starts at 6:45 p.m. eastern. incumbent senator kelly loeffler and rafael warnock head-to-head. martha maccallum anchoring the coverage followed by the debate at 7:00 eastern. arthel: we'll watch it. that's it for now. >> less than a month away until election day, now the pat he will for the senate heads to the debate stage. runoff candidates face off tonight. right now about five 1/2 hours or so away from coverage. welcome to "america's news headquarters" i'm leland vittert. >> great to be with you, i'll gillian turner. fox news special debate coverage. starts at 6:45 p.m. eastern .

reporter: democrat jon ossoff says he too will take the debate stage, field questions, dehis opponent republican senator david perdue to refuse to agree to single debate in the senate runoff elections. perdue's campaign says they will take the message at stake what the democrats control to the people. that is exact when weigh call from him and senator loeffler. the president did most of the heavy lifting so to speak, calling ossoff and warnock pawns of senator minority leader chuck schumer.

>> as off and warnock are the two most extreme liberal candidates in our lifetime. if you don't vote the communists win. georgia patriots must show up and vote for these two incredible people. reporter: warn november and ossoff are expected to paint the republican rivals has senators who are corrupt, only looking to enrich themselves instead of helping the people of georgia. >> this isn't even bp democrats versus republicans. this is about the people versus crooks who have been lining their pockets in office while they hold up relief for ordinary people. >> the wealthy and well-connected have enough representatives in the united states senate. it is time for somebody representing ordinary people and ordinary families and working families and struggling families reporter: guys, 24, these are the first and only debate that we see ahead of the senate

runoff elections next month. it starts in just a matter of hours. it should be very interesting. gillian? gillian: high-stakes. charles watson from val does today, georgia, thanks so much. leland: "countdown" to the debate in the right-hand corner of your screen. we have republican tex -- texas congressman dan crenshaw. campaigns are taking different approaches. perdue is not showing up for the debate, ossoff is. any difference? >> i don't think as seven as a serious candidate. leland: you're saying the guy who got 46% of the vote and only was behind by 100,000 votes is not a serious candidate. >> i don't think a socialist should be a serious candidate in america. we have to deliver that message loud and clear to the american people. he reminds of georgia beto o'rourke. he is against your god, against

your energy, this is terrible, terrible idea for america. i have explicit message for everyone, if you don't want soesism in this country you have to vote for perdue and loeffler. if you're mad at the presidential election, best way to get back at them to make sure they don't take think more power. leland: when you say serious candidate, isn't it up to the voters to decide ho is serious or not. >> of course they do. that is why we're here. to get the right candidate-elect. leland: you sort of engage, the general talking point has been to lump ossoff and warnock in with alexandria ocasio-cortez and members of the squad, a group you clashed with successfully at times on twitter. here is the latest tweet from alexandria ocasio-cortez. the gop acts like they care but behind closed doors this is what they're actually saying about working class. good to know how little you think of good workers dan crenshaw of texas. did have catering while bonding with wealthy donors over your

disdain for the poor. this started with her saying something along the lines she knew, she had cried while people were upset over sparkling water as i understand it. >> yeah. she is confused. first of all we were there with hundreds and hundreds of working class georgians. she has no connection with. let me give a message to her. they have no interest in her policies and her socialist rhetoric. she is out of control. she pretends to have this strange connection to working class. she does not. they also need to remind her this, comes off the back of her crazy comments earlier this week. the republicans all they know is leatherbacked chairs. she, she is working class citizen. this is nonsense. remind her, three memmers about of congress in the house missing body parts because we actually fought for this country. i think we know a little bit about hardship. it is insulting for her to pretend in this out of touch fashion she is the only one who understands what it is to work in this country. she does not. she needs to be reminded of

that. leland: a point you made on twitter as well. follow it @dan crenshawtx. this has come up. we heard a little bit from jon ossoff in charles watson's hit, difference between crooks and those who are fighting for the working class as he would put it. this reference this is longstanding charge against senator perdue, to lesser extent senator love letter in terms of their stock trading. this is what "new york times" wrote about mr. perdue's stock trading. examination of mr. perdue's stock trading during six years in he haste been the senate's most prolific stock trader by far. reporting 20 or more transactions in single day. 2596 trades mostly in stocks and bonds and funds, equally next five most active traders in the senate. is this an unforced error right now you guys are having to deal with? >> i don't see why, i'm not sure why this is relevant, somebody

trades stocks a lot. i'm certain they have somebody who mutual fund or something. i don't really know the details. i'm not sure why this is relevant. leland: come on, congressman, the charge obviously is that he been trading on somewhat inside information and that he has been trading stocks and companies that he has influence over and might have inside information over. if you don't want to have the appearance of impropriety put it all in the zap if i have hundred index fund and not make a single trade. >> that is nonsense. i don't see any proof of these allegations. only making appearance of impropriety of you repeating unverified allegations. look if democrats, if democrats want to take this stance that they're for the working class, then maybe they should actually talk to some people in the working class. here in georgia you know what? they want to defend themselves when the mob is combing for them. they want to keep their guns. they don't want the government telling them what to do. they don't want their taxes increased. they don't want their businesses

to be locked down. don't want to told gas prices electricity prices go up under green due l new deal because they're polluting the earth. it these are things georgia doesn't want. they want manufacturing brought back home. this is what working-class people actually care about. i would challenge democrats to come up with message, we'll they're corrupt, make them prove they're not. that is basically what you're saying. leland: sir, i don't think i'm saying anything, i'm raising questions of senator trading in stocks that he has influence over or perhaps has inside information about. i don't know -- >> that is allegation. you can't just throw that out there right? lots of working-class people -- leland: for example, he traded fireeye stock 61 times and he was one of the senators whod is about it on a committee? that is the question. >> yeah. i mean i don't know the details of that. i know that it's a little strange to be, if this is the best they have got, like he trade as lot of stocks that is a

weak argument. leland: fair enough. important to note that we asked members about both the ossoff and warnock campaign to come on if they wanted to talk about. they didn't. you took the opportunity. we appreciate you doing it, sir. >> absolutely. you know, one last thing, get out and vote. it is the best way to keep your freedoms and your rights and your prosperity. get out and vote in georgia. leland: that is right that you fought and sacrificed for all of us to have. we appreciate i, sir. >> thank you for having me. leland: "fox news sunday" has latest on the georgia runoffs. chris wallace with a interview you don't want to miss secretary of health and human services alex azar. martha maccallum anchors our special coverage of the debate between after pail warnock and kelly loeffler. that start a 6:45 p.m. eastern. gillian: federal funding is set to expire on friday.

rich edson has new developments where those negotiations stand right now. hi, rich. reporter: good afternoon, gillian. congressional leaders are negotiating a spending bill to keep the federal government running through much of next year. aides are discussing a one week spending bill if they fail to reach an agreement by friday's deadline. house speaker nancy pelosi and she and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell have agreed to combine this annual government spending bill with another coronavirus economic package. the foundation for these negotiations is a more than 900 billion-dollar framework, bipartisan group of house and senate members released last week. >> this is not a stimulus bill. it's a relief bill and it is something for the next three to four months to help those in greatest need. >> the republicans accepted 900 billion-dollar level. so we worked to that number. if there is more money available, certainly i would want to see more help to the families across america. reporter: senators are

scheduling a call today to continue these negotiations. the current bipartisan framework would spend $160 billion on state and local governments, 180 billion on an employment benefits, $300 billion on assistance for businesses and more than 80 billion on education. in october treasury secretary steve mnuchin float ad $1.8 trillion bill. speaker rejected it then saying it lacked enough broad provisions to adequately address the pandemic. the speaker says incoming democratic president and approaching vaccine approvals have since changed the political dynamic. gillian. gillian: rich edson in washington, d.c. great to see you. thank you. ♪. leland: starting tonight millions of people living in california will be under a new stay at home order all the way through the christmas holiday. a little bit more on those orders and fight against them. christina coleman live on the streets of los angeles with

more. hi, christina. reporter: hi, leland. the entire bay region has not reached a threshold for the new lockdowns but five bay area counties are going ahead to start them early. start them today. officials citing a surge in covid cases and hospital says. now the new regional stay at home order is triggered in areas with icu capacity drops below 15% overwhelming hospitals is a major concern right now. the southern california region which encompasses large population centers like l.a., san bernardino and san diego have 12.5% capacity icu capacity remaining. the san joaquin valley region capacity took a nosedive since friday, sitting 8.6%. that area includes central california. those two regions will start a new stay at home order at 11:59 tonight. the new order instructs californians to stay home as

much as possible. stop mixing between households. capped retail at 20%. restricts restaurants only to take-out. closes movie theaters, wineries, life audience sports, family entertainment centers and amusement parks. >> this is time limited. it's based upon the facts. it's based upon what's happening on the ground. it's based upon epidemiology. it's based upon transmission rates. it's based upon what's happening by regions. reporter: we also want to give you an update on this viral video we reported on the past few days. in it the owner of a restaurant in sherman oaks, california, said she was upset to find meal tents set up for an apparent film shoot right next to her outdoor dining patio had shut down by the city. the meal tents were removed after her post went viral. here is angela marsden speaking

with fox news. >> i came in to give last paychecks and bags of groceries to my employers and saw 200 person tent with tables set up in a catering truck for a movie company in the same parking lot within five feet away. i mean, 20 steps away from me. so that is what really upset me. reporter: l.a. mayor eric garcetti responding to the controversy in "the new york times." he says my heart goes out to miss marredden and workers at pineapple hill saloon who have to comb ply with state and public county helps restrictions. mr. garcetti says no one likes restrictions but i support them as our hospital icu beds fill to capacity and cases increased by 500%. we must stop this virus before it kills thousands of more angelinos. a lot of controversy there but there is some light at the end of the tunnel. on thursday the fda is set to meet to discuss and possibly

approve emergency use of new pfizer vaccine and you know, more vaccines are on the horizon. leland? leland: not soon enough for so many, christina coleman in los angeles. thank you. gillian: the fda is considering emergency use authorization for pfizer's coronavirus vaccine on thursday a couple days from now but there are potentially major logistical hurdles they will have to overcome before the vaccine can ultimately be widely distributed. for more on this we're joined by johns hopkins professor of public health policy and management. he is also a fox news contributor dr. marty mccarry we have terrifying spike in up in perps of confirmed coronavirus cases nationwide. get your reaction to this. look at this line. it is horrendous. >> people are letting their

guard down. there is fatigue. there are mixed messaging. people are not recognizing indoors with loved ones where we're seeing a spread right now. gillian: so sounds like you agree with the picture that is being painted by public health professionals like dr. anthony fauci, dr. robert redfield that we're heading into a winter that is most likely going to be pretty devastating, gutting for tens of thousands of american families, right? >> we're hitting new records but people need to recognize we're only confirming one in five to one in six cases. when we see on the johns hopkins tracker for example, that we added 200,000 cases in a single day, we're adding a million new infections. people who were taking it lightly are getting calls from friends and loved ones somebody is having trouble breathing or home sick. unfortunately that is not what you want to get religion on this virus. gillian: a big hot topic right now is as you mentioned, we look

at the population, not just in the united states but worldwide. i think it is close to a billion people have been infected with the virus. i'm one of them who also recovered. a lot of people very eager to know you know, now important it is for them to get a, have seen if they need to get a vaccine at all? if they should consider, are they high priority, or low priority? should we step aside let people who haven't had the virus have access to the vaccine first, even if we are ultimately lobbed in with the general population of healthy people when it comes time? >> yeah. i would say step aside. look, if you had the infection. if you're one of 75 to 150 million americans, almost a therapy of our population, that has had the infection and confer some natural immunity. it seems good up until this point. from the other coronaviruses, they generally are good for about two to three years. let's study that population and in the meantime if you had

infection step aside let peace get high-risk essential workers. we heard guidance from the cdc. unfortunately it is disappointing, very broad. it was general. not all health care workers are the same. give botox for a living, versus kidney dialysis treatment. give essential health care workers immunized and move on to nursing homes and workers with medical problems. gillian: is that the latest data out there right now? people who recovered from the coronavirus are likely to be immune? i think you said two to three years, is that right? i hadn't heard that? >> yeah. if we look at the other coronaviruses like sars and merz, that immunity lasts for two to three years. we can extrapolate, and we've seen almost no reinfections. when they occur they're extremely mild. gillian: doctor, you have been critabout the pace of these vaccine rollouts. tell us, so we understand, you think that things should be

happening faster. whose fault is it? not because we're looking to cast aspersions on people but to understand the weaknesses in the process, is this on big pharma? is this on the trump administration, on who? >> "operation warp speed" and pharma done their job moving quickly. once it get to fda on november 22nd. they scheduled a meeting for december 10th? what are they doing for three weeks? that process can be shortened specifically. i did research, as you mentioned for a piece i wrote on the dispatch. there has been a lot of sitting around time. there has been a lot of colating information and taking off for thanksgiving. they should not be cutting any corners at the fda but they should work harder. people are getting crushed out there right now. we're making massive sacrifices. we're starving our society. they should work harder and faster and turn that around in 24 hours. what are they looking at? 90 infections in one group and

five in another. as we heard from salawi today, no serious adverse events. they should move faster on that basic data. gillian: a great point. we'll reach out to the fda. we'll let you know if we hear back. lag time in three weeks in the middle of a pandemic where thousands of americans are contracting this virus every day, sounds a bit inexcusable. we'll see what they have to say. thanks, dr. makary. leland: white house is upset about this. the fda commissioner has gotten called in couple times over the past week. in the past few hours a pastor in colorado held worship services defying the democratic governor in that state. the pastor's case is in the supreme court. he said he is willing to be arrested for shepherding his flock. he joins us next. this is us talking tax-smart investing, managing risk, and all the ways schwab can help me invest.

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♪. gillian: the co-owner of a staten island bar in police custody allegedly opening his bar in violation of covid-19 restrictions and striking a sheriff's deputy while in his car. they approached the man, danny presti after seeing people enter his bar, mac's public house. presti allegedly drove into one of the deputies.

his lawyer says he expects to be arraigned some day. leland: we have two owners have been hit hard are with us today. fitness in oak grove california, because of restriction and frank ritchie, the bar in pause tin texas, rocking at 12:25 central time, already open and serving. frank, start with you, you have a stack full of citations. your bartenders gotten them as well. you managed to stay open. how do you pull it off? >> we turned ourselves into restaurant. we're rockin' cigar bar and grill. back in march they tried to shut us down. had 20 police officers on me to take us down. stood our ground on st. patrick's day. stayed open until 2:00 a.m the day after that the fire marshal said if we even again they will yank our permit. with that happening we would be out of business.

leland: "saturday night live" went after the staten island bar owner and protests outside. they seem to be making fun of small business owners still trying to make a living. take a listen. get your reaction in a second. >> i saw the protest. people were outside of the bar shouting about freedom, taunting the cops, chanting that they should arrest the governor but it is staten island i assumed it was a like a typical last call. >> making us look like babies. leland: frank, are you baby or just trying to keep your employees with food in their mouth and roof over their head? >> obviously we're trying to make sure that our employees are taken care of. we have mortgages to pay. we have car payments. we have electric bills. we need to have food. and the reality is we've gone up against this it has been tough. we done what the governor said we could do. we're allowed to work inside of this. it has been quite challenging though. they shut us down at 9:00 at

night. money in the bar is made after 9:00 of course from 9:00 to 2:00. so it is, although, yes we are open, we are running on -- leland: you're running on fumes but at least you're running. lee, i understand it, you all are totally shut down. i can only imagine these new restrictions in california make it impossible? >> it has been quite impossible. we've actually been shut down this year over 255 days. leland: wow. >> we have pivoted right away. went right to virtual. however when we opened up our business that was not how we planned to have our main business. we spent over $125,000 alone just in the remodel of our space that has been empty for 14 years. and we signed a five-year lease for $5600 a year. i mean, a month. you know, obviously online virtual classes is not going to do that. the longer this goes on, a lot of our clients have lost their jobs. they have had to quit their jobs to homeschool their children. or they have had a pay decrease.

now we've lost up to 50% of our regular members and about -- leland: do you feel like, do you feel like the governor, who is putting all these new restrictions in place cares about you and what your sacrifices have been. >> honestly i don't. from the very beginning we wanted to flatten the curve. we were okay with closing two tore or three weeks. now it is turned into 255 days. we know we can open safely. we received a variance from the sacramento health department. within four days governor newsom took it back. we are a small based studio, class-based studio. you have to make a reservation to come in. leland: real quick, lee, i will get frank in, any chance you will defy these orders, dlee? >> we're really talking about it. i know a couple of congressman are fighting for us, kiley, gallagher. we hope those guys will come through for us. there is no reason why we should not be open safely. we know we can.

manufacturer people walking in and out of target in one hour than i would have in my studio the entire month. leland: we hear argument a lot about people in target and people on airplanes yet they can't go to a small business like yours or frank's. frank, real quick, you have all those citations. >> yes. leland: are you willing to get arrested over this if you have to? >> well, this is the kind of guy i am. this is me. they're criminalizing good people. so i do support the police. i do support the tabc. i also believe that the leaders that they have to follow these leaders, are the culprit to this. when they come in, almost become family with the tabc and the police. leland: well, that is good family members to have. i'm guessing tabc is the texas alcohol commission there. >> yes. leland: we appreciate you both being with us. come back to update us as this, this goes on. unfortunately seems like a long road ahead for small business owners around the country. we appreciate it, both of you.

>> thank you. >> thanks for having me on. leland: gillian. gillian: president trump is back from his trip to georgia where he rallied last night. thousands of supporters gathered for that event in support of the gop senate runoff candidates. we'll take you live to 1600 pennsylvania avenue next. >> tech: every customer has their own safelite story. this couple was on a camping trip... ...when their windshield got a chip. they drove to safelite for a same-day repair. and with their insurance, it was no cost to them.

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hi, mark. reporter: gillian, president trump appeared to be thrilled to be out on the campaign trail. the rally in valdosta, georgia, was the first one since the november election. it is very important as the republicans try to keep the gnat their control. the president made a direct pitch to voters last night. president trump: the most important congressional runoff in american history i really believe that, there has never been a time like this where you have two at one time, at least you have two beauties. you know what you have two beauties running against them. reporter: the trump campaign has not announced anymore rallies yet but it is expected the republican party will continue to send high-profile surrogates like the president and vice president down there between now and the fifth. the vice president stopped in savannah on friday. the chairwoman of the rnc says the party plans to spend millions of dollars more to keep georgia senate seats in gop hand. >> if you want a check on chuck schumer and democrats and what they will do to stack the supreme court and get rid of the

filibuster and embrace the green new deal and destroy our economy and destroy the country we love, we need to make sure we send republicans to the senate and keep that majority. reporter: democrats are sending their own high-profile surrogates to help counterbalance that republican punch down there in georgia. a lot can happen between now and january 5th. this week i want to mention, gillian the trump administration continuing to focus on a coronavirus vaccine. the fdaidate, a drug believed te the 95% effective against the coronavirus. a lot of people eager to see what the fda will decide. department of health and human services are stepping up the awareness campaign trying to convince people, want the proof, now the time to get the vaccine. gillian. gillian: one might call the vaccine distribution question the real trillion dollar question in washington today. thanks so much, mark. reporter: you bet. ♪. leland: earlier today the high

plains harvest church held worship services. unremarkable in normal times up possibly an arrestable offense because of colorado governor's covid orders. pastor mark hoteling is suing in the u.s. supreme court to shepherd his flock in person and joins us now. pastor, we appreciate it. don't know howd today that the the state would actually enforce it other than removing a business license or tax status or something like that. you know the thing is is that all we're trying to do is worship god. i mean we as christians, we can assemble. we're called to assemble by scripture and the government is putting the screws to us and we're just simply using the system that god has placed over us, the authority to petition our government to stop discriminating against us.

leland: the founders wrote that our rights come from god, not from government. one of those rights is the freedom of religion. this is what your petition to the supreme court writes. the lynchpin of the state's attempted justification for discriminating against churches in favor of secular uses is that somehow churches are uniquely risky environments for the spread of covid-19. the data are profoundly at odds with the state's position. so as i understand it you got an issue because target and walmart are open but your church isn't able to be. explain that. >> yeah. i can go to lowe's down the street and you know, there is 300 people just in the garden section. i can get on an airplane and sit six inches away from somebody. there is 100 people or whatever you know in a tube, a metal tube confined for multiple hours yet i can't have more than 15 people

worshiping together. leland: jared polis, democratic governor of colorado, a very liberal one at that do you think he has something against religion and this is just sort of another way that the democratic left is trying to put a president thumbscrews in your words to hurt churches in america or do you think it's a profound difference of opinion on the science? >> i don't know what jared polis' heart is. all i know is that god's people are being discriminated against and this country was founded on freedom of religion and of assembly and i think there is a reason why the supreme court has said they're going to look at this case. leland: this is what justice gorsuch has written in the past about these issues. while the pandemic poses many grave challenges there is no world in which the constitution tolerates color-coded executive edicts that reopen liquor stores and bike shops but shutter churches, synagogues and mosques. do you come at this from a

unique perspective given your background in the military and time you spent overseas defending our freedoms. did you think you would have to fight for the freedom to worship in court? >> i was born and raised in colorado. i'm a native. i was born and raised in boulder colorado, the most liberal part of colorado. leland: yeah. >> no, i, i never dreamed that i would be in this position right now but i mean, i've got a job to do and that's to allow, and you know, let's be very clear, it is in our it's in our filing, we've always maintained social distancing. we have provided masks. we have sanitized. we have provided all of that and the government in an emergency, can and should have the ability to you know, to be able to regulate things. leland: yeah. >> you about this is, this is stupid. we're beyond it and -- leland: pastor, we appreciate you coming on and talking about

it. we know there is a long distance between where we're at right now and a supreme court ruling and we'll talk to you along the way, sir. we'll let you get back to the flock through this day. we appreciate you taking the time to be with us, sir. >> good to talk to you. leland: all the best, sir. gillian? gillian: president trump is looking to fulfill one of his hallmark campaign promises. ending america's longest war in afghanistan. can he do it safely in the few weeks we've got left? benjamin hall is live in kabul. hi, benjamin. reporter: gillian, we're live in kahn bull. we're get mixed reactions to the impending u.s. military drawdown. we'll have the story after the break. alright, i brought in ensure max protein to give you the protein you need

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leland: president trump says he is going to forge ahead with his plan to withdraw 2,000 troops from afghanistan but congress is going to try to block the president's attempts with a key provision in the new defense bill. so what does this mean on the ground in afghanistan where the 9/11 attacks originated from? benjamin hall is in kabul with what they're saying there. hi, benjamin. reporter: hi, leland. this drawdown is seen two very different ways in afghanistan. on other hand people here in kabul and other cities who fear,

rightly so, if the drawdown goes ahead then the taliban will take over large parts of the country and freedoms they have been given over the last 20 years will disappear. if you leave the cities, speak to people in the rural areas they believe only the taliban can bring law and order peace and security at time they're attacked by increasing taliban forces. we saw both sides of this earlier on today when we were out and about. have a look. the taliban are not only knocking on the door of kabul, they're already inside of kabul. districts like this are taken over by the taliban at night. when night falls, they come in, put up roadblocks, arrest and kill people that work for the government. people here know exactly that is what will happen when the u.s. leaves. for many people that is not a terrible concept. they are war-weary. many tell us they would welcome the taliban taking over. it brought them security. at the end of the day all they want is peace and stability. they don't mind who gives it to them. for better or worse the u.s.

drawdown is happening. president hoped to get all u.s. troops out by christmas. that will not happen. they're still on target to reduce the number from 5000 to 2 1/2 thousand. at beginning of the year this were 13,000 u.s. troops here. nevertheless this is criticized by many, many people. that being said peace talks are underway and moving forward slowly in doha to find a settlement between the two, power sharing between the afghan government and taliban. secretary pompeo has been meeting with taliban representatives to make some headway. we're hearing reports that we might hear of a cease-fire coming this week but the big question is whether the taliban will renounce al qaeda. they have not been made to do so yet. indeed many people say including the u.n., that in some taliban-held areas al qaeda leadership are being protected by them. until they are renounced, then the purpose of u.s. troops being here and prevent the country becoming a springboard for attacks, then allies say it simply isn't the right time for the u.s. to be leaving.

nato and coalition allies generally all feel strongly about that leland. leland: the cost of afghanistan over past 20 years in blood and treasure has been so real. benjamin hall in kabul reporting there for the next couple days. benjamin, thank you. gillian. gillian: coming up next we'll take a look how some of our colleagues at fox news are planning to celebrate the holidays. stick with us. ♪. at visionworks, we know it's easy to forget to use your vision benefits before the year's up. this is us making sure you don't. use 'em before you lose 'em, backed by our 100-day guarantee!! visionworks. see the difference. this on us, on every plan! get an iphone 12 with 5g, and if you're 55 and up, switch to our essentials 55 plan and save 50% on your bill vs. the other guys. that's right, iphone 12 on us!

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♪. gillian: it is the holiday season. officially that means it is time to take some extra time to think about ways to connect with our fellow americans in uniform who are deployed across the globe. one organization, semper fi america's fund has amazing ways to bring america together to help our wounded warriors in particular. joining us the ceo and founder, karen gunther and also retired marine sergeant mike frazier. he is one of the many veterans the group is working with this holiday season. thanks so much, happy holidays to both of you. we really appreciate your time with us today. karen, tell us about the organization and tell us about in particular the program you're running for the holiday season. >> yes. thank you so much for having us on. we love to talk about the

program. we, our mission is to care for our nation's injured and critically ill servicemembers, active duty and veterans. we wrap our arms around our army, navy, marine corps, air force and coast guard veterans and their families. we've been doing -- gillian: called semper fi but you work all the branches? that's important. >> we do. when we were started we were on a marine corps base and we helped sailors and marines from the beginning. in 2012 we opened it up to all service branches. >> that's awesome. sergeant, tell us about your, i understand you've been deployed in combat multiple times. you have paid dearly for your service and you're now working with this organization. tell us a little bit about your story and then about the work you're doing together. >> well, on my fourth deployment

in 2011. lost both my legs one above the knee, one below the knee, semper fi if i america's fund has been there from the get-go. helped me recover through athleticism, riding bikes. helping me pay for a gym in my garage. most importantly they helped my family through the toughest time. my mom and dad came. they didn't have anybody there. they didn't know what to do. semper fi america's fund has saying what can we do to help? how can we help you make this transition easier. and, i'm forever thankful for them. gillian: karen, one of the wonderful things about semper fi is that you guys work with veterans as individual. meaning you don't have the blanket policies money must be used for x, y and z. really work to design programs and design services or whatever it is that families, veterans and their families may need taylored to their needs?

-- tailored. >> we made that dedication to those from the very beginning. we're gap fillers. we won't duplicate what others and others are doing but we try to come up with solutions to have the best quality of life and independence, when they get back home and they move back to their communities. we want them to be thriving members of their community. we've been blessed. america has supported us. we started with $500 and we have now given out over 230 million. gillian: that's an incredible, incredible leap you've made there. congratulations, karen. best wishes to both of you. happy holidays for the viewers who want to get involved, donate time, money, energy whatever you have. thepunditorg/match. log on, take a look.

-- thefund.org. >> thank you, happy holidays. leland: a look at fox square in new york. our christmas tree is lit up and on display. that where we are for the "fox nation" special to "the all mercuries mass." starring some of our favorite fox talent who can sing a whole lot better than gillian and i can. get it done right, right aw. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. - [announcer] meet the make family-sized meals fast. and because it's a ninja foodi, it can do things no other oven can, like flip away. the ninja foodi air fry oven, the oven that crisps and flips away. beautiful. but when i started cobra kai, the lack of control over my business made me a little intense.

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chris: i'm chris wallace, states plan for the first doses of covid-19 vaccine as the number

of daily cases and deaths in this country hits a new record. >> the reality is december and january and february are going to be rough times. chris: grim news as the pandemic overwhelms healthcare systems, threatens the economy and locks down weary americans but there's hope on the horizon. we will talk with health and human service secretary alex azar about the prospect for approval this week by the fda. plus -- >> that's a total