♪ for you alone are worthy ♪ ♪ for you alone are worthy ♪ ♪ for you alone are worthy, christ the lord ♪ >> what a beautiful performance. >> what a special treat. amazing. good job, ainsley, love the music. >> which we could have christmas music all year round. i hope your christmas week was wonderful and we'll see you soon. >> see you next week. have a good weekend. >> power of the pen.

january 20th could bring a mountain of change as president-elect donald trump promises to enact immediate action on everything from the border crisis to regulatory roll backs, dei bans and combating anti-semitism. good morning, i'm griff jenkins. aishah, great to be with you in the studio. >> aishah: good to see you back in d.c. you spend a lot of time in new york. glad to have you back. "america's newsroom," welcome. trump is wasting no time laying the ground work for his very ambitious second term agenda. he is reportedly taking meetings over the holiday break at mar-a-lago with top canadian officials talking about border security and trade. >> griff: encounters at the u.s. p canada line increased by 631% with nearly 200,000 migrants getting caught. >> aishah: let's get started. matt finn begins coverage from west palm beach, florida. good morning to you, matt. >> good morning, aishah.

canadian prime minister justin trudeau made a now famous visit to mar-a-lago in west palm a few weeks ago which president-elect trump joked at a dinner together that perhaps canada should become our 51st state and trudeau its governor if canada can't fix the immigration and flow of drugs here into our country. president-elect trump has threatened to impose sweeping tariffs against canada to the tune of 25% on canadian goods. trudeau has told trump those tariffs would crush their country. now this morning here in west palm canadian cabinet members are scheduled to visit the trump trying to fix the trade and border security issues that trump is warning will not fly during his second administration. canada's new finance min is tier and foreign minister are scheduled to hold talks with trump in florida. a spokesperson for the two canadian leaders say they look forward to building on trudeau's visit here focusing on fentanyl

trafficking and illegal immigration. leblanc is scheduled to meet with tom homan. notable canadian businessman kevin o'leary says there is a lot of untapped synergy between canada and the u.s. >> 41 million canadians. the population of california sitting on the world's largest amounts of all resources including the most important, energy and water. canadians over the holidays last two days are talking about this. they want to hear more. so, you know, there is a lot of issues, more details. it could be the beginning of an economic union. think about the power of combining the two economies. >> so speaking of the power between canada and the united states. we get 60% of crude oil imports from canada and a large percentage of our electricity. our trade is very important. aishah and griff. >> aishah: matt finn, thank you so much. >> griff: for more on this is

the former associate director of omb under president trump. she is on set with us. thank you for being here. it is pretty clear some sort of shock and awe is coming and americans in the latest gallup poll seem to support what they are hearing from president-elect trump. we can show you the latest gallup poll, 51% of americans now think that this is the kind of transition they want to see. it is going to be everything from mass deportations to regulatory rollbacks, go after the green new deal and who knows what else. maybe even trying to do something with those tariffs on canaled, mexico and china. >> the president is aim for a shock and awe moment on day one. that's what the american people expect. this was a huge landslide of an election and i think you are seeing the president come out really strong. i keep calling him the president because we actually are seeing more of him than we are of our

current president, joe biden. he is not even sworn n trump, and he is having foreign leaders at his beck and call come down to mar-a-lago, begin the negotiation process. what we have just seen from the moves from canada is they're very concerned are the tariffs real. president trump is smart and using this as a negotiating tactic to not only bring them to the table but say you all need to be doing your part. fentanyl and drugs and illegals coming across the border canada and mexico will not be allowed to stand and it will be one of his biggest first day one executive orders to secure that border. >> aishah: what's been interesting is that the left has been pretty quiet during this transition for the most part. although this one headline yesterday caught my eye. my jaw dropped because they are trying to figure out what their message is and who the messenger is. here is something an op-ed from the hill. now we have folks on the left that are calling on congress to

block this inauguration saying congress has the power to block trump from taking office but lawmakers must act now. and the trump team is responding saying isn't this trying to steal the election? isn't this preventing democracy? isn't it a threat? >> this article by the opinion columnist at the hill was jaw dropping. such an indictment on how the left has just refused to not only accept the results of the election, understand what they mean. what they mean for the american people that as you described in the opening want to see our energy completely independent from foreign adversaries, want to see the border secure, economy under control. cost of living. so instead the left goes to these tactics in an old constitutional theory that won't hold up in the united states supreme court proven by the colorado case months ago. they are grasping at straws, they are out of touch with where the american people are. it is not a surprise to me they are coming from places like yale

and columbia where our dystopian universities just don't accept the reality of the american worker or all of us normal people across country which gave president trump a landslide victory and he is here to do the things he said he would do on day one and they need to get with the program. >> griff: the resistance isn't going to just lay down and get out of the way. chuck schumer is telling "politico" he is ready to fight. he says this. i don't know exactly what trump will do, but i can tell you this, the judiciary will be one of our strongest, if not our strongest barrier against what he does. can chuck schumer in the minority, democrats, anybody, stand up and really affect stopping what is coming? >> i think they will try. but i don't think they will have much success and why it was so important that the house remain in republican control and the senate now be flipped to republican control. there is a large majority in the senate which will hinder

schumer's ability to block anything from trump. they may get up on television and use the legacy media as their mouthpiece to espouse the law. >> he hasn't even set foot into the oval office yes and talking about blocking him as if he is the enemy of the people. >> i'm not worried about schumer and trump. they were laughing and have a great relationship. president trump is so wise to negotiate strongly with schumer and put him in his place like he did with nancy pelosi. >> griff: your prediction. what's the first thing trump does? >> secure the border day one. followed by that are the regulatory. going against some of the cultural things. border is first and foremost and tom homan and stephen miller have a plan for that.

>> aishah: thank you for joining us. merry christmas. the incoming trump administration is now threatening to revoke hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding from sanctuary cities. the federal government currently off set some of the costs for jailing criminal migrants and trump could leave communities who protect those migrants on the hook for that bill. william la jeunesse is live from los angeles with the latest on this development. hi, william. >> good morning, aishah. you may not live in a sanctuary state or county, but you are still paying places like california, massachusetts, and illinois to incarcerate their criminal aliens. this program is called scop, the state crimeall alien assistance program. taxpayer money given to states and counties to cover the cost of incarcerating illegal immigrants who are convicted of crimes. but when it comes to deporting those same aliens, these jurisdictions refuse to

cooperate. consider the numbers. the feds hand out more than $230 million a year to sanctuary states like california and new york and new jersey. and not to mention about a dozen counties within those jurisdictions getting more than a million dollars each. >> it's hypocritical for them to with one hand hold out their hand for federal funding to help pay for the costs of criminal aliens, and with the other hand lock ice at the jail house door to take away those aliens that are costing them money. >> that's why the incoming administration may look to cancel or withhold scap and other grant money from jurisdictions that don't cooperate with ice or interfere or obstruct with the deportation of criminal aliens. now despite that threat, san diego county recently passed a measure reaffirming their intent to refuse ice access to their jails and protect their

undocumented criminals. >> our sheriffs are not responsible for nor held accountable for participating in what is essentially a federal job, which is deporting members of the community. >> sanctuary lawmakers say they don't want local police combing schools or hospitals looking for criminal aliens. it's not what the law says. when you get booked into jail they will take your prints. they go to ice and all they want to do is file a detainer so when you will get released they know about it. however, that's what ice is required to do by federal law. sanctuary lawmakers don't want that to happen. and why they made the incoming trump team -- may withhold that money. >> aishah: i hope to never get booked in jail. if i do i'll call you to bail me out. >> senator paul, with all due

respect you are entirely and completely incorrect that the nih does not now or ever fund gain-of-function research in the wuhan institute. >> >> griff: a new report on the origins of covid-19. the f.b.i. had evidence to support the once-hailed conspiracy theory and yet not given access to president biden. >> aishah: the illegal immigrant charged with setting a woman on fire in a new york city subway heads back to court today. the mayor pushing for the feds to get involved with this one. that's ten birthdays, ten first summer swims, ten annual camping trips. at the farmer's dog, we don't think that's long enough. that's why our freshly made food comes pre-portioned just for your dog. because a dog at a healthy weight

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>> griff: the illegal immigrant charged with setting a woman on

fire in a new york city subway heads back to court today. at the same time we're learning mayor adams wants federal prosecutors to get involved. nate foye has the latest outside the supreme court. good morning, nate. >> griff, good morning. a court hearing is scheduled for today for the defendant who is the illegal guatemalan migrant accused of setting a woman on fire and killing her inside a new york city subway sunday morning. look at the perp walk earlier this week. the hearing today is expected to be quick. it is highly likely that the defendant will waive his right to appear in court. according to ice he entered the country illegally in 2018, got deported and then entered the country illegally again at an unknown place and time before ending up in new york. prosecutors say he lit the woman on fire while she appeared to be sleeping on the f train sunday morning. then fanned the flames with his shirt.

the "new york post" reports the defendant's friend claim he had a drinking problem and smoked k-two. a vigil was held for the unidentified woman at the subway station who lost their life. >> thank god they caught the person that did this. it is not just the person's fault. it is the system's fault. the system failed. the death of this young lady is on the hands of the mayor, is on the hands of the governor because they have been providing resources. >> remember a couple hours after that attack on sunday governor kathy hochul was touting the safety of the subway system. the "new york post" obtained pictures of the defendant's arrest, new york city mayor eric adams is advocating for federal charges against the illegal migrant. his press secretary telling fox news mayor adams has directed the nypd to work in partnership with ice's homeland security

investigations team to explore criminal charges against the defendant under the federal arson statute. this is seen as a signal that mayor adams is willing to work with incoming president donald trump as well as his incoming border czar, tom homan, who adams met with just a couple of weeks ago because charging him with that federal arson crime could allow the city or prosecutors to circumvent the sanctuary policies that exist in new york city that prevent authorities from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. we'll send it back to you. >> griff: that's a great point, nate and indicates a willingness by mayor adams. we'll follow that story. nate, thank you. >> aishah: let's talk about that with criminal defense attorney katie cherkowski. i hope you had a good holiday. mayor adams suggesting that this crime be looked into by federal

authorities. one of the most heinous things i've ever seen in the video doesn't make it better. here is the "new york post" read on this. how people are observing this latest move by mayor eric adams who has been vocal the past couple of days. one political insiders said adams' statement shows he is willing to cooperate with ice and president-elect trump's administration to crack down on criminal migrants. is that how you were reading it, too? >> well, if it is a signal it is a very important signal. theoretically this man can be charged federally under the federal arson statute for setting fire to property used in interstate commerce on the subway system resulting in this horrific death. but practically speaking the new york first degree murder charges carry a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole. for the legal side of things, i think he will be held

accountable either way but in terms of the federal involvement i think it is an important signal that mayor adams is willing and ready to cooperate with the feds when there are these heinous cases involving illegal aliens. >> aishah: another big case in new york city right now currently underway is this guy that killed this healthcare ceo luigi mangione, we saw the video of them bringing him in, parading him through new york city, never really seen anything like it. let's pop on the screen up here the different charges that these two men are facing. there is a difference. you see that the guatemalan is facing state charges. luigi mangione's new york charges are first degree murder, second degree murder as a crime of terrorism, and then second degree murder. katie, the terrorism part, why does luigi mangione, while that crime is awful as well, why does

he seem to have a more serious charge on his hand rather than the one that we saw with the man is literally burning a woman alive? >> well, in my personal opinion i think the terrorism enhancer in the new york case is inappropriate and plays right into luigi mangione's hands because he wanted to perpetrate this idea that he was committing this act as a result of his position against certain capitalist enterprises and against the healthcare industry. that essentially allow attention him to continue to perpetrate that narrative because of that terrorism enhancer. that's really what that is all about. i don't think it's necessary and may weaken the prosecution's case there. certainly this case, compared to the arson homicide is in many ways more horrific under the facts but the charges don't necessarily reflect that when

you look at them that way. >> aishah: mangione is paraded through new york city and becomes a big show. his defense attorney is saying why is the mayor doing this and these press conferences and you aren't doing that with somebody like the guatemalan. one question for you, katie, maybe a dumb question but we'll see more and more of this when the trump administration comes in this guy is looking upwards of 40 years in convicted. the trump administration wants to day one start deporting criminal illegal aliens. so what might we see happen? would he serve time if he is convicted here or is he out of the country? >> well, typically the united states does want to retain jurisdiction and insure that convicted criminals are imprisoned after they are convicted, if they are deported there is not necessarily any guarantee they will be held accountable. even though there is a way to

deport convicted criminals from this country, that's not necessarily always in the best interest of the justice system. of course, ironically we as americans will continue to pay for these people who spend the rest of their life behind bars for the rest of their lives. >> aishah: wow, you have to consider what the families of the victims are going through as well. they want to see justice served as well. katie cherkowski, thank you for joining us on your friday. >> good to see you, thank you. >> griff: aishah, president-elect trump is threatening hell to pay if israel and hamas don't reach a deal by inauguration day. but now officials reportedly say the odds of that are slim. the state of the negotiations next. plus the democratic party may be seeing the end of an era. experts say the old guard like obama, pelosi and schumer are facing a reckoning and their years of dominance may be coming to a close.

>> it's been debunked that this virus was manmade or modified or anything like that. dr. anthony fauci rejected the conspiracy that coronavirus was manmade in a lab an wuhan china. donald trump is still pushing that. >> a lot of you on the right love that escape from the lab, a comic book. >> there is no reason to believe any of these conspiracy theories that it was leaked from a lab in wuhan. >> griff: now there is. "wall street journal" is out with a bombshell report about the government agency silenced from telling president biden covid-19 likely originated from a lab leak. madeleine rivera is here on set with us with more. this report is quite something. >> it is crazy when you think about it. more than four years and yet we

still don't know where covid-19 came from. back in 2021 president biden instructed the intelligence community to do an investigation into the origins of covid. that report was inconclusive. disagreements among intelligence experts what should be in that report ran deeper than what is publicly known. the f.b.i. wasn't the only agency that believed with moderate confidence that a lab leak was likely. three scientists conducted a scientific study that concluded that covid-19 was manipulated in the laboratory in a risky research effort. those findings were not included in that report that was ultimately presented to the president. in addition, in july 2021, they were instructed by the medical intelligence center not to continue sharing their work with the f.b.i. which they were told was off the reservation. in august 2021 director of national intelligence community

admiral haines and couple top aides briefed president biden but no f.b.i. officials to make their case firsthand for the president. a spokesman said it wasn't standard practice to invite reps from individual agencies to the briefing for the president and different views were fairly represented in this report, guys. >> griff: fascinating. madeleine rivera, thank you very much. >> for mon on this let's bring in james freeman, from the "wall street journal" and fox news contributor. i'm sure you have spent a lot of time reading this report and just digging into it for us. you've got to believe that kash pat el, tulsi gabbard are chomping at the bit to get into their offices and investigate all this. what happens now? will there be accountability? >> thanks, a think a lot of transparency is what we deserve and what a lot of americans are demanding and i would add to

your list, when they take over the nih as well. it is time for covid files to come out and be made public. obviously it has been true now for years that the most plausible theory based on the available evidence is that this did leak from a lab. and yet there has been this insistence among many actors in the government and people in our industry to cling to the natural animal thesis in the absence of any evidence at all. we understand, because they are comm communists, why the chinese regime has been covering it up for years but why our own government hasn't wanted to share more information and follow the trail of evidence where it leads is very bizarre. but here we are years later. this animal theory, there is

nothing behind it. they haven't discovered the local bat population or various animals that led to an i ledgeed human transmission. the weight of the evidence goes back to that lab and now we're seeing in this great report by colleagues of the journal news side how the scientists who were investigating this link were largely ignored. >> aishah: it wasn't just hiding information from us, james. it was making people feel like they were looney tunes. it was -- a concerted effort to make people, even jure allists, people like bret baier on this channel who questioned and brought up the theory that this might be a lab leak, we don't know, we're asking the questions, people were made to feel like they were crazy. here is a flashback of what dr. fauci told our bill hemmer on this program. >> did it come from a lab? was it manmade?

from where? >> my opinion and that of so many of my infectious disease colleagues is that if you look at the genomic sequences of the viruses that are in bats in the wild, it is strikingly similar to the sequences that you have found now in people who have been infected with the original wild type virus. it is totally compatible with a jumping of species. so there is every reason to believe that jumping of species from an animal reservoir occurred. >> aishah: final word. where do we go from here? >> we know from emails there were a lot of scientists, including ones talking to dr. fauci, that were expressing concerns that it looked man mate and we see in this latest report scientists at the defense intelligence agency saying this looks manmade. and why the leaders of our

government are still clinging to the animal theory that dr. fauci was expressing there, for which there is really no evidence to this point, is a question. we need more documents out. i think we need more transparency. let's hope we get it starting january 20th. >> aishah: i think there will be a concerted effort to get to the bottom of this. hopefully finally get an answer where the heck this virus that upended so many lives came from. james freeman. good work to your colleagues at the "wall street journal." thank you for joining us. >> absolutely. thanks, aishah. >> griff: new details in the lawsuit involving jay-z and sean diddy combs as a new york judge makes a major ruling involving a then 13-year-old's identity. surfer had a horrifying wipe out in the waves off maui and lives to tell the tale. he will join us with the story.

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>> griff: a beautiful shot of st. croix in the u.s. virgin islands and working on trump proofing his legacy. lucas tomlinson is live from st. croix with the best assignment of any of our reporters. hi, lucas. >> a source with knowledge confirms your reporting now in a recent speech in washington president biden dared his republican successor to climate-proof his agenda saying in a recent speech that he wants to see these green energy and climate projects go forward including in republican-led states. some climate activists say president biden should be doing more to add insulation, if you will, to his climate agenda saying there is a lot that biden can still do in his remaining six weeks in office to stop the expansion of fossil fuels and send a powerful signal to distance himself from the incoming trump administration

and its fossil fuel cronies. donald trump has vowed to boost fossil fuel projections and renew lng exports on his first day in office. the biden administration put a hold on new licenses at the beginning of the year. president biden and first lady arrived in st. croix yesterday and staying at the home of bill and connie nerve el who own a software company. that's the home he stayed the past two years on the island. biden is taking heat for vetoing a bill that would have added 66 new federal judgeships denying the trump administration of making judicial appointments. now here in st. croix president biden also likely weighing whether to take more action against the iranian-backed houthi rebels in yemen. the air strikes on december 21st after the truman carrier strike group arrived in the red sea. no air strikes since sunday since the friendly fire incident after the super hornet was

blasted out in the sky launched from the u.s.s. gettysburg. >> griff: lucas, thank you very much. >> aishah: during the hanukkah season israel not allowing the darkness of war to oversee the season of light. the menorah made out of weapons shot into israel is standing tall in tel aviv's hostage square to celebrate hanukkah. incredible. look for yourself. the menorah shining bright on the second night of hanukkah. the symbol of israel's perseverance, determination in its fight for survival. incredible. >> griff: a qatari newspaper is reporting israel and u.s. officials fear the odds are low for hostage deal to be reached before president-elect trump's inauguration in january. let's bring in victoria coates, former deputy national security advisor to president trump and

david, a former obama campaign foreign policy advisor. thank you for being here. let's jump right in, victoria, as you see it, is there anything left that the biden administration could do to try and salvage this in just the days and weeks left? >> well, good to be with you, merry christmas to both you and david. i think unfortunately there isn't that much left for this administration. i think president trump's clarity in his statement on the hostages earlier this month. i was in israel when that truth social post was made and it was like a breath of fresh air. it should have come 15 months ago. hamas should have been on notice immediately after this grotesque act of hostage taking followed the bloody attacks of october 7th that the united states would not stand for our citizens to be abused this way. this wasn't a negotiation. this should have a declaration of trumps. so it will take new leadership to get movement on this.

i hope and pray i'm wrong. unfortunately i think it's dragged on too long at this point for a breakthrough now. >> griff: you mentioned the statement. here is what president-elect trump put on truth social saying this. please let this truth surge if the hostages aren't released prior to january 20, 2025, the date i proudly assume office as president of the united states there will be all hell to pay in the middle east. yesterday my colleague interviewed the father of one of the hostages reacting to that statement. listen here. >> the president-elect's statement showing that the fact that u.s. hostages are taken and kept, who takes u.s. citizens and can get away from that? you need to make that stop and i believe that president-elect with his statement will put an end to it. if these u.s. citizens are not

out by january 20th then yeah, we expect things to look much different than they have been until now. >> griff: the intention is clear, david. how do you see the hand that is being given to trump as he assumes office and can he really change the trajectory of where things stand? >> griff, first of all i would note that there seems to be a high degree of collaboration between president biden, biden administration and president trump, the president-elect. that's a good thing. you want to see cooperation between the current president and incoming president on foreign policy issues like this. president biden has encouraged trump to put pressure on both sides and that tweet and other messages and statements that he has made are probably helpful in terms of putting pressure on both sides. two things that need to be negotiated. there needs to be a short-term cease-fire and return of hostages and then there also needs to be a longer-term plan

for political change and rebuilding gaza and elections so hamas is no longer governing gaza. the second one informs the first one. on the first one as you mentioned there have been negotiations in doha. those negotiations are stalled right now. part of the reason they're stalled is because hamas has refused to give a list of the hostages. we know there are 100 hostages that are still unaccounted for. at least 50 or 60 are hopefully still alive. at least three of those are americans. there is no reason why hamas can't give a list. you have to have a list to do a cease-fire. the list is the baseline to see if hamas is complying with the cease-fire. >> griff: we heard from jake sullivan to your point, david. they said they were close. we'll see what they take over. leave it there, thank you both for taking time. >> thank you. >> aishah: it is an end of an area. from taylor swift's record

breaking tour and romance are travis kelce. we wing into 2025, here it comes. ♪

tempur-pedic designed the ergo-pro smart base, to help you fall asleep -- more easily. it's gentle massage and relaxing sounds... help calm your mind, every night. save up to $500 now on select adjustable mattress sets. >> aishah: maybe you went and saw it in person. a year with a history-making tour for the eras. double award handed out to hollywood and a lot of celebrity news. the 2023 year in entertainment. hollywood dished out double the awards in 2024. a revamped schedule due to the strikes of the previous year meant two prime time emmy awards. january winners included succession, the bear and beast. >> war is coming. >> then it was take two in september where the historical show gun swept the show.

fx series won outstanding drama directing best lead actor and best lead actress who became the first actress of asian descent to win in that category. screen actors gilds award honored the cash of succession and oppenheimer. then best picture at the academy awards. including the highlight of the night with barbie star ryan gosling singing "i'm just ken." taylor swift made history at the grammys. the first artist to win album of the year four times when she took the trophy for midnight. the superstar was given to award by celine dion. taylor swift eras tour made history as the highest grossing tour of all time bringing in

over $2 billion. the tour ended in vancouver. swift handed out 197 million of that two bill to tour employees as bonuses on top of their salaries. the superstar was also spotify 24 most streamed artist globally with more than 26.6 billion streams. artists went country. beyonce released cowboy carter, at the time of this release had the most first day streams for a country album by a female artist in the history of amazon music and number one on the billboard, named the greatest pop star of the 21st century and earned the most grammy nominations with 11 total for cowboy carter. post milone released his first country album. it was certified platinum by the recording industry association of america. his single i had some help

featuring morgan wall-in was certified five times platinum and his collaboration with blake shelton pour me a drink was certified platinum. in court cases sean diddy combs remains behind bars since his arrest in september facing felony charges of racketeering, conspiracy, sex trafficking and the disgraced music mogul was -- it was amended in december to aschumm jay-z accused of shaping a 13-year-old girl in 2000 at an awards show after party. attorney tony busby who filed the claims has filed a number of lawsuits against combs. combs' lawyers called them shameless publicity stunts. in reality tv news was word of a

vander pump ruled revamp. bravo announced the show will return with a brand-new cast starring in a re boot. in celebrity break-ups. after reuniting and getting married in 2022, jennifer lopez and ben affleck broke up again. she released a film. a journey inspired by some of her own life moments and experiences. in august lopez filed for divorce. >> make some noise. >> inside out two became the highest grossing movie of 2024 with a total of 1.7 billion at the global box office. wicked, gladiator two was considered the year's new best movie with two films released on the same date. sequel and musical banked big at the box office.

wicked took is 112 million opening weekend. gradeiate for two earned 55 million. both films could be contenders for the 2025 award season that star conan o'brien who will host next season's academy awards. >> griff: it was quite a year. in entertainment in 2024. it was in 2023 as aishah threw to but hard to keep the years clear because of this story. we're trying to keep it all together, 2025 marks another milestone, the end of a generation, kids born in 2025 will be generation beta stretching until 2040. do you have that