>> don't miss a moment in 2021. download the fox news app, scan the qr code, happy new year. >> such an honor to start the year off with both of you. >> enjoy it, it's a friday. >> fox news alert as we have new developments in the battle for the georgia senate race just in the past couple of hours, senator david perdue was now sitting out the campaign under quarantine after coming into contact with a staffer who tested positive for covid just four days before election day in two races down in georgia that will determine the balance of power in washington. good morning, welcome to a new year's edition of america's new year. i'm leland. >> here we are in the first day of 2021, sandra smith is off today. while senator perdue sits off the final days of this campaign and quarantine, with

kelly loeffler, her opponent about to hold a campaign event an hour from now while produce challenger has questions on china including this one from our own peter doocy. >> are you concerned that through a payment to a well-known young democrat, somebody linked to china or the chinese for another company could be trying to influence you. >> come on, man. you're a serious reporter. >> molly: a lot of ground to cover their in georgia and peter doocy doing it for us is in lagrange georgia. >> i saw that clip and released a statement in response. "instead of giving georgians the answers they deserve, john also decided to be flippant and dismissive about concerns the chinese communist party may be targeting him. a accused kelly loeffler of

campaigning with a klansman which she denies and explained an interview interview in gainesville yesterday. >> to his specific claim that you were out here campaigning with a klansman, do i have that story right? >> asked, and we kicked him out immediately. that was absolutely what we had to do. i had no idea who he was. i denounce that. i do not believe in it and has no place around our campaign. >> as far as you know, that was a one-time event. >> absolutely, we won't stand for that. >> we don't know when we will see david perdue on the trail again, he is quarantining until a negative test after close contact with the staffer who has covid, not clear he is going to be able to make it to the trump rally on his behalf and will be competing for attention with a

bite and rally in the state that they and today, georgians phones may be ringing with a robocall for door knocks from michelle obama. >> this is michelle obama reminding you that you have the power to change things in the upcoming senate runoff election. in i'm asking you to vote for reverend raphael warnock because i know you'll work with joe biden to help make health care more affordable. >> we haven't seen him on the ground here in days. he has imposed at any public events since accusations of misconduct's world but we do expect to see him at a drive-in event here in lagrange about an hour and 15 minutes from now. >> molly: peter doocy on the trail for us. thank you so much. >> leland: we bring in tom bevan, editor of real clear politics, good to see you as always, we appreciate it. what do you make of the fact that he's been off the trail for a couple of days?

>> it doesn't seem to have affected his campaign in terms of where the polls say this race stands, still very, very close. democrats are performing well in the early vote better than they did in the november 3rd election and quite frankly, both of these candidates on both sides are campaigning as teams. >> leland: and peter talk to don allsop about that issue, do the charges filter down to both people on the democratic ticket and he said no to peter and then went on some other issues. you look at the early georgia voting members, 2.812 million total ballots cast, here is what karl rove had to say about it. in person voting is a couple of points more democratic than it was in the fall, joe biden won georgia by about a point or so. do his coattails translate to

come down for a rally? >> so it's tough to say, democrats are banking a lot of their high propensity voters right now in the early vote. that's what they are doing again right now, for republicans the question is does donald trump energize republicans to turn out on election day because republicans are going to need 800,000, 900,000 voters to show up on election day. they had 1 million show up on november 3rd and will need close to that on january 5th to be able to overcome the early vote that democrats have already put in the bank to the question is whether donald trump is going to be able to energize republican voters who have to turn out on january 5th. >> leland: what does history tell us about that? obviously, remarkable ca campain for himself. does that translate down ballot? >> it hasn't really. and the midterms, it didn't. and the general election, he did but he's not on the ballot but

he's also been railing against the vote in georgia so how many republican voters who like donald trump believe that this election was stolen from them a few weeks ago are going to turn out a vote for kelly loeffler and david perdue on january 5th even of its 5,000 or 10,000 voters, you say this is going to be a fraud again, not going to go do it, that could be enough. the races are going to be this tight, we won't even know the winners on election. we will have to wait for a day or even more. >> leland: we didn't know the winter for a couple of days back in november. peter doocy's question, multiple questions to joh john, does thae voters minds? >> we don't really, but this seems to be very few swing voters in georgia and it's all

about turning out, of that attack doesn't resonate with democrats at all and they're going to turn out and vote for both of their candidates just like republicans will turn out and vote for both of their candidates. it is about both parties turning out there voters and getting them to the polls. republicans would need a big effort for january 5th. >> leland: the real clear politics average for polls has become universally used in the media and around but we are not hearing as much about pulling in these races and that 1.8 in his race. it's how much do we discount the polls this time around because of how wrong they were november? >> is a little more complicated than that. some of the polls are wrong, some posters were wrong, others got it pretty right in the polls in georgia actually show that race being very competitive

which is what it was. harder to hold a special election and with turnout and election day on january 5th right after the first of the year, it's harder to gauge whether people will actually turn out on that day. so a little complicated but very close a few weeks ago, suddenly going to be a blowout on one side or the other. >> leland: in addition to hundreds of millions of dollars that are being spent, had the very biggest conservatives comi, michelle obama and president obama and now president trump heading down there on monday. appreciate you waking up on new year's morning for us in great conversation. >> happy new year, lee lynn. thank you. >> molly: developing this morning, seeing its first

confirmed case of the more infectious train discovered in the u.k. cases have also been detected in colorado and california. where an explosion of cases of overwhelmed hospital systems. gillian turner is live in washington paired what do we know so far? >> as far as we know, the new strain of coronavirus arrived in florida late last night just in time for the new year and it comes as officials across the united states are already closely tracking this highly contagious variant of the virus that first appeared in colorado and california earlier this week, that after it across the pond to the united states from britain. the florida health department tweeted at 8:15 last night, "florida has evidence in martin county. the individual as a male in his 20s with no history of travel. on this investigation, we encourage all to continue practicing covid-19 mitigation.

yesterday, dr. fauci told nbc news of the u.s. isn't considering altering vaccine dosing regimens in response to the new variant. is believed to be far more contagious than the original covid-19. take a listen. >> right now, we are not doing that, but in discussions we have had about what the options are certainly that is not been completely rejected but it's not going to happen. you want to do it based on the science. >> colorado's governor told fox news just yesterday before news of the florida strain had been released that thing so far at least in his home state were relatively under control. take a listen. >> so we have the second case which is not been definitively identified, is somebody in the same chain of exposure is another guardsman? so you have two that were

potentially. >> florida public health has confirmed a fox news that the patient in florida is a man in his 20s, he does not have any history of recent travel. he is also living out of martin county. we will bring you developments on this as they happen. >> molly: thank you very much for tracking that for us. we want to bring in dr. marc siegel, fox news contributor, professor of medicine at nyu langone and is also the author of "covid, the politics of fear and the power of science." thank you for being here, happy new year. welcome to 2021. some hope ahead here with the vaccine rolling out. julian just gave us the rundown about yet another individual that has now been diagnosed with a new strain, a few facts about this person. we know he is 20 years old, lives in florida, martin county and the strain has also been detected in california and colorado as well. this individual, the most

recently diagnosed person has no history of travel so what does this tell us? does it tell us this new strain that was first identified in the u.k. in september's coast here in america? >> not yet. it's very important that health officials in florida try to figure out who this 20-year-old individual was in contact with and if they couldn't figure out a travel history on someone's part that may be brought it and spread it to him and help us to figure out how extensive it is in this county in florida. that's the key. we have epidemiological evidence, public health evidence of this is more transmissible than the other strain, much more, but its laboratory confirmation that really happens here and i want everyone to know the concern here is that the strain has a survival advantage because if it is more easily transmissible, it can spread from person to person much more easily than the other strain, but that doesn't necessarily mean that that will happen. we do that with a lot of virus viruses. we test that with the flu every

year, here comes an emerging strain, more contagious. is it going to take over and become the predominant strain? that's the question rather than an answer. we don't know yet but we certainly have to be on our guard and take this very serious from a public health point of view. >> molly: what is a tell you that also colorado and california has been detected? >> it depends on how they got there come over these travelers that travel to california? they haven't attracted to the u.k., right? but may be someone traveled from u.k. to california and spread it through another person. we don't know how many people total have it but it's clear it's in the united states now and it's clear that it's more than just three or four people too. >> molly: i want to shift gears to vaccination, the distribution and challenges we are facing here in the country. a pretty ambitious goal was set to get 20 million people vaccinated, more than 14 million doses have been sent all across the country with a 20 million gold by the end of the year,

here we are heading into 2021 and just 2.8 million or so have received their first dose, those numbers expected to be a little nagging, still counting the numbers up, but not at the point of that very ambitious goal that we set. why not? >> there's a lot of reasons, not as much was sent down as we thought although it's been about 15 million doses so far and the vaccination centers are not running 24/7 the way they are in some other countries like israel and there's a lot of holiday in place, some of this the blame has to fall on the states, some of this has to do with this becomes more important of course in the discussion of this emerging strain coming out that i actually agree with what dr. fauci said in the previous report and let me explain this. the idea of giving more people in the vaccine in the first dose without knowing for sure that they have the second dose could be a big mistake because there's

no evidence for scientifically that the first dose doesn't wear off over time. when i vaccinate people, and i do it all the time saved for hepatitis b or hepatitis a or for shingles, whatever i'm doing, i've got to know that the next doses there or i have to redo the whole series. if we know for sure that we have an a for the second dose, we can do it that way. we can make sure everyone gets the required two doses to bring them up to 95% immunity. the pharmacies are going to get involved so in 2021 now and january or going to see pharmacies getting a rollout and i predict the numbers will zoom up over the next couple of wee weeks. >> molly: we most certainly have hope of that happening, that would be wonderful beginning in 2021, a lot of folks waiting, that's for sure. dr. siegel, thank you so much for joining us in this first day of 2021. >> great to be on with you, happy new year, molly. >> leland: speaking of the

vaccine, new york city mayor bill de blasio's promising 1 million city residents will be vaccinated within a month but the state has just received about 630,000 doses. data reportedly shows less than a third of those have been administered so far and the chairman of the new york city health council says half a million health care workers have been vaccinated and the city is far beyond where it needs to be. >> molly: violent crimes or ring in big cities the country as democrats push to defund the police but is that movement losing momentum? alexandria ocasio-cortez emma ae squad in exchange for supporting her bid for another term as speaker? will pelosi caved to the squad? >> folks like pelosi and maxine waters look reasonable because of so many to their left and that's exactly what they are

saying is here's our agenda, speaker pelosi, if you want to have that gavel again, this is what you're going to push. compl, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. whoo-hoo! great tasting ensure with 9 grams of protein, 27 vitamins and minerals, and nutrients to support immune health. ...little things... ...can become your big moment. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines,

and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you.

>> leland: welcome back. we run through the headlines

quickly. david perdue is in quarantine in off the trail after coming in contact with someone in his campaign who tested positive for the virus for days before election day in georgia, senator perdue and his wife have both tested negative. >> molly: president-elect biden on a honoring front-line workers in his new year's eve address and saying they rest their lives and their families so we could be safe and that all americans appreciate what they do. >> leland: taking you to wuhan, china, the epicenter of the pandemic packed with people on new year's eve. the big crowds were a stark contrast to other major cities where there were a lot smaller celebrations this year especially in new york city, times square was almost empty. and more on these stories in more and also pictures from new year's eve around the world, download the fox news app or by scanning a qr code on your screen or go to

foxnews.com/apps. >> molly: a new year could mean new laws going into effect in some of them are in response to the death of george floyd at the hands of police. bans on police choke holds are now in place in six states and georgia has a new law protecting police from biased, motivated act of the violence. laura ingle is live in new york. we're also seeing some new laws around the pandemic, right? good morning. >> good morning britt the biggest news of 2020 has helped to shape some of the biggest changes to laws we are going to see go into effect today including the death of george floyd and the coronavirus pandemic. let's take a look at what we have going on. george floyd has died at the hands of the minneapolis police officer while in custody in may sparked widespread protests and demonstrations around the world calling for police reform as we know so states including california, delaware, iowa,

new york, oregon, and utah past bans on police choke holds and in georgia, to go antivirus laws are now in effect, one is imposing more penalties for hate crimes while the other protects police from bias motivated acts of violence. meanwhile, voters in arizona, montana, new jersey, and south dakota approving measures to legalize recreational marijuana hoping to bring much-needed revenue to a state economy reeling from covid. >> there are enough people already using it and doing it illegally. it's better that the state gets tax revenue from it. >> at some of the coronavirus laws going into effect today with those offering to help essential workers and bolstering unemployment benefits and requiring a time off for sick employees. the state of alabama passed a resolution to encourage fist bumps over handshakes to stop the spread and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are planning to work in 2021 that are focused

on pandemic response including how to open schools safely and how to deal with those powers and those of the things we are looking to this year. >> molly: a lot of challenges getting that vaccine going. we appreciate it. >> will you vote for nancy pelosi as speaker? >> what i'm going to do is make sure the voices of the people of st. louis are heard and that we have what we need, so you will find out then. to my congressman elect cory busch refusing to say whether she plans to back nancy pelosi's bid for another term as speaker. progressives are now pressuring congresswoman alexandria causey of cortez and other members of the squad to force pelosi's hand on medicare for all demanding that she got my meaning speaker pelosi back a single care of mack payer system if she wants their support for reelection as speaker. we bring in our panel from a former regional director for the

national editorial committee and the policy resolution group and cohost, we got through your resume so now the segment is over, it took too long. a former dnc deputy press secretary. appreciate you both joining us. jose, how much power given the thin democratic majority do progressives really have? >> the fact of the matter is in this case talking about medicare for all, they don't have the votes. i think it's a waste of time for progressives to try to push aoc to make or do with brett for nancy pelosi. nancy pelosi is not going anywhere, she is going to get need to be speaker of the house, she's a phenomenal speaker, we need someone who knows how to negotiate, without experience in washington. >> molly>> leland: quite a statt on your part and noteworthy a note worth mentioning that it's

almost universally a bad bet. you're talking about progressives that have been sort of pressuring pelosi but more importantly pressuring the squ squad. this is an nfl player who said this, take a look at his tweet. "if aoc emma squad don't do what jimmy dore is suggesting, withhold their vote for nancy pelosi unless it gets brought to the floor for a voteg themselves power conceive nothing without a demand. alexandria causey of court to responding with how politics work. there isn't enough response given to step two. greater margin, so hold your vote and lose and then what? look at the cosponsor. how do republicans exploit this? >> i think jose is exactly right

in the sense that progressives do have to be careful what they wish for it and it's interesting to see aoc take this of being the seasoned veteran here, the realist when it comes to progressive values. already seeing republicans really try to exploit this particularly even in georgia just saying if you give democrats full control in the house and the senate and the white house, they will do all these big things but i think to hosea's point, the idea that you will get aoc and those who agree on medicare for all or joe manchin and let's say raphael warnock to agree on anything, so it's a balancing act for everybody, republicans are going to beat this one as far as they can and write it but it's tough to see democrats split these narrow holes that they have or pelosi will have a balancing act on her hands. two methods is an important point because republicans learned in 2017 and 2018 how difficult it was to get things

done when trying to do with the most extreme members of your caucus and often times perfect is the enemy of good. what's the lesson for democrats now in 2021 whether they'll have the white house, the house and potentially the senate? >> i think aoc is burning her stripes here. we were seeing a little bit of this in here and the understanding is he were no longer the insurgent if you want to accomplish things. >> leland: i was asking jose that. still there, jose? >> thank you. let me just have this quickly. we have to remember the american people elected joe biden to be next president of the united states and he should set the agenda for the united states for the next four years and he has been against medicare for all, he said it from the beginning he wants to improve obamacare. we need to improve it and he understands we need a lower cost and when you try to go all the way to the left and i think

republicans will agree with me with this, they have trouble trying to get their agenda set forth when they have the tea party. we are having trouble when we have the altar left. biden was elected president looking to go back to the center. he wants to bring republicans to the table and i'm hopeful he will elect a republican somewhere in his cabinet and within his white house, his administration but to the point, pelosi is here to stay, we need to look for ways to work for republicans and we need to move this country forward. >> leland: is much has republicans have worked against nancy pelosi and you point out rightly, she is a fabulous foil in the polling shows that in somewhere like georgia, is it better than the w don't? >> aoc has set herself even among people that want new leadership in the party, there is one waiting there to step up, so i think republicans are going to exploit that, i don't think

anyone is quite as scary. anyone that steps into those shoes is going to be demonized and that demagogue but for now, she is serving her purpose and i think republicans will be sorry when she's gone. >> leland: one point in the last congress, the combined ages of democratic leadership in the top three posts was roughly equal to that of the republican. is a breath of fresh air and a new generation that's going to be able to take over not from the far left but from the midd middle? >> we should. we should continue to encourage more citizens to run for office. we need more representation, latino representation, african-american representation. we should do that and i think that's part of the responsibility of the democratic party and the republican party, we need more young people to run for office. in >> molly: i think both sides agree on that and there is young talent on both sides coming up.

liam and jose come appreciated. happy new year. great conversation. in >> molly: police in new york arresting a teenager in a violent attack that crashed two cars in broad daylight with a 15-year-old boy insisting he was not even there. leads to group attacks happening on manhattan's fifth avenue. videos of that wild scene that went viral on social media. the teen has been released from juvenile custody and now awaits a virtual appearance in family court. >> leland: has calls from some democrats and defund the police. what president elect vita needs to do to turn things around to the police plus, actress lori loughlin is out of prison and looking to the future. what does she want to do now?

when it comes to autism, finding the right words can be tough. finding understanding doesn't have to be. together, we can create a kinder, more inclusive world for the millions of people on the autism spectrum. go to autismspeaks.org

the sleep number 360 smart bed. prices of the season on can it help with snoring? i've never heard snoring. ...exactly. no problem. ...and done. and now, the queen sleep number 360 c2 smart bed is only $899. plus, no interest until january 2024. ends monday.

i was covered from head to toe with it. it really hurt. then i started cosentyx. okay, thanks... that was four years ago. how are you? see me. cosentyx works fast to give you clear skin that can last. 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. i look and feel better. ask your dermatologist if cosentyx could help you move past the pain of psoriasis. to customizes yourcan gocar insurancetual.com so you only pay for what you need? really? i didn't-- aah! ok. i'm on vibrate. aaah! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ to map welcome back. the lockheed martin armed forces bowl ended in an all-out brawl as players from mississippi state began punching, kicking and shoving each other for the coaches tried to get in the middle and that didn't work. the bulldogs of mississippi had won the game 28-26 when the melee landed, one tulsa player had to be helped off the field

and was examined for a possible concussion we still don't know what started the fight. >> molly: the defund the police movement could be backfiring for democrats especially in liberal cities that have seen a violent crime skyrocket. voters are up 40% in new york city while philadelphia is on track to break a record for homicide. president-elect biden wants to address it by using the justice department to police the police. is that the right move? joining us now, former deputy assistant attorney general, thank you so much for giving us in the new year. they are in dire straits if you take a look at the homicide numbers, chicago which has made so many headlines over the course of this last year, 762 murders, philadelphia 494, new york, houston, los angeles, pretty significant numbers, is

it the right way to go? >> these numbers are troubling indeed and i think they underscore a real challenge that president biden is going to face when he takes office and that he has to manage the calls from the more liberal elements of his party to defund the police, restructure the police with the fact that if you pursue police reform in a way that discourages or revitalizes a case, could have consequences. the justice department's role in overseeing is something that is rare when invoked only in extraordinary circumstances. shouldn't by any stretch of the imagination become the standard operating procedure. >> molly: we do have a little more insight into what the biden campaign is. "the justice department will again use its authority to root out unconstitutional or unlawful policing. they will reverse the limitations put in place under

president trump and biden will abort leadership who prioritizes using practices to strengthen our justice system where they also promised to expand and use the power of the u.s. justice department to address systemic misconduct and police department's and prosecutors offices. so what does this mean for police departments across the country? >> it means that there is going to be a new sheriff in town. biden has been saying he wants to take a very different approach that was pursued under the trump administration. there is a precedent for the justice department supervising and rare and extraordinary cases the performance of local police departments, but i think they need to be exceedingly careful that they don't cross the line where you have a situation where folks in washington are micromanaging the operations of local police departments throughout america. that's not how this is structured. law enforcement is a state function in the local function

and you go to washington in the justice department when you have a documented series of abuses. >> molly: the question is what does this mean that have seen such huge spikes in violent crime? >> i think they need to say to president-elect biden on one hand, there has been some cases that need to be addressed, need to make whatever reforms make sense but those reforms need to be put in place in a way that doesn't jeopardize public safety, so first and foremost function of government is ensuring the safety, protecting law-abiding citizens from criminals and if they are agenda of police reform basically undermines the government's ability to protect and ensure the public safety of citizens, then you've got a real problem and you need to start thinking about a different approach. >> molly: we will see what happens here. heading into a new year, hopefully 2021 will see some changes in this upcoming year

and some of this violence going on the downside instead of the other way. thank you so much for your insight, really appreciate it. >> leland: we will tell you about the new claims for larry a baldwin is making after she admitted she was not born -- she was born in boston, not in spain like she told everybody. plus, the new district attorney in los angeles getting sued by its own deputy. what they are calling on the judged queue. >> we filed this lawsuit because you want to make sure our members don't have this terrible choice of do we follow the law or do we follow what our boss is saying. nsurance for veterans like martin. when a hailstorm hit, he needed his insurance to get it done right, right away. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa nicoreyou get advice like: smoking is freaking hard. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. try hypnosis... or...

quit cold turkey. kidding me?! instead, start small. with nicorette. which can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette

>> molly: fresh off of a brief stint in prison, reportedly looking to return to acting.

the full house tour served two months for her role in the college admissions scandal and her husband is serving a five month sentence for his involvement. >> our boss is telling us here in my directives, here is what i want you to do but what he wants to do is in violation of state law and is in violation of our oath to uphold the state constitution. >> leland: the los angeles county deputy district attorney association is suing their new boss, george gaskin over his criminal justice reforms asking a judge to block his orders and want people to ease up on sentencing for certain crimes and with that, we bring in mercedes callan, nice to see you. we will dig a little bit deeper into the directives and here's what it is, no longer prosecuting the death penalty, no longer prosecuting

misdemeanors, misdemeanors are a low level felonies are referred to terminal programs. have you heard anything like this? >> it is certainly a big push for justice reform around the country but what's happening in california is particularly controversial because you look at "l.a. times" times reporting in early december that homicides were up by 300, that shootings a rep by 30% so in this wave of crime that's happening in california, they stepped up and said wait. >> leland: i've ever heard of a union suing the boss? >> it absolutely happens, not very common, it is a very bold move but as a union representative stated, either they follow the special directives by their new d.a. or they violate what they believed to be the oath of office to uphold state law.

>> leland: there are some judges who agree with the deputy d.a. because they quoted them in the lawsuit. here is one judge. "i understand it came from the top of my meeting with the district attorneys have been asked to do. i understand why you're making the motion but the court will deny the motion. you have an ethical duty to do your job and proceed with prosecution. you should not be allowed to abandon the prosecution at this juncture so that as a judge saying essentially i am not going to go ahead with the request of the d.a.'s office because she didn't agree with it. that's a new one, isn't it? >> this is definitely a variable moved by the union and it's meant to have that message, even more aggressive in the justice reform had enacted or tried to through these special directives saying you can't have special enhancements for sex abuse or other issues such as gang

related issues so it is rolling back on this lawsuit is another bold move and hopefully the justice department and certainly the judge presiding over these cases will take a look at this and say there is some .2a. right now, just in the couple of days that it's been, they are trying to do what's called a temporary restraining order meaning if it stop these types of special directives from being enacted. already enacted within the office but stop them from being enforced by the d.a. they have been very vocal about these justice reforms because that was the platform. >> leland: not only was that his platform, he said he was going to run out and people elected him. the one judge said she is not going to go ahead with the request following these guidelines saying that's not what the law is. this is more from the d.a. association on what these changes really mean. take a listen.

>> the law says this d.a. has said that they are not going to do that. the problem is, you come of the voters and they have approved this law. >> leland: at the same time, the voters elected the new d.a. on this platform. he was clear about what he was going to do. so is this a situation where people's policy? >> it's funny you should say that. i think the most controversial change he is trying to make with special directives is the three strike law and it's very clear. has been enacted and on the books for many, many years but says that if you are convicted of three violent felonies, your mandatory sentencing is 25 years to life. her another chance for special directives is the fact that gang-related crimes don't have enhancements so all of these very bold changes that this d.a.

is trying to make of course is going to be led with a lot of controversy because there's a law that says very clearly by the union that these bold directives by this d.a. simply put is trying to usurp the legislative power. these are laws on the books. we are required by the oath of office to enforce those laws and by using the special directives to usurp legislation, to usurp what happens in november to eliminate cash bail was not voted into office. he is also putting in any special directives no cash bail for note nonviolent crimes so that's why the union has stepped in and said this has to stop, these have to be analyzed and we need your help with this bill. >> leland: often times, you have the law of unintended consequences and from your experience, how long would we have to go with these new provisions being enacted because

something he's not done in the judge may rule on but there are certain changes he's going to be able to make. how long until that translates into more crime on the street? >> honestly, you could almost see it happening. in fact, this last press conference that was reported by the "los angeles times," there was a press conference where d.a. gaskin was talking about these justice reforms and they were victims families there that were saying you can't do this, they were two victims families probed in this particular report where their children were brutally murdered and tortured and get gang related issues and who aren't gang-related given to the perpetrators so i do think there is going to be momentum depending on what enhancements are taken by the judge but certainly perceived by the victim's families that this is

really dangerous and it's a dangerous message to the criminal elements in california already under siege with such an increase of crime in 2020. >> leland: and all the folks leaving california if they can come on one of the reasons they cite is the rise in crime. thank you, great conversation. >> my pleasure, have a great year. >> molly: held area baldwin's former dance partner is sounding off in a scandal surrounding her heritage. plus, one driver takes the term epic fail to a whole new level. the story behind the parking disaster. so you want to make the best burger ever? then make it!

that means selling everything. and eating nothing but cheese till you find the perfect slice... even if everyone asks you... another burger truck? don't listen to them! that means cooking day and night until you get... [ ding ] you got paid! that means adding people to the payroll. hi mom. that means... best burger ever. intuit quickbooks helps small businesses be more successful with payments, payroll, banking and live bookkeeping.

when mike about a million people packed the streets around times square for the big ball drop last year. this year, the streets were mostly empty at the final moments of 2020 ticked away but the show went on with celebrity

performers entertaining a small group of essential workers saying they've earned it. the general public or band, but you could still watch the whole thing streaming and on tv and comfortably on your couch. >> leland: or you could be asleep. >> molly: i'm with you. >> leland: it's the way to go. nothing can go wrong the first few hours. all right, parking we all know can be tough to master, harder for some of us than others and often have to give it several tries before you can maneuver into a spot. a video of people trying to park and now we will show you what happens when one maryland woman tried to park. there is the after picture, her suv ended up nearly perpendicular to the ground stepping on the gas instead of the brake and a chain-link fence landing on top of some railroad tracks, evidently the train was able to stop before it hit the

car and we could at least laugh a little bit because nobody was hurt. maybe she was finishing her new year's shopping, who knows? >> molly: i feel like this could be happening to anyone. some time weighing the future. >> leland: i wasn't going to say anything, but there you go. >> molly: we are glad everyone's well and that that turned out well. >> leland: all good. the new year with video from portland, oregon, who didn't exactly bring in the new year, they rioted into the new year and with that, we start a brand-new hour of "america's newsroom." that makes at 7:00 a.m. in portland and you can imagine they are still trying to clean up some of the damage they are. >> molly: probably seven major cleanup. a new year, but these all-too-familiar scenes in portland, police declaring a

riot after demonstrators marched through the streets setting off fireworks, breaking windows, setting fires. claudia cowan is live on the west coast, not the way to start 2021, is it? feels a little bit like a throwback. >> portland residents hoping to start the new year off in a peaceful known are waking up disappointed. protesters vandalize storefron storefronts, spray-painted city hall and shot off fireworks as you can see, some also set fires, one garbage can melted down to the pavement. police in riot gear facing off against a crowd that grew to almost 100 people when the protest turned violent, police ordered everyone to leave the area or face arrest, but few heeded the warning and early this morning, police tweeted "a

gathering in downtown portland has devolved into a riot. participants have thrown multiple firebombs at officers and launch commercial grade fireworks at the federal courthouse and justice center. police say rioters tossed at least to comb all the firebombs and launched aerial grade fireworks at the courthouse and justice center. government buildings that have been the flash points were protests that became widespread in portland following the death of george floyd back in may. protesters attacked police with rocks, bricks, frozen water bottles and even paint balloons that police say may have contained some kind of asset that burdens skin, no offers ofs were seriously hurt. with the department of homeland security whose deployment has caused a lot of controversy. some downtown business owners will spend their new year's day cleaning up debris from the latest round of violence.

unclear at this moment how many people were arrested or what charges they may face. >> molly: i can only imagine how fatigued the people that live there in the business owners are. i think you for that report. >> leland: on this new year's day, politics is not taking a rest, new twist into the debate on whether or not you will get it twodollars check from the federal government. senator lindsey graham has broken ranks with majority leader mitch mcconnell who said there is no realistic path to the $2,000 checks in the stand-alone bill but graham now calls for a vote on exactly that saying a stand-alone bill might pass. we bring in cofounder of axios. what are we to make of graham abandoning the leader and going with the president? >> happy new year, and what we're seeing seeing here is to verging interest, so if you are mitch mcconnell, you are thinking down the road, thinking how do i preserve a republican

majority if i prevail in this runoff in georgia or how do i restore the republican majority. so he's thinking post trump where is lindsey graham is still very much in the trump moment speaking to trim voters, trump base, so they have different end games in different audiences. do make you make an excellent point that mitch mcconnell's book is called the long game. few people in washington who are better at playing the long game, only matched by nancy pelosi in the political skill arena. the question would be this. how much of what's happening between mcconnell and trump seem to be at odds in this situation is scripted and how much of it is to go operators with different end games just reacting to each other? >> we see the mcconnell-trump alliance, very rarely been

critical of trump between the lines and was very i guess we could say, very subtle. but what did he get? had an incredibly productive relationship that resulted in the supreme court justices, 200 other lifetime appointments to justices. now mcconnell is thinking out of my navigate in a world where trump is on the outside threatening the primary my offenders, people who could probably win with the republican base will lose in the general election and therefore threaten my majority. it's a very different calculation than he had when he was building strength against the democratic president to come in in 2009 when he was setting himself up as a counterweight to barack obama and of course,

george w. bush couldn't wait to get off the radar but trump, not so much. >> leland: this is an interesting point because you've got some populist republicans if you want to call president trump that and his allies, josh hawley and lindsey graham in this case, how worried his mitch mcconnell and the establishment republican types that regardless of what happens if georgia goes blue and mcconnell is no longer the majority leader that you're going to have some defections and is going to be -- no longer going to be a mitch mcconnell senate? >> you're right. that's the complexity of everyone with these calculations and that's why you've seen them pushing back in surprising ways. we sought three times just in the last week on the $2,000 checks, acknowledging and joe biden trying to tamp down any shenanigans next week when they are certifying the vote

because look at who has come of the trump republicans and who does that include? that includes a lot of house republicans including kevin mccarthy. the house republican, very close to donald trump and look at that long game. the republicans are increasingly optimistic that in november 22nd, 2 years on the mother republicans will flip the house and that means two years from now, kevin mccarthy will probably be speaker of the house. you're right, josh hawley and those other 2024 senators, senators running in 2022 who don't want to be the wrong side of trump, that is a complex calculus. >> leland: real quick, have you heard of anything that could checkmate mcconnell between now and the presidential inauguration that he will have to hold the stand-alone $2,000 vote? >> it's hard to see when

mcconnell declares something, it looks like it is standing in that way, but you know this from being on the hill, it's never done until it's done. there's always a way, they could do something fast if they want to and they could really surprise you if they want to. those tectonic plates are not moving yet. >> leland: so far at least two defections against mitch mcconnell and we will see if there is more. appreciate it, thank you. good to see you. >> molly: democratic candidate raphael warnock is about to hold its first campaign event in several days. this is the georgia senate race enters the home stretch just four days to go before the vote that will decide which party controls the senate. charles watson has more from eastpointe georgia has been watching this race for us. charles? >> good morning and a happy new year. despite all the heavy rain out here. democrat john allsop will be here in eastpointe today to hold

one of those get out the vote rallies and one of his last appeals to voters here in heavily democratic fulton county. he will be here with the naacp trying to get that democratic base out to the polls on election day next tuesday. of course, the democrat is facing some scrutiny from republicans who over a financial disclosure that was amended to include a payment from a company that is going to the chinese communist party. here's what he had to say when pressed by fox news peter doocy about what the chinese company would compromise when elected to the senate. >> my company has produced multiple investigations of atrocities committed by isis war criminals and these 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 purdue campaign released a statement saying "john jon ossoff refuses to take the threat seriously even when he was preyed on via chinese operative and taking payments from the governments for a media company, georgia should be concerned about the dismissiveness of the threat they posed the nation and meanwhile republican senator david perdue is off the campaign trail just four days before election day. he and his wife were in quarantine after being exposed to someone who tested positive for covid-19 and the senator's campaign says purdue and his wife so far have tested negati negative. >> molly: a lot of ground to cover down there, thank you for staying on top of it and stay tuned to fox news this afternoon, we will have an interview from quarantine where he will spend the last days of this campaign coming up at

1:00 p.m. eastern time. >> molly: we are told the u.s. is working to declassify intelligence that suggests china may have put a bounty on u.s. troops in afghanistan. we will talk about the intelligence plus doctors are sounding the alarm on the coronavirus vaccine rollout's saying a vulnerable group is being overlooked. we will tell you who it is. i suffered with psoriasis for so long. 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. five years is just crazy. see me. learn more at cosentyx.com. you're not using too much are you hon? nope... charmin ultra soft is so soft you'll have to remind your family they can use less. charmin ultra soft is twice as absorbent so you can use less. don't worry, there's plenty left for you, dad. we all go, why not enjoy the go with charmin.

>> leland: a restaurant in queens, new york, has lost its liquor license because it hosted a republican club holiday bash, mask list partiers dancing in a conga line and a video of the party, the name of the restaurant went viral and that sparked an investigation by state legal authorities who called the party a potential super-spreader event and found other violations of indoor dining restrictions. at least three of the partygoers tested positive for coronavirus. >> molly: u.s. officials are working to declassify unconfirmed intelligence that suggests china may have offered a bounty to kill american troops in afghanistan. china called reports of the

bounty's fake news. here to talk about is gordon chang, author of the coming collapse of china and a senior fellow. thank you so much. happy new year. glad you were able to spend a few minutes as we begin 2021. i want to start off by saying the information stems from uncorroborated intelligence so not confirmed, first reported by axios, the allegations being that the money was given to fighters somewhere that encouraged to kill u.s. troops in afghanistan. what do you of this report? >> certainly unconfirmed, but we've got to remember china has been selling weapons to militants in afghanistan and obviously those weapons are going to be used against americans and this also mirrors something that happened in iraq where china was selling weapons through iran to militants in iraq obviously used to kill

americans so we know the hostility of the chinese political system to the u.s. so whether this report about the bounties is correct or not, we know that china is indeed hostile to the united states. >> molly: unsurprisingly, they have denied these reports, a spokesperson saying that they pursue independent policy of peace, and we know that china is very aggressive militarily and particularly the south china sea, no doubt about that but it does raise the question that if the reports are nonsense, who would be putting them out? are they trying to affect u.s. china relations? >> it could be elements in afghanistan that are close to china because they were so many different tribes and so many different factions and that of course is something that will eventually get to the bottom of. but clearly, it's clear and on

that statement, china just actually started a war on the first week of may with india this year putting its troops deep into indian-controlled territory, started a war with vietnam in 1975, the list goes on and on despite what the chinese foreign ministry says, china likes to start wars. >> molly: no doubt that we are very questionable in general. this most recent report about a bounty on the heads of u.s. american soldiers reminds me of the report over the summer where russia was accused of essentially the same thing, paying taliban fighters for a bounty on u.s. troops. is there a similarity they are or what you make of that? >> that's really important because we know in general, china and russia will have been coordinating their policies and i'm not surprised that the russians would do something like this with regard to china,

chinese actions directed against the united states usually are what they call salami slicing, very small increments of increases of hostility in order to make sure that we do not respond, so china doesn't want to trigger a response from the u.s. obviously a bounty on american soldiers would be something which would not be china's ammo but it could very well be a reflection of what we've seen elsewhere which is increased commons from china which basically chinese officials talking about killing americans, doing that in public is new in china so this would maybe be an inclination of that. , china has been harming americans for a long time and we have not responded so of course

china is going to up the ante. we need to establish deterrence and we have failed to do that from administration to administration. >> molly: this is hardly the first thing we are seeing where chinese aggression has evolved particularly economically as well, an onslaught of different things where china has pushed back on the u.s. should the u.s. have a stronger policy to push back on china? >> absolutely. china tried to bring down in early 2018. you try to bring down a plane, you are trying to kill the crew and we know it because brain injuries to american deployments at the consulate at the same time and of course, they took steps to deliberately release the coronavirus from their own country that's 346,000 americans who have been killed by this disease. what more evidence to me need? >> molly: you've been an incredible voice on this issue across the board and delighted you are able to take a few minutes with us today, thank you so much and happy new year.

make a bigger issue in 2021. congress will meet in five days to certify the electoral college vote and declare joe biden the official president-elect but not if one republican senator had anything to say about it. next, what josh hawley plans to do. >> this is an opportunity that this is what the statues and the laws, this is the opportunity that i have to raise these issues. this is the point of the proce process. look at this human trying to get in shape.

you know what he will get? muscle pain. give up, the couch is calling. i say, it's me, the couch, i'm calling. pain says you can't. advil says you can. the sleep number 360 smart bed. prices of the season on can it help with snoring? i've never heard snoring. ...exactly. no problem. ...and done. and now, the queen sleep number 360 c2 smart bed is only $899. plus, no interest until january 2024. ends monday.

finding the right words can be tough.n it comes to autism, finding understanding doesn't have to be. together, we can create a kinder, more inclusive world for the millions of people on the autism spectrum. go to autismspeaks.org >> leland: we will run through your headlines for you, held a rare new year's eve session last night to try to break the red lock off of stimulus checks, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is bundling the payments with two other proposals, the democrats and at least some republicans want a stand-alone bill.

>> molly: people were mistakenly given in antibodies treatment instead, the national guard is strengthening protocols to keep it from happening again. >> leland: a former wisconsin hospital pharmacist accused of intentionally ruining hundreds of doses of the mentor and a vaccine by removing them from a refrigerator. between 46 and 46 degrees fahrenheit. the pharmacist has been fired but also faces felony endangerment charges. for more on these and other top stories, download the fox news out. you can scan the code on your screen right now or just go to foxnews.com/app. >> molly: america is not the only country were preparing for a new president when joe biden takes the oath of office and just 19 days. the rest of the world is watching too. u.s. allies and adversaries wondering what changes he might bring to the global stage.

is a revolving is live in delaware and has been following all this in the transition for us, happy new year, hillary. >> under president biden, some things will change and some things will stay the same but president-elect biden has made a very clear that president trump's policy of america first is over in his administration, biden in a new year's eve address last night said he is ready to get to work in 2021. >> i'm more optimistic about america's chances than i've ever been and i've been around this for a while. we are in a situation where we once again have to step up and leave the world and leave the nation. >> while he is in a hurry to undo a lot of president trump's domestic policy, he is not in a rush to undo his foreign policy. in china, biden has said he would hold them accountable for trade abuses, human rights violations, u.s. ip theft and

cyber attacks but isn't going to take away tariffs against the country right away. hunter biden, relations with russia could go from fender file. remember one priority was to take office holding it accountable for the massive solar wind hacked that targeted u.s. agencies and many of president trump's policies will continue under biden including sanctions against the country and embracing an in person approach to north korea's kim jong un to encourage cooperation with denuclearization, he said he would keep him at arm's length and instead negotiate with his regime first but not kim himself until an interim deal is reached. in iran, ditch the deal and has driven their economy into a recession with sanctions and has also recently promised retaliation against iran backed militia attacks on americans in iraq, but biden instead wants to de-escalate the relationship and wants to get them back to the table.

biden wrote this in an op-ed in september. "if iran returns to strict compliance with the nuclear deal, the united states would rejoin the agreement as a starting point for a follow-up negotiation." after biden spoke for a few minutes with ryan seacrest, they tried to pop a confetti popper at the end but it didn't work and instead, it broke in half though perhaps a fitting end to 2020. >> molly: thank you very much, hillary vaughn, we appreciate it, hopefully a bright 2021 ahead. >> leland: senator josh hawley says he is going to object when congress convenes next week to certify the electoral college vote. some fellow republicans have criticized his decision but the junior senator from missouri's says he's concerned about election integrity. >> you have 74 million people who feel that they have been disenfranchised and they've not

been heard and january 6 is the only opportunity that i've got to speak up for my constituents in this process, this is it and to point out states like pennsylvania didn't follow their own laws. to my christian tate is an analyst at young americans for liberty. a former bloomberg pollster, thank you for being here. do we look at this as the opening move for josh hawley's 2024 presidential campaign? >> it very well could be. josh hawley's efforts they are likely aren't going anywhere. his objections will be debated for a few hours but biden will ultimately be declared the winner. i'm also concerned that this puts republicans in a bad spot because they will either have to dispute a state election result or vote against trump which could mean in 2022 we will see some trump back primary challengers. but he does bring up some alarming points that deserve attention. for example, just months before the general election, the

pennsylvania supreme court altered the state election laws arguably changing their role by the federal constitution also points out big tech. >> leland: we don't need to relitigate the election but the idea is two things can be true, there could be some legitimate gripes about how the election was conducted and could also be true that joe biden won the election. this is what ben sasse had to say, and i want to read this. although clever arguments and rhetorical gymnastics in the world won't change the fact that this january 6 effort is designed to disenfranchise millions of americans simply because they voted for someone in a different party. we normalize this, we will turn american politics into a hatfield and mccoy and list blood feud and a house hopelessly divided. some might argue it's already the hatfields and mccoys, right? >> i would argue that and this is bad for the republican party. on the eve of the georgia vote

to underscore the divisions in pennsylvania basically told josh hawley stick to your own state in your own problem, we have to come together whether you voted for him or not and when maxine waters objected to donald trump's election in 2016, she was wrong to do it. we should come together, recognize that every court in america has basically ratified the biden victory, and the time now is to come together not be hopelessly divided, but demonstrate about china to our adversaries with one common goal. >> leland: one could say dare to dream in terms of coming together when it comes to politics moving farther and farther apart for a number of years now. this brings up important point and you began on this, is josh hawley now setting himself

up to be the heir apparent for the populist republican moveme movement? >> i think that's part of what's going on here. you have these up-and-coming republicans who want to find a way to cash in on trump voters and the strong base that he has created and i just want to say joe biden is the president-elect, we all need to accept that, but the reason millions of voters are so upset right now is because the same people on the left and the same talking heads in the media who for years have been telling us president trump was a legitimate and that the only reason he was elected was because of russian interference without any evidence of that are now the one saying. >> can't we move forward and talk about a better future? >> leland: we are not relitigating it. nothing good comes from relitigating the point although there were a lot of people who are angry and upset. but you talk about moving forward, are democrats going to be able to exploit this schism

in the republican party if you have josh hawley and lindsey graham now talking about wanting an up or down vote on the $2,000 checks and you got mitch mcconnell not bringing it to the floor? >> i think we will see on tuesday in the georgia runoffs, a republican pollster has showed that reverend warnock and jon ossoff have moved ahead, and that's a change over there earlier numbers and if the democrats win one of two or two were to, that will demonstrate that has fatally wounded the republicans in their effort to control the u.s. senate. >> leland: one of two does it mean much but 2 of 2 does. >> leland: at 2021, we have hope now. >> we should all be helpful for a better future.

>> leland: in america, that's a promise. thank you both. >> molly: the third state now reporting a case of that highly contagious new strain of coronavirus first found in the u.k. and an interesting and disturbing wrinkle in the latest case. less distilleries stepped up during the height of the pandemic to make hand sanitizer so why would the fda now slap them with massive fines?

>> molly: florida now confirming the country's third case of a new highly contagious coronavirus strain. doctors first found this mutation in the u.k., also investigating cases now in california and colorado. in the florida department of health says the strain turned up in a man with no history of travel. and joining us now is dr. rich mccormick, an emergency room

physician based in atlanta. i think you are spending a couple of minutes here as we kick off the new year and hopefully will see some vaccinations going into arms and give many of our health care workers were they so very richly deserve. i want to start with how concerned are you about this new strain being found here in the u.s. and already in multiple states? >> there's a lot we don't know about this right now. people are making a lot of leaps and we really don't know, the fact is we don't have widespread testing, patients that we already know are infected. in other words, not one hospital that specifically tests for new strains and all we know is they have coronavirus based on the test that we already have and we are not even sure exactly on the accuracy of those tests because i've had patients the last four nights and sometimes patients that test negative for it but then they test positive later, so the testing availability we have for this new strain is limited from what i understand,

that could be much more widespread already than we already know, but we don't know exactly how avirulent this is, i've heard experts say it was more or less, but based on what data? this is a brand-new strain so how do they have those studies that would give useful data on that when it's not that well studied? >> molly: one of the great concerns was this was being blamed for big outbreaks outside of london and pockets of communities they are so the question is if we don't have widespread testing and not looking for a very specific strains here in the u.s., is it possible that we have a pocket of a community that has what is thought to be a more transmissible strain then other strains virus? >> is absolutely possible, but we don't know. once again, the recommendations will stay the same regardless. we still need to be vigilant about our hand hygiene, wearing a mask, social distancing, all

the things that make people safe, the treatment remains the same, doesn't seem to be more deadly at this point, we will find out in due time, a lot more to be studied about this disease and the original form, we have so much to learn still. >> molly: unfortunately we've seen this incredible spike in states across the country but the vaccine is being rolled out particular that health care workers in the elderly to start. of more than 14 million doses have already been distributed across the country for the centers for disease control saying 2.8 million people have actually gotten their first dose. what do you think is causing the great challenge in getting this vaccination into the people that need it? >> that's a good question. i know we've done a good job with the vaccination was disseminated to us. we always start with the people that are the most exposed it in our case, emergency medicine and intensive care unit physicians and staff, the people who have

3.5 times more likely to contract the disease just just due to exposure alone, so those folks and then those people are more susceptible to disease in general. >> molly: of course, when you're vaccinating folks at a hospital or long-term care facility, people are gathered together. what are the great challenges as we look ahead to the general population that might begin to get the vaccine in late march, april, may? >> i think we will get better and better at this. we are in uncharted territory. we've never had a vaccination coming up as quickly, i think months was the last more quickly developed one and then took an egregious amount of time but now rolling this out so fast and furious, the amount of resources taking place to disseminate this is going to be unique and i think we will get better and better at this. i don't want to get to mired up in the fact that this is the first time in distribution and we have some problems, that's to

be expected. >> molly: dr. rich mccormick, thank you very much. happy new year to you. >> leland: warning that a vulnerable group of patients being left behind in the vaccine rollout, who they are, why it's happening, and we will look into whether states. you the protein you need with less of the sugar you don't. [grunting noise] i'll take that. woohoo! 30 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar. ensure max protein. with nutrients to support immune health. ensure max protein. (acan't figure out newhy those dietsht? won't work for you? go to golo.com, where over 1 million people have found golo and a new and better way to lose weight. this is not only a weight loss journey, this is a complete transformation, mentally and physically. (announcer) want to lose 60 pounds? how about 100 pounds? you can. (woman) it's easy,

and it will change your life. (announcer) go to golo.com. that's g-o-l-o.com. it was kind of a shock after i started cosentyx. i'm still clear, five years now. cosentyx works fast to give you clear skin that can last. 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. i look and feel so much better. see me. ask your dermatologist if cosentyx could help you move past the pain of psoriasis.

>> leland: quite literally just as the year was ending, the fda slapped a $14,000 fine on the craft distillers, specifically those that shifted gears to produce hand sanitizer. the fee they said was to cover the cost of fda regulations but after media coverage, the hhs

department said said that it told the fda to stop charging that fee. president and distiller out of california, thank you for joining us. i'm guessing when this happen, you thought to yourself no good deed goes unpunished. >> i got into this trying to do the right thing, registered and did everything the fda required of us and i felt like i got slapped for it. >> leland: the fda has said essentially this was a bureaucratic snafu and some low-level folks interpreted the rules without any leeway or understanding of exactly the situation you were all in and put this out and have since rescinded it. do you guys feel in a larger sense you've gotten the credit you deserve for all the work you've done and a lot of distilleries were giving the stuff away for free. a lot of us were donating it or selling it at a very low margin just to help out.

you feel like we haven't gotten the credit we deserve and the outpouring of support, it's only been 24 hours since we broke this story and created this public outcry for why is this there and charging distilleries $14,000 when they help but i think it's been so cool to see how the public have come out in our defense over this. >> leland: who knew government could move so quickly on new year's eve? i don't think anybody did. the congressman from virginia is also a distiller himself and this is what he said as he was involved in pressuring hhs. "as the only working distiller in congress, i am happy to see a whiskey rebellion against bureaucratic nonsense. responded professionally and appropriately over rescinding this ridiculous producer fee for distillers that sacrifice their own, god bless the distillers and all businesses who stepped

up in a time of need. whiskey is freedom." specifically, i'm interested in what's happened to your business over the past year with the pandemic, been a number of liquor brands, is that true for the smallest of craft distille distillers? >> yes and no. we definitely had our ups and downs, it's been on the roller coaster of a year, a lot of us rely on our tasting rooms are going out and conducting tastings and obviously we don't have that luxury right now, so people are going to the big box stores and buying big brands they recognize on the smaller crafters are necessarily getting recognition. >> leland: is interesting you should say that because california has had some of the most of conan lockdowns and hasn't helped with a number of cases, but were you all considered essential and able to keep operating?

>> we were able to keep operating and continue production, but our sales have been restricted. my distribution sales have tanked because the restaurants and bars aren't buying anymore. we've seen retail sales up a little bit, fortunately, we have a very supportive community that has come out to support us and buy stuff directly from our tasting room so that's been cool to see but it certainly been a tough year. >> leland: cheers, i guess you could say to a better 2021. was good to see you. thank you for joining us. keep up the good work. molly? >> molly: the georgia runoff that will decide control of the senate entering the home stretch and how the candidates are spending the final days of the campaign including the one who will spend them in covert quarantine.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ for every trip you've been dreaming of, expedia has millions of flexible booking options. because the best trip is wherever we go together. ♪ you can adjust yourowest priccomfort on both sides... your sleep number setting.. because the best trip is wherever we go together. can it help me fall asleep faster? yes, by gently warming your feet. but, can it help keep me asleep? absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. will it help me keep up with mom? you got this. so, you can really promise better sleep? not promise. ...prove.

don't miss our new year's special the queen sleep number 360 c2 smart bed is only $899. plus, no interest until january 2024 on all smart beds.ends monday.

>> leland: a growing number of doctors are warning that cancer patients are not getting the coronavirus vaccine and are effectively or getting overlooked in the rollout as former lieutenant governor of new york says states need to fix that. we will talk to her in a minute and in the meantime, dramatic new body cam video shows the moment a minneapolis police officer shot and killed a motorist during a traffic stop

on wednesday. noteworthy how quickly this video has come out and before we show it to you, give you a warning some folks will find it disturbing. >> hands up! hands up! these! hands up! >> leland: that the shooting, minneapolis police released a video yesterday showing them surrounding the car at a gas station and the driver appears to have an object in his hand at one point. police have not said yet if that object was a gun or if they've recovered it come up with the police chief said fired at officers first. this was the first police involved death in minneapolis since the killing of george floyd last may. >> molly: starting with a happy ending to a sad story, 3-year-old ohio boy found a banded in a cemetery just days before christmas has been reunited with his father. this according to the police and the town of hinckley.

and yes, he is back again with his dog as well. the boy identified as tony has gone an outpouring of gifts from the local community and all across the country, police say tony's mother was undergoing treatment at a medical facility and could face charges when she is released. you can see that outpouring of love for that little boy at this christmas. >> leland: hats off to the police department who not only found him, got him reunited with his dog, his father, and did a little bit to make up for it. >> molly: could have been a very sad ending and a lot of people made sure that that was not the ending. it's nice to see that pile of presents for sure. >> leland: a christmas he will not soon forget. want to bring you back and we will have that video for minneapolis we will show you again. what is stunning now about this and what we're seeing is these videos are coming out within hours or days after a police

involved shooting in it used to take weeks and they would never release the video because everything was under investigation and a number of times in the past year that we've gotten video of an incident within 2448 hours. >> molly: there have been tremendous calls for changes in transparency and also cameras, for police to have cameras on and be using them in situations and so here we are getting this first-hand glimpse, police departments have been able to bring us some insight into what they are seeing that it helps the police also explain what happened to eddie give it it's a bit because sometimes the community can be upset an end. >> leland: they love the fact they are wearing body cameras because it provides evidence when they are accused of something of wrongdoing. so we will see what happens at minneapolis. there was some upset in the community after the shooting.

we will see of the video puts that the rest. meantime, we move on to georgia were senator david perdue was going to be off the campaign trail for four days before george's critical runoff election. the republican candidate is now in quarantine after contact with the staffer who tested positive for the coronavirus and we begin our three on new year's day of "america's newsroom." >> molly: happy new year's, sandra smith is off today, campaigning in georgia hitting the home stretch, two close senate races we are following that will decide the balance of power in washington, all eyes on georgia, both sides bringing in the big guns. a president-elect biden will be in georgia on monday to campaign for their candidates on the eve of the election, senator lindsey graham also making a stop yesterday where he stressed the importance of republicans controlling the senate. >> you got a chance here in a few days to make sure that the most radical agenda in the

history of american politics dies in the u.s. senate. that anything coming out of pelosi's house comes to the senate and we kill it dead. >> molly: peter doocy has been covering a lot of ground, happy new year, by from lagrange georgia. >> people will need their windshield wipers to see raphael warnock this morning, we do expect to see him at a drive-in event here in lagrange any minute. jon ossoff already had one event in the atlanta area because of inclement weather but we did hear from him last night. >> i know it has been a very difficult year and i know that so many are hurting. got bills piling up, hard to

afford child care, hard to afford rent and house payment, hard to take care of the family through no fault of anybody's own, just because of the times we are living in. >> self-quarantining, tweeted this, thank you to everyone who is called, texted, and reached out, we are at home and getting ready to ring in the new year with a whole lot of virtual campaigning, hope you all have a safe, happy, and healthy new year's eve. somebody on the campaign with covid-19 was in close contact with the candidate so he is off the trail until more negative tests are delivered, kelly loeffler is out there and pushing back on claims from john awsat that she campaigned with a klansman. >> to his specific claim that you were out here campaigning with a klansman, that originates from former member of the clan who was here for a photo lineup if i have that story right. >> yes, and we kicked him out

immediately, that was absolutely what we had to do. i had no idea who he was. he is gone. i denounce that, i do not believe in it and it has no place around our campaign. >> as far as you know, that was just a one-time event. >> absolutely. we won't stand for that. >> georgia republicans have 8,000 volunteers ready to go and act as poll watchers on tuesday and told me that they are taking every accusation, every report of possible fraud very seriously. molly? >> molly: peter doocy, thank you for asking all the tough questions, i'm sure you'd rather be inside right now. >> leland: we bring in the political panel, former obama campaign regional director, u.s. army ranger, political commentator in u.s. army veteran, appreciate you both being here. we are glad that you are inside

amidst the rain and downpour in atlanta, this is raphael warnock's first event since "the washington free beacon" reporting about his arrest for misconduct during an investigation into some issues at a summer camp. this is with "the washington free beacon" rights. "the washington post" among others revealed that roy moore had repeatedly engaged in inappropriate behavior against teenage girls. a maryland church camper he was arrested in 2002 for obstructing a police investigation. the news media so determined to reveal more scandalous to behavior has been lethargic when it comes to him. do they have a point? >> absolutely. here's the thing, one thing that has become clear is that if you have the right political ideas, the media gives you a complete pass. we have not seen any kind of coverage of this which is really a major story on the other

networks, we haven't seen anybody even asking these questions. >> leland: sometimes differences in local coverage and wondering down in atlanta, a great station, have they done anything on that? >> we have seen some journalists actually asked some questions at a local level but when you look at the national news media and this race has become very much nationalized become aware of the other networks actually talking about these very serious allegations? this is not just a run-of-the-mill political talk, these are very serious issues that have a arisen and he needs to answer for what's happened in his past. >> leland: interesting point that he's been off the trail for a couple of days, what do you make of that? >> it's hard to say, the weather has been absolutely crazy here for the last couple of days so i can understand why ossoff had to

cancel an event this morning. >> leland: he was on the trail the last three days and warnock was nowhere to be found and even asked him about these very allegations so i don't think the weather is an issue. >> i am just surmising. could be that he's taking a shelter and the story age. politicians love to do that and i wouldn't blame him for it. but it is being covered locally. you brought that question up because it is being covered and this is an election in atlanta where it matters, it doesn't matter if it's being covered in national news right now, but it's out there. georgians want to know that they've got money to feed their families, that they can pay their rent and those of the questions they are asking, not this nuance. >> leland: i don't think whether or not you obstructed a police investigation into child

abuse is nuance. that goes in someone's character inconceivably character trumps policy at one point in politics, maybe it doesn't anymore. this is a list of politicians in georgia over the next few days and it shows you just how important this race is, the president, the vice president, a block of time, ted cruz, allen west of the g.o.p. from texas, dan crenshaw from texas a surrogate on the street among the dems, the president-elect, vice president-elect and stacy abrams is in georgia from georgia so not necessarily visiting. the person who is not there is bernie sanders. take a listen to why. >> did either of the democratic candidates ask you to campaign for them in the final days ahead of this runoff? >> leland: that they asked me to georgia to campaign? no, they did not. >> leland: what you make of that? >> just as robin acknowledged, they have an issue. democrats have an issue with the

radical wing of their party. warnock is the embodiment of that radical wing. he believes in socialism, he is right in line with that wing with a party, bernie sanders is definitely part of that as well so they don't want to actually promote right now warnock as robin even mentioned. this is something where it's going to come down to what values do georgians hold dear? i'm proud of the state of georgia, worked on many campaigns getting to know georgians and we care about freedom, we care about our constitution, we believe in our families, we care about our faith, religious voters and that's what georgians hold dear in the democratic party doesn't stand for any of that. >> leland: we've come a long way from a jimmy carter southern democrat. >> we have. and i love jimmy carter.

going door-to-door knocking for these candidates, i voted early in person. i urge all georgian voters to look and dig deep of what actually matters to you. which candidate did more for you and who's going to help you get food on the table and help you with these crises. >> leland: at least now, perhaps the only thing all four of these candidates agree on is the $2,000 stimulus checks or take that for what you will ahead of the election. appreciate you guys both being here, going to be a busy next four days. stay dry as you go out canvassing, it's the very best thing we can do for our kids, good to see you. fox news is your election source for the georgia senate runoffs and you already know this because you're watching it, bret baier and martha maccallum have special coverage of tuesday's race that is going to determine the control of the senate right here on fox news channel. they have the call starting at

6:00 p.m. eastern time before the polls close. >> molly: police declaring a right in downtown portland last night, smashing windows, shooting off fireworks, capping off a year of unrest in the city since the death of george floyd at the hands of police. senior correspondent claudia, in his life in los angeles keeping an eye on this for us. were police able to finally secure that last night? >> they finally got things under control at about 2:00 a.m. but not before protesters caused a lot of damage in the downtown area, take a look at the pictures posted on social media, a starbucks is littered with glass, a wine bar also had its windows busted out, mobile small retailers including a jewelry store and this is the second straight night of violence and

vandalism in the anarchist of the spray paint can to portland city hall and last night, protesters also shot off fireworks and set fires, one garbage can melted down to the pavement and this is how it sounded. video shows police in riot gear growing to almost 100 people with some carrying signs that said eat the rich. when a protester said people should leave the area and face arrest, but few heeded the warning in early this morning, tweeted a gathering in downtown portland has devolved into a right, participants have thrown the multiple firebombs and large commercial grade fireworks at the federal courthouse and justice center. police say protesters tossed at least two molotov cocktail style firebombs and launched large commercial grade aerial

fireworks. government buildings that have been flash points for protest that became widespread in portland following the death of george floyd back in may. protesters attacked police with frozen water bottles, even paint balloons that police they may have contained some kind of acid that was intended to burn the skin. no officers were seriously hurt. police responded with flash bangs and smoke bombs and got help from federal officers of the department of homeland security whose deployment during past riots has caused controversy and also made arrest but unclear how many were made or what charges these protesters could face. >> molly: a pretty tough start to 2021 in portland. inc. you very much. >> leland: let's talk about media coverage of a bite in the white house, how it will be different from reporting on president trump. a big reaction over comments from some white house correspondents. a plus, the federal government just released a new dietary

guidelines for america. what it says about those adult beverages that you might've had last night. just saying. want to sell the best burger in every zip code?

add an employee. or ten... then easily and automatically pay your team and file payroll taxes. that means... world domination! or just the west side. run payroll in less

than five minutes with intuit quickbooks. i was covered from head to toe with it. it really hurt. then i started cosentyx. okay, thanks... that was four years ago. how are you? see me. cosentyx works fast to give you clear skin that can last. 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. i look and feel better. ask your dermatologist if cosentyx could help you move past the pain of psoriasis.

he used to worry about how to fix the world's oral health problems. - i think i've got it. - [narrator] then he invented therabreath formulas. - you want fresh breath? i'll give you a fresh breath. - [narrator] for fresh breath, healthy gums, dry mouth, and healthy smiles. - whoa, that's fresh. - [narrator] now, the world's mouths have never been healthier. (sighs contentedly) - works for 24 hours, i guarantee it. therabreath, it's a better mouthwash. - [narrator] available at walmart, target and other fine stores.

>> mr. president-elect, as he looked at 2021, what are your thoughts and your views on what you hope for in this new year? >> i'm more optimistic about america's chances and i've ever been. there's never been a single thing america has been unable to overcome the matter how drastic it's been we've done it together. never, never, never. america can do everything and we are absolutely, positively confident we are going to come back stronger than we were before. >> molly: just a bit of ryan seacrest's interview with president-elect biden's that was promoted in advance as a message of hope. meantime, some are not happy about a move they made during a recent news conference. tweeting the biden transition team appears to have disabled the public chat function on its transition zoom call, a place

where i and others have been routinely complaining asking to take more questions essentially. jim acosta raising eyebrows this week after his meeting that he will cover the biden administration differently. he told the atlantic i don't think the press should be trying to whip up the biden presidency and turn it into must-see tv. being at the white house is not an experimen experience that mie hazard pay and perhaps it is going to be approached differently. our panel doing double duty today. welcome back to our former director and political commentator, think of her coming back and joining us for a few more minutes on this topic, just a taste of the ryan seacrest interview, pretty soft, pretty friendly coming off the president-elect's recent interview also with the comedian stephen colbert. what do you think, should he be taking more questions, doing more hard-core interviews, has been doing these set up

softballs. >> i'm fine with the softballs but would like to see some hard questions and those do need to be answered. right now we have got to focus on uniting the country because this election has been and continues to be so contentious, so if he is willing to get out there and give us a message of unity at a time where we most need it, i am all for it. >> molly: your thoughts the biden transition team that going to be very transparent and yet they have been begging to ask for questions. do you think the president-elect should step up and take more questions and do more hard-core interviews? >> absolutely, but i have zero confidence that will happen. president-elect biden has given every indication that he has no intention of actually answering tough questions and being out in the front and telling the american people what should we expect in his administration. he's been very quiet just kind

of ducking and dodging in the media is so complicit in this. they give a complete path to anyone who shares their political views and it's so rich to me that the people who are always going to take the moral high ground and lecturer america about democracy dies in darkness and we are representing democracy and then bow down to any democrat politician of the american people are tired of it, we see right through it and i think this is why the media has record low trust amongst the american people. >> molly: another topic and on that note, this is an op-ed that was just written, she has a new year's resolution essentially for joe biden to resolve to host a normal press conference sometime soon, do it without a teleprompter, without prearranged questions, relax, let th the first fly. you can account on a fawning liberal press if there are a few challenging questions, just called the reporters dog faced

pony soldiers, works every time. what's your reaction to that? >> we will get there eventually and right now, the president of the united states is refusing to acknowledge that joe biden is the president-elect that we will get there eventually. we are not there yet, but yes, he will answer these tough questions in press conferences and will call on reporters of all different reporting genres, so we are just not there yet. for goodness' sakes, let us at least have the president of the united states acknowledge that joe biden is president-elect. >> molly: jeremy mentioned this a moment ago, gallup polling shows the gap and how much democrats and republicans trust the media is bigger than it's ever been over the past four years, democrats trust and mass media has grown to a near record high while republicans have gone to an all-time low, just 10% of republicans pulled this year say they have a great deal over a fair amount of trust in the media by the end of 2020,

63-point gap between the two parties, the biggest divide since they started conducting this bowl in the late 1970s. are you at all surprised? >> not at all. as you can clearly see, they're telling me what i want to hear so we trust you. let me just confirm my view was already hand that point about we will get there eventually, eventually, biden will start answering tough questions, eventually he will start acting like a president, but i think that's exactly par for the course of the democratic party. they ask for your vote, they say they want to usher in a new era of transparency and hope for the future and in the moment they get in office, it's entirely different and i'm telling you people are catching on to this and i don't think they will be able to get away with this for very long. >> molly: your reaction, the gap in trust? >> there is a gap in trust

because donald j. trump has waged a war on the media and frankly on any news that he doesn't like whether that portrays him in the light that he likes to be seen in. so there is of course a huge disparity, but i'm urging my own members of my own party to do their own looking and consider outside sources, don't just go to your liberal sources. i like to look across the gamma and get the full range and see what's really going on. that's the only way you're going to know. >> molly: i like to listen to two differing opinions and you guys provided today. we appreciate it, thank you. >> leland: check out this massive brawl at a college bowl game and what sparked the fight between mississippi state and tulsa after the armed forces bowl, video goes on for a while and why progressives might put an end to nancy pelosi's bid for another term as house speaker.

>> will you vote for nancy pelosi as speaker? >> what i'm going to do is make sure the voices of the people of st. louis are heard and that they have what we need, so you will find out then.

>> molly: some the stories we watching right now seeing new damage from that christmas day

bombing, allowing them their first opportunity to survey the scene there yesterday and that managers shown debris in the street, a giant crater where that exploded. >> leland: issuing a warning after they were in pet food and reported 28 dogs died. pay attention, several have been recalled. >> molly: minutes after the mississippi state bulldogs defeated the tulsa golden hurricane at the armed forces bowl, a massive brawl broke out between the two teams, doctors traded one player for a possible concussion and still not sure what started the whole thing. more on these and other stories, download the fox news app.

>> leland: sunday kicks off a new session of the house of representatives which means members will elected the next speaker, current speaker nancy pelosi is the odds-on favorite but she could face some hurdles with a razor-thin majority as democrats lost the number of seats in november. two of the newest members of progressive squad will not commit to supporting her. >> congresswoman-elect bush, would you vote for nancy pelosi as speaker? >> what i'm going to make sure is that the voices of the people of st. louis are heard and that we have what we need. so you will find out then. >> that's not a "yes." will you vote for nancy pelosi as speaker? >> you will find out when my vote is tallied and again, organizing with our communities to figure out what's best. >> leland: associate editor at "the wall street journal" in fox news contributor, great to see you. the two best in washington are not against nancy pelosi, does

this change anything? >> was a pretty good bet to take into the new year. the argument against nancy pelosi becoming speaker again is that you do have more progressive wing of the party members coming into congress, several more, not a huge overwhelming number, and this progressive wing of the party or left-wing has been very outspoken at times in their opposition to nancy pelosi. but there's all sorts of reasons that there is a tailwind for nancy pelosi getting the speakership again with biden is very strong, also was brought into her camp some of those who voted against her in the last vote for speaker. >> leland: the other thing is you can't beat somebody with nobody in nancy pelosi is certainly somebody. >> that's right, and your point

of you can't beat them with nobody is probably the dominant issue here. there really isn't a candidate that is being run against nancy pelosi, there's not not somebody to galvanize around muscle that leaves nancy pelosi who is as you point out a very good whipper of votes, someone who has traded a lot of favors over the years ahead of the party since 2003, that lets her develop what is really a currency of the congress which is favors, things that she's done, you just had -- you just heard from two incoming congresspeople sam going to hold off for a minute, with the subtext they are? i want to see whether i'm getting the committee assignments that i want and if pelosi delivers, that's good for my constituents. >> leland: you look at the translation and you look at the new squad, so to speak so

starting with the original foreign now you've got eight. that is significantly more than the democratic majority inside of the house of representatives. how much power does that mean nancy pelosi has or doesn't have, how much does the squad have to block anything that you might call moderate blue dog type of legislation? >> it gives them more but you're talking about a 211 kind of split in the house now, so it gives them more voice, there has always been a left wing of the party and now it will be a little bit more vociferous, we will hear from them a bit more often, and it gives them negotiating power and she is an articulate, smart voice of that wing of the party. so she is going to get hurt.

but does it give them -- >> leland: she was the one who is being articulate on twitter against putting them up for an up or down vote saying we don't have the votes and here's why you don't do it. as you point out, incoming freshman congressman say a lot but after a couple of years, the pragmatism of being in their changes things. good to see you as always, happy new year. >> some new laws on the books in several states at the start of the new year and what it means for police officers and people affected by coronavirus. plus, the sun is setting up a vote to overturn president trump's a veto on the defense spending bill. lawmakers could finally reach a resolution on that as they continue to spar over increase direct payments to americans.

honey honey? new nyquil severe honey is maximum strength cold and flu medicine

with soothing honey-licious taste. nyquil honey. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever best sleep with a cold medicine. 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.

>> leland: new year's day, but the senate is still working. republicans will push for a vote to override president trump's a veto of the defense spending bill. senate democrats will try to hold up that vote because they want to vote to boost direct covid relief payments to americans. they want $2,000 per person. the president also wants that. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell shut down chuck schumer's push for an up or down vote on that bill to authorize higher payments making things together. just today, senator lindsey graham now siding with the president saying that he wants an up or down vote on the stand-alone $2,000. take a look. >> i am in south carolina. our economy is really hurting here. i'd like a stand-alone vote in the new congress from the $2,000 check. we have seven republicans who've already said they would vote for it. we need five more. i think if we had the vote, we would get there. >> leland: the final vote on

overwriting the act could come later today or tomorrow. >> molly: new year, new laws going into effect across america, many dealing with the pandemic and police reform. in six states now banning police choke holds after the death of george floyd in police custody. laura ingle is live in new york following all of these developments for us as we head into this new year. happy new year, laura. >> happy new year to you also awesome and a lot went down last year as we all know and the biggest news of 2020 has helped to shape some of the biggest changes coming to us here in the new year and a lot of that does revolve around the death of george floyd and of course, the coronavirus pandemic. now as we take a look at what's about to happen here, george floyd who died at the hands of a minneapolis police officer while in custody in may sparked widespread protests and demonstrations around the world calling for police reform.

we saw so much of that in states including california, delaware, iowa, new york, oregon, and utah all passing bands of police choke holds because of it. in georgia, to come new antibias now in effect. one imposing more penalties for hate crime while the other protects from bias motivated act of violence. new laws going into effect today includes those offering to help essential workers and bolstering unemployment benefits and requiring time off for sick employees. the state of alabama passed a resolution to encourage fist bumps over handshakes to help stop the spread. >> the business community's number one priority is to do whatever it takes to get the pandemic under control, get people vaccinated and get the economy going again. >> meanwhile, voters in arizona, montana, new jersey, and south dakota approving measures to legalize recreational marijuana many hoping this will

bring much needed revenue to the states economy reeling from covid and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle plan to work on legislation in 2021 focusing on pandemic response and that includes issues ranging from schools reopening to governor's emergency powers some a lot still to come. >> molly: thank you very much. we will see what 2021 brings. appreciate it. >> leland: we are learning about new cases of the coronavirus strain mutation spread, where that's happening and how many drinks did you have last night? new guidelines that say whether that was a good idea or not.

people were afraid i was contagious. i felt gross. it was kind of a shock after i started cosentyx. four years clear. 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. learn more at cosentyx.com.

finding the right words can be tough.n it comes to autism, finding understanding doesn't have to be. together, we can create a kinder, more inclusive world for the millions of people on the autism spectrum. go to autismspeaks.org

he used to worry about how to fix the world's oral health problems. - i think i've got it. - [narrator] then he invented therabreath formulas. - you want fresh breath? i'll give you a fresh breath. - [narrator] for fresh breath, healthy gums, dry mouth, and healthy smiles. - whoa, that's fresh. - [narrator] now, the world's mouths have never been healthier. (sighs contentedly) - works for 24 hours, i guarantee it. therabreath, it's a better mouthwash. - [narrator] available at walmart, target and other fine stores.

>> we were told it would be impossible to deliver a vaccine by the end of the year, we did it long before the end of the year. they said it would take a medical miracle and that's exactly what it is. thanks to operation of warp speed, we developed a vaccine in just nine months. we've already begun a nationwide vaccination program, and we are sending the vaccine all over the world. the world will benefit, and everyone is calling to thank me. >> leland: president trump blames states for a slower than expected rollout of the covid vaccine and is celebrating his success in this race against time. a new more contagious strain of the virus is spreading. lucas tomlinson.

>> first in the u.k. before christmas it's now been found in three states, california has at least four cases. this week confirming its first case of a new contagious strain. a florida health department tweeting last week "florida has evidence of the first identified case of the u.k. covid-19 variant, the individual as a male in his 20s with no history of travel. the department is working on this investigation and encourages all to continue practicing covid-19 mitigation. while more contagious, they believe it's not more deadly. said so far this new strain is under control despite two members of the national guard testing positive. >> so the second case which is not been definitively identified is someone in the same chain of exposure is another guardsman, so you have two that were paid >> none of the individuals who have tested positive recently

traveled which would likely indicate a person to person community spread. a major concern is already overburdened hospital system in places like los angeles county who averages people die of covid every hour and has become a major hurdle across the country around 14 million doses have been distributed and so far less than 3 million shots have been given out. dr. anthony fauci provided a timeline. >> i believe in 2021, we will see this behind us. hopefully as we get into the end of the summer and beginning of the fall of 2021, we can start to approach some degree of normality. >> the university of michigan this week transformed its football stadium into a clinic to get thousands of health care workers vaccinated. >> leland: no fans in the stands, but a lot of people during the vaccine. >> molly: we bring in a former

senior white house medical advisor to four administrations and the former senior medical advisor to hhs and nasa as well. you've seen a lot of things and it is remarkable what's happening now as we head into 2021 all across the country, dr. fauci talked about the hope to come. you want to kick off with the u.k. strain that has now been found here in the united states, no known connection to traveling, in other words, those that have been diagnosed do not appear to come from overseas are from the u.k. to the thought is community spread. your thoughts on the strain showing up here? >> i do believe it is community spread and i do also think when we talk about it not being a more lethal, we have to keep in mind over 340,000 americans have died from this disease and we also know this disease has long-term complications so we truly need to be on guard. as we begin to sequence, we may find the virus to be more widespread but what it tells us

is that basic public health measures are extremely critical and we all know that social distancing, hand washing, wearing masks. >> molly: we are in the midst of another spike and health care system very stressful let's talk the topic of distribution of this vaccine which will hopefully help temper things. this is dr. fauci on the need for more resources regarding the distribution of the vaccine. >> there really has to be a lot more effort in this sense of resources for the locals, namely the states, cities, counties, the places where the vaccine is actually going in the arms of individuals. we have to support the local groups, the states and cities to help them get this task done. >> molly: what's the best way to get it off the ground is simple glee as possible as we head into the new year. >> let's loo look at the life ce of a vaccine.

design, manufacturing, distribution, done a great job in the design and manufacturing but now the distribution is where the devil is in the details, the logistics. they were a couple of steps that we can take as dr. fauci mentioned, researching this as well as infrastructure, expanding sites, staffing, supplies, and several ways we can do it through perhaps enhancement of the defense production act, can also help to assess their data management systems, expand our staffing and make sure the messages are clear, consistent with the facts that we know them to the public not confused. >> molly: we have seen this coming into the arms of the elderly in an long-term care facilities but those are places where people have congregated at your workplace, where you live in the case of a nursing home, how will that work for the general population? i've heard it would be like going to get a flu shot and this

idea that perhaps football stadiums, that sort of thing, how do you envision it working? >> so this is sort of our d-day, so we need all hands on deck. when we talk about it, football stadiums, parking lots, pharmacies that have connected with the government, community centers, so we need to be all hands on deck to get everyone engaged in facilities and also need to expand, not enough to have just one or two people, we need to make sure we have an administration and making sure we have the supplies, it's very difficult at times to get it into people's arms so we need refrigerators, vials, syringes, personal protective equipment. >> molly: a lot of people are waiting and can't wait to get it. a federal government shifting gears a little is out with new dietary guidelines for americans

that they release every five years but the big headline is that the government did not take the panel's advice on how much sugar and alcohol people should be consuming. kept the same guidelines, booze no more than two drinks a day for men, one for women. why not change the guidelines? do they not believe in our ability to commit to less sugar and less alcohol? >> certainly at the start of a new year, new year's resolutions trying to get back in shape and the, so guidelines are important for a couple of reasons. they help to determine our nutritional programs that we use to support the communities and they also help guide health teams to advise patience. we all know we have more sugar in our diet and our beverages, alcohol, and as you brought up the issue about alcohol, one drink is equivalent to two

drinks because women metabolize alcohol differently. we have to be conscious of that. i think the key here is it's really moderation regarding some of the pushback, is the science rigorous enough to change the guidelines and that's an important question you don't have undue influence by industry but the bottom line is we all need to be conscious of what we are drinking in the activities that we get. we all know there is more we can do to stay healthy especially in this stage of covid. >> molly: a new year, moderation tends to be that word you use. we really appreciate it, thank you so much. we will be right back. it's time for the lowest prices of the season on the sleep number 360 smart bed.

can it help with snoring? i've never heard snoring. ...exactly. no problem. ...and done. and now, the queen sleep number 360 c2 smart bed is only $899. plus, no interest until january 2024. ends monday.

...little things... ...can become your big moment. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines, and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you.

>> leland: for those of you getting up right now, just before noon, feeling the effects of last night, i got something for you. january 1st is national but a merry day. the number one branch cocktail is believed to have been born at harry's bar in paris in 1921. we don't know for sure who it's named after. there are a couple of theories. the first queen mary of england was dubbed bloody mary because she had a habit of executing protestants. silent film star made to creek i'm known as america sweetheart. molly, good news. any bloody mary you have can be written of off to historical research. >> molly: of course, right, right! and toppings, whatever you want. shrimp, bacon, add it all in.

stir it with celery. >> leland: that wouldn't be bad right now, some bacon, some shrimp. >> molly: happy birthday to the bloody mary. great anchoring with you, leland. happy new year, everybody. "outnumbered" starts now. >> gillian: this is a fox news alert, dabbling back into session this hour, congressmen battling over whether millions of americans will get $2,000 checks. we are expecting to hear from senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, effectively slamming the brakes on an increased payment from $600 to $2,000. we will bring you baking development as they happen. there is a new drama in next week's georgia runoffs which will decide control of the u.s. senate, and the balance of power in the entire congress. days out from the election, in quarantine after exposed to coronavirus. the other is