>> jesse: thank you everybody here at fox. thanks for the great production staff of "the five." >> dana: especially meghan bret, scott,. >> jesse: you are going to leave someone out. >> dana: montana, and scott sanders and sean. >> jesse: and johnny. >> judge jeanine: that's it for us. beings "special report" up next with john roberts. >> john: good evening, welcome to washington. i'm john roberts in for bret baier. breaking tonight, president biden is sending 2,000 troops from the united states and about 1,000 based in germany to eastern europe. but the administration insists those troops will not be going into ukraine. white house correspondent jacqui heinrich joins us tonight with the very latest. jacqui? >> good evening to you, john. president biden said his decision to deploy troops is consistent with what he has told russian president putin from the beginning, as long as russia is acting aggressively, the u.s. will reassure nato allies of our support. but the troop movement prompted

questions over whether there is concern that putin may push farther than ukraine. >> we are making it clear that we're going to be prepared to defend our nato allies if it comes to that hopefully it won't come to that. >> at the pentagon questions about whether the u.s. knows more about putin's plans than officials are acknowledging publicly. >> do you have any evidence that putin plans to move beyond ukraine's borders? why are you bolstering these eastern flank allies if you do not have evidence of that? >> because it's important that we send a strong signal to mr. putin and frankly to the world that nato matters. >> 93-7 this is -- >> president biden ordering the military to more than double its presence in nato wednesday. sending 1,000 troops from germany with armored vehicles plus 2,000 from the u.s. to europe. 1700 from the 82nd airborne now heading to poland. 300 also from fort bragg will set up a joint task force

exeable headquarters in germany. 8500 more remain at home on heightened alert. >> these are not troops that will go into ukraine. they are not fighting in ukraine. this is us -- this is the united states abiding by our commitment under article 5 to support reassure our partners in the region. >> after accusing the u.s. and allies of ignoring his security demands, putin plans to meet with xi jinping at the olympics and release a joint statement on what the kremlin calls shared security concerns. back in washington, no response from president biden, who spent wednesday relaunching his program to find a cure for cancer. >> i would like to see that doctor on the end there. that's the man who spent 18 months trying to save our sons' life. doctor, i love you. >> and today the white house would not say whether other eastern flanked countries requested u.s. troops' support. but the state department confirmed leaks to spanish media detailing an offer the u.s. made that putin apparently rejected.

it was reciprocated to verify they are missiles capable of reaching russia, john. >> john: jacque heinrich at the white house tonight. new satellite crimea and western russia appear to show an increased level of activity and yesterdayness near ukraine. tonight we are hearing from russia's leader about how he feels mistreated by the west. correspondent steve harrigan is in kyiv tonight. >> president putin broke a month long public science cy lens over ukraine with harsh criticism of the west blaming nato deceived russia over expansion into eastern europe. blunt languages wage targeted at domestic audience. >> they said one thing and did another. they basically, as people say screwed us over. >> and, yet, he left the door open for diplomacy. putin will speak with the british prime minister thursday

but one russian official had little hope for the talk. >> there is always room for diplomacy, but frankly we don't trust -- [inaudible] >> ukraine's president zelensky warned if diplomacy failed a much wider war will follow. >> i openly say that this will not be a war between ukraine and russia. this will be a full scale war in europe. >> even often the frozen wars around kyiv where men catch tiny carp with bits of bread, the thoughts are of war and fighting. >> if war comes, we will not run out of the country. we have no place to go. we are not aggressors but defenders, they should think twice about attacking because we will defend our homeland. >> that confidence could be tested against the military, whose budget is 10 times their own. john? >> john: steve harrigan live for us in kyiv where it's now early morning. thank you so much. ♪ >> john: breaking tonight, u.s.

intelligence says that sometimes debilitating symptoms affects u.s. diplomats and others stationed overseas are probably caused directed energy, it is the latest serres of conflicting reports havana syndrome. mysterious as always. >> absolutely. probably the most mysterious thing the state department has worked on over the last five years. sudden onset of strange symptoms that has affected diplomats around the world and hundreds of them various embassies and consulates. now a panel of experts have said that an external energy source may explain the disorion tailgating and sometimes debilitating symptoms reaching a conclusion that while not definitive suggest the foreign power could have mounted attacks on u.s. diplomats, intelligence officers and military personnel serving overseas. according to intelligence officials, electromagnetic energy, particularly in the radio frequency range, plausibly explains the core

characteristics although information gaps exist. adding it seems that there are a small number of the cases we have looked at that have no other plausible mechanism. an earlier cia report concluded that most cases were not caused by a sustained global campaign by a foreign power. but that led to accusations from those who have reported cases. the government was dismissing the ailment. secretary blinken saying in november they were doing everything they could. >> reporting means that we can get people to help they need. and by reporting, you can help keep others safe and help us get to the bottom of who and what is responsible. >> began in 2016 when personnel at the embassy in havana reported sensations including ringing and pressure in the ears, headaches and dizziness. personnel in china later experienced similar symptoms and reported in hundreds of other officials. >> intelligence community is going to hold another hearing on the subject later this week. at the moment to conclusion of evidence of who may be behind it

john? >> john: it remains as always a mystery. benjamin hall at the state department. thanks. >> thank you. >> john: now to america's crime crisis and the war on law enforcement and first responders once again this evening. new york city is mourning one of its finest. funeral was held today for officer mora just days after a similar ceremony for partner jason rivera. the two were ambushed during a domestic violence call in harlem. today's event comes just hours after two security personnel were gunned down, this time at a small college in virginia. correspondent bryan llenas in new york for us tonight. hi, brian. >> john, good evening, the nypd commissioner said officer wilbert mora was a gift we never got to keep. someone who, despite being shot, kept fighting back until the very end. tonight, despite uncertainty and amid rising crime. new york city honors one of its heroes. >> for the second time in a

week. a sea of blue and green flooded new york city's fifth avenue as hundreds of nypd officers bid a final farewell to officer wilbert more raft. >> even new england among the city's skyscrapers, scaffolding and buildings, at 6'3" inches tall. police officer wilbert mora was still a giant. >> and just 27 years old, mora was remembered as an ideal police officer, a rising star and a leader. >> i never got the chance to tell you how truly special i thought you were. >> more remarks and his partner officer jason rivera were shot and killed inside an apartment by a career criminal with an illegal gun while responding to a domestic violence call. during her eulogy, mora's sister karina blamed the justice system. >> how many wilberts, how many jasons? how many more officers have to lose their lives before this system changes? the nypd protects us but who protects them and who looks

after their lives? >> today, mora's mother, clinched the american flag. overcome with the excruciating grief of losing her youngest of four children. she immigrated to the u.s. from the dominican republic, when mora was just 7 years old. >> mom showered us with love. and you have sponge. you chose a life of service to your community and to our adopted country. >> mora was posthumously reported to detective first grade for his heroism. even after his death he saved five people's lives, donating his organs, including his heart. >> use that heart. use those organs, do good in this world. help us change the world like these two men wanted us to do. crime in new york city in january was up 38% compared to the same time last year. mayor eric adams is meeting with president biden tomorrow here in the city to discuss strategies to fight back against gun trafficking and gun violence

john? >> john: another tragic reminder of the cost of the gun crisis. bryan llenas in new york city. brian, thank you. a funeral service was held today for los angeles police officer fernando, he was off duty and house hunting with his girlfriend when he was fatally shot. a federal grand jury has indicted three gang members and one associate. the suspects are set to be arraigned in los angeles federal court over the next several days. breaking tonight, we are learning new information about a shooting at a virginia college that left two security officers dead. correspondent gillian turner with the latest details on that. >> fox news has confirmed the alleged shooter alexander campbell attended bridgewater college from 2013 to 2017. while a student he was a member of the college's track and cross-country teams. this afternoon campbell appeared via video in rockingham county court in virginia. weighs arraigned on four charges including two felony counts of

capital murder. the community is now honoring the two slain officers killed in the line of duty. >> i would ask you all to keep j.j. and john and especially their families in your prayer. >> campus safety officer j.j. jefferson 48 and campus police officer john painter 55 were so close they were known around the campus as dynamic duo. john served as jj's best man at his wedding. >> they were always seen together. their relationship was very close. >> two officers responding to a call reporting a suspicious man on campus when investigators say they spotted campbell in an area that was off limits. >> after a brief interaction with the man, the subject opened fire and shot both officers. >> the suspect then fled the scene, prompting a manhunt. campbell was apprehended and taken into custody a short time later. president biden focused on gun violence when tweeting his condolences, tweeting in part gun violence against law enforcement officers is sickening and it must end. vice president harris tweeting

we must end gun violence in america? the investigation is still ongoing tonight with assistance nowed from the fbi and the atf. virginia police are asking for the community there to share any photos or video they might have of the shooter. they say his motive still unknown at this hour. john? >> john: gillian turner here in washington. such a tragedy, thank you. the company that owns facebook, instagram and what's app. saw its stock plunge today shares in meta dropped after heavy spending on metaverse project. meta shares fell 22.6% to $249.90 in an hours trading. if the drop holds until the market opens again on thursday, the company's market capitalization, its overall value is on track to fall by nearly $2 billion. that's getting close to real money. broadly, another strong day on wall street. the dow gained 224. the s&p 500 was up 43.

the nasdaq finished ahead 72. >> up next, massive confusion at the white house as the taliban moved on kabul after the u.s. withdrawal. first though, here is what some our fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight. fox 6 in milwaukee where a fight began with the social media post escalates to a shooting outside of a high school basketball game. five females, most of them teenagers, were injured tuesday night when an adult male opened fire on the group. fox 5 in baltimore where a memorial service is held for three firefighters who died on duty late last month. for the first time in its history, the city fire department routed calls to local agencies so that every member could attend the service. the three firefighters were killed when an abandoned row house collapsed as they were fighting a blaze. this is a live look at cleveland. one of the big stories there tonight, dolly parton, eminem. judas priest and some of the 17

artists and groups nominated to the rock and roll hall of fame. they were picked for impact on youth culture and other musicians. inductees will be announced in may. that's tonight's live look outside the beltway from "special report." we will be right back. people with moderate to severe psoriasis,

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long time kansas senator bob dole was laid to rest today at arlington national cemetery. dole who was iminjured by german gunfire was buried with full military honors, his widow elizabeth dole receiving the flag from joint chiefs chairman mark milley. dole was the presidential nominee in 1996 losing to incumbent bill clinton. he died on december the 5th. bob dole was 98 years old. newly leaked documents show the

chaos within the biden administration during the final hours before the seized control of afghanistan's capitol. the defense chief and top diplomat were questioned about the u.s. exit by two senate committees today. national security correspondent jennifer griffin reports tonight from the pentagon. >> defense secretary lloyd austin and secretary of state antony blinken were grilled during closed door capitol hill briefings on the afghanistan withdrawal. the humanitarian disaster that followed, and a resurgent isis and al-qaeda. leaked notes from a national security deputy's meeting on august 14th one day before kabul fell, indicate the biden administration had not yet finalized where to evacuate thousands of americans and allied afghans, something the pentagon had complained was held by bureaucratic cress. notes obtained by axios state will identify as many countries as possible to serve as transit

point. transit points need to be able to accommodate u.s. citizens, afghan nationals, third country nationals and other evacuees. >> is that true at that late stage preparations had not been made as to where -- where to evacuated americans and others? >> in the spring, the defense department was already trying, you know, gaming out what a noncombatant evacuation would look like. and the secretary preposition forces well before august. within 48 hours. we were able to get some 3,000 troops on the ground at the kabul airport. >> in afghanistan in the past week, scenes of near famine and a collapsed economy following the u.s. withdrawal have led to the following warning from aid groups. >> 23 million people don't know where their next meal is coming from. we are calling this a race against time. >> a message amplified in a recent fox interview with the world food program director in kabul. >> torment and hunger that they

were living through to date is worse than any of the war that they have lived through. >> the humanitarian needs to be separated from the political discussion. >> world food program says aid can be channeled through humanitarian organizations to bypass the taliban. a moral imperative right now it says that's needed to stop this mass starvation. john? >> john: makes you wonder why there was such planning it ended up being such a mess. jennifer griffin at the pentagon. thank you. up next the cost and consequences of lockdowns plus the mask debate in schools heads to court. congo shelter for displaced persons. 60 people. local officials say those staying at the camp were fleeing violence from the eastern part of the country. turkish defense officials say airstrikes have hit expected kurdish positions in iraq and syria. british based war monitoring group says the strikes killed at least four people. u.s. backed syrian kurdish fighters are condemning the

attack. this is live look at china. one of the big stories there tonight as the day just begins. a shorten olympic torch relay begins with a former speed skater carrying the flame. relay cut short due to coronavirus concerns and will last just three days. 1200 torch bearers will participate. all have been vaccinated and tested for coronavirus. just some of the other stories beyond our borders tonight. we'll be right back. ♪

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♪ >> john: we are getting reaction tonight about a report we told you today concluding the coronavirus lockdowns have had little to no effect on mortality during the pandemic. correspondent jonathan serrie shows us tonight from atlanta. [chanting] >> opponents of mandates are expressing vindication after one of the most trusted sources of data on covid-19 johns hopkins university published a study concluding that lockdown policies are ill founded and should be rejected as a pandemic policy instrument. >> i think it's very appropriate that we take look back and admit our mistakes. if we were wrong, we need to know for the next pandemic. >> in the johns hopkins report,

three leading economists analyzed data from 24 studies and determined travel bans and mandatory school and business closures early in the pandemic. reduced covid deaths by only 40.2%. >> i think it's important that we try and remove all the politics and really talk about what the data shows. what science shows and in support free people asking important questions about how to get pandemic policy correct. this isn't federal health bipartisan task force to investigate the pandemic's origins and the response of the trump and biden administrations. >> i think it's important to look at every aspect of this outbreak for lessons learned that ♪ only what the origin of the virus, the origin of the outbreak is but many other things that we could learn from in the future. so that we can prevent something like this happening or respond better if and when it does.

>> and an fda advisory panel scheduled to meet february 15th to discuss pfizer's application to expand vaccine access to children under the age of 5. a kaiser family foundation survey finds that three in 10 parents with kids in this age group would get the shots for their children right away if approved. john? >> john: all right. we will see where that approval goes. jonathan serrie with us tonight, thank you. a judge in virginia is considering arguments heard today over that state's mask mandate in schools and whether the newly installed governor, glenn youngkin, has the authority to end it. correspondent mark meredith reports tonight. he is in arlington, virginia. >> starting today, schools in virginia's loudoun county are suspending students like caroline and mora thomas who refuse to wear mask on school grounds. >> if you don't stand up now, we don't start the change, it's never going to happen and snowball. it doesn't even bigger. >> students say they are following the rules set by

virginia's new republican governor glenn youngkin. >> recently issued an executive order allowing parents, not schools, to decide when masks are needed. today, seven virginia school systems went to court to challenge the order, arguing it's not only jeopardizing people's health, but beyond the governor's legal authority. >> in part the case has to do with, you know, structural issues about who is going to be making decisions and who is in charge and who is responsible. >> youngkin's lawyers insist the governor's authority is solid. winsome sears is virginia's republican lieutenant governor. >> we're expecting that we will prevail. imagine giving the parents the ability to make those decisions for their children. i mean, what a concept. >> either way, laura thomas says she hopes there is a resolution soon. >> many of my friends still wear masks and choose to do that. we are not hating on them. we are just trying to give other people the choice to not do that. >> we are expecting a ruling to come down at some point this week. but this issue is going to be far from settled.

we are already hearing talk from lawyers about a appeal of this case likely to heads to virginia state supreme court. john, there is another layer to all of this. there is already a federal lawsuit being filed by the aclu. john? >> john: yeah, there is no question passions running high on both sides of that issue. maker meredith in arlington. thank you. several states experiencing soaring tax revenue combined with millions of dollars in pandemic aid that is leaving them with huge surpluses. state governments are proposing cuts in taxes and fees and rate hikes were planned before the pandemic. but some economists are urging caution with one warning what goes up must come down new mexico accurate senator is expected to be away from the capitol 4 to six weeks after suffering a stroke. congressional correspondent chad pergram points out since there is no remote voting in the senate, this could jeopardize any measure that would be on track for a 50/50 outcome with the tie broking vote cast by the

vice president in normal times. chad says it also means that any effort to rekindle build back better is dead, at least until the middle of march. lujan's absence could also affect a floor vote on a supreme court justice no. knee if the president gets one to the floor in that period of time. up next, a zucker punch for cnn. we will tell you about the end for the channel's long time leader. here comes another blast of winter. snowplow crews out in the thick of it and a warning for other motorists. >> it is a 12-ton vehicle with a blade on it that can cut a car in half. so, please, do not play chicken with a snow truck driver.

my shadow i have cast that a long illustrious 6 more weeks of winter. >> john: well punxsutawney phil apparently can't quit winter at the annual groundhog day ritual in glob glory's will pennsylvania. another six weeks of bone chilling temperatures. we should point out though that phil's new york city counterpart staten island chuck today predicted an early spring; however, phil may be right because millions of americans are dealing with a powerful winter storm that is dumping snow and ice throughout the country's mid section and beyond. nic does sar of fox weather joins us from new york what's it looking like. >> phil hit it on the head. >> big winter storm talking for days fox weather. dom fruition this area of low pressure really pounding the

tennessee river valley and the great lakes this is also a mess back over here towards wichita, oklahoma city, even dallas, san angelo and lubbock seen some snow here lately. pink, significant ice with this storm. and then you get towards fort wayne, cincinnati, cleveland where there is rain and snow eventually cleveland and cincinnati are going to get into some of that snow. and we have already seen a lot of snow in places like lewis town illinois. pecan illinois where they have seen a foot. over 14 inches there in lewis town and then just shy of a foot there in downs illinois, louisiana, missouri and hannibal, missouri, this storm has already dropped a lot of snow. there is more where that came from. believe me. northeastern, oklahoma, southwestern missouri. possibly going to see a foot to auto foot and a half and we are going to keep that 5 to 8-inch snow total swath going through portions of the ohio river valley.

significant ice threat with this. more than half of an inch of ice in places around memphis and paducah. that is absolutely crippling amounts of ice. that's what we are really going to watch outer for here. as this goes through time and continues to advance eastbound, more snow and more ice and rain for that matter will continue to fall. back to you. >> john: i think out of the two ground hogs phil was definitely right. phil, appreciate it? >> no problem. >> john: big change coming at cable news network otherwise known as cnn. along time chief jeff zucker says is he resigning. fox news media and list of fox news media buzz howard kurtz has details for us tonight. >> it's really important i think to the world that cnn be strong jeff zucker's downfall cnn leaves the operation without a single leader just as its ration are sliding. zucker explained in a memo to staff that he? a romantic relationship with a

top subordinate executive vice president and marketing chief. i was asked about a consensual relationship with my closest colleague, someone i have worked with for more than 20 years. i acknowledge the relationship evolved in recent years. i was required to disclose it when it began but i didn't. i was wrong. gollust says she regrets the failure to disclose the relationship. soledad o'brien says it was an open secret while zucker and gollust got divorced in recent years. she ran abc. push d.c. produced her daytime show gollust previously worked for andrew cuomo. emerged during the cnn probe that led zucker to fire chris cuomo for improperly aiding his brother two. media reports say chris cuomo's lawyer negotiating his exit say zucker was hypocritical in not disclosing his own conflict of interest and asked for messages between judger, gollus. >> it and andrew cuomo.

zucker media star towed shore at age 36. >> fueled donald trump by creating the apprentice. they fueled when he turned cnn dleft leaning outlet that denounced donald trump. >> fake news cnn. >> zucker haslam basted trump's attack on the press as dangerous, unprecedented and shocking. trump today called him a world class sleaze back. >> zucker ohio worked for a decade ago transformed cnn bombarding staffers with emails all hours. with trump gone the january ratings down 745% year over year. this is no way a case of sexual assault the lack of disclosure turned into embarrassment for zucker and for cnn, john? >> john: more to come on this, no question. howard kurtz for us tonight. howie, thanks. washington's nfl team is now called the commanders. it will keep the same burgundy and gold colors. washington dropped the redskins name before the 2020 season amid criticism that it was offensive to native americans. it was temporarily rebranded as

the washington football team for the past two seasons. up next, the panel on president biden's order to move thousands of u.s. troops into eastern europe. the challenge to the school mask mandate in virginia and that research showing the lockdowns had done little to stop fatalities during the coronavirus pandemic.

♪ are. >> is there any evidence that he plans to -- that anything you are seeing that suggests those troops that are outside ukraine might carry on to poland romania? >> what we see, jen, is clear evidence everyday that he continues to destabilize the environment by adding more forces into the western part of his country and along belarus. in addition to additional naval activity in the mediterranean and north atlantic. >> that was the pentagon briefing earlier with our jen griffin asking john kirby the pentagon spokesperson whether or not there was any indication that russia would go past ukraine and into surrounding nations which happen to be nato nations. bring in our panel kimberley strassel a member of the editorial board at the "wall street journal." amy walter, publisher and editor in chief of the cook political

report. i think jen griffin asked the key question there if there was no indication that putin would go beyond ukraine's borders and into neighboring nato nations why are we sending troops into that area. kim, do you want to start us off. >> it's great it that we are sending a message we are going to honor our article five commitment and be there for nato. was that ever really in doubt in the question is ukraine, a sovereign nation, when russia is threatening. the reality is sanctions should have been already put in place with the threat of more. lethal aid should have been going there weeks and weeks ago. the president ought to be on the phone with the european allies every day with unified statements of strength against putin. none of that has happened. and this just kind of masks the fact that washington is spinning its wheels. >> john: one of the things that john kirby did respond to today was a report carried in a spanish newspaper about a leaked document that was the united states' response to russia. apparently with an offer to russia. here is tom, what was on the table or what was off the table.

what was off the table was a bilateral european security arrangement with russia and any guarantee that ukraine never joins nato that basically said the no, that's not going to happen. what was on the table was a possible arrangement for russia to be able to verify that there were no tomahawk missiles in romania and poland as part of the ejis ashore program. putin apparently rejected that. it looks like the u.s. is trying to give him a negotiation president biden said he wasn't going to move troops into eastern flanked countries, nato countries just a few weeks ago. now he has done it. what has changed? he didn't have a good answer for that what is the administration looking to spree putin that will allow these troops to be drawn down. she didn't have an answer for that i think the administration is really sort of fumbling about try piece together some sort of

strategy. they want to show strength at the same time they are trying to get putin to he is deescalate. grasping at straws. >> russian politics here. comments from putin today that he said that he was being, quote: screwed over by nato, that the united states is trying to draw russia into a war. how do you read that? is that a pretext to invasion or is that him looking for a possible off ramp by saying hey, it's not my fault, it's them and maybe trying to find a way out? >> right. well, john, i think the reality is, russia has been very successful. putin has been very successful in doing the following. one: highlighting the tensions within nato. within the european allies within nato. stressing or highlighting some of the tensions between the united states and our allies in europe. and then, of course, division within the united states about how to respond to this. so, in that sense, there is success and the more that the

nato alliance looks, again, putting troops on the border of -- borders of those countries that we all were just discussing, sends some strength, at least it looks strong, but, it's pretty clear that there are underlying tensions that are significant and that were exposed by putin's actions on border of ukraine. >> john: you have got to wonder if you are vladimir putin and looking at troop movements. you say to yourself they are not going to ukraine. i only want to go into ukraine. they are not that much of a deterrent. i want to change gears here. the news yesterday at about this time that johns hopkins study, which is really landed like a bombshell that there was only a 2% a .02% reduction in code deaths because of all of the lockdowns that we experienced. listen to what anthony fauci said about that two years ago. >> the fact that we shut down when we did, and the rest of the world did, has saved hundreds of

millions of infections, and millions of lives. >> kimberley strassel, it would appear that johns hopkins is in disagreement with the good doctor. >> yeah. just one more statement from anthony fauci that you can't trust. look, it's great that we have a study saying this i would also note, john, you could go all the way back when we were experiencing those second and third waves and look at the statistics and data coming out. look at those curves and it was clear there was no difference between blue states and red states and those that were using these political cudgels with masks and lockdowns vs. those that were not. i would exploration questioning lockdowns and some of these stringent measures, where do they get their reputation back now that science is catching up with their work. >> john: one of the things that i was wondering about, tom, dr. robert red field come out and said look, in hindsight the lockdowns were wrong. we haven't heard the frame is

dr. fauci and other political leaders in states that implemented those lockdowns with great exhilaration almost do you expect we will hear them say oops? >> no, there haven't been a whole lot of introspection or flexion from government officials and elected officials on the damage that their policies have done. kimberly is right. there were plenty of people that were warning, we didn't even have a discussion about this. i think the government, a lot of elected officials panicked. did what they thought was right in the moment. but did it sort of, you know, impulsively without thinking through the damage. and the further we get away from this, the more we are learning about the damage we have done not only to businesses but to children, you know, masking them, locking down schools, the learning loss, all of the things. i think history is not going to look kindly on the way that we handled this pandemic in terms of how much damage we did do across our society by the

lockdowns. >> john: so, amy, where is the politics on this heading now? if we look to european nations they are taking off the restrictions off yet in places like new york state and california they are still locked down tight. >> so, in a perfect world, it would have gone something like this. this is a first pandemic in 100 years. it's a very dynamic virus that mutates. so, we respond in kind and we learn things as we go through a pandemic. and then health officials say we have learned something new. here is our advice and we adjust accordingly. but we don't live in that world. we live in one in which it's incredibly polarized and incredibly political. the idea that when somebody gives you news that no longer comports with your own that you are going to change it behavior that just doesn't happen now. and so would are moving very, very quickly on this. history is going to be very curious, john, i think when this is all said and done 20 years from now there is a lot we will

look back at and a lot of people made statements they will regret or other that were quite prescient. >> mask mandate the opt out mask mandate in the state of virginia that weigh implemented by governor glenn youngkin as one of his first orders of business when he was inaugurated. listen to what >> the thing that i love about this executive order is the same thing that i love about the bill of rights. you are putting power the hands of people. is this really about masks? i'm not sure that it is. i think this is about tyranny vs. freedom. i think the mask symbolizes control now. >> john: kimberly, i know this is an issue of which you have some definite opinions here. my question is you have got seven school districts challenging this. a lot of students are wearing cloth masks to school. the cdc says they are not particularly effective against omicron. so what is this an argument

about? appearances? >> yeah. it does seem to be this at this point. you know a judge who heard this today. it was really notable that youngkin's lawyers argued in court they said look, governors have a lot of authority in situations like this. nobody argued that ralph northam's orders were supposed to be followed. just because there is a different name at the top doesn't mean it's any less valid. yeah, is he trying to emancipate parents again and make the decision who may, in fact, know more about science than the scientists as we just had that discussion. >> john: tom, quick thought? >> it continues to be a platform. you have schools now that are charging -- students showing up without masks trespassing. it's going to get worse before it gets better, i think. >> john: amy, 10 seconds. some students in loudoun county face suspension if they come without a mask. >> right. we also have to remember there are communities, especially children with disabilities and their families who also feel very, very strongly the risk they are ufned.

this is about trying to balance which we are not very good at doing in this moment. >> john: great discussion on a number of topics tonight. thank you so much. we will see you again soon. coming up next, goings the distance and then some for a very worthy cause. ♪ some not-so-pretty stuff going on inside. it's true, with diabetic retinopathy, excess sugar can damage blood vessels, causing vision loss or even blindness. so, remember this: now is the time to get your eyes checked. eye care is important to your long-term diabetes management. see a path forward with actions and treatments from a retina specialist that may help protect against vision loss. visit noweyesee.com and take charge of your sight.

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prolia® can cause serious side effects, like low blood calcium, serious infections, which could need hospitalization, skin problems and severe bone, joint, or muscle pain. don't wait for a break. call your doctor now and ask how prolia® can help you. >> john: finally tonight, a special report salute. >> come on, boys. come on. [cheers] >> john: four veterans, 52 days, 3,000 miles and more than $817,000 raised by the florida based rower's group called four from home. the group was raising awareness from u.s. service members suffering from ptsd and mental health challenges by paddling from one of spain's canary islands all the way across the atlantic to antigua. well-done billy, kelly hanson,

paul moore and a.m. hupp. can you imagine? tomorrow on "special report," dr. marty makary joins us with the results of an exclusive study on natural immunity. thanks for watching "special report." i'm john roberts in for bret baier here in washington. jesse watters now ready to paddle his way through "primetime." hey, jesse. >> jesse: paddling my time, thank you. ♪ ♪ >> jesse: today's groundhog day, a fake holiday we made up where we let a rodent predict the weather. i don't mean to offend the fine people of punxsutawney or staten island, but it seems like an outdated way to forecast snow in the 21st century. but this funny little festival did give us one lasting legacy. the movie groundhog day. a classic. >> good morning, to have see the groundhog? >> y