class. the middle class is what made this country. >> exactly. well said see you soon and well said see you soon and todd: it is monday, may third. this is a fox news alert. crews working through the night to contain a massive fire at a historic paper mill in wisconsin. jillian: border patrol says every indication a boat issue is part of the border crisis as officials maintain it is not their fault, a live report. >> a win for the first time this year, kyle busch goes to victory lane. he wins the bushy mcbush race 400. todd: you heard that right, that's what happens when you allow people to name things.

it's only fitting that kyle busch snagged the win at the bushy mcbush 400. and it happened on his birthday. yeah, all that. "fox & friends first" now. ♪ jillian: okay. two things. the kansas speedway is one of my favorite places to be as far as nascar. i grew up in missouri and we went there. and the name of this, i can't get over it. todd: again, this is what happens when you have people name things. you remember boaty mcboat face? jillian: i remember that vaguely. it was a story. todd: welcome to newsy mcnews. jillian: you are watching "fox & friends first" on this monday morning, i'm ashley strohmier in for jillian mele. .todd: i'm todd piro.

rescue crews working overnight after a boat cap sizes in sand n diego. >> reporter: the coast guard responding to a capsized boat off point loma yesterday. there were 25 survivors including one in critical condition, four others killed. the majority of survivors were sent to different hospitals in the county. the 40-foot boat was suspected of being used to transport migrants into the u.s. >> crossing the border illegally is unsafe no matter the method, especially at sea. the smugglers don't care about the people they're exploiting. all they care about is profit. to them, these people are just commodities. >> reporter: this morning, the boat captain is in custody. the vessel broke apart due to the rough conditions, you could

see there, five to six feet of surf and wind we're told. it's unclear where the people on board originated from. >> this was a mass rescue operation that turned into a mass casualty incident, one of the bigger vessel accidents and bigger calls that we've seen here, probably the worst tragedy. >> reporter: as migrants tried to enter the u.s. by land or sea, republicans are pressuring the biden administration to address the border crisis. >> the first 100 days of the biden administration have been great for the cartels, the gangs, the human traffickers who have been exploiting the border. it shows president biden's approach to this and that is to abandon the rule of law. >> reporter: top white house officials insist their policies are not the blame for the migrant surge. >> i don't think that's because of a speech joe biden gave. it's because of horrible conditions in guatemala, el salvador and honduras. >> we inherited a totally broken system, broken

intentionally. and it takes time to fix it. >> reporter: meanwhile, hhs officials announced the opening of another emergency intake site to move the increasing numbers of unaccompanied children at a complex in california. >> jackie, thank you so much. todd: stephen miller has been very vocal about the dangers of the migrant surge and the implications for our country. take a listen. >> you can either have a large, stable and growing middle class or you can have unending illegal immigration. you can't have both. california used to be the true golden state, the place everyone wanted to be, the place everyone wanted to live, the place to pursue your middle class dreams and where you could live in a real sense the american dream. but decades of unending illegal migration shattered that dream. it's not the fault of the illegal immigrants. it's a reality of what happens when you have massive supplies

of illegal low wage labor coming into any one playstation in a concentrated -- one place in a concentrated fashion. it puts wages down, deteriorates the middle class and leads to more poverty. todd: neither the president nor the vice president have gone to the border yet. >> fire crews are battling a massive fire at a wisconsin paper mill. flames engulfing the structure as firefighters work to stop it from spreading to neighboring properties. the mill is no longer in operation. the mayor calls it a, quote, great loss to the town's history. no injuries have been reported. todd: today a funeral will be held for andrew brown, junior. ref repped al shall -- reverend al sharpton is set to give the eulogy. mourners paid respect yesterday. protesters peacefully marched through the streets, calling for

justice and police reform. >> president biden and vice president harris hitting the road to promote their spending plan, hoping to get public support as it meets with senate republicans on infrastructure. todd: david spunt live for us in washington with a look at the week ahead. >> reporter: the next five days will be crucial for president biden as he heads out to the road to look eye to eye with americans to sell that spending proposal to americans that frankly have questions, good or bad about the spending pro he poseal. -- proposal. the president biden arrived at the white house after spending the weekend with family in wilmington, delaware. in a few hours he will go to southeastern virginia to talk infrastructure. looking at the plan, $621 billion to modernize transportation infrastructure, $100 billion to expand broad band access, other technology improvements. the gop plan, they say, listen,

we can get things done but at a less cost, $299 billion for roads and bridges, $20 billion for rail systems, $65 billion for broad band access. looking at the schedule for the president and vice president, the president and first lady will head to yorktown, virginia today, the vice president will be in mill walky. tomorrow on -- milwaukee, she's go to providence and the president will be in louisiana, new orleans and lake charles coming up on thursday. >> the president has been clear that he is willing to negotiate, willing to compromise and that he believes that democrats and republicans should be able to find common ground. the president has said his red line is inaction, that we can't afford not to make the investments. he wants to move the package forward in a bipartisan way if that's possible.

>> reporter: the republicans hope to meet the president as least in the middle. >> we're working with the white house. i think it's been very open door. we've been very encouraged to keep moving forward. and i just feel like there's a real desire and will for us to work together on something we traditionally worked together on. >> reporter: many republicans don't feel that way. they believe that both sides are far apart. those republicans also concerned about the proposal to pay for this by raising the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%. ashley, todd. todd: david spunt live for us in d.c. david, thank you. >> fox news contributor sarah carter says president biden is trying to make people depend on government with all of his spending. take a listen. >> i do think we can incentivize and give better incentives, instead of creating a social welfare state, we need to empower the community to believe in themselves, that's the most important thing. that's what the biden

administration is literally taking away from our society. creating a social welfare system that is going to require people to be dependent on the government and not have any faith in themselves, that's the worst thing you can do. >> over the weekend senator bora asso said there's a deal te had with the president but warns they're creating an addiction to spending. a suspect was shot and killed by police in a wisconsin shooting. he believed to be targeting an employee. the tribe that owns the casino said they are heart broken over the attack. >> we treat the community like family. this happens on our reservation, we treat the situation like family, like it happened to us. >> the press conference will be held at 10:00 a.m. local time. todd: to extreme weather overnight, tornadoes swept

across mississippi, power lines down, homes damaged, trees uprooted. no injuries have been reported. two separate storm systems are set to threaten millions today. >> an investigation is underway after a deck collapses during a birthday party at a tennessee restaurant. 11 people were sent to the hospital including two with critical injuries. this happened while a group of more than 40 people were taking a picture. some reportedly fell about two stories. the county's building department will inspect the deck to find the cause of the incident. todd: and kyle busch takes the checkered flag at ashley's favorite place the world, the kansas speedway, watch. >> the win for the first time this year, kyle busch goes to victory lane. he wins the bushy mcbush race 400. todd: i just love it when an announcer in a serious voice has to say bushy mcbush race.

he won the race on his 36th birthday. he became the leader on the last restart. you said when you looked at the video, you thought kansas speedway. i look at the video and i see kyle busch and i think i had peanut m & ms this weekend. >> up next, dodging blame. >> i don't think that's because of a speech joe biden gave. that's because of horrible conditions in guatemala, el salvador and honduras. we're making progress on resolving the problem. >> the chief of staff deflects when asked about the border crisis. our next guest says the president is 100% to blame for the surge, coming up. todd: plus, the state granting illegal immigrants the opportunity to get behind the wheel. "fox & friends first" rolling along on your monday. don't go anywhere. surfaces? then they get release back into the air, so you smell them later.

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>> people who are sending their

children here, unaccompanied, who are sent on a dangerous journey, i don't think that's because of a speech joe biden gave, that's because of horrible conditions in guatemala, el salvador and honduras. we're making progress solving the problem. ashley: the president's chief of staff says the president is not responsible for the surge at the border. todd: the u.s. sees more than 160,000 migrant encounters in april and a more than 37,000 got-aways who evaded cbp officials. here to react, todd benzen. you just heard ron klain say the surge is not because of a speech that joe biden gave. you say that is exactly one of the reasons. what is the biden administration missing in your opinion? >> that is either towering ignorance or willful deceit, you pick, but it is definitely their words that are causing mass

migration. i often say i've never met an immigrant, and i've met a lot, i spend a lot of time in mexico interviewing immigrants, who didn't have a cell phone, who aren't listening. this is a situation where words can launch 10,000 ships and have done that. if the biden people would only interview the immigrants instead of like when kamala harris surrounded herself by experts, immigration experts, they would tell her that this is biden policies, biden promises, promises during the campaign started before he was even in office and once he was in office, his very first moves caused 10,000 ships to launch and now we're looking at actually 200,000. i'm sorry, but i talked to a mexican drug cartel smuggler last week, when i asked him why are you making so much money, he

said it's because of] [-- what's the invitation, that's biden's invitation to the entire world to come across the border. ashley: one report says the biden administration is spending $60 million per week to house more than 16,000 migrant minors and the funding accounts to be 3.1 billion per year. this is an astronomical amount of money. that number is only going to get bigger. >> right. well, when you spur a mass migration crisis like this, there are consequences. one of the many consequences, and we're not even talking about what's going to happen to our school districts very shortly, is the cost, the price tag on this is going to be astronomical. it's going to be something that's the american taxpayer is going to have to sustain for many years to come. this is the new daca generation,

it's not going to be just the 700,000 former children who are going to get daca, but it's a whole new generation. these children are coming in. look, when the biden administration says things like no child will be left behind in mexico, that sends 10,000 new children over the border. i heard him the other day in front of congress say amnesty. when you utter the word amnesty and you're the president of the united states, look for a massive jump in illegal immigration and cost associated with it. ashley: and of course, check out todd's book, america's covert border war, thank you for being with us this morning. we appreciate it. >> thank you. todd: time now, 18 minutes after the hour. cancel culture extending its reach, deep breath, this time to snow white. ♪

todd: wow. ashley: i think it's sweet. todd: yeah. well, you're not the mob. the mob going after prince charming for kissing the princess or snow white without consent. ashley: but first, sin city success, las vegas rebounding after covid closures. our next guests are betting it will bounce back better than ever. they join us after this. ♪

we know how much you count on us... ...and that's why we're here 24/7... ...and on the road maintaining a fast and reliable network. we're always working to ensure the internet meets your needs... ...by making access easier for all... ...with comcast lift zones and our internet essentials program. we're invested in making our apps easy... ...to give you personalized assistance around the clock. and we're committed to keeping our team and customers safe by working from home... ...and using precautions in store. see what we're up to at xfinity.com/commitment todd: welcome back to las vegas, las vegas hitting the jackpot as visitors flock to the area. here to react, celebrity chef, todd english and las vegas council woman, michelle fiori.

it's great to have a superstar named todd on the show for once. >> perfect name. todd: you actually opened up a restaurant during the pandemic, called the beast food hall and area 15. i got lost in the menu when i was prepping for this segment. it has all that yummy fusion stuff that so many of us have been missing for the last year and-a-half. describe the vibe this weekend. >> it was unbelievable this weekend. i mean, it felt like pre-covid times. you know, i think just the sheer enthusiasm of people coming out, you know, area 15 is pretty cool. it's an entertainment complex, interactive, a lot of different things going on. people are wandering around looking at different things. our restaurant is very much about fun and playful food as you read on the menu, about bringing people together and

people having a good time. it's just -- the pent-up energy i felt is really interesting. i think it was really exciting to see people thrilled to be out, thrilled to -- like they were excited to sit down and have a meal. you know. wow, i forgot what it was like to sit down and have a meal. it was great. it was really fun. everybody's happy and i think there's like the prior united an level is raising the bar in terms of what we're doing for people out there. todd: here's the vegas reopening plan, restaurants 80% capacity, seating tables of 12, buffets can allow self service supervised by employees, day clubs and nightclubs are open. how optimistic that business owners are ready to go, they're stoked. how are you? >> i'm very excited. first of all, the business owners have been ready. they have their plans in place. we're at 80% capacity. we're going to go to 100 very

quickly. we are vaccinated over 50%. as soon as we hit the 60% mark we'll be at 100% and i say within a couple weeks we'll be there. we're not six feet apart anymore, we're three feet apart. when you think about that with the night life and the clubbing, no matter what kind of dancing, dancing country at stoney's, six feet apart when you're dancing it a bit rough. i'm very excited. i see our comeback being bigger, bigger, bigger than we anticipated. >> i couldn't agree with you more. i mean, it's going to be huge i think. and i think the excitement, i mean, i just felt that. i don't know if you've been out, but the excitement on the street, the traffic a-- alone. i moved here in june. you could get around anywhere. now the traffic is back. todd: chef, i want to get you on the unemployment situation, obviously april of last year, 30%. that was the highest ever in any

state. you're a tourism economy, if you eliminate tourism, you eliminate jobs. down to 8.1% in march. i imagine in april you'll see the number drop. you how tough has it been to find good employees? >> it's interesting. if you asked me that a couple weeks ago i was really scared. i was thinking oh, no, we're in trouble here because we couldn't get people back to work because of the unemployment situation. i think we're getting the quality of person that wants to work coming back and people don't want to be sitting at home anymore. people want to work and contribute to society and just work for themselves, for their personal well-being. i find we're getting really good quality people back. i've had maybe in the last two days while i was at the restaurant, people coming in, they go chef, thank you so much for hiring me. i'm so excited to be back to work. that's a good sign. i don't know when the last time someone said that to me. now it's really exciting.

todd: understood. if my two boss, my wife and fox ever allow me to go to vegas, i'm getting the korean hot dog. a awesome stuff. i'm so excited for the country. back to you. ashley: heading for a united front with china and russia, the secretary of state meeting with world leaders in the u.k. today. we'll have a live report. plus gordon chang on u.s./china strained relations next. and a look at the reopening guidelines, the detrimental impact on children, next. ♪

ashley: secretary of state blinken is in the u.k. for the first state to state meeting of g7 foreign ministers in two years. todd: this comes as the biden team looks to curb increased aggression from china and

russia. benjamin hall joins us from london with the latest. >> reporter: ashley, todd, good morning. this is the first meeting in person for two years. it does set the stage for president biden's g7 meeting in june and of course at the top of the agenda will be china and that growing threat from china. secretary blinken's visit kicks off a five day trip that will include ukraine and the threat posed by russia. in an interview yesterday, secretary blinken talked about china and acknowledged the increasing threat that was faced by then. >> i think what we witnessed over the last several years is china acting more repress i'vely at home and more aggressively abroad. that is a fact. >> reporter: blink open is today meeting with the foreign ministers of japan, korea and the u.k. beyond speaking to allyings, the administration's china policy is yet to be fully sketched out. it appears to be less direct,

less confrontational than under president trump. >> we're more effective and stronger when we bring like minded and similarly viewed countries together to say to beijing this can't stand and it won't stand. >> reporter: in a few years, china's economy is expected to surpass that of the u.s.'s, while their military budget increased at 7% this year. in his address to congress last week, president biden made the point he was not seeking conflict with china and he welcomed the competition. so the biden administration acknowledges the intellectual property threat, the genocide, attacks on democracy in hong kong, threats on taiwan, all the issues. beyond issuing warnings and talking with allies, we have yet to see a fully fledged policy coming out from the biden administration. perhaps hopefully that's what we'll see in the coming days. ashley: benjamin hall live for us. we're now going to bring in gordon chang, a senior fellow at the gatestone institute. thank you for being with us this morning. i want to get to it. north korea claims biden's big blunder creates grave situations

as the white house dismisses the trump and obama approaches. you say the one thing he should do is note that trump had one of the most successful north korean policies. your thoughts on all of this. >> biden, they announced their policy review on friday. it looks like it's more ambitious than president obama's but less ambitious than president trump. president trump was very successful when he was applying pressure on north korea, cutting off money flows, because then the north koreans were making concessions and we were not. but when president trump relaxed sanctions enforcement, everything flipped. and we were making all the concessions and the north koreans were not. we don't know where biden is going to fall on this policy line but clearly they cannot really have a north korea policy until they announce their china policy because china's been using north korea as a proxy. todd: so true. those two nations so

intertwined. somebody making a lot of news this weekend is somebody we haven't heard from a decades. henry kissinger warning of dangers in the u.s./china situation. take a listen. >> military conflict could lead to high tech power, [ indiscernible ]. it's the biggest problem for america, the biggest problem for the world. todd: gordon, we know a lot of what he said there in that sound bite. you say it's his policies that help put us in the situation we are currently in with china. why do you say that? >> well, he tried to integrate china into the international system. he made a lot of concessions to china. he also did not defend american interest as vigorously as he should. the problem heres is of courses right. there is a real danger of

conflict. we could end up in a fight with china. this could be history's next great war. but the point is, kissinger is always very even-handed. the reason why the world is so tense right now is that china is trying to break apart its neighbors, trying to incite violence on american streets, doing all of these things and we've had a series of presidents including president biden who looks pretty bewildered. ashley: you say this could be the brink of the next great war. what's the resolution for this? >> the only resolution for this is the united states to make very clear that we will defend our allies and we will defend taiwan. if we make those clear declarations, the chinese will back off. if we don't say those things in public, the chinese may think we won't defend, for instance, taiwan and could therefore try to take the island as they have always said they would and as they're pressuring it right now

with the flights through the identification zone. it's up to president biden to really at this point say we will defend the international system and we'll defend the united states and our friends and allies. todd: whenever i get nervous, and we have 30 seconds here, about our situation with china, i always think about the title of your book, the last one, coming collapse of china. that is based upon economics. are we in an economically powerful position when it comes to china in the year 2021, in light of what the coronavirus wreaked on our country? >> i think we are because china is relying on net exports. last year, its merchandise trade surplus with the u.s. was over 60% of its overall merchandise strayed surplus. that gives us enormous power over china, todd. todd: okay. ashley: gordon chang, thanks so much for being with us this zonk thanks, ashley, thanks, todd. .todd: two oakland, california

police officers hurt when a may day protest turned violent. demonstrators began throwing bottles and cans at the officers. six people arrested in similar may day protests in portland. officials there declaring a riot. in sat, 14 people -- in seattle, 14 people were arrested. illegal immigrants are eligible to get a driver's license in new jersey. an extra 450,000 people can sign up. the new law prohibits the agency from sharing personal information with i.c.e., except in certain circumstances. nearly 20 states offer driver's licenses to immigrants. ashley: hillary clinton giving president biden flying colors for his first 100 days. listen. >> i give him an "a" and i'm a hard grader. i'm thrilled that president biden is taking advantage of this moment to try to push the agenda as far as possible. i think both presidents obama

and clinton did too but they were more constrained. given what the climate was politically. ashley: the former secretary of state thinks president biden is less constrained than her husband and former president obama, due to what she describes as failures by the trump administration. a florida woman speaks out after a tree falls on her mobile home. listen to this. >> just feel like i shouldn't even be alive, like standing, because the way that it fell, i was crushed like a little teepee shape. ashley: she says the tree fell while she was sleeping. fire crews were able to carefully free her without a single scratch. todd: unbelievable. after six months in space, spacex crew one astronauts successfully splashing down in the gulf of mexico, a first look. it marks the end of the

company's first operational mission to the iss with flawless wind conditions, the plunge back to earth took the four astronaut team about six and-a-half hours after clocking 68,000 miles for the journey, the commander tweeting in part i'm happy to be home. ashley: i would be happy to be home too. todd: it's 39 minutes after the hour. a leading republican going after the alliance between big tech and the left. >> so long as they do their vetting, so long as facebook continues to censor conservatives and promote democrats, they're basically fine with it. todd: senator josh hawley's proposal to end sill valley's -- silicon valley's outsize influence. plus - that's not what i want. >> you said you want me to do the dishes. >> i want you to want to do the dishes. >> why would i want to do dishes? why. >> that's my whole point. ashley: women sound off on what bothers them most about their husbands. those most annoying habits, i'm

sure i know what they are, those are coming up. todd: that was my weekend. ♪ you drive me crazy and i can't help myself.

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todd: welcome back. did you hear about this? the largest teachers union in the country, american federation of teachers, admitting it influenced the cdc on school reopening guidance, they suggested slowing down the reopening of in person learning and the cdc reportedly agreed. in a response to the story, the aft president said to fox news, quote, naturally the policy affects their work and lives. the post reporting in some instances the aft suggestions were added verbatim to the final cdc guidance document. a lot more on that coming up throughout the next hour and-a-half. tammy bruce says the teachers union collaboration with the cdc undercuts the follow the science narrative. listen.

>> we've been hammered with this, believe the science, only take the science, it's the science that matters. and we agree with that. the teachers union, they're not scientists, unless something happened and this is not science. it's collusion. that's the difference. so this is an agency in particular and this is of course the agency that is supposed to lead us in that framework. so when instead it is opinion and politics and desire to have what you want to move forward, because, look, as long as schools remain closed, the more power they're going to have in arguments about how much money they've wanted in the covid relief bills. todd: as for that more analysis that we have coming up, the co-founder of fight for schools back ian prior calls the bombshell report appalling. he joins us live next hour. ashley. ashley: josh hawley is slamming big tech's woke agenda, calling it the greatest threat to american liberty in an exclusive interview with fox news. take a listen. >> the left is -- you heard the

democrats talk about these companies. they love the power that these companies have. they love it. they love the power over speech that facebook and twitter have. they want them to do more. the left wants facebook to censor more. they want twitter to censor more. they want google to censor more more. there is a strong alliance between the left wing in the country and the mega corporations and here's part of the reason for that. the left can achieve with these companies what they could never do with government. because the first amendment would actually stand in the way. thank goodness. if it were government that were trying to censor us. ashley: he goes into greater detail in his new book, the tyranny of big tech which is expected to hit shelves tomorrow. cancel culture is coming for a disney classic. this scene from the snow white and the seven dwarves is getting

backlash. the grand finale is seen as drawing scrutiny, writing in part the kiss she gives without her consent while she sleeps, which can't be true love if only one person knows it's happening, they're calling for the ending to be reimagined. i think it's a sweetening. todd: doesn't it also save her life? it's virtual cpr. ashley: also, virtual. todd: speaking of frustrated women, they're in -- in australia, they share their husband's most annoying habits, including doing half jobs, not doing dirty dishes. >> you said you want me to help you do the dishes. >> i want you to want to do the dishes. >> why would i want to do dishes? why. >> that's my whole point. ashley: why would we want to

cut the grass? one woman writes leaving his dirt ease socks everywhere and getting upset when he has no clean socks. todd: you're laughing. ashley: or can't find a pair. todd: is that a personal situation? another annoyed spouse says her husband is a procrastinator but i wouldn't know what to do without him. ashley: this one, one woman joked that everything her husband does annoys her, adding i need my single life back. todd: you know, if she was single, she would be on the thread like i need to find a man. ashley: would she though? todd: she would. i know her. her. that's the lady. look, i got in trouble this weekend because i was told all the projects i wanted to do got done. they didn't. fact. and she's like we didn't get any of my projects done. which we did get some of her projects done. so -- ashley: where's the common ground. todd: look at my hands. you can tell it's a fractures traiting weekend -- frustrating

weekend. ashley: new york city is boosting restaurant capacity. todd: my next guest shares his experience live, coming up. ♪ one way or another i'm going to find ya.

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- life right now is already stressful. there's no room for bullying and hate. - let's stop discrimination and start working together so we can all focus on staying healthy and safe. - the more you know. ♪ ashley: a live look in new york city right now, dark new york city. it's been more than a year since the pandemic shut down the big apple but mayor bill de blasio says businesses will have to wait two more months to fully return to normal with a target date to fully reopen by july 1st. his declaration comes as

governor andrew cuomo expands the city's indoor dining capacity to 75% and this is going to happen on friday. and it is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. a new york city restaurant owner, robert griffin joins us now to discuss. thanks for being with us this morning. >> good morning, ashley. ashley: you own two restaurants, american brass and my ella. what are the capacities of both of those restaurants? >> technically, on paper, american brass is 317. my ella is 225. that's without the outdoor. ashley: when this opens up on friday to 75% capacity, what boost if any is that going to have for your business, where we stand right now, if it's going to behalf of 300, so around 150 for at least one of them. >> yeah. believe it or not, when you put in the six foot rule, the one

with the bigger capacity on paper, it actually does nothing for it. and then the other place with the smaller capacity, arbitrarily is actually a larger restaurant and we'll see some impact over there. but in general, if you have to keep six feet and you have to keep distancing and whatever protocols there are for covid, you're never going to get to 100. you're never going to get to 75. i really doubt it. ashley: you said you haven't really gotten any guidance as far as what that that will look like as far as the six foot rule when that happens on friday, correct? >> yeah. i mean, listen, forget about friday. today, for the first time later you can use your bars in new york city. i mean, we're open wednesday through sunday right now. but i understand you can have a seated guest at a bar. can the guest stand up and extend his hand out to the bar and stretch or does that mean an sla inspector is walking in and

i'm getting a fine because somebody is four inches higher than a bar stool should be? there's no real guidance to it. if you remember how you used to be at a bar, you know, you could extend your arm past the seated couple and order a drink. there's a social aspect to it that they've not given any guidance to. ashley: in florida, that's exactly how it is right now, knowing from personal experience. 5,000 new york city restaurants have permanently closed as of february 2021. you also said you were losing -- is this right -- $15,000 a day during the closures. >> a week. yeah, a week. in each restaurant we were losing 15 to $20,000 a week, yeah. ashley: oh, my gosh. >> and i'm not talking about lost revenue. i'm talking about out of your pocket money. ashley: so are you excited for the 75% reopening or have you tried reach out to anyone of to get more guidance? like you said, do the servers have to wear a mask? what is it other than 75% and

what feedback if any have you gotten? >> so honestly there's nobody to talk to. the city is like really good at inspecting you and marching in and barreling past people and making sure everyone is wearing a mask and trying to say got ya and give you $5,000 fine. if you try to call someone and ask for information ahead of time, there's literally no response, nobody to call and a nobody knows more than you just from watching the news. they get their information just like we do. it's super frustrating in that manner. to be honest with you, yeah, of course hearing good news is always good, right. so we're heading towards opening, 100% opening july 1st. great. i'm cautiously optimistic because of who is telling me that message because as a cynical new yorker, you've already burned me two or he three times, especially de blasio, you know, pulling us out of a phased opening where new york state got indoor dining and

we got nothing, two days early. we hired people and two days earlier they said new york city is not going to get this. so i'm waiting for that caveat, that m knight shyamalan twist that the city is going to put on. ashley: i understand your frustration. thank you so much and good luck to you. >> thank you. thanks for having me. todd: that guys was great. he should be on tv more often. coming up, the pentagon leaving a veterans group scrambling, the executive director explaining the next steps after the biden administration canceled a decades old memorial day tradition and a veteran running for a texas house seat giving his trump backed opponent a run for her money. what an intriguing race we have on our hands everyone. his vision for america coming up.

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ashley: it's monday, may third. border patrol says every indication that a deadly boat tragedy is part of the smuggling crisis. a live report coming up. todd: president biden hitting the road to drum up support for his massive spending bill but still big problems, he hasn't won over any republicans. is there hope for bipartisanship? we're live in d.c. ashley: don't look down, the brand-new. todd: i'm good. ashley: that's not for the faint of heart. todd: are you