'Your World' on US response to growing Russian aggression towards Ukraine

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Sen. Hagerty: Biden has shown inaction and feckless behavior on Russia

Tennessee senator urges the administration to show leadership and impose sanctions on Russia.

This is a rush transcript from "Your World," January 31, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SANDRA SMITH, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Thank you, Trace.

The U.N. Security Council meeting today on Russia aggression, Russia saying, what aggression? It says the U.N. has no proof it's considering any military action.

The Pentagon moments ago saying Russia's troop movements on land and by sea tell a very different story.

Welcome, everyone. I'm Sandra Smith, in for Neil Cavuto. And this is YOUR WORLD.

We have got FOX team coverage with Lucas Tomlinson at the Pentagon, where that briefing just wrapped, and Steve Harrigan in Kyiv, where folks there are gearing up for what could go down.

We begin with Lucas.

Hello, Lucas.

LUCAS TOMLINSON, FOX NEWS PENTAGON PRODUCER: Hello, Sandra.

U.S. officials say 5,000 more Russian troops have arrived in Belarus, this as President Biden says the U.S. is going to be ready for anything. At U.N. headquarters in New York, the president's U.N. ambassador sounded the alarm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Colleagues, the situation we're facing in Europe, it's urgent and dangerous. And the stakes for Ukraine and for every U.N. member state could not be higher.

Russia's actions strike at the very heart of the U.N. Charter. This is clear and consequential a threat to peace and security as anyone can imagine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TOMLINSON: The Russian Defense Ministry releasing this video over the weekend showing air defense units, SA-22 Greyhounds, arriving in Belarus by rail, following reports the railroad had been hacked.

Senator Bob Menendez vowed to unleash the mother of all sanctions on Russia later this week. Following President Biden's announcement Friday that some U.S. troops would deploy to Eastern Europe, but not a lot, the Pentagon said today where they were not heading.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: The president has been very clear, we're not going to see American troops on the ground in combat with the Russians in Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TOMLINSON: The Russian ambassador to U.N. fired back at her American counterpart, rejecting allegations from the West, saying Moscow has no plans to launch an invasion of Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VASILY NEBENZYA, RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS (through translator): The discussions about a threat of war is provocative, in and of itself. You are almost calling for this. You want it to happen. You're waiting for it to happen, as if you want to make your words become a reality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TOMLINSON: Russian officials called the meeting of the U.N. Security Council today a P.R. stunt. And with Russia having one of five permanent seats at the U.N. Security Council, it makes it look like this is all for show -- Sandra.

SMITH: Lucas Tomlinson at the Pentagon for us.

Lucas, thank you.

Russian forces now surrounding Ukraine on three sides.

Steve Harrigan is in Kyiv, where tensions are high -- Steve.

STEVE HARRIGAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Sandra.

As the talks go on in New York, here on the ground in and around Ukraine, the troops continue to grow, Russian troops all along Ukraine's border, and now more and more flowing into Belarus as well. There could be 30,000 Russian troops there in preparations for exercises coming up.

U.S. officials continue to warn that a potential Russian invasion could happen at any time. Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S. said, if that does happen, the stakes will go far beyond Ukraine's boundaries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OKSANA MARKAROVA, UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: It's an attack on democracy. And I believe nobody is safe if Ukraine will be attacked.

We do not want to be part of the Soviet Union or the Russian empire. We're fighting for our independence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIGAN: You talk to people here on the street, they're certainly aware of the situation.Tensions have gone up a little bit.

But when you really press people as to whether they have made preparations to flee if this war turns into something major, most of them say they have not.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): They advise us to have an emergency suitcase if we have to run somewhere. Why should we run? We have nowhere to run to.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We don't have any stockpiled food or supplies. We lived through the World War. If it happens, we will live through this one as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIGAN: Finally, the talks still do continue, the British prime minister scheduled to be here in Ukraine tomorrow -- Sandra, back to you.

SMITH: OK, Steve Harrigan, thank you.

Here to discuss Moscow's latest moves and that U.N. Security Council meeting, Hudson Institute senior fellow Rebeccah Heinrichs and Claudia Rosett with The Independent Women's Forum, former Moscow bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal.

Welcome to both of you.

Rebeccah, I will start with you first.

With the U.S. ambassadors telling the U.N. the situation there is urgent and dangerous, are we prepared for this fight, Rebeccah?

REBECCAH HEINRICHS, THE HUDSON INSTITUTE: Well, first of all, we're not going to be sending U.S. forces into Ukraine. Clearly, the -- President Biden and others have made that very, very clear.

Our ambassador did well today at the U.N. Unfortunately, the U.N. isn't going to be any help, because Russia and China can both block anything substantial coming out of the U.N.

What we should be doing is making Ukraine strong, sending them all kinds of lethal aid that they have been begging for. And then we can put sanctions on Ukraine now, because of what Russia has already done, cyberattacks, false flag operations, and other things like that.

And then last, I would say, we must be arming the Balts, the Romanians, Poles. Those are our NATO allies who are going to be in Russia's shadow if Russia, in fact, does a massive invasion of Ukraine.

SMITH: To Rebeccah's point, Claudia, aren't there actions we can be taking now to be more proactive, rather than waiting for Putin to make the first move?

CLAUDIA ROSETT, FOREIGN POLICY FELLOW, INDEPENDENT WOMEN'S FORUM: Absolutely.

I mean, there should be -- if we're going to start -- but we should be bolstering NATO not with a token number of troops, what this really is, but massively. I wish that President Biden would stop repeating that we will not send troops to Ukraine, even if that's true. It's a gift to Putin to keep on underlining that. Keep quiet about it. Let Putin wonder. Create some ambiguity there.

None of that is being done. It's a lot of posturing and talk about soft power and diplomacy and the off-ramp. But that's not going to deter Putin at all.

SMITH: But, still, President Biden saying that they will suffer severe consequences, Russia, if they do decide to invade.

Now you have analysts, Rebeccah, warning that Russia's maybe willing to absorb these tough economic sanctions if they are imposed on them, if it means winning the political fight? Can they do that? Are they in a position to?

HEINRICHS: Well, it depends on what the United States is actually willing to do.

And we don't have the help of our German allies in NATO, so there's going to view only so much that we can do economically without the help of Germany, that is, if we if we try to do this with a bunch of our allies. We can do unilateral sanctions. It's not going to be enough to just threaten that before Russia invades.

That's why, as Claudia said, the constant insisting that the United States isn't going to send troops, I guess that's for an American audience. That's definitely not meant to deter Russia. They should be having a more ambiguous approach.

The other thing that I would say, Sandra, is, the Biden administration is reportedly also considering arms deals with Russia on the table to get Russia to back down, that maybe consider doing an arms reduction or promising that we wouldn't deploy certain troops or certain arms -- long- range -- or medium-range missiles, that is, to Europe.

That would be a mistake. It would only incentivize the Russians to act aggressively in order to pocket gains. So it's just as important what we don't do as what we do, do.

SMITH: Claudia, I found it fascinating today to watch that meeting at the White House in the Oval Office between President Biden and the Qatari leader. Qatar could become a key player here in helping Europe absorb an energy crisis that it could suffer if Putin decides to move in that direction, right?

If energy gets caught up in the middle of all of this, and Germany gets cut off from Russia, Germany is going to have to source that energy from other parts of Europe and the Middle East. So, Qatar could eventually play a big role in all that.

ROSETT: Yes, well, you know what -- the thing that President Biden could do that would be not only low-cost, it would actually be beneficial hugely to the U.S., would be to open up our gas and oil industry again.

While he's talking to Qatar, here, those industries are strangling. That would actually be both a genuine help to the U.S., which matters here. We should stop beating up ourselves. And it would also send a powerful message to Putin, A, he relies on energy exports for what he's doing, these threats he's making and so on.

B, it would tell him that the U.S. is regaining a certain measure of sanity, which he must have assumed we lost when he watched the debacle in Afghanistan last August. We're not doing any of that. But that would be far more effective, really, than sanctions, which Russia is very adept at evading. They are really masters at that.

SMITH: Very interesting.

As far as the timing of all this, Rebeccah, give us some clue as to what you're looking at. We have heard from various generals, including Keith Kellogg, who is forecasting this obviously could happen at any moment. General Keane has suggested he believes that Putin could wait until after the Olympics are over to invade.

We now know that Russian forces are said to have Ukraine surrounded on three sides. So, the military presence, even up until today, we know, continues to grow on the part of Russia.

So what are you looking at as far as timing of an invasion?

HEINRICHS: Well, if Russia thinks that it can get these concessions from the Biden administration, then it might -- that's what it's looking at.

Russia is looking at, what kind of concessions can we get? If it doesn't get concessions that it wants, and it might go ahead and pocket those concessions even if it does get them, then it will invade. I think that this idea that they're going to wait until it's frozen, until like winter is totally frozen, or wait until -- they won't go afterwards, I mean, Russia can weather a little mud.

They can weather sanctions. They're going to do what they want. And also the other point about the Olympics, the other big elephant in the room is China. I mean, depending on how Russia is coordinating with China, they might be coordinating timing with what the Chinese have in store.

So there's several variables, but, really, the balls in Putin's court.

SMITH: Claudia, a quick final thought from you?

ROSETT: Yes, I think there's no question that Russia and China must be talking about the sequencing of these things.

Taiwan is in great, growing jeopardy. Ukraine is in enormous jeopardy. And what -- the message that America is sending right now, under President Biden, unfortunately, is that Russia is able to slap us around the chops while we give speeches at the U.N. Perfectly good speeches, but they won't fix this.

SMITH: All right, we will be following every minute of it.

Thank you, ladies, to both of you for joining us. Appreciate it.

All right, well, crime is surging. Is a major 180 on policies coming? Hear what Charlie Gasparino is uncovering.

And the migrant surge leading to a surge of frustration. Could border agents sounding off force the administration to take this crisis head on?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good men are doing nothing. You're allowing illegal aliens to be dropped off in communities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are doing something.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir, we're not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMITH: President Joe Biden sitting down with the nation's governors today, as crime continues to spike across the country. FOX

News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich has the very latest for us. She had a seat in that Briefing Room today and asked some questions on it.

Hi, Jacqui.

JACQUI HEINRICH, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Sandra.

Yes, the president did bring up crime in his meeting with the governors today, but it was White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki making some remarks in a podcast over the weekend that drew some criticism. She was noting that FOX News has prolifically covered the crime surge, while other networks have been focused on other topics.

And she says, wrongly suggested that the Biden administration isn't doing anything to address crime, but it was also how she said it that prompted some pushback.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEINRICH: One line has prompted some criticism from people. It was soft- on-crime consequences, what even is that?

Were you speaking in your personal opinion, or is that at all a reflection of the priorities of this administration?

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president has been a longtime advocate of addressing crime. He's never been for defunding the police. Our Department of Justice has increased funding, has put in place support for strike forces.

Addressing crime is something that is a root of the president's agenda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEINRICH: The president of the country's largest police union says that answer is not enough.

He writes: "I think it's wrong, very wrong, for Ms. Psaki to suggest that violent crime in our country is of no concern or to just laugh it off. Pretending violent crimes are part of some other reality will not help victims. Ms. Psaki owes them an apology."

And, today, the president told some 30 governors there's already money available for their states to address crime from the American Rescue Plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The surge of gun violence since the start of this pandemic, I made it clear we should use these funds to combat violent crime as well, including hiring additional police officers and investing in community violence interventions that have been proven to work in communities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEINRICH: Now, Republican governors who came raised issues like immigration and confusing CDC guidance on COVID.

But they said that there is room for partnership on spending money, including from the new bipartisan infrastructure law -- Sandra.

SMITH: Jacqui Heinrich reporting live from the White House for us -- Jacqui, thank you.

HEINRICH: Thank you.

SMITH: President Biden's trip coming as Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg is taking heat over his soft-on-crime policies.

Our next guest is hearing that pressure has Bragg seriously rethinking those policies, FOX Business' Charlie Gasparino.

And, by the way, Charlie, we do want to mention to our viewers that we did call District Attorney Bragg, and we have not yet heard back.

So what are you hearing, Charlie?

CHARLIE GASPARINO, FOX NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: And I called as well, so...

SMITH: OK, good.

(LAUGHTER)

GASPARINO: Called and e-mailed.

Here's what we hear from inside the New York City Partnership. You should know that the Partnership for New York City is a major lobby group. It represents the major businesses in New York City. So, we're talking Wall Street, real estate, advertising. We're talking to biggest players in corporate America are part of this.

And they're up in arms right now because of what Bragg had initially proposed, in terms of not prosecuting anything but very, very high level crimes such as murder, so -- or -- and not seeking prison terms, which is even crazier.

So they have been putting pressure on Bragg. Sources are telling us that they're seeking another meeting with him this week. Sources close to the partnership say they believe that it's -- these meetings and these sort of constant give-and-take -- this would be the second meeting they have had with Bragg -- is starting to soften his stance on this non-prosecution stuff that he initially enunciated, which caused the uproar about a month ago.

One thing I will say is this. It's one thing to meet with people. It's another thing to soften your rhetoric. There are certain sort of concrete things that Bragg could do, Governor Hochul could do, that Mayor Adams could do, reinstall qualified immunity, so cops feel, if they arrest someone, they don't have to be sued and their pension is at stake.

Get rid of this crazy bail reform, where I guess the intentions were good. You didn't want lock so many people up for maybe smoking marijuana, but it's been expanded to violent criminals are getting out and committing crimes again.

SMITH: Yes.

GASPARINO: These are the certain sort of high-profile and concrete things that have not, from what I understand, come up in these meetings.

And I will tell Kathy Wylde and I will tell anybody else that are in these meetings that Mr. Bragg may talk a good game, Eric Adams might talk a good game, but if you don't do these concrete -- take these concrete steps to control crime, it's just all talk. So...

SMITH: Yes.

And, Charlie, you're focusing on -- your reporting, you're talking about the DA is going to start focusing on protecting retail.

GASPARINO: Absolutely.

SMITH: And that's an interesting point, because you see what's happening in the city, where you have got folks that are just walking into these shops, filling bags, and walking out with security detail being able to do nothing about it.

And it is ruining the ability for small business owners to continue operating.

GASPARINO: So, now think about that a minute.

Alvin Bragg now wants to focus, because the Partnership for New York is putting pressure on him, on retail. Why? Because people are working in these stores, these CVSes. They're on the front lines. And they're getting harassed, intimidated. And, quite frankly, people are threatening them every day.

So you want to focus on that. If you don't prosecute those, the people that are doing this -- remember, Bragg doesn't want to prosecute people except for those committing -- having a deadly weapon. If you have bail reform that allows people to keep doing that stuff and getting back out and doing it again...

SMITH: They will just continue destroying the city.

GASPARINO: ... who knows -- who cares what he says?

SMITH: Yes.

GASPARINO: Who cares what he says?

SMITH: Yes.

GASPARINO: So I think the business community -- I think Jamie Dimon talks tough when it comes to certain things, like everybody's got to get back to the office. Same with David Solomon over at Goldman Sachs. Same with James Gorman at Morgan Stanley. They should start talking tough on this guy.

Be out front, because it's -- and this is never...

(CROSSTALK)

SMITH: Well, they're going to have to. They're going to have to, because those big, big banks, they're having a hard time. It was COVID. And now they're having a hard time recruiting and maintaining top talent and getting them to get back to the office, not because of COVID, because of crime in the city running rampant.

Charlie, good to see you. Thank you very much for the reporting.

OK, to the border, where agents are fed up and now speaking up. Could this surge in frustration finally stop the surge at the border?

And with inflation taking more of Americans' green, could more states be turning red?

Hillary Vaughn on that.

HILLARY VAUGHN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Sandra.

Well, the inflation is hitting everyone, but it is hitting some battleground states even harder, putting some Senate Democrats on defense.

We have the map and the breakdown coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMITH: Cancellations, delays, baggage, they're all piling up after a fierce winter storm bears down, and now one major airline is taking a lot of heat.

Find out why. We're back in 60 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMITH: The entire nation hit with inflation, but some states are getting hit more. And now they're blaming big government handouts.

To Hillary Vaughn on Capitol Hill. She's got the latest.

Hi, Hillary.

VAUGHN: Hi, Sandra.

Well, it's not only why this is happening, but who it's happening to, that is making high prices a key campaign issue headed into the midterms. Take a look at this map.

The states in red and yellow have the highest inflation rates right now, but it's in battleground states with vulnerable Senate Democrats up for reelection, like in Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, and Georgia, that are seeing prices spike more than the national average.

This could be a factor in whether or not Democrats keep control of Congress. And Republicans know it. The National Republican Senatorial Committee telling us senators from these states will be on defense, saying -- quote -- "Mark Kelly, Raphael Warnock, Maggie Hassan, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Michael Bennet will have to spend the rest of the year explaining to voters why they supported the failed Biden agenda that made their lives more expensive. Senate Democrats own inflation and it'll cost them their seats and control of the Senate."

The White House, though, has said it's supply chain issues that are driving prices up. But some economists say that's not the only culprit. Government stimulus has made the problem worse.

A progressive professor of economics at NYU's Stern School of Business telling us -- quote -- "The amount of money that the government gave out to people during the last year, that created inflation and that created the supply chain issues. The supply chain issues would have been totally minor if people didn't have too much money in their pockets."

But, today, President Biden talking to governors about federal aid, suggesting that the spending spigot isn't going to be turned off yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The American Rescue Plan was a lot of money. And it was designed to make sure we could carry the nation forward. We have sent you a whole hell of a lot of money.

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: And we're going to send you more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUGHN: And, Sandra, remember, President Biden has consistently said passing Build Back Better is the way to fix inflation.

But with negotiations essentially stalled, it's going to be a while until Americans can see any kind of fix -- Sandra.

SMITH: OK, Hillary Vaughn watching that from Capitol Hill for us.

Hillary, thank you.

Well, it's been a rough month for your money, and not just from those rising prices, all the major markets suffering steep losses in January, the S&P 500 posting its worst performance is the start of the pandemic, this as President Biden is looking to the Federal Reserve now to help battle inflation.

Let's get right to Larry Glazer from Mayflower Advisors.

Larry, welcome.

We will get to the markets in just a moment, but first to these price spikes and what we do about them. How can we get those prices back down?

LARRY GLAZER, MAYFLOWER ADVISORS: You know, Sandra, there's an old Wall Street expression that says, don't fight the Fed.

And that expression has never been more applicable than we look at what's going on in the country right now and the volatility in the financial markets over the last 30 days. And it's all in response to this runaway inflation that is plaguing American families, grocery bills up 20 percent since pre-pandemic levels.

I mean, families are suffering. My mom's calling me and telling me when I should buy eggs. What's a good day? I mean, that's not the conversation we want to be having with our families right now.

And I think, Sandra, what's not clear to me is, which is worse, the empty shelves or the rise in prices? But what is clear is that eight in 10 Americans in a recent Gallup poll see this continuing. That is a problem for the country.

And I will tell you, Sandra, what's also clear, all roads lead back to Washington. At the end of the day, it's Washington spending that's contributing to this issue, inability to control the supply chain concern. We can't unload a container ship. How are we going to fix the food and milk and orange juice prices?

And then, Sandra, at the end of the day, it's inability to infuse confidence in American voters. Consumer sentiment is plummeting, decade lows, all as a result of what's happening.

So, I think we got a lot of work to do in Washington. And I'm excited, because the second half of the year, maybe we will make some progress in midterm elections.

SMITH: Well, you know, the president seems to have punted to the Fed, but there are things -- some things...

GLAZER: Yes.

SMITH: ... the administration can do, right, like, maybe not implement more spending, considering spending historically is what drives inflation.

But there is no question voters are not happy about what's happening. And it's not just Republicans speaking about this. It's Democrats. It's moms and dads everywhere that are not just dealing with the grocery prices, because guess what? To get to the grocery store, your bill might be 20 percent higher, but your gas bill is 50 percent higher, and your home heating bill is up double digits.

So you're suffering on just about every front. This is becoming a big inflation -- a big political issue. And, as you just heard Hillary Vaughn reporting, it affects red states differently than blue states. There's a lot of analysis sort of being done why that is, but, definitely, in some of those swing states, they are experiencing higher spikes in inflation than others.

And that could change some minds in a midterm election year, Larry.

GLAZER: Look, there's no question.

As we look towards midterm elections, people do vote with their wallets. And when they see negative wage growth, because prices have grown at such an enormous level, it affects how they think about the economy. It affects how they think about their local representation. It affects how they think about Washington.

But at the end of the day, it's small businesses that always find the solution, a little bit less Washington, and a little bit more of those small businesses.

SMITH: Amen to that.

GLAZER: Because they're the ones that are resilient. They have navigated this...

SMITH: Yes.

GLAZER: ... through the pandemic, the closures and everything else, in spite of everything Washington has thrown at them. So, I'm optimistic as we look forward.

SMITH: That's why so many those small businesses that we talk to, they would say, if the government could just get out of the way, this is a really spectacular recovery.

We can all acknowledge that. But, sometimes, Washington chooses to get in the way of those recoveries.

I will throw to Jen Psaki at the White House, because she was asked about the economic recovery, the economy, and she pointed to the Omicron variant for why things may have slowed down. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PSAKI: Because Omicron was so highly transmissible, nearly nine million people called out sick in early January, when the jobs data was being collected. So, during that same period of time, and the week the survey was taken, the week of January 12, was at the height of the Omicron spike.

So we just wanted to kind of prepare people to understand how the data is taken, what they're looking at.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: All right, it seems like they're getting ahead of the jobs report to say things might not look so good because we were dealing with this spike in COVID due to the Omicron variant. Is that fair?

GLAZER: There's a growing concern that this is going to bleed into the regular economy.

We're going to see that play out in Friday's jobs report. And I think that's a big test, to see how far this has really gotten. First, it was an economic conversation. We talk about things like inflation that no one really cares about. Now it's real. Now it's the grocery aisle. Now it's Oreo -- it's Oreos, and it's Cheerios in smaller boxes. And you're getting fewer chicken wings in your Domino's, right?

And all those things really start to play out. People notice it. They notice that when they fill up at the gas tank, and they say, why is this?

I will say, Russia and China have not done us any favors, whether it's the geopolitical tensions or the COVID zero policy creating more supply chain.

SMITH: OK.

GLAZER: But that's Washington's responsibility to navigate those concerns to help out the American people, because people are suffering and they're frustrated right now.

SMITH: Our pocketbooks, as far as the markets, are suffering. It was a big day on Wall Street, Dow at 406 points, but, for the month of January, worst month for the U.S. stock market dating back to March 2020, when the pandemic began.

Good to have you here, Larry, thank you very much.

GLAZER: Nice seeing you, Sandra.

SMITH: OK.

Well, to the Southern border now, where rank-and-file agents are fed up and speaking up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAUL ORTIZ, U.S. BORDER PATROL CHIEF: I have been doing this job as long as you all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the problem.

ORTIZ: What is that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the problem, Chief. For evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

ORTIZ: I can't hear you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what happening. For evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. That's exactly what is happening here. Good men are doing nothing. You're allowing illegal aliens to be dropped off in communities.

ORTIZ: You are doing something.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir, we're not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMITH: Tensions running high at a meeting between Border Patrol chief Raul Ortiz and agents, where the chief said agency morale is at an all-time low.

FOX News' William La Jeunesse is in Yuma, Arizona. He's got the latest from there.

Hi, William.

WILLIAM LA JEUNESSE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sandra, morale is low because many agents don't feel the White House has their back.

They're working to stop illegal immigration, and many feel Biden demonstration policies are not. And you can hear that in this exchange with Chief Ortiz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good men are doing nothing. You're allowing illegal aliens to be dropped off in communities.

(CROSSTALK)

ORTIZ: You are doing something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LA JEUNESSE: Now, we took this video this morning.

One agent told me he feels like he's a taxi service, transporting men, women and children, only to see them released hours later. They also say the Border Patrol presence is not a deterrent, and there's little or no negative consequences to illegal entry.

Now, Yuma used to be the most secure sector on the border, now apprehensions up 2000 percent, from 30 a day to 1,000. And while the White House says solution is addressing the root cause in Central America, that's not working; 90 percent of the apprehensions here are not Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, or Mexico, but Brazil, Venezuela, India, Russia, the Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're from Ukraine.

LA JEUNESSE: You're from the Ukraine?

And you're from Russia. No friend of Putin?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Putin, no friend.

LA JEUNESSE: Putin, no friend.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No friend.

LA JEUNESSE: For you, Putin, no friend?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No friend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LA JEUNESSE: Now, migrants often will shed their I.D.s, anything that identifies their name or country, and that allows them to adopt a story to avoid deportation.

Some leave a trail of garbage, crime, 300 9/11 calls, 26 bodies in the desert from the sheriff, fields trampled, and some produce is unusable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEON WILMOT, YUMA COUNTY, ARIZONA, SHERIFF: This is how our country is being treated by every one of these individuals that come across. They dump all their garbage. They dumped their I.D.s.

ALEX MULLER, FARMER: Uzbeks, Pakistanis, Indians.

The whole world knows, come on down. It's open.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LA JEUNESSE: And, Sandra, this is some of the evidence that I picked up here this morning.

These are airline tickets from Amsterdam, from Mexico City, visas from Mexico, money from Venezuela, more tickets from Cancun, all going to Mexicali. They take a -- basically a taxi here, and then jump over the border. Takes about one hour. And then they're here in the U.S. -- Sandra, back to you.

SMITH: Just remarkable reporting there, William La Jeunesse at the border for us.

Thank you. William.

FOX News' Jacqui Heinrich asked the White House about the leaked video during today's briefing. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEINRICH: This video seems to show that morale is in a tough place, that these agents are frustrated who are having to carry out these policies.

Is anything being done to improve morale?

PSAKI: The role that Border Patrol agents play in ensuring security and safety at our borders is something that there's great value for in this administration. I would point to the Department of Homeland Security, who oversees, of course, the Border Patrol agents, and can see if there's anything -- any more specific programs that are under way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: So, what is the fallout, the political fallout of all of this for the administration?

The Washington Examiner's Kaylee McGhee White joins us now. By, the way, we did call Chief Raul Ortiz and DHS Secretary Mayorkas to join us. Both are welcome any time.

Kaylee, I will get to the political fallout in a moment. But this is real- world scenarios for a lot of folks. And it's not just a border problem, as we have been reporting. This is happening in non-border states, where you have got these migrants coming across the border in numbers that are hard to believe.

Yuma border encounters, as we just bannered, up 2000 percent full year 2022 year to date. This is what those Border Patrol agents are dealing with. And they are frustrated, Kaylee.

KAYLEE MCGHEE WHITE, THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Absolutely.

And like you said, this isn't just happening in border states either. Videos that we have obtained show that these migrants are being shipped to all different parts of the country, to New York, to Florida, to all these other states that don't necessarily intersect with the Mexican border.

And yet the Biden administration is shipping them secretly, oftentimes overnight, to try and keep it quiet. So now you have dozens of cities across the country that aren't even close to the border having to deal with these issues as well.

SMITH: The White House has pushed back on that, saying that there are no secret flights, as you saw our Peter Doocy report from the White House on Friday, although the pictures we're showing here of flights landing in suburban New York, Westchester County, carrying migrants that land in the middle of the night.

So we continue to ask the White House for a full explanation of these flights. Who are these migrants and where are they being sent?

As that is happening, you have got border officials, as you saw in that leaked video, they're frustrated and they're speaking out. They're saying morale is at an all-time low. We're losing agents. And all this frustration was acknowledged with Mayorkas in the room.

Do you think this will force the White House to prioritize the border as a top issue?

MCGHEE WHITE: They need to but they probably won't, because it's such an issue that is so controversial among the left, which we already know the Biden administration is working overtime to please.

And so you do have so much pent-up frustration among Border Patrol agents, who feel like they're literally not allowed to do their jobs, which is to secure the border, to apprehend migrants who are crossing illegally.

And like the one agent said, he feels like he's being used as a taxi service because he is not allowed to do what he was hired to do. So, will the Biden administration do anything about it? They absolutely need to and I hope they do.

SMITH: And, obviously, it is a huge political issue that they will face in the midterm election year, as it has continued to be highlighted, the frustration at the border and those Border Patrol agents frustrated with their leaders, and doing it with Mayorkas in the room made that a very big story.

We will continue to follow it. Thank you.

The storm slamming the East Coast may have moved on, but it's still wreaking havoc for flyers trying to take off -- Alexis.

ALEXIS MCADAMS, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Sandra.

That's right. The storm is gone, but there are still lots of delays. You can check it out behind me here at La Guardia. It's getting a little bit better, but look at this video.

This is in from JFK just overnight. You can see lots of bags and lots of people waiting, as many people say they were stranded for hours.

I will have that story coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMITH: Not just snow totals piling up after that wicked winter storm, airlines still dealing with thousands of cancellations.

And that has stranded passengers demanding answers.

FOX News' Alexis McAdams has more from New York's La Guardia Airport.

What's going on there, Alexis? Hi.

MCADAMS: Hi, Sandra.

Well, today is a lot better to be here at La Guardia, yesterday, a completely different situation. People were up in arms because they wanted to get out of New York City, and that storm wouldn't let them go anywhere. So they were stuck at the airport for hours.

Actually just talked to one woman who said she flew into JFK last night, and she was on the tarmac and her JetBlue flight, according to her, for at least three hours, so a lot of people are still trying to get out of town.

Take a look at this video. This came in from overnight, since we have been talking about JFK. They seemed to have more issues there overnight.

So, that is the baggage claim there, packed there, as hundreds of people were reportedly stranded due to weather delays and major cancellations.

JetBlue Airline is the hardest hit in the United States again today, with cancellations at about 16 percent, according to FlightAware. We reached out to JetBlue for comment about those delays. And other people are definitely calling them too.

The airline responding, saying, in part: "It normally takes a few days to fully recover when a storm of this size significantly impacts our two largest markets of New York and Boston. And our first priority continues to be restarting safely. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience, and we're working to get them on their way as quickly as possible."

So, people hope they stick to their word, so they can get out of town here.

Now, this drone footage is amazing. It shows that aftermath of the storm that hit Massachusetts. That is Brant Rock, Massachusetts, there on your screen, covered in frozen sea spray, those houses after a nor'easter slammed the East Coast over the weekend.

Some towns in Massachusetts hit with more than two feet of snow, so they're digging out again today. Now, on Saturday, La Guardia was empty. Nearly every flight was canceled, so people didn't even show up, including crews, as they did work to de-ice and also clear the roadways and the runways, though La Guardia, JFK, Newark, and Boston Logan International were hardest hit over the weekend.

Back out here live at La Guardia. We can tell you things are a little bit calmer, people still trying to get out today, over 300 flights canceled in the United States. And a few thousand, we can tell you, are delayed, so make sure you check, Sandra, before you head to the airport, or else you will be hanging out with us.

SMITH: A lot of travelers affected. That's for sure.

Alexis, thank you.

All right, switching up gears now, as Spotify hoping to curb those recent calls to remove podcast host Joe Rogan from its platform.

FOX Business' Ashley Webster has more on the changes the company is now making.

Hi, Ashley.

ASHLEY WEBSTER, FOX NEWS BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Indeed.

Hey there, Sandra.

Joe Rogan himself speaking out, saying in a video posted on Instagram that he's not trying, he says, to promote misinformation about COVID, only to talk to people who have, well, differing opinions. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE ROGAN, HOST, "THE JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE": I'm interested in telling the truth. I'm interested in finding out what the truth is. I'm not interested in only talking to people that have one perspective.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEBSTER: Differing opinions.

Now, over the weekend, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek announced an advisory will be added to any podcast episode discussing COVID-19, saying -- quote -- "This new effort to combat misinformation will roll out to countries around the world in the coming days. To our knowledge, this content advisory is the first of its kind by a major podcast platform."

High-profile musicians, including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, may have ditched Spotify over claims of misinformation. But the streaming platform is holding firm, refusing to remove or even censor Rogan's podcast. Why? One big reason for that, in 2020, Spotify reportedly paid more than $100 million for the exclusive rights to the podcast.

So they don't want to budge. Another reason, Spotify isn't a music company. It's a tech company trying to maximize profits. And, also, Spotify's popular music service is not profitable. So there's a lot riding on the popularity of podcasts, especially Joe Rogan, who, by the way, generates an estimated 11 million listeners per episode. Not bad.

SMITH: OK, Ashley Webster on that story for us.

Ashley, thank you. Great to see you.

A Senate panel, meanwhile, readying the mother of all sanctions against Russia after an invasion. Why not before?

Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Bill Hagerty will join us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMITH: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee getting ready to hit Russia with sanctions, but when?

Let's get to a key member of that committee. Tennessee Republican Bill Hagerty joins us now.

Thank you so much for joining us, sir.

So, give us some idea of what this looks like.

SEN. BILL HAGERTY (R-TN): So, it's good to be with you, Sandra.

We have a serious effort under way regarding sanctions. The real question is timing.

Again, President Biden's had the authority to do this through executive action all along. He's actually refused to impose Nord Stream to sanctions. And he actually worked hard with 44 other Senate Democrats to frustrate Senator Cruz's bill to force them to impose Nord Stream 2 sanctions on Russia, again, trying to remove from Vladimir Putin's hands a geopolitical weapon that he's creating.

But, right now, what we're focused on is getting sanctions in place and getting them in place now, from my perspective.

SMITH: OK. And...

HAGERTY: The debate right now is whether it happens after Putin has acted or before.

SMITH: And, of course, the White House continues to promise crushing sanctions if Russia invades, although, today, there was mention from the White House and Jen Psaki in that Briefing Room that there could be the ability of Russia to absorb these tough sanctions.

So, where are you on that? And how tough do these have to be to really cripple Russia from being able to do this?

HAGERTY: Well, I tell you where I am right now. And that is that Russia and, frankly, the world has heard enough of tough talk.

Actions speak much louder than words. What we need to do is impose sanctions right now to give Vladimir Putin a taste of what's to come and to demonstrate America's resolve.

China's watching this too. The ayatollahs in Iran are watching this. And what they can see is an America that won't defend its own Southern border, an America that actually walked away from energy independence and has done everything in its power to wage war on oil and gas.

We need to reverse course there and stand strong.

SMITH: Interesting.

And I should say, Jen Psaki, also on behalf of President Biden, saying that this could happen at any moment now.

HAGERTY: Yes.

SMITH: It was the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. warning about those sanctions could be absorbed by Russia.

How tough can we get? What position are we in to do that, as far as economic sanctions, knowing this could cripple some of those European countries if we were to go too tough on Russia?

Final thought on that.

HAGERTY: Well, I think we have had the opportunity for nine months here with this administration to step up and address Russia.

That's when Russia's actions began. And what we have had is inaction and feckless behavior here from the Biden administration. So, I think it's even more important than ever to step up and show leadership as a nation, again, defend our borders, again, regain our energy independence.

And with respect to these sanctions, we should lay out the toughest set of sanctions absolutely possible, financial sanctions, crushing sanctions, whether they be against individuals like Vladimir Putin, against key corporations, or the Russian government.

SMITH: OK, we really appreciate your time.

Thank you so much, Senator, for joining so.

HAGERTY: Thank you, Sandra.

SMITH: I'm sorry. We're short on time there.

We will have you back soon.

And that will do it for us today. Thank you so much for watching.

Catch me tomorrow on "AMERICA REPORTS." That's at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time every weekday, along with John Roberts.

Thanks for joining us. I'm Sandra Smith.

"THE FIVE" starts right now.

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