>> want to be in the know, take fox news wherever you go. demo the fox news out that jason is pointing to and scan the qr code. happy new year's eve, jason, rachel? >> sandra: fox news alert on the stimulus standoff turning into a race against time is capitol hill counts down to the end of the congressional session. and accusations fly from both sides of the aisle with bigger covid relief checks for americans hanging in the balance. good morning, i'm sandra smith. the final day of 2020. leland, i can't even believe it, good morning to you. >> good morning to you. 15 hours left in 2020 and we will spend three of them together. leland vittert here, a whole lot of finger-pointing as senate majority leader mitch mcconnell says there's no real path forward for passing a stand-alone bill to increase the payment to $2,000.

$2,000. house speaker nancy pelosi says republicans are the one standing in a way of helping american people. >> speaker pelosi and leader schumer are trying to pull a fast one on the president and the american people. speaker pelosi structured her bills or family of four would have to earn more than $300,000 in order not to qualify for more cash. and democratic leaders want to call this game "survival checks." >> it's amazing to see the patients that some people have with other people suffering. these republicans in the senate seem to have an endless tolerance for other people's sadness. >> sandra: rich edson's live following president trump to west palm beach, florida. rich, good morning to you. with the president schedule due to florida a short time from now, where do things stand on capital this morning stomach >> good morning sandra. the president scheduled to leap florida soon and he spent some

time remotely ripping congressional republicans for failing to pass his priorities. one of those priorities as the $2,000 checks increasing those covid relief checks from $600 and senate and republican, senate and congressional democrats are with the president on this one. >> there is no other game in town besides the hospital. the only way, the only way to get to the american people, the $2,000 checks they deserve and need is to pass the house bill and pass it now. >> instead senate majority leader mitch mcconnell has initiated a process for a vote that combines the $2,000 payments with president trump's other demands, their repeal of the controversial law that gives tech company certain legal protections in the creation of the election fraud commission.

that will also override the president's veto of a massive defense policy bill, it authorizes $740 billion in defense spending. >> the senate will not let it be shipped off course, certainly not those of us who have spent years while our adversaries continue ramping up. >> now the president said he vetoed the defense authorization act because it describes a number of military installations of confederate names and also does not repeal those tech protections of the president has complained about. if the senate does override this veto, it would join the house and be the first veto override during the trump administration. >> sandra: rich edson down in florida with us. let's bring in to republican james comer, ranking member on the house oversight committee. good morning to you and happy

new year to you. who knew we would be here, new year's eve 2020. what do you want to see next for your party when it comes to the standoff over stimulus? >> while i strongly support the president. one of the problems to send has right now is that the president has instilled upon the republican base that this is direct stimulus to them, even though i think the cares act did a great deal to save our economy with respect to small businesses and keeping workers on the payroll, then a lot of struggling businesses, there are a lot of americans that didn't feel the effects of the stimulus. in the president with his plan for $2,000 to every individual that qualifies from an income standpoint is something that's very popular with republicans and obviously it's popular with the democrats. if you go back to the stimulus vote last week, one of the problems they had is the leaders in the house on the senate combined a lot of different

bills onto one vote. and in the minds of the base, that's what's happening right now in the senate. so i wish this and it would start having stand-alone votes on different bills, i think that would be better received by the american people and i think that would help the senate get their message out that they are trying to do the right thing and trying to have offsets but at the same time trying to help the american people. >> sandra: with the power of the balance and the senate, hanging in the balance, it comes down to all this. lindsey graham weighed in just a few minutes ago and fox news. >> if we lose george of this bill will seem really cheap because if we lose the senate and they have control of the house, the senate and the white house they are going to send over a monster of a bill and will make this bill look cheap. >> what about that? >> lindsey graham is exactly right. what we seen from democrats in

the past, there is no fear of running the debt up to the moon. i think that what will happen, if we lose those senate races in georgia, they will come back with a bill that will not only have the $2,000 which is what i think the majority of americans want, they also put the elimination of student loan debt. they probably have more than has ever been put on a bill in the history of america so i think the best thing for the taxpayers right now is to try to get the stimulus passed and then set the example, let's start having regular order in congress. let's have one vote per one bill and not try to jumble a bunch of different bills onto one vote. stimulus bill didn't have a lot of the stuff in it that i see a lot of my friends post on facebook, but you combine so many different bills onto one vote, it confused the americans. if you are confusing intelligent

people about what congress is doing then you are not doing your job in leadership, so i hope that we can get back to regular order. i don't really agree with what's going on in the senate. >> sandra: i will ask you why it's come to this, why it's come now and why it's taken so long just a moment but here's josh hawley, another one of your republican colleagues. if there's enough money for a wall street bailout than there are certainly enough money for everyday americans that are struggling. watch. >> for all the people that say we don't have the money, i noticed they have plenty of money when it came to bailing out wall street, i noticed that we had plenty of money when it came to shipping many overseas, that didn't seem to be a problem. but when working people need help its o heavens, we can't possibly do that, i would suggest that the priorities are wrong. >> sandra: so put that up against "the wall street journal" editorial board. $2,000 checks for the affluent, schumer and trump want to write checks to the nonneedy. so i would ask you i would you

address those markets fiscally conservative colleagues of yours that are saying this money will end up in the pockets of many who don't actually need that, who did work through the pandemic, were not struggling. this is a lot of money, congressman. >> every government program i've ever been aware of has ended up in the pockets of people that didn't really need it. it's hard to have a one-size-fits-all approach in government and that has been a problem in the past. a lot of people see that despite the huge success of the ppp loan program, we are always reading about a very wealthy person i got millions of dollars that they may not have to pay back and that has angered the republican base. i think a lot of republican senators don't understand what josh hawley obviously does understand and at least 44 republicans in the house like myself understand, is that our republican base is becoming more

populous. the triple dumb policies of the past aren't in style with the base now. the base wants to see stimulus that affects them, and sick they can make the argument that the cares act did benefit an overwhelming majority of americans but there are a lot of people on fixed incomes, a lot of people, senior citizens that are on social security and they didn't feel the effects of the last stimulus. the president has instilled in their minds that if they can feel the effect of the $2,000 direct payment, obviously the democrats think that. so this is something that i think republican leadership and the senate and in the house for that matter needs to really rethink and try to come up with the plan and have a stand-alone vote on that. if they want to combine something else at the stimulus bill they should combine offsets and start with foreign aid. if they start with foreign aid, that would be a huge win.

and that's something that i think the american people want to especially the republican base. >> sandra: happy new year, thank you for being here. leland? >> leland: this is playing out in the race for the georgia senate, we are just five days away before election day and this will determine to control the senate. a record-breaking two and a half million to early voters have already cast their ballots. at nearly $800 million has been spent on the campaign advertising most of it on television in both president trump and president and president-elect biden, will be in georgia on monday working to get out the final voters to the polls. meanwhile raphael warnock has been off the campaign trail and now he's facing questions about one of his big donors. peter doocy, 20 miles northeast of georgia. it seems that each of those campaigns are getting ready for election day and a little bit of a different way. >> the republicans just

announced they've got 8,000 people volunteering to be paul watches on tuesday. georgia republicans have already mobilized the most robust ground game and poll watching operations in the state's history and fully prepared to make certain that the integrity of next week's elections will not be cast under a shadow of a doubt. it's the save america tour of the state as raphael warnock, kelly loeffler's opponent, remains off the trail for the second day in a row amid accusations of inappropriate behavior at a camp he was in charge of and abuse by his ex-wife which never resulted in criminal charges. new sec filings reveal that the eddie harlem church while calling late cuban one of the great leaders of the world has now donated $3250 to the warnock

campaign. he mentions jon ossoff and he does not mention warnock. michelle obama dropped a robocall this morning for warnock. republicans are trying to catch these candidates is a rubber stamp for socialism but the most prominent self-described democratic socialist senator has been cut out >> did either of the candidates asked you to take campaign for them in the final days of the runoff? >> did they ask me to go to georgia in the campaign, no they did not. >> so warnock is off the trail and leffler and purdue will be at a concert together lead on this afternoon and about an hour from right now we do expect to see jon ossoff here in suwannee for an event where they are going to distribute campaign literature to asian-american and pacific islander's in the area. cleveland? >> leland: your question to jon ossoff yesterday was on point, let's see if you can get another one on today.

>> sandra: for more on that, bill mcgurn who writes the column for "the wall street journal" and former speechwriter for george w. bush and fox news contributor. good morning to you, great to see you and happy new year. here we go, five days left on the georgia senate off. how did things look at this point for the republican party and the democrats? >> well i think what you have been reporting so far this morning, the debate and they stimulus, everything is about georgia. i think it comes down to two things, it comes down to the african-american vote which is very significant in georgia and which both mr. warnock and mr.'. he was 100,000 votes shy of joe biden in the general election. so i think it comes out to democrats that are trying to rub

up the african-american vote and they account for the biggest democratic increase in eligible voters of the last 20 years, and the other is donald trump. again, we see that joe biden doesn't seem to have any coattails for other democrats, they are not really deploying them and he's not really a factor. donald trump has staked it all. i've always said this is his "win one for the gipper" moment. if he goes down there and wraps up republicans they will turn out. internal polling shows that republicans are twice as likely to vote on election day as democrats. so i think he really needs to go out there and i actually believe that if he really goes out there and gives a barn burner for the other candidates, putting them first and not necessarily his own grievances in georgia, i think they will turn out and vote for the republican candidates. i think he does have that power if he decides to use it. i mean really give it his all. >> sandra: lindsey graham seem

to share that sentiment earlier on fox news this morning. meanwhile, former president obama and the music star john legend teamed up in the new ad where obama is supporting ossoff but he does not appear to say anything about warnock. watch a bit of this. >> georgia stepped up. how america is counting on you again. ♪ you can send jon ossoff to the senate to beat this virus and rebuild our economy. >> sandra: to be clear he said you can send it ossoff to the senate, not ossoff and warnock. he did add in campaigns for warnock in the past but not since the allegations against him surfaced. bill? >> ex-presidents don't like to be associated with people that are not going to win or don't seem to have a chance and it looks like former president obama is shying away

from mr. warnock. it also proves that the focus of republican attacks on mr. warnock's statements and record, i think it's having an effect. i think he's too far to the left for georgia and i don't think that's who they want to have in washington at a time when the democrats have the house and of the white house. so i think it's having any fact, there are some things that he just won't answer. >> sandra: charlie hurt teed off on that on hannity last night about these candidates just being the tip of the spirit of radical democrats. watch. >> you have immigrants run by people who want to get free health care to illegal aliens, take away people's gun rights and it defunded the police. these are really, really radical ideas that have taken over the democratic party but what's really scary about this, tammy, are that raphael warnock and jon ossoff are the tip of the spear on this stuff.

>> sandra: that was her last night on that. i want to move on to rick scott, he is now, we all use zoom these days, right? rick scott is now alleging that zoom has china ties and is demanding a full investigation concerned about the security of the american people using this platform. in his statement he says the american people deserve to know exactly how an employee of zoom, an american video service our citizens use daily, would have the ability to spy on behalf of the ccp, communist china efforts to silence anyone who dares to oppose the ccp is shameful and that it can happen right here in the united states cannot be tolerable. what are you hearing about this? >> well you remember a few months ago it was tiktok. whether tiktok which is on so many devices could be used by the chinese. the chinese are pressing on

every single front, they are pressing military with their buildup, their espionage, they are pressing with their soft propaganda units. so it's not a surprise. this week i wrote about eric swalwell and hunter biden and i think the real issue is, does anyone believe that these guys, that area mike eric swalwell is only one that's been trapped or that hunter biden is the only one trading on family name or that china is engaged in a massive effort to displace us as the global leader and they will do anything they can? they also in the chinese system, all businesses and so forth, they are expected to work for china to pursue whatever china decides to defend so their businesses are not quite the same as we are and we should be suspicious and we should be very cautious. >> sandra: rick scott is demanding a full investigation on that so we will follow that. bill mcgurn, good to see you

and happy new year's to you. >> leland: a fox news alert as we learn a lot more about another case of the new highly contagious strain of the coronavirus. it was first detected in the united kingdom and now it has been discovered in california and colorado. one of the nation's leading infectious disease expert says about it. and several thousand fans and at this new report will be on hand for the buffalo bills playoff game in new york. we will tell you why governor cuomo is allowing them to attend but he still banning indoor dining. does that make sense? next. we succumbed t♪ 's otezla. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable.

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>> your new year's eve headlines come at, the times square ball is set to drop it in the night with but without any crowds because the pandemic. only a few dozen front-line workers and their families will be at the stage for the beginning of the new year. >> sandra: protests rocking minneapolis as after police fatally shot a man at a traffic stop. it sparked protests in nationwide unrest back in may. >> leland: of wisconsin

hospital has fired an employee after he admitted to intentionally removing dozens of vials of the moderna vaccine from the freezer, which forced the care center to throw out more than 500 doses. more on that story and others on foxnews.com or on the fox news app. >> sandra: as for a fox news alert, gavin newsom has announced that the more contagious trade gnomic strain of covid-19 first detected in the u.k. has been found in the southern part of the state. all this coming after health officials in colorado confirmed the first u.s. case of the new strain. they are, jeff paul's life in santa monica, california, for us. this latest announcement is on top of some already serious developments happening in california. >> yes sandra, and it's being described as a terrible milestone here in l.a. county as

deaths soared past 10,000. many of the hospitals are struggling to keep up with the number of incoming patients and on top of all that you have the discovery of this reportedly more contagious strain of the coronavirus that was discovered just a little further south from where we are here in l.a. county in san diego county. >> we have detected this lineage but we knew because of travel patterns and because of how prevalent it is in other parts of the world, we knew this was also something we were going to find here in san diego but it was only a question of when. >> doctors found that new variant from a 30-year-old man who started showing symptoms a few days ago. they say he had no history of travel and that leads them to believe that this is not an isolated case and there's probably more people with the same strain in san diego county. the latest case in california was announced a day after a colorado man tested positive for the new strain. as alarming as it might sound

dr. anthony fauci said the stove element is not out of the ordinary. >> not surprised that you have a case and likely more cases in california and we likely will be seeing reports from other states in colorado, the first to do that. >> i don't think that the californians should feel that this is something odd, this something expected. >> many doctors are preparing themselves for an even bigger search with the holidays wrapping up here with new year's eve and they are hoping people stay home as some ambulances are being turned away and patients are having to wait hours inside those very vehicles just to get care. sandra? >> sandra: tough situation there, jeff paul, thank you. >> and excited to let you guys know we are going to be allowing fans and our first playoff game.

thank you so much everybody involved. please follow guidelines and where your mass. >> leland: quarterback josh allen and the buffalo bills are headed to the nfl playoffs and as you heard 6700 plans ohmic fans will be allowed into orchard park stadium to cheer them on. the plan was announced by governor cuomo and it requires fans to wear face masks and negative prior to the game and they will be contact tracing as well. the move comes as cuomo faces a new class action lawsuit for keeping indoor dining closed indefinitely. it let's bring in brad blakeman, a former deputy assistant to president george w. bush and robert wolff, ceo of 32 advisor. brad, i guess it shouldn't come as any surprise to us that the governor's going to the game. >> it's amazing. he writes a book of about how well he handled the pandemic during a pandemic, and it was a

disaster. it is another disastrous arbitrary ruling by the governor who, if you're a millionaire you can go to work. if you are a bar owner, you're screwed. what about the thousands of fans would like to watch the game at their local bar, given the same restrictions? the bar keeps changing. first it was limited occupancy. they live with that. filtration systems, tents outside, it's never ending and it's never good enough. and yet for a football game the rules are changed. this is not fair and i believe that this is the boston tea party movement for restaurant tours and business owners in new york. >> leland: it's going to be snowing at the game in new york restaurant owners have pointed out that when it's snowing outside outdoor dining doesn't work. we put up the numbers of covid cases by location and this is

the science from the new york governor's office. restaurant and bar is to account for 1.34% of covid spread to. household and social gatherings 74% of covid spread. and we keep hearing, files of science, follow the science. but what's the science and allowing football games and social gatherings at home but not indoor dining? >> i think these are non sequiturs. an outdoor stadium that holds 80,000 and you are putting in 8% of the fans is not the same comparable as indoor seating at the restaurant. listen, i'm a patriots fan, so i wish they weren't playing there either. that being said -- [laughs] >> leland: it's been a rough time for patriot fans, i understand. >> i own an indoor restaurant, i've been part owner of some broadway shows that have been going on.

i feel the pain of what's happening at all different levels. indoor restaurants, we should find a way to keep these open. at 25% or 50% there should be a way that we have best practices and if you see what governor cuomo is doing, he's putting in best practices. contact tracing. they will have temperature testing and they will have to wear masks and we know they are going to socially distance because it's 8% occupancy. >> leland: in the isolation you make a good point, outdoor football game, indoor dining, outdoor dining, they are different things. but you look at how governor cuomo has been treated over all and he this point. for th the florida population, florida's percent of 65 and older is substantially higher. new york has had about 50% more covid deaths and yet, guy benson

points out, cuomo, an emmy award, ron desantis governor of florida with a much lower death rate. a history's greatest monster. is the reason this thing is becoming an issue is because not this decision but the larger context? >> there is no doubt. there is no rhyme or reason, there is no record of, there's no science. this is a governor who claims that he follows the rules and follow science, yet his decision it is truly political and are on a whim. if the appearance is that they are not well thought out and based on science than the public is not going to follow it. the fact of the matter is if you can find a way to attend a football game then you should find a way to enjoy indoor or outdoor dining and to have other establishments fully open. this is just nuts. >> leland: we got to leave it there. happy new year to you both.

robert, you get the first word next time, we will talk to you soon. >> thank you. >> sandra: and happy new year to all of them. meanwhile efforts to recall governor gavin newsom picking up steam with hundreds of thousands of signatures and a big cash infusion. his behind the six-figure donation? plus the computer repair man at the center of the hunter biden laptop scandal suing twitter for half a billion dollars. he will joining us live. >> it really comes down to that one question that is, was there a truth to the hiking allegation that was -- or the tagline that was put on him? and if there isn't truth to it than they may have a chance. ♪ ♪

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>> sandra: the computer repair man linked to the biden scandal may face an uphill legal battle in court after the judge tossed his half a billion defamation

lawsuit against twitter. john paul math isaac and his attorney brian della rocha join now. john paul, to you first. why did you make the decision to sue twitter? >> being labeled hacker is a insult in my industry and i was just trying to do the right thing. >> sandra: to go back to what happened on this laptop when it was left at your computer repair shop, i know you went on the record to say that you never meant for any of this to go public. explain the origin of how you discovered that this was hunter biden's laptop? >> on april 12 the client came into the shop because of my visual impairment i didn't recognize him initially but, then during the check-in process and during the actual repair process it became clear who the client was.

>> sandra: y $500 million, why is that the amount that your client is suing twitter for? >> what we based it on a very small percentage of the value of the company. we want to make sure the company learns a lesson and we felt that this was a small amount, compared to the amount that it brings in every year. >> sandra: of this was dismissed by a judge on monday once this was filed but i believe that was on a technicality, it was filed in florida rather than delaware so how do you plan to proceed? >> it wasn't that it was filed in the wrong place, unfortunately it was a technicality and we are correcting the technicality and we plan to refile. we are still making the decision as to where we will refile. >> sandra: former utah u.s. attorney brett bowman was on fox news yesterday and he was interviewed about this case and

was asked if these are solid claims and he said this. >> with respect to whether he has a clean, it's interesting the angle that they are taking. they are indicating that this was purposeful and willful conduct on the part of twitter which may get them around some of the protections that twitter typically would have. >> sandra: john paul, can you weigh in on whether this was willful on the part of twitter in the handling of "the new york post" story surrounding this laptop scandal? >> my understanding, twitter made the decision to label me a hacker. it wasn't -- it was on their own choice, it wasn't influenced or somebody else posting on the platform. it was actually twitter that made the decision. >> sandra: what has been the repercussions of that for you and your business?

>> well i don't own a business anymore. i pretty much -- as long as i'm labeled a hacker, i won't be able to be trusted in this industry. and i had to leave my home. >> sandra: i initially said that your intention was not to make this public but when you were able to say, this is indeed with a laptop left in my repair shop, the rightful owners hunter biden, then you turn that over to people that made it that public. i do you have any regrets in doing that considering you have received threats, you are now saying you don't have business left? >> well i needed to get this to the proper authorities and when i felt like the proper authorities failed me, then that

give me opportunity to get that to the people. at the last person on the list was lawyers or the president. >> sandra: if you could brian just let us know how you plan to proceed this case with the world still watching. the emails that were revealed on that laptop are obviously key central pieces of information on all of this. >> proceeded against twitter under 2:30, we think we don't follow the immunities of 2:30 and we think that twitter defamed our clients and that is what caused all of his injury. we aren't saying that there aren't other lawsuits that might be coming down the line but twitter is definitely our top priority at this point. >> sandra: and has twitter

communicated with you directly? >> no, they have not. >> sandra: keep us posted and thanks to both of you for coming on. we appreciate your time. john paul, did you have a last word there? >> i just wanted to say thank you for all of those supported me. it's been a tough road and it wouldn't be able to do it without you. >> we will follow-up with you, keep us posted. >> leland: here we go. the push for bigger relief checks has hit a major roadblock in the senate. you may not be getting $2,000. we will tell you why majority leader mitch mcconnell says democrats are to blame. meanwhile small businesses are struggling to survive covered lockdowns in a private relief effort is offering a lifeline. we will show you the reaction from a family-run bowling center. ♪ we all have seasons in our lives

where something takes us to a place where we need to ask for help; and that's what food banks are here for. i asked dale if walmart would partner with us and he said, "absolutely, let's figure out how to get this done." when you start working in an area and you're out in the stores, and in the community, you see the need. it was just the right thing to do. ♪ ♪

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>> leland: welcome back. the campaign to recall governor newsom has gotten its first six-figure cash infusion in the effort is gaining steam. that has had so far 900,000 signatures come about 60% of the 1.5 million that would be needed by march 15th. randy is a senior advisor in the recall effort. $500,000 from the consulting

group called the probit three llc. they told you they gave you the money and what that that mean you guys? >> we are the responsible party for this campaign, it's recall gavin 2020.com and that went to a political action committee that has no affiliation with us. so i think people need to kind of be aware of that and just buyer beware so to speak. but that has nothing to do with the official campaign. >> leland: so still, there's this huge amount of money that is now coming into this effort and that's got to change the dynamic for you guys a little bit, right? >> every donation that we get at recall gavin 2020.com goes directly into getting signatures and getting us over the finish line. while we appreciate everybody who has gone online and we have to keep focused on the fact that there is just one campaign committee here and we are fueled by hundreds of thousands of californians who want to take

their state back. >> leland: it right now you are about 600,000 signatures sort. what do you need to get those 600,000? >> we need to have people and we need them to continue to go to our website and download the petition and the sign and get the neighbors to sign it and talk about it and we need to continue to talk to media such as a you and others who have been gracious about getting our message out. the other thing we need is we need gavin newsom to continue doing what gavin newsom does which is the biggest -- he is a reason why we are doing this recall and he said our own worst enemy right now. >> leland: this is darrell issa up preparin comparo gray davis who was successful. >> gray davis would double down in the wrong direction time and time again. our economy was in ruin, our electricity was unreliable and tax increases followed. gavin newsom is doing exactly the same thing, he just added one more thing which is the is

tyrannical orders that at first were obeyed and didn't work, and now you have industry, especially the restaurant industry, in full revolt. >> leland: davis was recalled to come and you ended up with arnold schwarzenegger as governor. do you have someone in mind as a figurehead t to run? >> our job it's not to select to the next governor of california is, our job is to do the heavy lifting and get those signatures that we need, keep the volunteers energized and bring this thing to an election which we hope will take place in either july or august of 2021. >> leland: march 15 is the deadline and 700,000 signatures to go. we appreciate you talking to us and we will have you back. >> thank you so much and happy new year everyone. >> sandra: we are just moments away from some big campaign events, the battle for georgia as of phrases there and that will determine control of the senate and the homestretch.

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>> sandra: despite accounting for three touchdowns in the duke male bowl the wisconsin quarterback was all but her fingers in the locker room afterwards. and that's exactly what you don't want to have happen. he got a little too excited over his of victory in wake forest, so much so that he dropped the team's football shape crystal trophy shattering it on the floor.

wisconsin coach paul chris joked we just wanted everyone to have a piece of the trophy. leland, ouch. >> leland: an lsu quarterback would have never done something like that. >> sandra: never. those poor kids. >> leland: i really feel for him. ♪ >> no. >> yes. >> oh, my god, is this really seriously happening right now? >> very much so. >> my face time, i was calling me on face time? i can't breathe right now, i'm so excited. >> i'm glad i placed a call, such a neat story. >> leland: a family owned business in pennsylvania got a lot of need to help surviving pandemic restrictions. tacos family bowling center in wilkes-barre was chosen to receive the money from the barstool fund which was started by dave portnoy and barstool

sports. joining us now the co-owners of tacos family bowling alley, caracara dell ski, kenley kuyper and carla harmon. nice to see all three of you. so whoever got the call here, what was the next sentence out of your mouth after what we saw? >> the next thing was that myself from shaking for a few minutes and call my dad and my uncles and everybody to tell them the good news. >> leland: have you guys been able to be open at all? >> we were open the end of june just until recently at half capacity. >> so how close were you all to closing? >> it's tough. every month, even when you have people in here at half capacity, you can't possibly pay 100% of your bills with half the people here. so every month it was hit and

miss and know we finally have something to bridge that gap. >> leland: so here's what barstool has done so far. they've raised more than 100,000 supporters including some very big names. 47 businesses supported including yours. what does this say that the american people and dave portnoy at barstool sports have been able to come together and figure this out in a couple of days when it doesn't seem congress has been able to do this in a couple of months? >> yes, you're correct. [laughs] >> leland: obviously this is a bridge and as good of work as they are doing, $11 million raised is not going to work for every bowling alley in the country much less every business in the country. what do you all need from congress to be able to stick around and stay afloat? >> we want to help and do everything we can to make sure

people are healthy during the pandemic. but if we are going to be forced to be closed or forced to have fewer people here and spend more money on cleaning and staffing, we need financial help to bring it through the next couple months or however long this continues to go up. >> leland: can you give us the unique story in 30 or 45 secon seconds? >> our grandfather started our business and signed papers right before we had a horrible flood in our valley. then fast forward to 98, we have a brand-new facility here and we are still going strong. hoping we are going to still hang on here. >> leland: what a great tradition and family business to carry on, congratulations. the whole family would be proud and it's great to see you all get a helping hand.

i know it's something you have to pass on to the community here. thank you all and happy new ye year. >> sandra: a wonderful story there. fox news alert, senators david perdue and lindsey graham holding a meet and greet that's our in dillard, georgia. five days before the runoff elections that and that will decide which party controls the senate. welcome to a brand-new hour of "america's newsroom," and sandra smith. leland, i loved that story, i could feel good story as we wrap up 2020. >> leland: sometimes the worst of times bring out the best of america. we are celebrating that in 2020 and hopefully continue through 2021. that january 5th election in georgia decides the balance of the senate and the fate of joe biden's agenda. here senator graham on trumps plan to campaign to republican senators on the eve of the runoffs. >> i want to press to go to

georgia until every republican in georgia come every conservative and every trumpet vote, you need to get out and vote as if i were on the ballot because of we lose the senate they were going to destroy his legacy. >> leland: it's a will they listen? a steve harrigan live with that answer. >> this is really the final push especially up here in northern georgia. heavy republican territory where so far early voting has been a light turnout. senator lindsey graham is here to campaign for senator perdue and we just heard that senator perdue himself may not make it here. and that is in and around atlanta, and they might need an election day search and that's

already 2.8 million people that have voted early. it's not likely that this race will be decided on tuesday, they are so tight. there has been something of distraction between president trump and george's republican governor brian kemp, he referred to him as stupid in a tweet and calling for him to resign for not aggressively pursuing charges of fraud in the georgia presidential vote. governorgovernor kemp has respot the presidential election in georgia is over. >> there is a constitutional and legal process that is playing out and i'm very comfortable letting that process play out. that horse has left the barn in georgia and it is headed to d.c. right now. the next vote is going to be there, not here. >> president trump comes back to georgia on monday for an election eve rally and as of yesterday afternoon george's governor said he has not been

invited to the rally. leland, back to you. >> leland: already 2.8 million act early extra votes. >> sandra: to pass the stimulus checks that both the president and democrats are committing may have hit a dead end. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell saying there's no realistic path to quick approval and accused top democrats of trying to pull a fast one by twisting the president's call for increased direct payment. david is live in washington with more on all of this. the senate has to get this done by sunday, correct? >> sandra, good morning. that is correct because that is on the 116th congress ends and the new senate is sworn in on sunday at noon. let me explain why there are two complicated issues, one is the nda a override, the national defense authorization act that funds the military. senators want to debate overwriting the president's veto and also those direct $2,000 to mills payments to those affected by covid.

two very important issues. in about two hours senators will reconvene on the floor and to begin debating the override of the president's veto of the nda which is what funds the military every year. the president vetoed that bill over the language that would rename military bases, currently named for confederate war leaders. now here is where the nda and covid are checks come together. senator bernie sanders wants to stall the nda override built until the senate takes up a stand-alone vote on the $2,000 direct payments to the american people. >> all that i am asking of mitch mcconnell, give us a boat. he wants to announce that vote now and he can have is a vote on the defense overwriting 5 minutes. >> majority leader mcconnell says to get the $2,000 check, democrats must also repeal section 2:30 of the conclusions decency act which protects big tech companies that censor speech online.

companies like twitter and facebook unfairly censor republican perspectives and the majority leader also wants a bipartisan study examining the security and integrity of the 2020 presidential election. >> the senate is not going to split apart the three issues that president trump linked together just because democrats are afraid to address two of them. >> sandra at this point there is no indication that majority leader mcconnell is in favor of those $2,000 payments. however democrats and president trump are on the same page here, a rarity. the senate meets a little afternoon and they will start debating the override of the president's veto. sandra? >> sandra: david, thank you. let's bring in "the new york post" opinion editor. you hear that anything could come up that's a perfect ending to 2020. the president in agreement with the democrats in battling republican for what he wants. good morning. >> good morning.

i think that the path facing republicans the next four years, do they extended the populist message that got president trump elected in 2016, and then use that in 2024 or do they revert back to republican consensus before president trump, 2015. that's all what i see in these dynamics, that fundamentally, is it a party that is politically smart to realize, a lot of people are hurting right now and you have to get those checks out, or, are you going to find i think underhanded ways to try to prevent the $2,000? i care about section 2:30 and i think there is some serious censorship going on and big tech companies are unaccountable. ideally you would get both of those, the check and section 2:30. but i think the smart political move is to get the checks out to people because a lot of people are hurting and that i think is

the path that ideally mcconnell should push. >> sandra: which is how lindsey graham there a moment ago in georgia, he was also on fox news this morning and backs the president's call for those $2,000 checks. he said democrats in georgia make what we are looking at now look cheap. >> if we lose storage of this bill will seem really cheap because if we lose the senate and they have control of the house, the senate and the white house, they are going to send over a monster of a bell. why don't we have a stand-alone vote on $2,000 checks and a vote to pay for it by cutting other areas of the government? >> sandra: so what about that? that's a pretty fierce message that he's putting out there to his fellow republicans. should democrats win in georgia? >> i think that's -- i don't always agree with senator graham but in this case he's exactly right.

obviously the $2,000 checks are overwhelmingly popular and so if it can help at all to the race in the republicans favor, the georgia runoff race, you have to do it because it's precisely right, the price of democratic nominatiodominationacross the po high. they have such more radical plans, $2,000 like they said is nothing. they will push core packing and creating new space and so forth and they can do it with controlling the senate and get it close to majority control of the senate, republicans will regret having haggled over $2,000 checks. >> sandra: he's got a big fight up against fiscal conservatives. including the editorial board because their headline this morning reads $2,000 checks for the affluence.

they are obviously concerned about the huge price tag and some of these dollars get into pockets of people who worked all the way through the pandemic. finally i want to ask about cancel culture, i know this is something that you talked about, cancel culture being a threat. cancel culture creates a soviet style society of liars, and keep shifting to individuals whose jobs are promised because they as i sit in the past would become more adept at providing falsehoods. individuals predisposed to being comfortable with deception. over time, only liars will speak openly. that is surely a warning for what may be to come if we c cancel culture continue in the capacity we seen recently. >> it was a great op-ed by roger henderson that ran. yes, i think we are facing a kind of soft totalitarianism and

the distinction i try to make as much of it is not done by government. conservatives are used to thinking of governments as the thing that oppresses our freedoms but increasingly it's private actors, corporations, and conservatives need to get smart and think about how we address freedoms today which comes from big tech and comes from a private corporation. it's not so easy, it's not a mentality of big versus small governments. that framework of the 20th century, we need an update because as it is we are heading towards a setting in the vast majority of people just need to self censor because they know their jobs are going to be at stake and none of it is going to be the government's doing. that's the scary thing about it. >> sandra: really interesting perspective. thanks for coming on this morning. >> leland: in the new year, los angeles county prosecutors will adjudicate their case

because of their boss and his criminal justice reforms. george gaskin was elected the new l.a. county district attorney last month and now the county's association of deputy d.a.'s is asking a judge to block its order for sentencing requirements and certain crimes including bail violations and gain related cases. prosecutors say the d.a. charges actually violate state law. >> sandra: and this just income of the world already beginning to ring in the new year. this is video from pyongyang in north korea. this is happening as the clock strikes midnight there just moments ago. the bright lights and singing continues. tokyo also celebrating this hour, and as we prepare for new years here at home, here is today's "new york post." the front page reads -- leland, i'm sure you saw it when you walked in, new year's heave. good riddance to the terrible 2020, the sentiment of so many of us as we conclude what has

been a remarkable year. >> leland: my good friend of mine was tweeting earlier to people in new zealand who rang in a couple of hours ago and says, for those who first saw 2021, is it any better? >> sandra: leland, it's interesting. if you were talking to me earlier about how we spent the first few hours were the first few days of 2020 together, and who saw this coming? >> leland: we thought it would be defined by impeachment and by iran, the killing of qassem soleimani. what a good friend of mine said, you never worry about the right thing. so who knows what 2021 will be about but we don't know. >> president trump: >> sandra: we don't know what we don't know. pyongyang, life pictures as we enter the new year across the globe every hour until midnight in new york.

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>> sandra: on manhunt under y in california for a government had knocked on the front door and opened fire on the homeowners. it was caught on their front door camera. [gunshots] >> sandra: this was in the los angeles suburb of carson, a video from the l.a. county sheriff's department chose the suspect firing at a woman and her husband and then running off. the husband shouting, you got the wrong house. thankfully no one was hurt.

>> leland: we understand the fbi is joining a criminal investigation in colorado after gas lines were vandalized in aspen over the weekend leaving thousands without heat as temperatures fell new near zero and blizzard conditions prevailed. aspen police say the words earth first, and it's not clear if radical clearly this was an intentional act of turning off these gas valves and vandalizing them. they ha it's hard to imagine the timing and it wasn't coincidental anyway. >> it was somebody that thought this through and unfortunately it really ruined christmas for a bunch of people. but we are back up with heat now

and things are recovering pretty rapidly. >> i can also imagine it's quite a blow to businesses that are trying to deal with the lack of tourism and they had to close for a few days. >> they are struggling with 25% occupancy here, and -- >> leland: we see where earth first was written, explain how this act happened. it was a turning off the valves are damaging the pipes and some of the distribution network? >> solely linda, to clarify, earth first was written at two of the locations, there were three locations were to vandalism was done. so it's a little complication

but basically it's that someone turned off some valves so with very few exceptions the entirety of the downtown area and most of our residential areas were completely without gas which mostly here means no heat. and that's at least three or four days. >> leland: it to be able to do that at three locations, and number two it seems like they were smart enough and unless you guys are holding something back. >> at the moment we do not have video. and and it's not like the whole surveillance video in a country like this.

>> it seems like there is enough leads to believe that this was some kind of potential federal crime or some kind of active federal terrorism. and as far as using that word in particular. it's kind of up but political word for us. >> it's really putting a lot of lives at risk when you talk about heat in the high country during christmas time. we appreciate you joining us, and come back and update us on the investigation, sir. >> sandra: at the coronavirus strain first spotted in the u.k. has not been reported in two states. they could have a devastating effect on the brain.

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>> leland: the state department tells fox news that the united states could add coke cube out to it's a list of state sponsors of terrorism. that list apparently includes iran, north korea and syria. >> sandra: of hollywood shutting down production until mid-january because of the spike of coronavirus cases raging across that state. they say the hiatus could last longer. >> leland: and the covert surge has also led jana's hand to ask a governor gavin newsom to bring in the u.s. navy hospital ship mercy to help handle patients. for that and a lot more news, download the fox news app. >> we were informed that this variant and strain that we have

identified from the united kingdom identified in colorado yesterday has been identified here in the state of california, in southern california. >> sandra: gavin newsom confirming that first case of the new covert strain. dr. janette nesheiwat is a fox news contributor and she has been with us through this pandemic. first, i just wanted to say thank you because you have been such a calming strong voice to all of this and you have been treating covert patients and you have been talking to us directly from your doctor's office here in new york with your jacket on. and you're really brought us through this. then we say no, we can't handle anymore than we already have. what should we know about the second strain?

>> it's not more lethal, it's not more deadly but it's a huge problem in california where there's already an outbreak, even though it's not more deadly, you still need to be hospitalized for shortness of breath, and there's not enough hospital beds and not enough staff and that's when it becomes a problem. you won't get the quality of care that you need. it's not going to spread from person to person, more cases and hospitalizations and potentially more lives lost. we are to cover our faces, avoid mass, avoid social gatherings and avoid mixing household on that thing until we are able to gain control of the pandemic. >> sandra: and that's the vaccine. when it's your turn, go get it. and i believe we've got video,

thank goodness are health care workers are getting vaccinated. how are you feeling after getting her shot? >> i feel great, i have an amazing team i'm blessed to work with. we've been working hard all year long and they never thought that they would come just nine or ten months later that we have a vaccine that has been shown to be 95% effective. so it's a blessing and it's inspiring, gives us a lot of confidence to continue to take care of patients in the community and hopefully everyone will be getting their turn soon in the next four or eight weeks. >> sandra: was at the pfizer or the moderna that you got? >> i got the moderna vaccine,

it's a cdc card to show that i've had my first dose. >> you should take any worry that you have and understand that the vaccines still look like they are going to work but a more contagious variant means that it's more critical that we follow those basic public health measures especially this new year. >> we are talking about the stereo a scary nature about the second strain that has been discovered here in the united states but you just got the vaccine and he is saying that so far from what we know, the vaccines are available now. they've already been approved and are effective in fighting off the second strain. >> the studies we have on modern and pfizer so that the vaccine

is effective. now a couple years from now, we may need to make changes to accommodate the mutating virus on that something we can easily do because of the technology of the mrna vaccines, it can be done. so we are already predicting mutations can occur because that's the nature of the virus viruses. it's expected and we can protect ourselves until we are able to get the vaccine and make adjustments as needed moving forward. >> sandra: thank you for all that you've done coming onto our show and talking to viewers in 2020. we appreciate it and we will see you in the new year. >> leland: remember casey anthony who was once accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter back in 2008? she is apparently launching a private investigation business. public records show a company filed in her name in florida, a jury acquitted her of killing her daughter but she was

convicted of felony lying to authorities. >> sandra: up meanwhile the controversy over actor alec baldwin's wife keeps growing. now what some are saying about her claims of spanish heritage as she speaks out in a new interview. also austin, texas, placing new year's restrictions on bars and restaurants but states attorney general says not so fast. ag ken paxton is on deck with a legal action that he is now taking. >> if i'm going to fail as a business or an institution, it's going to be because i didn't have the skill sets to execute, not because the government got in the way. many plug-ins are stuck in the past.

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>> sandra: a showdown over restrictions in texas now going to court, the states attorney general suing the mayor of austin after he placed no restrictions on restaurants and bars of the new year's holidays.

and texas attorney ken paxton joins us now. why do you want to push back these restrictions at the mayor is imposing? >> it's the mayor and the county judge because they are and direct -- he's already restricted bars and restaurants to eat either a 75% or 50% occupancy but he said you cannot have restrictions on time. so they kind of try to sneak this into days ago and they are going to stop and because it's in violation of state law. >> sandra: so that's why he said these restrictions were necessary and backs up the austin mayor doing this. they put them in bars on new year's eve and packed them together for hours, the production will be overwhelming and have been very quickly. are you choosing to say that that's not the case, ignore it

or are you just saying it's time to open businesses? what do you save back to the health officials who say that? >> my job is to and force whatever the law is. they are just operating on their own under texas law so my job is not to decide what the best policy is but to enforce the l law. so having their curfew on restaurants probably won't make much of a difference even though this particular doctor, it won't affect much of anything. >> sandra: the governor of texas says the ban as illegal as well, the shutdown of austin is not allowed. the stops cities like austin from arbitrarily such as shutting down businesses and their city's responsibility to enforce existing orders and not make new ones. he of course is responding to the austin mayor who says this. >> we have taken limited action

to arrest in these cases. if we don't take action now, businesses will suffer even more, families will suffer and are a way of life will suffer and it will take us exponentially longer to return to life that is normal. >> sandra: i know you had gone as far as to suggest that these leaders such as the mayor of austin has contempt for texans and the local businesses there. >> i think he does, and i he doesn't have the authority to do what he's doing. he doesn't have any authority to do that when the governor has specifically set out guidelines for the entire state. if he wants to go through the correct process and call the governor and say hey, i think we should change this, and the governor decides to do that, that's how the process works, not just the local mayor deciding to make up new rules for his city and putting curfew on the restaurants.

>> obviously they follow this and put this out on the 29th, we will take it all the way to the texas supreme court if we have to. the end we will be successful because a law law is pretty clear. >> sandra: i know you love texas and i know you love the people there. how bad has the economy been hit on these restrictions? >> it's been tough. it's sad for me to see that, because people have no control over how it affects their jobs. at this point we get back to the decision-making at an individual level because that's what is best for your health and their jobs in these situations. >> sandra: it's quite something to watch as we wrap this year, 2020. we just got done with the

segment where the doctor got that vaccinated and what more can get vaccinated. happy new year to you. >> happy new year from texas. >> sandra>> leland: at the mainm media has barely given president trump any credit for delivering the coronavirus by the end of the year -- vaccine by the end of the year. but now they are pouncing on problems with the vaccine rollout. howard kurtz answers this question we come back. >> you can guarantee politics is not playing any sort of role when it comes to the vaccine, distribution or allocation at all, right?

>> sandra: good news for buffalo bills fans, andrew cuomo will let a limited number of fans attended the team's first home playoff game since 1996. attendance will be capped at 6700 people. fans will be seated with some distance between them and other groups and everyone will need to wear a mask and take a covert test before the game and be subject to a contact tracing afterwards. the game will be played at january 9th or 10th. i don't know if he will be the there. >> leland: governor cuomo says he will be. the mainstream media has not given trump much credit for operation warp speed which created the vaccine. but it's been a different story in the past week or so with delays in the vaccine's delive delivery. i guess you could modify its

success has many fathers but failure is trump's fault. >> [laughs] i don't think there's any question that the administration failed to meet its own goals by trying to get 20 million americans vaccinated by today, they understand the problem and are working on it and i don't see any signs that democrats have been singled out for unfair treatment but my problem with the coverage is exactly that leland, most of the press not giving president trump, absolutely not giving president trump even an ounce of credit for the miraculous speed of vaccine development just months after mocking him insane, no way, no how could a vaccine be ready by the end of the year. now as soon as there are distribution problems, it's all about trump, journalists piling on the president. when in fairness the states, at least some of them, share in the these snafus.

>> leland: now it's ups or whoever is delivering the vaccine's fault. take a listen to jake tapper on cnn. >> i just want to make sure here, you can guarantee, politics is not playing any sort of role when it comes to vaccine distribution or allocation at all. in pennsylvania or other states that didn't go for president trump, they are not going to be penalized at all. i wouldn't normally even raise the question except president trump said things like that. >> the vaccine distribution is on a per capita basis on a population that is over 18 years old so there is absolutely no influence aside from just a fair and equitable distribution. >> leland: in fairness, it didn't andrew cuomo say something about the trump vaccine, and he didn't want it? >> i think what governor cuomo said that he wouldn't necessarily trust president trump, scientists confirmed that this was safe and effective for people to use. i think that's in the past.

i haven't heard a single democratic governor complain about unfair treatment to political reasons. i heard a lot of states complain about not getting enough money from washington to adequately get this to the people in the most vulnerable groups that need it. there is some money and that covid relief bill that was belatedly signed by the president so hopefully we can move on to a smoother rollout in 2021. >> leland: there were also a lot of democratic governors who praised trump in the beginning for the ventilators and other things. they got exactly what they needed. the times of crisis is when the media is supposed to be their best but were they in 2020? >> i think a lot of the coverage was excessivel excessively part. there were mistakes made by the of administration and it's certainly fair to point that out given the fact that 300,000 americans have not died from covid-19 but at the same time it sort of became this culture war, the coverage data, where if you are a supporter for president trump you are more

likely to talk about excessive lockdowns and question the need for masks. if you are a supporter of joe biden and opposed to the president, you talk more about the administration not driving home the message early on when there was some doubt about how devastating covid-19 would be. so that has been a disappointment, it became a partisan issue like so many other issues. >> leland: everything in 2020 seems partisan and political. you got the top five here, tim scully's issue with saying it wasn't his tweet and barry weiss, any common theme here? >> the common theme is undermining trust in journalism which already has a low reputation especially the debacle of "the new york times" people who were fired because they allowed a conservative opinion to be published, and she said she was bullied by her colleagues and called a racist. this has more than just a particular set of circumstances

because 2020 was a year in which so many people continue to lose faith in the media and i think a lot of these wounds are self-inflicted. >> leland: i think our approval rating is roughly that of congress so excellent point. halle, thank you very much. good to see my friend, happy new year. >> happy new year, let's do better next year. >> leland: to all of us, could challenge. >> sandra: meanwhile, alec baldwin's wife responding to the controversy over claims about her ethnic heritage, but the scandal hardly stopped there. now, a member of the trump family is weighing in with some advice. that's next. ♪ research shows people remember commercials with nostalgia.

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today's discussion will be around sliced meat. moms want healthy... and affordable. land o' frost premium!!! no added hormones either. it's the only protein i've really melted with. land o' frost premium. fresh look. same great taste. >> sandra: hilaria baldwin is speaking out of her claims about her heritage, she has said she is from spain but she is now getting major backlash after she admitted she was born and raised in boston. now donald trump jr. it is weighing in. abby hornacek is here, happy new year to you.

so what's the big suggestion from don jr.? >> don jr. is suggesting that alec baldwin play alec baldwin in any "snl" skit that they choose to do if they choose to do so on this whole hilaria baldwin saga. it's very interesting because we are getting people from all over commenting on this, and actually a woman who outed hilaria baldwin has said that she will punch her in the face. they have played on "snl" before so that's probably why where donald jr. is coming from but as alec baldwin, >> sandra: alec baldwin should play alec baldwin when "snl" parodies his wife pretending she's spanish for the last few years, and it would be

the first funny thing that "saturday night live" has produced in years. i saw something on social media yesterday that suggested, may be hilaria baldwin is a better actor than her husband. so here she is in this intervi interview. she sat down with them and she was born in boston, i spent time in boston and spain. my family now lives in spain. i moved to new york when i was 19 years old and i live there ever since. for me i felt like i spent ten years during that story over and over again and now it seems like it's not enough. >> people are looking for a source of entertainment, we are in a pandemic, not going out to the movies or out to dinner like darius too and we've been dealing with a lot of tragedies which the pandemic in 2020 in general has brought. of course at the end of 2020, this is a very valuable lesson in transparency that the social media world brings.

if you are going to put yourself out there on the internet and show your body and your image and your personal thoughts, you have to know that the investigative reporters of twitter and instagram are probably going to find out that maybe you've been taking an fakn accent for this long. >> sandra: here's the cucumber video. >> we have cucumbers. >> raised in boston, how do you say it in english? cucumber. and the jeopardy star is having to apologize for some past tweets. he tweeted, sometimes i said dumb things in a dumb way and i want to apologize to people. it wasn't my intention to hurt anyone but that doesn't matter. i'm truly sorry for your >> ken jennings has been revered by so many jeopardy fans as the greatest of all time and this is super disappointing sandra because you know, alex trebek,

he has left behind such a legacy and for people to now see that it's kind of tainted. i don't know about you sandra, but you watch it with your family and it's a very wholesome show and then you have ken jennings with these offensive tweets. he did apologize but that's transparency that comes with social media and people will find these things. >> sandra: lessons learned for a brand-new year. happy new year to you, hope to see you in person soon. president trump and first lady melania trump are about to leave florida for washington a day earlier than expected. all of this as congress continues to fight over the president's demands for those $2,000 stimulus checks. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell rejecting calls for a stand-alone boat. welcome to a brand-new hour of "america's newsroom." i'm sandra smith. it's great to be with you this morning. >> leland: happy new year's to all of you, i'm leland vittert.

the speaker mcconnell is accusing nancy pelosi and chuck schumer of distorting the president's call for increased payments saying there is no realistic path for quick passage in the senate. >> speaker pelosi and leader schumer are trying to pull a fast one on the president and the emergent people. the senate will not split apart the three issues that president trump linked together just because democrats are afraid to address two of them. >> it's amazing to see the patience that other people have with other people suffering. they seem to have an endless tolerance for the people sadne sadness. >> sandra: rich edson's live in west palm beach following every minute of the standoff. >> he is soon on his way back to the white house and while on his trip to florida he's been very critical of republican leaders

for not passing a number of priorities he wants before adjourning. he's been pressing them to do that. one of the items is increasing till $600 covid relief checks to $2,000. senate leadership has blocked a vote on the house passed a bill approving the increase. they voted on the bill to combine the payments with other presidential demands, and the issue has created an unusual alliance between democrats and republicans pushing for separate boats, which increases the chances shows higher payments. >> i'm urging senator mcconnell to give stand-alone votes in the new congress after january 3rd on all three majors and i would predict that if you had a stand-alone vote on a $2,000 check, it's better than 50/50.

and a vote on a $2,000 check. >> the only way to get to the american people are too thousand dollar checks they deserve and need is to pass the house bill and pass it now. >> several top republicans say the half trillion dollar cost of $2,000 payments it's just too much. the senate is also moving forward to override the president trump's veto and it authorizes $740 billion in security spending. the president vetoed the national defense authorization act because it would scrub military bases of confederate names and it also fails to repeal legal protections for tech companies for so-called tech section 2:30. this would be the first congressional override of president trump. >> sandra: rich edson, as we

await the president's departure. for more on this looks pretty and james freeman, a member of the wall street editorial board and fox news contributor. you are the perfect person to end the year with. at where is your crystal ball and where does this go next? >> i would think that the defense bill would get passed and i think the boats there in the senate, as far as a larger fight about the $2,000, i think the president should realize that thanks in large part to his policies, this economy has really rebounded pretties strongly. we got unemployment below 7%. most people out are employed in getting paid and those that are suffering are mainly suffering from lockdowns and those are ironically very concentrated in the democratic run states. so we see speaker pelosi there saying this is sort of heartless to say no more federal

intervention but it's really the government intervention in generally democrat run states that's preventing people from earning a living in the hospitality industry. other than that most of the economy is rebounding really strongly. >> sandra: a lot of people are still struggling out there and those of the people that are trying to target with us. senator bernie sanders went on with bret baier on special report last night and here he is urging the, so bring this up for a vote. >> in the senate as you know, a number of republicans say they want to vote for this. he wants to vote against it, what is the problem, if he wants the outside boat now he can have his vote on the defense of a ride in 5 minutes. >> sandra: mcconnell said he does not see a realistic path for this. >> if the president has spent

three and a half million dollars this year addressing covid but the problem is the debt pile which is now as large as our economy, we'd seen the decline somewhat in the value of the dollar and we hope that's not a sign of the future. the problem which bernie sanders doesn't understand is that ultimately we can't have prosperity without people doing actionable work. in this economy is roaring back, it's ready to continue. if the lockdowns will end. that's all the stimulus we need and we won't get rich by redistribute in more wealth. we need to create it and we are doing that. it's really remarkable when you look at seven straight months of job creation, more than 12 million jobs since the spring shutdown. we just need to let it run and let people especially in those hospitality industries make a living. >> sandra: that's tough considering you are very much in the middle of this pandemic and

you have surges happening across the country. senator lindsey graham is one of the republican senators supporting the president with the $2,000 stimulus check. he saw the two senators down in georgia which are key in all this and they came out in support of this as well. lindsey graham weighed in fox news and said this on that. >> i'm in south carolina and our economy is really hurting here. i'd like a stand-alone vote in the new congress on the $2,000 check. we have seven republicans who have already said they would vote for it and we need five more. i think if we had to vote we would get there. >> sandra: so, james? >> it's disappointing. i think obviously lindsey graham is someone who intends to focus on defense issues more than economics issues, but it's discouraging when someone like him won't understand where wealth and prosperity and job creation comes from. it doesn't come from government and it doesn't come from checks.

by the way people keep talking about these as if they are targeted, they are really not targeted. the money would go to everyone below a certain income threshold, even the people who were employed and have been employed throughout this entire year. >> sandra: that's an argument that many of the fiscal conservatives are making as well. james freeman, i appreciate your time. happy new year to you. >> leland: all of these issues are plain large in the battle for the georgia senate race. five days left until election day that can determine control of the senate and today the republican incumbents are campaigning across the state as a record-breaking 2.8 plus million early votes which have already been capped. jon ossoff is just now wrapping up an event in georgia. >> welland, mr. ossoff has wrapped up and he waited for us

because we had a question for him. thank you for your time today. i wanted to set the record straight about something your republican opponent has been making a big deal about and that is your financial disclosure that was disclosed in may. why is it that -- or rather was amended in may. why is it that you waited until after the primary to reveal that your business did business with the company in hong kong that was linked to the chinese government? >> my company has produced multiple investigations of in atrocity commits committed by isis or criminals. my company has produced multiple investigations of atrocities committed by isis war criminals and these investigations have been aired by dozens of television channels and dozens of countries all over the world. and one of those television channels was in hong kong.

that is the entire substance of senator perdue's campaign against me. the irony of this is that senator perdue ran the factories in shenzhen province in cooperation with the chinese communist party. senator perdue spent his entire career outsourcing jobs to chi china. the same senator who refuses even to debate me, the same senator who has been telling establishment republican donors in private that donald trump is responsible for republican defeat, blaming the president personally, refusing to support the $2,000 stimulus checks that even president trump demanded until we were five days from an election. the same senator who blames president trump for republican difficulty in georgia but then in public indulge as the president's fantasy that he actually went here.

>> since he's not here we will try to catch up with him and to get more information on some of this but why did that happen after the primary and not before? >> the whole reason that senator perdue is making at big deal about this is because i publicly -- just consider this for a moment and let's extend this conversation because i think it's important that people hear this. my company has produced multiple investigations again of isis atrocities. >> recently we thought the chinese government tried to make inroads with a young democratic lawmaker eric swalwell. are you concerned that through a payment, somebody linked to china or the chinese through another company could be trying to influence you? >> you are a serious reporter.

do you really believe that the tv channel in hong kong airing an investigation that my company produced a company of isis war crimes in iraq? >> so the chinese government does not try to influence young politicians in the united states? >> look. chinese intelligence operations in the united states are a great threat to our national security. and that's why it's so concerning that we have a senator like david perdue. >> but mr. ossoff - -- >> senator david perdue bragged about how he spent most of his career outsourcing american jobs to china. he operated factories in shenzhen province in china in cooperation with the chinese communist party and you should explain that on the record. >> thank you for your time, we will try to catch up with you tomorrow. leland, will send it back to you in new york.

>> leland: peter, you got at least a more complete answers to your questions a couple of days ago. we will extend to the conversation with vince collin, he's the editor at "the daily caller." as many times as peter tried to, i still didn't get an answer to the question. did you hear one in there? >> no. in fact the point that i think was glaringly obvious as you are watching this is hearing him not give a clear answer on why it took so long to amend that he did have chinese financial interest falling into him. so that's a question that remained unresolved and unanswered and that's typical for a politician if they are uncomfortable with a line of questioning and realize that there is no good answer to it, then they start the attack on the opponent and that's what you saw there constantly throughout that conversation. >> leland: i stopped counting

at about nine isis war criminals in his answers and what i didn't hear at all with a full throated a condemnation of the chinese and their behavior and the threat that they posed not simply their security services but the rise of china in general. >> that's right. it's actually pretty disheartening how much of a partisan issue this has become, and in the last year especially it seems like they are capable of criticizing china and calling out the threat that it poses and democrats are often very reticent, it often has to do with their ties to business, big corporate interest and the extent to which they generate revenues in china and looking to placate the chinese. >> leland: of the chinese have been experts at tying that fabric together. peter doocy i believe yesterday or two days ago got with jon ossoff as well and asked him whether or not the problems that raphael warnock was having was a problem for the democrat ticket

as a whole and that ties closely into this ad that was cut by former president obama, take a listen. >> georgia stepped up and now america is counting on you again. you can send jon ossoff to the senate to beat this virus and rebuild our economy. >> leland: did they just not have time in the ad to mention raphael warnock as well? >> bazaar, right? he saddled with a lot more controversy than even jon ossoff is here. among them o on fox news, we saw this video and just last week, his ex-wife saying that he had run over her foot and then when she spoke to police in the body can video come she said he's a great actor and will run for senate and do anything he can. that's a great show and it has

not gotten attention that would normally be given to a video like that. also raphael warnock with a big revelation of the details of child abuse that was going on at a camp in maryland that he oversaw and there was an investigation. >> leland: as peter doocy has been reporting all day, raphael warnock off the campaign trail until tomorrow. he would think he would be barnstorming. i appreciate it, happy new year and best of luck in 2021. we will be covering the georgia senate race pillar to post, special coverage election night tuesday 6:00 p.m. eastern. brett and martha with the call before the polls close. >> sandra: the investigation of the nashville bombing entering a new phase as police release 911 calls from before and after the explosion. plus, chaos and violence in new york city as dozens of bike riders attack a car with a

driver and his mother inside that vehicle. the shocking video comes amid a rising tide of violence from thcoast-to-coast. grown in idaho. i felt gross. people were afraid i was contagious. i was covered from head to toe. i was afraid to show my skin. after i started cosentyx i wasn't covered anymore. four years clear. five years now. i just look and feel better. see me. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen, or if you've had a vaccine, or plan to. serious allergic reactions may occur.

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>> sandra: lightning bit comic

frightening video as bikers in new york city attack a car in broad daylight terrorizing a driver i in and his mother who s in her 70s. the mob surrounded the luxury car in manhattan pounding it with their fists and feet. you can see for yourself that even that one point smashed the hood and the window. ted williams is a former d.c. police detective, defense attorney and fox news contributor. that's incredibly difficult video to watch in at one point one of those bike riders throws down his bike, jumps up on the hood and starts jumping on the windshield to the point where it cracked. knowing that that man and his mother is sitting in the front seat. >> i looked at that video over and over and it is so shocking to see young people in new york, approximately around 25 of them. one of them jumped on the hood of that car and you have a man and his mother in there, you

have to wonder, where were the police? i can tell you. it lies in the fact that new york has defunded its police department and has taken millions of dollars away from its police department and disbanded susan police units there in new york. and morale is extensively low on that police department. that's a sad commentary of what's happening in the new york area right now. >> sandra: and the violence crime statistics continue to go up in the city. it's so sad to see. this is compared to 2019, the change that we seen in homicides up 41%. shootings have nearly doubled from 2019, 1,518 shootings. so while there is less police you also have a rising crime rate as well. >> not only that but the

statistics that are out there, that's unfortunately something that's happening all over the country. the morale of many police department's are very low. the criminals are winning. law-abiding citizens don't stand a chance. this was a man and his mother just driving down the street in new york and for this to happen, and i mean there was television cameras that caught it and again you wonder, where were the police? >> sandra: and for those who know new york city this was fifth avenue and 21st street at 4:30 in the afternoon that happened. at the driver of that vehicle set at one point i was afraid they were going to break the window, getting the car, reach in and pull us out. his mother was frantically dialing 911 screaming, we are going to die, they are going to kill us, can't even believe how terrifying that would be. you look around the city and you

wonder what it takes for it to come back if it ever comes back to what it once was. >> you are absolutely right. and what it's going to take for our politicians to get some backbone and take back the city from the criminal element. i understand that they arrested 115-year-old kid in regards to this horrific incident there but i hope that politicians wake up. it's about law-abiding citizens, it's not about the rights of the criminals. it seems that unfortunately we are more concerned about the rights of the criminal element than we are about law-abiding citizens all over the country. >> sandra: fox news contributor and all around good louisiana man, thanks for being here this morning. happy new year to you. >> leland: a great conversation, happy new year. we are getting an update on the

investigation of the christmas day bombing in nashville. growing scrutiny on how authorities handled a red flag warning about the bomber last year, was this preventable? plus a gavin newsom announces a multibillion-dollar plan to get kids back into the classroom. but for angry parents, a lot are saying it's too little, too la late. >> we also want to improve our efforts to get everybody moving in a similar direction to be back on track across the spectrum by early spring of 2021. only pay for what you need. liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. vicks vapopatch. easy to wear with soothing vicks vapors for her, for you, for the whole family.

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>> sandra: it's just past 11:00 a.m. on the east coast and the president and first lady just departed from florida to the white house a day earlier than expected. no real word yet on why he is leaving a day early but there he goes on board air force one as the stalemate over the stimulus checks continues. we will continue to follow that. >> elementary schools can open but only if they submit a safety plan to both local and state officials. we are going to work together through the legislative process because we are proposing early action legislative plans to provide an additional $2 billion of support to the schools. particularly schools that plan to open as early as february.

>> leland: governor newsom announcing to billion dollar plan to get kids back in the classroom, this as consulting firms donate half billion to the effort. here to talk about it is california congressman elect. good to see you sir, and welcome back to the program. have you signed a petition yet? >> i signed the petition and have signed onto the fact that this governor had plenty of opportunity early in the recall to change his direction and return to regular order to the liberty of californians and wouldn't do it. in the latest move this idea that after teachers have gotten their vaccine shots we needed special rules for them to go back to school. it's just another example of his placating the teachers union. at that $2 billion he's offering, that's all about a

buyout, additional money for teachers and additional pay for teachers, the usual. >> leland: recalls of california governors art nouveau, but only one has been successful and that was governor davis. it was the special election that arnold schwarzenegger one back in 2003. you can't beat somebody with nobody, are you going to take on newsom if a a special election happens? >> i led the 2003 recall but the one thing that i know is the characters who will come in, many of them very, very qualified such as kevin faulconer and the outgoing mayor and many others, we aren't going to have a shortage of good candidates, people who have a vision for california working on succeeding again. those who sign on to help the recall for the most part need to recognize that when it qualifies, they need to step aside and let the candidates

emerge. >> leland: so you're saying there's a chance. [laughter] >> what i'm saying is that i'm going to give the governor every chance to stop digging a hole every day because if you won't stop digging a hole in the hole will bury him. >> leland: you point out though that the governor hasn't stopped. the recall effort if anything emboldened him a little bit. the sound bite he played, i think you need a whiteboard or something to try to diagram it out. we will work together through a legislative process because we are proposing early action legislative plan to work together so they can submit a plan. since when does that work? >> it works very well when you give $2 million to the teachers union. that's really what this is all about and there is no excuse not to simply have these teachers who have been vaccinated return to the classroom with regular and ordinary care for these young people who are known to be

at extremely low risk. this is what's happening in private education but public education is still shut down almost exclusively in california and the teachers unions want this extra perk and he's going to give it to them. >> leland: let me just get back to the recall since you have such expertise. 600,000 signatures still needed to get to the 1,000,005 and then it's game on for special election? >> then it's game on. that half-million dollars that was put in means almost a million letters are going to go out with a ballot or a petition on there that five people can fill out. if 10% return them from that million then you end up with more than 500,000 coming back from that donation. so it's a question of putting it in the hands. if you go to a restaurant in

san diego and they are open in defiance of the governor i can tell you that everyone that walks and is happy to sign the recall because whether it's the owner or the restaurant patrons, they are in there knowing this governor is unfairly hampering their rights. so there's no shortage of people to sign, you still have to get a ballot in front of them. >> leland: it's important in perspective tell us what the many means, number one because we've been reporting about it but number two we had andrew grewal who talked about just those issues. congressman elect, former congressman and former chairman, we will see you back in washington and the next couple of weeks. >> sandra: the fbi just handed over the nashville bombing crime scene to the police after completing its work at the site, that's despite an ongoing controversy about how a red flag warning about the bomber was handled back in 2019. mike tobin is live with more on that this morning.

>> they also released 911 calls out here and that release reveals a few things. first of all a lot of people heard the sound of gunfire before the warning blared out of speakers in that rv. the sound of gunfire still hasn't been explained. the warning scared a lot of people and then there was a blast. >> there have been three rounds of gunshots inside the building. >> there is a recording out there that saying there's a limited time to evacuate this area, there's a large bomb inside the vehicle. >> there was a big fiery explosion on top of the buildi building. but i'm nowhere near. >> my entire building just fell down it it's collapsing. >> federal investigators have now turned over control of the blast site to local authorities. among other things that means public works can get to clean up and inspect buildings to determine if they are safe to return. the chief of nashville metro

police is defending his officers after an incident report was discovered from last year documenting that the girlfriend of the suspected bomber told police that anthony warner was building bombs. chief andrew drake says the tip was not enough and the police did not have the evidence needed for a search warrant. >> at no time was their suspicion that a crime is being committed and also we have no legal basis to go into warner's fenced in yard or home during august 2019. no additional action was taken, and to the best of my knowledge no other reports or information about warren came into the police department. >> chief drake says his officers could have followed up more but hindsight is 20/20. >> leland: on this new year's eve iran is getting an up-close look at american military strength. to b-52s have flown over the

persian gulf. what prompted the united states order that mission? at first, andrew cuomo is allowing fans to attend the buffalo bills playoff game and a new lawsuit says new york city restaurant owners disagree. why, when we come back. >> new york pointed out first, it's not a question of reopening the economy or public health. we said from day one it was doing both and we were right and we are still right. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ for every trip you've been dreaming of, expedia has millions of flexible booking options. because the best trip is wherever we go together. ♪ >> leland: becky hom and is in the history books as a first woman to ever coach a team in the nba. the assistant coach of the san antonio spurs took over after the coach was ejected from the game. she said that part was a bit of a disappointment.

>> i did not walk into the arena thinking i would be coaching tonight but that's the way things go when you roll with it and i would have liked a different outcome. overall i would have loved to have gotten a win. >> leland: even like or lebron james offered him into a congratulations for a job well done. hammond was a three-time all-american and colorado state and she played for you new york liberty, san antonio stars, wnba and then was a full first full time assistant coach the nba. >> are you smart and safe and reopening? that's the challenge in 2021. a football playoff game obviously is outdoors which is a much better situation from coke would spread and the stadium is a controlled venue. >> sandra: new york governor andrew cuomo they are giving the okay for fans to attend the upcoming buffalo bills playoff game in orchard park.

1600 spectators must be allowed in and they must test negative for covid. gayle trotter, what do you think about this? >> it's interesting because the governor's mansion offers restaurant quality food but not on nfl football playoffs. andrew cuomo is likely as petty tyrants we see that are abusing their power. i personally welcome this dose of sanity for the nfl playoff game but i don't celebrate the arbitrary commands of all of these wannabe dictators around the country. americans want to be able to make their own decisions and american consumers want to make choices about how they engage in commerce. we see these bureaucrats and enacting the schoolmarm rules

that are made to protect citizens from themselves but it doesn't make any sense to allow 7,000 people together in a sports stadium and yet say that a few dozen people cannot gather in a restaurant with only 25% capacity. that will go down in the history books about these terrible decisions made in 2020. >> sandra: here is more from the governor and his plans for reopening. >> can you use a rapid testing to reopen businesses safely? if you can do it in buffalo, 7,000 people, but it's outdoors and it's controlled. well, if it works they are, can you do madison square garden? can you do a certain capacity in a restaurant? so restaurants could start to reopen safely. that is the road that we are looking at. >> president trumpa >> sandra: a

class action lawsuit for keeping us restaurants closed indefinitely. "the new york post" takes on his rules and this morning's, can -- no scientific basis for its rules. contact tracing shows that 1.43% of covid cases were linked to bars and restaurants and religious activities were just .69% of cases. the overwhelming majority, 73.48% were tied to private household gatherings which brings up the bigger question that restaurant owners keep asking, why are you sending everybody indoors back into their houses when that's when they are having private gatherings not wearing masks and possibly encouraging the spread more than if they were to go out to dinner? >> these were arbitrary commands and the science doesn't back them up, and it makes you wonder what's motivating these types of decisions. i think it's important to know that with all these lawsuits the courts can't protect us from all of these arbitrary decisions and

as justice alito said in his speech about a month ago, thought democracy and the liberty resides in the hearts of the people and so people cannot trust on the courts to make this all better. they've got to take action themselves and when you see not just governor cuomo but these bureaucrats and politicians across the country making these arbitrary decisions that go against science, that's not the american science. they have liberty and make these decisions for themselves and i think as we welcoming a new year we should say goodbye to they want to be tyrants to these bureaucrats and to the schoolmarm type government regulations. it's high time. >> sandra: gayle trotter, good to have you this morning and happy new year. >> happy new year to you, too. >> leland: it's been one year since the killing of iran's top terror leader and the united states air force has just now flying b-52s over the porch mike persian gulf has a warning to the regime in tehran.

so will the ayatollah was sent to the american's warning? >> to the iranians, if you are going to try to do something on president trump's watch you better be ready for a big push back. be careful what you do with trump.

>> leland: on this new year's eve the united states is sending a message to iran by flying bombers over the persian gulf. dan hoffman, former cia station chief in fox news contributor, danna, exactly a year ago we were talking about what with the united states to do in response to these i rocky militias, outside of the embassy in

baghdad and firing rockets at the embassy. does that change the iranian calculus over the last year? >> i think that strike against the leaders of the proxy militias, i think that did restore what we call escalation dominance for the united states. iran is trying to project power in iraq and the middle east at a large and they will try to take the strongest kinetic action they think they can get away with without provoking a u.s. response which would end iran's regime. >> leland: this is the tweet from the iranian foreign minister. instead of fighting covid donald trump and cohorts waste billions to fly b-52s and send our modest to our region. intelligence for iraq indicates the pretext for war and iran does not seek war but in capital

letters, openly and directly defend its people, security and vital interests. interpret that for us. >> first of all it's important to note that that message is coming from the foreign minister and not from iran security apparatus come up their military and intelligence. the foreign minister is making it essentially a soft power diplomatic statements. and unrest to chaos not just the middle east but all over the middle east. >> leland: we saw the bombing in yemen against the government there, if you imagine iran is the kid walking up to the electric fence and tapping his hand against it until he gets the big shocker, how close are they to drawing a big u.s. response?

>> they are close. those proxy are iranian militias, years ago those militias were launching attacks against our embassy and against our installations with impunity and that's not happening anymore. the president has been clear, one american gets killed in the response will be significant. so i think we have drawn a redline and this of administration has been serious about enforcing it. >> leland: it's noteworthy how quiet iran has been in the last year, especially after his killing. dan, we appreciate your insight, good to see you. >> you, too. happy new year. >> sandra: 2021, here we come. at new year celebrations beginning around the world and here's a look at sidney. up next, more celebrations happening across the globe on a new year's eve like no other.

physica♪

>> sandra: at this the song goes, it's 5:00 somewhere pay the same true for cities have i said goodbye to 2020, and they've already rung in the new year pay tokyo and folks in

auckland, new zealand, celebrating in a year nearly six hours ago. check out "new york post" front page cover, it sums it up, leland. good riddance to table 2020. happy new year, leland. >> leland: happy new year to you, happy new year to you at home. here's to a great 2021. "outnumbered" starts now. speeeleven fox news alert, just days away from tuesday's crucial georgia senate runoffs, when voters decide which party will be controlling the u.s. senate paid coming up in 2021. republicans are highlighting what they call the largest and most aggressive voter integrity operation in state history. the g.o.p. recruiting with an 8,000 volunteers to serve as poll watchers, double brought into monitor early voting. meantime, president trump and president-elect biden said to hold dueling rallies the day before