scientists and what he conflated that is that therefore we were involved in creating the virus, which is the most ridiculous leap i've heard of. >> chinese scientists, friends, thank you for watching gutfeld next. >> fox news alert, u.s. troops under atrack overnight. targeting an iraqi based housing american forces south of baghdad. second attack in 24 hours as iran and its alliess mark the assassination of general solamani. >> i'm kevin corke, in for carley shimkus, we'll have more

on breaking news in a moment. we begin this half-hour with news from here in washington, the nation's capital. the biden administration pointing the finger at american meat packers after months of inaction on the inflation crisis. todd. >> todd: the white house moving to implement its liberal wish list from last year. live in the nation's capital, good morning. >> mark: it is four in the morning, never too early to talk about dinner. tacos, steak, dinner, it will cost more than a year ago. beef prices are up 20%. pork 16%. chicken close to 10%. monday in an effort to address rising prices, the president met with farmers. biden says lack of product is

part of the problem. the president admits he is shocked how quickly prices are jumping. >> president biden: i was sitting in my kitchen yesterday and my wife was there with her sister and a friend and said, do you realize it is over $5 for a pound of hamburger meat. $5 compared to $4 before the pandemic. >> after a snowy week, lawmakers go back to work today, democrats say they will focus on efforts to pass voting reform legislation and schumer says the senate will vote to alter or kill the filibuster in weeks if republicans refuse to help them move voting reform forward. >> if we don't change the rules, they will block this and could wither in real ways. >> president biden agenda

appears to be be stalled, refusing to support massive -- proposals. >> i think democrats are desperate right now, they had it bad into the next year and trying to get beyond that and find some type of victory. i would love to congratulate you that we killed build back better. >> we'll hear from the president meeting with his covid response team kicking off the new year. kevin and todd, back to you. >> kevin: mark, thank you. chicago teachers union will vote today on returning to -- learning. >> todd: new york city mayor is vetoing virtual learning.

jackie ibanez joins us. >> jackie: that is right. 25,000 members of the union will electronically vote if they make the switch to remote work. the union is threatening to walk out tomorrow. chicago schools are deply concerned over the vote but insist buildings were cleaned over the break. lori lightfoot is bucking the idea, and says keeping kids safely in school to learn and thrive is what we should be focused on. a counselor at park elementary where staff is working remotely is calling out lightfoot. listen. >> something has got to give. we are scared. i ask, mayor lightfoot and her team, when is enough enough? when will you join us to work together for the safety of us all?

>> jackie: new york city mayor eric adams says the largest public school system is staying open. >> the safe oast place for our children is in a school building. we are going to keep our schools open and ensure that our children are safe in a safe environment. >> jackie: former cdc director robert redfield agrees with adams and warns of the harm of school closures. >> we have to keep the schools open. public interest of k-12 was to go to face-to-face learnings, never in their interest to go to virtual learning and we've seen a lot of negative consequences. >> jackie: connecticut and massachusetts are demanding halt to in-person learning due to the omicron surge, this is setting stage for conflict between

politicians, educators and parents. >> kevin: jesse waterses we were ahead of the curve when it came. >> getting break-through cases of cron and clarity. i can tell the difference now, maybe we shouldn't be shutting schools down or firing nurses. maybe va x people can give this thing. they are circling back to where conservatives have been for months and year. same people that push this fraud and lie you can do it are saying, you can't do it, everyone will get the cron, live with it. no, we're back to where florida has been from the jump. be safe and free. taking democrats longer to get there. >> kevin: jesse on the five.

democrats are preparing for a fight after reports surface saying house speaker nancy pelosi will step down next year if the -- jeffrey is the favorite to lead the party. lawmakers overwhelmingly agree the first female house speaker successor should be equally as historic. jeffreys would be the first black speaker if nominated. progressives demand more centralized leadership pushing for a leader who could pull the party together. squad members are not too focused on potential changing of the guard. illinois congressman bobby rush will not be part of that, he will not seek re-election and will retire after serving in congress for 30 years. rush represented south side of chicago in the southern suburb,

24th house democrat to announce intention not to run, a potential red wave could see republicans taking control of the house and senate this november. >> kevin: larry larry kudlow is making this prediction for upcoming midterm. listen. >> i remain optimistic about america's future. conservative value and capitalism will defeat joe biden's woke leftist drive. will not accept socialism, american way rewards success, does not punish it. americans do not want to be strangled by left bureaucrats in the swamp. american way promote parents and family, not government control of child rearing, american way defends police and law and order. majority of this country is comp

prized of honest blue-collar working folks who cherish traditional, conservative values. >> kevin: larry kudlow right there. cuwell imagine, we look ahead and it is months away and yes, we see that pendulum swing when party is in power, opposition will flip a few seats. keep this in mind, a number of people point to this midterm back to 2020 believing this could be indeed a red wave and todd, i don't think it goes without saying, i don't think there is any question, this could be a blood bath if you pardon me saying. >> todd: well, what do the democrats have to run on? what is any achievement? maybe infrastructure, obviously second part of that, a lot of peep elg in the democratic party

don't like to think of it that way, bbb died and doesn't look like it will come back. many individuals are retiring because they think they can't win. what does this bill to, kevin? we heard in mark's piece there, pivot to laws is happening, chuck schumer said this will be full-court press going forward, democratic play book and incumbent on republicans to not let democrats change the rules of the game as we line forward to november. >> kevin: a lot of republicans would say this, they want to use the play book that happened in the old dominion in virginia, focus on micro-issues tagged with democratic support, things like critical race theory, make sure this is not a good r

against d battle and you can get to the heart of specific policies leadership have backed and as you pointed out, todd, the weakness happens at the top, it cascades down the system and could mean a difficult battle. i don't think this is it. 24 house members say they will retire, that number will go up by half dozen between now and election day. >> todd: and kevin, so well put, if republicans can focus on making the republican party, at least election focusing on what helps parent. if you focus on that and you heard republicans try to make the point they are going to be focused on this, i think you are right, it could be a blood bath

going forward, we will see. back to the international stage. iran says to avenge assassination of solhad omani. >> alek hogan has the story. good morning. >> good morning kevin and todd, country of iran is asking the united nations security council to step in and hold the u.s. and israel responsible. the general was killed two years ago on january 3 of 2020, his killing through a drone strike was ordered by then president donald trump and identified 127 suspects and 74 u.s. nationals they say were involved. iran problem spoke at tehran's

mosque demanding justice saying if trump and mike pompeo are not tried for assassinationing general soleimani, they will take action. murdererss can face execution or family can choose to settle receiving so-called blood money. mike pompeo called the threats unprecedented. >> you have a nation state saying they are going to arouse every muslim to martyr president trump and me, it tells you something how they think about this administration. >> a cyber attacking raising. hackers broke into the jerusalem the post, showing bullet shape

firing out of a ring in reference to the ring soleamani would wear. we have seen for the second day in a row two drone ons be struck down, today's attack named at an air base that held u.s. military peep and he will however yesterday was aimed at the airport, both were armed drones struck down issue the latest just this morning. todd. >> todd: alex hogan we appreciate you joining us, be safe over the big pond. >> kevin: virginia roberts settlement with pstein is unveiled, this could spell trouble for maxwell, who

perjured herself in a deposition when she said she only visited epistein's home once. a judge asked attorneyss to submit scheduled -- on the allegations. >> andrew andrew cuomo lawyer says they are dropping investigation into andrew cuomo's action around nursing homes during the pandemic. report revealed covid-19 was underreported by 50% and andrew cuomo directed nursing homes -- early in the pandemic response and forcible touching charges, as well, all this stemming from accusations of sexual actionss against andrew cuomo. source telling times union the case will be dropped because of the manner in which the criminal complaint had been filed.

andrew cuomo set to be arraigned on charges in albany on friday. about 15 after the hour, florida governor desantis getting the last work after alexandria ocasio-cortez is criticized for partying without a mask. >> look at other states, they are letting hysteria drive them to doing really damaging things. >> kevin: and justin wallace, joe concha and tomi lara all on deck. don't go away.

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>> kevin: 20 after the hour now. florida governor ron desantis bashing -- vacation in his pro-freedom state. listen. >> if i had a dollar for every lock-down politician who decided to escape to florida over the last two years, i've been a doggone wealthy man. you are bashing us for not doing your policy and you are the first place you want to flee to be able to enjoy life. >> kevin: his comments after congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez was caught maskless and partying in the magic city of miami. federal judge granted temporary injunction for 35 navy seals taking religious -- in response to the mandate, thousands of

servicemen and women have applied and requests have gone unanswered and 200 members have been kicked outer for not receiving the vaccine. >> todd: chicago students returning to the classroom yesterday, but they may not be back for long. covid-related walkout would begin tomorrow. willie preston, father of six, joins us. what is your reaction when you see the union putting their agenda ahead of your kids? >> my reaction is when will enough be enough? we learned from the pandemic the best place for our children, kids of chicago public schools is in the classroom. we are, we realize so many kids are falling further and further

behind and quite frankly it looks very much like our kids a political pawn in a bigger game. >> todd: here are the demands from the union, first negative tests for all staff and students. 300 testing sites and providing better masks for all staff and students. the first two are impossible in light of the testing shortage that is nationwide. do you get the sense the union came up with this standard to make sure they can work from home as lopping as possible? >> absolutely. that has been the strategic play book for the chicago teachers union since this began. make sure to move it further and a bit further. as a parent, i'm sick of it. my children are sick of it. our kids are being yo-youpon'ed

around. parents have no idea what is going to happen next. this is failure for the future of our children, terrible situation for our children and for working families in chicago and i pray the mayor stands up, has backbone and make it unequivocal our kids will be in the best place in the classroom. >> todd: great response from the chicago public school. school closures could fuel community spread. it is the best way to approach covid-19 concerns in some schools. the union is on an island from fauch to biden, saying in-person learning is needed vitally. why is the union doing this? why have they decided to be on this island? >> it is simply a power play for

a larger goal here, which is to run city government in chicago. they are a large union in chicago and i think at the end of the day, they smell blood in the water from the mayor and they will push their weight around and our kids are pawns, that is how they are being treated. as a parent, i am sick of it. our children need stability. number one thing is stability and we want to give our children as much stability as position. they are our future and it is more than just a cliche, we want our kids to get a proper education and we can do that. >> are you expecting this to end in court, willie? >> you know, again, they changed the goal post, by the end of the day, they'll ask for something else and the mayor will

acquiesce and this will go away. ongoing drama is terrible. what we've learned from this pandemic, best place for a kid is in the classroom. i'm concerned about the achievement gap of children that we're already behind and i hope we have more and more leaders stand up and don't be bullied by the chicago teachers union and speak up for families and kids of chicago. >> todd: we're watching file video on the screen of the kids walking to school with their parents and you realize the whole focus is on the adults that are messing everything up right now and not enough focus is on the kids when education is supposed to be designed for the kids. the reason it exists is to give children better head start and the interest of kids are bottom of the barrel and it is terrible. willie, praying for your kids, all six of them.

>> if i can add -- i live on south side of chicago, i can tell you we learned last time with the lockdown policy, it fuelled violence inside the city of chicago, amongst children in particular and extreme number of children were murdered and killed and involved in gun violence and gang violence as result of the lockdown policy for sure. i don't want to see a return to that. >> todd: it's sickening. willie, we're praying you don't have to see a return to that, thank you, willie. kevin, over to you. >> kevin: thanks. new year, same border crisis as bullets fired in mexico strike a patrol car in the u.s., we'll tell you what happened. plus overdose deaths are on the rise as officials intercept more fentanyl than heroin at the u.s. border for the first time in history. we're talking to a mother who knowing the heart-breaking cause

of the crisis first hand. this is "fox and friends" first.

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>> todd: we're back with the board crisis. a border patrol agent was shot at in mexico while apprehending an illegal migrant on new year's day. several bullet holes in front and side of the patrol car. border patrol and the f.b.i. are investigating the shooting. kevin. >> kevin: the threat to the border come in many forms, as you know. over the last year, for the first time, agents intercepted mr. fentanyl /* more fentanyl than heroin.

misty, i want to share statistics that will help bring more people into the conversation with awareness of how incredible this year the numbers have been. fentanyl and heroin seizures taking fiscal 2021 look at the numbers. 11,000 pounds of fentanyl compared to 5000 plus pounds of heroin. it is incredible story i don't think people are aware of as we would like. what is your initial reaction to seeing those numbers? >> the numbers are staggering and rising and rising. it is a terrible thing, we need to bring more awareness to what is going on. >> kevin: i know from your perspective, especially having suffered such a devastating loss, this strikes home and millions of american families are dealing with in a number of different ways, not just drug

overdoses, it is violence associated with drugs brought over the border, would you say? >> absolutely, yeah, children are dying. it is not just children. we know this stuff is coming from across the border and with that comes all this violence. >> kevin: what do you want people to know about your daughter and what happened in that situation? >> you know, she was a normal 17-year-old girl just like anybodys else's daughter. i had no idea how accessible this was to her and with learning that, it's opened doors to realizing how dangerous and accessible it is to our children. >> kevin: misty terrigino, joining us, her daughter 17 years old passing away from accidental fentanyl overdose. the numbers are staggering when you look at the number of people dieing from drug overdose deaths. we talk about covid for obvious

reasons, people need to keep in mind a massive number of americans are dying from drug overdose deaths. share quick reaction from chip roy from the state of texas, this idea we need to do more to protect the border so people are protect friday overdoses like what happened to misty's family. listen to this. >> the president is going around paradeing and yelling at the american people forcing vaccine mandates let's focus on fentanyl in the community. do something about it and don't let this administration get away with it. >> kevin: misty, your reaction to what the congressman said there? >> i couldn't agree more, absolutely. >> kevin: it is a thing, if you don't know, millions of americans don't live in border states and may not be aware of the circumstance that folks down there are dealing with.

last 30 seconds or so, what do you want people to take ark way from our conversation and what your family has endured? >> talk to your kids, your families, not just kids, let them know this is out there, anything they may experiment with could cost them their life. >> kevin: misty joining us on "fox and friends first," we hope the best for you and your family in 2022, thanks so much. god bless. >> thank you so much. >> kevin: todd. cory booker >> todd: kevin, thank you. harry potter star ema watson drawing criticism over an instagram post. we'll tell what you it said and house democrats rushing for the exit and -- leaning red. justin wallin breaking down the chance to rejoin the joins us

next.

>> welcome back to "fox and friends first," i'm alex hogan breaking down international headlines. five countries issuing joint statement to curb threat of nuclear power. china, russia, britain, france and u.s. vowing to make it their primary responsibility to avoid a war between the nuclear states

promising to reserve nuclear weapon to prevent more, not cause one. canada awarded $84 million to the family of six victims who died in a downeded plane two years ago, iran's military forces shot down the ukraine flight killing 175 people onboard, 55 of those killed were canadian citizens. tehran later called it a horrible mistake saying the plane was mistaken for a hostile target. israeli officials turning to comments by emma watson writing that solidarity is a verb, that post is prompting backlash and pro-palestinian users on social media say this support is very welcomed. todd, back to you. >> todd: alex hogan, thank you very much. president biden and democratic party really hurting in the

polls right now and a gop landslide seems more than likely as report projects republicans clear favorite to win back the house majority. here is justin wallin. great to see you. we know an election is nay when we have you on every month or so. how big could this blood bath be for democratss? >> justin: it could be significant. one portion of congress and in this case, the house, the following midterm could be disastrous. a lot of themes suggest beyond precedent, could be tough on the democratic party. >> todd: drill down on this cook political report that shows interesting trends. let's start in lean republican, three seats cook is predicting

could go lean republican versus currently democrat and two likely republican, five in toelgs. what do you take away from districts that can be applied to the map as a whole? >> justin: absolutely. what we know, in order for republicans to take back the house, they need to gain a net of five. this map, keep in mind or projections, are preliminary, redistricting process hasn't quite been finished. we are doing crystal balling. i suggest this will lean more republican as states finalize maps. the reasons why are because at beginning of last year, things looked chaotic. as the year unfolded, more and more, some more distant, very clear, became obvious to create a landscape that shows democrats are deeply vulnerable coming into the

election. first is what has been talked about everyday, promised covid would be manageable and it is clearly not over. second is southern border has become uncontrollable and the third is afghanistan. america suffered highly visible and humiliating defeat and presidency seemed confused, frankly asleep at the wheel. a lot of contradicting information and images are horrifying and we have an issue of crime on the tv on local news where we see robbery and thefts. visible and obvious. see people running into department stores and stealing items with no control by police force. that is just part of the story. violent crime, rapes and murders up in some cities 200% or more. add to is, inflation,

americans are paying more for gasoline, eggs, whatever, name it, 5%, 10%, prices are projected to increase 20 to 30%. huge challenges we see. it is easy to forget with the existential policy, it is stalled and doesn't seem to be going anywhere. when there is crisis, party hopes to say things were difficult and momentary issues, but we accomplished this, that will be difficult for them to say walking into the next midterm. >> todd: 20 seconds remaining, what do republicans need to do to not snatch defeat from the jaws of victory here? >> justin: the problem with republicans, if things become focused around the former president in areas that are purple, that will damage the republican party. doesn't matter which way you

fall on it, numbers show it is divisive. if republicans focus on the economy, rebuilding the economy, there is a security at southern border and states that focus. it is old addage republicans learn the hard way in previous election, it is the economy, focus on that. >> todd: it always is. justin wallin, we appreciate your time. we will check back in a lot between now and the first tuesday in november. over to you. >> kevin: good stuff, guys, thanks. still ahead, public university is making a big money push to go woke. the school that is paying professors to advance progressive agenda, just ahead and across the country, going remote because of covid. whatever happened to the relief fund from uncle sam to keep students in the classroom? that and much more as we continue.

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>> welcome back, university of memphis offering $3000 bonuses for "infusing equity to course

material," the free beacon reporting the university is offering professors a stipend when they redesign curricula and when they teach it. memphis will pick 15 to 20 professors for this program, which will begin in the upcoming spring semester. kevin, over tou. >> kevin: incredible, st. thomas in florida is pledging to bring students back to campus next week, a stark relief to some colleges who are beginning the semester remotely, despite accepting millions of dollars in government covid funds. here to react is david armstrong, senior at abigale and audrey, who is remote learning for the first couple semesters and student jordan. professor armstrong issue president armstrong, let me

begin with you. as someone who lived in south florida, i'm familiar with your university, it is well regarded and students appreciate the fact you are making sure optimal education is happening by having students back on campus. >> absolutely. from the beginning of the pandemic, we made the decision to make decisions for our students. we were not going to make decisions based on panic, make decisions based on what was best to give students full collegiate experience and with support of the federal government we've purchased things and chemical, bioscience, to clean the campus and move forward to make sure we give a full experience, athletically, student activities, student life and set three years of straight record in the history of the law school

this year. >> kevin: and a stellar law school to boot. it is anyone's joy to get out and see the palm trees, sometimes it does help having activity with professors and fellow students. tell me what that is like for snu >> i've had a great experience at st. thomas. we are taking necessary prekaugszs to ensure a safe semester. >> kevin: audrey, you're unfortunately doing remote learning for the first couple weeks up in chicago. i get it, sometimes this sort of thing happens, i'm sure you'd like to get back and see your fellow students. how are you handling the remote learning circumstance? >> absolutely. i wish the university of chicago were similarly following the science, it is a little bit embarrassing we're going back to more covid theater, zoom

university, which is a lousy substitute for in-person, real education, there is no excuse anymore. >> kevin: and no comparison is what i'm hearing from college students. jordan, i think you would probably agree, what is your take? >> at vanderbilt, we've been locked down at beginning of school. i can't leave my dorm room to go to the library or eat at the city hall. we could be expelled. i transferred to california, thinking they would be more salien turns out you have the same woke administrators there as in chicago. they are irrationale. >> kevin: you are a smart student, if you got into vandy. the colleges that received government money are massive

arments of money to ensure educational experience and get students back, yale, duke, temple. u-dub in seattle, vandy and down at the u, 41 million. we really appreciate you getting up early for us and spending time as we continue to unpack what could be interesting semester for you all. thank you again. >> absolutely. god bless. >> thank you so: >> kevin: thank you, todd. >> todd: great stuff, still ahead dr. jay bhattacharya, joe

concha. don't miss a moment of "fox and friends first." friends first." tome /*

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