>> good morning. it is wednesday, november 27th. happening at 4:00 am on the east coast a fox news alert. a fireball explodes over a texas chemical plant shaking homes dozens of miles away. the mandatory evacuations underway at this hour. it felt like a bomb and from fire to ice, old man winter making a mess for millions of thanksgiving travelers with storms packing a vicious punch. we are tracking the forecast

that seems to be worsening by the minute. >> our poll numbers are through the roof because people don't like watching a scam. they don't like watching it. we are going to take back the house, we are going to take it back. >> donald trump slamming the democrats impeachment inquiry during a homecoming rally in florida. we are live with his message to supporters in a statement is critical to his 2020 reelection bid. "fox and friends first" starts right now. ♪

>> good morning to you. a live look at new york city on this thanksgiving week and we almost made it, going to be a long weekend. you are watching "fox and friends first" on wednesday morning. thank you for starting the day with us. a fox news alert, serious news to tell you about. a massive chemical plant explosion sending flames shooting through the air near beaumont, texas. look at that. this is doorbell camera footage that shows the exact moment the explosion happened. the giant fireball rocking homes from miles near the tpc chemical plant, local report say the explosion out windows. several neighbors said it felt like a bomb and you can see why.

there is no word on injuries but homes within a mile of the plant are being evacuated. more on this developing story. donald trump rallying thousands of supporters in his new home state, florida. >> the economy is booming, wages are rising, crime is falling and america is stronger than ever before. >> mister president, given your change of registration, welcome home to florida. shannon: doug luzader joins us from washington with the night's biggest moment. >> reporter: the president -- this a homecoming rally. he officially changed his residency from new york to florida. he stopped in sunrise, florida for this event on his way to

spending thanksgiving at mara law go and this was a massive campaign rally. he spent part of the time talking up the us economy. >> we have the hottest economy anywhere in the world and it is not even close. unemployment has reached its lowest level in more than 51 years. in the last 12 months, florida has seen the second-largest payroll increase of any state in the nation. people are making money. >> reporter: there was as expected plenty of talk about impeachment. the president lashed out at democrats in congress and took aim at democratic rival former vice president joe biden and his son hunter's connection to the energy company burisma that linked to the impeachment investigation. >> if you want to see what corruption looks like, then take

a look now further than sleepy joe. his son received millions and millions of dollars from a ukrainian energy company despite knowing absolutely nothing about energy. >> reporter: there were some anti-trump protesters outside the event, the president pledged that republicans would take back the house and keep the senate and the white house in 2020. florida will play a big role in that if it happens, the president carried florida by two percentage points in 2016. shannon: great to have you with us. democrats pushing ahead with the impeachment inquiry against donald trump. the house judiciary committee set to hold hearings next wednesday. donald trump's legal team will have the option to participate, witnesses have not been

announced yet. this as the intelligence committee wraps up the investigative phase of the inquiry. the report is expected to come out next week. don't mention the economy. the economy seems to be unphased with the impeachment drama stock closing at record highs, with us and china trade talks. all three major averages in the green. the dow jones rising 55 points. the s&p increasing six and points with the nasdaq, this is the 100th record close since donald trump took office. pete buttigieg surges to second place in a brand-new national quinnipiac poll. the louisiana him mayor trailing joe biden who is in the lead with 24%. elizabeth warren slipping from first place all the way to third with 14%. the polling numbers are down

amid intense criticism over her medicare for all comments. after months on the sidelines a new report claims former president obama has strong opinions about the 2020 democrats especially his former vp. todd pyro is live in studio with why he fears biden may not be able to win 2020. >> reporter: the political report cites a close advisor to the former president recounting one of the many meetings obama has been having with democratic nominees. one quote raising eyebrows. during his own 2008 campaign he had an intimate bond with the electorate especially in iowa that he no longer has. then he added you know who really doesn't have it?

joe biden. this revelation a bit a curious response when biden was asked why donald trump -- why president obama hasn't endorsed his own vp. >> served for eight years. >> i want to earn this on my own. >> did he ever to endorse you? >> i asked him not to. i think he thinks it is better for me. >> reporter: the shocking claim, the lengths to which donald -- to which president obama will go to keep bernie sanders from the 2015 nomination. seems like more of a threat than he does now. obama said privately if bernie were running away with the nomination obama would speak up to stop him. this quote, if bernie were running away with that we all have to say something. these comments likely to revive claims with the sanders to 2016 when the dnc was accused of working behind-the-scenes to make sure hillary clinton and not sanders was the democratic nominee. sanders is pulling behind pete

buttigieg and forth behind elizabeth warren. buttigieg and biden in new hampshire. shannon: slipping back and forth, pretty early. we have a ways to go. thank you so much. let's talk about extreme weather. a record-breaking travel week as snowstorms pushed across the us. slick roads in washington state leading to a string of crashes. one of 50 vehicles. air travel hasn't been much better in some places, snow in denver leading to hundreds of flight cancellations and that oakland airport a power outage during a heavy rainstorm (is in the dark for hours. 50 million people expected to travel this week either by ground or by air. the weather will have an impact on the macy's thanksgiving day

parade. today the nypd will discuss security measures as strong winds with giant balloons. officials will wait until tomorrow to decide if the balloons will in fact fly. they will be grounded if winds reach 23 mph. back in 1971, the parade will still go on with or without the balloons. it would be shorter without the balloons. the time is 10 minutes after the top of the hour and donald trump wearing elite supporters in florida. >> you are smarter, better looking, sharper. heather: can the message overshadow the impeachment probe? trump 2020 deputy communications director says the more dems push

impeachment the more supporters trump gets and she joins us up next. milania trump. did the did the before speech on the opioid crisis, the outrage growing over that rude welcome. ♪ grandpa, can you tell me the story again? every family has their own unique story. give your family the chance to discover theirs this holiday season, with ancestry.

>> first it was be russia hoax and now the same maniacs are pushing the deranged impeachment witchhunt. everybody said that is really [bleep] shannon: donald trump tearing into the impeachment inquiry at his jampacked florida rally. as he faces the political battle on capitol hill can the president still swing the sunshine state voters?

joining me is deputy communications director, appreciate it this morning. i watched it on tv. what was the feeling in the room? >> that was one of the loudest strongest rallies i have ever been to and i have been to quite a few working for donald trump. this is a homecoming rally for the books. his fellow neighbors were excited to see their president in person and have every reason to be excited. a booming economy, more jobs, more opportunity, less crime, donald trump building the wall. more promises made, promises kept, the president was excited to share that message with his neighbors in florida. heather: let's talk about his job accomplishment since 2016,

587,000 jobs in florida alone, unemployment has reached a 50 year low and what struck me as we were watching the rally, all the different signs behind him, demographic groups, latinos for trump, black voices for trump, women for trump, he's trying to reach across the board to different groups. do you think that will be the key to winning florida this time around? >> it doesn't matter if you're a black american or woman or latino or whatever category you fall into there is a strong message of success because of donald trump. black americans looking at historic unemployment records because of donald trump's policies and donald trump has historically high support in the black community. the latino american community has a champion in donald trump against record low unemployment. record high business opportunity

and a president whose stand strongly against socialism and for women and record low unemployment, jobs and opportunity. we have three women with children continuing to serve in senior leadership positions with donald trump championing the only president to ever put paid family leave in his budget, a president with a message for every american and that is why we feel confident about living again in 2020. >> winning florida this time around, in 2016 he lost by a razor thin margin, he won florida by a razor thin margin. is a larger margin this time around. >> we hope that will be in 2020. promises made, promises kept in looking at a state that has a great partner for donald trump's

message and governor ron desantis, that kind of partnership is going to keep florida moving forward, help floridians for generations to come and we are seeing it across the state where opportunities what people want and donald trump is delivering those opportunities. >> including broward county? >> we think we can move the numbers up for donald trump across the board in florida. >> thank you, appreciate you joining us. it has been a long night for you. 18 minutes after the top of the hour and college students saying no thanks to thanksgiving. >> thanksgiving as a holiday. heather: carly shimkus with social media reaction, the holiday slammed on campus. - in the last year, there were three victims

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heather: the dive boat involved in the deadly labor day fire was exempt from certain safety regulations. 34 people were killed when the boat it ignited off the coast of california trapping people below decks. according to the la times coast guard rules or fire escape hatches and illuminated exit signs on boats made after 1996. the boat in the fire was made in 1981. it is unclear of additional safety features would have made a difference in that tragedy. a school bus driver accused of drinking beer while picking up students while picking the students up. this shocking surveillance camera footage shows the illinois woman drinking from two

different cans on her morning bus route. there were 32 kids on that bus and another video shows her buying beer from the gas station. after he saw her get in the bus and driveway, she's facing charges and no longer works for the bus company. college student saying no thanksgiving this year claiming americans are celebrating genocide. >> thanksgiving of the holiday is unnecessary. >> aware that the privilege you have and how you got it and the wrongs that were taken to get there. heather: carly shimkus is here with the reaction that video is getting on social media.

>> a campus reporter went to the university and asked how they felt about turkey day and the majority responded, that appeared in that clip so they felt it celebrates the genocide of native americans, racist undertones. we asked viewers how you felt and many disagree. one twitter user says let me guess, they still want the time off. johnny tweets they will gladly take the weekend, i thought they learn facts in college, not garbage, this is garbage. it started with christopher columbus day and now people saying thanksgiving is a display of privilege. heather: when they ask students, they tried to answer the politically correct thing to say. carley: if you watch the clip reporters questions were leading like don't you think it is a celebration of genocide and some students say how do i respond?

heather: they will be sitting somewhere eating turkey and stuffing. hashtag what liberals call thanksgiving trending at number one. carley: yesterday donald trump's rally he said liberals want to change the name of thanksgiving, it skyrocketed this hashtag on social media. louis says like the rest of america, guacamole, another twitter user says they will rename it passive-aggressive political commentary day family addition and this one saying what liberals call thanksgiving, impeachment. the campus reform videos it should be renamed indigenous people day. that could be another one. heather: i heard that before. carley: christopher columbus. heather: the time is 25 minutes after the top of the hour. 10,000 guns seized in chicago

this year alone and that is what every 48 minutes but will it do anything to solve the windy city's gun problem? will anything assaulted? our next guest is a former chicago police officer who says gangs in the legal system of the biggest obstacle. what are florida voters saying about the president's big rally? pete hegseth is live in boca raton with more. >> reporter: we are at the flashback diner and be here all morning long. last night we were down the road for donald trump's homecoming rally in sunrise, talking to folks attending the rally and we will bring it to you on the other side. ♪

heather: you are watching "fox and friends first".

a massive chemical plant explosion sending flames shooting through the air near beaumont, texas. the giant fireball rocking homes for miles near the tpc chemical plant, no word on any injuries but homes within a mile of the plant are being evacuated. severe weather causing headaches ahead of a record-breaking travel we, snowstorms pushing across the midwest, and a power outage and a heavy rain storm. and democrats pushing ahead with the impeachment inquiry against donald trump, the house judiciary committee holding a hearing next wednesday.

they will have the option to participate. witnesses have not been announced. donald trump firing up the crowd at a massive homecoming rally in florida. >> the economy is booming, wages are rising, crime is falling, poverty is plummeting, confidence is soaring, and america is stronger than ever before. america is winning again and america is respected again. heather: what did the voters think, pete hegseth talked to some of them live at the flashback diner in boca raton. it was a long rally last night. >> reporter: it was and a fired up crowd. sometimes you have to step back to appreciate the political phenomena in.

it is a tuesday night, a year away from an election, in broward county which hillary clinton won with 66% of the vote and donald trump fill the entire sports arena, and waiting to get in. the crowd incredibly diverse, across the spectrum. everyone we spoke to, the first political rally they have ever been to and many in the first trump rally, why they support the president, that is what folks have to say. >> i used to be a democrat once upon a time and i see they did nothing for us. he does everything for america. >> i think the support has gone further up. >> the president has energized

america, >> he wants to make this country great for future generations. >> support donald trump, really loves america. >> honest and genuine. heather: >> reporter: to a man, to a woman they said he speaks for us. he hasn't backed down, he speaks bluntly in light of relentless pursuit of his opponents he has stood firm. if you are one of his opponents and looking at that rally last night it is a pretty intimidating reality of the strength of donald trump at this moment. heather: it was in broward county. to say the least he speaks bluntly. i like the way he put that. >> reporter: absolutely.

heather: from florida let's go to chicago. chicago's top cops give a shocking look at the firearms turning the windy city in her war zone. >> chicago has a gun problem. goes hand-in-hand with the violent crime in the city so immensely proud of cpd taking 10,000 guns off the street this year. heather: chicago police, one gun every 48 minutes, the highest number since 2012 so what will it take to turn the tide? 10,000 guns seized this year alone. anthony napolitano joins us to talk about this. the numbers are staggering. is this a good thing or bad thing? they are getting guns off the streets but when you look at those numbers it is horrible.

>> thanks for having me. let's start with a big hell yeah on chicago police officers for doing such a great job recovering 10,000 guns. we are working against the system, handkerchiefs - in my day is a police officer there was never guns in cars. gangbangers had guns laid up underneath a porch or in a garage. the way we are turning over people that are arrested for gun charges, in the catch and release system putting people back on the street even quicker. we are not getting ahead of this problem. the 10,000 number is great. imagine if we but police be the police the number would be 20,000.

heather: how do we win this war? legal guns recovered this year versus the past year as we mentioned in 2019, more than 10,000 since 2013 the average has been approximately 7000. making some leeway there. >> you are just seeing such a spike because it is a brazen attitude on the streets now. everyone is driving around, showing it off, bragging about it. police officers have their handcuff, they can't do anything about it. the world against them to be the police but we are recovering 10,000 guns. it is a staggering number. heather: what does it say about the leadership in communities across the country? >> i am excited about the mayor. the mayor has taken this and has a great attitude. the big issue, the catch and release system has got to go. we need better leadership, people to be put away for a longer time. we need a mandatory minimum sentencing for anybody carrying

a gun. we should go to a strike 2 cause and get to strike 3 and strike 2. you are caught with a gun you are felon, gangbanger you will do time and we need to set the tone. we can't keep letting people out of jail knowing it is easier on the street because you won't go to jail for a gun anymore. heather: chicago compared to other cities, los angeles, 5000 guns, new york 3000 guns approximately. across the country it is an issue. is this president, so pro law enforcement, is that making a difference? >> i think it is making a difference. it is hurting the almighty lawsuit, for police officers to do the job.

and to get a swing of this, the officer unfortunately had to shoot this individual, he was found guilty of a crime, he lost his job for this. it is hard to be the police in a city with this many guns. it is a difficult -- we are fighting an uphill battle here. heather: thanks for joining us this morning, appreciate it. a have a happy thanksgiving. all of our law enforcement officers out there. the time is 20 minutes until the top of the hour. politics versus safety taking center stage in two sanctuary county's. six criminal illegal immigrants about to be freed and sounding the alarm on why these policies put public safety at risk.

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heather: six criminal illegal immigrants accused of serious crimes like murder and child abuse could be released on maryland street thanks to sanctuary county policies. ice officials say they refused to transfer the suspect into their custody. francisco said by doing so county leadership is choosing misguided politics over public safety and he joins us with more. thank you for joining us, we appreciate it. let's take a look at some of these individuals we are talking about, we have six individuals. the crimes they are facing are horrendous, we are talking sex

abuse with a minor, three counts, third-degree, another one two count of child abuse, molestation, another one, five counts of sexual abuse of a minor, rape of a child under the age of 14 and others charged with first-degree assault, another attempted first-degree murder. people need to realize these are serious charges, these people not being released, ice not being informed they are going to release? >> we are aware they are locked up in local custody through our system. we received biometric notifications but we are not able to receive access to conduct interviews, to do our work and to prevent them from getting back onto the street. that is where ice contributes to public safety for citizens and immigrants who live in these counties. we can literally prevent these

people from getting back onto the streets and get them removed back to their home countries to make it a better place to live and work. heather: it is great to be able to talk to you because you are dealing with and the case you made makes perfect sense so when you are trying to explain that, what is the pushback you get, what argument do they have? >> it seems they tried to hide behind either they don't fully understand so we will try to explain those things or they are matters of political convenience and we want to get the word out how immigration really works, we are trying to do our job, immigration officers work under lawful administration authorities, they are here to enforce the orders of

immigration judges and that is the system we have had for many years. it is meant to provide the immigration system that works and provide safe communities in the united states. heather: this is not only happening in maryland but there are states with sanctuary county's across the country, 27 states or cities dealing with this very thing. specifically prince george county, montgomery county where these six illegal immigrants could be released, they know firsthand, in prince george county where two illegals were released and ms 13 gang members after their release allegedly went back and beat a 14-year-old girl to death with a baseball bat? >> that is the kind of thing we are trying to avoid. my officers are out in the street a few miles from me trying to locate someone charged with sex abuse of a minor, who

is out in the community, we don't want that person to reoffend. this shouldn't be necessary. my officers are good detectives and do good work out there but it would make more sense to have gone into the jail and in custody of the sex offender in an organized way. heather: we appreciate your work you are doing out there to keep us safe and hopefully you will get some help doing that. we will be right back.

heather: total this respect, the first lady does not receive a warm welcome in baltimore.

milania trump met with booz as she discussed the opioid crisis. jackie ibanez joins us with the latest, this is so disturbing. >> reporter: the first lady was speaking to a group of middle and high schoolers on opioid awareness. fighting addiction in her be best campaign. you can hear the booze, the audience remaining noisy through much of her speech but the first lady pressed on. >> fight with you and fighting for you. drug abuse are universal issues. they do not discriminate, be part of the solution. if we continue to work hand-in-hand, i know we will do amazing things.

>> he didn't appear to be phased. lara logan says there is an obvious double standard between the way people treat milania and michelle obama. >> to be accused of doing it because you are racist, if you say one thing you are a racist and if you say something else you are conspiracy theorists. have you noticed how convenient some of these are in shutting down any kind of conversation? >> reporter: the first lady released a statement after the event saying, quote, we live in a democracy and everyone is entitled to their opinion but the fact is we have a serious crisis in our country and i remain committed to educating children on the dangerous and deadly consequences of drug abuse. cool reception comes as donald trump announced his third-quarter salary fighting opioid abuse. heather: thank you, that was a gracious response. are you expecting family tension

over thanksgiving? >> i'm storming out. >> now. >> there will be no storming this year. we are going to eat together as a family with no drama, understand? heather: how to avoid those political turkeys. good morning. these folks don't have time to go to the post office

they use stamps.com all the services of the post office only cheaper get a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again.

>> democrats are accusing me of being too soft on turkey. they received subpoenas to appear in adam schiff's basement. i should note that unlike unlike previous witnesses you and i have actually met. >> got to admit it is pretty funny. donald trump couldn't help but sneak in political jokes at the annual white house turkey pardon. for some families there is no joking when it comes to washington. how do we navigate political turkeys. it takes about almost 4 hours for people to be sick of each other. >> that is the nature of family.

in our two, 4 hours is stretching a little bit. heather: everything includes cooking time. sometimes your cooking all night long. another poll, how do you cope with politics at dinner? 48% change the subject, 40% don't talk about it at all. they drink more and get through it. >> here's the word, cope. if we have to cope with politics we have to look inside ourselves and ask is something wrong internally with me? we see this during the holidays in our environment nowadays, different political views. to handle the fact that somebody has a different perspective than they do. heather: not only the political climate does seem to be more divided than ever but also social media where people are so willing to give their opinions, hide behind anonymity is that driving people more to get into

his? >> i remember before donald trump was elected i'm not sure i had many conversations about politics but now with social media, people are included in it, they can voice their opinion, read the paper and nobody talks about it and people feel they are part of it and it is arousing their emotions and they are dying to be heard. heather: navigating the political turkey so to speak. >> number one, you have to be present as a person. consciousness, being aware of the now, have control of your thoughts. if you are not present with yourself you can't control your thinking. if you can't control your thinking you can't control your feeling. heather: number 2? >> if somebody disagrees with you pay attention. your feelings are your feedback mechanism. if your opinions or whatever they might be, uncle bob is disagreeing with you if you're

getting emotionally aroused you are entering the loser circle. heather: control your emotions, don't take the bait. >> if somebody is telling you something you don't want to hear and you're getting an emotional arousal out of your taking the bait, take a step back, trust your instincts, now that -- leave it there. heather: politely disagree. how do you suggest you do that? politely disagree. >> reasonable. you are communicating with somebody. if somebody says i hate donald trump and you like donald trump, you get emotional you can tell the person your opinion is your opinion. as soon as our emotions take over and we hit that talking point it is a losing battle. recognize you have control of your own mind and emotions, you will never get the opposing person to see things your way, deal with it. heather: if you're sitting at dinner or lunch or thanksgiving you can stuff your face as an

excuse because -- >> drown yourself with an extra cocktail. heather: thank you for joining us. i hope everyone has a great thanksgiving. i will be back next week to stave off the family. "fox and friends first" continues right now, goodbye. kim jong un chemical plant explosion sending huge fireballs into the texas sky overnight. people waking up to what looks like an apocalyptic scene and mandatory evacuation orders. jillian: details on this active scene. back to back storms could threaten your thanksgiving as blizzard likes now wreaks havoc across the rockies. rob: we will tell you why experts say now is the worst time to travel even if there is no winter weather in the forecast. >> they have a sick puppy, shifty schiff, we will take back the house.