and gentlemen, please welcome the united states conference of mayors president, mayor of miami, francis suarez >> well, i forget to take off the mute button. have to roll with the zoom jokes. good afternoon mayors and welcome to the official opening session of the 90th winter meeting of the u.s. conference of mayors. we have mayors from 41 states. we have mayors representing every size community as well. mayors gathered here represent every corner, every creed and every version of american life. can we have all the mayors please stand up? [applause] >> but we also know that we can't have a conference like this without thanking the following organizations for their partnership, sponsorship and collaboration during this year's winter meeting. first, the american beverage association, the american hotel and lodging association, americans for arts, comcast, dol seed, the ewing marion kaufman foundation, godaddy. [laughter] >> that sounds like godaddy. godaddy. keep saying it and keep laughing. and hdr. ike, infrastructure. starbucks, where is my espresso, where are you guys, double espresso waitin

joining us now, miami mayor francis suarez, elected this week president of the u.s. of mayors. welcome to "fox news sunday." >> thank you for having me. breath brent at a press briefing this week on covid, you all said that the hospitalizations involving covid are now exceeding the peak surge from delta in miami. to that point, miami-dade has seen more than 237% increase in hospitalizationsrd according to -- according to this press briefing in the last 14 days and a 111% increase in new questions. is florida experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations or not? >> well, of course we are. i meaning i think every city across america right now is seeing a surge with the omicron variant. and the variant seems to be significantly more contagious but also not quite as severe as the delta variant. so we're seeing a gross number which is significantly higher than with delta. and so that's pushing all the other numbers. that pushes hospitalizations, that pushes all the other metrics. so what we're doing in the city of miami is, number one, we're obviously all

we are joined by miami's francis suarez come a newly elected president of the u.s.ference of mayors. it's a "fox news sunday" exclusive. then... >> the senate must advance legislation to protect our democracy and safeguard the right to vote. >> bret: democrats used january 6th to pass voting rights legislation congress to counter moves by republican state legislatures. we will discuss with house majority whip james clyburn, a close ally of the president and advocate for reform. in the u.s. ports of russia on unnoticed over ukraine. >> we are prepared to respond forcefully to further russian aggression. >> bret: and monitors russian involvement in deadly protests in neighboring because extent. we will ask her sunday panel what it means for upcoming talks in geneva. plus, the international drama over the number one men's tennis player in the world. all right now on "fox news sunday." ♪ ♪ >> bret: hello again from fox news in washington. the covid health emergency facing the nation landed friday before the nine members of the u.s. supreme court. at issue, the authority

gentlemen, on january 3, i had the pleasure of being in miami, florida, where we inaugurated francis suarezour 80th president of this organization. miami is a very special place. the statue of liberty looks to europe. miami is the capital of latin america. miami looks to the west, miami looks to the east, to the south, and to the north. it is a great pri leng -- privilege to be there. a very emotional day. young andrew, the son of the mayor, give the pledge of allegiance. i think he's 9 years old. i told young andrew, i said, andrew, you run for mayor, you come here and i'll be back to give you the gavel. [laughter] the other thing that was very special was his father, xavier suarez, who was a mayor back in the 1980's and 1990's. so i thought about that. we've had a situation here where we've had father and son mayors. we had -- in tempe we had the mitchells. in chicago we had the dalys. in new orleans we had the landrieus and morials. in jackson, mississippi, we have the lamumbas. now twhef suarezs. ladies and gentlemen, let's watch the video. thank you. [video clip] >> more americans arin

here's what mayor francis suarez of miami had to say.video clip] >> public safety is the foundation of our quality of life. american cities must be safe and secure for all who live in them, no exceptions, no asked uses. it is a commitment to safety and security that has defined our country and set us apart from the world. as mayors, we owe it to our residents to increase, not decrease funding for our police, because being a police officer is the hardest job in america today. [applause] never has a profession been asked to do so much for so little pay with so much scrutiny. we have to work together to get crime and homicide rates down across america, just as we did this past year in miami. the support the mission of public safety, we must invest in the guardians of public safety, our police. host: to robert, calling from st. petersburg, florida, about the most important issue in his city. robert, good morning. caller: good morning. well, to me, one of the issues here on the gulf coast of florida has to do with environmentalism and perhaps

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conference of mayors, the mayor of miami, francis suarez. mayor suarez: thank you for that wonderful voice of god. very inspiring. good morning, welcome, everyone to the 19th winter meeting of the united dates conference of mayor -- the night and states -- the united states conference of mayors. it is great to be back for our first in-person major meeting sith

mayor francis suarez joining us this morning.ting a volatile market, we have the hottest top picks from top investors in the word on wall street coming up in a really volatile market right now as we kick off the year. plus, we're following the highlights and low lights from president biden's press conference yesterday. we will bring you those notes all morning long, coming up, congressman kevin mccarthy is here along with former house speaker newt gingrich. they will weigh in. you're watching "mornings with maria" live on fox business. is. and i earn 5% cash back on travel purchased through chase with chase freedom unlimited. that means that i earn 5% on our rental car, i earn 5% on our cabin. i mean, c'mon! hello cashback! hello, kevin hart! i'm scared. in a good way. i'm lying. let's get inside. earn big time with chase freedom unlimited with no annual fee. how do you cashback? chase. make more of what's yours. today, you have to deal with a lot of moving parts. you want everything to be on autopilot. and to be prepared if anyt

here's what mayor francis suarez of miami had to say.clip] >> public safety is the foundation of our quality of life. american cities must be safe and secure for all who live in them, no exceptions, no asked uses. it is a commitment to safety and security that has defined our country and set us apart from the world. as mayors, we owe it to our residents to increase, not decrease funding for our police, because being a police officer is the hardest job in america today. [applause] never has a profession been asked to do so much for so little pay with so much scrutiny. we have to work together to get crime and homicide rates down across america, just as we did this past year in miami. the support the mission of public safety, we must invest in the guardians of public safety, our police. host: to robert, calling from st. petersburg, florida, about the most important issue in his city. robert, good morning. caller: good morning. well, to me, one of the issues here on the gulf coast of florida has to do with environmentalism and perhaps globa

conference of mayors, mayor francis suarez. let's give him a hand. [applause] the national league of cities and the u.s. conference of mayors have enjoyed a long standing partnership. these past couple of years have been hell. the strength of that partnership has been put to the test. whether it was for fighting the american rescue plan or standing up for the infrastructure bill, we have worked together. and that's the only way we can continue to do this is by working together, to bring meaningful investment to every city, every city in america. and now it is up to us, the most trusted level of government, to continue leading the american recovery from the covid-19 pandemic. unfortunately, as we all know, this pandemic is not the only crisis we face today. we also face the crisis of climate change, poverty, affordable housing, racial injustice, and even more. as local leaders and as organizations, we must strengthen our partnerships to meet all of these crisis head on. if we don't continue to work together, we're giving the others what they want, and

biweekly paycheck after taxes was down by at least $1,000 just over the weekend miami's mayor francis suarezo said in november he would take part of his sally in bitcoin. announced that when it was trading near an all-time high and both mayors have vowed to make their cities crypto hubs and trying to show they've got skin in the game speaking of skin in the game, let's talk about pro athletes. l.a. rams wide receiver odell beckham, jr., headed to the nfc championship on sunday, a lot to be excited about but his salary was also recently cut in half. obj agreed to take his $750,000 paycheck in bitcoin back in november, and since then, guys, bitcoin's value has been pretty much cut in half, and that's not including taxes or fees. you got aaron rodgers as well converting part of his salary into bitcoin number one draft pick trevor lawrence, he took his signing bonus in crypto. there's at least seven other nfl players doing this, and a handful of nba and mlb players and for individuals holding crypto, they owe taxes on the price they bought it, that can cause more pain'price goes down. for compan

miami mayor francis suarez successfully been able to duplicate hundreds of cryptocurrencies into thetate of florida. there's more examples of that but look currency is the life blood of an economy. bitcoin is a lifeline to sound money principles. liz: well, as we finish i did want our viewers to know that in 2021 bitcoin surpassed american express and discover in annual payment transaction volumes, so it is a thing, folks, and whether you agree with it or like it or hate it or don't understand it, people are using it, so perianne, please come back. we're waiting on this directive, charlie gasparino's reported that it could come maybe as early as this week but definitely in february. we appreciate you coming on, thank youuch. >> s, liz, great to be here. liz: all right, robinhood re bounding despite an increase lately in short bets against the online broker. what are the shorts seeing for the meme stock vehicles? charlie breaks it, next, speaking of charlie, with the closing bell ringing in 19 minutes, stocks just off session highs, a minute ago the nasdaq hit a session high of a gain

. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the conference of mayor, of miami mayor francis suarez. ♪♪

conference of mayors, the mayor of miami, francis suarez. mayor suarez: thank you for that wonderful voice of god. very inspiring. good morning, welcome, everyone to the 19th winter meeting of the united dates conference of mayor -- the night and states -- the united states conference of mayors. it is great to be back for our first in-person major meeting since the start of the pandemic. we will have our official opening session at lunch, but let me say this now. mayors, business partners, staff and everyone else, welcome home. [applause] welcome to the place where you are valued. the place where the most valuable -- valuable officials in the country recognize the leadership of america's mayors and will speak and interact with us. the leaders of the house of representatives will be with us, showing our ability to connect with both parties. as we say, there are republicans, there are democrats, and then, there are mayors. 11 -- let me repeat that, 11 -- cabinet members will be with us over the course of this meeting. [applause] it is almost l

in miami mayor francis suarez is pushing for his city to be the crypto capital of the world and herehe next step in the evolutionary process of currency. thank you for being with us. we know you are proposing to give city employees the option of converting their paychecks into the cryptocurrency but i wanted to first ask you because you call this particular kind of currency a great financial equalizer that can bridge the wealth gap. how so? >> thanks for having me on this morning. i think that bitcoin and cryptocurrency have that option because you look at the numbers of roughly 90% of americans have access to a smartphone. utilizing crypto with dollar costs averaging if it's a dollar a day, $5 a day or week, that savings and growth pro residential. you talk about the 50% drop in the last several months but overall there is a 273,000% appreciation since bitcoin has been established in 2010. that appreciation and trajectory keeps going the long term appreciation cycle. >> people to get in that now do not benefit obviously from that rise in the value as you suggested. i want to read a

like miami mayor francis suarez: >> as we've invested in our police departments we saw a shocking correlationime went down. >> nawaz: and president joe biden: >> funding proven programs to we shouldn't be cutting funding for police departments. i proposed increasing funding. >> nawaz: back in new york on monday, mayor adams echoed that message. >> we will not surrender our city to the violent few. >> nawaz: laying out a“ blueprint to end gun violence,” to empower community anti- violence groups; expand programs for youth jobs and mental health; harsher sentences on gun trafficking, and an increased police presence on the streets: >> the n.y.p.d. is our first line of defense against gun violence. we will make new efforts to strengthen and reinforce it, while continuing our mission to involve the community. >> nawaz: that includes bringing back a remodeled version of plain clothes units. the teams behind a number of the city's most notorious police shootings, disbanded amid calls for reform in 2020. adams said he'd ensure they didn't repeat past mistakes. >> we're not looking to be heavy handed

francis thank you so much. mayor suarez, it's great to see. you.ns on your new role as president of this even pick as great as you guys. tom and to a staff it's great to be with all of you into my dear friend nan whaley, thank you for all you've done and all the work of leading his organization. i want -- what a record you guys have put together viewed. aarp funny and, of course, infrastructure bill. because of our cities are on a bike path, because of your leadership and a want to thank everybody here i want you to think with me about where we were just one year ago. 2 million people were vaccinated one year ago. now over 200 million people have shots of the life-saving vaccine in their arms. [applause] >> the american rescue plan has, in fact, rescued city budgets, keeping the lifeblood of communities running, the economy in this country is now red-hot adding 6.4 million jobs, the largest the largest number of jobs ever by president in the first year of administration and for the first time in 20 years the u.s. economy has grown faster than china

conference of mayors, republican francis suarez of miami, referenced government overreach and inflations the obstacles for some mayors. [video clip] >> we also know growing the size of government and increasing deficits creates a vicious cycle of excessive taxation and fleeing residents. every democrat and republican will agree fiscal sanity is the basis for shared growth, shared opportunity, and shared prosperity. and it is based on a simple concept, arithmetic. whether you are a reagan republican or clinton democrat we all agree we need to tackle inflation before it tackles us. inflation is a tax on senior citizens, young people, working people, and poor people. for poor people and young people, inflation wipes out hard earned savings. for seniors on fixed income it makes it hard to pay for medication and food. as mayors we see it firsthand and we need to lobby our federal government to stop it. host: speaking of lobbying the federal government, the mayor of the nation's capitol, muriel bowser, talked about how the influx of federal money has helped d.c. and other cities during the pa

ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the president of the united states conference of mayors, francis suarez>> i guess this is my chair. how is everyone doing today? all right. starbucks,bu where are you? we know you are out there somewhere. mi already got my fix, don't worry about it. no more coffee jokes. everyone is doing well and getting their breakfast. that's great. today we are going to kick off the day with an incredible conversation with someone who's become a great friend and really was an amazing opportunity to make sure that this conference reflects what we know we are, which is a bipartisan group of mayors across this country, looking for solutions. so when we called mayor mccarthy and asked him to participate and have a conversation with us, he immediately said yes. so without further ado, i would like to introduce my good friend, the leader of the minority leader of the republican party, kevin mccarthy. [applause] .. you put that to out, how can i help? and what i thought from a perspective is business news for somebody who's offering and i don't know who it was for their poli

yesterday we spoke with miami mayor francis suarez instituting crypto in miami financial system herers, for residents no cost no risk for residents, what america's mayors crypto forward innovate we think a generational opportunity. maria: harry what is likelihood we see this in more cities. >> mayor of miami, a very, very smart man, to look at, i think it was one of the countries in caribbean, starting to implement -- implementing bitcoin as currency that you can use to pay for goods and services what i think you are starting to see is that we're not getting yields the thing i think people aren't forcing on that money that -- any bank, earns negative interest what we're trying to push isn't necessarily buy bitcoin but what you should be doing fiscal year responsible governments funds pension funds bonds should be putting a portion of their money into stable coins in projects like --tin.com, curb to earn 5 to 10% yield anybody that has money sitting on sidelines right now, affects all of us, hidden tax that affects everybody is -- in inflation right now all. maria: harry do you have c

francis thank you so much. mayor suarez, it's great to see. you.ns on your new role as president of this even pick as great as you guys. tom and to a staff it's great to be with all of you into my dear friend nan whaley, thank you for all you've done and all the work of leading his organization. i want -- what a record you guys have put together viewed. aarp funny and, of course, infrastructure bill. because of our cities are on a bike path, because of your leadership and a want to thank everybody here i want you to think with me about where we were just one year ago. 2 million people were vaccinated one year ago. now over 200 million people have shots of the life-saving vaccine in their arms. [applause] >> the american rescue plan has, in fact, rescued city budgets, keeping the lifeblood of communities running, the economy in this country is now red-hot adding 6.4 million jobs, the largest the largest number of jobs ever by president in the first year of administration and for the first time in 20 years the u.s. economy has grown faster than china