. >> i'm here with john francis pavement to parks manager and this parklet on van ness street first of all, what is a parklet and part of pavement to parks program basically an expense of the walk in a public realm for people to hang anti nor a urban acceptable space for people to use. >> parklets sponsors have to apply to be considered for the program but they come to us you know saying we want to do this and create a new space on our street it is a community driven program. >> the program goes beyond just parklets vacant lots and other spaces are converted we're here at playland on 43 this is place is cool with loots things to do and plenty of space to play so we came up with that idea to revitalizations this underutilized yard by going to the community and what they said want to see here we saw that everybody wants to see everything to we want this to be a space for everyone. >> yeah. >> we partnered with the pavement to parks program and so we had the contract for building 236 blot community garden it start with a lot of jacuzzi hammers and bulldozer and now the point we're plantin

john allen explains pope francis reflected on the impact of the pandemic. >> it was a clearly sombern it is usually a review of the global situation. today, the pope concentrated in a particular way on the coronavirus pandemic chlts not only repeating frequent calls for global justice and access to vaccines, expressing concern for social impact of the pandemic that's women being abused because they're trapped at home, children being bullied, elderly people who were isolated alone and afraid. in response, the pope called for culture of dialogue and encounter that is reaching out to people, listening to what's on their hearts and minds, trying to be present to them. the pope insisted if you do that even in the era of omicron, there's still hope. for cnn, john allen in rome. >> thanks, john. >>> the white house is lifting travel restrictions on eight south african countries put in place last month after the omicron variant was first identified there. it comes as the number of new cases in south africa are falling rapidly. a top expert says the country has passed the peak of the omicron

john, ray wang, francis, happy new year to all of you, we will see you in the new year on mornings withng in cities across the nation. now super market chain taking matter into their own hands to protect employees and customers. plus the year of we didn't see that coming. how the biden administration missed the mark just about everything this year. joining the conversation all morning long, kelly james and kristin whiten. you're watching mornings with maria live on fox business. ♪ ♪ ♪ cheryl: midwest super market chain high v working out strategy to help with theft and protect customers and employees. this comes as stores across the country are looking for ways to crack down on crime. retail theft reportedly costing stores $700,000 for every one billion dollars in sales. that's according to national retail foundation. kelly jane, is this the new normal for retail companies across the nation? >> that's a great question, cheryl, because i was just thinking that it's fascinating that a company has to bring in security partly because of things the government is not doing that it should be d

. >> reporter: this is john allen in rome. pope francisa media expose suggested he carried on an affair with an adult woman. the now former archbishop of paris denied there was anything sexual but conceded the relationship was inappropriate. speaking money, pope francis said that the bishop had been the target of malicious gossip in the press and added that the sins of the flesh are not the most serious. now, speaking privately, vatican officials have insisted this was not pope francis signing off on extramarital sex but rather denouncing what he considers the more serious sin of character assassination. >> can we talk about finland for a second? >> i have so many things to talk about on all of these stories. >> i don't want to diminish. the important part is you have a leader not practicing what she preaches there. she should be taking covid seriously. the less serious part that i can't get over, you have the head of government out clubbing. you don't think of that. can you imagine president biden, president trump out clubbing. >> it's th

. >> reporter: i'm john allen in rome. pope francis will lead a sub dued christmas eve inside st.an required all to have a green pass. employees without one may face loss of pay. also this week, the vatican repeating strong moral support for vaccination campaigns with pope francis calling, getting the jab an act of love. >> reporter: i'm scott maclean in london where omicron variant continues to surge. thursday was another record high of new covid infections in the uk. british prime minister boris johnson used his christmas message to appeal to people to get racks nated for the sake of others, saying that is the teaching of jesus christ. he got an early christmas present from researchers saying you are less than half likely to be hospitalized reaffirming his decision note to put new restrictions in place ahead of the holiday. >> reporter: china's government has punished 26 officials for their handling of the city's covid-19 outbreak. xian has recorded 200 covid cases since december 9th and put its 13 million residents under strict lockdown. authorities punished 10 officials for th

and finally, this holiday weekend, pope francis delivered his annual christmas message at vatican city today. here's cnn senior vatican analyst merry christmas, johnoday in the vatican under a gray, rainy, roman sky. the pope delivered his annual message that's to the city and the world and clearly against the backdrop of a new surge in the coronavirus pandemic. the pope not only repeated his frequent calls for global jus justice and access to vaccines and expressed concern for the social cost of the pandemic, women who are more exposed to violence and abuse because they're trapped at home, children, elderly people who feel isolated, abandoned and afraid. the pope called for a culture of dialogue and encounter that is reaching out to people liss edge to what's on their hearts and minds and trying to be present to them and the pope's bottom line message was if you do that, even in the era of omicron, there is still hope. that was christmas today in the vatican, amara. >> thank you. that does it for me, i'm amara walker in atlanta. if you're celebrating christmas, i hope you have a very merry christmas and a healthy day and a safe one with those you

pope francis reflected on the importance of connection and healthy social relationships, especially during the pandemic. cnn's senior vatican analyst johnome. >> reporter: it was a somber yet still hopeful pope francis who celebrated christmas in the vatican under a rainy, gray roman sky. the pontiff delivered his annual urbe message to the city and the world, usually a 180-degree review of the global situation. of course the pope concentrated in a particular way on the coronavirus pandemic. not only repeating his frequent calls for global suls advertise and access to vaccines, but also expressing concern for the social impact of the pandemic. that is, women who were being abused because they're trapped at home. children being bullied. elderly people who were isolated, alone, and afraid. in response, the pope called for a cull tour of dialogue and encounter that is reaching out to people and listening to what's on their hearts and minds, trying to be present to them. the hope insisted if you do that, even in the era of omicron, there is still hope. >> that question of hope was absolutely the story of this tsa officer saving a baby's lif

john, how do you going to bring it to life? and it's hope francis, the champion of christmas as he's speaking out against those who are trying to official cancel, cancel the holiday. a story you will not want to miss at some say, the war on christmas is under way. plus of billions of dollars are going to be flying by you on saturday. if only could find a way to harness the i full sized asteroid such a past year, we will give you all the rocky details. i'm now using the stores and warranties news use right here on our t america. ah, the oh, thanks for joining us here with 3 long weeks ahead for the end of the year. 12 major us cities have seen a record number of homicides at the f. b. i reported back in september that the murder re jumped 30 percent nationwide and 2020, the largest single rise in the history of their measuring crime statistics. now of course, funding decline and arrest partly due to the code 1900 pair demick is being blamed for the avalanche of killing along with economic hardships, the loss of after school programs and problems fill

francis is calling for dialogue in his christmas message from the vatican. he warned about the tendency to withdrawal down a crisis. dialogue is essential. johnnd a very merry christmas to you from the eternal city. yeah, this was very much a covid-scarred pope francis i think we heard from this morning. the pope celebrates his big public mass for christmas the night before on christmas eve. at noon today he delivered his annual message to the city and the world. in it, he stressed his repeated calls for justice and global access to the vaccines, but beyond that, expressed deep aalarm over the social impact of everything that's going on. so women trapped am home who are suffering additional abuse, children who are being bullied, elderly people who are isolated, alone and afraid . in response, he called for a culture of dialogue and encounter that is reaching out to meet people and engaging them in dialogue, finding out what's on their hearts and minds and trying to be present to them. so all in all, a very pastoral but very, jessica, very topical message from the pope during this unfortunately covid-encumbered christmas. >> all right, john al

john, how do you going to bring it to late? and it pope francis, the champion of christmas as he is speaking out again to those are trying to official cancel that because they cancel the holiday a story you will not want to miss as some say, the war on christmas is underway. plus a $1000000000.00 are going to be flying by you on saturday. if only you can find a way to harness the i full sized asteroid said to pass by the year. we will give you all the rocky details on sky now using the stories and more on today's news. you to use right here on our t america. ah, oh, thanks for joining us here with 3 long weeks ahead for the end of the year. 12 major us cities have seen a record number of homicides and the f. b. i reported back in september that the murder re jumped to 30 percent nationwide and 2020, the largest single rise in the history of their measuring crime statistics. now of course, funding decline and arrest partly due to the code 1900 pair demick is being blamed for the avalanche of killing along with economic hardships, the loss of after

francis. >> kelly, thank you. >>> antonio brown is being sidelined with mike edwards and free agent john franklin brown suspended three games without pay for violating the league's covid-19 protocol as well as for what the league is calling misrepresenting vaccination status the tampa bay times alleged a chef said he got a fake vaccination card >>> the nba announced lakers forward lebron james has cleared health and safety protocols after missing one game this week james tested negative eight times since returning a positive test that led him to missing tuesday's game in sacramento the league now says the test was a false positive, and the initial sample returned inconclusive results when it was retested >>> actor alec baldwin is breaking his silence on the "rust" movie set the actor says there is only one unresolved question, where did the live round come from nbc's miguel almaguer has more >> reporter: though the official investigation into the deadly shooting on the set of "rust" is likely weeks from completion, alec baldwin with a surprising claim, speaking to abc news. >> well, the trigger wasn't pulled i d

francis and chris. thanks for joining us and merry christmas. (john a.) for the next chapter in the most epic love story of our time. (music distorts) hey, grandma! i've met a really nice girl! (john h.) that's right. it's "wipeout" blind date. (john a.) 12 single guys and gals will meet for the first time as they begin a quest for love and $100,000 on our outrageous obstacle course. only the two most love struck couples will advance to the most challenging obstacle of them all--

here on the majority side of the committee, sitting over my left shoulder, mary francis repco, our staff director and johneen and trevor wallone. i am grateful to all of you and more. all of you and more. it's one of my favoritesation is from the king sisters from kent county, delaware, dover, members of my team have been forever, teamwork makes the dream work and we've got some pretty good teamwork on this committee and we're going to try to get some dreams accomplished as a result, but thanks again, senator capito for your statement and for everyone who's worked to make today possible. i want to briefly introduce our witnesses and starting with elizabeth biser, secretary of the department of environmental quality for the state of north carolina. sector biser oversees the state agency whose mission is to protect north carolina's environment and natural resources. i understand that you live not far from where my wife's two sisters live in the greater raleigh area. we thank you for joining us today. we're also joined by roberta elisa, director of policy and government affairs at the world wildlife fund. we

john hendern al jazeera minneapolis with the army con, very, and continues to drive record surges of covered 19 infections across the world. in the past 24 hours, several countries including francy, u. k. in italy, all reported their highest case number since the side of the pandemic. new studies seemed to add to suggestions that all micron is milder and those infected are much less likely to end up in hospital. but scientists are urging caution australia has shortened the window for booster cove at 19 sharp to 4 months. from the 2nd dose or a cron has drawn holiday gatherings and travel plans into disarray, the mayor of new york has killed back. the city is famous, new year's eve celebrations, only $15000.00 fully vaccinated. people will be allowed to gather in time. square. gable is under reports from new york on 42nd street in midtown manhattan. the lines in covey testing sites are long all day from morning until night demand for tess, far outstripping supply. new york city is the u. s. epicenter for the army. kron variant case is exploding to nearly 20000 positive cases a day. more than 90 percent. being attributed to ami kron, it's driving everyone to get tested. when i was

francis thomas, his wife will say meeting her at west point as an instructor and robert e. lee was the superintendent they had that connection. but there never was a word pass between john general thomas. is interesting when your wife calls you by your title. but they did have genuine affection for each other i really do. they were just formally affectionate i guess. [laughter] . . . . but then anyway there is a lot of debate but we should do and when we should do and how else we should do it and he will say at one point to this questioning subordinates it seems you are fighting on the wrong side. you are in uniform and need to behave as if you are in that uniform if you decide to get out that is a different issue that while you are in uniform you have to get your mind right. and eventually his mind is where he says himself i thought it over on all sides. and i have decided i shall stand firm in the service of the government. he will stay with the united states government and the union. doubting thomas i played off that term. robert anderson of course from fort sumter will speak on his behalf. sherman says he spoke on his behalf so trudeau would be the force label. we d

john durham in the criminal probe of trump russia, reporting zeroing in on members of the hillary clinton, may call them to testify. could durham bring charges here? also tonight why is former nih director dr. francis collins aggressively downplaying the possibility covid-19 leaked from a lab in china? we've got more on how his nih funded research in china into creating superviruses for drugs and vaccines. and the fallout of "the financial times" calling out president biden for not making the alarming rise in u.s. crime a national priority. also the growing concern over the health of illegal immigrants getting sick from covid-19. national security pros and scientists increasingly warn the white house creating a superspreader event at the southern border. it is getting worse. i'm elizabeth macdonald. "the evening edit" starts right now. ♪. elizabeth: thanks for joining us you're watching the fox business network. we begin with the president's poll numbers continue to drop toward below 40%. npr marist has it at 55% disapprove. the president addressed the nation today. announces his administration will buy hundreds of millions of rapid tests americans can get for free at a government website. after th