us. that is it for this week's show. thank you to my panel. thank you all for watching. merry christmas, hope to see you right here next week. >> fox news alert. the united states senate adjourned for the day and will not take any action to end the partial government shutdown until probably thursday.this came after the vice president met with lawmakers on capitol hill. both parties scramble to find common ground. hello everyone welcome to a brand-new hour inside "america's news headquarters". i am mike emanuel in for eric shawn. >> i'm arthel neville. this partial government shutdown. border security and the president's long awaited border wall. both sides are playing the

blame game. he does not have the votes for a wall, he does not have strength laying border strengthening. for personal means and other ways. and that is not going to change between now and whenever. democrats have already agreed to border security funding in the first couple of years of the trump presidency.now all of a sudden, right in the middle of negotiations on funding the government for the remainder of the year, they want to do nothing.arthel: we have fox team coverage. ellison barber has a comings and goings of the white house. francisco to doug mckelway on capitol hill. what is the word?reporter: the senate is now adjourned. they have accomplished nothing for the day. that is where things stand right now. if anything, it might appear the two sides are even more firmly entrenched in their respective positions then before the day got underway. before the day ended though, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell took to the senate floor and try to put what

appeared to be kind of an optimistic spin on these entrenched positions. >> as i said earlier today, we opened up the discussions they are continuing. when these negotiations produce a solution, that is acceptable by all parties, that means 60 votes in the senate. a majority in the house and a presidential signature. at that point, we will take it up on the senate floor. >> he has added that the next session of the senate will be december 24, christmas eve. with the next session december 27. prior to that, a group of conservative members of congress went to the white house for a luncheon. we managed to speak to senator richard shelby, who immediately afterwards this is how he characterized luncheon meeting. he said it was nice. he described the president as exuberant during the meeting. asked if the government wants

to avoid the shutdown he says yes he thinks he does. i cannot tell he said but probably not today probably for the point of the luncheon, they say nothing terribly optimistic coming from the meeting.prior to the luncheon meeting, the senate minority leader, chuck schumer took to the senate floor and it took a very hard line on this order will funding. here he is. >> it will never pass the senate. not today, not next week. not next year. so mr. president, president trump, if you want to open the government, you must abandon the wall. plain and simple. >> most analysts really do believe that the ball is in the democratics court. take a look at what he just said that. about the board will funding, in the past basically of,

ignoring the position on board will funding which they approved of. voted in favor. three separate occasions. but the reality is the clock is simply running out on the congress and they can run the clock out through the holidays. wait until the new congress and then point democrats will control house in all of these discussions become an entirely new point. arthel: thank you. mike: the white house keeping to terms on border will funding. the president hosting lunch this afternoon. they backed the car for $5 billion for the border project. here is a white house deputy press secretary. >> the president came forth and said, here's what i want in immigration and border protection for the american people. for and families in american communities. nancy pelosi famously said you do not have the votes, mr. president. he said fine, we will take it to the floor. went to the floor came out of the house and sits squarely in front of the senate democrats right now.

mike: ellison barber is live at the white house. reporter: we saw some of the lawmakers known to be at the lunch meeting leaving the white house around 2:30 pm we learn that the vice president and mick mulvaney were heading over to capitol hill to try and meet with senator schumer. which of course we know they did do today. according to the white house, the president met with the vice president, the budget director and incoming chief of staff, mick mulvaney, jared kushner and -- as well as members of the house for an caucus. no democrats were at this border security lunch. it is unclear if any were invited. the senior ministration officials told reporters there putting forward what they considered to be realistic expectations for these negotiations. i billion for border security and some sort of wall. the official conversations with democrats took place last night. they want them to continue but it is important for democrats to acknowledge that physical barriers need to be part of any potential deal.

and if the ministration will not budge from the 5 billion number, they are saying that as a number they need already, the officials said with democrats have put forward his quote - unacceptable. the president said he hopes this will be a short shutdown. he said it could be a long one. that is with the administration seems to be planning for at this point. as for the meetings i capitol hill, with the vice president and mick mulvaney and some members of congress on the senate side i'm told, the vice president and mick mulvaney came back to the white house and inel briefing the president on what happened in the meetings. mike: ellison barber, thank you. arthel: the latest poll taken before the partial shutdown happened, finds 51 percent of voters blame the president and republicans, 37 percent agree democrats are responsible. is this partial shutdown setting the stage for what is to come in 2019?

john thomas is here, a republican pollster and president of thomas parker strategies. and antoine is also with this. a democratic strategist and former senior strategist. also seo blueprint strategies. thank you to you both. >> great to be here. >> thank you. >> antoine europe first for the present told senator schumer and nancy pelosi would be glad to shut down the government over funding for his border wall. he said he will take the blame for it and own it. what does it say that the president is now blaming the democrats for the shutdown? >> well, he is trying to back that is quick and fast as he can. the bottom line is, we have the tapes, we have the receipts. not only is donald trump and the republicans on the shutdown, they should on the fact that they are 100 percent responsible for not passing comprehensives reform and they could've done it many times

during this last congress. i'm more disappointed that we are having this discussion about a wall that mexico was supposed to pay for and that is all we heard on the campaign trail. and somehow the narrative that border security and the wall are two different issues and now the republicans are on their, blowing their horns and the democrats are not for border security which is just false on all regards. arthel: john? >> it is false. trump has made way, made offers to the democrats by giving them a deal on daca. in exchange for the funding on the wall. schumer never left separate reality is this is been a situation, the president said he would be willing to shutdown the government over making sure that we get border security. but as soon as the republicans passed the bill in the house, and kick it to the senate, there is no path forward in this bill without chuck schumer and the democrats. at this point, the democrats own it but here's the reality,

they do not want the border wall! they do not want donald trump to get a win. and they are afraid if they gave him a border wall, it would work. >> john, no. let me share with you if you things that are non-debatable. number one, and last continuing resolution, congress gave donald trump money for border security. and guess what? the money has not totally been spent all the way on the issue. number two, the senate passed a continual resolution that will fund the government until february. guess what? the political pressure from trump the house rejected and now here we are with the government shutdown because the president wants to play political football with the issue of border security and a wall and he shouldn't have to. and it doesn't need to be this way because people's lives are being impacted on the government being shut down. arthel: let me bring up a live feed from senator lindsey graham. he says quote - democrats spend like drunken sailors on everything but border security

wall, more money needed for border security wall to protect our country. from drugs, crime and terrorism. hang tough, mr. president. so john, as americans keep score and telling blockage brought on by lawmakers on either side of the aisle, and by the president himself, who tends to suffer the most of the polls in a couple of years? >> is a good question but i can say this. we talk often about how donald trump 's base will never abandon him no matter what. this is the one issue where if he does not do everything within his power to fight for the border wall, we might see defection of his base. mike: i want to let you finish but you know that the president said mexico is going to pay for the wall. does that matter now? that they are not going to pay for the wall? >> i got to tell you. i do pulling all over the country. as much as conservatives would love to see mexico pay for the wall, they want the wall.

you know they want a go fund me page where americans are ponying up their own individual dollars one by one on top of their tax dollars because they desperately want the wall. if he doesn't do everything within his power, there is no pathway forward for donald trump in 2020. this is it. and we know will not get easier when democrats take over the house. >> can i remind you one thing? do you remember when graham and durbin and i think even late senator mccain brought the president advice partisan proposal immigration that would do all of these things that most people want to do? in fact, that 60 percent of the american people want to do. and twice he hoodwinked members of the senate and turned them down for their bipartisan proposal. after he told him bring me something that will pass the senate and i will sign it. and so for you and the republicans to argue that democrats are not for border security and do not want to protect our border, i think it

is just false and you should not continue going down that path because there are receipts, there is proof in the pudding my friend. >> no, barack obama in 2006, antjuan voted for -- >> we are not talking about that! we are to not donald trump.>> democrats a few years ago border for $46 billion of border security but it's amazing. [multiple speakers] arthel: john, wont you just speak to what antjuan just said. >> donald trump tried to make a deal. i giving essentially, amnesty or pathway to citizenship for dreamers. chuck schumer and the democrats rejected that. but it is amazing that schumer -- they want -- this what i don't understand. trump has come from is missing on the 25 billion but i will take five. and chuck schumer is just saying, no way, no how. i don't understand, why not five? >> john, can i remind you at

what point in the last continuing resolution, the bipartisan congress gave him i think it was 1.6. and if the number is now the way right i know that twitter will get me. [multiple speakers] >> 1.6 is hardly enough. >> if the senate gets a continuing resolution to keep the government open, until february, he cannot spend that much money between now and february and maybe we can get a copy has of immigration reform bill that would do all of the things that both parties want to do because that is what the american people want. immigration is a bipartisan issue and it should be done in a bipartisan way. arthel: i'm sorry guys. i think one thing clear, -- >> schumer and pelosi do not want to work with trump it will

get easier when they take over the house. it is now or never. >> and the democratic branch doesn't want to work with the legislative branch. arthel: i really have to cut it on now. thank you both for a spirited debate. >> thank you. >> thank you. mike: a fox news alert. another senior national security official resigning over the presidents decisions to pull thousands of troops out of syria. and afghanistan. brett mcgurk a u.s. special envoy in the fight against isis join in the defense secretary, james mattis leaving his post. gillian turner has more from washington. reporter: fox news confirms that brett mcgurk has resigned. another casualty of the presidents decision to withdraw from syria. this also comes in the hills of monza policy disagrees between the president and his defense secretary, general james mattis. it resulted in his resigning to a 45 minute long meeting with the president on thursday. james mattis, another top military brass believes that this is a betrayal of the kurd

and syrian democratic forces for u.s. allies that fought isis on the ground inside iraq and syria for the past four years.military leaders believe they will be left to slaughter after the u.s. withdraws. now, the president is ordering the defense department to also plan to pull 7000 soldiers. nearly half of the troops currently serving from afghanistan. also against the collective counsel of his top military brass. >> if we leave 20 odd of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world, centered in that region, and we walked out of there, then we know it will happen. our intelligence services are very specific that we will be under attack in a number of years. reporter: the current contenders to replace general medicine at the pentagon including general jack keane, a fox news contributor that

already said he's not interested in the job. then senator of tom cotton who served in iraq and afghanistan and opposed to pulling out of syria. and patrick shanahan, currently deputy and one of the long supporters of the presidents space for spirit which must of the pentagon opposed. recent military times polls shows that general medicine enters an 84 percent approval rating among american troops. mike? mike: gillian turner, thank you very much. arthel: more on the partial government shutdown ahead. including impact on hundreds of thousands of federal employees and places you may visit. and colorado police arresting the fiancc ofa mother missing for weeks . >> this case has evolved highly technical work including cell phone records and other data that has led to today's arrest. we've also conducted multiple searches of kelsey's home. in other locations as part of the company has of investigation. you cash in. what's in your wallet?

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colorado mother, kelsey barrett making the first court appearance. patrick facing charges nearly a month after she vanished on thanksgiving day. joe st. george from our fox affiliate has more. >> as you can tell from the arrest, we do not believe kelsey is still alive. >> the police chief acknowledging tonight what many

have feared. kelsey berreth dead. her boyfriend patrick frazee in a jail cell. charged with first-degree body. the body of kelsey not yet found. >> our work is just beginning. we will see a great deal of law enforcement activity in the community in the coming days and weeks. as we continue our relentless pursuit of justice for kelsey. >> a 30s make the restaurant 7:00 a.m. this morning. right here on the property of patrick frazee. cutting the gate. in fact it did right in his driveway as he was coming down, his truck still there authorities have been very quiet about this investigation. they say that technology , cell phone records a major reason the judge signed off on the arrest warrant. >> this case involved highly technical work involving cell phone records and other data. that's led to today's arrest. >> patrick frazee arrest a solicitation to commit murder paid the charge suggested he might have asked someone else to kill kelsey berreth.

the district attorney. >> you don't necessarily have to complete it to have a solicitation charge. but you have to show what you intended to do. >> at costello coffee just down the road from his property. >> she worked here for about two months. >> and community now because to grieve for a woman and her child. >> this is really sad. i feel really bad for the baby. >> and for those here that another man behind bars equally well. equal shock. >> he seemed like he was normal. small town guy.pretty decent. >> joe st. george reporting. thank you. arthel: the new jersey division has opened a investigation. a wrestler, forced to have his dreadlocks cut after a referee told him it was either that or forfeit. joanne from our fox 29 in philadelphia has more.

reporter: there is a firestorm of comments on social media. after the twitter video of andrew johnson's haircut was viewed several million times. the teenagers mother said the family does not want to talk about it. but everyone else is weighing in on it. this is the viral video of the high school wrestler, andrew johnson, just before his match this week. the teenager according to school officials, was told that his hair length and headgear did not comply with the rules and he was given the choice to cut his dreadlocks or forfeit his match. >> is a travesty at the end of the day. it doesn't make no sense. >> put them on the spot. either cut your hair or wrestle. >> there is widespread criticism on the referee for making the call as was criticism of the coaching staff for allowing the trainer to cut his dreadlocks. but school officials say the andrew made the decision. they issued a statement stating regulations regarding hair

length and legal hair covers for wrestlers are provided by the national federation of high school association. >> dreadlocks is sacred. unless he wanted to do it, was he pressured to do it? that is a violation. >> andrew johnson beat his opponent but appeared upset after the match. >> it broke his spirit. it had to. >> he really won the match but it is wrong to request a widely popular musician chance the rapper, commented on twitter. he has eight million followers. and it was viewed several million times. but they initiated an investigation. i think today they should listen to the rules. if there is rules that there is rules. they have them set for a reason. >> they are conducting an investigation and said that the referee will not be assigned to any event until the matter is reviewed. fox 29 news. >> the fight against isis.

and the present deciding to pull troops out of syria and afghanistan. how this could affect our middle east policy. in the battle over funding border security on ice on capitol hill. no reaction from the deep south. >> is deftly something we need. it is refreshing to see a president that actually cares about the american people. cares about securing our borders and i can assure you that the area where we have put better barriers, cowalls being one of them, the numbers have gone down dramatically. oo! great-tasting ensure. with nine grams of protein and twenty-six vitamins and minerals. ensure. now up to 30 grams of protein for strength and energy!

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to the u.s. national security team, james mattis resigning from his position on thursday after the presidents decision to withdraw u.s. troops from syria. now fox news learned that the u.s. special envoy for the anti-isis coalition, brett mcgurk is resigning from that position. here's what he had to say about

the u.s. military presence in syria in december. >> we've obviously learned a lot of lessons and we know was a physical space is defeated we can just pick up and leave. we are prepared to make sure we do what we can to ensure this is enduring. a sign of that areas we have clear devices have not returned to actually see his physical space. nobody is saying that they going to disappear. no one is that nacve. we want to stay on the ground and make sure that stability can be maintained. >> training, retired army colonel david hunt, a fox news military honor list. good to see you. >> merry christmas. mike: merry christmas. what are the ramifications of the u.s. withdrawal from syria? >> significant. i think the presidents instincts were right. i think is the numbers problem. i think the envoy was actually right. we can draw it out to about 500 800 and fight counterterrorism gather intel. we need air and drones and

money and weapons to get to the syrian kurds have been phenomenal fighters ever. but to get completely out of syria, give syria guaranteed back to iran, russia and turkey, and syria of course, it will allow a naval base, russian naval base to be built in southwest syria. it is a bad move to pull everybody. it is a good move, we should get back to the counterterrorism, killing terrorists and anyone that supports them. we haven't done well we feel that is nationbuilding. 17 years of trying and it has not worked. but that doesn't mean we yank them all appeared is a numbers game. i think is a mistake to pull all out. leave some to keep fighting terrorists. mike: the retard -- the retired joint said this. >> the kurds have the most of

the fighting and the unintended consequences, release of prisoners, less humanitarian aid being delivered to people in the region, we will feel the effects for quite some time. mike: what about the kurds colonel? >> we have been screwing them and we just did it to the syrian kurds. four years ago the turkish syrian border was closed by isis. the u.s. -- the syrian kurds open it back up. we just abandon them opened up to the slaughter. don't plow, stand fight terrorists and absolutely we have, the kurds not just in syria but iraq. a phenomenal fighting force. they've always been on side and we been screwing them since 1972. it is unacceptable. >> does isis make a comeback for sending the united states

-- if we leave? >> they are like al qaeda, the taliban, yes, isis comes back. what is to stop them? we're the only thing stopping them. you don't see russia or hezbollah stopping them or syria. it is us. great job in iraq by the two had mistresses. great job by the trump administration inside syria. you pull back, isis crawls back and the envoy said it better in december, we are guaranteeing that. again good instinct and bad behavior on our part. mike: mike pompeo telling the administration, this is what he said on thursday. >> here's what i know. united states made a commitment. we let a global defeat isis campaign to take down the taliban. we've achieve that. i've spoken to european counterparts and others over the last week or 10 days. the defeat isis coalition

remains and we are clear eyed about the risks to the united states from terrorism. >> a response to the secretary? >> i don't make any sense of this. did he say it was still in the coalition? we are not. the president said we are out. and so, it doesn't make any sense with a prior army guy, west point, a good guy. but nonsensical to think without u.s. presence, there like 20 groups in there. they support the kurds. without the us, air support, grant support, we are guaranteeing terrorism to expand and syria to become a launching spot. it is the wrong move and we need a smaller number to keep fighting but isis is just one of the problems we are creating by pulling back. how about iran?

mentioning iran, they become the superpower of the middle east ever since we went into iraq.mike: then there is the loss of brainpower and experience for james mattis. and then mcgurk, your reaction to the losses? >> we cannot do this with james mattis and mcgurk, we also lost kelly. here is what i am positive of. these 24 stars, one lost his son in afghanistan. they've ordered men and they died both friendly and the enemy. these guys do not quit. they were ordered, they were ordered to put in a resignation. we cannot afford that kind of talent to be sitting on the sidelines at any time. certainly not now. and we're doing a great job. it is a loss of the country and it seems to me completely

unnecessary to lose these kind of guys but again, it is not just james mattis, also lost john kelly, also lost mcmasters and now the security advisor that is a phenomenal guy. all of this will take together and together, we are less effective without them there we were before they were let go. mike: colonel david hunt, to give her time in the analysis. we appreciate it, sir. >> you're welcome. arthel: interesting. 25 percent of the government is not being funded right now. the battle of the president's portable is impacting hundreds of thousands of government employees as well as national parks and other places you may travel. jackie heinrich joins us. he will fill the most impact here? >> most americans will not feel at all. the post office will keep delivering holiday packages, tsa will still be screening passengers at airports and active-duty military will still be working. but there are thousands of federal employees that could miss a paycheck depending on

how long the partial shutdown lasts. in past shutdowns congress approved backpay but there is no guarantee this time. here the agencies impacted. department home and security, justice department, department of the interior, state department and department housing and urban development, transportation, agriculture, commerce and energy. there are partly close. 420,000 federal employees are working without pay and another division 80,000 will be furloughed meaning they're all home without pay. senator patrick leahy squarely placed the blame on the white house. >> by doing that, they deny federal services to millions of americans. more than 800,000 dedicated public servants and their families. they have been told not to expect the next paycheck for the foreseeable future. >> most national park employees are home without pay right now. most of those parks will, the roads are already open and they will keep the roads open but the services that require staffing will be close.

it is mostly affecting parks that require snow removal and popular holiday poorest destinations like zion national park in utah. arthel: so what can you do with with your family over the holidays during the shutdown? >> some parks and museums are funding to stay open. they announced statue of liberty and ellis island are running on funds from new york state. it is the third time in five years that new york has funded these in the shutdown for the last time this happened in january it cost new york state $55,000 per day. the smithsonian institute 90 museums in new york and d.c. are going to be open through the first of the year with the exception of christmas day. smithsonian is using funds from last year to keep operations running for the huge holiday crowds. if your plans include going to a parker museum over the next several days, your best bet is to check the website and make sure they will stay open and keep in mind certain facilities like restrooms and shops might

be closed. arthel: a good point. thank you. mike: network, the partial government shutdown will not impact military operations that many of us look forward to every christmas. norad will be santa tracking on christmas eve. military personnel that helped operate the program are supported by about 1500 volunteers and they will continue the christmas eve tradition despite the gridlock in washington. no ba humbug there. santa tracking was on. arthel: that's a good thing because i am waiting for santa. what is he bringing you? mike: hopefully not a lump of coal. maybe a deal on the government, i don't know! arthel: i don't know, just joy and happiness. that's all they want. lawmakers discussing border security after an impasse over wall funding led to partial government shutdown. what went wrong and how long rawill the gridlock last? including me, esurance spokesperson dennis quaid. he's a pretty good spokesperson. ehhh.

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yes. if we don't get we want one way or another, whether it is you or military or anything you want to call, i will shut down the government. >> is agreed. >> i am proud to shutdown the government for border security. mike: the president with a warning for democratic leaders, nancy pelosi and chuck schumer less than two weeks ago. today the president following through with a partial shutdown after lawmakers failed to strike a deal on funding for border security. house lawmakers in their bill met the president's demands for $5 billion in funding. but the current senate bill leaves out money for his border wall only includes $1.6 billion with another 900 million not allocated. let's bring in an award-winning broadcast journalist and former florida republican house candidate. good to have you. >> thank you. thank you for your invitation. mike: your assessment of where things stand right now. >> well, i believe that we

should start with mexico because mexico has given a wonderful christmas gift to this administration by allowing both asylum-seekers to stay in the territory until our courts decide whether they are eligible or not. i think we should really stick that, make that a big headline because that goes to show that the new inaugurated mexican president, is really cooperating with this administration. something we never thought was going to happen because remember, he is a socialist leaning president. but everything started pretty well. mike: the president they had lunch with some top members of his administration. and conservative lawmakers. but to get a deal, should have a meal or something with chuck schumer and nancy pelosi? >> well, i think that with the president is doing, he could've lunches and dinners and cocktails or whatever he wants to. but i've been covering immigration for the last 35 years. i worked for spanish television for all of those years.

and this is the first time a president has dared to do something that in the last 30 years, the other administrations said they were going to do. which is to bring some order to our southern border to make that security a lot tighter and they are not there to do it. we have to member that chuck schumer and the president i mean, senator obama, before he was president, and senator hillary clinton, they all voted for the same, tall, structure. the now they are denouncing it and there criticizing the president for it. the only thing we can think of is that this is all politics. because i have the been at the board and with the president bush signed for and would build, the 700 miles of border or steel slabs, whatever you want to call it, a wall. they are pretty tall is ashley with the president is trying to do. so i do not understand why now, the democrats, who at one .12 years ago, voted for the same

type of structure. now they are saying, no, this is no good because it is a moral. and some they also want to say, no one has asked the hispanic community, what do we think about this all, the situation of the wall? because the overwhelming majority people that are crossing our hispanics from central america. mike: some of the democrats have said that to be fair, that they don't think the wall was the most efficient thing. maybe technology. is this all a language issue where if they change the wording from wall to border security, might that be a winner for all? >> i think what the democrats are doing is playing political football once again with the hispanics. because once again i say to you that the overwhelming majority of people that want to cross the border either from central america, there from three countries. latin americans, hispanics like i am. and i can say to that the democrats do not speak for us. we, some of us i would say, a

very big important number of hispanic americans, do not have any problems with the wall. because we want a wall with very big gates! that we will allow this people to come into work. but with visas. no one wants to be illegal, no will succumb to the border in an illegal fashion. want to come in and work with papers.that will allow for the hispanics to make the same type of wages that other americans make. so this is good news for us because anyone that comes in from now on, will come in with a piece of paper. will be able to work, pay taxes, consume and live in freedom! not be an illegal. >> you are a candidate for congress. what is your sense in terms of when they get a deal? you think pressure will really pick up on all sides after the christmas holiday when things start to get real? >> listen, this is a very good question that i don't think anybody really knows what the answer is. because we have not had another president with this type of

strength or courage before. he is not a politician, he is a businessman. he said he was going to shut it down if you don't give him, if congress does not give them what he's asking for. one of the signature plans in his campaign. so very interesting. i do believe that it is on the democrat side because it is on the senate side. we need the 10 votes in order to pass security at the border, which is something that we all want. my question is, no one really knows because donald trump is unpredictable. but he is fulfilling a promise that he said he was going to do and other presidents, 30 years ago, promised the same thing and no one has done it. mike: maria elivra salazar, thank you for your time. we need to leave it there. >> thank you. >> tomorrow chris wallace will sit down with mick mulvaney, to pm and 7 pm eastern right here on fox news channel. check your local listings for times.

arthel: two in custody after several days of disruption at one of britain's busiest airports. plus, the holiday travel rush is on. jeff paul is at lax. >> how this partial government shutdown could impact holiday travel. after the break. [deep breath] i receive travel rewards. i visualize travel rewards. going new places! going out for a bite! going anytime. rewarded! learn more at the explorer card dot com.

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a record number of people are expected to take trains, planes and automobiles. this holiday season. jeff paul joins us live from los angeles international airport. lax! jeff, what is it like out there? reporter: we been on here since the early morning hours. these really haven't changed too much. as people take -- there trying to keep these lines relatively short. this is across the country now. no real widespread delays or cancellations. it is good news because it's shaping up to be a record-setting holiday travel day. aaa estimates 6.7 million people travel by air this year. that's the highest in 15 years. and of the 3.7 million will

travel by train, bus or cruise ships. i was going to be packed. 102 million people are expected to hit the road at some point this holiday. and one in three americans will be traveling for the holidays. arthel: of course, as luck would have it, the announcement started right as your live shot began. we can hear you. meanwhile, there is this partial government shutdown that we have been reporting. how is it affecting holiday travel? reporter: i apologize about that, i cannot control that. sending out messages but, the partial government shutdown, i didn't even think people at the airport even realize it is going on. a big part is because many of the federal workers like tsa agents and workers and also the people who run air-traffic controllers, they are still showing up despite not tickly

getting paid. they are extremely grateful that the folks are still showing up to work to make sure that they are getting to their destination on time. >> it's great people are still coming in for the holiday season to help people get where they need to go. i think that is amazing and people helping each other out. reporter: no federal workers are hoping that they can get the backpay like they have in previous government shutdowns. arthel: all right jeff, if you can control that, i don't know! you have to teach me something because you know something i don't know. jeff paul, thank you. mike: coming up in the next hour, we will have the latest on the partial government shutdown. including reaction from lawmakers and a stalemate over funding ffor the border wall continues. stay with us. but in only 8 weeks with mavyret, i was cured. even hanging with friends i worried about my hep c. but in only 8 weeks with mavyret,

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arthel: congress pushing to at least thursday on a deal to end a partial shutdown as the battle over border security and funding for the president's wall continues. i'm arthel neville. welcome to a brand new hour of inside america's news headquarters. mike: i'm mike emmanuel in for eric shawn. earlier today president trump met with some republican hardliners at the white house as vice president mike pence and acting chief of staff mick mulvaney met with schumer and mcconnell, the leaders of the senate, earlier today. >> no further votes will occur until the president and senate democrats have reached an agreement to resolve this.

>> we arrived at this moment because president trump has been on a destructive two-week temper tantrum, demanding the american taxpayer pony up for an expensive and ineffective border wall. arthel: let's go to doug mcelway, live on capitol hill. doug? reporter: the bottom line, arthel, is that there is no immediate end to the shutdown in sight. things are at an absolute stalemate and that became obvious today, when senate minority leader schumer took to the senate floor to basically say there's going to be no negotiation on a border wall. here he is. >> it will never pass the senate, not today, not next week, not next year. so mr. president, president trump, if you want to open the government, you must abandon the wall, plain and simple. >> it may come as no surprise to viewers that the president has no intention of abandoning the wall. in fact, after mitch mcconnell announced that the senate would

adjourn on december 27th, rather until december 27th, the trump camp set out a fund-raising letter and it reads in part chuck and nancy are solely responsible for this shutdown because they are using the safety and security of american citizens as a bargaining tool to play political games and it is plain wrong. that's why i'm launching the most important membership program ever. the official build the wall membership. the letter asks recipients to send $5 by midnight tonight to become a charter member of the build the wall team. that following the creation of a separate we the people go fund me page for the wall, which has been set up by an air force veteran, who hopes to raise a billion dollars for the funding of the wall. but hope for a bipartisan agreement is rapidly fading here. but it's not completely gone. here's what mitch mcconnell had to say as he announced the adjournment of this day in congress. >> as i said earlier today, when we opened, i'm glad that productive discussions are

continuing. when these negotiations produce a solution, that is acceptable to all parties, which means 60 votes in the senate, a majority in the house, and a presidential signature. at that point, we will take it up on the senate floor. >> and finally, this pessimistic note from a spokesman for senator schumer, who had this to say immediately after the meeting, between vice president pence and schumer, wrapped up, they are trying to get a deal going, didn't happen, the spokesman said and i quote the vice president came in for a discussion and made an offer. unfortunately, we are still very very far apart. i wish i could end on a happy note. but that's all we've got from here. back to you. arthel: all right, doug, thank you. the president tweeting today saying quote we are negotiating with the democrats on desperately needed border security, gangs, drugs, human trafficking and more, but it could be a long stay. ellison barber is live at the

white house with more. ellison? reporter: the president says they are still talking with democrats. there was that lunch today that you mentioned, the border security lunch where republicans from capitol hill came over and met with some members of the administration, no democrats were at that meeting. as far as we know, they were not invited. senior administration official briefed reporters this afternoon and said they hope the shutdown only lasts a few days, but acknowledged it could last longer. they claim ultimately the duration of the shutdown is up to the democrats. of late we've heard the president blame democrats for the shutdown, a change from what he said in the oval office earlier this month. >> i will take the mantle of shutting down. i'm going to shut it down for border security. >> we believe you shouldn't shut it down. >> call it a democrat shutdown. call it whatever you want, but we need their help to get this approved. >> the senior administration official told reporters the administration is putting forward what they consider to be realistic expectations for these negotiations. that's 5 billion for border security and some sort of wall.

the official said physical barriers need to be part of any potential deal. when pressed on how the negotiation, if the administration won't budge from that 5 billion dollars number, the official said what democrats have put forward is, quote, unacceptable. the president says he campaigned on the wall. this is why he won the white house and that it's something that he says he will not stop until these are his words, we build a great steel barrier or walls. democrats, of course, they say that the president is being a bully here. as we heard from doug there, not budging on their position of the wall either. arthel? arthel: ellison barber, thank you. mike? mike: arthel, a top advisor in the fight against isis resigning, he's joining defense secretary mattis in stepping down after the president decided to pull u.s. troops from syria and afghanistan. former cia director john brennan tweeting, brett worked extremely hard over many years to ensure the u.s. fulfilled its leadership role in a critically important part of the world. like secretary mattis, brett

believes in the principles, values and partnerships that define america. donald trump does not. gillian turner has more from washington. >> fox news confirms that special presidential envoy for the global coalition to defeat isis has resigned as of yesterday. and he will vacate his post december 31st, yet another casualty of president trump's decision to withdraw from syria. this also comes on the heels of months of policy disagreements between president trump and his defense secretary, general jim mattis, which resulted in mattis resigning during a 45-minute long meeting with the president on thursday. mattis and other top military brass believe withdrawal is a betrayal of the kurds and syrian democratic forces. u.s. allies who fought isis on the ground inside iraq and syria for the past four years. u.s. military leaders believe they will be left for slaughter after the u.s. withdrawal. now, president trump's ordering the defense department to also plan to pull 7,000 soldiers,

nearly half the troops currently serving from afghanistan. also against the collective counsel of his top military brass. >> if we leave 20 odd of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world centered in that region, and we walk out of there, then we know what will happen. our intelligence services, are very specific that we will be under attack in a number of years. >> the current contenders to replace general mattis at the pentagon include general jack keane, a fox news contributor, who's already intimated he's not interested in the job. senator tom cotton, a former army captain who served in iraq and afghanistan and is opposed to pulling out of syria, and patrick shanahan, currently mattis's deputy and one of the lone supporters of president's trump space force which much of the pentagon opposed. general mattis enjoys an 84% approval rating among american

troops. mike? mike: gillian turner, thank you. arthel? arthel: thank you. the former vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff is reacting to the departure of general jim mattis. >> when all those national security decisions were being made in the white house, we could all take comfort that well at least jim mattis is in the room, and he's not going to be in that room much longer, as his letter points out, he had some fundamental disagreements with the president, and as the old adage says, either support your boss or resign. and he chose to resign before he got fired. arthel: jim walsh is an international security expert and senior research associate at the mit studies program. jim, good to have you. let's jump right in because now there's brett mcgirk. he's a big deal, not only is he the u.s. -- was the u.s. special envoy to the middle east for the antiisis coalition. he was also the deputy assistant secretary of state for iraq and iran. he negotiated the release of the

washington post journalist. i mean, how serious is this? and then general mattis. so jim, what does this mean? does this mean the president should expect more resignations? >> well, i think most of us expected that secretary mattis would move on at some point. the president made comments earlier this year suggesting that he thought he was a democrat. that seemed to be a bad sign. but in any case, he was looking to change his national security team and other cabinet officials. we all knew that was coming. and that it started to unfold. these other resignations that may be a consequence of policy decisions in syria and afghanistan, that was not expected because we didn't expect that announcement. personally, arthel, i think the president has the right instincts here. i hate to see these people who are seasoned veterans leave the administration, but in terms of the policy itself, i think the instincts are right. i never thought it was a good idea to be there in the first

place, and the mission seemed to be expanding. the number of troops seemed to be expanding. first, it was we are just going to kill isis. then it was well we'll kill isis and we'll force iran to leave syria. how with 2,000 troops? i have no idea, but that was the new objective added. and then a third objective was added saying that we were going to stay in syria until assad agreed to go. that's a recipe for staying there a really long time. and at high lefrls of forces -- and at higher levels of forces in a country where the syrians have already won the war. i mean that war is essentially over. i think the turks and the russians and the iranians, they are going to kill plenty of isis. they hate isis as much as we do. i don't see why we should have to go in there and do all that if they are willing to do it instead. arthel: i want to read a tweet from a foreign policy expert. his name is ian bremmer. >> i know ian, yeah. arthel: he says quote the war in syria has displaced over half the population, created 5

million refugees and killed over 500,000. bashar assad has won with the support of putin and the iranian regime and the political outcomes in syria will be determined accordingly. impact of u.s.? blank. jim, your reaction? >> i agree with that. at a strategic level, you ask yourself well if you are going to stick yourself in the middle of a fight, right? syria wasn't inviting us in. we forced our way in with 2,000 troops which again is not a ton of troops compared to all the other people fighting there. should you get in the middle of a civil war? probably not. i never liked this idea. we went in and now the russians and assad have won that war. they have won it. we have to sort of deal with reality here. so our little 2,000 troops isn't going to change that. and so we have to ask ourselves, why do with keep staying in these -- why are we in afghanistan for 17 years? how long are you going to stay in syria? at some point you have to

have -- to be able to answer those questions when you are arguing that you put young men and women in harm's way. arthel: you're an international security expert. you have already broken down why you see it the way -- why general mattis and mr. mcgirk, what they are protesting and why they strongly disagree with president trump's decision to remove these troops from syria and afghanistan. you are saying that the president's instincts are right. so then are there any national and international security ramifications? >> oh, yeah, yeah. listen, i think the policy is right. i certainly don't think it was handled very well. just sort of blurted out -- sort of immediately -- the way it was done, we sort of lost whatever little leverage we had. i'm sure it freaked out the kurds. it might have been good to have sat down and had a conversation with them at first and sort of work out a smoother transition which bolstered them as much as we could. but so the way it was handled wasn't really that great.

and it will have ramifications. arthel: like what? >> well, i think the assad government will consolidate its power over syria. i mean they win. they are going to clean up isis. they will kill as many of those guys as they can. i assume some will stay and some will flee. those guys won that war. that's one implication. israel didn't want iran in syria because they think f it as a land bridge to lebanon and ultimately to israel. but i don't think that's going to change either. i mean, syria and iran have been allies for a long long time. hopefully one of the consequences -- there will be negative ones -- but one positive consequence i hope is that the civil war will end. there will be some accommodation with the kurds. as ian's tweet suggested, a lot of people have died. a lot of people have been displaced, and for what? no good reason. and listen, i don't like this

outcome. assad is a war criminal. you and i have talked about this many times, but facts are facts. there's no changing the fact that they have prevailed in this conflict. arthel: well, we will look forward to hearing from national security advisor john bolton on this as well. meanwhile, jim walsh, thank you, as always, great to talk to you. >> thank you, and merry christmas. arthel: merry christmas. mike: former fbi agent who was showing off his dance moves at a bar and accidentally shot another bar patron learns his sentence. plus, something you may not have heard, president trump signing a bipartisan bill that includes big changes to sentencing guidelines for some criminals. >> criminal justice reform. everybody said it couldn't be done. they said the conservatives won't approve it. they said the liberals won't approve it. they said nobody is going to approve it. i want to thank everybody. this is incredible bipartisan support. this isn't just any moving day.

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in a two-hour window so you're up and running in no time. show me decorating shows. this is staying connected with xfinity to make moving... simple. easy. awesome. stay connected while you move with the best wifi experience and two-hour appointment windows. click, call or visit a store today. mike: a former fbi agent who accidentally shot a man while dancing in a bar will avoid jail time, after agreeing to a plea deal. chase bishop was showing off his dance moves at a denver bar when he launched into a back flip. police say a gun fell out of bishop's waistband. when he picked it up, he

unintentionally fired a shot hitting one person in the leg. the victim's attorney said the bullet hit a main artery and the guy could have bled to death. a judge rather sentenced bishop to two years of probation. arthel: amid a divided congress, president trump signed a sweeping criminal justice reform bill this week. the president senior advisor jared kushner earning high praise for getting the bill to the president's desk. it will allow up to 4,000 prisoners to be released for good behavior. more inhates will receive house arrest -- more inmates will receive house arrest or be sent to halfway homes. it lessens mandatory penalties for second and third convictions and allows judges more sentencing discretion for low level criminals. joining me now is fox news legal analyst and defense attorney and member of the republican lawyers association. we will talk about the political implications later. let's talk about the upside to this law. mercedes? >> i think it is great.

i mean i know a lot of defense attorneys are applauding this because these mandatory sentences were literally -- some of these are teenagers that are serving life sentences for the mistakes that they've made when they were teenagers. i have been in those courtrooms where individuals are going in and asking for amnesty who are sick in their 60 and 70s, been in jail for 40 plus years because they were convicted on the third term which is life imprisonment. i think this is great. it also puts into play, what have these individuals done while they have been in prison? some have gone and gotten their education. some of them are preachers. they are counselors. all of these individuals that really have rehabilitated themselves within the prison system, but they can't get out because of these mandatory sentences. i think it is a great day. >> what's the upside, richard? >> the upside is fantastic. first of all, we look at going from incarceration to rehabilitation. the u.s., 5% of the world's population, 25% of the prisons.

we have overcriminalized everything. the first thing is we are looking at rehabilitation. at some point in time, people do get out. you want them to be rehabilitated, have jobs, be productive members of the society. the other thing is costs. the cost to imprison a person is extreme. you are talking $31,000 per inmate at the federal level. if you are look at people going to group homes and halfway houses, that's 10,000 less to put people through that system. so it's a cost savings, which is one of the reasons that conservatives like criminal justice reform. and it's very helpful in terms of keeping families together. it requires that prisoners will be -- inmates will be closer to their families. >> the other thing too, richard, which i think is great that we're talking just regular jail time, but those who are sequestered anyway, up to almost $90,000 a year. that could be an extreme cost. eventually some of these individuals will be mainstream. it's good because you look at

this law, and there is because of the rehabilitation as you said, there is a method and path by which of these individuals which will get mainstream back into society. the second conviction, 25 to life, the minimum they will serve is 25 years. they are back in society in their 30s and 40s. they have gotten no rehabilitation. they have no jobs. they have been fractured, completely segmented from society. it's really problematic when you look at these individuals that just by way of the function of their sentencing will be mainstream back into society, but they have no skills. no education. no skills. no rehabilitation and can really be a problem in the mainstream. >> the other thing that bill does very importantly is it provides dignity and human rights to women. you have heard stories of women who were giving childbirth and they are shackled, women who don't have access to sanitary napkins. this bill provides dignity for women in prison, so they aren't shackled during childbirth. they aren't shackled while they are pregnant. and they have the opportunity to

take care of their health. this bill does a lot of good things. and more importantly, it is a bipartisan bill. >> sure. >> it's fantastic, bipartisan at its best. here's where, you know, democrats, clinton and obama failed to get this done, and now under republican administration in congress, we're able to get this bill. >> i think it's cheered by both sides. they are all very excited about it. fra the two of us as prak -- the two of us as practitioners, we see the benefit. mike: hey guys, mike emmanuel. let's hear what this republican had to say about this bill. i will get your reaction. >> the democrats will have you believe that it is just going to help non-violent drug offenders, a guy caught smoking a joint, and that's just not true. i'm not going to vote. and i didn't vote to allow child molesters and carjackers and robbers out of prison. i just couldn't do that.

mike: that was some of the argument we heard from some conservatives, like kennedy and tom cotton on the hill this week. your reaction to that? why don't we start with you, mercedes. >> interesting enough, i think you definitely have public opinion saying you can't possibly try to rehabilitate these individuals who are actually doing this, in terms of trying to get them back into the mainstream, if you are not talking about rehabilitation. frankly when i worked in sex crimes, it was really difficult to have any of these individuals rehabilitated. mike: richard, your thoughts? is it a get out of jail early card? >> absolutely not. we are talking about sex offenders, most of the time depending on the level, they will register they are sex offenders. it is not like you let them out of prison and they are free to live their life, no. that is a lifetime and properly because of the sex offender's ability to repeat themselves. there is still registration taking place. for the most people who are in the federal prison system, it is

not going to be murderers and sex offenders, it will be those who have mandatory minimums, teenagers, committed crimes, sentenced 55 years first time offenders. it will affect most of those people. not the folks that the senator spoke about. mike: interesting discussion. thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you very much. mike: it could be one of the busiest holiday travel seasons we have ever seen. how are folks handling it? we go live to one of the nation's largest airports. plus it appears we are at least five days to the end of a partial government shutdown, maybe more. we look at the potential impact on congress and in your neighborhood. >> this president rightfully so is shutting the government down. he said he would own it. it's up to the 60 votes in the senate. and i think mitch mcconnell can come up with the 10 democrats hopefully, but if not, we're going to sit until we have a secure border. e you, the further into winter we go, the heavier i get.

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mike: the partial government shutdown means hundreds of thousands of federal workers are being furloughed, though many are off for the christmas holiday. we know now that the earliest this could be resolved sounds like the 27th, when the senate's due to be back in session, but the president has warned the shutdown could last a while. we have more on the impact of the shutdown. hi, jackie. >> hey, mike. most americans won't feel this at all. the post office is going to keep delivering your holiday packages. tsa agents will still be screening passengers at airports, and active duty military will still be working, but there are thousands who will have to work without pay. 420,000 federal employees are working without pay. and another 380,000 will be furloughed, meaning they stay home without pay. the partial shutdown affects nine of the fifteen federal departments and several dozen agencies. most national park employees are home without pay right now, and that's creating some issues for holiday visitors. already open roads will stay open, but services that require staffing are closed. it's mostly affecting parks that

require snow removal and popular holiday destinations, like, zion national park in utah. >> the key park that we're focused on is zion national park. we're working closely with the superintendent to figure out a way to keep the visitors services open. >> among the parks that could have shut down, the statue of liberty and ellis island which draw about 10,000 people a day. the park service said this morning they will both stay open thanks to funding from new york state. last time the state funded the site during the january 2018 shutdown, it cost the state $65,000 a day. the smithsonian institute 19 museums in new york and d.c. will also stay open through the first of the year with the exception of christmas day. smithsonian is using funds from last year to keep operations running for those huge holiday crowds. and depending on how long the shutdown lasts, about 800,000 federal employees could miss a paycheck. in past situations they have received back-pay, but congress adjourned without passing that legislation today. mike?

mike: jackie, thank you very much. we're just learning that president trump will remain at the white house for christmas then the first lady and son barren are due to come back so they can spend christmas together, another impact of the shutdown. president trump blaming the democrats for the shutdown yesterday, but he had a different -- last week. take a listen. >> there's a very good it won't get passed. it is up to the democrats. it is really the democrats shutdown, because we have done our anything, when nancy pelosi said you will never get the votes in the house. we got them. ly take the mantle. -- i will take the mantle. i will be the one to shut it down. i'm not going to blame you for it. the last time you shut it down, it didn't work. i will take the mantle of shutting down. mike: let's bring in editor-in-chief of the firewall, david hawkings. great to have you. >> nice to be here. mike: the senate is gone till thursday, with mcconnell saying

he needs buy in from the senate and democrats before they will vote. does that suggest to you this will be a long partial shutdown? >> yes, it does. i see nothing on the horizon to lead me to believe that this is going to end after christmas, unless the president does another reversal, another change of heart and essentially faces what seemed to be some pretty clear facts, some pretty easy math which is in this case mr. schumer is correct, there are not the votes to give the president the 5 billion dollars that he says is his only number that he has yet to come up with for this wall. we know the white house, they had a very very brief meeting today, apparently the white house stuck with -- their negotiating position was to stick with the 5 billion dollars number. nothing is moving. there is seemingly no incentive for the democrats to move unless somehow, you know, unless somehow that clip that you have just played.

you've played it i think twice of the last half hour of the president saying the mantle is on me. this is my shutdown. i'm going to own it. unless that clip magically disappears. mike: right. or perhaps the lawmakers will get an earful from constituents around the christmas holiday, might that encourage them to figure something out? >> you know, i suppose, although your previous story just made clear, it is only a partial government shutdown. if this had happened in september, and if it had been the entire government, including the defense department and the va, and the health and human services department, that processes medicare and medicaid checks, maybe what you're thinking of might have happened. but this is a little bit of a toothless shutdown, in part because here it is at the holidays, many people are having interactions with the federal government, you know, at airports and with emergency calls to passport agencies, and they have no problem. if they want to go to a national park, there's no park rangers, okay. but a lot of people who are

having -- if you have an emergency dealing with the federal government, there's going to be no problem, even the santa tracker at norad is going to be working on christmas eve because they have some volunteers that will keep it going. mike: right. >> it is not really all that visible to many many americans. i think at most what's happening here is maybe this buys the president some time to maybe feel like the subject will change or that maybe the public will come to his view and say no big deal, we can keep the government shut down. you're right, or maybe he feels like waiting a week will allow him to appeal to his base and say look, i tried. i made my run at this. conservative commentators on your air and others, please give me a break. i did my best. let's move on. mike: if he waits till january 3rd, then couldn't nancy pelosi, she becomes speaker, then take credit for reopening the government at that point? >> you know, you're exactly right. this is pretty straightforward stuff. pelosi, right, she can propose opening the government, but only

on their terms. obviously the president's negotiating position was best in the last two years, right, let's just remember this. this was an all republican town. the president had every -- his best shot in a republican house and a republican senate, albeit with democrats that could filibuster and block him, that was his best shot. it doesn't get any easier on january 3rd. it only gets tougher because then it's pelosi doing the main negotiating, not the republican leadership. mike: a recent poll shows most americans oppose, 62% oppose to shutting down the government over wall funding. might that get the attention of some of these elected officials? >> it might. it is interesting that the number -- the numbers almost exactly reflect -- the number of people who are supporting the wall, support the shutdown, almost exactly reflect the president's base. the president politically -- his administration, his presidency has been all about hanging on to that base of support.

it will be interesting to see if over the course of this holiday, whether some of the conservative fire that he took, when it seems -- remember, # 2 hours ago -- 72 hours ago he was backing away. first he said i'm going to own the shutdown. then he said looks like i'm not going to get my own way, so you all have a deal. then he get incredible blowback, including some heavy hitters on this network and he changed his mind. will those numbers change in a way that gives him at least some concession to change his mind one more time? mike: then there's this gallup poll, in terms of honest ethical standards, rating high or very high, nurses 84%. doctors 67%. car salespeople 8%. and there you go, congress, single digits, friends and close family, your thoughts? >> you know, those numbers haven't budged much in recent years. they have declined. i shouldn't be laughing.

it is deadly deadly serious stuff. you know, i've been covering congress since george bush the 41st president was president. the place has changed remarkably and almost entirely for the worse. congress deserves the bad reputation it gets more often than not. but in this case, i will say, in this case, the republican leadership has been pretty clear to the public and to the president that the votes aren't there. mike: right. >> and there's really -- you know, the president can complain all he wants, but these are fundamental policy disagreements that really have been locked in place since before the 2016 election, and they haven't changed, and, you know, congress shouldn't be -- congress could be seen in ineffectual or polarized for a lot of different reasons, but i don't think it's fair to put that on that list. mike: david, thank you very much for your time.

triple a predicting more than one third of americans are packing up and heading out for christmas making it potentially the busiest holiday travel season on record. thankfully the weather is cooperating in most regions. let's check in at the airport with our jeff paul at lax. jeff, how are you? how are the crowds? >> sorry about the intercom that is overhead right now. we are in a busy airport here at lax. so far things are pretty good. i think everybody working here or flying out today hoping it stays this way. the lines to check in are relatively short. traffic outside as we take a look at the window is flowing. it is still one of the busiest traffic and travel days of the year. that seems to be the story across the country. no major delays or cancellations reported. that's good news because this is shaping up to be a record-setting holiday season. millions are either flying, taking a train or bus, or hitting the highway the old fashioned way. in all triple a estimates 1 in 3

people will travel this holiday season. mike: we talk so much about the partial government shutdown. what about airport security? what are you seeing on the ground there at lax? >> well, it seems like it is not impacting anything here, from our standpoint. i don't even think many of the travelers even realize that the government shutdown is in impacting some of the federal workers out here. tsa agents, air traffic controllers technically aren't getting paid today, but they are still showing up to work to make sure that all these travelers get to their destinations safe and sound. we spoke with some of the folks out here traveling, they say they are incredibly grateful and thankful that these federal employees are so dedicated to their job, and they have a message for some of the folks who may not realize what these employees are going through right now. take a listen. >> life's too short to just don't be sweating the small stuff; right? so you get there five minutes later, it is not worth ruining somebody else's day. >> now, while in the past, congress has approved back-pay

for tsa and air traffic controllers, there's no guarantee that will happen in this case. mike? mike: jeff paul, thanks a lot. an important recall, ford is recalling more than 400,000 trucks in the u.s. equipped with block heaters due to a fire risk. no accidents or injuries have been reported. the recall includes 2015 to 2019 f-150, and 2017 to 2019 f series super duty models. the parts will be either replaced or repaired. 911 turned 50 this year. critics say the technology is outdated and changes are coming. plus retired nba star brings a boy to the u.s. for life-changing surgery, but a story of hope ends sadly. th and! whoo-hoo! great-tasting ensure. with nine grams of protein and twenty-six vitamins and minerals.

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mike: an 8-year-old boy who came to los angeles to have a massive

tumor removed from his face has died. the death of the boy is blamed on a rare genetic reaction to anesthesia. the foundation of retired nba star brought him to the u.s. from democrat republic of congo for the surgery last week. the foundation in a statement says it is devastated by the loss. 911 celebrates its 50th anniversary this year amid a wave of criticism over the aging system. 911 gets a revamp with video and text messaging upgrades. we have the story. >> this is a 911 call in mexico. the man shot in the hand used live video chat to communicate with emergency officials. similar technology touched down in the u.s. earlier this year, responding to a wake of criticism over aging 911 systems. >> right now the communication habits and preferences of

america are changing so quickly away from voice calls. and it's really crucial that 911 keeps up with those advances or else it risks becoming irrelevant. >> one of the first 911 professionals in the u.s. to use the video function. here's how it works once an emergency call is placed in fayette county, georgia, communications officers like copeland can send a link to the us user's phone which then enables live streaming or texting. officials say these options help provide more information when callers can't talk for medical or safety reasons. but some question if there's such a thing as providing too much information. >> one of our biggest concerns is the mental health of our 911 professionals. >> melissa works north of atlanta, where residents can text 911 directly. >> experience trauma talking to somebody on the phone through their worst crisis, once we start seeing graphic images, we're concerned about the trauma

it will have on the 911 professionals. >> though she admits in today's age of multimedia, this technology is the future of 911. that is, if funding is available. less than a third of 911 centers across the country offer a texting option and even fewer video, but that could change if congress approve a bill aimed at accelerating the rollout of such technology with additional federal grants. in fayetteville, georgia, fox news. mike: two people arrested after multiple drone sightings at britain's second largest airport, but the trouble still not over for travelers. plus lights out at a famed national christmas display just before the holiday. what caused it to go dark. i'm ken jacobus and i switched to the spark cash card from capital one.

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mike: russian operatives attempts to influence voters here in the united states continued during the 2018 midterm elections, but they did not tamper with actual votes. that according to a statement by director of national intelligence dan coats on a study done by the u.s. intelligence community. the russian operations using social media to influence potential voters. coats also said china and iran attempted to influence voters during the midterm elections as well. the study requested by the white house has not been publicly

released. two people now under arrest for using drones to disrupt flights at britain's second largest airport. the sighting shutting down gatwick airport during the busy holiday travel season. while the airport is now back open, travelers are still dealing with major delays. >> we were supposed to leave at 9:15 two days ago. and our flight was delayed till 10:00 the same day, then delayed till 1:00 and then 2:00 on the same day, been delayed 52 hours. mike: wow. ryan chilcote is in london. >> mike, a full 49 hours after those first drones were spotted in the skies above gatwick airport, the police have finally made two arrests. but not before the perpetrators succeeded in causing what many are calling the worst drone induced disruption of a major airport ever. police say at least 1,000 flights were cancelled or diverted if they were incoming,

stranding some 140,000 people, in many cases, ruining their christmas plans. wednesday night all of thursday and part of friday the u.k.'s second busiest airport was a no-fly zone. every time officials thought the drones were gone and they could reopen the airport, they came back, buzzing the airport at least 40 times. finally, the military was brought in and reportedly employed some israeli technology, called the drone dome system, which jams the signal between the drone and its operator, enabling the authorities to take control of and land the device. the two suspects were arrested op friday evening in their home less than 5 miles away from the airport. the telegraph, a newspaper here says the police are questioning a window fitter and drone enthusiast and his wife. people here are already calling them the gatwick grinches. why did they do it if indeed it was them? we don't know. the police have said nothing

publicly about the motive here. the good news, though, today is that the airport is back up and running. some 700 flights left today. mike? mike: ryan chilcote in london, thank you. the national christmas tree near the white house briefly goes dark, this after police say an unidentified man climbed up the popular christmas attraction last night. the police eventually convinced him to climb back down. the incident leaving visitors disappointed. >> going to walk over to maybe the white house and the lincoln memorial check everything out over there, and i don't know if they will get some holiday spirit, but at least patriotic spirit perhaps. mike: police say the climber appeared to be in emotional distress. he was taken to a hospital for evaluation. we're now about 18 hours into a partial government shutdown despite meetings between the president and top lawmakers, searching for common ground. how the partial government shutdown may affect you and the ability for this congress to

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mike: check this out in the rocky mountains. people from across the nation heading to colorado getting a first-hand look at this frozen paradise. the castles are pure ice and you can go inside too. this took at least six weeks to create. you may be wondering about my friend arthel. she came to work total trooper. had a terrible cough and wasn't able to continue. hopefully with a little soup and

a good night's rest, she will be as good as new. we love you, arthel. that does it for us. thanks for joining us. the fox report with jon scott starts right now. jon: on capitol hill tonight, negotiations are on ice. the president says he will stay in washington through christmas, and congress does not plan on taking action to end the partial government shutdown until at least thursday. as hundreds of thousands of federal employees are forced to work without pay through christmas. good evening, i'm jon scott. this is the fox report. with no new deal on the horizon, both sides continue to point fingers at each other. talks are on going between lawmakers and the white house amid much uncertainty over a potential time line to end the partial shutdown. >> parties are still trying to negotiate, but i don't hear about a lot of movement. and i can only say to you that it can end on