COVID-19 restrictions return as cases, hospitalizations spike in US

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COVID-19 restrictions return as cases, hospitalizations spike in US

Fox News correspondent Jonathan Serrie joins 'Special Report' with the latest on the pandemic.

This is a rush transcript from “Special Report" October 26, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Good evening and welcome to Washington. I'm Bret Baier. Breaking tonight, 

history on Capitol Hill, uncertainty on Wall Street and enthusiasm in 

Pennsylvania. 

There are eight days to go before Election Day and President Trump is out 

hosting several events in Pennsylvania while the former vice president also 

popped into the keystone state late today.

Investors on Wall Street showing their concerns over the coronavirus spike 

and lack of new government help in the form of a stalled stimulus so far. 

The Dow finishing in the red, 650 after being off by almost a thousand 

points earlier in the day. The S&P 500 lost 64, the NASDAQ fell 189.

Meantime, the U.S. Senate is poised to confirm President Trump's third U.S. 

Supreme Court nominee. The process after the death of Justice Ruth Bader 

Ginsburg just before the election has caused huge controversy and prompted 

Democrat vows of retribution. 

What that would look like, we don't yet know. The vote on the confirmation 

of Judge Amy Coney Barrett is expected in about an hour and a half.

Congressional correspondent Chad Pergram is live on Capitol Hill tonight 

with the very latest. Good evening, Chad.

CHAD PERGRAM, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, 

Bret. Justice Clarence Thomas will swear in Barrett tonight. This 

confirmation will long be known for speed cast against the specter of 

coronavirus just before an election.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PERGRAM: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised just hours after 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg died that the Senate would muscle through a nominee 

despite the looming election. The Senate hasn't confirmed a nominee this 

late in a presidential election year ever. Democrats have tried to delay a 

vote on President Trump's nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett at every turn. 

This weekend, Democrats even expressed concerns about Vice President Mike 

Pence in his role of president of the Senate potentially presiding over the 

confirmation vote after multiple Pence's aids tested positive for the 

coronavirus.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): The Republican Party is willing to ignore the 

pandemic to rush this Supreme Court nomination forward. God save us.

PERGRAM: The Senate did kill a filibuster of the nomination with Republican 

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski arguing, it was too close to the election to 

fill a seat. But on Saturday, Murkowski threaded the needle.

SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK): Well, I oppose the process that has led us to 

this point. I do not hold it against her as an individual who has navigated 

the gauntlet with grace, skill and humility.

PERGRAM: The only Republican opposing Barrett is Maine Susan Collins, 

locked in a difficult reelection fight.

There was always worry about the coronavirus as Republicans tried to 

confirm Barrett. Three GOP senators tested positive including Judiciary 

Committee members Mike Lee and Thom Tillis who attended Barrett's 

introduction at the White House in what turned out to be a super spreading 

event.

Now, a few GOP senators are undecided about attending an evening swearing 

in ceremony for Barrett at the White House, others are cautiously on board.

SEN. KEVIN CRAMER (R-ND): I would anticipate that everybody will practice 

could so -- hygiene, social distancing or whatever is appropriate. I'm 

certainly not concern for myself and you know, I'll do -- I'll do my part.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PERGRAM: Clarence Thomas will swear in Barrett and with this vote, 

Republicans will have reshaped the Supreme Court for decades, Bret.

BAIER: Big story, we'll see it live here on Fox. Chad, thank you.

Also breaking tonight, we're now in the final full week before the 

presidential election and President Trump has just completed a third rally 

in this day through Pennsylvania. A three-rally swing.

Chief White House correspondent John Roberts joins us tonight from 

Martinsburg where the present just wrapped up, that third stop of the day. 

A lot of people out there. Good evening, John.

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: A lot of 

very enthusiastic people and the Marine One will be spooling up to take the 

president back up to the airport that he landed at and back to D.C. 

tonight.

You know, the old adage, Bret, is that in the last week of the campaign, 

you want to run as if you're 10 points down. For the president nationally 

and in some states, he's actually close to that mark but counting on 

enthusiasm like the three rallies he had today in Pennsylvania to turn 

around that equation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you, everybody. Thank 

you.

ROBERTS: President Trump with the Pennsylvania triple play today, three 

stops in Martinsburg, Lititz and Allentown. In the fracking capital of 

America, the president hammering Joe Biden's pledge to get rid of fossil 

fuels.

TRUMP: Joe Biden confirmed his plan to abolish the entire U.S. oil 

industry. I said, you mean no more oil, Joe? Well, that's what I mean.

That means no fracking, no natural gas, no jobs, no energy for Pennsylvania 

families. He will eradicate your energy and send Pennsylvania into a 

crippling depression.

ROBERTS: Down five points to Biden in the RealClearPolitics average, 

President Trump hoping lightning will strike twice and again hand him the 

keystone state's 20 electoral votes.

TRUMP: I am running against the worst candidate in the history of 

presidential politics. I am. I really believe that. Can you even imagine 

losing to a guy like this?

ROBERTS: Joe Biden aiming to make the president eat those words by keeping 

up criticism of the White House's coronavirus response. After five of the 

vice president's staff tested positive, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows saying 

the drive is now focused on treatment over containment.

MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: So, here's what we have to do, 

we're not going to control the pandemic, we are going to control the fact 

that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation. There is --

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Why aren't we going to get control of the 

pandemic? 

MEADOWS: Because it is a contagious virus just like the -- 

ROBERTS: The president firing back at Biden that his plan to deal with 

coronavirus would bankrupt the country.

TRUMP: He wants to shutdown the whole country and we're rounding the turn. 

You know, all they want to talk about is COVID. By the way, on November 

4th, you will be hearing so much about it. COVID, COVID, COVID.

ROBERTS: The president today expanding on a tactic he first used Friday in 

Florida. Video vignettes of Biden over history. First on fracking, now on 

China and trade.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The rising China is a positive, 

positive development.

ROBERTS: In the closing days of the campaign, the president trying to make 

Biden's own words one of his strongest assets.

TRUMP: Pennsylvania lost almost 50 percent of its manufacturing jobs after 

Biden's NAFTA and China disaster. Sleepy Joe has betrayed Pennsylvania. How 

the hell can you vote for him?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: The White House already indicating possible changes ahead and some 

of them definite if the president wins reelection. The senior 

administration official telling Fox News that if the president prevails on 

November third or whenever we know the results of the election, he will 

replace the FBI Director Christopher Wray, as well the Pentagon Chief Mark 

Esper will likely be out, Bret.

BAIER: John Roberts traveling with the president in Pennsylvania. John, 

thanks.

Joe Biden is once again trying to clarify his positions on issues such as 

energy policy and free college. The Democratic nominee spoke with voters 

and reporters this afternoon in Chester, Pennsylvania. Correspondent Peter 

Doocy reports tonight from Wilmington, Delaware.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: The closing days of the Biden 

campaign look a lot different than the closing days of the Trump campaign.

BIDEN: We're going to be traveling, continue to travel, but the big 

difference between us and the reason why it looks like we're not traveling, 

we're not putting on super spreaders.

DOOCY: In Pennsylvania, Biden continues trying to calm the nerves of energy 

concern voters.

BIDEN: I'm not shutting down oil fields. I'm not eliminating fracking. I'm 

invested in clean energy. We're going to make sure that we don't continue 

to subsidize the oil companies.

DOOCY: But that's not what he promised during the primaries.

BIDEN: I guarantee you -- I guarantee you, we're going to end fossil fuel.

DOOCY: The Democratic nominee is also putting a price tag on free tuition.

BIDEN: I can send every single qualified person to a four-year college 

interstate for a 150 billion.

DOOCY: But there's a catch.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After our interview, Mr. Biden staff told us he 

misspoke and that the cost of free public college could be twice as much as 

he said.

DOOCY: This week, Biden says he'll visit Georgia, Iowa, Wisconsin and 

Florida.

BIDEN: There has not been a day that hadn't been a 12-hour day yet. 

DOOCY: His V.P. nominee Kamala Harris is on the trail too but still hasn't 

hosted a formal press conference since joining the ticket.

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I promised Joe 

that I will give him that perspective and always be honest with him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And is that a socialist or progressive perspective?

HARRIS: No.

DOOCY: Foreign policy experience is part of what made Biden attractive as a 

running mate for Barack Obama, but it doesn't get a ton of attention on the 

trail.

BIDEN: Well, I think the biggest threat to America right now in terms of 

breaking up our security, our alliances is Russia.

DOOCY: That's an answer Obama dismissed when Mitt Romney made it.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And you said Russia, 

not Hokkaido, he said Russia. In the 1980s they're now calling to ask for 

their foreign policy back.

DOOCY: Obama is pitching Biden in swing states as more polite than the 

president.

OBAMA: We're not going to have a president that goes out of his way to 

insult anybody who he doesn't think is nice enough to him.

DOOCY: But he did that to a group of noisy Trump supporters Saturday.

BIDEN: I'll work as hard for those who don't support me as though should do 

including those chumps in the microphone out there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOOCY: Nobody crashed at the event this afternoon just inside the 

Pennsylvania, Delaware border as it wasn't on Biden's public schedule. It 

was more of a drop by a voter mobilization center. But curious voters who 

showed up after Biden had already arrived, couldn't get anywhere close, 

Bret.

BAIER: You know, the president Peter was making that point out a couple of 

stops. When did the decision from covering the Biden campaign -- when did 

the decision come down that he was going to Pennsylvania?

DOOCY: It was just this afternoon and we were sitting here doing a live 

shot and we watched as the traveling press pool had their temperatures 

taken and they were put on a bus. They did not know where they were going. 

We didn't know where they were going until they actually got there.

And so, it is not something that if you want to go see Joe Biden and you 

live in Southeastern, Pennsylvania you can go and do. It kind of just have 

to be in the right place at the right time or invited by the campaign if 

you want to catch him.

BAIER: All right, Peter Doocy with the campaign in Wilmington, Delaware. 

Peter, thanks.

The global infection count for the coronavirus pandemic is now above 43 

million tonight. The U.S. leads the way with that with an official count of 

about 8.7 million cases. New records are being set in a number of states 

every day on cases and also hospitalizations. Correspondent Jonathan Serrie 

has tonight's wrap up from Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN SERRIE, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. is averaging 

70,000 new coronavirus cases each day and broke records with more than 

83,000 on Friday and Saturday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm amenable to do anything that will stop the spread at 

this juncture.

SERRIE: El Paso, Texas is open to temporary hospital at the Civic Center to 

handle an influx of patients. The county judge has imposed a 10:00 p.m. 

curfew that carries a $500 fine for violations. Cases are rising from the 

Texas border to the farms of Minnesota.

DR. DEBORAH BIRX, CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: The viruses in these 

rural communities. It's in your farmland. It's among all of you.

SERRIE: But according to news reports in Utah, some mothers are taking to 

social media urging parents against testing their children in an effort to 

keep COVID numbers artificially low so that schools can remain open.

Europe is seeing new surges in places that had suppressed previous 

outbreaks. Out of caution, this week's World Health Summit in Berlin is 

being held online.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The COVID-19 pandemic is the greatest crisis of our age.

SERRIE: AstraZeneca has announced the vaccine it's developing with the 

University of Oxford produces a similar immune response in young and older 

adults. This raises hopes the world will have a safe and effective vaccine 

before the end of the year.

However, Dr. Anthony Fauci says the first doses will be limited and likely 

prioritize for frontline health care workers and high-risk individuals.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS 

DISEASES: When you talk about vaccinating a substantial proportion of the 

population, so that you can have a significant impact on the dynamics of 

the outbreak that very likely will not be until the second or third quarter 

of the year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SERRIE: And just in the last hour of the governor of Idaho announced that 

he will be re-imposing some coronavirus restrictions after hospitals in his 

state report an influx of COVID patience.

And starting Wednesday, Illinois health officials will be requiring bars 

and restaurants in suburban Cook County outside Chicago to close at 11:00 

p.m. nightly, Bret.

BAIER: Jonathan Serrie live in Atlanta. Jonathan, thank you. 

That news spooked the markets. Let's get some analysis of what happened 

today on Wall Street and where the markets may be heading. Connell McShane 

of Fox Business Network joins us from New York. Good evening, Connell.

CONNELL MCSHANE, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK ANCHOR: Hi, good evening to you, 

Bret. You know, it was a sharp selloff as you said at the top of the 

broadcast tonight, even though we came back at the end, it was still the 

worst day for the Dow since the third of September, down 650 points.

And investors, they really pointed to two catalysts. One is the fear of 

more economic lockdown, due to an uptick in the virus what Jonathan was 

just reporting on. And two is the fading hope of more stimulus coming out 

of Washington.

Now, in terms of stocks, the obvious place to look really these travel and 

leisure names: Royal Caribbean, United Airlines, Marriott, they've all been 

pressured for months. But on a day like this, they're going to fall by even 

more than on another day. World Caribbean down 9-1/2 percent.

Technology as well, huge week for that sector. Amazon, Alphabet Google's 

parent and Apple, they all report earnings later in the week. They all were 

lower today.

But in the midst of all this, any hope for market might be helped out by 

some sort of pre-election stimulus bill seems to be fading away even though 

White House officials are still pressing for some kind of action on items 

where there's mutual agreement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: We don't need a gigantic 

bill with a lot of areas, and this is the issue, they have nothing to do 

with COVID or the economy you see. We can fight that out over the election 

in a week or afterwards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCSHANE: Well, late afternoon, conversation between the Treasury Secretary 

Steve Mnuchin, the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did last we're told almost an 

hour. No agreement though was reached, even though the Speaker's Office 

says she remains optimistic about a deal before the election.

You heard Larry Kudlow, mentioning the stimulus fight continuing after the 

election. Well, some polls now showing key races that could decide control 

of the Senate are tighter than ever.

And last week, Wall Street investors were actually pointing to the 

possibility of a democratic sweep. White House Senate in the House as 

making a more aggressive stimulus package more likely after November 3rd. 

And now, some rethinking that scenario. Bret?

BAIER: OK, Connell, we'll track it. Thank you.

Up next, the already shaky ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan 

brokered by the U.S. We'll explain.

First, here is what some of our Fox affiliates around the country are 

covering tonight. Fox 6 in Milwaukee as an effort to recall Wisconsin 

Democratic Governor Tony Evers fails. The drives organizer told supporters 

today their Facebook page did not collect enough signatures.

Fox 2 in Detroit as city leaders and industry advocates unveil a new 

proposal that allows for the sale of cannabis in Detroit it also aims to 

guarantee some of that commerce goes to small businesses in the city. This 

occurs almost a year after marijuana's legalization in Michigan.

And this is a live look at Daytona Beach from Fox 35. One of the big 

stories there tonight. A baby boy white rhino born at Disney's Animal 

Kingdom -- obviously in Orlando. Rhino Kendi gave birth to the baby Sunday 

morning. Within the first hour of being born, the rhino calf was nursing 

standing, and walking around near mom. There you go.

That's tonight's live look "OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY" from SPECIAL REPORT. We'll 

be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: A fast-moving wildfire has forced evacuations for 70,000 people in 

Southern California. Two firefighters have been seriously injured. Powerful 

winds across California have prompted power cuts for hundreds of thousands 

to try to prevent utility equipment from sparking new blazes.

The fire in Orange County broke out just before 7:00 local time this 

morning. It quickly threatened neighborhoods in Irvine, that sprawling city 

of about 280,000 people nearby.

What was Tropical Storm Zeta has now strengthened to a hurricane. It's on 

track from Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula resorts, and then, likely will move 

on for a possible landfall on the central U.S. Gulf Coast at midweek. Zeta 

is the earliest ever 27th named storm of the Atlantic season.

Scientists say water on the moon is more widespread than previously known. 

A research team is reporting the first unambiguous detection of water 

molecules on the lunar surface. Another team says the moon possesses about 

15,000 square miles of permanent shadows that could potentially harbor 

hidden pockets of water in the form of ice.

International news now. The U.S. is threatening to destroy Iranian-made 

missiles, should they be successfully shipped to Venezuela. State 

Department correspondent Rich Edson live tonight with what led to this 

extraordinary threat. Good evening, Rich.

RICH EDSON, FOX NEWS CHANNEL WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good evening, 

Bret. And senior U.S. official say they're deterring potential arms and 

missile shipments from Iran to Venezuela, even threatening to intercept or 

destroy them.

Elliott Abrams is the State Department special representative for Iran and 

Venezuela. He tells Fox News, "The transfer of long-range missiles from 

Iran to Venezuela is not acceptable to the United States and will not be 

tolerated or permitted.

Iran has announced its intention to engage in arms sales, and Venezuela is 

an obvious target because those two pariah regimes already have a 

relationship."

A senior administration official adds that the United States will make 

every effort to stop shipments of long-range missiles from Iran. And if 

they do arrive in Venezuela, the U.S. will, "eliminate them".

The officials provided no information that Iranian armed shipments to 

Venezuela are happening now or are imminent when it comes to missiles, they 

only claim that Iran and Venezuela are a likely pair for this type of deal.

Now, last week, this is part of the Iran nuclear agreement. A United 

Nations arms embargo against Iran, buying or selling conventional weapons 

expired. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, says that means his country can 

now purchase or sell arms from and to anyone they desire.

On Venezuelan state television in August, disputed Venezuelan President 

Nicolas Maduro floated the idea of buying missiles from Iran.

This afternoon, the U.S. Treasury Department announced more sanctions on 

Iran's oil sector, including four people that officials say are involved in 

selling Iranian gasoline to the Venezuelan government. And the U.S. has 

repeatedly layered on sanctions in the regimes in Caracas and in Tehran. 

Bret?

EDSON: Rich Edson, live at the State Department. Rich, thank you.

The Trump administration is announcing another round of potential arms 

sales to Taiwan. This comes on the same day, China slapped sanctions on 

U.S. defense firms. The latest package from the U.S. to Taiwan includes 400 

Harpoon anti-ship missiles at an estimated cost of more than $2.3 billion.

Last week, the State Department approved an arms deal to Taiwan for $1.8 

billion worth of missiles, artillery, and sensors.

Armenia and Azerbaijan are accusing each other of violating the new U.S. 

brokered ceasefire that was supposed to begin this morning.

Senior foreign affairs correspondent Greg Palkot is watching the situation 

tonight from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GREG PALKOT, FOX NEWS CHANNEL SENIOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Clashes 

between Azerbaijan and Armenia continued today just minutes after a 

brokered ceasefire was set to take place. Each side blaming the other for 

violations.

The pause brokered by Secretary of State Pompeo and foreign ministers of 

both countries was the third attempt to settle a dispute over the breakaway 

territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

President Trump had tweeted positively about it last night. 

"Congratulations to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani 

President Ilham Aliyev, who just agreed to adhere to a ceasefire effective 

at midnight. Many lies will be saved. Proud of my team."

When Fox News spoke exclusively last Friday with Azeri President Aliyev, he 

was optimistic too.

Do you think there can be a peaceful resolution of this conflict? Do you 

think you can find that diplomatic answer?

ILHAM ALIYEV, PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN: Yes. I am absolutely confident. But 

it depends on the will from Armenian side.

PALKOT: Most telling, perhaps, a recent comment from the Armenian prime 

minister.

NIKOL PASHINYAN, PRIME MINISTER OR ARMENIA (through translator): There is 

no way to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh issue through diplomacy for a long 

time.

PALKOT: Hundreds have died including civilians and four weeks of fighting. 

The biggest flare-up since the 90s when tens of thousands were killed. A 

fear, local battles could spread regionally. Russia is an ally of Armenia, 

Turkey of Azerbaijan. Neighbor Iran is looking on.

ALIYEV: We are completely against any form of internationalization of the 

conflict.

PALKOT: Still, the international community including the U.S. is trying to 

find peace, and maybe some political gains. President Trump touts his 

administration's diplomacy. Armenian-Americans are part of the electorate 

in some swing states. Azerbaijan's leader says, he'll accept help how ever 

it comes.

ALIYEV: Any motivation in order to put an end to hostility is supported by 

us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PALKOT: All sides are set to meet again in Geneva on Thursday, as efforts 

continue to stop the bloodshed for many reasons. Bret.

BAIER: Greg Palkot in London. Greg, thanks.

Up next, race, one of the top issues in this campaign. Tonight, an in-depth 

look at how that might affect the vote.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER:  This evening we continue our in-depth look at major issues for 

voters in the election. Tonight's focus, race and how it factors in this 

year. Here's correspondent Kevin Corke. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE:  A house divided could not stand. That 

is a great and timeless truth. Today, once again, we are a house divided. 

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:  Nobody has done more for 

the black community than Donald Trump. Possible exception, but the 

exception of Abraham Lincoln, nobody has done what I've done. 

KEVIN CORKE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT:  Two messages with competing visions 

of what racial reconciliation looks like. While former Vice President Joe 

Biden says his campaign will restore the soul of America, President Trump 

is promising economic renewal as a key to healing the wounds of racial 

injustice. And after a summer of unrest, it is an issue that carries 

particular political heft in 2020. 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE:  I think we have a serious problem with racism, and I 

think it's more endemic than we really want to believe it is. And it's 

generational. 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE:  Our society was built on racism and systematic 

discrimination, and a lot of people are living into that without even 

knowing it. 

CORKE:  Though he won just eight percent of the black vote in 2016, the 

president's primary pitch to African-American voters this time centers 

around economic issues -- pre-COVID record low unemployment, criminal 

justice reform, record funding for Historically Black Colleges and 

Universities, and Enterprise Zones designed to drive jobs into the 

community. 

The former vice president, meanwhile, is promising a collaborative 

community effort, bringing together stakeholders from across the spectrum 

to address inequality in the community. 

Still, for many voters, race is far from the most pressing issue facing the 

country right now, a possible reflection of the progress we've made, say 

researchers, on a still-very long road. 

DAVID BARKER, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY:  Things are better, at least if you're 

at a certain age. Younger people who have not lived through those 

experiences that we have just come into things with a different set of 

expectations. 

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CORKE:  But the real battleground, Bret, in 2020, may be how to get more 

Hispanic support. Of course, the former vice president is doing well in 

early voting, but you may recall back in 2016, President Trump got about 30 

percent of Hispanic support, and that's a figure that campaign officials 

tell me tonight that they are confident they will best in 2020. Bret? 

BAIER:  We'll see. Kevin, thank you. 

Minnesota Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis underwent emergency 

surgery for a severe internal hernia today. The Lewis campaign says the 

procedure was a success. It's believed he will be released from hospital in 

the next couple of days. Lewis is challenging incumbent Democrat Senator 

Tina Smith in what has become a very tight race, a major challenge to the 

incumbent there. 

Up next, we conduct a test to see just how reliable voting by mail really 

is. The results when we come back. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER:  If you're planning to vote early this week, you may see some long 

lines. Wait times vary from place to place. Early voting began in New York 

Saturday. Today was the first day in Maryland. Some cities, such as Los 

Angeles, are using sports arenas to handle large volume. Ohio is one of 

just five states with Sunday voting yesterday and again on November 1st. 

There are new developments tonight in the ongoing fight over the role of 

mail-in ballots in next week's election. There are worries about whether 

the U.S. Postal Service is capable of dealing with that volume. Senior 

correspondent Eric Shawn takes a look tonight from New York. 

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIC SHAWN, FOX NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT:  For months, Americans have been 

worried about the reliability of mail-in ballots, that after the Trump 

administration changed postal service procedures. The agency says those 

moves have been put on hold until after the election, but concerns 

continue. 

A recent FOX News poll shows 34 percent of voters plan to mail in their 

ballots early, so we decided to test the dependability of the mail with our 

own experiment. Starting on September 14th, FOX News mailed 500 replica 

ballot envelopes from and within Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, and 

New York. We mailed 100 envelopes from each city, 20 addressed to this P.O. 

Box we rented in New York City. The other 80, locally within each city, 

mailed for more than 50 mailboxes across the country. 

This is the first envelope that I'm going to mail. As you can see, we 

replicated the size and weight of a typical ballot. We are not only going 

to see how long it takes for these ballots to get to our Post Office box in 

Manhattan, but we're also going to see if some cities are slower. 

Our New York team and I mailed our simulated ballots from more than a dozen 

mailboxes within 67 miles of our Manhattan P.O. box. All of those envelopes 

arrived within two to five days. In fact, New York and Los Angeles batted 

100 percent. Every envelope from those cities arrived. The longest took 

eight days. 

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE:  Sir, could you please mail these for me? 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE:  Yes, no problem.

SHAWN:  But a chunk from Miami is still missing, and one envelope mailed 

from Chicago never showed up. 

As of today, out of the 500 envelopes we mailed, 11 did not reach their 

destination. Of those, nine are MIA, two are returned mailed from Dallas. 

In all, a little more than two percent of the total mailing never made it. 

It's worth noting that our mail test occurred before the recent crush of 

tens of millions of real mail-in ballots, which the postal service, by law, 

does identify as election mail and expedite, unlike our samples. 

A Postal Service spokesperson told us in part, quote, "The Postal Service's 

number one priority between now and the November election is the secure and 

timely delivery of the nation's election mail," and that it, quote, "cannot 

substantiate that our test represents a reasonable approximation of 

election mail." 

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SHAWN:  A report from the Postal Service's Office of Inspector General 

found mail delivery has slowed, citing in part the Trump administration's 

operational changes. Bret? 

BAIER:  Fascinating. Eric, thank you. 

Up next, the confirmation vote for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney 

Barrett, and the start of the final full week of the presidential campaign. 

We'll talk about all of it with an expanded panel when we come back. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:  At last week's debate, 

Joe Biden confirmed his plan to abolish the entire U.S. oil industry. 

Would you close down the oil industry? 

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE:  I would transition from the oil 

industry, yes. 

TRUMP:  Oh, that's a big statement.

BIDEN:  I will transition. That is a big statement. 

TRUMP:  Will you remember that, Texas? Will you remember that, 

Pennsylvania, Oklahoma? 

BIDEN:  I'm not shutting down oil fields. I'm not eliminating fracking. I'm 

investing in clean energy, and we're going to make sure that we don't 

continue to subsidize the oil companies. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER:  Former Vice President Biden popping into Pennsylvania about 45 

minutes from his house today as the president made three stops in 

Pennsylvania with big, big crowds at these events. There is one from 

Allentown earlier today. He made two more stops through the day, all 

outside, and the president sometimes going on for a long time. Now he's on 

his way driving back to the airport. Marine One had some weather issues. 

He'll be back for an event this evening for the swearing in of Judge Amy 

Coney Barrett. 

Let's bring in our expanded panel, FOX News senior political analyst Brit 

Hume, Ben Domenech, publisher of "The Federalist," Mara Liasson, national 

political correspondent of National Public Radio, there you go, and Chris 

Stirewalt, politics editor here at FOX News.

Brit, you look at these rallies, and people, we look back to 2016 and they 

say remember all the big rallies you had for President Trump, then-

candidate Trump, at this time. Do you read anything into these rallies? 

BRIT HUME, FOX NEWS SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST:  Well, I would size it up 

this way, Bret. We didn't think four years ago that rally size were a 

really good indicator and it turned out that they were. But at this stage I 

think it looks like this. Trump is behind in the polls, he is well behind 

in money, but he's ahead, and probably way ahead, on voter enthusiasm. 

The problem for him is that an unenthusiastic vote cast counts just as much 

as an enthusiastic one. So the question again comes down to, are the polls 

wrong, are they off? They were in a number of key states last time. Are 

they this time? I don't rule it out, but I don't think it's what I'd bet 

on. 

BAIER:  Yes. Mara, you had the former vice president pop in to Pennsylvania 

late in the day. It was not scheduled. If you take a look at the calendar, 

today the president had those three stops, as I mentioned, in Pennsylvania. 

Tomorrow Vice President Biden is in Georgia, Warm Springs and Atlanta. The 

president is in Lansing, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nebraska. They don't have 

a schedule for the vice president on Wednesday. The president is in 

Arizona, two stops on Wednesday. Thursday Biden is in Florida, two stops. 

Friday, Iowa and Wisconsin, and the president has pledged to do more stops, 

obviously, later in the week. He's clearly going after the barnstorming 

effort. 

MARA LIASSON, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO:  

Right. There's no doubt that he -- the big rallies, the packed schedule, 

that's part of his brand. And I think he's trying to make the argument, 

look, Joe Biden isn't as strong as me, as energetic as me, he keeps a very 

mild schedule. 

But if you look at that calendar that you just recited, Donald Trump, by 

definition, he was the winner last time, is playing a lot of defense. But 

Joe Biden is going to places like Georgia and Iowa. That shows you how 

confident the campaign is, the Biden campaign is, at the same time as they 

are not taking his birth state for granted. He was in Pennsylvania today, 

and doing a little cleanup about the comments about the oil industry, 

although Biden people tell me they haven't seen any evidence in their 

polling that that gaffe, you could call it, that statement, has moved any 

votes. 

BAIER:  Well, they consider it a gaffe, Ben, because they spent all day 

kind of trying to dial it back. 

LIASSON:  They spent a lot of time cleaning up, but they are not seeing any 

evidence yet that it's moving things in any way. 

BAIER:  Got it, I understand what you're saying. Ben, what about -- so the 

debate performance for Joe Biden, then you have a lot of the focus on the 

"60 Minutes" piece was about President Trump and Leslie Stahl and the 

president walking out. But the interview with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris 

that Norah O'Donnell did, take a listen to one little clip here. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE:  So are you going bring the policies, those 

progressive policies that you supported as senator, into a Biden 

administration? 

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS, (D-CA) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE:  I will give him 

that perspective and always be honest with him. 

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE:  And is that a socialist or progressive perspective? 

HARRIS:  No. 

(LAUGHTER)

HARRIS:  No, it is the perspective of a woman who grew up a black child in 

America who was also a prosecutor, who also has a mother who arrived here 

at the age of 19 from India, who also likes hip-hop. 

(LAUGHTER)

HARRIS:  What you want to know? 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER:  What did you make of that interview? I thought Norah O'Donnell did 

a nice job pressing on substance, but it's really some of the more pointed 

questions that Senator Harris has received since becoming the nominee. 

BEN DOMENECH, "THE FEDERALIST":  It was kind of a demonstration of how few 

questions she's gotten since being a nominee in any capacity that really 

challenged her. She seemed to be genuinely surprised when Norah O'Donnell 

put in front of for the fact that the independent GovTrack declares that 

Kamala Harris is the most liberal member of the Senate in terms of her 

voting history. She seemed genuinely surprised to learn that, which I 

thought was kind of interesting. 

If you look at this situation right now, Bret, the last time around in 

2016, my experience was the pollsters were urging humility on the part of 

the lot of the news reporters. When I was covering it for a different 

network at that time four years ago, the attitude really was let's be more 

humble. Let's have a little humility here about the numbers that we are 

seeing. Let's not be eager to call it for Hillary Clinton. 

This time around it seems like things have flipped a bit. The pollsters 

seem very confident in their numbers. They seem to be ready to say they've 

seen enough, especially at the congressional district level, while there 

are a lot of reporters out there who have paid a lot of attention closely 

to this race who see it more as a situation that could come down to 

Pennsylvania, who believe that President Trump might overperform when it 

comes to the Hispanic community that we see across the sun belt and in 

states like Florida and Arizona. It's just interesting to me how the 

dynamic has shifted, and I think a lot of people feel a little snake-bit by 

what they expected to happen in 2016. They worry that that might happen all 

over again. 

BAIER:  Chris, do you sense that Democrats are feeling a little anxious 

about being this confident at this point? 

CHRIS STIREWALT, FOX NEWS POLITICAL EDITOR:  They're a wreck. There's 

nothing like a good hand to make a Democrat a nervous wreck. And they are 

reliving -- when I talked to people I know in Biden world, when I talk to 

members of Congress, stuff like that, they are beside themselves because -- 

and I can tell them anything I want about margins of error and data and all 

of that stuff. They don't care, because they remember, as Ben describes it, 

that horrible feeling of snake-bit. They were too confident in 2016. 

One of the reasons Biden has been so successful this time around is that 

they have played as safe as they possibly could on all fronts, and they 

have been very careful not to act braggadocious or overconfident, and that 

has frankly been good for them and kept their voters motivated. 

BAIER:  Let me play this soundbite from the White House chief of staff over 

the weekend getting a lot of attention, Brit. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF:  We are not going to control the 

pandemic. We are going to control the fact that we get a vaccines, 

therapeutics, and other mitigation -- 

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR:  Why aren't we going to get control of the 

pandemic? 

MEADOWS:  Because it is a contagious virus, just like the flu. 

TAPPER:  Yes, but why not make efforts to contain it? 

MEADOWS:  We are making efforts to contain it. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER:  And obviously the Biden campaign quick to say that this was a white 

flag-waving. Your thoughts, Brit? 

HUME:  Well, if you look at what's happening in much of Europe now, when 

they are having new cases -- of course you don't always know when you are 

about cases how sick anybody is and, more important than that, how likely 

they are to die. Nonetheless, there's a lot of alarm in Europe now, a place 

where experts in America were saying they did it right over there and we 

didn't, and therefore we are having the spikes and they're not. And now 

they are, which suggests what I think Mark Meadows was getting at, which is 

this is a highly contagious disease. We are in the middle of it, of a 

pandemic. People get sick. But outside of elderly people or people with 

certain preexisting conditions, the recovery rate is 99 percent or more. So 

that's the good news. So to say that we can't control it in the sense that 

we can't prevent their being more cases may just be common sense based on 

experience. 

BAIER:  Yes. I want to end with the soundbite just because I found it 

interesting going back to 2012 and something the former vice president said 

on "60 Minutes," asked about the biggest national security risk. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT:  Governor Romney, I'm glad that you 

recognize that Al Qaeda is a threat because a few months ago when you were 

asked what's the biggest geopolitical threat facing America, you said 

Russia. Not Al Qaeda. You said Russia. And the 1980s are now calling to ask 

for their foreign policy back, because the Cold War has been over for 20 

years. 

SEN. MITT ROMNEY, (R) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE:  First of all, Russia, 

I indicated, is a geopolitical foe. 

OBAMA:  Not number one --  

ROMNEY:  Excuse me, it's a geopolitical flow. 

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE:  I think the biggest threat to America 

right now in terms of breaking up our security and our alliances is Russia. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER:  The staff took time to dig that up, so I wanted to play it. 

Panel, thanks for the time, appreciate it. When we come back, the big 

finish. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER:  Finally tonight, crossing the finish line. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER:  That's Washington football team head coach Ron Rivera receiving an 

outpouring of support just a day after he coached his team to a victory 

over the Dallas Cowboys. Rivera left the hospital in Virginia following his 

final chemotherapy treatment for cancer, a much bigger win, even more than 

the Cowboys. Congrats, coach. 

And on the 75th anniversary of the battle of Iwo Jima, 96-years-old World 

War II para-Marine Fred Harvey became the oldest to complete the Marine 

Corps Marathon, which he did virtually in Texas. Harvey, who fought in Iwo 

Jima, was pushed for 26 miles, then stood and crossed the finish line. 

That's awesome. 

Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. That's it for the SPECIAL 

REPORT. Fair, balanced and still unafraid. "THE STORY" hosted by Martha 

MacCallum starts right now. 

Hey, Martha.

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