.

they have seven weeks to get their ballot in. appleson did push to, for in-person voting because they were worried that it would lead to a lower turnout and also had some questions about whether or not there could be foul play with mail-in voting, but they're opting to go that route. gerry: tensions in the progressive coach, they're often on the same side, but when it comes to unions and wages, amazon is not so progressive, perhaps. thank you very much, indeed. president biden wants to be a uniter, but after canceling the keystone pipeline, he's facing a fracture with one of his key constituencies, the unions. watch this from richard trumka, one of the most prominent union bosses. >> i wish he hadn't done that on the first day because the laborers international's right, it did and will cost us jobs in the process. >> do you think biden realizes that was a mistake, that announcement?

>> i, i think so, yes. gerry: let's talk about this with lee carter and gary smith. thank you both for joining me. >> nice to be here. gerry: lee, let's talk about these tensions here within the progressive democratic coalition. president biden, you know, said he wants to be a uniter, as we have said, but the decision 20 cancel the keystone pipeline, you know, is costing jobs. his broader energy plan is almost certain to cost many, many, many good paying, many of them union jobs. i wonder where this is going to -- i wonder how this is going to unfold. >> you know, it's really, really fascinating because he did, he promised to be a moderate, he promised to run as a uniter, and here he is in day, you know, in his first hundred days he's done several things that i think are indicating he's not necessarily that and that he's not necessarily moderate. i think union workers have a reason to be concerned. he's always had the image of

being union-friendly, and yet there's very little evidence to support that he is, in fact, union-friendly. in fact, the only time he joined a picket line was in 1987, and then he did one other time when he was running for president this time. his record just doesn't support that he is a pro-union as his image would present. and i think that's going to be a real problem for him because what he said and what he's doing are two different things. what he said about unions, he's doing something very different here. what he said about unity, his behavior's saying, you know what? we're going to do it without republicans if we need to. he's not even trying to be a uniter. so i think his actions are speaking louder than his words did. gerry: gary, again, the president says he wants to be a uniter, or but we're seeing these fractures emerge. how do you think it's going to play out? >> well, you know, it's interesting, i think he's also said i want to be a union president, and yet unions, it's

ironic that unions are now about 10% of the working population. probably a lot less if you take out the federal government which is almost entirely unionized. i wish he would just state and have the actions, you know, per, you know, what lee has said. i just want to be a jobs president. wherever the best jobs are, wherever they take you, for example, you know, the amazon, you know, segment that we just talked about, i wish, you know, his stance would be, well, if it's best for the workers and best for amazon, i'm all for it. if it's not, then let them hash it out. but again he has political favors to pay off, and i'm sure, you know, when the unions, you know, start voting again, he'll kind of take that side. i think you've seen it, he's kind of alluded to taking that. certainly, he wants to make the federal government bigger which is pro-union right off the top. he's certainly in favor of teachers, probably the other biggest union in the country staying off the job.

so he's got a fine line, but in the end he's going to probably side with the unions which is kind of sad. gerry: lee, we're seeing some other tensions in the progressive, in the democratic coalition over the stimulus plans, other the covid relief plans. the president and democrats want to press ahead with their 1.9 trillion plan. some democrats have been expressing some warnings that may be a little bit too ambitious. you saw larry summers, former treasury secretary, warning over the weekend that the economy doesn't need all that additional stimulus, it could create problems down the road. and you're also seeing, at the same time, pressure from the left want to do even more, they want to send out more checks, more child tax credits, bigger amounts of money. so where does this, where does this go? where is the democratic party headed here? >> the democrat party, i think, is really trying to send the message to americans that they are the party that's going to fight for working class

americans, and republicans are trying to do the same thing. so to extent this $1.9 trillion package is joe biden's effort saying, look, we're going to be the party that's going to fight for you, we're going to rescue america. they're calling it a rescue plan. it's very popular. more than two-thirds of americans support it. they want to see more stimulus checks, the $15 minimum wage, they want to see all this happens. the problem is anybody who fights it looks like they're not fighting for the american working chat. and so i think the biggest problem that's in front of the american people right now is that the republicans aren't presenting a fair case. they're not saying this is why what we're offering is better in the long term. yes, we believe that people need support in the short term, and here's a better way to do it so we're not going to end up paying this off for generations to come. and i think the republicans are really at a disadvantage right now because they're not making their case. gerry: please stay with us, we'll be back to you later in the hour. still ahead, is the happiest place on earth somewhere with

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♪ gerry: a quick fox business alert here, new york governor andrew cuomo announced he's moving up the timeline to reopen indoor kinding in new york city -- dining in new york city from sunday the 14th to this friday. cuomo says they'll monitor the covid case numbers and adjust based on that. so we get to celebrate valentine's day a couple of days earlier in new york city. meanwhile, disney could be the latest company to e flee california's high taxes for florida. let's go to ashley webster in orlando, the home of disney world. ashley, it seems like yet another company -- where are they hoping to put some of their operations? ashley: well, it's interesting, they're already the biggest employer in central florida, so it kind of makes sense. there is reports that they're going to move to lake nona, which is a small community just south of orlando, which kind of makes sense. they're fed up fighting california to try and reopen some of their theme parks, and

so that could be a possibility. they would move some of their corporate divisions from southern california back here to central florida. we reached out to disney to get a comment, and this is what they told us. they said, look, as the largest employer in central florida, we are always exploring opportunities for additional locations within the vicinity of our theme park. but there is nothing concrete. so if nothing else, it certainly is a shot across the bow to california and its governor, gavin newsom, who as we know is already under fire and the target of a recall petition. in fact, listen to republican joe collins this morning on "fox & friends." >> the homelessness has been a huge issue. our education system has failed, and right now with the coronavirus pandemic going on, you know, thousands and thousands of business owners have permanently shut their doors, and people are leaving california by the droves. is so now i think that california sees that they deserve -- californians see that they deserve better. ashley: deserve better.

and, of course, as businesses continue to fight those california regulations, states like florida here are seeing a huge influx of people and businesses, and it hasn't slowed down. take a listen to florida governor ron desantis. >> and they are flooding into this state. we have investment coming in, we have people buying homes like never before. we had -- just the fact that we have schools open. people are leaving in every corner of the state just because we have schools. ashley: an estimated 300,000 people or more, gerry, are expected to move to florida every year from this point on. that's about the city of orlando moving to florida every year. it's not just retirees, of course, it's businesses looking for, let's say, a friendlier, less taxed business environment. gerry: the case of will the last person to leave california please turn out the lights, isn't it? thanks, ashley. ashley: right, exactly. gerry: well, from fantasyland to

cryptoland. bitcoin is seeing a surge after elon musk's tesla buys $1.5 billion of the currency and announces that it will start accepting bitcoin as a payment method for its products. charlie gasparino joins us with more. charlie. >> am i the only person to see the irony in bob iger, the chairman of disney -- very good ceo, aye been covering him for years, really smart guy. but one of the leading democrats in corporate america, is are there any irony here that he's moving out of california to florida? gerry: he may be moving to beijing. >> on the short list, allegedly on the short lists of biden's, i guess, ambassador to china. but there's an irony here about when it really comes down to it -- i don't have to say bob iger is a virtue-signaling ceo, he's a very good see ceo. but there's an iron nebraska when you see people at -- irony

when you see people like goldman sachs, they talk a good leftist game, and then they move to florida. gerry: yeah. do as i -- it's a case of do as i do -- don't do as i do. >> gerry, it's as mind boggling as the price of bitcoin right now. gerry: go ahead, tell me about that. what's it up to now? >> when was the last time you bought a hamburg we are a bitcoin, okay? -- hamburger with a bitcoin. gerry: i've yet to have that experience. sorry, charlie, go aheadment. [laughter] >> and it's at 43,000. it's at its record high. i think fast record was around 41,000. last week when i spoke with neil about this, i said, you know, it was moving back up to that 43,000 mark -- 41,000 mark based on the reddit and robinhood traders factoring gamestop, as you know, it's down today, and looking for another thing to throw their money at. they might be able to ride the

momentum. and they got lucky today because what happened was elon musk came out and said something interesting, that you can buy a tesla using bitcoin. matter of fact, he's going to buy a bunch of bitcoin, so i guess he has some currency for it as well. so in -- that sent bitcoin up to its current level at 43,000. i would just say this, ladies and gentlemen, you know, we can argue tesla's price all day long, it is where it is, it's hard to knock it down. the shorts were all in that even though some of the numbers didn't make sense. but you really gotta go out on a limb, i mean, to think that bitcoin -- something that is barely used other than in certain niche ways, pornography being one of those -- is worth this much much. that's where we are today. gerry: just quickly, charlie, i think the total capitalization of cryptocurrency is well over a trillion dollars now. so bitcoin is, obviously, the largest and most familiar, but

there are some of these cryptos that have -- even you, or charlie, haven't even heard of, tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars in them. it does seem that despite all the concerns you rightly raise, it does seem an increasingly popular investment even if people are not buying their hamburgers with it. >> well, you're right, and there is a logic to this investment too even though i gave you the other side of the coin. i'll give you the pro side now. you're in an environment where the fed is printing money, debasing the currency. you know, what is the dollar -- dollar's only, you know, never before in history have we printed more of something or issued more of something that it was not commoditized, and people are looking for a safe haven. gold is one and bitcoin is another. so this is a logic here. so i'm not totally dismissing it. i'm just saying that until i can buy a hamburger with a bitcoin, i don't think it's worth $43,000 a pop. gerry: something like 15,000

bitcoins for your average hamburger. charlie, thanks very much. coming up, democrats are signaling a push toward universallal basic income. what they're proposing today that could set the stage for a very costly government program. ♪ ♪

gerry: welcome back to "coast to coast" well, tax season is pretty much upon us again, and you'll be filing your taxes soon, and you could be eligible for some extra money. blake burman is here to explain. >> reporter: hi there, gerry. the number is believed to be somewhere around 8 million americans all across the country who should have received those direct payment checks both from the cares act and the compromise package from a couple months ago but have yet to do so. the issue here is that who should get the checks, who shouldn't and exactly how much

is based off of tax the return information that the irs and treasury department has on 2018 and 2019 tax returns. however, that makes it hard to connect with, for example, low income earners who necessarily might not be fueling a return. filing a return. but there is a possible solution here, experts say, and that is by filing a 2020 return and claim what is known as the recovery rebate credit. now, this could also be a benefit for those who might have earned less in the 2020 than they did in the previous couple years. >> this will be your last opportunity to get a true-up of your stimulus payment, speak with a tax professional if you don't know where to even start. this may not be the year for you to try to do it on your own, but speak with someone. and i know the irs.gov has a lot of resources to help people figure out how they can submit a return. >> reporter: on his second full day in office, president biden signed an executive order

to try to get treasury and the irs to further identify those who might be eligible for checks but haven't yet received them. this could mean a lot of money for a lot of folks, up to $1800 potentially when you talk about the $1200 from the cares package, the $600 in december as well. and keep in mind here there is the potential for more of these checks as the president and democrats here in washington are promising in the future which is why experts say it is good to file that 2020 return just so, one of the reasons at least, your information is on file. if you're eligible, you'll receive that check down the line as well. gerry: thanks, blake. it's good to get some good tax news, know that people will be getting money back from the irs. i think with these extra checks and backlogs, maybe they'll have some challenges, but it's great to know that that money is available to so many taxpayers. thanks very much. >> reporter: you got it. gerry: house democrats are set to unveil their proposal for a form of basic income.

the plan would have the irs send direct checks of at least $3,000 per child to families. rhee carter and gary b -- lee carter and gary b. smith are back with me now. lee, this is a form of universal basic income that's talked about which is the idea that everybody would get, everybody in the country below a certain income level would get a check from the government every year. it's an expensive business, and democrats seem to be keen to press ahead with it. can it possibly work? i can't hear lee there. gary -- sorry, lee, we're not able to hear you. gary, did you hear me there? this is a universal basic income plan, a lot of government money going out to families every year. how on earth do we pay for it? >> well, you -- the only way to pay for it, it's not a bad idea. you know, even i remember way back, gerry, you probably

remember also milton friedman thought universal income was a good idea with one basic caveat, that you cut out all the other government programs. and as we know, this, whatever, $3,000 per child, what's it going to cost, $10 billion per year? -- 100 billion per year? you're never going to pay for it. it's going to continue to add up. but here's -- and lee made this point in the earlier segment that we talked about. it's hard for the republicans to rail against it because you sound mean. you sound like, oh, my gosh, you're against motherhood and apple pie? you don't want to help children? that's the problem. gerry: right. >> but we can't pay for it. gerry: and, lee, can we hear you now in. >> yes. gerry: good. as gary was just saying, the idea has been around for a long time. one of the ideas is better than means testing benefits because means testing creates all kinds of disincentives. if you withdraw benefits as people are able to go to work, it creates disincentives to go

to work. they're going to get it anyway, it doesn't have that distorting effect. but it is expensive, right? >> it is terribly expensive. and i agree whole heartedly with gary. we are in big trouble as the republican party if we can't come up with a competing narrative. because right now the democrats are writing checks addressing a really big problem. the childcare situation is a very big problem. and so when you're out there and you're offering a $3,000 check if you have kids over 6, $3600 a year if your kids are under 6, this is going to be a very, very, very popular program and one that makes a lot of sense to people in their day-to-day lives, and it's going to have a big impact. however, we can't afford it. with everything else we've got going on, we can't afford it. our kids are going to have to pay it back later. so the republicans really need to come up with a plan that addresses the needs that hard working americans have today without sacrificing the future of generations to come. i think it's going to be a

really, really big challenge for them, and right now republicans are on their heels reacting to every single one of these programs one at a time. i think it's going to be very hard for them to keep the faith and the support of the working class right now. gerry: as you both say, it is hard for republicans to oppose this because it looks like they're taking money away from people with families or not giving money to people with families as the democrats would like to do. doesn't play very well with the electorate, but we are building up an enormous -- it does seem the magic money tree that people talk about where people just think we can keep spending money. we added 15% to the nation's gdp in total stimulus and covid relief in the course of the last year. we've got a debt to gdp ratio about 100% of gdp, the debt level accounts for about 100% of gdp. at some point, you know, the, this has to stop, right? this idea that we can just keep printing money. these things tend to go on until today can't, and at some point

we're going to realize this is all going to be repaid. interest rates are going to go up again, inflation's going to go up again, that's going to have implications for financial markets. there's kind of an air of unreality about this right now. >> yeah, exactly. at some point you become greece or venezuela. but the problem, gerry, as we well know, this entire generation has never -- the bulk of it anyway has never seen runway inflation. -- runaway inflation. they don't remember the volckers having to go to double-digit interest rates to tamp it down. they never see it. it's kind of like all the journalists who say we need to keep up because they don't, their job isn't lost. they don't see the negative effect. that's the problem with the generation now, they just see the planes going over and dropping money and, hey, it looks green, we never have to pay for it. gerry: that's a very good point. lee's probably much too young to remember it but, gary, you and i

remember very well those days of inflation in the '70s when, you know, restaurants had to adjust their menu prices every few months because inflation was so -- interest rates were at 15, 16%. we don't want to go back there, but that's probably the route we're headed. thank you both very much, indeed, for joining me. >> thank you. gerry: still ahead on "coast to coast," the greatest of all time is not ready to hang up his helmet. how tom brady's seventh super bowl win is a message to all athletes and perhaps the nfl. stay with us. ♪ ♪

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♪ ♪ >> and there's more to come, right, tom? there's more to come as far as football. >> yeah, we're coming back. you already know that. >> coming back. tom brady's coming back. [cheers and applause] gerry: tom brady's coming back after doing it once again. the 43-year-old tampa bay

quarterback winning his seventh super bowl title, and he really has shown no signs of slowing down. fox news headlines 24/7 sports anchor matt napolitano is here. thanks for joining me. >> yeah, thanks for having me. gerry: so seven super bowls, i mean, they call him the greatest of all time. there isn't really any dispute, is there at all, anymore, seven super bowls, maybe the greatest of all time in any sport. >> it's really remarkable to think that there's an 18-year gap between the first championship that tom brady won and now taking home his seventh all-time, seven rings just for himself, more than any nfl franchise. the steelers and the patriots have six altogether total x now brady has an edge on that. he was already in the highest tier and somehow managed to break through and find another level. i mean, what more can the guy do in the game of football? it's an unbelievable career from a guy who was just basically riding the bench for the new england patriots, the backup to

drew bledsoe, was thrown into the game -- gerry: what was he in the draft, 200, 250 something in that draft? >> is -- 199th overall. gerry: the question though is what can he do next? [laughter] he said last night he plans to be back, and it was striking, wasn't it, the season. they seemed to get better as the season went on. they didn't -- bucs and he didn't particularly start out that well. they finished as a wildcard. they just got better through the playoffs. there's nothing to stop him. he'll be back next season, presumably. >> yeah. it's an unbelievable run, and he's already said he's coming back next year. there's always been the talk that he wants to play til 45. this past week we heard him say he wants to even go beyond that. who knows what's to come for tampa bay and tom brady. who knows if he tries to venture elsewhere. head coach bruce arians talked about possibly signing him have another contract extension for

later on. but it was a remarkable game. here's a guy who everybody hyped up all weal -- all week, and the bucs' defense got the better of mahomes in this ball game where whereas the chiefs' defense looked downright silly against brady. he absolutely brought his a-game, and it was more than deserved. we all thought this was going to be a very close game, reminisce sent of the patriots and eagles, very high scoring. we were right on one end of things, but the chiefs just did not show up for this thing. and in the end, tom brady sets another record in his storied career. gerry: patrick mahomes seemed to be on the run every single signal. it wasn't just tom brady, but the whole of the bucs. i mean, bruce arians, he's 69 years old. there's hope for some of the older gentlemen like me. perhaps when you see someone like that, also those other

players who were largely thought their careers might be at an end. people like antonio brown, gronkowski, leonard fournette, it's a pretty extraordinary team of i don't want to say retreads, but they were up against the youth of kansas city and the older guys just pulled it off, right? >> so many people were shaking their heads at the thought of "gronk" coming out of retirement and, of course, antonio brown coming off an eight-game suspension. tom brady vouched for a.b. for months saying this guy's got what it takes and basically told him i'm giving you9 another opportunity here in tampa bay, you need to make the most of it, and you need to stay on the straight and narrow and, lo and behold, the guy scored a touchdown in his first super bowl appearance, and of course the tandem of brady and i don't think, all-time record, 13 touchdowns together, most in the history of the nfl. it really is remarkable just how

many of these guys were wrote off, suh, pierre-paul, everybody thought they don't have what it takes anymore, but tampa bay, again, only their second bowl appearance, but both appearances were absolute blowout performances where they've really outshined the other team. and it could be interesting to see what's to come for next season. right now the odds have them as 11-1 in las vegas to repeat as champions. the chiefs already being the favorite. gerry: matt, i've got to say this as a new york giants fan, the greatest of all time, he's still 0-2 against the new york giants in the super bowl, so that's -- [laughter] one consolation for the rest of usment thanks very much for joining me. well, coming up on "coast to coast," president biden says that school closures are a national emergency. but his administration, is his administration doing anything to get them open? districts across the country after the break. ♪ everybody wants to rule the

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citizens are not only battling the pandemic, they're fighting teachers unions. san francisco has reached a deal to reopen schools, but in philadelphia and other major cities, the classrooms are staying closed. kristina partsinevelos is in new york city with the latest details. >> reporter: thank you, gerry. we have a lack of in-person learning and school closures across the country, and it's a national emergency according to president biden yesterday in an interview before the super bowl. but you have many schools handling the pandemic wildly differently across the country, and many teachers unions still refusing to reenter into these schools for in-person learning for a variety of reasons. here in new york, mayor de blasio made a huge announcement for 60,000 city kids. >> i'm very pleased to announce that for our children in the middle grades, grades 6-8, you are coming back to school in person for all who are signed up for in-person education. it's going to start up again

thursday, february 25th. >> reporter: february 25th. but while in chicago the teachers union over there did reach a tentative agreement averting a strike, but students k-8 won't return back to school until early march. after two months of bargaining in san francisco, the teachers union over there did reach a tentative agreement, but the teachers and staff want guaranteed vaccinations. and then you have philadelphia, the local over there is threatening not to reenter school this week, so of course there's at lot of hurdles especially after the biden administration promised to reopen schools within his first 100 days in office. just last friday the department of education said, quote: currently, there's not enough data to understand the status of school reopening and how students are learning nation wild. so we know, unfortunately, so many students are falling off the grid. one nonprofit study from october said that at least 3 million students are not getting any

type of formal education either in person or virtually. so with students struggling to learn, some not getting any education at all, it's a renewed sense of urgency to improve education in the united states, get students back into classrooms as soon as possible. back to you. gerry: thanks, kristina. yeah, the damage done to kids' mental health, their education, and there's good studies showing potentially their earnings potential as well, that damage is actually irreparable, so it's a very disturbing and sad story. thanks very much, kristina. well, the new coronavirus strains are upending vaccine plans. south africa has halted the rollout of astrazeneca's vaccine after a trial showed it doesn't protect against the new strain. an acute care physician joins me to taint. thank you for joining us. >> it's a pleasure. gerry: how worried should we be about this new strain?

>> well, mutations are par for the course if you're a virus. and over the next several months, we're going to be hearing about more new strains including the south african strains, the one from brazil and the united kingdom. presently, there's not enough evidence that they're more deadly or dangerous than the original one. now, the terms variants and mutations can be scary. but again, it doesn't mean that they're ten times more dangerous or deadly. they have incremental effects, and understanding that can help allay some of the fears. we have to understand that every time a virus are replicates, there's an opportunity for a mutation, a change in the dna sequence. and most of these are meaningless. they don't -- they just die off, they don't mean anything. but the ones that do survive, the ones that do perpetuate are the ones that have some advantage. and in this case what we're seeing is that they're more highly transmissable. so, again, our public health measures, the ones of wearing a face mask, the ones of social distancing, the ones of avoiding

large gatherings and groups, staying home if you're sick, getting tested, hand washing, they have not changed. they work. it is a highly transmissable disease. covid-19 and all of its variants, nothing has changed about that. so we do still have a lot of power in preventing the spread of covid-19. gerry: as you say, doctor, more transmissable, but not necessarily as far as we know more severe, although i think there was some evidence that the9 u.k. strain was associated with slight more severity and a slightly higher death rate. do these vaccines then -- again, with this evidence out of south africa, can we be still confident or at least hopeful that the vaccine, that we've rolled out the vaccine, that even if the disease may still spread and may still spread throughout the community, but at least the severity of the disease in terms of hospitalizations and, of course, tragically deaths, that at least those numbers will continue to come down sharply as we've been seeing in the last few weeks?

the. >> yeah, that's what the goal is. and at this time, there's no data to suggest that the current vaccines we're using in the united states, pfizer and moderna, have decreased efficacy. in fact, because they're so highly effective, 94% effective, and it creates such a strong antibody response, even if there's a decrease in poe -- potency, it will still be effective. it's not an on/off switch. so we're starting from a good place. and i want to point out that this messenger rna technology that we're seeing with the moderna and pfizer vaccines, they can be easily updated. and, in fact, moderna has already created a vaccine specific to the south african variant, and they're going to be entering into phase one trials shortly. so we are not starting from scratch. so if you can get vaccinated, go and get vaccinated. at this time they are very highly effective. gerry: doctor, if you would, the other good news is you mentioned the vaccines we've or got

already, we've got several more in the pipeline, right? novavax, astrazeneca, maybe others. so within a relatively short period of time, vaccine supply is going to be plentiful. >> absolutely. we want to boost the supply. we need to keep up with the demand. people need to get vaccinated. we have to remember this covid-19 virus cannot survive without us. it cannot evolve without us. so engaging in these public health measures to stop its spread and getting vaccinated can win the war against covid-19. have to do our part. gerry: thanks for joining us. thank you, doctor. some breaking news to bring you. shares of u.s. airline stocks are summering after a report that democrats are set to report financial assistance to airlines. "coast to coast" will be right back. ♪ -- gets me to church on time. ♪ terrifies, makes me party -- (judith) but not for your clients.

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"coast to coast" today. neil will be back tomorrow. good-bye from me. hello once again to charles payne. charles, it's all yours. charles: gerry, thank you very much, appreciate it and good afternoon, everyone, i'm charles payne. this is "making money." breaking right now, you heard gerry all the major indices higher again depicting up on the monster momentum. all-stars have aligned, powerful corporate earnings, powerful avalanche of free money and powerful sign of open economy. tesla announced that the company purchased $1.5 billion of bitcoin and will allow customers to pay for it. meet the pioneering ceo the first to put bitcoin on his company's balance sheet. here what he says about the next. one of country's biggest labor leaders blasts president so much for being the union president. we'll get reaction