This is a rush transcript of "Your World with Neil Cavuto" on January 4, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
CHARLES PAYNE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: President Biden meeting with his COVID response team and once again urging Americans to get vaccinated and boosted.
The president also announcing that he is doubling an order for Pfizer's new COVID pill. The first doses should be available by the end of the month.
Welcome, everyone. I'm Charles Payne, in for Neil Cavuto. And this is "Your World."
To Jacqui Heinrich at the White House with the very latest -- Jacqui.
JACQUI HEINRICH, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Charles.
Yes, that announcement from the White House that they're doubling their order of the Pfizer antiviral pill is welcome news to a lot of folks who are criticizing the White House for letting therapeutics fall by the wayside in favor of this near-exclusive focus on vaccinations that we have seen.
They have also accelerated the timeline on when they will be delivered from September to June. We were looking at 10 -- an order of 10 million initially, and those were not going to be available until September. But through some finagling, the White House announced they will be able to get the full 10 million by June, and by the end of January, they will have four million COVID treatments on hand.
A lot of the same sort of vibe that we got from the president when he gave his remarks today ahead of that briefing, warning folks who are unvaccinated that they're at risk with this highly transmissible Omicron variant, telling people who are vaccinated to get boosted, and also speaking about the numbers, as we have seen this really, really record- breaking number today, one million cases in the U.S.
Here's what the president said earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you are vaccinated and boosted, you may get COVID, but you are highly protected against severe illness. Schools can and should be open this winter. We have all the tools to keep kids safe.
Unvaccinated kids are at risk, yet the vaccinated are going to have the best way to protect them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEINRICH: Now, we did want some answers that we didn't get today.
The CDC was -- we were told would give some guidance on whether a test should be required to emerge from isolation after a positive COVID case. There was pushback over the revised quarantine guidance, that anyone who was positive could emerge after five days, instead of 10. Some folks saying that there should be a negative test required for that.
And we were told that the CDC would have some updated guidance. We are still waiting on that. We're also still waiting on answers why the CDC has not revised their guidance on what it means to be fully vaccinated to include a booster shot, given this administration's emphasis on the importance of boosters.
Here's what the White House press secretary said to me earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEINRICH: Now, would revising the guidance caused some sort of logistical or political or economic consequence that the White House isn't ready to embrace of, like, not being able to go to restaurants, people go to offices or industries that have suffered labor shortages?
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We have boosters -- we have boosters available for every American. They can get boosted now, regardless of what the CDC guidance is, whether you were just approved for the booster or you were approved weeks ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEINRICH: There's also the question, of course, if you were to revise the guidance on what it means to be fully vaccinated to include a booster shot, if that would intensify the legal challenges to this administration's vaccine mandates, which have accelerated all the way to the Supreme Court.
On Friday, we're going to be hearing arguments for both the federal and private employer vaccine mandate, as that case has gone all the way to the top, Charles.
PAYNE: Yes, all eyes on a Supreme Court, for sure, on that.
Jacqui, thank you very much.
HEINRICH: Thanks.
PAYNE: Meanwhile, folks, COVID-19 cases topping a million in the United States on Monday, and that is a record, but deaths, in comparison, remain relatively low.
Jonathan Serrie is in Atlanta with more on that -- Jonathan.
JONATHAN SERRIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Charles.
Yes, the numbers are unprecedented. A million, more than a million people newly diagnosed with COVID-19 in a single day on Monday. That's nearly doubling a record that was set last week with about 590,000 cases.
The highly infective -- infectious Omicron variant is driving much of this. Although most cases are relatively mild, the sheer number of cases has driven up COVID hospitalizations 31 percent from last week, with rates sharply increasing in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Maryland.
In New York City, hospitalizations are surpassing peak numbers that were set last winter. And with staffing shortages, there is concern some U.S. hospitals will be overrun.
Americans continue to face long lines at COVID test sites. Federal health officials say the CDC is likely to issue further guidance on testing as part of its shortened five-day isolation and quarantine periods. The problem is, PCR tests could show a positive result for weeks longer than rapid tests. And rapid tests are still in short supply.
Former surgeon General Jerome Adams weighed in on that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. JEROME ADAMS, FORMER U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: You should get a rapid test if you can. The problem is that the administration has not yet delivered the rapid tests.
So they didn't want to put out a policy telling you to do something which then reflected blame back on them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SERRIE: In Boston, where families waited in long test lines for the return to school, officials say more than 1,000 teachers and staff members were out today.
The teachers union president telling The Boston Globe most of the absences appear to be COVID-related. And, Charles, back here in Atlanta, the MARTA transit system is warning customers that some of its rail line trips may be canceled due to COVID-related staffing shortages -- Charles.
PAYNE: Jonathan, thank you very much.
SERRIE: Yes, sir.
PAYNE: So, how long will we see or continue to see a million cases a day before things start to turn for the better?
With me now, former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.
Secretary Price, it's fantastic to see you.
TOM PRICE, FORMER U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Hey, Charles.
PAYNE: Give us the -- we're all looking, and we're all, of course, detectives these days.
I can tell you where South Africa is, where the U.K. is. And it's giving me hope. Could we be at some sort of a peaking point right now with overall cases?
PRICE: Well, if this acts like it does in other countries, then I think that we're close to that.
We're seeing South Africa went through about a month of an upturn, and then -- and then they have begun to come down with their Omicron incidents. And so I think we're getting close.
I think there's also a silver lining to all this. And no -- not many people have been talking about this. And that is that the more individual -- we don't want anybody to get infected, but the more individuals that are infected, the likelihood is that they increase their immunity to other diseases, other variants of the disease.
And, consequently, we move in the direction of having, with the vaccines and with natural immunity, we move in the direction of having that herd immunity that's so important to get our nation back rolling. We have got to get schools up. We got to get society up. We have got to change our perspective on what this is and how we approach it.
PAYNE: Right.
And I don't want to digress too much, but, on that point, I believe you're 100 percent right. And when it comes to this natural immunity, I think part of the problem is that whoever's in charge of getting folks vaccinated, whatever the goal is, I think there's a worry that people will be more reluctant to get a vaccination if they think they're already immune to this.
So the press has mostly ignored it. The White House has mostly ignored it.
PRICE: That's right.
PAYNE: Is that a problem, though? I mean, shouldn't we embrace all hopeful things involved -- involving this dramatic pandemic?
PRICE: Absolutely.
And we need to be honest. We need to be honest about the nature of natural immunity compared to immunity from vaccines. And we need to be honest with the American people, because you feel like a pinball machine. There's a different rule every single day. There's a different recommendation every single day.
How are you supposed to gain reasonable, responsible, trustworthy information, when the institutions that we have relied upon seem to be responding in a way that may be more political, as opposed to related to hard fact?
PAYNE: Well, speaking of pinball machines, I was on tilt today waiting for the president to give us some clarity on the CDC.
This is the big -- this is a big debate, right? Because we see some internal friction over this post-isolation period.
PRICE: That's right.
PAYNE: Five days. If five days are over, do I go back to work? Do we need a negative test?
And, if so, with such unreliable tests out there, would that make any sense anyway?
PRICE: Well, this is a really important issue, because it -- we do know from science that the viral load, the ability for individuals to transmit the virus to somebody else is highest just before symptoms begin and with - - and over the next two to three days.
So, if you're -- if you are tested positive and you are asymptomatic, and you're five days out, the likelihood of you being -- having -- being able to transmit that to somebody else is very, very small.
PAYNE: Right.
PRICE: If you're symptomatic, that's a little bit different.
But if you become asymptomatic, then -- and you wait that five days, then the likelihood of, again, you being able to transmit it to somebody is not likely at all.
So, if we listen to what we actually know, that we know now that we didn't know two years ago or a year ago, then that will guide us in the kind of decisions that we ought to be making as a society, commonsense decisions when it relates to an infectious disease.
PAYNE: Right.
Secretary Price, moments ago, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was actually questioned on when Americans will start to see those at-home tests. When will they start to be sent out? Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PSAKI: We're finalizing the contracts.
While I expect we can share additional details with all of you soon, and, certainly, we hope to do that, we're on track to start seeing movement on some of the awards through the RFP this week.
So the first deliver -- delivery from manufacturers will start later this month.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAYNE: We're waiting on a lot of things.
We have got that-home tests that are coming, I think, Soon, And also now this news on the COVID pill. Just your thoughts on the news?
PRICE: I think we're making real progress, especially in the area of treatment.
This new treatment that's available ought to significantly lessen, again, the incidents of need for hospitalization. And that's where, from a staffing standpoint, we're getting challenged. But we're making progress every day.
But I think we need a change in perspective on how we view this. And that is that this is no longer the emergency that it was, it's no longer the crisis that it was, it's no longer the incidence that it was in terms of severe disease and risk of death.
PAYNE: Right.
PRICE: And we need to learn how to live with it and move forward as a society, get our schools open, get our society open. And let's get America back.
PAYNE: You know, I say amen.
And I'm sure that's the doctor side of you talking, but the Secretary Price side of you understands, in Washington, sometimes, they can't let a crisis go.
It's always a pleasure to see you.
PRICE: Amen.
PAYNE: Happy new year, sir.
PRICE: Thanks so much, Charles. Happy new year to you.
PAYNE: All right, meanwhile, folks stocks shaking off their COVID fears.
The Dow Jones industrial average moved closer to 37000. It hit a new all- time high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, the exact opposite. It got shellacked.
I want to bring a market watcher Gary Kaltbaum on what's driving all this.
So, a complete divergence today. Those so-called value names that are on the Dow shot much higher. Those hot high-flying tech names, those gee-whee gadget got crushed. What's going on?
GARY KALTBAUM, FOX BUSINESS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, the growth names have been in trouble for a while.
In just the last couple of days, for lack of a better word, they have been obliterated as interest rates have really moved higher in the last couple of days. And that's given the impetus to what I call the stuff, things that have been comatose for months like financials and energy, auto stocks.
You got Ford breaking out of multiyear highs. Looks like that's the place to be. Growth had its day for years leading the market. It now looks like the opposite. We will see how long it lasts. Looks like value low beta is the place to be.
PAYNE: Right now, so, Gary, just in the more layman sort of terms for someone who's not steeped in the market, it seems to suggest, though, that as the Federal Reserve stops printing money, for lack of a better word, as the Biden administration is unable to send out any more free money, Wall Street, it's becoming a little bit more cautious and maybe going to these old, older names that have been there for a long time and have very low valuations.
KALTBAUM: Exactly.
And the market, it's kind of what is called de-risking. And what you're seeing right now, without the Fed even slowing down just yet, the tightening is being done in the market. The one-, three- and five-year yields are back to where they were pre-pandemic.
And that's what's causing the problem with growth. But that's -- again, the word is the impetus to get other areas moving. And I have to tell you, in two days, the amount of money flows we're seeing into those areas is big time.
PAYNE: Yes.
KALTBAUM: And I think it probably suggests it has some room to go.
PAYNE: The inflation question obviously driving almost all of this, right?
KALTBAUM: Oh, yes.
PAYNE: We learned 4.5 million people quit their jobs in November. That's an all-time record. That points to higher wages, more inflation.
Crude oil through the roof. That points to more inflation. Is that also why the market is becoming more cautious?
KALTBAUM: Yes, and it's a huge problem going forward.
If interest rates get out of hand because of it, that's going to affect the market in a very big way. And then you will see the major indices come down. So, keeping fingers crossed, but I worry every day.
Every 10 cent move in gas prices over one year is $10 billion out of the pockets of people, hurting the economy, and then that old word stagflation comes to mind. So I'm watching -- and I never used to do this. I watch every commodity right now.
PAYNE: Right.
KALTBAUM: I watch every country.
And, again, if inflation gets out of hand, all bets are off in the market, because the market is not used to it.
PAYNE: All right.
Well, we call him Gary K because he's the best even when the news isn't.
Gary, thanks a lot, my friend.
KALTBAUM: Thanks, Charles.
PAYNE: Well, the blame game, folks, contains, the White House and Democrats slamming greedy corporations for jacking up your prices, but not a peep about their spending policies, which, by the way, driving a little bit of inflation. We will debate it.
Also, the scene from I-95 in Virginia, where a winter storm still has drivers struggling and wondering how it all happened.
We have got a live update next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAYNE: Well, now to the unfriendly skies, where the cancellations keep piling up, adding to more misery at the airports.
That's where you will find our senior correspondent Casey Stegall, at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport -- Casey.
CASEY STEGALL, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Charles, you caught me.
I was just going over the very latest information from FlightAware.com as they track live data, flights in the air and the like. And it is another day of messes.
The latest at this hour shows that, globally, there are about 3,600 cancellations. Here in the United States, that's about 1,300 cancellations altogether. When it comes to delays, well, we're about 2,400 delays in the U.S.
So a lot of people, it's taking extra time to get where they're going. And you also keep in mind that this is a domino effect. This adds on to the delays that started piling up around Christmas that we reported.
And then it's really gotten worse since we have rung in the new year. And so cue the frustrations. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Flight got canceled three times already, and it was due to a lack of crewmates.
I'm hoping that today's flight doesn't cancel on me, but there's already been a text saying that they're 45 minutes' delayed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEGALL: Now, airline officials say that you can blame that major winter storm that has hit much of the United States. It's impacted major hubs, where many of the carriers have a lot of their flights coming in and out of.
The carriers and the FAA say, however, you can also blame COVID. They're admitting that they have a high number of employees who have tested positive for the virus. And that means that they have to be pulled out of the work force and put into quarantine and isolation. You know the whole thing.
So, Charles, what this is really doing then is stretching staff that's already spread then, and it's spreading even further. The FAA has warned that they may have to reduce the number of flights in the air, in fact, if the number of personnel have to be pulled off of the front lines because they're sick.
PAYNE: Casey, two things pop up immediately.
Obviously the winter storms, I mean, it's not an oxymoron. They happen every winter.
STEGALL: Right.
PAYNE: And you would think maybe either you would have a system to kind of adjust to it or not sell as many tickets. The woman who was canceled three times, that's nuts.
And this is an industry they got $25 billion so that they wouldn't lose personnel. You have to wonder how many people were fired, maybe for not taking the tests. Certainly, it's a public relations fiasco. And yet they have got us over a barrel, because there's really no alternative, is there?
STEGALL: No, and we also stood here a lot before the vaccine, federal vaccine mandate rollout, and talked about how TSA assured us that they had good compliance, and they had enough people to accommodate for the holiday rush.
So, really, it's not clear what's happened here, except you do have a winter storm, which happen all the time, but it's also still in the middle of a pandemic, and I think industries, the airline in particular, trying to flush this out and figure out how to work.
PAYNE: Yes.
All right, well, good luck to all those travelers out there who are still stranded.
STEGALL: No doubt.
PAYNE: Casey, great reporting, as usual. Thank you, my friend.
STEGALL: Thank you, Charles.
PAYNE: Meantime, folks, inflation having no trouble taking off. Democrats, though, blaming corporations for it, but what about their spending and some of these regulations? How much is that driving it?
We will debate it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAYNE: It's quitting time, literally.
What it tells us about this economy when a record number of workers say, take this job and you know the rest. And we will debate the rest.
We're right back in just 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D-OH): Mega-corporations would rather pass higher costs on the consumer than to cut into their already large profits.
PSAKI: There are some areas where we have seen corporations benefit, profit from the pandemic.
BIDEN: And the big companies are making massive profits. While their profits go up, the prices you see the grocery stores go up commensurate.
Capitalism without competition isn't capitalism. It's exploitation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAYNE: Well, Democrats laying it on thick, huh, blaming big corporations and not their spending policies for high inflation that just keeps on surging.
Here to react, FOX News political analyst Gianno Caldwell.
Gianno, it's -- oh, I'm sorry. We also have Jenna with us as well, Jenna Arnold, Democratic strategist as well.
Let me start with you, Jenna.
Listen, we know that this is the issue that probably defines the midterm elections. Throw in mask mandates and Critical Race Theory as well. And it seems like the Democrats are going to the same old playbook. It's not our fault. The war on gasoline and fossil fuels didn't jack up oil. All this free stimmy money didn't create inflation. It's these greedy corporations.
But these are American companies. I mean, isn't there a danger in doing this?
JENNA ARNOLD, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Charles, Gianno, it's nice to see both of you.
GIANNO CALDWELL, FOX NEWS POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to be with you.
ARNOLD: And I don't think so.
I think the American public is smart enough to be able to do basic arithmetic, that these corporations are -- have record-breaking profits, like, very large margins, and yet are continuing to cry poor, so spiking the prices and squeezing average Americans.
This is a country made up of hardworking people who want to be able to take the dollar that they earn, and use it however they want. And I -- it is surprising to me that this has become a political issue, when this is just basic math, that corporations aren't paying their fair share.
The IRS suggests that we're losing, on average, a trillion dollars a year, a trillion dollars a year in unpaid taxes from these corporations. Talk about the amount of airports or highways or even maybe salt for some parts of Virginia that could -- that we could use those dollars for.
PAYNE: OK. I'm sorry, but that trillion number just blew me away. I have no idea who came up with that one.
(LAUGHTER)
PAYNE: But let go to my friend -- my friend Gianno for a moment. because here's the thing.
Jenna mentioned hardworking people that want to take their hard-earned money and get the most from it. I agree 1000 percent. And I'm going to answer her question for her. This is the genesis of the problem. It's not the people who are getting his hard-earned money. It's the trillions in free money that has skewed everything.
And I would be offended if I had a fixed budget and I saw someone who didn't even work going to the store and bidding things up that I had to buy for my family.
So that's the genesis of it. And I just think blaming the corporations, Gianno, it's not -- so far, it's not working, certainly, with respect to what we saw in the elections last year and in the polling right now.
CALDWELL: And I don't think it's going to work.
I'm sure Elon Musk would beg to differ that he's not paying his fair share. And he's, what, the richest man in the world at this point. So it's interesting that Americans have really woken up to what's going on in our country.
There was a FOX Business poll that came out in December which showed 47 percent of Americans believe that Joe Biden's policies are making inflation worse. If you look at the Consumer Price Index, one of the most recent ones, it showed that gas and fuel, energy prices have gone up by 60 percent.
Now, you couple that with the fact that Joe Biden continues to fail to realize that he's done things on his first days in office which have made this problem even worse for future generations, closing down the Keystone pipeline being one of them.
Now, there's one thing that I can compliment the president on, though, is creating this billion-dollar fund for meat processors to create more competition. But there's -- that's not the only issue that exists here. And they need to be honest. The Democratic Party needs to be honest that their policies are negatively impacting Americans, bar none.
ARNOLD: Charles...
PAYNE: So, Jenna, what is the solution?
I mean, do we break up these companies? And, again, it's -- what do you do it? Because almost every industry has the dominant players, and then these younger players. And throughout history, it's always been sort of creative disruption, these young upstarts. There was a day -- you couldn't have told someone 100 years ago that Sears would be out of business or Woolworths would be out of business...
ARNOLD: Right.
PAYNE: ... or that -- so, that typically works.
But would you like to see maybe a forced hand of the government breaking up companies now?
ARNOLD: Well, listen, a lot of these meat manufacturing companies are under federal investigation. So there is something that feels a little bit below bar happening that I can't speak to in great depth.
But I do want to push us to suggest -- and I think I heard this from Gianno -- that I do think that this is a subject that all Americans could really unite around that, when you see corporations and their C suite making millions and millions of dollars, they're paying their staff, whether it be flight attendants or the people on the assembly line at these meat production companies making below poverty level wages, something's not adding up here.
PAYNE: Yes.
ARNOLD: And this is a moral issue.
I -- it's hard for me to believe that this is a policy issue.
PAYNE: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
PAYNE: Real quick, Gianno, because we got a minute to go.
And I want you to kind of just answer that, in a degree, because we have big news today.
CALDWELL: Yes.
PAYNE: We learned 4.5 million people quit their jobs in November because they're enjoying one of the biggest wage increases ever.
And my whole thing is, would the average person out there prefer these big wage increases or to see companies take that money and instead give it to the federal government?
CALDWELL: Well, first and foremost, corporations are not nonprofit organizations. That's not what they do.
We understand that. We know that over, what, between three and four million people have not gotten their jobs back since the start of the pandemic. And the truth of the matter is, these policies do have great impact.
We have a lot of money on the street right now. And people really don't want to work. As a matter of fact, at McDonald's, you pull up to the drive- through there, which I did recently, and I saw that they were offering $20 an hour and a $1,000 signing bonus. Walmart is doing something similar.
There's a lot of corporations out there that are offering above, way above minimum wage, and a bonus.
PAYNE: Yes. Yes.
CALDWELL: You can't get that with some regular jobs before the pandemic, so things have changed. Democrats need to be honest.
PAYNE: Yes.
ARNOLD: Gianno, though it's funny. Isn't that about time? I mean, isn't that about time?
We're sitting here talking about the teachers unions.
PAYNE: Well, it's happening. It's happening, and we're -- it's happening, and we're still demonizing these same companies. We're talking pet insurance, life insurance, all that kind of stuff.
ARNOLD: They're not -- they're not reporting honest records, Charles.
And, again, I think this is something that we don't have to make political. I think we can all decide that people should make a fair living. This is a hardworking country.
(CROSSTALK)
PAYNE: When you investigate corporations and in the same breath say you want them to pay more taxes, that makes it political.
Jenna, Gianno, happy new year. See you both very soon.
(LAUGHTER)
CALDWELL: Happy new year.
PAYNE: Meanwhile, why Senate Democrats looking to fast-track President Biden's social spending bill could be saying, say it ain't so, Joe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): I'm really not going to talk about Build Back Better anymore, because I think I have been very clear on that.
There is no negotiations going on at this time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAYNE: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer looking to put the pressure on West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin to get on board with some of the president's key domestic proposals, including Voting Rights Act and social spending plan.
To FOX's Chad Pergram on Capitol Hill with the very latest -- Chad.
CHAD PERGRAM, FOX NEWS CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Charles.
Democrats are scrambling to reassemble parts of the Build Back Better bill. Joe Manchin is meeting with other Democrats to discuss pieces of the legislation. There's little movement, especially after Manchin killed the bill just before Christmas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANCHIN: There's been no conversations after I made my statement. I think it's basically -- and I was very clear.
I just -- I feel as strongly today as I did then.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERGRAM: But even though Manchin is standing pat, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer insists the Senate is forging ahead on Build Back Better.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D-NY): I intend to hold a vote in the Senate on BBB. And we will keep voting until we get a bill passed. The stakes are high for us to find common ground on this legislation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERGRAM: Democrats face the same problem they did last year. Manchin also won't allow a special carve-out to the filibuster on voting rights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANCHIN: Well, it's a heavy lift.
And the reason I say it's a heavy lift is that, any time there's a carve- out, you eat the whole turkey. There's nothing left, because it comes back and forth.
So, you want things that will be sustainable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERGRAM: Manchin fears a unilateral change in the filibuster just for voting rights will backfire on Democrats the next time they're in the minority.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Schumer is -- quote -- "hell- bent on breaking the Senate" -- Charles.
PAYNE: OK, Chad, thank you very much.
And let's get right to Phil Wegmann from RealClearPolitics.
All right, Phil, new year, same deal with Joe Manchin, right? Democrats continue to try to apply the pressure publicly, privately, but mostly publicly. And it's getting ugly, in my mind, between the things they are saying about the Senate a Manchin and, by the way, Senator Sinema as well.
PHILIP WEGMANN, REALCLEARPOLITICS: Well, whether it is changes to election law or Build Back Better, it doesn't really seem to matter.
It's a different issue set, different year, same outcome, like you alluded to a moment again. And that's that Joe Manchin continues to be a stick in the mud. That's been the headline for the last year, as President Biden tried to get his economic agenda into law.
And what's the effect of been of all of this? Well, Democrats, instead of going after Republicans, they're needling members of their own party, at a moment when they control the House, the Senate and the White House.
PAYNE: Here's the thing.
He's -- Manchin is being a stick in the mud, but he told them he was going to be a stick in the mud. And this is where I find Democrat leadership really to be very dishonest or disingenuous here. He put out a set of parameters early on in the process.
Senator Schumer knew about them. President Biden knew about them. But in public, they never spoke about this, and hence making him or casting him even more as a villain, when he told them right up front what he needed to be OK with this bill.
WEGMANN: Yes, and it's not exactly breaking news that politicians are incredibly flexible people. So it's remarkable that Manchin has been consistent, not only on the spending parameters here, but also, like we heard a moment ago, on his opposition to changes from the filibuster.
I mean, I remember on this network, going back to 2019, he talked to Bret Baier about why he didn't want to change the filibuster, why he was hesitant about that. He's remained consistent, regardless of all of the attacks, either from members of his own party or the questioning that he's received from the press.
Manchin has stayed the same. And rather than working around that, rather than changing the proposals, they have leaned on him and tried to pressure him to go along. But he hasn't so far.
PAYNE: So, is this now -- the Schumer gambit of voting on these things over and over and over again -- I'm paraphrasing right now -- is this sort of the last public attempt at shaming Senator Manchin, particularly on voting rights, that this is a guy from West Virginia who obviously must not like black people?
We have heard it all it. Any time you turn on television, outside of FOX, for the most part, any day, these are the things that they're saying about Senator Manchin. This seems to me would be the last final attempt to shame him in public. And I don't think it's going to work.
WEGMANN: Well, in that spot a second ago, we heard from Manchin that he's even tired of talking about this. He's been in the limelight for so long, and his message hasn't been changed.
He continues to talk about his concerns about what it would take for him to get on board. There's nothing new. And it's kind of difficult to continue to cover the story when he won't change. The thing that is interesting, though, here is that, while Manchin has sort of been a bit of public enemy number one for many people on the left, there are a lot of other moderates who aren't in the forefront right now who are looking around who are looking to 2022.
They know that these reforms could make it much more difficult for them to hold on to their seats. And I think that they are thinking to themselves, well, thank goodness that Manchin is taking the slings and arrows, rather than me.
PAYNE: Yes. Yes, certainly.
And you got to give props to Senator Sinema as well. She has taken some serious barbs, and not just from the media, but people getting up in her face. And so they both have stood their ground pretty well.
We will see. Maybe it will all come to a head really sooner, rather than later. And, to your point, the midterm is right around the corner.
See you soon, Phil. Happy new year.
WEGMANN: Thank you, Charles.
PAYNE: Meanwhile, folks, crews are working to clear off Interstate 95 in Virginia, this after a snowstorm put drivers in a jam.
What took so long and how did things actually get so bad?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are stuck on the interstate this morning. I don't know you can see our truck is up the hill.
It's black ice is up there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only movement is -- as you can see, is me outside the car. There's no movement. I'm actually walking in the middle of 95 Southbound.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAYNE: Well, folks, we have got some new details coming in now from Virginia about that massive backup on Interstate 95, officials saying around 50 to 60 cars are still abandoned out there as crews work to clear up the mess.
FOX Weather's Katie Byrne is in Woodbridge, Virginia, with the latest -- Katie.
KATIE BYRNE, FOX WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Charles.
Well, we got an update from the Virginia governor in the last hour, confirming that no one that was trapped in that mess was found hurt. Now, they have been trying to get people diverted off of that I-95 road.
And we're outside of a Wawa gas station here, where it's pretty close to one of those exits where people that were stuck there have been getting off. About 10 minutes away is the Prince William's exit. So you could see this Wawa slammed all day with people trying to get gas.
And then, across the street, people are stuck in more traffic, because that's what drivers are facing as they get off. They're getting on these secondary roads, like Cardinal Road here and Route 1 mainly, which really are roads that aren't able to handle this type of interstate traffic.
I can tell you firsthand there are patches along all of these back roads here that are dealing with the snow aftermath as well, things like downed trees and icy, snow-covered roads.
Now, we're hearing for people who were stranded, spending the night in their car with no food, water, access to a bathroom or gas, and, in some cases, with little ones with them. I heard about people turning off their cars for an hour or so, and then turning it back on, so that they didn't run out of gas, but stayed as warm as they could, while temperatures dropped to the 20s.
Now, the response is being handled at the local level, since a state of emergency has not been declared, the Virginia Department of Transportation addressing this situation multiple times today in briefings, admitting that it's unacceptable.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
MARCIE PARKER, VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: Now, it's not as easy as just taking the traffic off. We have several vehicles that are out of fuel. We have several vehicles that are broken down.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BYRNE: Now, as vehicles are removed that -- from that stretch of the highway that has been closed, we have no timeline for when that 50-mile stretch of 95 will open back up.
But we do know that people who were stranded and trapped there are being offered hotels, blankets, supplies and things like that -- Charles.
PAYNE: Katie, thank you very much.
Meanwhile, folks, a record number of Americans quit their jobs in November, so what's driving folks to join the great resignation?
That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAYNE: Well, if you thought about quitting your job recently, you are not alone.
The Labor Department announcing 4.5 million Americans, roughly 3 percent of the entire work force, actually did that in November, as the great resignation trend continues. The question, of course, what's behind it?
Joining me now, Jimmy Failla, "FOX Across America" host and FOX -- on FOX News Radio, and Kat Timpf, "Sincerely Kat" host on FOX Nation.
Kat, people don't want to work. And for a long time, you didn't have to work when the stimmies were coming through. A lot of people were hoping that changes. But 4.5 million is a lot of people.
KATHERINE TIMPF, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes.
And a lot of these people, the majority of these people, they quit to start a new job because companies are having trouble hiring workers or having enough workers, so they're offering those kinds of incentives.
What's interesting is that this is November, before the Omicron really popped off, and people talking about closing schools again and everything shutting down again. People are worried about things shutting down.
But child care in particular is something that I'm -- parents are worried about that.
PAYNE: Yes.
TIMPF: They're worried, am I going to have to stay home and homeschool my kids, which a lot of people don't have options for child care. So it could get worse.
PAYNE: It could.
And here's the thing, Jimmy. There's the economics and the mechanical things that Kat is talking about. There's also -- for instance, on Reddit, there's a movement called anti-work; 150,000 people were in this about a year ago. It's over a million right now.
And they're flat-out saying, hey, we don't want to work. It's an anti-work movement, and it's growing.
JIMMY FAILLA, HOST, "FOX ACROSS AMERICA": You know what I love about this moment, Charles Payne?
You were sitting around with the staff, and you were like, wow, everybody doesn't want to work anymore. Who do we know that's lazy? Jimmy Failla and Kat Timpf. They will have some background here.
(LAUGHTER)
PAYNE: Thing is, we had this meeting last Thursday. It took us this long just to get you into -- in front of a camera.
(LAUGHTER)
FAILLA: It's true.
But the truth is, Charles -- it's so funny. The truth is, the lockdown really did screw up society in a way that's now coming into focus. A lot of people got used to not working. And a lot of other people got used to working at home, which means they also got used to day drinking in their pajamas.
And they don't want to go back to an in person environment where they can no longer drink all day during Zoom meetings.
PAYNE: Yes.
FAILLA: And then you have got the aforementioned lazy people you describe.
The one thing I would tell you is an upside to this is that, if you are a diligent, hard worker, there's never been a better time for a worker to get ahead than right now, because you're playing in the weakest division in sports we have ever seen.
PAYNE: Yes.
Well, and wages are going up. And, by the way, this is not about people being lazy. It's a protest. They simply don't think they should have to work anymore.
All right, let's talk about bye-bye, BlackBerry, the company announcing, starting today, it's going to end service for its classic devices. I'm talking about ending it all, not even emergency 911 calls, Jimmy.
So it's the end of an era. What you going to do with your BlackBerry, my man?
FAILLA: Yes, I was going to say, Charles, this is the story of the year and that year is 2002.
(LAUGHTER)
FAILLA: Come on.
TIMPF: Yes. Yes.
FAILLA: It's like, listen, if anybody watching at home knows somebody who has a BlackBerry, don't worry. I think you can still hit them up on their beeper.
So you will be able to get in touch with them somehow.
PAYNE: Yes.
FAILLA: But, yes, it's a sign of the times.
But I actually -- I actually think, Charles, really quick, I think it's a smart move by BlackBerry, because the sooner they go away, the sooner they can become retro and resurface as part of a nostalgic craze, like other phones, like the flip phone did.
PAYNE: And also you could buy some vinyl as well.
But here's the thing, Kat. We have been talking all day about this war on business and breaking up big businesses. There was a time it was called CrackBerry.
TIMPF: Yes.
PAYNE: It dominated the marketplace.
And it just shows you, as long as some people want things, there's going to be competition.
TIMPF: Right.
I was going to say I'm really glad that we did this story, because this is how I discovered that this did not happen a long time ago.
(LAUGHTER)
TIMPF: I don't remember the last time that I saw a BlackBerry. Like, I think my babysitter had one. I didn't know that they were still around.
PAYNE: Yes.
And if I had the last one, I would put it in a box right now. That's going to be worth some cash.
Hey, let's shift gears. The American Kennel Club adding two more breeds to its purebred lineup. The mudi, it's a Hungarian farm dog, and a Russian toy, which descends sense from the small English terrier.
All right, Kat, I mean, will you be out rushing to maybe adopt one of these?
TIMPF: No.
Look, very, very cute. Very cute. Definitely adorable. I have one puppy. Well, he's almost 2 now, so he's not a puppy. And that's plenty of work for me, and a cat. I know that people have like a dog and multiple children. But I'm not those people.
PAYNE: Right. We just had the mudi...
TIMPF: So, more power to those people.
(LAUGHTER)
PAYNE: We just had the mudi up on the screen.
By the way, dogs are always puppies in my house.
Jimmy?
TIMPF: Yes, I agree.
PAYNE: Yes.
FAILLA: Aww.
Well, yes, I don't really like talking about dog stories, because, as you know, I lost a lot of money betting on the Puppy Bowl last year. But the truth is, when you look at the mudi, the one thing I read from the breeder, Charles, is the breeder said that this dog, the Hungarian farm dog, needs something to do.
It likes to be busy, which is a very polite way of telling you that, if you don't walk this thing 24 hours a day, it is eating every piece of furniture in your house.
TIMPF: Yes.
FAILLA: That's why it's called the mudi, because you're going to come home from work and be very moody when the coffee table has had a leg chewed off.
PAYNE: Jimmy, I just think you squared the circle. You answered the first topic.
How do we find workers? Let's just get a bunch of mudis. They want to be active. They want to do something.
We can sit back and let them do all the work.
(LAUGHTER)
TIMPF: Yes. When I don't...
PAYNE: What do you think, Kat?
FAILLA: We did it. Get a mudi.
TIMPF: When I'm not busy, I also start eating furniture. So I can understand that.
(LAUGHTER)
FAILLA: True story.
PAYNE: Well, it's great seeing both of you. Really, it is. It's been too long. Happy new year to both.
And we will talk to you again real soon.
FAILLA: You too.
PAYNE: And, by the way, that's it for us, but, tomorrow, Neil will be back. I know everyone's cheering. And so am I.
But you can catch me. Remember, catch me every weekday at 2:00 p.m. Eastern on the FOX Business Network, "Making Money."
A crazy, crazy day in the stock market. Parts of your portfolio went up big. Other parts went down big. It's a confusing time. This is when you need our help, particularly when we start talking about the Federal Reserve, yadda, yadda. Check me out tomorrow.
In the meantime, "The Five" starts right now.
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