>> the debate over whether to reopen schools heats up for millions of students, parents in classrooms across the country. we'll talk with senator marsha blackburn who has made the issue a top priority. welcome to america's news headquarters from washington, i'm griff jenkins. >> i'm alicia acuna. we'll be going that to interview in a moment. first, president biden takes aim at his predecessor telling cbs there's no need for president trump to receive intelligence briefings now that he's out of the office.

mark is in wilmington, delaware where biden is spending the weekend. hi, mark. >> good afternoon. the white house says it's focused on this and the interview that president biden had yesterday, the president was asked whether or not he thinks his predecessor should get the briefings sort after a tradition of ex-president. >> i think so not. >> why not? >> because of his erratic behavior. you've called him n existential threat, dangerous i believe it. >> the president taped this before he went to delaware, no major plans on the schedule, but he's expected to continue

to try to get a massive stimulus podge through congress. >> and there's a look at what his immigration policy would be, the surge of migrants at the border. he says it's a different approach than the last four years and this week, the president signing three executive orders giving some of his top officials three months to come up with a look at policies that could be implemented to address not only border security, but humanitarian issues. there's a bipartisan push by senators dick durbin and lindsey graham, so-called dreamers, who came here as children, for citizenship. immigration, of course, one of several issues the administration is going to face, but that interview about president trump also getting a lot of attention this weekend. >> mark meredith with the president. thanks, mark. griff: thanks. joining us is tennessee

republican and member of senate judiciary and armed services committee, marsha blackburn. on saturday you heard mark meredith's report there. i want to get your reaction to the president saying that former president trump should be denied classified briefings. >> more of the double standard, double speak hypocrisy that is coming from the biden administration and, griff, this is one of the things that will remind people why they did not want more of obama-biden in electing hillary clinton, why ne they elected president donald trump. and they say, should john brennan, should james comey, should others stop receive access to classified information? should former president obama stop receiving these briefings, security briefings? but you know, they've got a double standard and they're doubling down on their double

standard. >> so the briefings. i want to turn to the issue that for millions of students and parents across the country, it has become a boiling point and that is the reopenings you see in chicago, in philly, elsewhere, schools not reopening because of the teachers unions. now, at the white house press briefing jen psaki was asked whether or not they would use the president's bully pulpit to push schools to reopen. here is what happened, watch. >> the president is absolute commit today reopening schools. they want them not just to reopen, but to stay open and he wants to do that in a safe way and we're going to rely on c.d.c. guidance, which again is not officially out yet, to determine the best way to do it. >> senator, your reaction? >> well, there again, double standard. the white house has one opinion. c.d.c. had already said that children could go back to school taking the proper mitigation strategies, getting those in place. and that is your ppe, making

certain you're using masks, you have dividers and every-- the teachers are on the list for getting vaccinations. here is the deal, it seems that the left is concerned about covid in the classroom. they are not concerned about covid at the border crossings. and then you have pediatricians who are saying get kids back in school. look at what is happening with mental health, with teen pregnancy, with teen suicides. you need to get these children back in the classroom. i will tell you this, griff, if i were lori lightfoot i would fire every one of these teachers that will not go back to school in chicago and will not go back to teach these children. griff: why won't lori lightfoot lean on the teachers to reopen. >> it's amazing to me, congress

appropriated 110 billion dollars to help get children back in school. in tennessee most of the classrooms are open. our county mayors, our school boards, our school systems, our teachers, our parents, they're all working together to make certain that children get back to a normal lifetime, a normal school day, but you're not seeing it in these big cities. and that's why people are getting out of them as fast as they can. griff: so, with the covid relief package, which is moving right down the path to getting passed with reconciliation, are you calling for a contingenty in that final piece of legislation, to get that money you have to reopen? >> yes, we have said and i had an amendment that we filed that said you can't get these federal dollars in you are not going to have children back in those classrooms. if you're not going to have those teachers in person back

in those classrooms. this is despicable that these unions keep moving the goal post. they are saying, we're not going to go back until you do this, that or the other and griff, it has nothing to do with the education or the safety of the children in the classroom. and we know these children are learning virtually nothing when they are not in the classroom. we know their nutrition is failing. we know there are mental health issues. as i said, suicide is up. pediatricians are saying get them back in the classroom. griff: senator, we've just got a few seconds left. i want your preview. we have an impeachment trial coming. what will happen? >> in my opinion it's an unconstitutional impeachment. i think the democrats are now wanting to get this over as quickly as they can because they've realized if they open this pandora's box of a double standard again, and they are

going to try to impeach a private citizen, former president, then you can go back through obama, clinton, carter, you can go to public officials like clinton and comey and strzok and page and you can pull them up for impeachment, and they're beginning to realize they may have opened a door they did not want to open. >> senator marsha blackburn, thank you for taking time, it's going to be a busy week. >> yes, thank you. griff: check out fox news sunday tomorrow. chris wallace has an exclusive interview with senators rand paul and chris murphy as they prepare to take part in that impeachment trial against former president trump. chris will also talk exclusively to house conference chair liz cheney days after a vote to keep her leadership position. check your listings for time and channel. howie kurtz talk to former

campaign manager corey lewandowski on his view of the media and the impeachment trial of former president trump. that's tomorrow at 11 eastern. kristin: griff in time for sunday services the u.s. supreme court overturned california's ban on indoor church services. in the 6-3 ruling issued late friday, the nation's highest court agreed that churches and other houses of worship can have 25% capacity at indoor services however, it limits singing and chanting. those were upheld. ♪♪ >> more on president biden's immigration agenda. the president ending a trump administration arrangement with guatemala that the u.s. border instead. the guatemalan government welcomes the decision to terminate the policy. only 20 of 939 hondurans and salvadorens decided to seek

asylum them and so far none have got approval for asylum in the central american company. and this as border agents detained 253 illegal immigrants. and they've seen more since april of last year. >> a mid fallout of the keystone pipeline cancellation, people against other pipelines across the u.s. are hoping for action from the biden administration. how this could impact the energy industry as andy lipo, president of the oil associates. thank you for joining us, andy. we're going to put up a map here to show other pipeline projects there are at risk and the pressure that the biden administration is facing to either limit or modify or cancel these in some ways. my question to you is, andy, even with the arguments of opponents of pipelines, there are property rights issues as a

fear of line break, is this a way to keep the oil in the ground? >> it is. the pipelines have become a new battle ground after fracking because after all if you don't have a pipeline you can't move your oil or natural gas and it has to stay in the ground and we've seen the last several years really a proliferation of litigation and delays in the pipeline projects. >> one example of the slowing of this process would be the dakota access pipeline, that's the pipeline that delivers oil from north dakota to illinois, and opponents are fighting to get the u.s. army corps of engineers to shut things down right now. the standing rock sioux tribe had their lawyer say in an interview that quote, this pipeline doesn't have a permit and it's operating in violation of law and the court expects the corps to do something about it. what would the impact on jobs and the economy be if the army

corps of engineers goes along with this? >> well, if the pipeline were to shut down, first of all, it carries about half of the north dakota oil production that's currently coming out of the ground. you could expect that that 570,000 barrels a day, which is a significant amount of u.s. oil production, half of it is going to go on the railroads, which is is a much less efficient way of carrying oil rather than pipelines. you would also see that prices of crude oil up in north dakota would decline substantially, impacting that state's economy. so i would expect that there would be several thousand jobs that are at risk with the closure of the dakota access. >> and you really hit on something there, sort of the crux of people so frustrated by this whole thing, opponents to these pipelines say in part they're doing this for the environment to fight global warming and the biden administration is saying the same thing. however, i spoke to the governor of nebraska about the

keystone xl and he pointed out that the oil is still going to move. it's either going to move by rail, it's going to move by truck business actually worse for the environment or could be worse, or we're going to end up with foreign sources that have a much larger footprint on the environment. >> well, that's correct. if you look at what canada is doing, they're actually building a large expansion to move canadian oilsands production to vancouver to reach the asian markets and world oil demands were connected with other sources so if the u.s. does not receive this canadian oil, they're going to be importing oil from other locations into the gulf coast as well as into california from what we might consider less stable areas of the world such as the middle east where we always see geopolitical tensions rise to the surface. >> and then also, let's hit on the u.s. economy here.

we've got the u.s. energy economy numbers you can look at here when it comes to construction, transportation, that's 27% of the u.s. oil and gas industry which alone employs 183,000 people. the industry as a whole is 679,000 americans. but that's leaving out restaurants, hotels, and other businesses that are also impacted by all of this? >> well, the consumer depends on affordable energy, whether that is gasoline for their cars, or diesel for the trucks and railroads, or natural gas to heat your house, and the same thing can be said of all of these other businesses like the restaurants. i mean, they're cooking with energy, they're buying supplies that are delivered by trucks. so, until the consumer is actually affected by price or brownouts or power outages, they take for granted the amount of energy that is it being supplied by this industry. >> well, we will continue to watch this.

andrew lipow, thank you very much for your time here today. >> thanks for having me. griff: alicia, a new jersey nabisco plant will close its doors, leaving up to 600 people without a job. the plant which has been in operation for 63 years baking iconic brands like you see here, oreos and lorna doones will close. and the parent company says they'll help support employees during the transition. >> another shake-up at the top of the lincoln project. co-founder jennifer horn announcing her resignation, the group says the split came after horn demanded a huge raise which they rejected. her departure comes amid upheaval at the group and another co-founder john weaver left over inappropriate messages to young men. griff: the countdown to super bowl sunday is on.

our friend phil keating is live at the nfl super bowl experience fan zone in tampa, florida. with a look how people are enjoying themselves and phil, you're having too much fun. >> oh, man, this is the best day of the super bowl week, as far as wholesome, family fun. and the nfl experience always, a look at-- this is cheerleaders up there, the 40 yard dash here, you can pass, you can kick field goals. we'll show you as much as we can after the break. remember commercials with exciting stunts. so to help you remember that liberty mutual customizes your home insurance, here's something you shouldn't try at home. insurance is cool. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ is that net carbs or total?... eh, not enough fiber... chocolate would be good... snacking should be sweet and simple. the delicious taste of glucerna gives you the sweetness you crave while helping you manage your blood sugar. with nutrients to help support immune health.

>> preparations underway for super bowl lv at raymond james stadium in tampa, florida. football fans are having fun at an interactive theme park before the buccaneers take on the kansas city chiefs. and our own phil keating is live at the nfl experience. i've watched you all morning. you have the best assignment of the day. what is happening there? >> it absolutely is. it's the funnest day of super bowl week and super popular with the kids and parents and family fun. what's up, guys? who is going to win the game tomorrow? >> buccaneers. >> you must live in tampa. >> yes, we do. >> yes, we do. >> what's your name. >> jeremiah austin.

>> you? >> owen. >> and this is one of the things you can do here, the buccaneer fans, the chiefs fans and generic football fans in the area. this is the first time that the home team is actually the home team in a super bowl. the first time ever. and here goes a good race. oh, they've got speed. some of them are led to believe there's actually scouts here. let's come on down, chris. i'll show you some of the other things you can do out here. you can kick field goals. you can even win some prizes in a couple of the select events. i'm going to try to get you over here real quick. security is tight this week as well and i mentioned that an hour ago. 70 law enforcement agencies represented by federal, state and local on the scene to ensure that this super bowl goes problem-free and the fbi said the other day, there

really is no credible threat out there. the justice department announced an arrest yesterday. the first federal charges filed this week against a man, super bowl related. he was violating the no flight rule. he was in a no drone zone and he was flying his drone and he's in a bit of trouble. over here, we've got people throwing the passes. what's your name? >> dave. >> all right, dave. $1 is if you do it. >> no. >> nice try, nice try. let me give it a whirl. i'm going deep. no. that's why i was a corner back in high school not a quarterback. ha, ha. all right back to you in d.c. griff: a good throw, phil, a good shot. you've got to keep working at that. what's your favorite part of this experience? >> here today? >> yeah, i think the kicking the field goals is the most fun and we'll do that in the next hour. >> all right, we'll catch up

with you, phil keating in super bowl lv having fun. thanks, phil. >> all right. in the next hour of america's news headquarters, we'll break down the super bowl with fox news contributor, author and legendary sports caster game gray. you don't want to miss it. alicia: coming up, an understoodoff in the windy city as the chicago mayor there, lori lightfoot says she's made her final offer to the teachers union. the latest what could happen in those schools and others around the country next. [♪♪] when you have diabetes, managing your blood sugar is crucial. try boost glucose control. the patented blend is clinically shown to help manage blood sugar levels. boost glucose control products contain high quality protein and key nutrients to support immune health. try boost.

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>> the chicago public schools and the city's teachers union are locked in a bitter fight over when and how to get back to in-person learning. this as schools around the country are dealing with mixed messages from the biden administration. lucas tomlinson has the latest. hi, lucas. >> good afternoon, alicia. chicago is home to the nation's

third largest school system where teachers are on the verge of a strike. the city's democratic mayor lori lightfoot says she's fed up with the teachers and wants to see them back in the school as quickly as possible. >> we're failing those children, but not giving them the option to return to school. failing grades. depression, isolation, and so much more. today, there's no reason-- >> teachers unions were resisting returns to the classroom in l.a., boston, cleveland, philadelphia, san francisco where the city's school board and the nation's capitol. the white house's jen psaki was pressed on the issue. >> will president biden use the bully pulpit to cajole teachers to go back to schools, to go back. >> i'm going to reject the premise of the question. we're going to rely on c.d.c. guidance, which again is not officially out yet, to determine the best way to do

it, but there are several mitigating factors that we've seen up-to-date that will help make it safe. >> that sounds like yes with an asterisk. >> if you're the spokesman for the white house you could certainly say that, but you are not. >> joe biden was a top resipienh in 2020. and they need to get back with or without their shots. >> a safe reopening does not suggest that teachers need to be vaccinated in order to reopen safely. >>, but two days later the white house walensky walked that back saying she's working on new official guidance. for months the c.d.c. said it's safe for the children to return it school. alicia: lucas tomlinson, thanks. griff: for more on the schools and everything coming with this unbelievable issue, got millions of school kids and

parents up in arms. fox's contributor jessica, and constitutional attorney mark smith join us. mark, thanks for taking time. i just want to show you in case you missed it. this is the cover of the new york post on friday. we can put it up on the screen you can see it there, joe gets a "f", and you heard there in lucas tomlinson's report at the white house, and jen psaki asked why the white house won't use the bully pulpit. why won't the white house try to alleviate the situation and get the schools open? >> i think they're trying to alleviate the situation. president biden made it central to his campaign to get the kid back in school. i usually don't take my political cues from the new york post, that i'm as frustrated as lori lightfoot is as actually she's probably a little more frustrating when she's negotiating with the

teachers union. i've been heartbroken by increasing suicide and mental health episodes in clark county, nevada and this is going on everywhere. there's a piece about the strain on working mothers, nearly all of the job losses last month from women, and especially minority women and most with children, and teachers instead of doing their jobs over zoom. they have to get to the classroom and the c.d.c. director and dr. fauci said they can go back to school vaccinated or not. that needs to be our nation's top priority at this point. griff: and mark, reopening schools have been part of president biden's priority in the first 100 days. when you see the stories like the post criticizing not doing enough. is that unfair? >> well, look, the reality is politics, right? joe biden, one of the largest contributors to the democratic

party and to the biden campaign was, of course, the public teachers unions. so you have the public teachers unions who basically want to continue with virtual learning against really the parents. so, joe biden is to some degree between a rock and a hard place here politically because he doesn't want to irritate a major part of his core consistency, on the other hand, you have prominent democrats, you have michael bloomberg and lori lightfoot coming out saying we need to reopen these schools, yes, covid is a risk to americans and to everyone, but there are trade-offs, and the health and public health and considerations and potential harm to the students and learning and to their futures and to their mental health and the like has to be considered. so, i think that, no, i think at some point, joe biden has to use the bully pulpits. the question is how will he use it? will he use it to basically back the teacher unions or use it to go against the corps consistency and in this case

side with the parents. griff: jessica, if the president won't use the bully pulpit. another way to cajole the teachers union in covid relief bill the democrats have a full run of it, a go it alone approach. should they put a stipulation for receiving the money for the schools, should they be forced to reopen first? >> i think that everything has to be on the table at this point. there's a report last week coming out of fairfax county, that they were going back to school, but without teachers there would be hall monitors supervising children in the classrooms. teachers are essential and we should take every precaution that they're safe in the classroom, that there's plexiglas and if they want shields on the ppe, but the covid relief bill-- some have pre-existing conditions or comorbidity concerns that make it

implausible to go back. but the majority should be able to get back in the classrooms and we should use every tool in our tool kit to make it happen as soon as possible. griff: we'll see what happens. mark, let me change gears, we have an impeachment trial starting in the senate on tuesday. what do you predict we will see? >> well, i think, again, what we're going to see is a political debate. i think they end of the day, the legal case for impeaching a president that is no longer in office is relatively weak, and i think the best evidence that it's a relatively weak legal position is that the chief justice of the united states supreme court john roberts is not even going to bother showing up to this impeachment trial. i think that sends a pretty big message about how he views this. beyond this, i think you will see a duelling political narratives, the suspects trying to score political points not just against donald trump, but most importantly, going forward, against donald trump's supporters, as well as to

republican politicians. on the other hand, i think you'll see the trump lawyers probably try to highlight the hypocrisy here of where you looked at entire summer of 2020 where democrats were basically standing by and watching some of these riots in places like portland and minneapolis and weren't standing up as fully as they should have and that evidence brought forth. if you're going to impeach trump for peaceful references at the capitol what are you going to do about the other politicians that could be impeached from federal office? you'll see duelling narratives going on. at the end of the day i think it's extremely unlikely that donald trump gets convicted of anything in the senate. i think it's the political reality of it. griff: and the political reality is that the vote doesn't look like it will be there, jessica, to convict donald trump so should they even go forward with this? is it a distraction to the

biden administration getting their agenda moving forward? >> no, it's absolutely not a distraction to the biden administration and joe biden made a few comments last week that were most emphatic about why it needs to go forward. in a meeting in the oval office he said. this is not just about scoring political points. and though we'll see narratives. this is about principle and the duty, and that the president of the united states incited a riot at the capitol and we lost five lives because testify and we could have lost a lot more. and the democrats will talk about his role in spreading the big lie that this election was stolen and if reports are true from the last couple of weeks, that the president still wants his lawyers, and by the way, these are the only lawyers to take the case. the people who were going to take the case had to drop out. the president wanted them to get up there and lie about what happened on november 3rd and ensuing days about election

fraud that did not occur on a broad level. and constitutional grounds, he was impeached while he was in office. mitch mcconnell made it impossible for us to finish this trial before donald trump left office. so, it has nothing to do with what the constitution says. it has to do with the politics of mitch mcconnell and nothing else. so i'm excited to see what happens in the case that's brought forward, but it's an important moment for the american people who believe he played a central role in this. >> and jessica and mark, i want to quickly get in before rerun out of time. one more subject. the impeachment will happen. and then we're seeing an influx of immigrants, more than a thousand a day. how big of a problem do you think the immigration will be now as a result of the executive actions and orders the administration has already taken, mark?

>> well, i think the reality is joe biden and the immigration policy is going to be a return to the barack obama immigration policy where you have no border enforcement or very lax border enforcement. at the end of the day, we're a nation of laws, laws must be followed by all who live here or who want to come here. so when the first thing that a person does at the southern border is basically break into the country and get caught, the idea of let's say catch and releasing them into the american public and just to show up six months later for some potential court hearing, i'm not sure is really a robust border policy to say the least, but really what we're really seeing here is in some ways a defacto encouragement for people to come to the southern border and the reality is, we'll see more because the border will be la x-er than the

trump administration. >> jennifer the last word. >> i think there will be an influx of migrants coming in and more people to seeking asylum here and there's no data that looks the immigration cases in 2019 when president trump was in office. well over 20% of migrants showed up for their court hearing, a central argument that republicans use against the country with the catch and release. people want to be here legally if they can. and they're fleeing countries where they're attacked by their own governments, they live in fear for all of their lives and yes, some seeking economic refuge here, and the secretary mayorkas has a plan for this and the numbers will go up and obama was called the deporter in chief if you recall by some people. and we'll sue how biden does. griff: and schools,

impeachment and immigration. >> thanks, griff. alicia: the coronavirus, the country races to vaccinate people. we'll talk to an infectious disease expert coming up. ♪♪ it's velveeta shells & cheese versus the other guys. ♪♪ clearly, velveeta melts creamier. new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a short list of quality candidates from our resume database. claim your seventy five dollar credit, when you post your first job at indeed.com/home.

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>> the debate over school reopening centers around vaccines and safety for insight into the medical issues involved in this debate will bring in infectious disease expert and johns hopkins scholar, doctor, thank you for being here today. as you know, c.d.c. director walensky said this week that the data is pointing to the fact that not every teacher needs to be vaccinated in order for schools to be going to in-person learning. and that was walked back saying that the doctor was speaking in her personal capacity. i want folks to see the tweet

you put up. in response to that. you wrote that the biden administration should stand by the science that their c.d.c. director based her comments on and politicians and spokesperson trying to undermine her intellect and was in her personal capacity was wrong. what do you say that parents should take from this less than clear message coming from the administration? >> what i think parents should think about is looking at the data that we're seeing from schools that have opened around the country and all around the world, in trying to understand is a school a focus for transmission, the educational component, not the sports, not extracurricular activity and i think that the data shows that schools can be open safely with certainly safeguards in place and capacity restrictions and social distancing and it's important for vulnerable teachers, those falling in the high risk groups to be vaccinated, but it shouldn't be a rerequisite to open schools. we've opened schools in parts of the country without teachers

being vaccinated. i don't want vaccinations to be an obstacle to opening schools. we know that children are suffering and that it can be done safely. and the c.d.c. director and the c.d.c. director before her stated it can be done safely. i think it should be a priority. schools should be the first things to open and the last to close. that's what people like dr. fauci, dr. walensky, dr. redfield have said. to open up based on the epidemiology, based on the science. alicia: how much does this type of disagreement that's happening in public impact the timeline of schools actually opening up in person? does it slow it down significantly or-- >> i think we are going to see dig delays in opening schools. schools that are open i think will stay open. i see in general the rhetoric is changing especially with the way that the teachers unions have been looking at

vaccination as their major factor to go back to school. we're seeing others happen in major cities. i think there's probably going to be a delay, i wish the administration would follow what the c.d.c. director is saying and not trying to discount it as something in her personal capacity. and that's exactly why she's c.d.c. director, her analysis as is on. and i would like to see the biden administration open within the first 1 #00 days and i think it's doable and should be done. alicia: as we see this unfolds, increasing variants coming into the country. i want to put up some of the information on that so folks can take a look. you have the u.k. variant cases coming in, two from brazil and south africa and the total number of cases in the united states right now, more than 26 million.

so my question to you is how concerned should people be about this variant? what are the dangers and distinctions here that folks should keep in mind? >> these variant likely have the ability to transfer more efficiently. we should be more about hand washing and mask wearing. we don't think it's more deadly. some of the variants, including african and brazil variant should be for efficacy, if you look at johnson & johnson and novavax, it's ability was undeter. you still got infected and you didn't get the severe consequences. that's the message. that means that we have to move forward with vaccination with no speed limit and get vaccines into people's arms as quickly as possible and that's the way

we'll move forward. alicia: doctor, we appreciate your expertise. thank you. griff: we remember the life and legacy of actor christopher plummer, from the sound of music and so many other classic films coming up next. ♪ ♪ we made usaa insurance 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

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>> welcome back, time now for a look at headlines. canadian actor christopher plummer best known pass captain vontrapp in the hit film has died. plummer garnered more than 200 films and tv show credits, and won two tonies, emmy and an oscar. he was 91 years old. caught on tape a large section

of the cliffs of dover came crashing down. and the man who shot the video quickly aimed his camera in time to catch the scene. the rock slides happened after heavy rains and wind. and in parts of southern wisconsin temperatures are expected to drop throughout parts of the state this weekend. so who will win this year's super bowl. we turned to the animal oracles, of course. nick the dolphin swam against the tide wii choosing the chiefs as his favorite to win instead of his hometown team the buccaneers. nick, the dolphin correctly predicted six super bowl winners in a row which is not a good sign for tom brady. alicia: and the panda went with the chiefs. this is his second year in a row picking them as the victor.

griff: yeah, but fiona the hippo seemed to be leaning towards the chief ultimately knocked over the buccaneers barrel. only one of her three super bowl predictions have been correct so far, but don't read too much into that, alicia, because fiona predicted the first year she started doing it, and she threw up. they picked the winner and the oracle, she was scared the last two years. we think she's right and it's all about the bucs. alicia: we think it's her year. i checked with one animal, the bronco from denver. griff: and nick the dolphin choosing not his hometown, it's a thing. all the dolphins are going with mahomes, it's trendy and not based on insight and i think it's a denial of that dolphin's

oracle skills. we'll find out, super bowl lv coming up tomorrow. who do you like, by the way. alicia: as a bronco fan i don't like either of them frankliment -- frankly, but the chiefs are a denver rival and everybody is agitated with the quarterback of the buccaneers, not going to say his name. i'm there for the food and commercials. griff: one animal we didn't talk about the goats, the g.o.a.t., not the animal, but the greatest of all time, tom brady. alicia: and we'll have more on the debate over in-person learning and how officials are reacting to the biden administration's mixed messaging. that's after the break. alright, i brought in ensure max protein... ...to give you the protein you need

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♪ ♪ >> if you are not going to have children back in those classrooms, if you're not going to have those teachers in person back in those classrooms. this is despicable, that these unions keep moving the goalpost. griff: that's tennessee senator marsha blackburn over sending america's children back to school. welcome to "america's news headquarters" from washington, i'm griff jenkins. alicia: this debate is really heating up this weekend, and here to weigh in on how the president's policy plans could

affect his fate and mesh jobs -- american jobs is north dakota republican governor, thank you so much for being here. i want folks to know before we get started that 80% of your students are back to in-person learning. you're a perfect person to talk to about this situation and the controversy going on right now. what is your state doing that's making this work? >> well, alicia, great to be with you. first of all, of course, we've been trying to follow science and be data-driven, not ideological-driven on all of our decisions during covid. that's put us in a great position. we've got one of the lowest positivity rates in the entire country right now. there's only 37 people hospitalized due to covid in our state, a state that has over 2,000 hospital beds available. so we've had a majority of our kids back in school since school started in september. we're up to 80%, as you said now, another 10% are in hybrid, about 10% in distance learning.

most of those are on our tribal lands. we mota having in-person -- we know that having in-person learning is great for students in terms of not just their learning, but their social and emotional status. isolated at home is not a good place to be, so we're very committed to keeping our kids in schools, and we're very grateful to all our teachers and administrators that are working together for having our kids in-person learning. there have been no large outbreaks related to k-12 in the country. and when kids are there and appropriate precautions are put in place, it can happen, it can happen, great education safe for the kids and safe for the teachers. alicia: your state by population and geography is much different than places like california and new york, places that have very large population centers. what do you say to them and to the biden administration when there are concerns about these

higher populated areas and getting those students back into school buildings? >> well, it's true that we've got a geography in north dakota that's the exact same size as all six new england states put together in a low population. but when you take our larger markets like fargo and bismarck, our certain our high schools are similar size high school, similar square foot per-student as some of the large metros in the country. a lot of school buildings are relatively similar when you get into the you urban areas like o. and we know that even in those large markets, we can have kids in school safely, and we can do it with the right precautions and make it safe for teachers and the students. alicia: okay. and i want to work our way to the vaccination process that your state currently has underway because you're one of a handful of states that's really seeing some success in terms of numbers of delivery of the vaccine and getting into people's arms. what is it that your state is

doing, and where do things stand right now? >> well, right now we're number two in the country. we're chasing governor jim justice in west virginia for that number one spot. 86% of the vaccines we've received from the federal government are now administered into people's arms, and we're working on that, of course, every day. we had a bit of a running head start. we took very seriously our role as a pilot state when we were selected in september. we rehearsed all the logistics. we practiced essentially bringing pre-vaccination shipments in to our distribution dealing with all the obstacles of geography, of getting small amounts of vaccine out to lots of communities in the state. and, again, i want to just thank our community leaders, local public health, department of health. there have been so many people involved in the logistics and supply chain to drive that forward. we've had great success, and we've really focused on vaccinating the most vulnerable and done a great job of getting those folks in our long-term

care skilled nursing vaccinated. we're seeing that again in lower hospitalizations, we're seeing deaths drop. we had five days in a row this week with zero deaths. for those that might still get an infection, we've been really focused on monochronal antibodies and getting infusions. so a combination of that plus still doing, we're till among the top of the leaderboard on testing -- alicia: right. >> so the combination of widespread surveillance testing, monoclonal antibodies and execution of the vaccine is what's putting north dakota on the top of these leaderboards. alicia: i don't mean to interrupt, but while i have you here, i do want to hit on the biden agenda when it comes to climate change, because your state is an energy state. this week you directed energies in your state to determine impacts of the recent executive orders by president biden that

it will have on nowpped's energy industry. what have you learned so far? >> well, what we've seen is president biden campaigned on the idea of unity and bipartisanship. we haven't seen any of that in the first few weeks. what we've seen is a barrage, a record number of executive orders. and these executive orders related to the energy industry pose a grave threat to our nation's energy security. from an economic standpoint, they make no sense because they kill jobs, it's a hidden tax in term the of raising gas prices on hard working families around our nation that have to commute to work. and most inexpublic by, because america produces energy cleaner and more efficiently than anywhere else in the world, if you try to regulate or executive order industries out of business, you don't drop the demand for energy, it just pushes that energy supply offshore, overseas. and we had finally achieved for the first time in my lifetime the national goal of being able

to sell energy to our friends and allies versus buy it from our enemies, and we seem to be reversing course on that. and as we do that, we start buying energy overseas again, we're actually increasing emissions. so if you really care about lowering emissions in the world, then you should want to have the most amount of energy production done in the u.s. because we do it cleaner, more efficiently and under more regulation than any country in the world. alicia: governor, our best to the folks of north dakota. thank you so much for being here today. >> thank you, alicia. griff: president biden is slamming what he calls trump's, quote, erratic behavior saying in a cbs interview that the former president should no longer receive classified intelligence briefings. for more on this and biden's broader policies, let's turn to mark meredith in wilmington. hi, mark. >> reporter: hey, griff, good afternoon. president biden had a lot to say in that cbs interview. more is going to out tomorrow once it airs for super bowl

sunday. but what's going to happen with the fight over increasing the minimum wage, this is something that president biden has said he's very adamant he wants to see happen although it's unclear whether congress is going to have an appetite for something like that. here's what he had to say. >> if you're making less than $15 an hour, you're living below the poverty wage. >> but that may not be in your american rescue plan. >> i put it in, but i don't think it's going to survive. >> reporter: also in that same interview the president was asked if he thinks that former president trump should still receive intelligence briefings. biden says he does not think that is necessary even though this is a privilege that other exof-presidents have received for years. >> i think not. >> why not? >> because of his erratic behavior unrepresented to the -- unrelated to the insurrection. >> you've called him an existential threat, you've called him dangerous, you've called him reckless.

>> yeah, i have. and i believe it. >> reporter: and while the white house has said it's trying to focus on its agenda, its priorities, you can bet that next week as the second impeachment trial gets under way for former president trump, there's going to be a lot of focus on him and his actions in the last couple of months. it'll be interesting to see whether or not that's going to impact president biden's 100-day agenda as they've been trying to roll out a number of different topics. the president was also asked about it in that cbs interview, but he also said he's going to be focused on doing the business that he's been elected to do. griff: all right. mark meredith in wilmington, thank you. well, president biden and democrats are pushing forward with their 1.9 trillion stimulus plan. joining me now to talk about the economic implications, the former director of the omb under president trump, russ vaughn. he's also the president of the brand new center for american restoration. russ, thank you for taking time

on saturday. i want to ask you about the new project, but first your reaction, sir, on this $2 trillion stimulus and really the broader economic implications of this biden agenda. >> thanks, griff. it's very concerning in that the cost of this package and whether it's good for the economy right now, you have advisers on the left and on the right saying that the economy right now is on the brink of inflation, and this is something that's probably not going to get the economy growing, but actually lead to a worse and adverse reaction. so it's something we can't afford, and i'm hoping that the senate will say no to it. griff: when it appeared there was some effort on the administration for bipartisanship, you had the ten gop senators going to the white house. they were asking for $600 billion. looks like it's going to be go it alone democrats for the nearly 2 trillion. was there a missed opportunity to perhaps not go so big? >> i think so. i mean, you had a good number of

senators that were willing to go forward and do something more, much more restrained, $600 billion. there's still a trillion that has not been spent. schools have not been reopened, the school money that's already been appropriated has not been spent, has not been sent out. and as a result, why is it that they are so insistent on getting another $170 billion chunk of school funding before they allow the schools to open up and have cdc guidance along those the lines. look, this is a very expensive package. we could be sitting on a tinder box from the standpoint of inflation. and you've seen that from larry summers, who was a former treasury secretary on the democratic side. griff: well, brian dietz, the economic adviser, was asked about the summers' prediction, and, of course, obviously the concern of inflation. but he says, look, given some time, we are considering all these things, do you believe there is still time that the administration gets it right? >> not if they continue to not

take the bipartisan pushback that they're seeing in the sense of, you know, larry summers, you have republican senators. this is a party-line vote, and there's members within the republican party that are some very centrist and are not willing to go forward with this particular package. they are not seemingly to be receptive to taking any feedback. i don't think that they're going to be able to figure it out, and i think that they're moving forward with many bad policies on the economic front. they're redeclaring the war on energy, they're trying to raise regulations and starve the deregulatory agenda from the last administration. so i think there's a lot of storm clouds on the economic horizon. griff: all right. speaking of the economic horizon, let's look at the deficit under the trump administration. you see -- well, set aside 2020 because of covid. but if you look really from 2017, '18 and '19, you can see the numbers, the deficit increasing from 2018-2019, the

deficit increasing almost a trillion dollars. that was under you. so is it too convenient to blame deficit spending when you're not the party in power? >> not at all. president trump put forward more spending reductions and savings than any president in history in terms of our presidential budget. congress ignored them and didn't passed the spending -- pass the spending reforms that were needed. the prime minister said we're going to get -- the president said we're going to get the economy going, and unfortunately, we've had a setback because of the pandemic. but, look, you don't address spending and first call the responsibility when -- fiscal respondent when you are in a situation where the economy is not growing. we are addressing the needs of the country in a prioritized fashion and, unfortunately, congress was unwilling to work with us, and we're seeing the result of that now which is increased debt and deficits. griff: russ, we're just out of time, but i do want to give you a second. what's your project doing? >> you bet. we're going to be continuing the

fight on the america first agenda to make sure that the cultural fights that the president has brought to the attention of the american people and there's a movement behind, that we don't turn the page and go back to where we were four or five years ago. and we believe it's important to restore a consensus in this country about what america's all about. griff: former omb director and now head of center for american restoration, thank you very much. >> thanks, griff. ♪ alicia: yankee stadium has now become a mega covid-19 vaccine site. alex hogan is right outside the ballpark in the bronx with more on who is able to get the vaccine at that site. hi, alex. >> reporter: hi, alicia. people are back here today because this is one of the hardest hit areas in new york. that's why this new massive center went up, and lawmakers here yesterday when opening it say this is all about fairness and equity. >> the bronx is one of the places that bore the brunt of

this crisis, of the coronavirus. the bronx has suffered. but this is a place where the people of the bronx will now be protected. >> reporter: proportionally, the virus is deadlier among black and latino people, yet they have less access to the vaccine. that disparity is in 23 statements. more than 73% of the vaccines add mored went to white people whereas black and hispanics received about 2 and 5% of the vaccine which only correlates to about half of their population size. 15,000 appointments are already booked during the first week. the next available appointment is next saturday. the vaccine is available and free for everyone who lives in the bronx. there is no need for insurance or documentation, only proof of residency like postmarked mail or even a letter from a landlord. residents here lining up yesterday for the very first time. >> you know, i think everybody

should be able to open up different places where people can actually get it. >> we've been trying for weeks without my success. we even looked as far as buffalo, new york. >> reporter: now, medical experts are also warning of the more contagious variants that are spreading like the one from south africa and warning anyone with a potential super bowl party this weekend to keep in mind that, of course, that could lead to another surgery in cases. alicia? are. alicia: alex hogan in the bronx, thanks. griff: a setback for the tech giant amazon as it attempts to stop a union vote in alabama. charles watson has more on the decision. hi, charles. >> reporter: hey, griff. the national labor relations board denied an effort by amazon to delay the vote. that vote will move forward on monday as planned. now, amazon had pushed for in-person voting. however, the national labor relations board on friday

decided it will allow thousands of employees at the warehouse to vote by mail and decide whether or not they'll join the retail wholesale and department store the union. in a statement the president of the retail wholesale department store union which is helping workers organize criticized amazon's efforts, writing, quote: once again, workers have won another fight in their effort to win a union voice. amazon's blatant disregard for the health and safety of its own work force as demonstrated yet again by its insistence for an in-person election in the middle of the pandemic. this, of course, is the latest effort to unionize within amazon since the failed attempt at a delaware facility in 2014. for years the company has fought against the formation of unions at its warehouses and the push to unionize in alabama seems to be no different. on an amazon web site tailored to this specific effort, the company warns employees about fees they may have to pay should they unionize while highlighting

the good pay and benefits amazon says it offers. employees at the facility say they feel the pressure. >> every time we go to the bathroom and you're in the stall in the bathroom, you've got an antiunion flier right there the in front of you. you've got fliers in the break room, you've got 'em when you're walking in and walking out, you've got big banners, vote no. >> reporter: and we reached out to amazon to ask if they're prepared to work with the union should these workers in alabama decide to unionize. we have not heard back just yet. griff: charles watson in atlanta, thanks. alicia? alicia: an epic matchup for super bowl lv as patrick mahomes and the kansas city chiefs get ready to take on tom brady and the tampa bay buccaneers. phil keating is live at the super bowl experience fan zone with a look at how people are enjoying the runup to the big game. hey, phil. >> reporter: hi there, alicia.

you know, you cannot have anything but a great time at the nfl experience. same way last year in miami, same way today. there's so much to see and do including the denver donkey. more coming up. ♪ ookkeeper for peace of mind. your books are all set. so you can finally give john some attention. trusted experts. guaranteed accurate books. intuit quickbooks live. your grooming business is booming. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a shortlist of quality candidates from a resume data base. claim your seventy-five-dollar credit when you post your first job at indeed.com/groomer

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griff: well, sports fans counting downo the super bowl, many of them are getting in on some of the action at the nfl or super bowl experience. phil keating is live in the middle of the action in tampa. hi, phil. what are you doing now? >> reporter: well, about to kick that field goal i promised. last year i did it down in miami, and i didn't know i had a torn meniscus in my knee. i've since had it scoped, i should be healthy and ready. this is from 75 yards away. no joke, this would be an all-time record. here we go. oh, a little short. maybe i should have tried it from 45 yards. just kidding, it was only 25 yards. anyway, there's so much to do here. this is one of the best, most fun days for families of the entire super bowl week. it's been packed here every single day, all kinds of covid

protocols. everybody's got to wear a mask, hand sanitizer stations everywhere, and like i did at the tease in the break, when you stand in front of and in behind those molds of the nfl player, theyen sanitize them every time when you leave. one of the cutest things, which we're going to show you now, is the 15 and under, they kick field goals, they run obstacle courses. i mean, this is great for kids of all ages as well as their parents and adults because they're little kids at heart. it's a football fan's bonanza. so there's a lot of chiefs fans who actually came into town. i've been noticing a lot of chiefs people over the past couple of days, a lot of red shirts in this house. but, of course, a lot of buccaneers fans too because they're the home team. everybody live ares in this town. lives in this town. the only drawback is the economic impact because there's

not two visiting teams, that kind of lessened the impact for all the businesses, bars and restaurants here in tampa -- well, and hoe des. everybody already -- hotels. everybody already has a home to stay in. back to you, griff. griff: great job and work on that kick. [laughter] thanks, phil. all right, joining us now to discuss super bowl lv is fox news contributor and sportscaster jim gray. you'll be covering tomorrow's game for westwood 1 radio network, i'm told, and you will have an exclusive halftime interview with president biden. is that correct? >> that's correct, griff. looking forward to the interview with president biden. he'll be the fifth president that's joined us at halftime, and it'll be the tenth consecutive commander in chief that i've interviewed, is so looking forward to that. but the game is the story tomorrow, patrick mahomes against tom brady, a matchup for the ages, and it's what america really needs right now, a

respite for a couple of hours with everything that's gone on with covid, the election behind us and so forth. griff: what will you talk with president biden about? will it be the game, or will you also get into policy issues and issues facing the country? >> little bit of both, but it's the issues important to sports fans as well as important to the american people and covid. griff: i have been excited all day long to speak with you. you are, of course, the author of talking to g.o.a.t., and we have a possible one in this matchup in tom brady. it's such a good setup. the young and upcoming superstar, patrick mahomes, versus the g.o.a.t. and soon tock hall of namer -- to be hall-of-famer one day, tom brady. if brady wins, it'll be his seventh super bowl ring. that will be one more than any nfl franchise in history. what do you think? >> well, tom brady already is the g.o.a.s.t., there is no --

g.o.a.t., there's no question about it. this is his 23st season -- 21st season, so he has been more than half the time in the super bowl, and he's won six of those nine times, most recently a couple of years ago with the new england patriots. so now he's going with his second team in his first year at tampa, and he's going up against patrick mahomes who's trying to repeat for the first time since the patriots did in 2003 and 2004. and the team they beat all those years ago was the philadelphia eagles and andy reid, the head coach of the chiefs at that time was the add head coach of the eagles. it is actually against the g.o.a.t. against the killed, and that's what a baby goat is called, a kid. [laughter] do you know what the leader of a herd for goats? the it's called the grand champion. [laughter] so tomorrow we're going to see who gets anointed that. but tom brady is by far and away

the g.o.a.t., he's setting records z that are going to be almost impossible to replicate, duplicate or see again. of just enjoy the games, because the likes of what he is doing with tampa bay we will not see again. give give what a great way to put it. jim, are there a couple of keys to the game we should be watching for? >> well, i think offensively brady and the bucs have to score almost every time they have the ball, and they did not punt when brady was with the patriots against the eagles a couple of years ago, and they still lost the game. that's just how explosive the chiefs' offense is. when you have tyreek hill and travis kelce and the weapons they have, patrick mahomes is a magician. he is so much fun to watch, and he is so great. what he has done in his first three years in the national football league is just incredible.

so i would think that the key is the tampa bay offense has to score, and they almost have to score every time they have the ball, and they cannot turn over the ball. griff: jim gray with a big interview with president biden, and i think i hear you saying don't bet e against brady. jim, thanks very much. thanks for a taking time. [laughter] >> good advice for people. griff: that's right. and speaking of betts, fox bent super 6 is -- fox bet super 6 is returning for super bowl sunday. you can download the free fox bet super 6 app today. it's free to play. participants also have the chance to win $5,000 just take part in a six-question quiz about the game. iowa liberty that? alicia: griff, it's been nearly a month as police search for a missing mom in california. the latest developments, coming up. ♪ ♪

♪ alicia: with the adoption of a budget resolution in congress yesterday, democrats are now preparing to draft president biden's $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief package. joining us now is democratic pennsylvania senator and member of the senate finance committee, bob casey. senator casey, really appreciate you being here today. my first question is what is the most important thing to you, what are you most focused on in this package, the must-haves? >> well, alicia, good to be with you. i think the most important thing for most americans, and i hope democrats and republicans, is to provide support at least for the three major areas. one is to do everything we can to invest in a speeded-up vaccination program for getting millions, tens of millions of americans to have shots as soon as possible. secondly, to reopen our schools and, thirdly, to make sure that we're providing direct relief. there's still terrible numbers on the economy and jobs just

reported yesterday. and hunger and food insecurity has never been worse. i see anytime our home state of pennsylvania -- it in our home state of pennsylvania. so providing direct relief and making sure we're getting every dollar possible into a vaccination program as well. alicia: you mentioned schools and getting them reopened. as you know, the cdc director this week got into kind of a strange little back and forth with the white house over the data that she says is showing that not every teacher has to be vaccinated. and then earlier today in talking to griff jenkins, your colleague, senator marsha blackburn, said this: tying covid relief to getting schools back opened. >> you can't get these federal dollars if you are not going to have children back in those classrooms, if you're not going to have those teachers in person back in those classrooms.

this is despicable that these unions keep moving the goalpost. alicia: senator, your response? >> well, i think that's 100% not helpful. look, the worst thing we should do is to tell a state like pennsylvania, which has a strong tradition of local control, we have 500 school districts, every district has different challenges, and we have got to make sure that every district can make its own decision about how to open up. what we should be doing at the federal government level to provide the dollars, appropriate dollars to states and school districts so they can have the dollars to open up, reopen or open up a school. that is an expensive process. you've got to have ventilation, you've got to have a lot of personal protective equipment, all kinds of supports that schools need. i think ultimately, additionally -- i hope we get to this, probably not in this bill, but down the road -- is to finally, finally invest in a school reconstruction and repair

program. but for the short term, these schools need dollars to open up so our kids can learn, and i think it would have an economic benefit as well. alicia: senator, you have democrats in large states like california and illinois also saying it's time toll listen to what the -- to listen to what the cdc is indicating and get the schools open now, that the teachers unions are applying too much pressure in a place where they really shouldn't. >> well, we don't want to put teachers at risk. teachers often live in homes where they could put other people at risk if they contract the virus. so the key here is to make sure that we're investing in schools but also investing in the wider public health infrastructure so that we can have in communities where we have a lot of people who have not been vaccinated yet, you can have testing. one of the real failures of the last administration was this disaster in testing which is now coupled with the disaster in the rollout of the vaccination program.

so both, both have to be repaired with the investments we can make in this legislation coming up. but i think there's bipartisan concern about the slow pace of vaccinations as well as the lack of testing and personal protective equipment. alicia: i want to get back to one point about teachers needing protection and vaccinations. the cdc director herself, a scientist, said that the data indicating that the teachers can still safely return even if not all of them are vaccinated. does that move you in any way? >> there's no question that in some, in some schools and school districts you might have some teachers who have access to vaccinations and others who don't. i think overall we've got to make sure that we're speeding up the vaccination program. by the way, none of this is going to happen unless we get a bill. the good news that democrats are united to get a bill done and get it done fast. and i hope it's bipartisan, even

the reconciliation, the budget reconciliation pathway can be bipartisan. but i think we're at a point now, at least my view, is where the president biden and the administration and and congressional democrats are in one place about the dollars needed, and senate republicans at least -- and i'm sure house republicans -- are at a number that's far too low. we have to meet this moment and hit it hard meaning the virus and the economy to get the economy out of the ditch and to get into, to put this virus behind us. alicia: senator bob casey of pennsylvania, you have a really big week ahead. thank you so much for your time today. >> thanks, alicia. griff: out west police are actively investigating the disappearance of a california woman who hasn't been seen by her family since last month. this as investigators say the his of the missing woman is no longer cooperating. christina coleman is live from l.a. with the latest. hi, christina.

>> reporter: hi, griff. yeah, that's right. police told me this morning that it's concerning that this mother of three has been missing for this can. her his -- this long. her husband was the last one to see her on january 7th at their home. however, maya was reported missing by family members a few days later, on saturday, january 9th. officers responded to her home just south of san diego shortly after getting the call, and they've been investigating her disappearance since then. authorities are not commenting much on the circumstances regarding the last time she was seen, though they do say her vehicles were still at the home and that she hasn't answered phone calls or text messages since january 7th. on january 23rd officers served a search warrant to her home hoping to get more information, and they've also questioned multiple family members, friends and her husband, larry. police say he cooperated with

law enforcement up until earlier this week when he stopped responding to their questions or requests and retained a lawyer. police have not identified a person of interest or any suspects in this case so far. meantime, the search continues. volunteers have combed through canyons, parks and nearby neighborhoods, and yesterday her sister urged the public to help. >> i'm pleading, anyone out there, please, anybody, somewhere and somehow might know where my sister's whereabouts is, please bring her home. >> reporter: and as for the three children, they're currently with their father larry as the search continues. griff? griff: heartbreaking. christina coleman, thank you. alicia: the biden administration is making changes to u.s. foreign policy including removing iranian-backed houthis

from the country's terrorism list. we'll explain why after this. ♪ at heinz, every ketchup starts with our same tomatoes. but not every tomato ends in the same kind of heinz ketchup. because you can't be everyone's favorite ketchup without making a ketchup for everyone.

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ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy. and save at trelegy.com. ♪ ♪ alicia: -- planning to revoke the trump administration's decision to label the iranian-backed houthi group in yemen as a terrorist organization in an attempt to ease the humanitarian crisis in that country. ryan chilcote joins us from london with more. hi, ryan. >> reporter: hi, alicia. well, the biden administration is doing two related things here on yemen. first, they are reversing one of the most criticized decisions of of the trump administration, one of the last decisions of the trump administration, and removing that terrorist designation from the houthi rebels. now, the biden administration says they're doing that simply because they want to make it easier to get food and aid to the people living under the control of the houthi rebels. that's about 24 million people, and they are in a humanitarian

crisis that is often described as the worst in the world. in fact, the u.n. says yemen is in imminent danger of slipping into one of the worst famines the world has seen in decades. so the goal is to help civilians, not the fighters who are backed by iran in what is essentially a proxy conflict between iran on the one side and the saudis on the other. now, i said the biden administration is doing two things. the second -- and this came friday -- is that the u.s. has declared a halt to u.s. support for the saudis' military campaign in yemen. both these actions are aimed at the same thing, lessening the blow on civilians on the ground in yemen, because the biden administration believes the saudis are responsible for causing the humanitarian crisis. so a big but expected shift in the middle east. and at the same time, alicia, the biden administration also just announced its first weapons sale since taking power, and they're small fry, but i think still perhaps indicative of what we can expect from the biden

administration. $65 million going to nato, of course, an ally since the second world war and about $85 million going to chile in the form of missiles. alicia? alicia: ryan chilcote in london, thanks. griff? griff: in a special edition of america together, honoring black history month, an effort to help african-americans -- that's coming up. ♪ ♪ with our highest concentration of prebiotic oat intensely moisturizes over time to improve skin's resilience. aveeno® healthy. it's our nature™. pick up like a pro. tjust order on the subway app and it's ready to go with contactless curbside. turkey sub in a hot tub! now get 15% off any footlong when you order in the app.

♪ ♪ griff: -- leave s.t.e.m. majors for the black community, that's where the center for black innovation is coming in to help more than 4,000 black students get involved in tech and bringing america together in the process. joining us now, executive director of the center for black innovation, felicia hatcher. ty liberty shah, thank you for taking time. tell us what your center is doing. >> absolutely. thank you for the invitation to the show. the center for black innovation is a black tech and s.t.e.m. and entrepreneurship building organization as well as dedicating a lot of our work to training our young people for the tech jobs of the future and the tech start-ups of the future as well. we've trained over 4,000

students directly in intro to computer programming, digital literacy and how to navigate start-up ecosystems as people of color, and specifically give access to millions of dollars in capital work with the work that we're doing. at the end of the day, many people are very familiar with food deserts, people having to travel often times miles in order to get access to fresh fruits and vegetables. well, the same thing has been happening across the nation as it relates to innovation opportunities, innovation spaces and then being able to be a financial men beneficiary of everything that the innovation economy has to offer. griff: i want to talk about how you're doing this, this hour of code very fascinating. explain that. >> yeah. so we partnered with a media company, nbc, as well as hour or code and actually built out the

greatest video game with our students as well as a really amazing team of black developers. and so up to this point, over 3 million educators and students have been introduce canned to computer programming because of the game that we built in partnership with my husband who's my partner with the center for black innovation and our other partner in that. butting being able to close the digital divide, and we saw what happened over this past year with covid, how all these problems were exacerbated, the access and the need to make sure that we are not only retaining talent in our cities, but we're building the talent of the future and there's not these big learning gaps. so that video game served as a component to that. griff: because you bring up covid, as someone in this arena of learning, how important do you think it is that we kids back into in-school learning? >> yeah, you know, i think there's two sides to that, you know?

i think for parents and, you know, for black parents specifically being able to have a better choice at who your teacher is, who's educating your child, the curriculum, that's one thing that myself and my husband as a parent of a 2-year-old and a 7-year-old, i'm having to home school it was something of a silver lining, and we can talk about silver linings under covid. but the reality is that the access to hands-on education is one of the biggest qualities which you get a really rich education, being in the classroom and being around your peers. so i think depending on parents and what their needs are and how they're navigating all of this, there's a silver lining on both sides. but at the end of the day, i want my kids back in the classroom. griff: millions of parents feel the same way. felicia hatcher, thank you very much for taking time. alicia? alicia: an act tick blast --

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ok everyone, our mission is to provide complete, 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. alicia: the east coast is bracing for a second weekend snowstorm in as many weeks. the winter storm warning popping up from parts of north carolina through new jersey. meanwhile, parts of the midwest could see wind chis of 50 below which sounds absolutely awful but, griff, it's been great seeing you today.

griff: it's been great seeing you, and it's not snowing in tampa. all i can say about that is tom brady, fiona the hip. poe is counting on you. that's all for us in washington. "america's news headquarters" continues with eric and arthel. ♪ ♪ arthel: the fight over reopening schools intensifies in chicago. public schools will remotely lockout teachers who fail to show up in person on monday as teachers unions in some cities and states dig in for a longer battle. hello, everyone, and welcome to "america's news headquarters," i'm arthel neville. hi, eric. eric: thank you for joining us here at the fox news channel, i'm eric shawn. the centers for disease control plans to release new guidance next week on how to safely reopen our nation's schools. the director of the centers for disease control says, though,