mess. hired more workers, changed flight schedules, upgraded equipment and the faa has opened military air space over the holidays to help keep air traffic moving. the weather today and most of the country is helping as well. next week it could change with the storm system in the west coast, working across the u.s.. for now, fingers crossed the smooth sailing tins through the weekend. >> let's hope it that stays that way, too. garrett, thank you. >> president had a chance this morning to speak by phone with the president of mexico. the two leaders agreed additional enforcement actions are urgently needed so key ports of entry can be reopened across our shared border. >> john: the white house announcing moments ago antony blinken and alejandro mayorkas will be going to mexico in the coming days to address the

crisis at the border. they are on pace for more than 300,000 migrant encounters in just the month of december. about that, welcome back. i'm john roberts. welcome back to you. >> jacqui: good to be with you for a second hour. sandra smith has the day off. i'm jacqui heinrich. president biden spoke with his mexican counterpart as it threatens hundreds in millions facility, biden administration is choosing not to send migrants to ice detention centers that are sitting completely empty. what is the reason for that. >> jacqui: complete coverage now, texas lieutenant governor dan patrick responds, but first, william in the los angeles newsroom. why aren't the ice facilities being used? >> jacqui, the president has said he does not want to use them. otherwise, does it make sense to be releasing thousands of migrants a day with a slip of

paper, while thousands of detention beds taxpayers paid for daily go empty. take the center in california. 2000 beds, fully staffed, and operational today, yet housing just six immigrants. why? one answer is the administration told congress the last two years it only needs money for 25,000 detention beds as it tries to fulfill the president's promise to close facilities for immigrants. >> there should be no private prisons period. they should not exist and we are working to close all of them: >> president trump by contrast detained up to 50,000 immigrants his last year in office. some judges did reduce bed count during covid but those restrictions ended eight months ago. >> they keep releasing thousands, while thousands of beds are empty. they would rather put them in a hotel in new york city at 500

bucks a night than an ice bed at 160 a night. >> 90% of immigrants are in private facilities. ice contracts with those dozens of facilities across the country. as you can see, many are not even half full. but here is the kicker. by contrast, ice guarantees to fill 70 to 80% of the beds so taxpayers pay millions of dollars a month empty or full, it doesn't matter. in just five locations we counted more than 2000 empty beds. >> this is not about covid at all. it's about shutting down immigration detention and shutting down immigration enforcement. >> why does it matter? yesterday for the first time immigration court backlogs topped 3 million cases. just 1.2 million when president biden took office and they have to show up to court when they lose. unlike those released, 94% are never caught. ice did not respond to many of

our questions. back to you. >> jacqui: all right. william, live in los angeles. thanks, william. the influx of migrants is now putting cross border trade at risk. the federal government has closed two major rail crossings, one into eagle pass and another into el paso to help handle the surge. one railroad company says $200 million worth of trade moves through those crossings every single day. fox business correspondent madison alworth is live at a trading port in new jersey. how much have the prices in the shipping industry gone up? >> jacqui, when we see the supply chain attacked on rail and sea, you see the prices start to climb. i'll get to texas but first sea travel and freight there. take a look at the red sea, prices have increased since houthis started attacking in the area, from november to now,

increased 44% from asia to the mediterranean, because houthis are attacking the red sea, and they are now avoiding the suez canal and taking a look at the list there and instead of going through the canal, they have to go around africa. the journey adds an extra ten days, so a cost in time as well as fuel. that's why companies are now telling customers to expect disruptions. ikea saying in part, this will result in delays and may cause availability constraints for certain ikea products. experts say this could get worse. >> you and i as consumers, businesses, reliant on just in time supply chains, have good reasons to be much more worried this time around than two and a half years ago, even though many of the covid strains have now been, say, drawn back, we are not seeing the same disruptions right now. but this may turn it on its head

once again. >> and we remember how bad things were two and a half years ago. the u.s. has responded with a naval coalition, operation prosperity guardian, to defend the area and prevent attacks but shippers cannot take the risks. and the southern border, they would love to move cargo there. since monday, two train crossings, eagle pass and el paso, remain closed with agents redirected to the border to deal with the surge in migrant crossings. corn, soybean, wheat and more cannot get across. mexico and the u.s., one of our major trade partners, you see a son of inventory crossing on the train lines and of course we are also talking about food items so a certain amount of time to sit in the cars and in the vehicles before they go bad. time is of the essence. jacqui.

>> jacqui: thank you so much, appreciate it. >> john: the state of texas is once again taking matters into its own hands, passing a law which makes it a state crime to cross the southern border illegally. that means police in texas have the ability to arrest people entering the country illegally. some civil rights groups are suing the three day old law. white house, immigration activists, complaining long and loud about the new law. listen to what karine jean-pierre said at the last white house briefing. >> this is an extreme law that will not and does not make the communities in texas safer. it just doesn't. this is certainly extreme as we see it, and it is incredibly unfortunate but this is what we see from particular republicans trying to dehumanize a group of people coming here or trying to migrate here and putting them in

harm's way. >> lieutenant governor, what do you say in response to that? >> i'm tired of her lies, john. tired of this administration's lies. they are saying just the opposite of what's happening. they are the ones that have a policy that is seeing americans killed by fentanyl. they are the ones who are seeing terrorists cross over our border. we know we have arrested about 300. they are the ones that are responsible for people drowning in the river. they are the ones responsible for women being raped across the border illegally. they are the ones responsible for all of this and so we passed a law and in texas the lieutenant governor is the president of the senate, i oversee it, i was very involved in writing this bill with the senators and the governor's office so i know it well, and we have had enough. so we are saying that we are being invaded, john. our founders said an invasion by an army. the army we are facing is not the mexican army, although the mexican president is doing nothing to stem this tide, the army are the cartels. and so we are saying we have a

right to grab people who cross the border illegally, arrest them, give them the choice of prison or going back home. and so which arrest them, fingerprints, get the photographs, we do the background checks, magistrate says you have a choice. go to jail or go home. and if you try to come back again and catch you, the jail term will be longer. we think we will win at the supreme court. we are invaded and we have the right to protect the lives of texas and american citizens. >> john: add context to that. the federal government says we have the sole jurisdiction over the border but governor abbott and you are citing article 1, section 10 of the constitution which says, no state shall without the consent of congress lay any duty tonage, enter into agreement with another state or foreign power or engage in war unless actually invaded or imminent danger, the governor

declared it to be an invasion with 1,000 got-aways every day, we have no idea about them, running across the border and into this country, appear to be a clear national security risk. and that's the basis, you say under which you are enacting this law. >> yeah, john, look. we believe in the constitution more than the president of the united states does. our founders never envisioned a president who would allow us to be invaded by opening the borders to millions of people. we say 8 million people have come here in the first three years of the biden presidency, that's the ones we have apprehended. if you get one out of two, that's 16 million people. we are being overrun, everybody knows it. this president is cold hearted, he does not care about what's happening to american citizens or those coming here. this is something our founders never anticipated, they never thought we would be invaded by civilians and a drug cartel behind them that is as organized

and powerful maybe more so than the mexican army. we have to take the stand. willing to go to the supreme court and say this is not what our founders envision, and by the way, the reason 300,000, break a record in december, he knows he's going to be out of office this time next year. he have knows the democrats are going to go down and he's trying to stuff every person he can into this country eventually so they get citizenship and a right to vote. they are already, john, 8 million people crossed the border, that would be enough to be the 13th largest state in the country today if they were all in one state. >> john: 300,000, what a staggering number. ask you quickly about this as well, the texas, state of texas has had to take matters into its own hands again. chicago put restrictions on busses bringing migrants to that city, so now you are flying them in. why? >> you bet. you bet. because we need to move them on to these blue cities and these blue states. these "we are sanctuaries,"

until they came. other cities said come here, now they are here, they don't want them, we want to put pressure on blue states. this president is so bad, not only doesn't he not care about a red state like texas, a target on the back, he doesn't care about the blue states, what's happening to new york city, chicago, he doesn't care about anybody. it's a policy i said is designed to help take over this country long-term and these people are coming here, most of them if they got to a court in short time they would not be given asylum because they are mostly single adult males that are coming in. they would be sent back. almost every one who goes to court gets sent back but these people, they got a trial date for 5, 8, 10 years from now. this is -- we are going to put them on planes, put them on trains, on busses, do whatever we can, we are going to get them out of texas. i want to send them all to martha's vineyard, send them all

to delaware and rehobeth, and feel the pain our citizens feel on the border and across texas every day. >> john: the notice that bill melugin saw, the notice to appear i think it was january 28, 2031. that was something. well, we do know -- >> it's a joke, it's a joke. >> john: we know the secretary of state and the dhs secretary are going to meet with mexico's president in the days ahead. they do seem to be getting the message. >> good luck, good luck. we don't trust mayorkas. >> john: good to see you again, sir. merry christmas with all of this. >> jacqui: word of a deadly shooting in our nation's capital. one person was killed, three others taken to the hospital after a shooting in the southwest part of washington. there is no word on the suspect right now. crime has run rampant in d.c., a spike in robberies and

carjackings and the homicide rate the highest level in two decades. >> john: awaiting a briefing from the pentagon. resuction of military talks between china and the u.s. in more than a decade. will it help thaw the icy relation between the two superpowers? we'll good michael waltz just ahead. >> jacqui: idf finds more underground tunnels. what does that mean for all the hostages still being held? >> the more we let iran's proxies get away with the attack, the more they will do, and it will hurt the american economy.

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>> john: idf says it has demolished a hamas command center where sinwar and other top officials kept hideout apartments and offices. and above ground, fighting goes off, sirens in central and southern israel including tel aviv. greg, hamas, even though it's under fire manages to fire off rockets in a way people would not expect. is there any hope there that there might be a slowdown in the military action? >> certainly that is the hope and what they are pressing, john, but yes, the city of tel aviv and other cities and towns in central israel were the target today of hamas rockets coming from gaza, just about all of them were knocked down. yes, the group is down, but yeah, it's not out.

pounding northern gaza locations, fighting for weeks. it appears they want to close off the terror zones for good, striking southern hamas leadership compounds and yes, uncovering more tunnels, a vast network found under gaza city nearly 70 feet below the ground with spiral staircases, plumbing, electricity, beneath the private properties of hamas bosses. pause the fighting and release of hostages seems to be going nowhere. hamas rejects israel's position one week of a ceasefire and immediate transfer of captives but israel says it's still open to talks and the humanitarian situation is horrendous. saying one quarter of the 2.3 million people there are starving, there are no working hospitals in northern gaza for the many injured, let alone what

the hamas-run health ministry says there, 20,000 casualties. finally, john, the security council meeting again today, they have been trying all week, they are trying to come up with resolution which would include the call for a humanitarian ceasefire. the u.s. is pushing its partners to include some pretty strong wording about the hamas attacks on israel on october 7th. we'll see where that goes, back to you. >> john: see if it goes anywhere. greg palkot in tel aviv. thank you, jacqui. >> jacqui: a live look at the pentagon briefing room where pat ryder will take to the podium in minutes from now. big news out of the pentagon is that the u.s. and china are taking steps to thaw their icy relations, two sides holding senior military talks earlier today for the first time since july of 2022. bring in florida republican congressman mike waltz, and member of the foreign affairs committee, and retired green

beret. this news of the top level military officials resuming communications looks on its face to be a positive development. but my question to you is, you know, what is it that we are not noticing because this comes right after we got a report yesterday that xi jinping told president biden when they were in san francisco, hey, we are going to take back taiwan, the elections are a couple weeks out, is this something we are not reading about yet? >> jacqui, we should have some type of back channel communications. we did have that even with the soviets at the height of the cold war to avoid any kind of miscalculation, or to try to tamp down any type of escalation. my fear is what i want to know is what did we concede to get the chinese to open these lines, they have been refusing for years, and at the end of the day i think the chinese are buying

time. they know that their military is not ready yet but they are rapidly modernizing and expanding. xi has all but said publicly and now we are learning privately he's told president biden to his face that he's taking taiwan one way or another. i mean, he did that head of state to head of state on american soil and by the way, the white house didn't tell us about it. a journalist had to figure that out. so i have a lot of questions, bottom line is what can china get to open these lines of communications again. >> jacqui: i was there at that summit in san francisco and did not hear anything about that from the white house at that point in time, taiwan, they did talk about it a fair amount especially in the lead-up to it, we had members of the administration emphasizing the u.s. concerns over the taiwanese elections coming up, just a couple weeks away. but we have not heard anything recently from the administration

about where things stand. you know, at the same time, you mentioned it is important to have these communications, the aggression on especially military planes, military assets has tamped down since they resumed the talks. but on armed services, is the u.s. ready if china does in fact try to take taiwan? >> so i want to be clear about one thing. we still believe that xi would prefer to reunify as they say basically take taiwan back without any type of military conflict. that's why the elections, which are just next month in taiwan are so critical. but here is my fear, if the elections don't go beijing's way, meaning the party that's currently in power continues to take a firm stand against china, and continues to buy american equipment and to arm itself to resist an invasion, if that doesn't go beijing's way but biden gets re-elected, i think we are in a maximum window of

danger and that's why xi has told his military be prepared by 2027 because between 25 and 28, i think we are in real trouble. also because our military is recovering after 20 years of middle east wars, and budget cuts and here is the thing, jacqui. if we needed a reagan-style ship build-up right now, we don't have the steel, we don't have the workers, we don't have the shipyards, we don't have the industrial base to have some type of surge in conflict. and then finally, all of those ships that are over in the middle east right now, they aren't in the pacific. and they aren't going back home for repairs, so there's all kinds of ripple effects from bad policy in other places and it could all come together in witch's brew over the next couple years. >> jacqui: how much does this put additional pressure on you and your colleagues in the house to get the foreign aid package

done, it does address national security concerns especially in the indo-pacific, reading about what's happening with the taiwanese elections and china. is there more pressure on you now. >> we have to support our allies and support our military, but jacqui, it's not an either/or, it's a matter of priorities. we have an absolute crisis at our own border and this is a moment of leverage to secure our own border first before we take care of others. >> jacqui: congressman mike waltz, always appreciate your time. >> john: biden administration cutting a deal with venezuela to free ten americans in exchange for a maduro ally. they say it's a wrong message to our enemies abroad. >> i would like to get $250,000 loan to get a job that pays me $50,000 a year, please. >> ok, we can help you with that. just sign here. >> jacqui: tiktokers sounding

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and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. need to get your a1c down? you may pay as little as $10 per prescription. >> jacqui: biden administration securing a release of a group of americans in a prisoner swap with venezuela. american detainees now back on u.s. soil. in exchange, president biden granted clemency to a prominent money man for the venezuelan president. gillian. >> gillian: ten americans are now safely back here on u.s. soil, the state department says most of them had been wrongfully detained. being held captive inside venezuela, each of them for differing lengths of time facing different trumped up charges. an free at last, free at last, thank god almighty, free at last. i didn't know if i would ever make it out.

it's really scary to be in a place where you are used to having freedoms and you are locked into a cell. sometimes with four other people. very tiny cell. >> gillian: also as part of the deal, caracas will return infamous "fat leonard," tried to bribe u.s. navy officials, he will new face justice here, and freeing colombian businessman, one of president maduro's right hand henchmen, in custody since 2020. >> the president has to make a hard decision and weigh different considerations to get someone home and the president did that, ten more americans are back, six of them wrongful detainees in joint base san antonio, in loving embrace of the miller at that. >> gillian: president biden has caracas is so far meeting his expectations. >> in addition to that,

venezuela thus far is keeping their commitment for the democratic election. not over yet, but we are going to hold them accountable. and as a matter of fact, one hostage sent home is one who is going to be tried. >> gillian: one heartbreaking development from this prisoner swap, jacqui, american paul whelan held in russia five years spoke out yesterday, he feels betrayed left behind by the united states, feels he's watching his life waste away before his very eyes. jacqui. >> jacqui: thanks, gillian at the state department. >> john: president biden trying to make good on his promise to cancel student loan debt even after the supreme court shot the initiative down, and helping student borrowers lower payments based on their income. despite those efforts, some are

still struggling to pay back what they owe. >> and i have paid $120,000 and i still owe 76 how the [bleep] is this possible? >> so what, if i don't pay my student loans, what are you going to do? ruin my credit? so i can't buy the house that i wasn't even going to be able to buy ever in my lifetime any way? >> john: doug holtz-eakin, so, apparently 40% of student loan borrowers defaulted on their october payment. they still have not paid it yet. meantime, prices are up 17%, and take a look at this finding in a fox news poll. economic conditions in the nation and you personally, 21% see them positively for the nation, you personally, 36%, negatively 78% and 64% people are clearly not happy. >> they are not happy.

the student loan thing is just a mystery. part of what's happened is administration essentially said if you don't make a payment we are not going to report you to the credit bureau, it's no big deal, we'll get back on track eventually, people are testing that out. they did not pay for a couple years, they are going to keep not paying. and a concern forgiving some people now you create bigger problems in the future. we have seen it happen at the sba. things called economic injury disaster loans invented during the pandemic, sba decided anyone who owes under $100,000, don't worry about it. we are not going to worry about it. so student loans first, now student and sba, when does it stop and how much is the taxpayer going to have to pick up. >> john: a lot, clearly. >> jacqui: do you think this sort of reflects poorly on the biden administration when they are saying that you know, taking credit for the strongest economic recovery and people are much better off than the polls would reflect. let's listen to what the president said blaming republicans for blocking the agenda.

>> we have among the lowest inflation rates of any major economy on this earth. we are fighting the lower cost to give folks just a little bit more breathing room. my dad used to say. let's be clear. republicans are against so many critical actions that help working and middle class people, especially black americans. >> jacqui: did it help if they can't make payments after three years of a pause and the forgiveness the president put in place even after the ruling? >> a lot of assertions cannot be true at the same time, it's the best economy, why can't they get in the labor force and make student loan payments. oh, if they pay it back, they cannot do other things, the economy will suffer, payments resume, the economy did not fall off a cliff, so the reality is student loan program should be viewed as a student loan program and treated that way, and yet to

come up with a really rationale why we should forgive the student loans. they say bad things will happen in the economy, or if they pay them back, bad things will happen. but why should the taxpayer pick up the tab and not the people who signed the contract. >> john: the president said republicans are against so many things, under trump administration, black unemployment was low, hispanic unemployment near a record low, poverty levels dropped. bernie sanders's proposal to raise the minimum wage, 7.25 an hour currently, he's proposing to 9.50 next year, and then grad actually raise to $17 by 2029 and index it to the job market. cbo says it will result in a loss of 700 jobs. good measure of what the market

will bear what they are paying the crews at mcdonald's. i did search, washington, d.c., 13.92, los angeles, 13.24, 13.58 manhattan, 10.22 an hour in georgia. based on that, what's a reasonable target for minimum wage? >> there is not across the whole nation. there are different labor markets, there's d.c., atlanta, san francisco, all different, and it should be what's necessary to support the lifestyle in the area. it does not make sense to set it nationally. it's the wrong path to begin with and 17 makes no sense whatsoever. what we did learn, remember the drive for 15, it's gone now because the market took care of it. strong labor market, wages went up, that's how you do this, and everyone benefits, you don't push some people out of a job, we didn't need to put 700,000 out of a job. >> jacqui: congress is not going to push it anyway, it's pretty

much dead in the water. >> could be running for re-election, i don't know. >> jacqui: i remember the fight for 15 very well. >> john: great to see you. >> jacqui: southern california is facing dangerous flooding as heavy rain slams los angeles and san diego, amounts not seen since the summer. how bad could it get. plus this. >> hey, pizza's here. >> 122.50. >> my brother's house, he'll take care of it. >> john: all the pizza ordered by the mcalisters in "home alone" costs more today. how much would the mcalisters need to make today for the lavish lifestyle exhibited in the movie. the answer to that burning question coming up for you.

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>> john: a powerful storm slamming southern california, at least 3 to 5 inches of rain may fall today alone, prompting flood watches from san diego all the way up to santa barbara, we find max gordon, max, how are things looking where you are? >> well, john, it's been coming down steadily all day today and we are seeing flooded out sections of roadway, including the one behind me. cars are trying to make their way around it. some of them unsuccessfully, it's already claimed one victim, this mini cooper that tried to drive through the standing water here. now, to the south of us in ventura, county, flooding struck earlier this morning, enormous amount of rain fell in that area in a very short period of time. 3.18 inches of rain fell in just an hour in oxnard, california. a senior living center had to be evacuated, around 20 people were

taken to safety by first responders. 60 homes were also flooded there. we spoke to one man who had a foot of water in his garage. >> everything is wet about a foot up on everything. the deluge must have gone through the entire garage. i have boxes destroyed, i mean -- it tipped over -- it tipped over a commercial vacuum cleaner and got water on the inside it was so forceful. >> a flash flood warning runs here in santa barbara for the next few hours and the rain should continue on until early tomorrow morning. john. >> john: can you push some of that north, max? the ski areas dumped on last year are a little thin this year. >> yeah, absolutely. i would love to do a little skiing but right now looking a little too thin. >> john: all right. max gordon, thank you. fox weather is your winter storm hq, always on, always free, on your connected device.

>> jacqui: a question that "home alone" fans have debated for years. how much money did kevin mcalister's parents really make? after 33 years real world economists have an answer. >> john: we are joined coming up next. luis fonsi: st. jude shares the breakthroughs and makes with doctors and researchers worldwide so more kids with cancer everywhere can grow up to be whatever they want to be. tina was a star at her quinceanera. jordan is a high school track star. haley became a physician assistant and an astronaut. marlo thomas: give thanks for the healthy kids in your life and give a gift that could last a lifetime.

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>> pizza boy needs 122.50 plus tip. >> for pizza? >> ten pizzas, times 12 bucks. >> frank, you've got the money, come on. >> travelers checks. >> forget it, frank, we have cash. >> jacqui: for decades, movie watchers have wondered how rich was the mcalister family in "home alone." they would now need to earn $730,000 a year, to afford the house, and that puts his family in the top 1%. kat, i get the driveway statue should have given it away that they were ultra rich. >> kat: they are pretty rich but i have a theory about this. if you watch closely, his brother rob is actually the one who owns the place in paris, and the wife mentions that he's the one who buys the plane tickets.

also, when kevin is in new york going to his uncle rob's place, it's a condo that was just listed, actually here in new york city, for $6.7 million. so i think it must be family money that kevin's dad has and his brother rob, for whatever reason uncle frank was written out of the will, and that's why he's so bitter. >> john: and uncle frank is cheap as well. i did a little research on the home itself, it's in winetka, illinois, $2.3 million, zillow estimate, purchased in 1988 for $875,000. last sold march 8th, 2012, for a million 585, obviously puts it up there in the upper echelon of homes, but far less than the condo you mentioned, far less than a lot of homes in america. >> kat: yeah, absolutely, that's why i think perhaps uncle rob

just made more risky investments that paid off and peter was a little more conservative. but uncle frank was written out of the will. and it's not the wife's money, everyone taken to paris is in his family. and nobody would pay to take only their in-laws to paris and not their own family members, just a guess. >> jacqui: how rich is uncle rob, really, though, if they are flying commercial? >> kat: right, that's true. he did fly the adults first class, though. so, still -- i've never had an uncle buy me any kind of plane ticket. >> john: a lot of theories as to why the two thieves were targeting that house. because it was known as what was it, the silver bullet or the silver plum in the neighborhood, probably had vcrs, can you imagine having the vcr these days and that made it a target, about you some are wondering if maybe it was targeted for a different reason. >> kat: like a crime family

perhaps? i'm not sure. i think if you hear -- you look at the house, obviously it's a very nice house, a big house and the whole family is travelling to paris together for christmas. i've never been to paris, that is definitely a level of wealth there. >> jacqui: let's go back to the days where you can get $12 pizza, what was it, 112 bucks for ten pizzas. sounds good to me. >> kat: you can't even walk outside in new york city without spending $60, it's crazy. like 112, i'm not paying for that. oh, if only, times have changed. >> jacqui: kat timpf, thanks so much. >> john: new data revealing people are fleeing new york because it costs 60 bucks every time you walk out the door, more than any other state. so, why are they leaving and where are they going? that's coming up next. you're the first to know when high rate debt is stressing your budget. but your family's service has earned you a big advantage.

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♪ >> john: bye-bye. people are fleeing the empire state as protests and migrants continue to flood the streets. new data shows new york actually lost more residents than any other state this year. local politicians are pointing the finger at progressive policies. c.b. cotton is live in new york city with the latest. c.b.? >> hi, john. that's right. the empire state tops the list for population dechain according to the latest u.s. census bureau report. new york city mayor eric adams pointing a finger at temperature panned and remote work and making light of why people are packing their bags. listen. >> some people have children and families have decided to go to a place where their children can play outdoors, larger green spaces. want to see animals. you don't see many animals but

rats in new york. >> the report showing new york lost more than 100,000 people between this july and the last. one of eight states which saw their populations fall. behind new york, are other democrat-run states, california, illinois and pennsylvania. meanwhile, two republican-led states, texas and florida saw the largest population growth followed by several other southern states. new york republican congress woman elise stefanik explaining the shift saying in part, if far left democrats in albany don't put the safety of new yorkers before their extremist agenda, that will be no more residents left to tax and fund their radical socialist programs. john, we reached out to new york governor cathy hochul's office about the mass exodus. we're still waiting to hear back. back to you. >> john: all right. maybe everybody who would answer you left. who knows. c.b. cotton for us. thank you. jacqui? >> they previously blamed the weather. people are cleaning up across

maine where rivers and stream have flooded to levels that haven't been seen in decades. it was no match for one ups driver. ryan long said he had lots of presents on his struck but the water washed out a road, so he found a row boat and hopped in and used it to finish his route. >> john: all right. look at that. there's a man of action there. >> he deserves a tip or something. >> john: he saved christmas. fantastic. good to have you with us today. >> good to be here. >> john: we're heading into one more day before the christmas week. thanks for joining us. i'm john roberts. we will see you tomorrow. >> back with you tomorrow, john. i'm jacqui heinrich. "the story" starts now. >> martha: good afternoon. i'm martha maccallum. this is the "the story." migrants crossing the border this month -- think about this number. imagine that you could fill yankee stadium, which is