never miss an episode of vanity, we will never be part of the mob, let not your heart be troubled. it's christmas, have a great night. ♪ ♪ >> laura: i'm laura ingraham and this is a special edition of the ingraham angle on the road. while i usually broadcast to every night from here in washington, i think it's really important for us to cover stories that take us outside the dreaded beltway mind-set. stories that impact the lives of all of you. from the ridiculously awful homelessness crisis in california to the heartbreaking violence in chicago and of course to the dangers at the u.s.-mexico border. i want to make sure that you know what's going on in your own backyard, things that ultimately impact all of us. the left has been so obsessed

with taking down our president that they've let their own districts continue to fall by the wayside in some cases. so raymond arroyo and i went from coast-to-coast and even across the pond this year investigating the issues that are important to you. first, to texas. from the water to the air, we wrote along with the border patrol to find out the truth about what's happening, the real story that the leftist resistance media will not tell you. >> most of the time you can walk most places, but again, that's where it is deceptively dangerous. if you i can walk on this and suddenly they reach a spot were over there had -- and they get swept away. >> trying to hold her baby above her head or the small children above their head and then you'll see the mothers trying to struggle herself and she's fighting the current trying to keep a child above her head and

then they both just can't make it and if they're lucky they make it back to the island and wait for help. if they're not lucky, then they end up downstream. >> you can see the broken -- it's broken as you look up through there. you see the trash bags they leave behind, so the use trashbags to keep their clothes dry and also used trashbags, they will throw them up in the air. >> so this is a landing area? >> without the fence it's an easy -- >> with the fence does is it gives us that break, that spot that they have to slow down to give our agents time to make first detected and then respond in order to make that arrest. >> of these four were on a tube upriver and the boat unit had to go up there and rescue them you can tell, they are all soaking wet. >> that little tube right there.

these folks were just rescued by the boat. >> people drowned the other day. >> laura: how do they know to cross this particular -- >> [speaking spanish] >> you can see with but almost every size you can imagine. both of all kinds of formulas, we got juices and snacks, we got meals. we partner up with some of our nongovernmental agencies and they will help donate some clothing. also a lot of this is brought in by the agency, so we are parents so a lot of -- they outgrow each of the hand-me-downs.

♪ >> here we are in eagle pass and eagle pass, sector is -- >> 240 miles. >> and this is 2 miles of the 4 miles of fencing, this is it for the fencing. so we will show you where it ends. you saw where it began, behind us. and up here is where it ends. that's it, that's the end of the border fence at eagle pass. over here. >> here we are in the del rio sector of the border. where the other 2 miles of fencing's. this whole area is 209 miles. definitely helps, nowhere near enough. >> laura: it while i was in the air surveying the scene, raymond was patrolling the rio grande and look what he found. >> yeah, look, he's jumping in. >> they're getting ready to cross.

>> where will you intercept them? >> the minute they start getting into distress. >> this is unbelievable. you see a father -- >> a father and a child. no. >> he's in the water without -- the baby has got the device on him. >> you're going to come inside? >> get over here. >> this is terrifying. i mean, if a man gets separated -- and i have a man separated from his baby here. the baby is crying on the other boat and border patrol is left to have to fish him out of the river. and this happens every day. >> every day, all the time from sunup to sundown when the boats are in here, they are just doing this pretty much nonstop. >> why would risk life and limb this way? >> many of them just don't want to wait. there's a long wait at the bridges, they can only process so many days on a matter what bridge they are, many of them just get tired and they don't want to wait. >> the main crisis and the

crisis to humanity is what's forcing these people here in the entire cartel that has created a network to fuel just what we are seeing. >> to risk life and limb into u.s. >> absolutely. >> by going out of your way to protect and in some cases rescue these migrants, aren't you incentivizing more of them to do this? >> we don't incentivize it. we try, absolutely not. we don't want to become a ferry service. we know that, as a daily struggle that these guys have, but you can't leave an infant in the water struggling, you can't leave small children in the water. here we go again, migrants throwing themselves into the rio grande. the difference here, contrary to a lot of the reporting, they know they're going to be rescued, because otherwise this current will carry them straight down but border patrol always intervenes, as they will now.

>> so this gentleman, this lady, they are from honduras. apparently there are friends there on the mexican mainland will help them get across mexico and here to the rio grande. and now they'll go in for processing. >> the man and woman we saw here, the lady claims she is from honduras, she showed us cuts on her arms come on her head, you believe this might be part of a script to >> it very well could be. we see a lot of the same story. >> do you think these people pay cartels to get her? there from honduras. >> they don't move through here without the cartels knowing. >> obviously using the tragedy of this all-around where a father and a daughter jumped into this river thinking they were going to get some clemency, a better life and they are now going to be taken in, processed, and then eventually released

here into the country because of the laws and the way they are. but they put their belongings in a bag and they jump in the water and take the chance. this is the situation here and it really is not only risking their own lives, but the lives of these agents for taking us out here today. >> laura: our next adventure brought us to london, where i ran into brexit leader nigel farage at one of his favorite hangouts. >> nigel farage, i just happen to walk into a pub and look at what -- walk into a pub and look at who you run into. >> the reputation is true. >> laura: so nigel, today we were among some of the protesters, there were several thousand people, maybe 10,000 people in the square, there were communists, socialists, and people who just are anti-trump the most vehement way. they were anti-trump, auntie brexit, and he nigel farage, what you say to that? >> i'm very pleased to be inaccurate if my name wasn't there i'd be so upset and talk about these protesters and they

are what i called the usual suspects. the people that -- everything, including my meeting but among them, more significantly, was one jeremy corbyn. so here's the guy that could be the next british prime minister after the next election and rather than attending a state banquet at buckingham palace, he is in the square. 70 years old, almost like a left-wing student politician and the significance of that is he just does not look like a prime minister in the eyes of the people, so i reckon it's a big won. >> laura: when you see the president with theresa may today, outgoing prime minister, what do you think now is the posture that the brits should take with the united states? trump wants to do a trade deal. is that realistic given the flux that we are in? >> it's complete we realistic. i have to say i'm getting a little bit tired of this conversation, should we talk about her trade deal. i think it's time to act. i think it's time we formed a committee of industrialists, men and women, the americans get to

see what we actually start work on this. >> laura: for people in the united states don't quite understand the british system, it's very different from our o own. could you form a coalition, the brexit party, only started two months ago with the conservative party that had a terrible showing in the e.u. national elections just last week. >> there are lots of permutations there and one is that the conservative party continue to fail on brexit and you could see the death about 200-year-old party. these things do happen. more realistically, they will get a leader with a little bit more courage -- >> laura: who is it? give us some names. >> it could be boris but boris talks a big game but often doesn't deliver. >> laura: boris johnson very >> yeah, he's a great personality and people -- we will have to see who emerges out of this. it's the great battle in the west. it's globalism versus nationalism. that's the debate that is going on. if the issue of our times and the epicenter is here in london right now. and i can tell you, you know this, i've spent 25 years fighting for this.

i am absolutely certain that british public opinion is with us, they haven't quite woken up to it but i'm going to make sure they do. >> laura: fast-forward, joe biden somehow wins the nomination, he wins the nomination, but then he ends up winning the presidency. what would that mean to the globalist influence in europe to mike they be thrilled, would they not become it to go back in business as usual? >> we are on the right track emma but feel that if brexit was to fail, that would make the likelihood of biden winning even more likely. and we are going to win. >> laura: nigel, thank you for being here today. cheers. >> cheers. >> laura: from london we made our way across the english channel to france. this year of course marks the 75th anniversary of the d-day invasion while in france at normandy i spoke with president trump about how meaningful it was for him to be on those shores and meeting with

the world war ii vets who so bravely risked their lives for our freedom. >> mr. president, thank you so much for being here with us today. 75th anniversary of the d-day landing. you've had, by all accounts, an incredible trip. what lessons are you going to take that home to my to back home after the standard meeting with the queen, trip to ireland? >> president trump: first of all, the meeting with the queen was incredible i think i can say i really got to know where because i sat with her many times and we had automatic chemistry, you understand that. that feeling, it's a good feeling. she's a spectacular woman and the people i met, i met so many veterans, i wish i could have met people that have seen it. they've seen days like nobody else. and they are just really incredible people. >> laura: and feeling this beautiful weather, it was raining last night. the weather broke. imagining the invasion, 150,000 allied troops climbing the cliff, landing on the shores,

what's going through your mind? >> this is weather like they don't normally have. this is supposed to be today a storm and it's a little like the invasion itself, the weather was a big factor. they delayed it a day and it worked out okay and you look at the weather we have, we have beautiful weather and it's been that way wherever i've been. then now for three and a half days and it's like i'm saying is it always like this? it's pretty beautiful, but it can be pretty rough. >> laura: after having met all of these world war ii veterans, this entire experience here today, what do tell the american people about the importance of this history and our shared ideals? >> that there was never a more important battle. there was never a more important event than the events 75 years ago today -- think of that. these were incredible, brave people who were just being blown up and you have the graves all over. i mean, these were people that knew they were going to die. it was horrendous. the bravery, the valor.

were giving out metals today. you know we are giving out metals to certain people in certain families. this was one of the truth -- in terms of war, in terms of probably could also say in terms of peace, because this led to something very special. this was a very, very horrific day but it was also a very special day and it's an honor to be here. >> laura: coming up, raymond and i traveled to end fro this year, all across the country coming to get answers for you from california to indiana, to florida. we even went to mardi gras. had some fun. you won't want to miss any of it. stay there.

♪ >> laura: now we take you to california, the land of nancy pelosi, paper straws, and

crying hollywood liberals. but more important, because of the left 'leadership there, the state has been overwhelmed with a massive homelessness crisis. so we sent raymond on the road to see just how bad it is. >> homelessness in l.a. has become a true epidemic just in the last seven years. there's been an 80% increase of homelessness on the streets and among those 18-24, a 24% increase. that's 59,000 people on the streets every night looking for shelter. it is a tragic scene near residential areas and businesses in venice beach. the drug addicted come out of work, or mentally ill, have created roving encampments on the sidewalk. feces fills a bucket and it is gross for parking lot, human waste is flatter on the nearby wall. the home was collect urine in jars collect in their tents or

makeshift shelters. >> and here in malibu, homelessness has increased 413%. a lot of that is attributable to people living in rvs and campers, trailers, buses, along the pacific coast highway. in 2018, 11 people lived like this. today, it's approaching 100. mostly these long-term campers didn't want to speak to us. how long have you been here? >> i can't say. i've got to go, guys, i'm sorry. take the bus. >> oscar, a millennia living in an rv along the pacific coast highway was willing to talk. >> how long have you lived along the coast here? >> the coast i've lived around here for about, let me see, on and off since -- to be honest, july. >> saw a couple of years.

>> two years. >> use one just up the street. >> are you working? >> i had a business, but right now i'm just going back to learning. so i'm just doing some studying right now. just doing -- what is it, self-discovery. >> self-discovery. what's the biggest challenge having out here in an rv? >> i would say the complaints. sometimes -- well actually i haven't had any complaints for a while, which is nice. so it's on and off. it really depends. let me try and think. it's been about two months since the police came by. so they're actually pretty nice. and there's no signs posted, so they can't really do anything about it. it's unrestricted part of the pch. i did go get food stamps yesterday because my business went under a little bit, you know, and have been using my mom's money, so i didn't really want to do that anymore.

so i'm using the government health now. this is our kitchen and i remodeled this all myself. it's wood. they used to be this ugly -- but it's -- it's, i don't know. >> oscar, i have to say, you've got best view. this is like -- beachfront. beachfront property. >> that's right, you don't need money to be happy! but i guess the people up there, they don't like it really. >> how long do you think will continue living here? >> to be honest, i don't know, i just live day by day, no more than that. if tomorrow they kicked me out then it's that and i will just go on a road trip, i have a little bit of money saved up. >> you're kind of like an organic granola -- >> [laughs] i guess you could say that, that's funny. >> los angeles' almost epidemic is not about to go away anytime soon. home prices here continue to rise and there are no social media influencers teaching people how to live in

their cars. in addition to which, it's a sanctuary city where those from the outside are competing for low-income housing and jobs. from los angeles, i'm raymond arroyo for fox news. >> laura: residence in california are so frustrated by the utter failure and the performance of the liberal leaders of that state that they started taking matters into their own hands. raymond went to venice beach to find out how the business owners there, just the regular residents, are fighting back. >> this is the iconic gold's gym. the first one here in venice beach and here you see outside the back door of the gym there are really a string of homeless encampments, garbage-covered goods. the law here is that you can't have more than 60 gallons, one person can't have more than 60 gallons as you see most of these folks exceed that. mark reinecke is a venice resident advocate runs the

venice stockholders association. when the homeless began to congregate here, residents took matters into their own hands and on the advice of law enforcement, installed these planters to occupy much of the sidewalk in their neighborhood. >> we had a constant problem with a very large homeless encampment here and the people living in it were living right up against residents. you have a problem with break-ins, both in the properties and into cars. >> have crimes going up? >> crimes are way up. then you have a lot of harassment, people screaming at each other at 2:00 a.m. in the morning, father comes out and says hey, can you quiet down, you're scaring my kids. and the response is get the f back in your house or i'm going to firebomb your house. we, the group, raised $35,000. we got a contractor who would work for basically for free. brought his crew in, build all of these with three blocks from the beach, this is an area that is run by a guy.

>> tell me about what we're looking at here. >> his name is gary gallery. he has over 50 old man's like this that he rents out for $300 a month. he's illegally taking the street parking -- >> so he's basically running -- >> he's running a business. >> he's running a roving hotel for the homeless. >> exactly. some of us are down there right next to the school, even prohibited 24 hours a day from living in a van next to a school. the cops don't even enforce that, so you've got potential child molesters living literally right next to an elementary school. and there's no effort to enforce the laws, they can't live here. >> there's mountain dew bottle here, tell me about this. >> they don't have any toilet facilities, there's no restrooms near here. they could walked onto the beach, there are open restrooms at least during the day but we frequently find they will go right back here in the alley and will use that as a toilet. there will be toilet paper and

feces and human waste and occasionally -- i mean, i've had people leave glass jars of urine on my car. it not like the city takes any responsibility of that but that's the nature of this whole environment, it's very dysfunctional. >> here at venice beach, this is a good example of public toilets that are open to the homeless. each of these units, permanent facilities here on the beach cost the taxpayers of california hundred $74,000 per toilet per year to operate in the porta-potties, that are around town, $320,000 a year to erect and maintain. >> along venice beach, homeless, some posing as artists, have overtaken the boardwalk. scattered encampments line the beach and the side streets running off of it. >> one of my neighbors just last year was riding his bike on that bike path over there in one of these young kids who was freaked out on meth, steps often slugged

him in the head, knocks him out. he went down to the police station to report it, they said we didn't see it so we can't take it to court. >> both the citizens of los angeles as well as a series of bad leadership and court decisions box you in? there was a ballot initiative here to do away with misdemeanors for being on the street, for doing certain things, they can't enforce those anymore. >> a combination of prop 47 and 57. so yes, those took out a chunk of enforcement and then you have a very liberal attorney who was a homelessness advocate. he is unwilling. >> 59,000 homeless people here on the streets of l.a. county. there's a proposal now to build a facility for them here in venice. why are you opposed t to the facility? >> we know that this is just going to invite more people. it's more of the magnet affect that we have experienced over the last five years where we went from 400 homeless to 1,100

homeless. >> has this changed the politics of the area at all? >> i'm a liberal democrat but on his local issues when i see my neighbors getting hurt, they're getting assaulted, they're getting broken into, i don't look through rose-colored glasses at the homeless anymore. within a population there are people that are lethal. there's people that are assaultive, people that are criminal and it just has to be a small minority for it to ruin things for everybody here. >> laura: and now to indiana where raymond investigated what the media won't tell you about what kind of job mayor pete buttigieg is doing in south be south bend. >> from the looks of things, you might think i'm in st. louis or detroit, but actually i'm only a few miles from the golden dome of notre dame. welcome to mayor pete's

south bend, indiana, a place where the local population here, 25% of them, live beneath the poverty line, and crime has risen to 20 year highs with violent assaults exceeding by 173% national average. and there are a lot of abandoned homes here. "usa today" recently described south bend as one of the most dangerous cities in america. they say double the national and the state average for these assaults. why? what is happening here? >> we've got a mayor that's more concerned about politics right now than he is about public safety in our own city. and it's infuriating. >> because of some of the rhetoric that mayor pete employees both here at home and nationally, has it made it more difficult for you to do your job? >> absolutely. now the public sees us as villains. they're looking at police officers as someone that wants to hurt them, not help them. and morale is at an all-time low as far as i'm concerned.

i've been a police officer here for seven years. this is the lowest i've ever seen it. and it's mainly due to the mayor's lack of public support for our officers. >> tell me about the eric logan case, that garnered a lot of national press. >> more than ten officers have been shot at since that's shooting. >> wow. and to what you interview that? >> we attribute that to the racism remarks that mayor pete has been spewing and demoralizing our police department. and the public. you know, the public is now afraid to approach us. >> do you feel safe in south bend? 's not at all. >> honestly i can't wait to get out. i've been tired of hearing shootings every night. >> i feel like i'm on guard. i feel like they try to cover it up. >> i'm okay with format, there's some stuff going on downtown and other areas that need to be addressed. >> you go downtown in south bend at all? >> sometimes i do, i used to go a lot but it's a lot of fighting. >> i do not go downtown, especially after late. i don't care for it, my 15-year-old doesn't like to be out alone at night either.

>> is there homeless problem? to go absolutely, i'm sure you saw it driving over here. they're all over the city. >> 25% live below the poverty level. these other options. >> given what you witnessed and lived under, mayor pete leadership here, is he ready to assume national office? >> i don't believe so, no. my message to the mayor is to drop the politics and be a leader for the city that he was swore to be a leader for. >> and then there's mayor pete's record on abortion. in 2018, the women's care center, a pro-life crisis pregnancy center, wanted to open up a facility next to that abortion clinic there, the brown building or looking at. the city council approved the permit but mayor pete vetoed it. >> we purchased the building that needed to be rezoned. we brought it to the city council, they approved our rezoning, that was vetoed. the owner of the property near where we stand across the street contacted us and offered us his

property and so we built here and here we are serving women on the west side of south bend, justice demands that every woman in this community, in every community across the country, has the opportunity to choose life. >> we are in downtown south bend, as you can see it's not exact with populated in the afternoon, but mayor pete has instigated investments downtown. there's some new construction, the studebaker factory here was recently turned into attack hub, but the question is, and the residents afford to live in these new high-rises and apartments? >> i have two children, 24 and 25. i don't think they could afford to live in some of those spaces. >> i'm trying to get out of south bend currently. i don't really see a lot of opportunity in the city. >> i deaf it would feel like it's more for those that have money rather than the actual residence here.

>> is mayor pete readily for national office in your opinion? >> absolutely not. i see him as an opportunist. i don't agree with anything on his platform. >> i like mayor pete, i think we do a great job and what he's running for and i support him 100%. >> can't see him standing toe-to-toe with some chinese leader. >> i personally don't think he should. >> why not? >> he hasn't really changed too much. >> laura: coming up, raymond and i went to chicago where we uncovered how democrat leaders are doing essentially nothing to stem the violent crime that has absolutely still ravaging the city. plus, we take you, on a lighter note, on a mardi gras parade float in new orleans, that was fun and we talked to voters in orlando. all coming up. or how 'bout this dinosaur right here? nope! then why are you still using a laser printer? it's got expensive toner cartridges. but this... is the epson ecotank color printer. no more expensive cartridges!

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♪ >> live from america's news headquarters, i'm aishah hasnie. and merry christmas eve to you. it is a race against time

tonight as millions of travelers trying to get to the holiday destinations in time to open up those christmas presents. many though might not make it. aaa reporting more than 150 million americans will be on the road this holiday season, some going by plane, others by train, and many more by car. mother nature not helping. heavy fog in chicago today forced a shutdown of o'hare and midway, two of the nation's busiest airports. and no heavenly peace in hong kong as cops and antigovernment protesters continue to clash there. at some of the demonstrators donned santa claus hats as they smashed shop windows and snarled traffic. police responded with tear gas. i'm aishah hasnie, now back to the ingraham angle. >> laura: welcome back to this special edition of the ingraham angle on the road. now in september, the show went to chicago where we held a town hall exposing the rampant violence in a town run by

liberals. it's been forever, right? first i want to quickly take you back to the first time i went to chicago where i met the family of demetrius griffin. >> they burn them alive. he wasn't in again, he didn't do drugs. >> that was my only nephew. he was 15 years old. two years, $10,000, nothing. >> give me a hug. >> thank you so much. thank you so much. so sorry. >> laura: that was from our town hall last year. woman i show that hug with his rachelle sykes. her nephew demetrius griffin was murdered and at that time, no arrest had been made after two years of investigation. and one year later have his killers been brought to justice? joining me know his rachelle

sykes and tali sykes, demetrius 'his mother, good to see you again. i didn't meet you last time, you couldn't be with us. >> that was difficult. >> poly, tell us, no leads in this investigation? >> we have no leads. we need as much help as we can to bring the killers to justice. that's why it's important for us to keep the story out here so we can get help. all kids' lives matters to me. and my son was viciously taken from me, burnt alive in the garbage. and no mother should have to deal with that, so it's kind of hard for me right now. >> laura: polly, there are no words. one in six murders are solved in this city, one in six. it's the lowest solving murders

rate in the country. the worst clearance rate in the country. how does that make everybody here feel? >> it makes me feel horrible. it makes me feel that we as people don't value life, don't value children, we don't have any values anymore. demetrius was a loving, sweet kid. he was 96 pounds, he was 4'9". they burnt him beyond recognition. i had to get dental records to identify him. we had no service, no way to say goodbye. had to take him straight from the morgue to the grave. we had to have a memorial service. what we keep doing, and it's been three years. there hasn't been any -- nothing, nobody has said anything, nobody has turned in

anything, nothing. we need to stop waiting till it hits our doorstep. we need to say something if we see something. >> everyone. everyone here, everyone in society. if it's wrong, reported and polly, you see a lot of coverage of other crimes around the united states and they are serious, whether it's mass shootings in other states, and other communities. do you feel like it gets the coverage here in chicago or other cities like it? st. louis, detroit. oakland, does it get the coverage? is this accessible to anyone? become no it's not acceptable to anyone and i don't feel like we have the right coverage of it. like you said, we need to stick together, we need to speak out. silence is just the worst thing ever. these are our kids. they are important to us. >> thank you for being here, you almost didn't come and we really, really appreciate it.

i never forgot demetrius, not one day since last year and it's a $15,000 reward. it's 20,000 now. >> thank you. [applause] >> laura: children are all too often victims of this senseless violence. just a few miles from where we held that town hall, another child was murdered, struck by a stray bullet while in her home planning her 12th birthday. >> the house behind me, she was 12 years old. earlier this week, she was making plans for her birthday party, her family was watching the bears game when around 9:00 at night a group of men approached the house and bullets started flying. her family hit the deck. she didn't get up. a bullet pierced the front window and struck her in the back of the head. she died on her birthday. members of this community are still shaken.

>> my daughter was in the back of the house and she got down, i told her to get down. and i came out after they were out and they were crying and stuff and screaming and hollering, it was so scary. i could have happened to us. just random shooting. >> everyone is pretty much scared, kids around -- i'm hearing they're not sleeping well. it's just bad. >> we shouldn't have to actually see this type of violence ever. pretty much all we can do is just pray. >> i've been here all my life and it's just not like it used to be. where i grew up. >> you find they bring the kids in earlier right now? >> yeah. and they stay right here, nowhere else. >> who you blame for this? >> bullies, seeing what's going on in the community, even get out, meet the people. >> it's affecting everyone at their core here. >> it's not a single thing of guns, gun rights or whatever, it's not a single thing of just that.

it's a gambit of things, a lot of things that come into the spot. >> i've been here for over 50 some years, i raise my kids here. i am scared. >> laura: coming up, it's time to switch gears. we are going to mardi gras. you won't want to miss this next segment. the festival is right around the corner, remember, stay there. too early... or too late. or make me feel like i'm not really "there." talk to your doctor, and call 844-234-2424.

[ electrical buzzing ] [ dramatic music playing ] [ squeaking ] [ screaming ]

elliott? [ gasps ] elliott. you came back! my son. my, my family. lot's changed since you were here. it's called the internet. whoa! -whoa! holiday movies. ♪ i'm dreaming of a white christmas ♪ ♪ family. home. woo! [ gasps ] woo-hoo! woo!

i'll be right here. ♪ ♪ >> laura: is a pretty easy call, one of the most fun trips i went on this year was to louisiana. of course, raymond arroyo's incessant cheering for all things louisiana and of course the saints, he is a native, so he's going to show you and your family a great time. in march he took me to mardi gras and it was as much of a celebration, well, as you can

imagine, and very tiring. here's a behind-the-scenes look at our trip. >> have a mardi gras! [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ >> so laura, mardi gras began in 1699 here when john baptiste landed about 60 miles south of new orleans and they celebrated the first mardi gras here. it gained steam in mobile, alabama, but then very quickly, once new orleans was founded in 1718, this became the epicenter of mardi gras. ♪

>> as time went on, these mardi gras crews got bigger and bigger and remember, this is not just any festival. this is our preparation. >> 40 days of deprivation. >> because remember, in the old catholic right, you couldn't drink during the 40 days of lent, so you had a blowout from the epiphany on january 6th until ash wednesday. that's what this is. mardi gras. ♪ >> we have to wear costumes. >> what have you got me into? i'm from connecticut. we have like a memorial day parade, or the girl scouts march, veterans. >> in new orleans things are a little different. everybody who parades has to wear a costume and you must wear

a mask. it is actually against the law. with them on, here we go. >> don't throw anything at me. ♪ >> all right, we are rolling. >> all right, let's do it. >> part of every crew when you come in, before you load on the float you have to make sure that all of your throws are ready. ♪ ♪ >> it's going to be really fun. >> the float we are writing, it is the largest float of mardi gras, six separate cars. this is not as easy as it looks.

>> agreed. >> all right, your first mardi gras ride. >> it's cold. it's always cold where i go. >> you came to town, that's why it's called. >> it's incredible, we've already met great friends, we have a lot of new friends on the float, everybody is up drinking just water. >> only water. >> only water. ♪ ♪ >> happy mardi gras! is this unbelievable? look at this crowd, laura. unbelievable.

>> we made it! >> we made it in one piece! i have to tell you, it's a long day. >> it's a long day. but the faces, the smiles of the people on the street, that made it for me. >> there's nothing like it. >> it was fantastic. everybody have a happy mardi gras. >> by to goodbye! >> laura: coming up, what's patriotism really mean? was sent raymond arroyo to florida to find out what you thought. plus, final thoughts about my time on the road when we come back. (male announcer) check out the after christmas sale

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♪ >> laura: at a time when we've heard the left try to use patriotism and civic duty to defend what they're doing while they're tearing this country apart, we thought it would be important to show you what it means, really means to be an american. we sent raymond arroyo to

florida in the summer, hot, to find out. >> stepping on this very ground, stepping on a country that you can say and do whatever you want, where you can think whatever you want. you can feel whatever you want. >> what are you celebrating this july 4th? >> i'm celebrating the freedom that we have as americans to vote the way that we want to vote and i hope everybody's voting for trump. >> this great economy in this great country and our freedom and our veterans. >> what makes you proud to be an american? >> is the only people -- honestly people like us, a diverse couple, could be together. >> laura: as you get together with your family this holiday season, christmas, hanukkah, now new year's is going to be upon us at any moment at any corner, remember all of the men and women who put their lives on the line for us every single day. we remember them every day and every night and we thank them for what they do. that's all the time we have

today. thanks for watching this special edition of the ingraham angle on the road. have a merry christmas, happy new year, shannon bream and the "fox news @ night" team take it all from here. ♪ >> could even come welcome to washington, i'm mike emanuel in for bret baier. breaking tonight, staying on offense on impeachment while talking to our forward deployed armed forces. house speaker, nancy pelosi, saying that she hates republicans and all the people that voted for him in the election. this comes after a christmas eve christmas eve message for the troops. in bethlehem, thousands of christians gathering in celebration at the traditional birthplace of jesus, we will have a lab report from there in a moment. we begin tonight with impeachment limbo and the politics of frustration. correspondent rich edson is done at west palm beach, florida, following the president very good evening, rich.