highlight mia penny. she's 14 years old. she joined the cheerleading team, but her dad, who's a boxing coach, was apprehensive, didn't know if she'd have time to focus on boxing. >> look at that. >> she took this video of her shadow boxing on the sidelines. it went viral. wow, she said, i just kept putting god first, showing up every day. and that was the result. and she wants to go to the olympics. so i hope it happens and check out katie's specials. my husband loves them. >> that's the best dad. >> i like the best dad. >> he needs a fox nation. >> he's keeping the football players away. >> why don't you pray they're not on the other side of those punches. i've been putting god first. >> exactly. yeah. >> getting punched by a girl. never a good look. >> yeah. >> has never happened to me. and this. and i would turn the other cheek if it had. good move, i promise. >> go blue, go blue, go crimson. >> right. go, dawgs. ♪ ♪

♪ [national anthem] ♪ ♪ [national anthem] ♪

♪ will: good morning and welcome to to "fox & friends," it's will cain, it's the rachel campos-duffy, it's charlie hurt this morning. your national anthem. good morning, shar think. charlie: good morning. will: it is 100%, pedaling to the metal, fifth gear, christmas in new york -- rachel: yes! across the cunninger or will -- will: i know, it hit me square e in the nose. new york, christmas. i tried to go the a restaurant, i had to sweet talk somebody to get a seat. it's just, it's christmas. and the music -- you know when you walk down the street, everybody's got the thing that spins around and takes your photo and you dance, it's all

christmas music. rachel: a mariah carey everywhere. charlie: actually, though, i've had the greatest luck traveling the past couple of weeks. no problem. you get within four blocks of times square, it's going to take you three hours. you may as well get out and walk. rachel: but even walking is difficult at night around here. charlie: yeah. rachel: well, it's a good sign. you know, speaking of that, i've talked to several business owners. i went to get my haircut, i went the -- charlie: love the haircut. rachel: thank you. i went to go get a tree. i have this habit of asking the business owners, how's it going? everybody said, all the business owners said the same thing, people are spending more money and are happier. maybe that's what you're feeling out in new york city, will. will: i am. and we'll have a little happy christmas with you throughout the morning. we've got to start with some serious news, fox news alert. the nypd making a major break in

the manhunt for the united health care ceo brian thompson's killer, finding what is believed to be the shooter's backpack. charlie: that discovery coming as the fbi joins what's now a nationwide search. rachel: chanley painter is here with more on that. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the manhunt expanding nationwide after authorities say this gunman pictured here left new york city, excuse me, new york city immediately after murdering united health care ceo brian thompson wednesday morning. in this photo you can see the suspect wearing a gray backpack. authorities now say they have it hidden in the brush in central park. "the new york post" sharing this up close photo. police say when the assailant fled from the shooting on an e-bike, he he rode into central bank wearing this backpack but exited without it as you can see here in this new video. the suspect in black on the bike no longer has the backpack. that critical piece of evidence now in the hands of a crime lab

for analysis and testing. nypd police chief of detectives tells us what happened after this. >> he was here for about ten days, but we have that that bus leaving the same morning, him going into the port authority terminal the same morning of the incident approximately an hour afterwards. >> reporter: and here is an overall look at the path the suspect took wednesday morning after the shooting. police believe the suspect likely left on a bus headed towards atlanta, reversing the same route he took on the way to the city. they have video of him entering the bus depot but not of him exit, is now the fbi is assisting the nypd with this investigation, offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. the dea also saying we have offered all assistance, but fbi has the lead federal low, so we are there for them to lean on us for anythingful we're also being told police are running possible dna, fingerprint and cell phone

data as they hone in on the identity of this person responsible, guys. will: okay, chanley, thank you. rachel: thanks, chanley. will: this is absolutely fascinating. we're sitting here this morning discussing, first of all, that -- his steps throughout new york city basically retraced much of my life. this happened, what, four, five, six, seven blocks north of us from here, basically right off six sixth avenue. he goes through central bark on a bike, emerges there on the upper west side before hailing a cab to far uptown bus station at 178th street. i see this, charlie, rachel, i'm like, okay, he's on video the entire time. i don't think many new york you can actually ever be off video. charlie: there's never a moment you're always on. but it was strange because when we first saw the video, he looked so purposeful, he looked very, very professional. he looked like he -- and i just assumed, and then, you know,

police thought that he had gotten away on a city bike. obviously, he didn't use his own credit card for that. well, he may not have, but he has left a lot of ed. and -- of evidence. and i feel, you know, that first day i was, like, man or or, they're not going to find this guy. but now they know what bus he came in on, left on, they're closing in on the guy. they know that he arrived here from atlanta. they know way more than they're telling us -- will: probably true. rachel: the fbi always does. i have a feeling they know who the pipe bomber is from j6 too. i don't know, i don't have a lot of confidence in the fbi, i think they find who they want to find -- charlie: but this is the nypd. it's a great reminder that if you let the nypd do their job, they actually do really good work. rachel: fair enough. former inspector paul mauro retraced the steps of these killers. listen to this. >> this is sort of a chilling

moment. this is the actual crime scene. and this is where walking eastbound mr. thompson was walking that morning at about 6:45 a.m. when the shooter crosses the street from behind me where we showed where he was posted up,s crosses south to the south side of 5 a 4th street underneath this awning. he then follows mr. thompson this way in conditions much like this, dark, but again he knew it was thompson. and he shoots him about here. first shot appears to hit mr. thompson in the back. mr. thompson goes down. the shooter has that a famous jam where he appears to clear the gun. he almost certainly did some reconnaissance before he did the shoot. the police will almost certainly be going from before the event to full digital forensics from the cell towers, other cameras hard here to get video footage to see if they pick him up at a

time when maybe his guard was down. maybe he walked this route with the mask down so his face shows more clearly. rachel: other people saying how does he know right away that's him, right? he's walking by, and he just knows it's him. is there somebody, like a spotter telling him it's that guy? what is going on in that situation? there's a lot of questions. charlie: or he knows him, or he's seen him before. rachel: yeah. charlie: if you only know somebody from a picture or even from tv or something like that, when you see them in person, you're like, oh, that person does or doesn't look like the picture. he's not a particularly, you know, there's nothing particularly distinguishing about his appearance that would make you go, oh, yeah, that's -- will: i do think that's a fascinating point that mauro points out, it does look like the killer at least had a somewhat planned route. he seemed the know which way he was going to go, which way he was going to leave which suggests you could see where that planning might have taken

place and was he wearing a mask once you trace that video. charlie: and makes it all seem professional. will: yeah. practiced if not professional. meanwhile, in other criminal news, daniel penny's trial will repsalmennen monday. deliberations -- resume on monday after the second-degree manslaughter charges were dropped after the jury could not come to a verdict. they've been sent back to deliberate on whether or not they will convict him on a lower charge of criminal negligence. if now, daniel penny's attorney said the following: we are cautiously optimistic that the one remaining count will be dismissed by the jury on monday. that will finally put this nightmare behind danny and allow us to to focus on the civil suit filed two days ago with the same allegations contained in the criminal indictment. it's not the victory that you would hope that it would be, the fact that the first charge has been dismissed. because, a, you want to to see new york embrace not something that was criminal, but actually he row ec.

this was actually heroic, and we need to incentivize other men to step up heroically. unfortunately, we've already disincentivized that, and now we have a jury looking at a lesser charge really honestly by a judge who is giving them every opportunity to to find guilt in daniel penny. rachel: there's a lot about this judge, and she's actually made herself part of the case. if you look at her history, who she's willing to let go and the name of equity. give lesser counts to and -- i'm sorry, the prosecutor, i should say. the prosecutor letting -- will: both judge and prosecutor. rachel: yeah, the prosecutor as well. lesser sentences for people that she thinks deserve equity and then throwing the book at penny. here's jonathan turley talking about this on his x post. so now judges has dismissed the first count on second-degree manslaughter and is allowing the jury to consider the second count after the weekend. this is the precisely what bragging was hoping for -- bragg was hoping for in setting up a

possible compromise verdict with the allen charge. the prosecutors hope to pressure the jury into putting on the low standard of criminal negligence outside of new york or a few other cities, this case would likely either have not been brought or would have collapsed quickly before the jury. bragg often seems to be driven more by cable news than the criminal code. he has made clear that citizens acting to the protect others can expect little support from his office. if. charlie: so basically what alvin bragg is doing here is he doesn't have a case, so he comes up with a much heavier charge hoping that the jury will say, well, we don't want to go with that, so we're going to go with the lesser charge. and it's kind of like the shiny object to. and the result is you have at least one person on the jury who actually wants to convict daniel penny of manslaughter -- rachel: right. charlie: which is also kind of an alarming thing. rachel: the one with the mask?

[laughter] i have a feeling -- [laughter] the masked-up juror -- charlie: at one point was wearing a double mask. rachel: double crazy. charlie: it's, like, i i know where you come down. rachel: we spoke about the prosecutor earlier. here's a flashback of that prosecutor giving a light sentence to a suspect who actually robbed and killed, though she says didn't mane to to, an elderly man who was at an, atm. watch. >> she went to the an atm on the upper west side and tried to rob an individual. unfortunately, it was an older individual. he was 86. and in the course of the robbery, he fell to the ground, and as a result, he died. this is, under the law, a felony murder which is akin to intentional murder. and it was a strong case, so it wasn't about whodunit.

i could take it to the trial that day and win it. the more i learned about the defendant and his life and the circumstances and the kinds of things jarrell was talking about that one should take into account the trauma of that individual, i really felt incredibly sorry for him, that he had gotten to that point in his life where he felt like there was to to if other -- no other choice but to commit the robbery. rachel: will, why doesn't she think that daniel penny's past is admirable or worthy of looking at, this young man whose life is ahead of him, who was a marine, who served, who's trying to protect others? why isn't his story? will: just as a reminder, that was from 0202. that's her talking about the murder of an 87-year-old man, as you pointed out, at an atm machine and her finding sympathy for the background and circumstances of his life that led to the hurt murder and that moment as opposed the now, to

her point, looking for any charge -- rachel: yes. will: like you said, charlie, it's ask big and settle on the secondary charge. it's obviously the negotiating tactic many people talk about, go strong and big and then you accomplish -- rachel: what you really want. will: this monday deliberation could be what they wanted all along with daniel penny, just get him on something. yeah, your point on how about see who the hero is. rachel: yes. but this is the problem with george soros and the really, i think, evil effect he's had on america's justice system. it's just turning it upside down. the heroes are are the villains, theville villains are the heroes. it's really gross. will: all right. let's move to this, president donald trump has done his first interview -- made a public appearance at the patriot awards this week, but he did his first interview with nbc, kristin well,er, "meet the press." we already mow some of the things they talked about including whether or not our

former cohost, pete hegseth, will get confirmed. here's the question to donald trump. >> it looks like pete is doing well now. i mean, people were a little bit concerned. he's a young guy with a tremendous track record, actually. went to princeton and went to to harvard. he was a good student at both, but he loves the military, and i think people are starting to see it. so we'll be working on his nomination along with a lot of others. >> since you bring him up, do you still have can confidence in pete hegseth? >> yes, i do. he's a very smart if guy. i've known him through folk, but i've known him for a long time, and he's basically a military guy. every time i talk to him all he wants to talk about is the military. he's a military guy. >> have you got. en assurances from senators that he's going to be confirmed? >> no. >> do you think he can make it? >> i think he will, yeah. i've had a lo of senators call me up saying he's fantastic. >> you don't drink yourself -- >> no.

>> you've talked about how devastating drinking can be. >> yeah. >> how concerned are you that the person who you picked for this top job at the defense department, at least according to those who have worked with him, has struggled with drinking? >> but i've spoken to people that know him very well, and they say he does not have a drinking problem. will: just to be clear, you can bring the camera right back here to the couch, if you'd like, people that work with him, there's three, two here who have been with him on hourly basis for fife years? -- five years? rachel: yeah. will: not a drinking problem. and that's on the record with our names. so anonymous sources at nbc who work with him, you can value that for what it's worth. rachel: absolutely. a lot of people talking about the hypocrisy city of the media and the way they're covering this, but let's just talk about pete the person. i just feel really strongly about. i've actually seen pete's transformation over the time that i've worked here in terms

of just his own personal life, the man that he's become, the way he comports himself as a father, as a husband. over the last seven years, i know his mom came on this network last week and talked about the transformation she saw in pete over the last seven years. i saw it too. i saw it too. people don't realize what a disciplined person pete hegseth is. and what i really love about him, and i don't just think he's a good guy, i actually really admire pete hegseth. because pete understands, he's humble must have to know what he needs, you know? he's been criticized a little bit for talking about god a lot in some of his interviews. it's real. i know him. it's for real. and he, as i said in my post and if you need to read it, i hope people will go to my account and read the post in more detail about what he's like here on the weekends, what he does on his time off from, you know, outside of the studio, what he's like in

the studio. i talk about all of that. but pete does cling to his bible because he's humble enough to know he needs it. and, no, he does not have a drinking problem. he has that completely under control. charlie: it's kind of interesting, i think everybody when you get to a certain age, you start clinging to to your bible because you -- [laughter] realize you're own frailties. no, and this is a reminder why good people don't get involved in politics. rachel: amen. will: i think you're right. charlie: we saw it we donald trump, we saw it with brett kavanaugh. and it's all of the anonymous business, the anonymous sources. if, you know, if the new yorker reporter, writer came to my newsroom with that story, putting aside the fact that they have a radical leftist agenda, if they came into my newsroom with that story, it'd be, like, okay, listen, you've got maybe, like, three things here that are legitimate ifly worthy of putting into a newspaper story,

but 97% of everything else here, you need to go back and do some reporting because you don't have a single name for any of this stuff. you're making it all up and destroying your credibility. will: well, the good news is this morning, senator john cornyn of texas last night publicly declared she will -- he will support pete hegseth, senator scwoanny ernst seems to be leaning in the direction -- rachel: lindsey graham as well. will: let's put it this way with, if you voted for other people's confirmation, you probably shouldn't have questions about pete hegseth. rachel: yes. will: in just hours, president-elect donald trump arrives in paris to attend the reopening of the notre dame a a cathedral. it was damaged in a fire five years ago and has gone gone a restoration -- undergone a restoration effort. prince william is standing in for king charles iii. and reports indicate trump could also meet with ukraine's

president. this marks trump's first trip abroad as president-elect. here in the u.s. those mysterious with drones spotted flying over new jersey now reported in ten counties across the state. democrat governor phil murphy who met with the state and local agencies thursday saying on x, we're actively monitoring the situation in a close coordination with federal and law enforcement partners on this matter. there is no known threat to the public at this time. what are they? rachel: exactly. can we go back to that name that statement said nothing to, you know, make people feel better about what's happening. i have footage, and i'm going to show that's right outside my house. my kids freaking out on the drones. and they're huge, and their right outside -- they're right outside my window. will: we've got to figure it out. it's crazy. charlie: the n -- fbi has now joined the manhunt for the gunman in the unitedhealth ceo's to murder.

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the killer's backpack as seen in this photo obtained by the new york post. this all while hinting at what the kiter's motive might be. -- killer's motive might be. >> obviously, when you look at the writing, when you look at the victim's employment, you know, it could possibly be a disgruntled employee or client. but we're not ruling that out, but we're certainly not committing to it at this time. will: former nypd lieutenant drs now. you're seeing this evidence sort of trickle out for the public, the backpack, the suspected exit route to the bus station, perhaps to atlanta. do you think authorities right now know much more perhaps are zeroing in on a guy that we're still wondering about? do you think they're much closer to catching this guy than perhaps we might know? >> well, good morning, will, and good morning to the viewers. i believe that police have far more information that they're revealing -- than they're

revealing to the public. i think when we look at this backpack, for example, based on the puffiness, it's clear that it's populated with items. andwhat's going to happen is the nypd is going to transport that backpack to their crime scene lab in jamaica, queens, the conduct a forensic investigation on the items that aren contained in that bag because those items can be germane in establishing an id for who the individual in question would be. i think that we have more than, more than enough at this point in time because the killer has blinked on several occasions. and so i just think it's a matter of days or even hours before we have a capture of this violent individual that killed the ceo of united health care on the streets of new york. will: before we move on, you said you think there are several instances of the killer, quote-unquote, blinking. by blinking, i assume you mean making some mistakes that would help law enforcement are.

besides the backpack, what do you point to as other examples of the killer blinking? >> when we look at the killer at the hostel, he revealed his face when he pulled his mask down. and how that's to important is you're able to triangulate the eyes, the nose and the mouth for facial remembering in addition. and that's -- recognition. and that's going to be significant in trying to establish who this individual is and also presenting this information to the public, because now we have a chance of a friend or someone else that would have saw this video or i should say still photo and say, wow, i know that it's this person, therefore, they'll call police to assist in trying to apprehend this individual. will: all right. i want to move to another legal case here in new york city, this one already in the jury deliberation process we've already found the case, at least alvin bragg and his prosecutors' office believe they found the case to the pursue, and that's daniel penny. which on friday the second-degree manslaughter

charges were dismissed, but the jury was sent back to deliberate over criminally negligent homicide. setting aside the process of the judge, you know, pushing the jury to find a verdict on one of these charges, do you think they have there what it takes to come back with a guilty verdict on the standard of criminally negligent homicide? >> well, first off, will, i think that this is a miscarriage of justice in that once the prosecution determined that there was, the jury was hung on the charge of manslaughter, then they elected to go with the lower charge. this should have been thrown out at this stage. once you see that a you lost throughout the trial proceedings, i think it's clear that you should have just stepped away from it. but this is not what alvin bragg intended to do. i think his intention was to prosecute daniel penny by any means necessary. and daniel penny is an american hero because he stepped up to assist people that didn't have

the ability to to protect themselves on that subway car. so when we look to the process that's happening, it's now become something more is how can we catch and convict daniel penny as best as possible as opposed to letting -- [audio difficulty] will: i think we lost the connection there a little bit with dr. darren porcher, but we got much of the information we hoped to get this morning, and we appreciate him. coming up, trump assembling his border team before his inauguration. the latest on his nominees next.

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ma -- yuma, arizona, chris clem. obviously, the trump team has their hands full at the border. what is going to be their top or, top, top priority right at the beginning? >> well, the temperature priority -- top priority is going to be finishing what we started under the first trump administration. of i think just showing that list of names, the people you mentioned, sitting from where i sit as a retired border patrol chief, that is a border security dream team, right? governor noem leading dhs, we mow what tom homan as the border czar's going to do, i've worked with rodney scott, steven miller for policy, even brandon judd going to extend his knowledge beyond our physical borders when he's in south america. and bring in the i.c.e. background with caleb and tony, i this it's going to be an amazing place for america, for border patrol and border security enforcement. charlie: so we'll have sort of a

wall plus strategy for securing the border. what about when it comes to deporting people that are, that have come over the border? what's the priority going to be there for deporting people? >> well, i'm glad you brought that up, because that is something a that is very important to the american people. the polls. >> surround they're -- have shown they're supporting the deportation. it is going to be strategic, focused on national security and public safety threats. we're not going to to fear monger and allow people to play into this. this is about getting the threats that impact americans, those that are next to terrorism, those that are gang members, criminal syndicates, those that pose a harm and threat to public safety which is a priority of this administration, a priority for all law enforcement. i think that's something that everybody should be able to get we hind because we've got a problem in this country. i know this new team and this administration is going to fix it. charlie: one of the problems with having a wide open border is you really have no idea how many people are coming across the border. what is your best estimate for

how many people, illegals, have come across the border, and what sort of percentage of them do you think are some of these people who not only came across the border, but also have some sort of criminal background? >> well, you know, that has always been the $64,000 question, right? because we don't know what we don't know. charlie: right. >> the gotaway numbers are an art and science that agents have to support every day. the numbers exceed 2 million over the past two years, we know there's probably more than that. we look at the criminals and those with terrorist ties, and while i'm no math major, statistically speaking, they're going to be part of that component that that's in those gotaways. because really under the biden-harris administration, why would you evade ai rest knowing that you're going -- arrest knowing you're going to be taken care of by ngos in i blue states and blue sanctuary cities? why avoid border patrol unless you have a reason, because you're a criminal, because you're a smuggler, because you're a drug runner, because you are somebody who poses a

threat to the united states. so they're going to be targeted under the new administration, and that's going to start day one. charlie: yeah. and i guess one of the problems of handing your border to the drug cartels is that you've got to wrestle it back from if them, and they're probably not going to give it up real easily. they're probably going to want to try to hold on to that control which leads to other problems. but thank you very much, chris clem, for joining us. >> you got it. thank you for having me. charlie: math scores for america's fourth and eighth graders are at their lowest in years. how our students stack up to international competition. that's next.

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rachel: a new international report is revealing just how bad students in the u.s. are falling behind in math. according to the study, test scores for american fourth graders in math dropped by 18 points since 2019. for eighth graders scores dropped 27 points, the biggest drop they've seen since the test was first given in 1995. here to discuss is family therapist and former high school counselor for 25 the years tom christie. good morning, tom. so, i mean, the dates are giving us a clue, right? 2019. since then the pandemic in 200, that's a big clue -- 2020. what do you make of this this? >> well, you know, certainly, that plays a big role in it, but

the test scores according to the story started going down since 20215. rachel: true. >> covid, i'll tell you from experience, rachel, when i was counseling kids in my office in person that were doing virtual learning, they told me they basically -- some kids told me they literally could not learn virtually. rachel: yeah. >> other kids were spend being all of their time in their bedrooms on their devices, hours and hours a day. we also have a mental health if epidemic in our society. so it's kind of like the perfect storm. it makes sense to me me that math test scores and other scores are going if to be down considering everything that's going on in our kids' lives nowadays. rachel: listen, no question about it. i want to get to some of those other factors, the phones, why mental health is declining for other reasons hand school. but i'm just, you know, you're a therapist, you've seen these kids, as you said, come through your office. nobody has a taken any responsibility for what randi weingarten from the national

teachers' association, fauci and others who now pretend like they had nothing to do with school closures, meanwhile, catholic schools remained open. nobody died. they just had clorox wipes on the desks. and meanwhile, the public schools closed down and demanded billions of dollars in order to open and remained closed for two years. the chinese kids were going to school which is why their scores, which i want to put this screen up for everybody. these are all the countries that are scoring better than our kids in fourth grade math. but the chinese remained open. they put their kids first and their kids' education first. >> that's the thing, during covid catholic schools and private schools came from a place of, yes, we are going to be open. if you look at the data, for the first time in, i think, 25 years post-covid catholic school enrollment went up. so people saw this, right? we're locking our kids down for longer than a lot of other countries have, and they're not being connected -- educated.

and now we see the ripple effect. rachel: you're right. american public schools have been underperforming for decades, frankly, and this was just the perfect storm. let's talk about smartphones because that was part of the problem during the pandemic. we saw that use shoot up. >> yeah. so, you know, prior to that, to 2012 is when the mental health epidemic began, that's when smartphones became -- rachel: correct. >> -- regular. so covid accelerated that. kids, i had a kid in my office -- [laughter] who was in high school, who was a freshman in high school, and during that one or two- year period, him and his friends played video games through the night without going to sleep and then went the school virtually, and when school ended, went to sleep and slept until midnight and got up and played video games. bad stuff. we also have a sleep epidemic, sleep depravation epidemic in our country among teenagers because they're up all night. an exhausted, tired kid is not

going to be able to learn. it makes sense that math scores and i'm sure other scores have gone down substantially. parents need to step in, figure out what heir going to do under their own roof and reverse course here. rachel: right. well, one easy solution is take the kids' phones away before they go to bed because, you're right, you think they're sleeping, and they're actually up scrolling and on their phones and not getting enough rest, and that's not good for them at school either. so all of this is the an issue. we did a story last week, tom, on australia banning social media for children under the age of, i believe, 16, and i was all for that. i guess i'm a communist when it comes to this stuff. [laughter] >> i'm with you. yeah, yeah, i'm not big on government control -- rachel: i know. >> we're losing a generation of kids mentally, physically, academically. something has to be done. rachel: we are in crisis. tom, thanks for joining us this morning. >> great seeing you. thank, rachel. rachel: ray you got it.

charlie? charlie: thanks, rachel. turning now to your headlines, the family of kidnapped american journalist austin tice says they've confirmed he's alive and well. the marine veteran vanished more than 12 years ago while covering the syrian civil war as a freelance journal. this image of him blindfolded surfaced weeks later, and it's the last time he's been seen. >> -- austin is treated well, and there is no doubt about that. and i would sincerely appreciate your most faithful prayers that that we will see austin walk free. charlie: the family saying these new details come from a vetted source. hay hope to be reunited with austin -- they hope to be reunited with austin soon. scientists say they found fentanyl and other drugs in the blubber of dolphins pound in the

gulf of mexico after testing nearly 900 bottle-nosed dolphins. texas a&m researchers say more than a third tested ifs for drugs and more than 20% tested positive for fentanyl. a marine biologist who participated in the research saying, quote, some of these samples we looked at are more than a decade old, and those animals also a had pharmaceuticals, so we think this is a long item standing problem that no one's been looking at -- longstanding. kate middleton is hosting her fourth annual christmas carol service at westminster abbey, yesterday joined by her husband prince william and their three children. during the event, the princess of wales made a rare comment on her unplanned cancer bat. she said, quote, she didn't know this year was going to be the year she just had. the princess of wales exchanged candle candlelight with her family which focused on the themes of love and empathy x. if those are your headlines.

shop with a cop is kicking off this morning. rick is bringing us all the christmas joy if from maddie's toy shop. that's next. ♪ santa claus is coming to townh ♪ yes. you get member deals and earn points when you shop. so, you can get more and give more too. join my lowe's rewards for free today. lowe's knows how to help you holiday.

♪ will: project thank a cop is hosting its fifth annual shop with a cop event at a maddie's toy stop in new york. rachel: rick reichmuth is there to tell us about it along with some is special guests. good morning. rick: good morning, guys. this is megan and andy fox, and you're the founders of this event. we came here last year, this is such a great event. tell me how you thought about this organize, what is it that you guys do? >> we show our support and appreciation to law enforcement and their a families so with shop with a cop, we have children on all different needs, they come and they shop with law enforcement, first responders, and they get to spend the day with us. we have cocoa and cookies, and we just want to make it a festive time for them. reign rick so i think for a few years it had been a hard time with police officers and the lack of trust that a had kind of begun to take hold in our

country and the importance of making kids underthat these people are on your side, and these are people i can trust. >> right. rick: as a kid, i was not allowed to say the word cop. tell me about this. it was a bad word for us as a kid. [laughter] >> right. well, now it's just a great thing that the kids get to look at a cop and look at a first responder and know that they have a first name, that there's more to the person than just the badge, than the job, that they can go have a fun time with them and have a sense of humor and and maybe that will transpire to something when they have a meeting with them later on in life, they'll have that later comfort. rick: so tell me about this organization. we're here today to, obviously, kids come here, they go and pick out to out toys with a cop, with a police officer -- still hard for me to say. [laughter] how can people support your mission as well? >> they can go to our web site, you can do the web site -- >> okay. the web site, ptacop.org. you can support us there, look up any of our future events as well as any pictures from the

past events and just kind of send e-mails back and forth. we also have a facebook page, project thank a cop there. >> they can venmo, zelle, however they would like, if they want to volunteer. sometimes that's and more priceless than making a donation. rick: you got a lot of people here at a six-something in the morning. >> the dedication, yeah. this group doesn't run without our volunteers and our core people that have been with us since day one, and we're so appreciative. rick: all right. we love what you guys are doing, happy we can be here. we're going to be here all morning shopping with kids and police officers, cops, we're allowed to say it today to. send it back to you. will: all right, rick. visit ptacop.org. we're going to check back in with rick all morning long. rachel: absolutely. well, thank you to our partner bass pro shops for styling our "fox & friends" studio for the entire month of december. we love it. more "fox & friends" weekend right after this.

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♪ ♪ will: it's the 7 a.m. hour of "fox & friends" weekend starting with this, the hunt for the man suspected of killing united health care ceo now expanding nationwide. a former threat management leader from the if company joins us this hour. charlie: plus, kjp refusing to take responsibility after president biden pardoned hunter, even though she repeatedly told americans otherwise. >> i just -- >> reporter: do you own an