eric: well, police across the country calling for support. in washington, d.c. that city's police chief says that he is fed up with the lack of resources to fight the soaring crime rate in the nation's capital punctuated by those terrifying shootouts outside a restaurant and a major league baseball game. chief robert contee says the force is about 200 officers short and that he's, quote, mad as hell about the justice system in the district. hello, everyone, and welcome to "fox news live." i'm eric shawn. hi, arthel. arthel: hello, everyone, i'm

arthel neville. three other stories, new video releaseed of the suspects in one of those d.c. shootings in a part of town packed with restaurants. two people were wounded as diners ducked for cover behind their tables. plus, the justice department dropping its civil rights investigation into with new york governor andrew cuomo over nursing homing deaths during the height of -- home deaths during the height of the pandemic. and is missouri's governor weighing in on the top prosecutor in st. louis who faces growing calls to resign after her office dropped multiple murder cases. we have live fox team coverage on these storieses. alex 40 taliban on the doj discussion over governor cuomo and nursing home deaths, christina coleman with the latest on the st. louis prosecutor under fire, but first to lucas tomlinson live in washington. hi, lucas. >> reporter: good afternoon, arthel. people here in the nation's capital still on edge following the shooting on 14th street thursday night sending patrons scrambling for cover.

d.c.'s police chief toured the crime scene. >> i'm mad as hell about this, and i hope y'all are too. we want to hold people, yes, we should. but you cannot coddle violent criminals. >> chief, are calls to defund the police helping you? >> i don't think they're helping. >> reporter: d.c. police leased this video showing the two suspects escaping after the shooting. witnesses described it as a war zone. local residents complained to d.c.'s police chief that viability criminals are are not staying locked up. >> these people -- [inaudible] and i see them back in my community -- and it breaks my heart. >> you need police now. we don't see them on bikes, even in cars. >> reporter: just last month d.c.'s mayor, muriel bowser, wanted to cut funding for police. now she wants the department to use, quote, any overtime necessary.

bowser blames the backlog in federal courts for putting violent criminals back on the street. according to data analytics, there's been more than 4,000 murders in 73 cities so far this year. that's up more than 50% this time last year. >> why is it that a guy who murders somebody is out in communities after having been arrested two or three months later -- two or three months prior with a firearm? what did we think he was going to do? the recidivism rate for violent offenders is the highest that we've seen anywhere, 87%. >> reporter: d.c.'s mayor says as of june there were over 10,000 criminal cases pending. she says that means more people are are being arrested and immediately released. arthel? arthel: definitely a problem. eric? eric: outrage in missouri, the governor calling the december function of the st. louis circuit attorney's office after

three murder cases were dismissed there because prosecutors, get this, they were either unprepared, unresponsive or, in one case, didn't even show up in court. christina coleman live with the astounding details on this. >> reporter: eric, st. louis circuit attorney kim gardner is getting blasted over how her office is operating. in addition to the three murder cases that were dismissed, the mother of a victim in a fourth and separate case could gardner incompetent. she says prosecutors from her office allowed the man who beat her son -- you see him right there -- to death to plead guilty to light charges. >> as a prosecutor not prepared to handle my son's case. he seemed absolutely una aware as he are flipped through pages what he was talking about. this is not my fault, he said. i was just handed your son's

case and and told to accept eight years. and i'm just appalled. >> reporter: another man accused of murder if, brandon campbell, was arrested last night by the u.s. marshals just outside of st. louis. he was allowed to walk free earlier this week after a st. louis prosecutor failed to show up to three scheduled court hearings. she reportedly was on maternity leave and has since resigned. kim gardner's office says corrective measures will be taken, but missouri lawmakers are still upset. the governor, mike parson, said is, quote, the dysfunction in the st. louis circuit attorney's office and its unwillingness to take violent crime seriously has once more cost st. louis families justice. and is here's reaction from st. louis police. >> it shows that there's no accountability and, you know, for the criminals. they can go and do whatever they want and, you know, they're going to be back out on the

street the next day. >> reporter: also i spoke with a number of people from st. louis including advocates for crime victims. and while they all declined to go on camera, they say these legal challenges with gardner's offices are extremely painful for the families of these victims who just want justice. eric? eric: christina, thanks so much. meanwhile, in new york the department of justice says it will not investigate whether the state's above with, andrew cuomo, violated the rights of nursing home residents with his covid-19 policy. you may recall back in march 2020, the administration demanded in an advisory that nursing homes admit patients who did test positive and who had the virus. critics say that led to the deaths of thousands of patients in the state's nursing homes. a separate federal probe of the administration's handling of those deaths reportedly still underway. alex 40 began live in our new york city newsroom with more on this surprising doj decision. >> reporter: eric, this

decision coming as a big blow to family members who have long called for an information into that early -- investigation into that early policy. the doj deciding they should not open an inquiry at this time. for more than a year, critics sounded off against new york governor andrew cuomo's early pandemic policy which centre covering covid-19 patients into nursing homes. even more when the state attorney general released her report finding cuomo's administration withheld the true number of deaths in these facilities. >> there's multiple investigations happening at the federal level, state level, and we will get to a point where we can hold this governor accountable. >> reporter: republican congresswoman nicole malliotakis responding, writing: this is absolutely disgraceful that the doj is ignoring repeated calls

to investigate governor cuomo and his executive order that led to the unnecessary death of nearly 15,000 seniors in new york state. and family members are calling this news heartbreaking. many of them held rallies and protests against those early pandemic policies calling for justice for their late loved ones. the doj's letter, however, did state that there is an ongoing investigation into two new jersey nursing homes, and that's being conducted by the civil rights division and the u.s. attorney's office for the district of new jersey. eric in. eric: that civil rights probe into new york started by the trump administration but dropped by the biden administration. alex, thank you. arthel in. arthel: president biden back on the campaign trail holding a rally last night for virginia gubernatorial candidate terry mcauliffe. the battle over critical race theory in's schools has been dominating -- in v.a.'s schools dominating the campaign so far as the white house deals with its own alleged tie toss a

so-called radical teaching group. mark meredith has the very latest. >> reporter: good afternoon to you. president biden says he's confident voters in virginia are going to embrace both his economic and social program agendas including efforts to address education in this country like you were just talking about. and voters will get to decide soon enough how they feel because they're going to be deciding who sits in the governor's mansion later on this year. last night the president went out to arlington, virginia, that's just outside d.c., to campaign for democratic candidate terry mcauliffe. the former governor's also running for the seat again, and the president says democrats should be preparing to double down on his agenda before next year's midterm elections. >> as democrats, we have to show we do understand and we're delivering for them, and we're keeping our promises. we just have to keep making the case just as the republican party today offers nothing but fear, lies and broken promises.

>> reporter: but virginia voters are certainly focused on more than just the economy. one big issue in the state right now is what's being taught in the commonwealth classrooms with conservatives eager to push back against the idea of allowing critical race theory the to be included in different curriculums there in the state. the republican nominee is speaking out on this issue. he is certainly getting a lot of voters' attention. >> we've actually seen the mcauliffe/northam administration try to teach our children what to think, and is we know that our schools are supposed to teach our kids how to think. >> reporter: it's hard to believe, but this weeking the president marked six months in office, and he's made no secret that his biggest prairie has been pandemic ever since taking office. of course, there is still a lot of focus on the economy, and now we're getting an idea from gallup about where the president stands. his approval rating right now at 50%. that is down 6 points from where

it was only a month ago with 45% disapproving and 5% having no opinion. gallup summed this up in their survey saying biden's approval rating is showing the first signs of meaningful decline. if the lower ratings persist, it could indicate his honeymoon period is over. that's gallup reacting to their own data. now, of course, the president is looking past just overall survey. the numbers show him doing very well among his base of democrats, decently well among independents but republicans still standing firm. arthel: mark meredith, thank you very much. well,ing there's no end in sight to the crisis at the southern border, and as migrants keep trying to enter the u.s., the biden administration is looking to end a trump era rule that critics say will make things each worse. that's up next. ♪♪ of life. the journey is why they ride. when the road is all you need, there is no destination.

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♪ arthel: a quick-acting policeman called a hero for saving two people from a burning car. the daring rescue caught on camera. the officer was off duty when he saw two cars crash in california near sacramento. one car skidded off the road, slammed into a pole and went up in flames.

the officer says his training kicked in, and he rushed in to full the driver and passenger to be safety. both victims' legs were were on fire, if they were taken to the hospital for treatment. eric. eric: wow. chaos continues along our southern border as more my grants try to enter our country, and now we're seeing people flooding here if all over the world, and that brings the new fear because some of them are coming from nations with low covid vaccine rates. that fear center ises on a trump administration rule that will be allowed to expire if it is not reviewed, in it that migrants who are infected with coronavirus they fear will be allowed to cross the border. bill melugin is live in del rio, texas, with more. bill? >> reporter: eric, good afternoon to you. as usual, it has been another busy day out here in del rio. we saw a bunch of apprehensions this morning. take a look at this, this was a group of about 100 that showed up to the border here in del

rio. we've seen this happening every single day this week. we saw groups of 250 on friday and 30 plus on monday. these folks are coming in from all around the world. most of the ones you're looking at have been from haiti, but we've talked to people from ghana, africa, senegal, india. what happens is border patrol opens up the gates, they let the people come through, and then they take them away in vans and buses to processing centers. and now we have new video from the mexican side of this border exclusive to fox news. what you're looking at here is the river bank where migrants discard a bunch of their paperwork, passports from all around the world, id cards from all around the world littering the ground, trash all over the place. that's where they shed some of their gear before they start crossing the river, and we've got video of that as well. take a look at this also from the mexican side of the border right across from dill rio, this is where the migrants come walking across the river.

it's usually those family units who come through, and it's typically those family units who will come through and give themselves up. sometimes they'll walk right here behind us where we are. and we have an ongoing security concern with this border crisis. take a look at these photos. border patrol reporting in the last 48 hours they have apprehended three active members of ms-13. you can see a photo right there. the rio grande valley sector alone says so far this fiscal year they've arrested more than 1600 criminal illegal aliens just in that sector alone. an i.c.e. official confirms to fox news earlier this week that 30% of their detainees are refusing the covid-19 vaccine while they are in i.c.e. custody. i.c.e.'s latest data shows there are currently about 1200 migrants in their custody who have tested positive for covid-19. back to you. eric: bill, that could potentially get worse if title 42 is lifted? that prevents migrants from

coming to our country who could pose a public health rest, and that would be infected with covid. >> reporter: yeah. every border agent says you can expect a surge on top of a surge. basically, the way it works right now with title 42 if they apprehend people, they can immediately put them on a bus back to mexico because of covid-19 concerns. when that drops, they've god toot it with the old old-fashiod way. they have to go to i.c.e., court hearings. if they don't have room to to hold people, they just have to let them go what's known as an nta, a notice to appear in court. when that happens, more are going to start coming, and you're just going to have people being released all over the place. that's what border officials are telling us. eric: and some of those countries have very low vaccination rates, a few hundred in haiti, say officials. arthel: for more, we're going to bring in now george p. bush, the commissioner of the texas general hand office, candidate

for texas -- land are office, candidate for attorney general. your office is suing president biden and the department of homeland security on grounds that ending the wall construction is illegal. do you believe you have a strong chance of winning the lawsuit, or is this a means to bring more attention to what is, obviously, a border crisis? >> absolutely. we think it's a clear separation of powers case that says during the trump administration $5 million was appropriated other the course of four years to secure 750 miles of wall. regreatfully, the state of texas has exposure with over 200,000 acres of areas where we are unfenced and we've seen much of the imagingly that you've shown occur on state lands not only resulting in economic destruction of our tenants whether they be ranchers, farmers and other land owners, but also it's resulted in a lawless situation that allows for coyotes, smugglers and traffickers to continue a

lawless situation on our border. so we filed in the southern district of the u.s. courthouse in laredo, and we look forward to presenting our case fairly soon. arthel: and let me ask you, is it president biden's prerogative to stop construction of a border wall that former president trump started and repeal and rela place what president biden believes are better ideas, solutions or policies? >> well, the constitution is very clear that under article ii powers for the president, he or she has certainly their opinion as it relates to their budgets under their time. however, congress was very clear that they appropriated $5 billion over four years during the trump days that have largely been up spent. about $1.3 billion still remains in corp. of engineers' bank accounts and several of that would have protected grands in the rio grande valley and laredo. just yesterday department of homeland security announced they are canceling two contracts that

would have secured an additional 31 miles of wall. they are illegally divert ising money away from what was d curks ly appropriated by congress during the trump years. arthel: yeah, and i don't want to side track too much about former president trump, that is, diverting money that was allocated for military budges and putting that towards the actual board wall. but we may come back to that. let me move on. if you were to win this lawsuit, explain how quickly a border wall could be completed and and how much it would cut down on illegal crossings. >> well, i'm seeking dechair story and injunctive relief. so is assuming a favorable ruling, we could get to work. a lot of the contractors are already on the books. as i mentioned, the capital is in the corps of engineers' account, so we can continue. you may have seen the announcement a few weeks back that the governor's going to kick start $250 million to

complete unfished areas. -- unfinished areas. so our agency is alone will do what we can whether it's temporary fencing or other mechanisms by which we can stem the flow. a physical wall is one part of the overall strategy to make sure that we're trying to stem the flow the best way that we can. arthel: uh-huh. so it's not just the wall. you have a multipronged way. and by the way, that $250 million is also being funded by public funds, and i understand it raised nearly 400,000 in the first week. >> that's correct. whether it's texans or people from around the country, they understand this is a national security issue, expect statistics speak for themselves in terms of the rio grande value isly. the fentanyl transiting has resulted in a dangerous situation for our communities whether it's narcotics or human trafficking. we've seen a spike in this trade which, unfortunately, is jeopardizing young texas women. so this is really a call to

action where people are coming together whether it's in the private or the public sector to make sure that we're doing everything possible within our legal avenues to make sure that we're standing up and we're secure ising what we can. arthel: commissioner bush, you seem thoughtful ask measured in your approach here. have you spoken to president biden directly about your concerns and perhaps could you have maybe gotten results outside of the court? >> well, we attempted to communicate, and we've worked with, you know, honorable people like henry cuellar with, democrat in laredo, who's begged the president and vice president to come down to the border and see for themselves what is happening not only in el paso, but the delery coyo sector, the la radio sector, the rio grande valley. but on deaf ears. i think it's important for them to come down, to continue to visit with people that are involved in law enforcement and understand that this is a historic surge.

more legal immigration in the last 21 years than we've seen in modern history, so it's a serious situation. and, you know, polling shows that a majority of americans want more action from their president on this issue and, you know, as texans, you know, we're accustomed to this, but this is the largest surge we've seen in many of our lifetimes. arthel: again, did you speak to president biden? again, you have such a good way of -- not obviously only your demeanor, but a good way of explaining the problem there. >> well, i've reached out to when it's interior department, to d. of homeland security is, whether it's on natural resources issues and a variety of other issues that our agency deals with in terms of our relationship with the federal government, but i've not received a response. we were forced to come to the courthouse to file our suit because enough is enough. whether it's our acreage in the rio grande city where we held our press conference, you'll actually see unfinished hour sontal wall that's sitting there, and to me it's just

abundant government waste. but there's so many other areas of the border that need to be secured, otherwise with our looming asylum loopholes that exist, a lot of folks are going to to continue to come here from around the world with this false promise that they can come here through an expedited manner while they wait for their notice appear before an immigration judge. arthel: on tom of you've got, of course, bill melugin's report you've got some of these knew grants refusing to -- migrants refusing to take a covid shot after having been tested positive. so definitely compounds that situation. i do have to run now. commissioner george p. bush, thank you very much for joining us. >> good to be with you. arthel: take care. eric? >> eric: george.bush. well, former president trump and president biden, man, oh man, are they going after each other. it's almost like the presidential election still ongoing. one attacks the other. we expect attacks from the one on the right later on today in arizona when he holds a rally.

how will this all affect the shape of the balance of power in washington as the midterms loom? we'll take a look, trump versus biden, biden versus trump. straight ahead. ♪♪ 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,

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arthel:

former president donald trump sg tonight at a rally in arizona, his first appearance in the state since the presidential election. alicia is acuna is live in phoenix with more. hi, alicia. >> reporter: hi, arthel. yeah, this is the state that the former president carries a particular passion for. he is set to take the stage here in downtown phoenix in about three and a half hours, and his presence here is significant because with republicans are in a fight to regain the congressional delegation majority in washington. here's a breakdown of how things look right now in arizona as we head into 2022. both senate seats are held by democrats as are 5 of the 9 seats in the house. a lot of money and attention dedicating to regaining the u.s. senate seat currently held by democrat mark kelly who won in a special election in no. one of the most prominent to replace him is attorney general

mark brnovich. in the race to replace outgoing republican above doug ducey is, secretary of state katie hawes on the republican side is. gaynor face a long list of gop hopefuls in the primary. he is in the audience today as is former local news anchor carrie headache who is also run -- lake who is also running. their presence here a signal to the importance of former president trump's endorsement. not here, outgoing governor doocy. he and the former president have long shared a tension-filled relationship when the president announced the -- [inaudible] trump has taunted doocy is ever since when he announced last month he will not run for senate. fox nation will live stream former president trump's speech at 6 p.m. eastern time, and we will be here. arthel? arthel: all right. we will look forward to your reporting, alicia acuna, in

phoenix. thank you. >> if we continue as republicans to go out, do a good job, point out the differences between the two parties, try and, try and do good things for the american people, politics take care of itself. good policy is good politics if we focus on good policies and and pointing out the differents between the two parties -- differenceses, then the elections will take care of themselves. eric: that's republican louisiana senator bill cassidy here on the fox news channel on the gop's election strategy as both parties are turning their focus toward the midterm elections. you know president biden and former president trump both holding rallies this weekend and attacking each other. how much of an impact will that have on the voters? chris bedford joins us, senior editor at "the federalist." the successor attacks predecessor is, predecessor attacks successor.

if you choose your eyes and listen to what that they say, it's like we're in the tenth inning of the election. >> it sure feels like that sometimes especially here in d.c. and new york where we have to follow it every single today to tell the people what's going on here. in a lot of the country outside of these cities, people are still very much aligned with donald trump. the gop is very much alain lined with that -- aligned with that. even hard-line trump supporters here in washington, d.c. might be moving more towards desantis. but if you go out into a lot of the places that supported the former president, they are still very much animated by him. at the end of day, still not going to be on the ballot. some of the things that are pushing people right now are are going to be immigration, worries that are starting to trick trickle out from people about inflation, rising crime in the cities as we saw in the new york city democratic primary. those are going to to be the number one issues. and especially right now you see a drum roll going on in the corporate media trying to push for another lockdown with this

delta variant despite if so far no noticeable rise in deaths. if that is to come on here, i think that'll be a major determinant on the ball inot ine midterm elections. eric: there is a push to get people vaccinated, but i can't let you go without the former president not being on the ballot. you don't think that he'll run? >> i think that he will -- he is the face of the gop. he's not on ballot for 2022, obviously. he's not running for anything, but he still is the person that people most associate with the republican party. what he says is going the carry a lot more weight than what kevin mccarthy or mitch mcconnell say no matter what they try to do. it's basically donald trump right now and in a distant second, ron desantis of florida. eric: here is former president trump talking about some of those issues. listen. >> look what's happened to our country in just a short number of months.

we will take back the house, we will take back the senate, and then after witnessing all that has gone wrong in our country in such a short period of time with our borders, with our economy, with crime, we will take back that glor can yous white house -- glorious white house. eric: well, the democrats point to the jobs that have been created, the people that have been vaccinated, dealing with the pandemic as well as the looming infrastructure. and how do do republicans fight back against that? >> the republicans don't have that many ideas on how to fight back against infrastructure. they seem to be walking into this democratic trap where they're going to agree to a bill that allows them to be at bargaining table only under the auspices that neither nancy pelosi nor president biden will allow this bill to pass unless it includes everything the democrats want. the gop is out of here here in d.c.

what florida's doing, what ron desantis and former president donald trump are saying, those are the things that people are going to associate, those are the places that's leading the party. and i think basically, essentially, the fortunes of the gop rise and fall with what happens in florida. eric: and then yesterday the president last night had a rally with former virginia governor terry mcauliffe and, map, did he slam -- man, did he slam the former president. here's some of what the president said. >> look, in this election and in 2022 the question the american people are going to be asking is whether or not we're helping them and their families. i've given them anything -- we just have to keep making the case just as the republican party today offers nothing but fear, lies and broken promises. eric: are the democrats making that case that the president says? >> i think that right now it's pretty tough on every single

metric you have across the board whereas the difficulty of employers, whether it's inflation, whether it's rising crime in neighborhoods across the country, people are worried. and you can say that, and there are certain points, there are certainly demagogues on both sides of the aisle here. but the democrats have to make the case for themselves. they wish donald trump was on the ballot in some ways because he's who they so successfullien ran against previously, but at the end of the day, it's going to be how people feel at this moment, and right now it is not looking very good for the democratic party. eric: sounds like we're going to the 11th inning. chris, good to see you. chris bedford of "the federalist" -- >> you too. arthel: mask mandates return to some county, vaccinated or not, this as the delta variant of the virus continues to dominate the majority of new covid cases.

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eric: well, the centers for disease cl sticking with its guidance on wearing masks saying that fully vaccinated people, well, they can go without them for now. a amid reports that the administration is rethinking its position on mask mandates with the dangerous delta variant rising a steep rise in infections. and more cities and counties are bringing back mask mandates even for those vaccinated. charles watson more live in atlanta with more on this. >> reporter: hi, eric. the cdc says unvaccinated people should wear masks indoors, but city cities and counties all over are making their own decisions when it comes to wearing masks contrary to cdc guidelines. for example, st. louis county is now mandating everyone over the age of 5 wear a mask indoors

regardless of vaccination status. los angeles county is taking similar measures. in philadelphia, officials are strongly urging indoor mask wearing for everyone. you know, erik, it's a major point of cop tension all over again -- contention all over again. >> i'm vaccinated for a reason, to not have to wear a mask. but -- >> i think it's easierer to understand that we're going to need to do this because it's, it's traveling around the world, and it's not just us. >> reporter: at least six states say they will require students and staff to mask up when kids head back to the classroom in the fall regardless of vaccination status. and as the delta variant continues to drive a surge in new infections, several large school district including chicago, atlanta and austin all say they will require students and staff to wear masks indoors as they return to in-person learning. people who are unvaccinated now account for 97% of all

covid-related hospital visitses and 99% of covid-related deaths. and as vaccination rates continue to lag in the south, alabama governor kate ivey is putting the pressure on those who refuse to get the shot. >> folks supposed to have common sense. we'll just have to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks, that are letting us down. >> reporter: it could be an uphill battle for states it is to get those vaccines into people's arms. according to a new associated press poll, most americans who are not vaccinated don't plan to get a shot. everything? eric: charles, thank you. arthel: for more now, let's bring in a professor at the ucla department of epidemiology. doctor, your expert take on this. are mask mandates necessary, and who do masks protect?

>> well, here's the thing, the delta variant is so much more contagious. so we're dealing with a much more difficult opponent here. we have to do more. we need to be able to not only get people vaccinated, but we need people to wear masks in particular in indoor settings because this virus is spreading so quickly. i think that every community really needs to look at where the virus is spreading, how much virus there is out there and if you have a high rate of infection, then mask mandates may be something we need to reconsider. arthel: so what is it though about the delta variant and the vaccine hesitance that concerns you most. >> the delta variant means you're going to be potentially shedding up to a thousand times more virus which makes this particular variant two times, approximately two times more contagious than another variant. so, for example, with the original variant we're going to infect -- one person would

infect potentially two and a half or three more people at a time. this variant being two times more contagious you could, therefore, infect maybe six more people, seven more people. so you can see that exponentially this could spread quickly. s it is spreading like wildfire. we need to have layers of protection out there to protect us all against the virus. >> reporter: is there any scenario where vaccines should be mandated? >> well, i think we really do need to look towards getting as many people vaccinated as we can. it's our best defense against this virus, and it's the first defense against this virus at this point. they're effective, they're safe. therefore, if we can get more people vaccinated, that's great, but i think we're going to have to be careful about how we teal with vaccine mandates. we want to make people get this vaccine as willingly as to possible, and we have to incentivize people. i think that businesses,

organizations will play a very important role in terms of mandating vaccines. and if you need to go somewhere, if you want to go there, you want to travel, you want to go to the store, you want to go to events, if you get vaccinated or need to show proof, that could certainly incentivize people. arthel: and, you know, there are critic os of that idea, but -- critics of that idea, but let's move on for now. given the surge in the potency of the delta variant, where are we headed as a country? >> again, this virus is so much more contagious than it was at the beginning. so we're dealing with something that's spread so much more quickly. you're more likely to get infected now than ever and, therefore, everybody needs to step up their game. you have to remember the worry about severe infection, hospitalization, deaths, that is still very real, and if you're unvaccinated, you are more at risk than ever before with. arthel: now, this is a crucial

time of the year because summer travel is upon us. should people who are fully vaccinated be afraid to get on airplanes? >> you know, the thing about these vaccines, they're going to protect you very well against severe disease, hospitalization and deaths. we've seen a lot of breakthrough cases recently, and so as a result, i think that people need to rethink their own risk and decide what makes sense for them. so if you are immune compromise, if you live in a household with unvaccinated children and you're concerned that you could potentially become infected and bring that virus home, you may want to reconsider plans to be in crowded places, in particular indoors. arthel: got it. so much more to talk about it. we'll have you back men can. it's -- again. it's always a pleasure to speak to you, doctor. thank you for joining us. and we'll be right back.

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eric: well, the push for electric vehicles now going airborne as nasa and airlines are beginning to plan for, get this, battery-powered all-electric airplanes. fox business' lydia hu has that story. >> reporter: united airlines recently announced the acquisition of 100 electric

planes, but it could be five years or longer before we see those planes in air with passengers onboard. and that's in part because the faa needs time to evaluate the safety and airworthiness of those aircraft. now, don't think of a 747 making a crosses-country flight when you think of these lek planes. they're going to be much -- electric planes. they're going to be much smaller, more regional flights. what is coming to the market much sooner is this, this is a hybrid electric autonomous cargo plane made by elroy air. it's going to transport packages and parcel ises between warehouses. they say it's going to transform e-commerce, shaving days off the process. it operates much like a helicopter, so is it doesn't need a runway. it can take off and land from warehouse to warehouse and carry 500 pounds at a time. while these aircraft transport parcels, technology for package

travel means passenger travel on electric planes is not that far off. >> electric passenger carry coming. companies like beta are a making a all-electric air taxi systems. >> reporter: the range on one of these hybrid electric aircraft is about 300 miles, and it works a lot like a hybrid car and the battery charges in air, in travel. the developers at elle roy air -- elroy air are also in the works to develop an all-electric our craft, but they say that is many years in the making. back to you. eric: arthel, i won't get on the plane unless it has a long extension cord -- [laughter] i'm not getting on the plane. [laughter] unless it's, you know, duracell. arthel: you're sill hi. [laughter] ♪♪ that's why i started medhaul.

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welcome to the journal editorial, i am paul gigot. parties about masking and mandates, the highly can carries contagious delta variant becomes a dominant strain in the west. white house debating a new masking push even for the vaccinated cases arise across the country. cdc guidance remains unchanged for now but president biden public town hall wednesday that masks are on the table for unvaccinated children