firefighters seriously hurt battering the silverado firefighter. jillian: incredible after ongoing all those surgeries and day in the hospital wants to get back out there. true hero. "fox & friends" starts right now. have a good day. ♪ ♪ >> tributes pouring in nationwide for america's anchor man rush limbaugh. >> is he a legend. he loved this country so much. he loved the people of this country so much. >> rush limbaugh not only made conservatives proud he made conservatism fun. america lost a giant. >> appears to be no let up in winter's wrath. power problem particularly a problem in texas. >> continues to be problems with wind generation. >> i went by 100 and something wind turbans. temperature turbi. they wasn't even moving. >> it under examination for nursing home deaths. >> string of revelations that have given pause to exactly what

the administration has been doing. >> god is a profound factor. jesus christ a profound factor. i have a personal relationship. i haven't talked about it much. i just try to give thanks every day for all of the blessings i have had a blessed life. >> this morning we remember rush limbaugh, the conservative radio legend passing away from cancer yesterday. his wife catherine breaking the sad news on his radio show. >> from today on, there will be a tremendous void in our lives and, of course, on the radio. i would personally like to thank each and every one of you who prayed, rallied around rush and lifted him up when he needed you the most. pete: fans, friends and some of the nation's leading lawmakers paying tribute.

it senator ted crews saying will rush was a patriot and lion hearted defender and freedom. graham said conservatism has lost one of her giants and strongest advocates. steve: the loyalty of his audience was incredible. he was a very special guy and he is going to be missed by 21 million people and i guess a lot more than that. steve: rush limbaugh died yesterday of lung cancer. he was 70 years old. it's a sad day for all of us because so many of us have listened to -- you know, whether you agreed with his politics or not, if you were in a car and he was on the radio, you listened, because he was so good. when he was 8 years old, he knew he wanted to be in radio. and when he was 9, his parents without him a little transistor radio transmitter so that he could be up in his bedroom and he could play records and his parents could listen downstairs. and he wanted to do that. he dropped out of college.

it will i love this story that i had not realized. when he was in high school, he got a job at the local radio station but his his name on the radio was rusty sharp. which is a name he found in the phone book. and he just did the show. he wanted to when he was in missouri and pennsylvania. he got fired a couple times because he was too controversial. then wound up working for the kansas city royals. that's where i met rush limbaugh. in 1984, when he was the assistant marketing director the kansas city royals. and who knew then that he would eventually turn out to be that guy behind that golden eib mark. ainsley: his niece is a good friend of mine. she works here with us and she is in my bible study. steve: she was in my daughter's college class. ainsley: phenomenal person her

dad is my lawyer. negotiated my contract. amazing person. i tell that family i would love to meet your grandparents because rush is such stellar individual and fought for freedom and fought for conservatism in our country. david has written so many books. he has a deep love for jesus. and his daughter kristin is an amazing person. i asked kristin yesterday i said what would you like me to say about rush? she said he never missed a christmas with our family. all of kristin's siblings, sisters and brothers were like rush's children. he would fly to cape girardeau where they grew up to see kristin in her high school plays. she said he showed up for his family in a grandiose and generous way and didn't just throw money at us but in ways he really put his heart into our family. because he was so generous. she said his sister loved video production. he would always buy her the best equipment. one time kristin was going them cape girardeau for her wedding shower there were a lot of problems with the flights. and rush sent his plane there so

that she could come back and not be so upset about almost missing that that was his gift to her. she said when he was diagnosed they texted a lot. she said if you mention anything this morning, please talk about his faith. it was the core of who he was and everything that he believed. he wasn't vocal about it but he had a deep relationship with jesus. one last thick, pete, i'm sorry i'm taking up your time, too. pete's pete no, go ahead. ainsley: sent romans 8:28 to him. we know that god works all things for the good of those who love him when he was diagnosed and rush wrote her back and said i believe that to the t. it's not that everything that happens is goods but he knew with all of his heart that god is good. pete: amen. he was an american original loved his family. loved his people. loved his listenerrers. pete: believed in purpose and individual souls. that was the core of conservatism is that love. what makes this moment so hard and reflect so much there are famous people that pass away and you remember them and you remember their legacy and you

move on. when someone who is truly irreplaceable passes away. when you know there is no one that can sit behind that eib microphone the way he did, there is no more the dean of the limbaugh institute of advanced conservative studies, which i got a degree from, and millions of americans who grew up in the conservative movement, it's a voice void. and it's a void that cannot be filled. and he was -- he explained conservatism in a way nobody else okay and he was an unapologetic happy warrior for it. he explained trump before everyone understood what that phenomenon was about. effectively, he was that voice before there was the trump voice. elle rush bow the drive by media elle rush bow. his own language that's how significant he was to this country. he will be remembered forever. steve: in the last couple of years, the impact he had with

the tunnel 2 towers organization. pete: absolutely. steve: how many houses did they buy for families of our fallen men and women of law enforcement and service because of the are rush limbaugh books? the last couple of years i have been the unofficial booker of rush limbaugh they would say can we get rush limbaugh on and i would text him and he would respond. over the last about six months ago, he was in the midst of his cancer treatment. and we didn't talk that often. but i looked back through my text threads last night, and about 10 days before this past election, i said hey, are you sure, we know you have not done any television. we would be honored if you could be on "fox & friends." and i did not hear from him for 10 days. and then it was like 8:00 the night before the election, we already had the show booked. and we had the president of the united states on. and he he was going to be an entire hour.

and rush limbaugh said -- texted me and said hey, can i be on tomorrow? i just saw the promo for the president, and i would like to be on. bowers i would like to make the case for his re-election. ainsley: that was his last tv interview. steve: it was his last tv interview. i had to check with all the bosses. we had to make it all happen logistically within about 15 minutes we did it. so in this montage of some of rush limbaugh on this program through the years, you will see him in his very last tv interview which was on election day 2020. steve: we are joined by the king of radio rush limbaugh. brian: rush limbaugh conservative talk show host the best in the business maybe the best there ever was. ainsley: hey, are you sure. good to see you. >> great to be with you guys. really an honor, a privilege; i will could not go to sleep last night. so excited to be here today. [laughter] the democrat party does not care about the things the american people cares about. everything the left does is

political. and they couch it in compassion and concern and not wanting to target or single out anybody. this really irritates me. there is two sets of rules. the democrats never have to denounce antifa. what's antifa? antifa is blowing up cities. what are we talking about? if nothing happened, then why this holly ballou. tired of getting people ripped on the left. criticize this country. blame this country. i know you need to stop me to ask another question i will patiently waited for it. pete: are you sure if i may long time listener the voice of clarity you always have been one of those moments recently was when nike recalled calling for colin kaepernick the betsy ross sneaker. steve: the betsy ross t-shirt that you came up with flying off the shelf. >> well past 100,000 t-shirts. announcing $1.5 million to tunnel 2 towers.

today we're going to announce that the donation to tunnel 2 towers is now up to $3 million. steve: whoa. >> and counting. it is just -- it's incredible. it really is. $5 million, you guys. brian: good job. >> 27 to $35 item. brian: going through such harsh treatment. how much has your friendship with the president not only as the president and an impactful conservative voice, but a golf partner and a friend. how much has that helped sustain you through this time? >> it's been tremendous. you know, i'm day-to-day. i wake up every day and thank god that i did. i woke up this morning and i thanked god. i'm grateful that i have been able to make it to election day. ainsley: with your diagnosis how do you balance it all? what's your advice to all of us? >> i think that we -- the way i look at it is life is the most precious thing we have and it's

probably the thing that most people just take for granted. we're busy. we don't even take time to consciously think of our lives because we're too busy living them. but i really appreciate mine now. to identify tell you. i always have. but we all only get one. steve: rush, you know a lot of people are praying for you and love you and are so happy to see you on this election day. but, as you said, you only get one. you only -- and today is the day. and ultimately you wanted to come on tv today to say what to your millions of viewers? >> thank you. thank you for being part of my life. thank you for being instrumental in making my life what it was. not was, is. i have been given 32 years now. 32 years there have people who have been listening all 32 years. stop and think about that.

mind boggling. mind-blowing. steve: and when you think about thing about rush limbaugh and why you may have a little hole in your heart, how many times do you go on a trip where it's just you driving for maybe hours, it's just you and rush in the car. and he is talking to you and you are listening and it's like -- whether you love him or hate him, he just was such a good entertainer and fantastic broadcaster. he seemed like your friend because he was talking directly to you. there is that intimacy with radio that nobody has ever captured the way he has and probably never will. pete: it could be a two-hour trip you don't want to take but you still don't want it to end because it's so good. steve: the thing about rush limbaugh is he had 600 radio stations. you might be getting to the edge of that area of demographic. pete: done testimony times. steve: suddenly clicking around and i found a much stronger one.

ainsley: if you learned anything from those clips and are you sure and if you listened to him for some years like we all have, you can make a difference in this world. don't forget to tell the people that you love how much you love them. don't let another day go by. after we interviewed him, i started thanking god when i woke up every morning for this day. and he is right. this is not a dress rehearsal. you have one life, one chance continue to influence the people around you. the people that even if you are not on tv. even if you don't have a radio show. you can make a difference in this world. as a dad, as mom. as a sister or brother. you know, if you learn anything from his death today, tell everyone that you're surrounded with how much you love them and how much you care for them because you might not get another chance. pete: spot on. and today is also a day to hear more from are you sure in his own words. and thankfully fox nation, you know, exists to do things like this. they have a feature on fox nation today called limbaugh's legacy. one of those is rush limbaugh in

his own words. take a moment today to remind yourself of his greatness and his humanity and what he brought to the conservative cause but really more so to america explaining why america is such a special place. he was a patriot. here's a portion of one of those features on fox nation. >> i think the natural spirit of the human being is freedom. that's the natural spirit of our creation. that's the yearning that we have to be free. conservatism is simply freedom. >> nobody can blow up that bond that trump voters have. the washington establishment to this day does not understand donald trump. they don't understand his voters. and they are not curious to find out why. >> i have always been oriented on the conservative side of things. never ever wavered. was never tempted by anything else. >> we are americans, which means we have the freedom to invest in whatever it is that makes us happy. that's in our founding

documents. >> all of these americans watching all the cbs, nbc, abc news, reading the "new york times," "time" magazine, cnn were, sitting there furious at the news bias, at the unfairness, at the depiction of reagan at the depiction of goldwater. the way all of the genuine people they loved and adored were portrayed in the media. i came along and validated them. >> god is a profound factor, jesus christ, a profound factor. i have a personal relationship. i have not talked about it much publicly because i don't proselytize these things, but yeah, i just try to give thanks every day for all of the blessings. i have had a blessed life. pete: limbaugh's legacy is an exclusive collection of shows and specials streaming right now on fox nation. take a moment to check it out. steve: indeed. and i think i read somewhere this morning that going forward, when you turn on the radio, for

the foreseeable future, you will continue to hear rush limbaugh because they are going to have guest hosts and, in fact, mark steyn is going to be with us a little later on, guest hosts talking about the news of the day and also set up soundbites of rush limbaugh talking about those topics and conservatism as well. ainsley: they are going to do that until his audience is prepared to say goodbye. i'm not sure that will ever happen. steve: anyway, rush limbaugh was 70 years old. god rest his soul. all right. 6:16 here in the east. jillian joins us, once again, lead story the weather. jillian: good morning. let's talk about this weather. another storm barrels towards the east coast as power outages linger for millions amid an artic blast. at least 30 people have died in the winter weather this week. the situation worse wering by the hour in texas roads go untreated. look at this.

that's scary. more than 1 million have been without power in texas alone since monday causing pipes to freeze and burst, flooding this home in austin. seeing videos like that all over social media right now. devastating. an ultimate sign of love. a 10-year-old boy dies after leaping into a frozen pond to save his little sister. the family of benjamin luckett mourning his loss died trying to hold his 6-year-old little girl out of the water. two playing outside of their home. abigail had to be put on a ventilator and is recovering at the hospital. the house hearing on game stop trading frenzy get underway. reddit, robinhood and citadel securities. also hear from keith gill and worried kitty investors to buy up shares of the game company while hedge funds and other wall street players were shorting the stock. and tim tebow retires from baseball to pursue other opportunities.

he hangs up his cleats after five years as a minor leaguer with the mets. he boasted on twitter saying in part i never want to be partially in on anything. i always want to be 100 percent in on whatever i choose. it comes a day after teams kicked off the start of spring training in arizona and florida. that's a look at your headlines. second it back to you. ainsley: thank you, jillian. we wish him all the best. coming up, texans suffering from mass power outages in the middle of this brutal winter weather. our next guest says the show -- this shows that we can't give up on fossil fuels. but, first, as we remember the life and legacy of rush limbaugh, here he is on how to find the good in life. >> i have learned what love really is during this. you know, i have a philosophy there is good that happens in everything. it may not reveal itself. and even in the most dire circumstances if you just wait, if you just remain open to things, the good in it will

reveal itself. and that has happened to me as well. mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your doctor about nucala at home. find your nunormal with nucala. every veteran family deserves to fulfill their dream of owning a home ask your doctor about nucala at home. and to continue living that dream throughout their lives. at newday usa, we have va refinance loans to do just that. from refinancing to lower your monthly mortgage payments to refinancing and getting cash for your family.

whatever you need, we're here.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (quiet piano music) ♪ ♪ comfort in the extreme. the lincoln family of luxury suvs. we made usaa insurance for busy veterans like kate. so when her car got hit, she didn't waste any time. she filed a claim on her

usaa app and said, “that was easy.” usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa. it's moving day. and while her friends usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. are doing the heavy lifting, jess is busy moving her xfinity internet and tv services. it only takes about a minute. wait, a minute? but what have you been doing for the last two hours? delegating? oh, good one. move your xfinity services without breaking a sweat. now that's simple, easy, awesome. xfinity makes moving easy. go online to transfer your services in about a minute. get started today.

pete: the company that runs the texas grid was able to restore power to texas homes yesterday but many are still without power in freezing temperatures. the outages sparking a battle between climate change activists and their critics over green energy. let's bring in former texas congressional candidate wesley hunt. he has also worked in the energy sector in texas. did consulting work there and joins us live from houston. wesley, thank you so much for being here this morning. you know the sector. you are in texas. and know texas. first of all, how quickly is power being restored and how did

we get here in the first place? >> sure. well, first of all,. >> our hearts go out to those will will are without power and lost their lives. it's devastating. keep us in your thoughts and prayers. the house i grew up in had a pipe burst in the attic. my parents currently live there. they are fine. it destroyed the first floor of our home. we are suffering here. we are safe. pete: do you have power, wesley? do you have power and heat. >> i just got power right now. sitting in my house we're trying to conservative as much as we can it's been rough. there are v. been rolling outages which is inexcusable for us in houston. pete: you mentioned that. rolling outages of power supply. there is conflicting information about what happened and how this happened. what's your take? >> sure. yes. the fact that our state has ran out of power needs to be investigated. governor abbott has already called for that but houston, where i'm sitting right now is the energy capital of the world.

right now we don't have any energy during a crisis. and texas, in particular, running out of power is a demonstration as to why we need to support and expand the energy industry. not kill it. it is my opinion that the current administration, particularly through executive orders on the keystone pipeline and ending oil and natural gas drilling on public land is only going to destroy our energy independence and weaken us during times of natural disasters and look we need all hands on deck approach to our energy policy. we need natural gas. we need nuclear. we need other renewables. buff what we have seen here over the course of the past week is that solely relying on wind energy which accounts for about 20% of our energy here in texas, and although that's not the sole reason why we are here, that's proof that we need an overall strategy across the country. and relying just on wind and solar is just unreliable and we

need an abundant and affordable source for everyone. yes, we need to address climate change. no one is saying that we don't it. is my humble opinion that we have to innovate out of this problem and not allow the government to mandate us. pete: wesley, some of the government would like to do just that alexandria ocasio-cortez suggests that the green new deal is the answer. it's how we get out of this. what do you say to that? >> what i say to that again, natural gas right now is our way out of this. and, look, i understand that we absolutely need to get to that next abundant source of energy. but literally is going through fossil fuels and through the oil and gas industry. aoc is wrong on this. as we can see here in houston and here in texas that we don't need fewer sources of energy. we need more. and we're sitting here on the pervian basin and we can't it

ourselves. aoc is flat out wrong. pete: nuclear energy really works. i digress don't have time for it. wesley, stay warm. i see you are dressed a bit warm there stay warm and thinking of you guys down in texas. >> god bless you. appreciate you. have great day. pete: you too. the fbi and justice department now looking into new york's nursing home scandal. a woman whose mother died in a nursing home believes governor cuomo sacrificed seniors for political reasons. she joins us live on that next. and, from our friends at fox bet, download the fox bet super 6 app. and play for a chance to win $10,000. all you need to do is predict six outcomes in the fox bet super 6 quiz show. topics range from entertainment to sports. free to play download he fox bet super 6 now

where can a healthier heart lead you? for people with heart failure taking entresto, it may lead to a world of possibilities. entresto is a heart failure medicine prescribed by most cardiologists. it was proven superior at helping people stay alive and out of the hospital. heart failure can change the structure of your heart so it may not work as well. entresto helps improve your heart's ability to pump blood to the body. and with a healthier heart, there's no telling where life may take you.

don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto for heart failure. entrust your heart to entresto. research shows that people remember commercials with exciting stunts. ask your doctor about entresto for heart failure. 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. ♪

my retirement plan with voya keeps me moving forward. they guide me with achievable steps that give me confidence. this is my granddaughter... she's cute like her grandpa. voya doesn't just help me get to retirement... ...they're with me all the way through it. voya. be confident to and through retirement. i'm a performer. always have been. and always will be. never letting anything get in my way. not the doubts, distractions, or voice in my head. and certainly not arthritis. voltaren provides powerful arthritis pain relief to help me keep moving. and it can help you too. feel the joy of movement with voltaren.

steve: new york governor andrew cuomo nursing home scandal now reportedly under investigation by the fbi and the u.s. attorney here in new york as victims' families and lawmakers demand answers for what we now know is a cover-up. our next guest's mother anna march at this point nez died from covid in a new york nursing home two days after the family was told she was going to come home. anna's family is now advocating for others, hoping to prevent a new wave of nursing home deaths. and joining us now is her daughter. good morning to you. >> good morning, thank you for having me. >> you blame andrew cuomo for your mother's death. don't you? >> i blame his void in leadership. and his void in compassion. steve: what about the fact that in the last week we have discovered that he and his

administration reportedly, according to that zoom conference they had a two hour conference with melissa der rosa, his secretary to the governor, she revealed to lawmakers we covered this up because we thought the feds were going to come after us. so essentially she said lying to everybody. >> families have known all along. my mother's facility report that there were only 40 deaths for the past 10 months, which we knew that it could be -- it was incorrect. so when the numbers came out for the new york a.g. report, now her facility is reporting 70. so, that's over 40% increase. so the recent leaks have only confirmed what we have known all along that they were hiding it. they have been playing political football with our seniors. i'm grateful that the truth is coming out that we are somewhat vindicated and at the same time this gives us the opportunity to

look at what has happened to our seniors and give them some sort of justice. steve: in the meantime, the governor still has his emergency powers. mayor de blasio says he should relynn quich them, mayor de blasio also says there should be a commission that looks into. should governor cuomo have these powers where he is essentially running covid for new york state? >> no, i think that the powers are long overdue to be removed. the reality is that he is presently he is protecting our seniors to death. seniors have been in isolation for over 10 months. families have seen the deterioration of their loved ones. and i have no idea what i would have personally had done had my mother been locked up per se in these facilities for the 10 months. my mother is my inspiration, what was supposed to crush me and many others has made us stronger. and we have continued resolve to see this through to the end.

steve: you know, it's so sad, because some people now we know died in the wake of him sending nursing home residents back to nursing homes after they were in the hospital with covid. had he simply sent them to the hospital ship comfort, which president trump sent, or had he sent them to the javits center, which was set up by the federal government and president trump, a lot of this probably would not have happened. but why do you think it is he would not do that? he would not accept what the federal government and donald trump was putting on the table for new york state? are. >> well, again, it's a political issue. the reality is that i recently wrote that while my mother was gasping for air, he was considering not giving trump and his administration any victory. so he had 9,000 covid matches put into these facilities that were not prepared to handle such a magnitude of a pandemic and

unfortunately, over 15,000 that we know so far have lost their lives due to his decision. steve: it is a tragic story. we are so sorry for your loss, vivian. vivian does -- she did start an advocacy group called voices for seniors. if you would like more information go to voices for seniors.com. right, vivian? >> yes. steve: all right. good. thank you for joining us and telling us your story about your mother. >> i'm grateful that you have given us the opportunity to be a voice for seniors, thank you. steve: thank you, ma'am. by the way, we did reach out to the governor's office. they have not yet called us back. all right. 24 minutes before the top of the hour. still ahead, rush limbaugh gave a voice to conservatives all across the country and was a trail playser in the radio business. erick erickson is going to join us with more of his memories of his friend and mentor rush limbaugh. >> i want. [applause] >> anyone who believes in life, liberty, pursuit of happiness to

succeed. and i want any force, any person, any element of an overarching big government that would stop your success, i want that organization, that element or that person to fail. i want you to succeed. [cheers and applause] bipolar depression. it's a dark, lonely place. this is art inspired by real stories of people living with bipolar depression. emptiness. a hopeless struggle. the lows of bipolar depression can disrupt your life and be hard to manage. latuda could make a real difference in your symptoms. latuda was proven to significantly reduce bipolar depression symptoms, and in clinical studies, had no substantial impact on weight. now i'm feeling connected. empowered. latuda is not for everyone. call your doctor about unusual mood changes, behaviors or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. elderly dementia patients on latuda

have an increased risk of death or stroke. call your doctor about fever, stiff muscles, and confusion, as these may be life-threatening, or uncontrollable muscle movements as these may be permanent. these are not all the serious side effects. this is where i want to be. talk to your doctor and ask if latuda could make the difference you've been looking for in your bipolar depression symptoms. renae is not an influencer. you've been looking for she's more of a groundbreaker. just look at the way she's reshaping,

and reimagining, her 4 acre slice of heaven. it's not hard to tell she's the real deal. renae runs with us on a john deere 1 series tractor, because out here, you can't fake a job well done. nothing runs like a deere. get a 1 series tractor starting at $99 per month. stay restless with the icon that does the same. the rx crafted by lexus. lease the 2021 rx 350 for $429 a month

for thirty six months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. ♪ ♪ are you ready to join the duers? those who du more with less asthma. thanks to dupixent. the add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. dupixent isn't for sudden breathing problems. it can improve lung function for better breathing in as little as 2 weeks and help prevent severe asthma attacks. it's not a steroid but can help reduce or eliminate oral steroids. dupixent can cause serious allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. get help right away if you have rash, shortness of breath, chest pain, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection

and don't change or stop your asthma treatments, including steroids, without talking to your doctor. du more with less asthma. talk to your asthma specialist about dupixent. if your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. >> i wasn't expected to be alive today. i wasn't expected to make it to october and then to november and then to december. and, yet, here i am. and today got some problems. i'm feeling pretty good today. god's with me today because i have outlived the diagnosis, i have been able to receive and hear and process some of the

most wonderful, nice things about me that i might not have ever heard had i not gotten sick. pete: this morning we remember the life and legacy of rush limbaugh. steve: the radio legend and conservative icon passed away yesterday at the age of 70 after a year long battle with a form of lung cancer. ainsley: radio host erick erickson joins us now to share his personal stories about his mentor. he made a lasting impact on your life, right? >> he very much did. i'm in radio because rush actually -- we had a friendship and told me if i didn't take a job when i was offered it in radio he would never speak to me again. [laughter] pete: eric, if i may, what -- explain how important his impact was on the conservative movement, i mean, what would it look like today without rush limbaugh. >> gosh, two generations of americans know what conservatism is from rush limbaugh.

he created an industry. it was like the head of introduce from rush limbaugh. it didn't exist from him. to be able to interact with him not with the wrestle will volume it with a guy on the radio who could laugh at the other side and laugh at the weakness of the other side's arguments and make them relatable to a guy working in his garage. someone sitting in a restaurant or a mom in her car with her kids. it impacted a number of people just in the ability to laugh at the other side but also to understand maybe a complex philosophical argument but making very relatable to people. steve: i think that was the key right there, eric. because he would explain conservative ideas and policies in a way on the radio a lot of people have never heard before. you know, he would -- i have heard him explain deregulation for three hours. and i thought it was fascinating. or he would talk about supply side and tax policy and you were sit there in rapid attention is

that how that works? so for two generations of people, he was the voice he was the explainer of how the right side worked. >> yeah. he was. and he was the happy warrior. he never would get angry. always loved the country. even when he lost an election. loved the country and put your faith in the people. great optimist all the way to the end. he was wonderfully generous with his time. you knew if he went into a restaurant with rush limbaugh don't buy the meal because the waiters get short tipped on the. he had audience three evening newscast. ainsley: you will hear people, we all have read some of the nasty things that people wrote online that is so evil. just because they didn't agree with his politics. what's the message you want to tell folks that might not agree with his politics about the person he was. we hear john rich saying that he

donated $100,000 anonymously to saint jude in john's name when he was on a reality show. you hear about the stories of him frank siller with tunnel 2 towers. all the millions of dollars he raised when he sold the betsy ross t-shirts. things that people don't know about this man and how generous he was. we are all friends with his family and we know what he did behind the scenes for them. >> yeah. you know, so, we were -- it's not like we were best friends but he took an interest in my career and my family. and my wife has a very similar lung cancer to rush genetic. there is no cure for it. she takes oral chemo every day had for now keeps the tumors at bay from growing. and just like right before christmas when he was struggling, we reached out to me when sitting with my wife and he phoned that he knew what the chemo was doing to her fingers that her touch i.d. on her iphone wouldn't work. giving no choice. all he was concerned when she be okay with a blue phone? my kids had phones from him.

books. and really i was a nobody in the grand scheme of things. did he it to me. did he it to thousands of people. when you emailed the comment line at rush limbaugh's show at his website. he was the guy who read it. that's how he and i struck our friendship more than a decade ago. steve: look at that he will rushbo himself. pete: thank you for taking us behind the curtain a little bit. turning enough to to extremity weather. the east coast is on alert for another round of winter weather. steve: at least 30 people have died during the storm across texas, millions of people are waking up fourth straight day without power they are freezing. ainsley: senior meteorologist janice dean is tracking the changing conditions and joins us live. hey, janice. janice: yeah. terrible story across the south. it's going to take many days for temperatures to start to rebound and going to be a while for things to start to thaw out like take a look at the wind chills

where it's feeling like 16 in dallas and minus 7 in tulsa. 8 in minneapolis. so the cold air is still in place. it's going to start to retreat this weekend still going to be around the freezing mark for the next 48 folks for the folks without power. this system on the move a wintry ice have side and severe weather side where we could see the potential of tornadoes parts of florida in towards the southeast today because of the trail cold front and then the icing part of this storm assume late ice on the snow and power lines especially the mid-atlantic and northeast. that's the snowy part of this where we could get 3 to 6 inches of heavy snow anywhere from d.c. all the way up to boston and then that icy mix that's going to be really dangerous to travel through we are also getting snow reports over parts of the northeast. and this will be a long duration event for folks along the i-95 corridor. we will continue to report. this this historic storm and historic winter for folks across

the south. pete, ainsley, steve, back to you. steve: all right. it keeps moving on. j.d., thank you. meanwhile, still ahead on this thursday, the cincinnati police force short staffed and the top brass says it will take a while before new recruits will hit the street to protect the folks. a retired chief who says further layoff was could be catastrophic joins us live. ainsley: but, first, as we remember the legacy of rush limbaugh the ceo of tunnel to towers foundation explains how are you sure helped countless military families. that's coming up next. ♪ vicks vapopatch. easy to wear with soothing vicks vapors for her, for you, for the whole family.

trusted soothing vapors, from vicks tempur-pedic's mission is to give you truly transformative sleep. so, no more tossing and turning. because only tempur-pedic uses a proprietary material that adapts and responds to your body... so you get deep, uninterrupted sleep. now save up to $500 on adjustable mattress sets. ♪ “i want to break free”♪ (vo) ready to break free? it's time to get away to a place where we can finally be free. so you get deep, uninterrupted sleep. ♪“i've got to break free”♪ plan your future getaway with norwegian. sail safe. feel free. (noise of fridge opening) guy fieri! ya know, if you wanna make that sandwich the real deal, ya gotta focus on the bread layers. king's hawaiian sliced bread makes everything better! ♪ (angelic choir) ♪ umm, honey...why is guy fieri in our kitchen? i don't know. i'm booking you a one-way ticket to flavortown with a king's hawaiian meatball sub. ♪ ♪ i gotta go. your neighbor needs king's hawaiian bread.

hey, i got you. guy fieri?

ainsley: this morning we are remembering the life and the legacy of rush limbaugh. in the summer of 2019, are you sure launched that stand up for betsy ross t-shirt and he announced that 100 percent of the proceeds were going to go to tunnel 2 towers. >> we are well past 100 thousands t-shirts we're today announcing a donation of $1.5 million. it's one of the most uplifting things thiive involved. that i n involved. in we will announce that tunnel 2 towers up to $3 million and

counting. ainsley: it didn't end there. rush ended up donating a total of $5 million to tunnel 2 towers and here with more is the ceo and chairman of tunnel 2 towers frank siller. hey, frank. >> good morning, ainsley. ainsley: good morning. before we get into how your relationship formed with are you sure. any thoughts that you want to share with the audience? >> yeah. america we lost the greatest person for a conservative movement. you know, we lost a legend, an icon, my heart bleeds for catherine. because they were a great team. and she lost the love of her life and he touched so many americans in so many different ways that we all can relate to. he got down to the grassroots of people and where we really understood what he was saying. he did it in the simplest of terms in a very complicated world. is he going to be sorely missed. ainsley: i know world of catherine and they love her. you spoke to rush and catherine

when he was selling those 5 million t-shirts. what were those considerations like? >> he was so enthusiastic about this campaign. first of all, he was such a great patriot. we know that flight that's what he always talked about america and our liberties and our freedoms. and when he was doing his campaign, are you sure and catherine called us. they said, you know, frank, we want to raise this money because we are building mortgage-free homes for catastrophically injured service members and gold star families and fallen first responder families who died in the line of duty. and that's what he was all about. take care of the greatest of all americans. so when he came up with this idea, we were so moved. i have one of the betsy ross -- t-shirt to these beautiful fleeces. the stand up for betsy ross. i have rush limbaugh's signature over here. he was just so enthusiastic about it. he made a tremendous difference in our foundation. he changed our foundation. he brought to life so much of what we were doing to so many americans. ainsley: he wasn't afraid to fight. nike pulled those shoes that

featured the 13-star flag and then this was what he did in response to that. and i was talking to one of his family members yesterday and i said, you know, now he doesn't have to fight anymore because i'm sure that he loved it. that's what he wanted to do. he wanted to fight for freedom. but he doesn't have to do that anymore. is he finally at peace. and especially after cancer. >> and he was so open about his fight against cancer and he was -- he was -- it told america and a lot of people be courtroom just and he certainly was. you know, he always said talent on loan from god. and now he's back with god and he will be looking down on us. i think he is with my brother. they are thinking up another campaign. is he going to think another campaign so we can make sure that we can help more americans because his legacy will not stop with his death. it will continue. ainsley: yeah. we remember rush limbaugh. we remember your brother.

you started tunnel 2 towers because he was so brave to run through the tunnel over to the towers and eventually lost his life because of that. >> i want to add one last thing. he gave me a half an hour on his radio show. a half an hour uninterrupted on 9/11 to talk about my brother and the foundation. ainsley: wow. >> could you imagine what that meant to me personally to be able to talk about my brother to this audience that now knows that my brother gave his life on september 11th, 2001. and that's the type of person he was. ainsley: frank, thanks so much tunnel 2 towers.org. thank you. dan bongino is going to join us with his contribute to rush limbaugh at the top of the hour. more "fox & friends" next. ready to juvéderm it? correct age-related volume loss in cheeks with juvéderm voluma xc,

add fullness to lips with juvéderm ultra xc and smooth moderate to severe lines around the nose and mouth with juvéderm xc. tell your doctor if you have a history of scarring or are taking medicines that decrease the body's immune response or that can prolong bleeding. common side effects include injection-site redness, swelling, pain, tenderness, firmness, lumps, bumps, bruising, discoloration or itching. as with all fillers, there is a rare risk of unintentional injection into a blood vessel, which can cause vision abnormalities, blindness, stroke, temporary scabs or scarring. ( ♪♪ ) juvéderm it. talk to your doctor about the juvéderm collection of fillers. to veteran spouses everywhere talk to your doctor we salute you. we salute how you balanced work, family and home life. we salute your courage. and your service. by offering you our service.

newday usa specializes in helping you make the most of your va benefits. from home purchase to refinance. re-entering data that employees could enter themselves? that's why i get up in the morning! i have a secret method for remembering all my hr passwords. my boss doesn't remember approving my time off. let's just... find that email. the old way of doing business slows everyone down. with paycom, employees enter and manage their own hr data in one easy-to-use software. visit paycom.com for a free demo.

how great is it that we get to tell everybody how liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need? i mean it... uh-oh, sorry... oh... what? i'm an emu! no, buddy! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. ♪ my nunormal: fewer asthma attacks. less oral steroids. taking my treatment at home. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred.

don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your doctor about nucala at home. find your nunormal with nucala. ♪ ♪ >> this morning we remember rush limbaugh the conservative radio legend. >> there's good in everything that happens. it may not present itself for weeks, months, whatever. but there's good in everything that happens if you look for it. >> minutes ago the biden administration releasing new legislation. >> in it creates an 8-year pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants already here. >> many are still without power. the outages sparking a battles between climate change activist and their critics. >> houston where i'm sitting right now is the energy capital of the world. right now we don't have any energy during a crisis. >> you have no idea what you all

have meant to me and my family. i wish there were a way to say it other than thank you. ♪ >> you're just the best. ♪ pete: this morning we remember the life and legacy of rush limbaugh. his wife catherine sharing news of his death yesterday on his radio show. >> from today on, there will be a tremendous void in our lives and of course on the radio. i would personally like to thank each and every one of you who prayed, rallied around are you sure and lifted him up when he needed you the most. steve: she said at one point i'm not the limbaugh you were expecting to hear on the radio showed. meanwhile as you can see with that tweet tributes pouring in john rich saying when i was on celebrity apprentice, rush limbaugh made a donation of $100,000 to saint jude's hospital to support them and my mission on the tv show under the

condition that he remained anonymous. that nobody would ever know. i never said a word until now. he will be missed. ainsley: former president trump also paying tribute last night on hannity. >> the loyalty of his audience was just incredible. he was just a very special guy and he's going to be missed by 21 million people and i guess a lot more than that. ainsley: rush limbaugh was 70 years old. he made a mighty impact on our country on the conservative party. he fought hard for that. and that could not have been easy. but he did it because he loved this country and he loves the party. and he loved president trump. president trump said that they bonded playing golf together. and for their belief also it comes to conservatism in our country. his family, we love them. some of them -- his niece works here with us. and his brother is a close friend to some of us here at fox. what a remarkable family they are. and the family said if you say anything tomorrow, ainsley,

please the headline needs to be his faith was so important. it was the core of everything that he believed in. when he was diagnosed, he was texting a lot with the family members about faith and different scriptures. they said he wasn't very vocal about it, but he had a deep relationship with jesus. pete: yeah, he loved people as you pointed out so well. ainsley, you know, if there was a mount rushmore of american conservative. steve: mount rushmore. he would be front and center on that. completely changed the trajectory of the political landscape in our country. he noe knew how to articulate. he was always ahead of the curve saying things should have thought of and then he simplified it and a per pe and . just listen to the rush limbaugh program for a couple of weeks and tell me if you have been persuaded. millions of people changed their political philosophy, became conservatives because of the powerful persuasion of rush

limbaugh. steve: some people listened to him every day number one host for 30 years. i have been one of the hosts on "fox & friends" for a very long time because i'm old. one of my neighbors who never really talked to me before said hey, you work on the -- you work on the television? i said yeah. didn't you know that? i have worked there for over 20 years. no i heard rush limbaugh talking about you today on the radio. so i'm going to have to watch. and he has since. but what -- through the years, are you sure has been on "fox & friends." and the night before election 2020 he sent me a text hey, i have been busy. can i be on the show tomorrow? i just saw the president is going to be on your program and i would like to make a pitch for him as well. and i said sure, let me check. and within 15 minutes, he was booked on the show. and in this montage of his appearances on "fox & friends" at the end you will see his last

ever tv interview on election day 2020. here, ladies and gentlemen, rush limbaugh on "fox & friends." >> we are joined by the king of radio rush limbaugh. >> rush limbaugh conservative talk show host, the best in the business. maybe the best there ever was. ainsley: hey, are you sure, good to see you. >> how is everybody? great to be with you guys really an honor and a pleasure. a privilege. could not go to sleep last night so excited to be here today. the democrat party does not care about the things the american people cares about. everything the left does is political. and they couch it in compassion and concern and not wanting to target or single out anybody. this really irritates me. there is two sets of rules. the democrats never have to denounce antifa. what's antifa? antifa is blowing up cities. what are we talking about if nothing happened, then why this big hullabaloo. >> tired of listening to a parade of people on the left

rip thiscountry. blame this country. i know you need to stop me to ask another question i will patiently wait for it. pete: el rushbo a big time fan and listener the voice of clarity you always have been. one of those moments recently when nike recalled at the calling of colin kaepernick the betsy ross flag sneaker. steve: the betsy ross t-shirt that you have came up with is flying off the shelves. >> we are well past 100,000 1000 t-shirts. we are announcing $1.5 million to tunnel 2 towers. today we will announce the donation to tunnel 2 towers is up to $3 million and counting. [applause] >> it is just -- it's incredible. it really is $5 million, you guys. brian: good job. >> 227 to $35 item. brian: going through such harsh treatment how much has your friendship with the president not only has the impactful conservative voice but golf

partner and a friend, how much has that helped sustain you through this time? >> it's been tremendous. you know, i'm day-to-day. i wake up every day and thank god that i did. i woke up this morning. and i thank god. i'm grateful that i have been able to make it to election day. ainsley: with your diagnosis, how do you balance it all? what's your advice to all of us? >> i think that we -- the way i look at it is, life is the most precious thing we have and it's probably the thing that most people just take for granted, we're busy, we don't even take time to consciously think of our lives because we're too busy living them. but i really appreciate mine now. i have to tell you. i always have. but we all only get one. steve: rush, you know a lot of people are praying for you and love you. and are so happy to see you on this election day. but, as you said, you only get

one. you only -- and today is the day. and ultimately you wanted to come on tv today to say what to your millions of viewers? >> thank you. thank you for being part of my life. thank you for being instrumental in making my life what it was. not was, is. thank you i have been given 32 years now. 32 years. there are people who have been listening all 32 years. stop and think about that. the mind boggling. mind-blowing. steve: it was mind blowing. a lot of people remembering rush limbaugh on this thursday morning including dan bongino fox news contributor and host of the wildly successful dan bongino show podcast. he is joining us from south florida. you know, dan -- dan, are you sure moved down to south florida after new york city jacked up taxes on the highest most successful people. i think back in 2008-2009.

you moved to south florida. you have got similar ideologies and i'm sure you have got a lot of memories of rush limbaugh. >> you know, don't we all? i mean, the one great thing about el rushbo was he was kind of like the godfather, you know? like everybody has a rush limbaugh. i hate it quotes will bernard who wrote the natural there is a line in the book and in the movie, too. where roy hobbs' girlfriend we all led two lives, right, the one we learned from and the one we live after that. steve: that's right. >> the real path to happiness is through suffering. makes me think are you sure today that process of learning and becoming a better person that we hopefully go on to become for the rest of our lives, i think just about every conservative in america and a lot of conservatives around the world, that learning process first started with are you sure. i mean, we became different people because of rush limbaugh.

steve, every conservative i know, everyone, every conservative has that rush limbaugh moment where they were listening and heard an idea for the first time ever. you know, you have been with fox since the beginning. i mean, literally from the beginning. rush limbaugh was there, what, 8 years before fox? was it more? there was there was only are you sure before then. where if you wanted to hear what conservatism was about, there was only one place and it was on your am dial. ainsley: you know, when you were diagnosed with your cancer, i don't know if you talked to are you sure about it, but, when we had him on our show, he would always remind us to thank god when you put your feet on the floor and you get out of bed every morning. and to make a difference in the lives of others. his viewers, his listeners were his family. and he was on until the very end. he said i'm going to stay until i just can't do it anymore. and i think his last show was february 2nd. what did you learn throughout your cancer and compare that to what are you sure taught all of us just to seize the day and

tell your loved ones you love them. >> well, i got some not so great news yesterday with this. and the problem with cancer, are you sure, you know, unfortunately we found out are you sure's untimely passing is it's a lifetime journey. you know, a doctor jokingly said to me you bought a lifetime pass to every pet and ct scan in the world. no cure. it's with you forever. you hope and pray it doesn't come back. you know, i get asked that question a lot. what does it feel like to have cancer especially as a young guy. can i only imagine having listened to are you sure the entire time through his battle i know he was feeling the same way. you know, things you thought you would grow old with, ainsley all of the sudden look really different. you know, i will never forget coming back from new york after having the tumor removed from my neck and we didn't know how bad it was at the time. you just don't know. you know, am i doomed? like what does this mean? and i remember looking at a whole bunch of trees that were being cut down for a shopping plaza near my house and thinking

to myself gosh, i was going to see that shopping plaza. like am i never going to see it things you thought you had an attachment to. you start to realize you are not attached to at all. you have an expiration date and it may be sooner than you thought. rush limbaugh, let me say having gone through chemo myself, there is no easy way to say it. it really sucks. i'm sorry, i know it's a morning show. there is no easy way to say it. it's horrible. the fact that are you sure who has almost 30 years on me and who has worked his entire life been on the receiving end of the most disgusting attacks i have ever seen, stayed on the radio until the end, as i told sean last night if i only would have known that december 23d. when i was listening to him, i remember what i was doing. i was brushing my teeth listening to the end of his show. if i only would have known that was his last time, i would have put the toothbrush down and just sat there and taken it all in with a different degree of attention. because i just -- i didn't know and i'm almost mad at myself for not paying closer attention.

pete: dan, what made rush limbaugh irreplaceable? what made him different than anybody else that you look to and you revere but when you lose someone who you know you can't replace? >> yeah. this is the best question of all. because i'm in the business that he created. let's all remember that, okay? you know, again, the sports analogy i used with sean last night is critical. willie mays was a great baseball player for about 10 years where he was the best. he was good for long but best for 10 years. willie mays didn't invent baseball. rush limbaugh invented the national conservative talk radio. he invented the game. he invented it. but, you know, the french have an expression for that. you know, what's the exfactor? pete, i have no idea. i bottle it and sell it and be a trillion narrow. was it he was really funny on the radio? there is a lot of funny people.

kilmeade is hilarious. steve is funny. levin is hilarious. did he tell stories? sean hannity tells stories, i tell stories. ben shapiro tells stories. he is a strong conservative? we are all strong conservatives. what was it? i don't know. he was just special. and that's why when you say, you know, he was unique and will never be replaced. i mean ever. his talent, you know. he said talent on loan from god. god got his talent back. because you will never see that again. steve: dan, thank you very much for joining us on this thursday and remembering rush limbaugh and, you know, since you mentioned your health situation, you know, there are a lot of people praying for you. pete: absolutely. >> thanks, guys. i know that i appreciate that god bless you. pete: god bless you, dan. steve: be well. almost 7:15 here in the east coast and jillian joins us with news from the middle. jillian: that's right. good morning. let's start with next stream weather. another storm barrels towards the east coast as power outages linger for millions amid an

artic blast. at least 30 people have died in the winter weather this week. the situation worsening by the hour in texas roads go untreated. watch. [screaming] jillian: oh my gosh, that's scary. more than 1 million without power in texas alone since monday causing pipes to freeze and burst flooding this home in austin. and we are seeing that scene play out all over down there. vice president kamala harris gets pressed on reopening schools. listen to this. >> can you reassure teachers who are listening right now that it is safe for them to go back to school even if they are not vaccinated? >> teachers should be a priority. the cdc has said they don't have to be vaccinated to go back to school. >> we think they should be a priority. we think they should be a priority. jillian: press secretary jen psaki vaccinations are not a requirement for teachers to

return. she encourages states to make educators a vaccine priority. okay. singer demi lovato opening up about the health struggles that followed her near deadly overdose. >> i had three strokes. i had a heart attack. my doctors said that i had five to 10 more minutes. >> lovato was taken to the hospital after ingesting a near deadly dose of heroin in 2018. the documentary demi lovato dancing with the devil premiers next month on youtube. that is powerful. send it back to you. ainsley: all right, thank you, jillian. steve: lucky to be alive. ainsley: cincinnati police facing staff shortages thomas striker says any new layoff could be catastrophic. he sound off on that next. pete: plus, tributes are pouring in for rush limbaugh as we remember the radio talk show legend's impact on defining conservative media. >> those of you in the drive by

media watching i have not needed a teleprompter for anything i have said. [cheers and applause] and nor do any of us need a teleprompter because our beliefs are not the result of calculations and contrivances. our beliefs are not the results of a deranged psychology. [laughter] our beliefs are our core. our beliefs are our hearts. ♪ non-steroidal anti-inflammatory gel... available over the counter. voltaren is powerful arthritis pain relief in a gel. voltaren. the joy of movement. we made usaa insurance for members like kate. a former army medic, made of the flexibility to handle whatever monday has in store and tackle four things at once. so when her car got hit, she didn't worry. she simply filed a claim on her usaa app and said... i got this. usaa insurance is made the way kate needs it - easy.

she can even pick her payment plan so it's easy on her budget and her life. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa. age-related macular degeneration may lead to severe vision loss. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. so the national eye institute did 20 years of clinical studies on a formula only found in preservision. if it were my vision, i'd ask my doctor about preservision. it's the most studied eye vitamin brand. if it were my vision, i'd look into preservision. only preservision areds2 contains the exact nutrient formula recommended by the nei to help reduce the risk of moderate to advanced amd progression. i have amd. it is my vision so my plan includes preservision.

♪ ♪ (quiet piano music) (loud music & noises) ♪ ♪ (quiet piano music) comfort in the extreme. the lincoln family of luxury suvs. is now a good time for a flare-up? enough, crohn's! for adults with moderate to severe crohn's or ulcerative colitis... stelara® can provide relief and is the only approved medication to reduce inflammation on and below the surface of the intestine in uc. you, getting on that flight? back off, uc! stelara® may increase your risk of infections,

some serious, and cancer. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection... flu-like symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine. pres, a rare, potentially fatal brain condition, may be possible. some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. lasting remission can start with stelara®. if you've been financially impacted by covid-19, janssen may be able to help. oh, you think this is just a community center? if you've been financially impacted by covid-19, no. it's way more than that. cause when you hook our community up with the internet... boom! look at ariana, crushing virtual class. jamol, chasing that college dream. michael, doing something crazy. this is the place where we can show the world what we can do. comcast is partnering with 1000 community centers to create wifi-enabled lift zones, so students from low-income families can get the tools they need to be ready for anything.

oh we're ready. ♪ ♪ this is bob minetti and his wife wendy. in 2016, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. bob participated in a clinical trial that included cutting-edge radiation therapy and surgery. he's been in remission since completion. i am so glad i learned what was possible for me stand up to cancer and lustgarten foundation are working together to make every person diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a long-term survivor. visit pancreatic cancer collective.org. steve: the cincinnati police chief sounds the alarm on a shortage of staff by roughly 70 officers and with about 20% eligible for retirement he warns the problem could get worse before it get better. thomas striker is the former police chief in cincinnati and joins us right now from i

believe cincinnati to talk about the situation. chief, good morning to you. tod? steve: i'm doing okay. we have been talking about over the last number of months how many police officers are retiring and things like that. just decided, you know, it's not worth it. i'm getting out of law enforcement. i know there has been a wave of retirement there. and now cincinnati is waking up to the fact that it could be over a year before you're back up to full strength, right? >> i don't think they could possibly even do it in a year. because of the number of officers they are down and then how long it takes to train a new class of officers put them in the field and even at the point where you put them in the field they are only marginally ready to assume some type of patrol activity. so you are looking more at 12 to 18 months before the officers if they hired them today, would be ready and available to hit the street.

steve: sure. i understand the fire chief, the guy who runs the fire department there in cincinnati same thing. we are down so many officers. what is going on with law enforcement and, you know, the fire services as well that people have decided you know what? i'm stepping out? >> it's what now? steve: they are just retiring? >> oh, yeah. i think it's like everybody else in the world. the officers themselves and the firefighters watch the news. they see what's going on politically around the country. and they see all the fingers being pointed at safety services being inept or wrong or somehow part of the problem. and we may be at the center of activity that occurs there. all that criticism the constant scrutiny certainly has an effect on these officers and many of them sit back and say what's the use? why should i do this? that's the reach you see depolicing in some areas around the country and it's also the reason that you see people

leaving via retirement or some type of early retirement due to post-traumatic stress syndrome. steve: sure. at the same time the young people deciding what am i going to do with the rest of my life as they look at law enforcement a lot of them are thinking i don't know if i want to do that. i have heard all these things about that. >> it does become difficult for agencies to hire people. i have to tell you this. that historically, in times of difficulty around the country. we like -- we actually see the cream rise to the top and those people truly committed and those people who truly want to make a difference really want to make a change in society. those are the people that step forward and volunteer still to be police officers. so, it's not that we are unable to hire them. it's that the entire pool of people is not available to us. so we have a limited selection. but i still think agencies do a good job in picking the very best of the people that do apply

for the job. and that's what should be encouraging to the community, to the city and to the state to the entire country. steve: indeed. all right. let's see what happens out there. our thoughts are with cincinnati. chief thomas streicher, thank you very much. >> my pleasure, steve. thank you. steve: you bet. exactly 7:it 5 here in the east this morning. we pay tribute to rush limbaugh. take look at his work exposing media bias. that's coming up. first, from our friends at fox bet download the fox bet super 6 app. if you have not and play for your chance to win $10,000 over the next couple of days. all you need do is predict six outcomes in the fox bet super 6 quiz show where topics range from entertainment to sports to news. you name it. it's in there. it's free to download. so go ahead download it today. you could be $10,000 richer by the weekend. ♪

want to brain better? unlike ordinary memory supplements— neuriva has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. try our new gummies for 30 days and see the difference.

research shows that people 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. ♪ my nunormal: fewer asthma attacks. less oral steroids. taking my treatment at home. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your doctor about nucala at home. find your nunormal with nucala.

♪ ♪ pete: this morning we are honoring the life and legacy of rush limbaugh. the radio talk show pioneer gave a voice to conservative voices and never backed down from exposing media bias. >> the media used to at least pretend that they were not a participant in the ongoing events of the country. >> i firmly believe it's the media that's running the democrat party today not the other way around. the idea that the enthusiasm is all on the democrat side, that's media made up stuff. >> don't ever measure your success by how many drive-by media reports you see that are fair to us. never going to happen. don't measure your success by how many people like you. just worry about how they vote. pete: here to reflect on his lasting impact on the

broadcasting on the news world host of fox nation lara logan has no agenda lara logan. good morning. before it was defined as fake news by president trump, it was the drive by media from rush limbaugh. explain what he meant and impact he had on explaining what news media did. >> you know, it's kind of extraordinary, pete, because to millions of people in country, rush limbaugh was a heroic figure and an icon. and he is not being remembered that way. and what he meant when he was saying the clips that you just played is that it's not an even playing field out there. and someone you know spent more than 16 years at "60 minutes" and senior correspondent at cbs news and before that i worked for abc and nbc and cnn, so i grew up in that media world. and i can tell you that i wasn't aware of my own bias. and it's people like rush limbaugh, and particularly rush limbaugh who really made the

whole country aware of that what they want is an even playing field -- they don't want an even playing field. sorry. they want to be say we are the honorable, noble people who seek for the truth. and occasionally we make a mistake but it's an honest one, right? and the rest of you, you are all conspiracy theorists and bigots. rush limbaugh was a powerful force in exposing that everyone has a bias. all of us, including me. and that there is one are more than one way of looking at the world. it should be an even playing field. we should be able to say, are you know what, "new york times"? you have a very -- you have a particular perspective that's mirrored by all these other organizations. you don't own this hallowed ground of objectivity and truth. and rush limbaugh and then fox news were really the two greatest forces in exposing that reality. that's why media matters of america exists to suppress that truth. they don't want anybody to know.

they don't want any of us -- any people outside of those who see the world their way to have any kind of voice. and rush limbaugh was that voice for millions of people. pete: lara, what you said, it's completely reflected in the way the "new york times" is remembering rush limbaugh today. it's so sick that i barely feel comfortable putting it on the screen. of this is how they said in his obituary will limbaugh who was 70 pushed conservative radio to the right with misogynistic and racist language while trafficking in conspiracy theories. lara, of all the things you could say about this legend they lead with the very isms you talked about. >> you know what, pete? i was raised to be a better person than that. you know, i can only think of my mother. she would have looked at that and said how small these people are very small. and she would have left it at that honestly i'm going to leave it there when it comes to them. because of i think their actions

and their language speak for themselves. for a newspaper talk about trafficking in conspiracy theories? how about the capital policeman was not murdered by trump supporters with a fire extinguisher. how about that great conspiracy theory pushed by the "new york times" recently. how many years of russia collusion conspiracy theories that were pushed by the "new york times"? i mean, you know the list, right? it goes on and on and on. how disgraceful that people cannot see it for what it is. pete: he saw it for what it is and he called it the drive by media because they show up based on emotion, spread misinformation and then they leave only to let the facts emerge and truth emerge later on when no one is paying attention with a correction in a-15 six weeks later that nobody sees. to your -- if people want to hear more from rush limbaugh. limbaughens legacy exclusive collection of shows and collections streaming now only on fox nation. as they are watching limbaugh's

legacy, lara, you have an amazing series as well right now. you are down at the border. here's a portion of what you are covering this week and it involves china. watch. >> super lads are tattered and dirty and don't look like much. but the cartels and the chinese together have made mexico the biggest producer of fentanyl and meth in the world. >> what so specifically about china's role? >> thousands and thousands of chemical companies in china that are just unregulated. there is no oversight. pete: lara, china at the southern border? i think a lot of people are going tore surprised by this. >> they shouldn't be. because it's been happening for a long time. china first introduced fentanyl as a street drug in this country in 2012-2001. before that agents from dea, they had never seen it on u.s. streets. they had never even heard of it, many of them. and, yet, the cartels in china have been working this for, you know, for years. and not only that pete, people

just don't realize this isn't marijuana. this isn't like the '70s. this is a drug that is produced in a lab. it's a synthetic. and it's mixed into everything you can imagine from meth to cocaine. you know to heroin, to everything else. and also what they don't realize is the ultimate crisis isn't over because china and the cartels is making sure it isn't over. this nonsense of well as long as americans have a demand for drugs there is going to be a drug problem. no, what they are doing is using highly addictive drug like fentanyl to create a demand by mixing it in with meth and introducing it to like new england that have never had a meth problem. creating this demand. turning americans into addicts. and do you know what you are seeing right now from the biden administration? you are seeing an open border. they have bypassed the legal immigration system. never mind all the, -- you know all of the people who came to this country and gone through the legal process and are still

waiting, right? i have a friend who came from afghanistan who hasn't held his children for five years because is he waiting for the legal process to work. and all of this is flowing over the border. we don't even know who is coming over the border. i will end with one thing, just recently a yemeni terrorist, a known yemeni terrorist was apprehended crossing that border. there are many more that we don't know. pete, border agents admit they have no idea. most of the time they have no idea who is coming over that border or what's coming over that border. pete: now they don't know. >> no one is addressing. this. pete: now they don't know if they have support in doing their job. you work down there so indispensable lara, thank you so much. we appreciate it. >> thank you, pete. pete: absolutely. the first three episodes of lara logan has no agenda return to the border now on fox nation with a new one available to stream this monday. remember fox nation is a members only streaming service with exclusive access to original content, events and your favorite personalities like lara, head to fox nation.com to

sign up today. and this morning, we remember rush limbaugh as a true pioneer who paved the way for a new generation of conservative leaders. larry elder who says are you sure set the standard joins us live next. and florida going the extra mile to make sure seniors get vaccinated. governor ron desantis joins to us discuss the state's latest program merging the private and public sector on the other side of this. ♪ ♪ ge that's why we're a fiduciary, obligated to put clients first. (money manager) so, what do you provide? cookie cutter portfolios? (judith) nope, we tailor portfolios to our client's needs. (money manager) but you do sell investments that earn you high commissions, right? (judith) we don't have those. (money manager) so what's in it for you? (judith) our fees are structured so we do better

when our clients do better. at fisher investments we're clearly different.

why walgreens? with copays as low as $0.... walgreens makes affording your medicare prescriptions... ...no sweat. so you can get back to the thing you'd rather be doing. ♪ (deborah) i was hesitant to get the hearing aids so because of my short hair, thinbut nobody even sees them. (vo) discover the exclusive, new miracle-earmini- a nearly invisible hearing aid from the brand leader in hearing aids. new miracle-earmini. so small and comfortable that no one will see them, but you'll notice the difference. call today to start your 30-day risk-free trial. start the year with better hearing and big savings.

call miracle-ear today. if your dry eye symptoms keep coming back, inflammation in your eye might be to blame. looks like a great day for achy, burning eyes over-the-counter eye drops typically work by lubricating your eyes and may provide temporary relief. ha! these drops probably won't touch me. xiidra works differently, targeting inflammation that can cause dry eye disease. what is that? xiidra, noooo! it can provide lasting relief. xiidra is the only fda approved treatment specifically for the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease. one drop in each eye, twice a day. don't use if you're allergic to xiidra. common side effects include eye irritation, discomfort or blurred vision when applied to the eye, and unusual taste sensation. don't touch container tip to your eye or any surface. after using xiidra, wait 15 minutes before reinserting contacts. got any room in your eye? talk to an eye doctor about twice-daily xiidra. i prefer you didn't!

xiidra. not today, dry eye. every veteran family deserves to fulfill their dream of owning a home and to continue living that dream throughout their lives. at newday usa, we have va refinance loans to do just that. from refinancing to lower your monthly mortgage payments to refinancing and getting cash for your family. whatever you need, we're here. >> for those of you tuning in on the fox news channel and c-span i'm rush limbaugh i want every one of you in this room and around the country to succeed. [applause] >> i want anyone to believes in life liberty and the pursuit of

happiness to succeed. i want any force any person, any element of an overarching big government that would stop your success, i want that organization, that element or that person to fail. [applause] >> i want you to succeed. steve: and succeed he did. as we look back on the career of rush limbaugh, we are also reflecting on how he paved the way for a lot of conservatives who have a big voice in media. ainsley: radio talk show host larry elder says are you sure said the standard for his career and he joins us now. good morning, larry. >> good morning, ainsley. he certainly did. he was the goat. greatest of all time. no question. ainsley: we just saw that clip that was from cpac in 2009. cpac is next week in person down in orlando, florida. do you think they will do a tribute? >> oh, yes. one of the many, many, many things are you sure did, of course, was to put the left wing media on trial i think before

are you sure came along people didn't know how bad it was. "the washington post" has never editorialized in favor of a republican president. never. the "new york times" has not done it sings 1956. and i remember when rush limbaugh first became national he got a deal with the florida citrus growers to do a commercial to advertise oranges and he got hammered. the citrus growers pulled the ad pretty soon. that's when i first realized that people who hate republicans lick rush limbaugh not only dislike them but want to destroy their ability to make a living. it's outrageous. sports castest on espn he made a comment about donovan mcnabb people pull for him they want him to succeed whether he is good or bad, irrelevant. they want him to succeed because he is a black quarterback. he got hammered for that later on after he left the espn, there was a sports writer who wrote you know we do pull for black quarterbacks. rush limbaugh said something that was actually true. where was that guy when rush limbaugh actually needed him. this is what rush limbaugh

taught us about the drive-by media. influenced by the way they vote and think. huge, he is an amazing man. pete: very well said. greatest of all time, indeed. that exposure of the media was fundamental to having a sense of where information comes from and to ability articulate conservatism. he want to get your take on one other topic mere because you testified yesterday at a house subpanel holding hearings president potential for reparations. and a reparations bill. here here is representative sheila jackson lee talking about that bill. >> we are hidden in the corners of this nation are those of african-american heritage, the descendants of enslaved africans who have felt the sting of disparity. they continue to feel that sting. now more than ever the facts and circumstances facing our nation demonstrate the importance of h.r. 40 and the necessity of placing our nation on the path

to repairive justice. pete: larry from what i understand the bill would create a reparations committee discuss how to calculate compensation. what did you testify to? >> right. well, as i was sitting there. i'm listening to sheila jackson lee and holding up photographies of slaves having been beaten and you see the wells. it reminds me of the hearing about the capitol riots can we stipulate that slavery was awful and evil. can we stipulate the capitol riots were really bad? the question whether or not people right now never slave owners should be paying money to people who were never slaved. ridiculous. only 5% of white people have generational connection to slavery right now. i have got to ask you anybody why should anybody but democrats pay for slavery half full of slave owners were democrats. democrats founded the kkk. more republicans voted for the civil rights act of '64 than democrats. why should anybody but democrats pay reparation? what about obama? obama's family owned slaves.

obama's father came from an area slave trading. does he get a check or cut a check? the whole thing is absurd. steve: larry elder joins you from l.a. thank you for talking about the news the day and of course rush limbaugh. >> you got it. steve: all right. exactly 1 minutes before the top of the hour, dr. martin luther king jr. changed america. his courage in the face of hate brought to life in a new short film starring our next guest. plus, rush limbaugh transformed the media by advancing conservative values. we will look back at some of his greatest achievements coming up. also, sean hannity, shortly. >> conservatism has been so maligned in state-run media for so many years. all we want is success for everybody. we want freedom for everybody. we understand that a great nation is made up of great people doing great things. ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things. we don't look at the american population with contempt and derision.

we see americans. we see human beings. we see potential. freedom will never go out of style and that's the foundation of conservatism. get in my way. not the doubts, distractions, or voice in my head. and certainly not arthritis. voltaren provides powerful arthritis pain relief to help me keep moving. and it can help you too. feel the joy of movement with voltaren. some say this is my greatest challenge ever. but i've seen centuries of this. with a companion that powers a digital world, traded with a touch. the gold standard, so to speak ;)

sarah shopped for the lowest mortgage rate and chose amerisave, the one choice she'll never regret... ...unlike buying a do-it-yourself orthodontics kit... or marrying eddie... visit amerisave.com now. lower mortgage rates mean higher savings.

♪ >> should have stayed in atlanta. you shouldn't have come here.

>> it's up wise. it's untimely. should have been patient. >> why am i here? ainsley: a new short film is bringing to life the 1963 arrest of dr. martin luther king jr. through that ordeal dr. king wrote his famous letter from birmingham jail which the star of the film says still carries weight today. joel watson who plays dr. king joins us now along with his brother and friend of our show ben watson an nfl player for the patriots. thanks, guys, for being with us. >> thanks, ainsley, good morning. ainsley: you are welcome, good to see you both. joel, i will start with you you are playing dr. martin luther king in the film. why was it important for you to do this? >> well, me doing this film was very cathartic experience. like much the country i spent a lot of last year in quarantine,

kind of watching a lot of things unfold and forced to take it in more than i usually do. and so for me it was a very cathartic experience for me to express my frustrations and thoughts through a voice that was more eloquent than mine. the voice that had a plan. yeah. ainsley: some people might not know that dr. martin luther king after his arrest spent time in solitary confinement. he said that was the darkest time in his life. ben, you support of your brother. you watched the movie. what did you think? >> ainsley, i was blown away. joe is 15 years younger than me so it's been amazing to see him grow and develop and really follow this dream of his to be an actor and then to be able to portray dr. martin luther king in such a passionate way. i was blown away just by taking myself back and really feel like i was in that jail as dr. king as we know says that injustice

anywhere is a throat justice anywhere. the way he had to combat -- he wasn't well-liked like he is now back then. and it's important that we remember that some of these heroes struggled just the way he did. ainsley: let's watch a clip of it and joel on the other side of the clip i will get to you explain what we just saw. >> you say i can't change the hearts of people. baby, that's true. i can change injustice. can i change the system. the system based on character, not color. ainsley: joel, tell us about that scene. >> what dr. martin luther king wanted wasn't just peace for peace's sake. wasn't unity. he wanted justice. and these clergyman as well as much of the country and similar to now a lot of people just want relief. we just want the tension to go away. and in the movie martin luther

king said that tension is good. tension is growth. tension is necessary. and challenge people to lean into tension. because that's where change comes. seek justice not just will false sense of peace. and that's where your peace comes from at the expense of someone else. challenge pima way. ainsley: ben, you said a lot of people didn't like him. it took him until after his death before the world was able to see what an inspiration he was. how loving he was, that he didn't encourage the violence. we can learn a lot. but he sacrificed his whole life so that we could change the future of america. >> he did. and i think it's important exactly what joel said this is about justice. and as we have come off of 2020 and then 2021, we are all kind of thinking of justice, especially in light of what we saw over the last year, it's really important to understand

that the unity is important but the precursor of unity is justice and truth. and when i look at dr. king, i look at other heroes that we talk about that were assassinated. people like malcolm x. we think about the equity and justice they fought for and inspires us to do the same thing even if it's not the most popular thing to do at the time. ainsley: all right. we can watch this movie. this not too distant tomorrow on youtube. you can watch it for free today. joel, congratulations. thank you for playing this part and teaching us more about this hero and, ben, thank you for being on with us. >> thanks for having me. >> we appreciate it. ainsley: thank you. god bless you both. he tributes his entire to conservative voice. sean hannity is going to join us at the top of the hour to pay tribute to his mentor. ♪

i'm erin. -and i'm margo. we've always done things our own way. charted our own paths. i wasn't going to just back down from moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. psoriatic arthritis wasn't going to change who i am. when i learned that my joint pain could mean permanent joint damage, i asked about enbrel. enbrel helps relieve joint pain, and helps stop permanent joint damage. plus enbrel helps skin get clearer in psoriatic arthritis. ask your doctor about enbrel, so you can get back to your true self. -play ball! enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders and allergic reactions have occurred. tell your doctor if you've been someplace where fungal infections are common. or if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if you have persistent fever, bruising,

bleeding or paleness. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. visit enbrel.com to see how your joint damage could progress. enbrel. eligible patients may pay as little as $5 per month. we made usaa insurance for members like martin. an air force veteran made of doing what's right, not what's easy. so when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. that's how you do it right. usaa insurance is made just the way martin's family needs it with hassle-free claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. because doing right by our members, that's what's right. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. ♪ usaa ♪ ♪ ♪ ..

comfort in the extreme. the lincoln family of luxury suvs. my nunormal: fewer asthma attacks. less oral steroids. taking my treatment at home. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred.

don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your doctor about nucala at home. find your nunormal with nucala. change wabc talk radio, my name is rush limbaugh. ainsley: we are remembering the life and legacy of rush limbaugh. >> so much to be thankful for especially when right in front of you is the prospect of it being taken away. >> andrew cuomo's nursing home scandal under investigation. >> we are somewhat vindicated. >> power outages for millions of the worst arctic blast. >> the energy capital of the

world and we don't have energy during a crisis. >> we understand great people doing great things, ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things. >> thursday, february 18th. america remembers rush limbaugh. he passed away from cancer on ash wednesday. >> tributes pouring in, lindsey graham writing conservatism has lost one of its giants and strongest advocates. >> donald trump reflecting on the moment awarded the presidential medal of freedom. >> it was an amazing night,

republicans went wild and democrats - an unexpected rush and it was in -- one of the great owners of his life. >> rush limbaugh was 70 years old. from sean hannity's program last night, the man himself, let me give you the floor as you reflect to waking up in a world without rush limbaugh? >> we did a show last night, we had the president on and i was a guest on laura ingram's show. one thing i want people never to forget, critical to this guy's success, snowflake or woke or any of these cancel culture,

talk radio is at the crosshairs of cancel culture. my entire career i have been on radio 33 years. i look a lot younger, i am sure you all think that. rush had this way, it was unique, half my brain tied behind my back, just to make it fair. talent on loan from god, that is so arrogant. any good talent, would be coming from god, he was in new york city, and - there was no eib building. if he was in it that was the eib

building. that is the fun side and he had this irreverent side, has a big huge mass of controversy. when he took a controversy on abortion he would call them caller abortions. it was making a strong point, and and get the on the air anyway i can, i don't support boycotts. the serious side of rush, he loved god, he loved family. he loved our constitution, he was a lifelong student if you will, all things constitution.

he was a believer in the gift god gave us. the thing that makes us, you fought for this country, that makes us unique or makes us special is we don't believe rights come from government. we believe we are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights like life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. we are endowed by the thing -- it is early. i will tell you, when you believe that as a conservative, what you are really saying is this. i believe this with all my heart, mind and soul, god created every single man, woman or child and education from latin means to bring forth from within, and if you believe god created us all and put talents

in us, night like you are shoving information to people's brains, you believe the talent is there and if you nurture that talent in a country that has liberty and freedom there is no stopping human engineering he >> reporter: annuity and invention and that is what rush preached. conservatism at the end of the day is a very basic, simple philosophy. we can make it complicated but we like law and order, safety and security, choice in schools, lower taxes, less bureaucracy, we want government off our backs, energy independence, we believe in the constitution, we want constitutionalists on the bench, free and fair trade, peace through strength, second amendment rights, that is as

complicated as sean hannity is in life. that was rush limbaugh and so many of us, generations of americans miss that voice, educated all of us and reminded us of great principles that make america great. ainsley: steve: and nearly 90s rush famously read a letter from ronald reagan that ronald reagan had written to rush saying i am at the white house, you are the number one voice of conservatism in america. here is a guy when he was 8 years old knew he wanted to be on the radio. he had a name he picked out of the phone book, rusty sharp, when he was in high school, went to work in pennsylvania and missouri, got fired because he was too controversial, got a job in sacramento, replaced morton

downey junior and was so popular, the same time the fcc repealed the fairness doctrine, one point of view, we get enough of that, we don't need it anymore, he was at the right place at the right time for him to go on the radio and talk about conservative values for 3 hours straight. where he was the number one voice for 30 years. >> it is more unique than that in this sense. i don't know what it is about radio, the first time that light went on, something came flying out of me and i don't know where it came from and all i knew was i loved it and that described rush's life. he comes from a family of brilliant attorneys and he was a

trailblazer, wanted to go his own way, often told stories, my older sister thought i was insane when i went into radio. other people think i am insane, but he just loved it and followed his dream and did something any great radio person will do. howard stern, don imus, rush limbaugh, anybody in radio you have to be your own person. there is a great scene in stir's new the private parts, i travel around the country and lived in rhode island, california, alabama, georgia and then got hired when fox went on the air. there is a scene where earlier in stern's career where he's just starting out and reading

the weather, okay, hazy, hot and humid, chance of late afternoon thunderstorms, 48 degrees, on w w w w and now back to the bee gees. i did that. i have those tapes and if anyone ever plays them, forget it. i am suing you for all you've got. i have copyright infringement issues. i want people to know this. one thing i can tell you for sure, if rush were here today i know he would want this. that is nobody can replace this guy. he is irreplaceable. nobody can match his talent, people calling my radio show, obviously devastated, upset, we lost the greatest voice of conservatism that we have ever

had in our lifetime and what can we do in my answer would be all of us that believe in what he believed need to up our game because this was his life's mission and his life's work. i said last night on my show for those who went to bed early, i said this, we have all watched the movie the bucket list. morgan freeman, jack nicholson, two guys that meet in a cancer ward, diagnosed with cancer, things they do before they leave this earth and start checking off the bucket list and start living, rush had a bucket list. we can look over a year ago and got this horrible diagnosis, stage 4 cancer, lung cancer, the odds were not good on day one,

was very upfront about it with his audience and what he would do is go through horrible cancer treatments, kill you to save you or by you more time, as soon as he felt well enough or even if he wasn't feeling well enough, he would race back to his golden eib microphone and that was his bucket list. is bucket list was to be on the air, it was his life's calling, what he was born to do and that is what he wanted to be. that is much how he loved this audience. all of us who have the honor of being on the air. we have that honor, and they entrust us with that. returned that every day. and that dream of his to become

possible, listening the face of television and watching. and he found the love of his life, his brother david has been my agent, my entire career over 30 years. my entire extended family. >> >> she said if there's anything to talk about tomorrow, didn't talk about his faith a lot on air but he loved jesus and was always there for every christmas. and gave kristen's sister, film

production, the most expensive they couldn't afford but rush could. the best equipment, the stories go on and on. i listened to you talk and heard stories about rush. the sacrifices you have to make, and it was a calling from childbirth and early on in your career, interview the president last night, all of you sacrificed a lot for conservativism or what you believe in. you don't have a private life, rush was very private. here's your interview with donald trump last night. >> >> rush was all the way, i

didn't know him and it was so incredible. i got to know him after that. he was much different, a very very, very warm person. >> >> why is it so important to you to lose so much of your life to fight for this country? >> great question and i truly believe my heart, mind and soul. this is the greatest country god gave man by far. i worry about the country - i wrote the first book i have written in ten years, live free

or die, i have a whole chapter, socialism's history of failure, what separates this country and made america great are its people and the present freedoms and natural rights, the we get our rights from god, not from man, not from government and the more we are free, i truly believe the greater we become because those god-given talents. you get food, water, sunshine, safe environment for kid and opportunities for children, whatever it happens to be. that child's then, whatever their talents are will rise to the top, that is how america became innovative, where invention comes from. the turn of the last century,

the patent office, we have come a long way. we sent people to the moon and brought them home, now we are firing up satellites, have cell phones. just in the human spirit to be free and i believe we provide the best opportunity. let me put it another way it if you look at the last century alone over 100 million human souls were destroyed, communism, fascism, nazi-ism, imperial japan, whatever form it took, hitler, mussolini, tojo, those are government's authoritative status, tyrannical policies that

purge and all governmental systems, his passion, his calling, his great driving life came from that believe in liberty and freedom and all the things they believe. we are missing our biggest voice if we up our game, do our part, i believe america will be great again. we should what can happen with conservatism implemented in four years of donald trump. steve: he has appeared on your program. i want to play, in june of 2009. >> we understand a great nation is made of great people doing the right thing, ordinary people, accomplishing extraordinary things.

we don't look at people and pick up a number of lights or the number of women, human beings, potential, liberals look at a group of people, they see people that can't overcome the obstacle or want a government program to help them. it is frustrating because conservatism isn't the process to be re-defined, the era of reagan is over and freedom will never go out of style. steve: you mentioned conservatives need to up our game as a result of losing rush, what do they need to take a? >> the biggest lesson is we have freedom, we have these gifts. i have met people who come from governmental systems where they

are not free, in a few short years, so successful, just given the opportunity and it is one of those things in life we take for granted. we can't take freedom for granted. reagan warned us freedom is but one generation away from extinction. i don't want to become extinct on our watch and that drives me every day and all 3 of you as well. i want to say thanks to all of you and so many, the head of the channel, for honoring him of a that he deserves. this man was a true pioneer, a true original, he was a genius in broadcasting, all of us have

followed, that they pushed. >> remembering rush coming up next. liberty mutual customizes your home insurance, here's something you shouldn't try at home... look, liberty mutual customizes home insurance so we only pay for what we need. it's pretty cool. that is cool! grandma! very cool. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

advanced non-small cell lung cancer can change everything. but your first treatment could be a chemo-free combination of two immunotherapies that works differently. it could mean a chance to live longer. opdivo plus yervoy is for adults newly diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer that has spread and that tests positive for pd-l1 and does not have an abnormal egfr or alk gene. opdivo plus yervoy is the first and only fda-approved combination of two immunotherapies opdivo plus yervoy equals... a chance for more starry nights. more sparkly days. more big notes. more small treasures. more family dinners. more private desserts. opdivo and yervoy can cause your immune system to attack healthy parts of your body during and after treatment. these problems can be severe and lead to death.

see your doctor right away if you have a cough; chest pain; shortness of breath; irregular heartbeat; diarrhea; constipation; severe stomach pain, nausea or vomiting; dizziness; fainting; eye problems; extreme tiredness; changes in appetite, thirst or urine; rash; itching; confusion; memory problems; muscle pain or weakness; joint pain; flushing; or fever. these are not all the possible side effects. problems can occur at the same time and some more often when opdivo is used with yervoy. tell your doctor about all medical conditions including immune or nervous system problems, if you've had or plan to have an organ or stem cell transplant, or received chest radiation. here's to a chance for more horizons. a chance to live longer. ask your doctor about chemo-free opdivo plus yervoy. thank you to all involved in our clinical trials.

oh, you think this is just a community center? ask your doctor about chemo-free opdivo plus yervoy. no. it's way more than that. cause when you hook our community up with the internet... boom! look at ariana, crushing virtual class. jamol, chasing that college dream. michael, doing something crazy. this is the place where we can show the world what we can do. comcast is partnering with 1000 community centers to create wifi-enabled lift zones, so students from low-income families can get the tools they need to be ready for anything. oh we're ready. ♪ ♪

>> have i mentioned lately how much i admire the governor of florida, ron desantis. he launched an ambitious crackdown on big tech. somebody with the guts to do it. somebody also not closing down his state. this guy has got what we call an

iron enforced spine. ainsley: rush limbaugh talking about governor rhonda santos, the governor of florida where rush happen to live. good morning, governor. in this last show, you were good friends. tell us about him. >> we were proud in florida to be home to where he applied his trade for 20 years. he obviously was a legend. somebody will succeed in the 12-3 slot but no one will ever replace him. just being able to know him, he had been this voice on the radio to me, getting to know him, he had me on when he was running for governor. he had me on the week before the election in 2018 and there was a lot of excitement, didn't have a

lot of guests. i was honored to appear on his show a couple times. we are going to miss him dearly. >> a special thing to do something like that. you heard rush mention you have the guts to keep your state open when other states have not had the ability or willingness to do that. yesterday and advisor to joe biden was pressed on wide locked down california is not doing much better than a more open florida. listen to what was discussed on ms nbc yesterday. >> states like florida and california, basically in lockdown and their numbers are not very different. >> we think we understand, a little beyond our explanation. we would rather get better visibility. large events etc..

as we learned by this time, this is a virus that continues to surprise us, hard to predict. >> they can't figure out how you have done it. >> lockdowns don't look -- don't work. if you look at florida, our per capita mortality for covid-19 is less than the national average, our senior mortality for covid-19 is less than california's per capita and get our schools are open, every parent can send their kids to school. and provide for their families, we avoided a lot of description of these lockdowns. if you look the mortality for 2020, covid-19 was a big part of the increase in mortality. there are lockdown deaths in some of the state and a lot of the media doesn't want to talk about it but that will be a lasting negative legacy. >> during covid-19 so many

people from the northeast have relocated to florida for the good weather and the taxes. speaking of rush limbaugh, rush limbaugh moved to florida 2008-2009 because they were jacking up attacks, he moved to palm beach county. a couple weeks ago, the state was inaugurating -- and modulating the 1 million senior. you are here to talk about world war ii veteran vernon cummings as the state starts a new program. explain, the state was making house calls. >> we have seen years, folks that are in their 80s and 90s and even 100 years old, we started this a couple weeks ago with holocaust survivors in south florida, bay of pigs

veterans, cuban americans, so vernon, he was going to be 95 years old in a couple weeks, they lived here in largo, florida. and, and we are proud of the world war ii veteran. we are going to hit our 2 million senior vaccinated. can't think of a better fellow to have that honor. the vaccine is ready to go. any questions, i can type some in. ainsley: how does he feel about

getting this vaccination? >> how do you feel about getting the shot? >> i am very happy. it has been forever before it got to me. i never thought the governor would be sitting in my house. >> this has been a successful program, so glad we are able to do it. he goes back and obviously covid-19 disrupted, he's taking world war ii veterans korean vets, pushing them around in the wheelchair so they can see, he is sharp, you are 95, you look 75.

ainsley: steve: i know vern can't hear us but how ask - ask how it felt. >> how did it feel? >> how did it feel? i didn't feel. >> talking about how you did the parade the other day. >> i had so many. >> it certifies at this moment because how many guys have the governor get the vaccination. an honor to have you here, channel 13 and other personnel. >> honored and humbled by his service.

>> they are honored and humbled by your service as we are in the entire state of florida is. we know what you did for us and we won't forget. >> back then you did what you were told and with 2400 personnel in indiana they were very strict and you are careful what you said and who you said it to. >> he has lived a great life, they had a great marriage, 69 years in may, we are honored to have that. steve: we are honored we saw the 2 millionth senior being vaccinated in florida where florida is leading the nation in all of this. thank you for your leadership and joining us. you are a great governor. at the same time you did a good job working for us here at channel 13.

>> thanks, guys. >> really great. we have larry kudlow and mark stein joining us, a lot to say. are you need to do is predict the outcome in the super 6 quiz show, sports to news. ♪♪ i'm a performer. always have been. and always will be. never letting anything get in my way. not the doubts, distractions, or voice in my head. and certainly not arthritis. voltaren provides powerful arthritis pain relief to help me keep moving.

and it can help you too. feel the joy of movement with voltaren. you're strong. you power through chronic migraine-15 or more headache days a month each lasting 4 hours or more. botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine. so, if you haven't tried botox® for your chronic migraine check with your doctor if botox® is right for you and, if samples are available. effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away, as difficulty swallowing speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness can be signs of a life-threatening condition. side effects may include allergic reactions neck and injection site pain fatigue, and headache. don't receive botox® if there's a skin infection. tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions and medications, including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. 95% of patients may pay as little as zero dollars for botox® so, text to see how you can save. botox is the #1 prescribed

branded chronic migraine treatment. so, ask your doctor about botox® today.

sfx: [sounds of everyday life events, seen and heard in reverse] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ sfx: [sounds of fedex planes and vehicles engines] ♪♪ sfx: [sounds of children laughing and running, as a retired weatherman, i like things i can predict. life moving forward]

that's why i chose an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan from unitedhealthcare. it's the kind of plan with predictable out-of-pocket costs. plus the plan i chose has a low to zero percent chance of copays. it's a sunny day for me. -honey you're doing it again. -i'll stop. the only medicare supplement plans with the aarp name. medicare supplement plans have no networks and no referrals so you can take charge.

>> i wasn't expected to be alive today. i wasn't expected to make it to october, november, december and yet here i am and today, i am feeling good today. >> rush limbaugh, in the game of politics and media. >> >> good morning. >> i wanted to have you on. >> i love that clip god is with me today, i love that.

and and years back, he was a star by that time. i invited 25 or 30 conservatives to talk -- as my saintly wife judy, rush is the first guy to come to dinner on time. that is point number one. judy sticks out her hand and says i know you're so busy, it is wonderful you could come to this dinner party or you have 3 or 4 indications. rush tells her, nobody invites me anywhere, nobody invites me

to - it was fabulous, this was years ago in nearly 90s. he was thanking us for holding dinner party but at that point, don't know if it was 92 or 3, probably the biggest radio star in the country. steve: you talk about -- go ahead please. >> the other thing i want to emphasize, he was a great conservative but rush was fundamentally -- it is in my dna. he was obviously he believed in american exceptionalism. the greatest country in the history of history, he was self-taught over the years, self-taught policy guy, had the skills and communication to explain, plain simple language.

let people, exercise their god-given gifts, let people have a initiative. ordinary american folks know in the heartland, another quick anecdotes. about the same period in the mid-90s, roger rails and rush limbaugh and another person, can't remember who that was because i'm too old. why can't we stop government spending? one of the reasons is the phony scoring, i gave an example, a government guy goes out and wants to buy a car, mercedes-benz for 100,$000, that is the announcement and to buy

oldsmobile for 50 grand. in government, a 50,$000 budget cut, now, rush latched on to that, said it on the air for years and years. he hadn't heard it before and loved to talk about that. steve: you can watch kudlow at 4:00 pm eastern. love having you in the family. steve: we can come to a party at your place anytime as long as we social distance. ainsley: people are so intimidated to invite rush to dinner so he never gets the invitation. brian: mark stein is a recent guest host to fill in yesterday.

you know him very well. talked about you, your reflections this morning? >> slightly embarrassed by that. rush was fantastically rude, including me. it was a great privilege to be put down by rush. he made an interesting point. what rush loved was being on the radio. he came from a family of successful judges and lawyers and he wanted to be on the radio. where did we go wrong? no disrespect to, an influential and consequential person by going on the radio.

he loved being on the radio. wasn't just the politics but the way he did it. the first time i heard him, driving to the north main woods, as far as you can go in america and no radio at all, automatically - we hear rush for the first time and stopped talking and get to a little trading post, the last place you can buy a sandwich in america, when you get to the new brunswick border. we had our last meal in america discussing this guy not for what he was saying that the way he did it.

brian: he was a great conservative but we have been talking to people this morning about how they listen to rush and how he changed their points of view, you are somebody who changed your life because he elevated you to rush limbaugh fill in host in your life will never be the same because of rush limbaugh. >> the first time i hosted, guys in my town and new hampshire who listened to us every day, one of them was driving around in the truck, 6 minutes past midday, i start talking and he is in his truck saying who the hell is this foreign bleeper? wacky foreigner who lives on the

hill and it transformed to be in new hampshire. back to the early days when he started in the late 80s, in a way that doesn't apply to the other side, no fox, no talk radio, people, right-wingers are living in a world of dan rather and peter jennings and oprah and suddenly they find this guy who says things they wanted to hear on tv and radio and nobody said it. the guy in my town who runs the auto body shop he and my son when working on a new car for inspection or whatever retune the radio from npr to rush, so the liberal comes and picks up the car and drives out of the body shop and a, pulled out of

the highway, and and he skids across the median. the only time liberals, - >> >> we are out of time. one more guest after this. we will be watching. >> life is worth everything, that is echoed by the list -- living medal of honor recipients. kyle carper joins us next but first let's check with bill hammer on what is coming up. >> a great show, great memories, all 3 of you. the debate over energy continues, and what do they think the minimum wage increase.

join me at the top of the hour on america's newsroom. ke kate. a former army medic, made of the flexibility to handle whatever monday has in store and tackle four things at once. so when her car got hit, she didn't worry. she simply filed a claim on her usaa app and said... i got this. usaa insurance is made the way kate needs it - easy. she can even pick her payment plan so it's easy on her budget and her life. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa. ♪ ♪ usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. ♪ ♪ (quiet piano music) ♪ ♪ comfort in the extreme.

the lincoln family of luxury suvs.

oh, you think this is just a community center? no. it's way more than that. cause when you hook our community up with the internet... boom! look at ariana, crushing virtual class. jamol, chasing that college dream. michael, doing something crazy. this is the place where we can show the world what we can do. comcast is partnering with 1000 community centers to create wifi-enabled lift zones, so students from low-income families can get the tools they need to be ready for anything. oh we're ready. ♪ ♪

steve: at age 24 next guest became nation's youngest living medal of honor recipient in afghanistan 10 years ago, he jumped on top of energy -- enemy grenade selling the life of a -- saving the life of a fellow marine while nearly losing his own. he ran 3 marathons and earned a college degree, became a best-selling author, inspired millions in the process. he joins us now. thank you for being here this morning. we have been reflecting on the

legacy of rush limbaugh. we won't get into politics but it reminds you life is short. you know that and when you look at life, 10 years since that harrowing day in afghanistan, why is life so meaningful? >> thank you for having me. the best way to summarize, popping that roof in afghanistan, 21 years old, actually bleeding out. i thought about my family, my mom, when she found out i wasn't going to make it home. i said a quick prayer before my final moments on this earth.

to my wonderful surprise to wake up even though it is 5 weeks later, after those final moments it is hard now, to not try to take advantage of every single bonus round and every single day inside woke up in the hospital and just be thankful that i did it had this opportunity for a chance at life. todd: you have 20 seconds left. you are worth it. what do you mean by that? >> i met exactly that, that person that i told was worth it, all-american, everyone around the world, just hope to wake up to a better sunrise, they are worth serving, sacrificing for

and laying in a hospital bed for, because we truly believe. brian: we are grateful for everything you've done for this nation. for severe eosinophilic asthma. not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your doctor about nucala at home. find your nunormal with nucala. ♪ limu emu & doug ♪ hey limu! as[ squawks ]or about nucala at home. how great is it that we get to tell everybody how liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need? i mean it... oh, sorry... [ laughter ] woops! [ laughter ] good evening! meow! nope. oh... what? i'm an emu! ah ha ha.

no, buddy! buddy, it's a filter! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪

start your day with crest 3d white and from mochaccinos to merlot, your smile will always be brilliant. crest 3d white brilliance. 100% stain removal, 24 hour stain resistance to lock in your whitest smile. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. it's either the assurance of a 165-point certification process. or it isn't. it's either testing an array of advanced safety systems. or it isn't. it's either the peace of mind of a standard unlimited mileage warranty. or it isn't. for those who never settle, it's either mercedes-benz certified pre-owned. or it isn't. the mercedes-benz certified pre-owned sales event. now through march 1st. shop online or drop by your local dealer today.

>> it was an honor to honor rush today with you. >> bill: well done, guys. good morning. hundreds of thousands in texas going four days without power and heat sparking anger over the state's failed electric grid and a lot of questions about what led to it. 30 people have died in the storm. some just trying to stay warm inside their homes, inside their cars in some cases. >> dana: officials in texas are directing millions of people, a quarter of the state's population, to boil their drinking water before they drink it. many of them don't have power so they can't do that. now the devastating storm is on the move. >> bill: i'm bill hemmer live in new york. great tribute to rush over a past couple hours. good