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This is a rush transcript from "Special Report," July 15, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: You got to apply the lotion evenly. Jesse, thanks.

Good evening, welcome to Washington. I'm Bret Baier. Breaking tonight, the streets of some American cities becoming combat zones and what has transitioned from protest against police treatment to violence against police and others.

In New York, a demonstration supporting police turning violent this morning as counter protesters provoke physical confrontations with officers, including using some baseball bats against some people there.

In Portland, the Democratic mayor telling federal personnel to stay out of disputes between protesters and local law enforcement, even as those disputes are increasing in number.

And in Minneapolis, the family of George Floyd sues police officers and the city over the death they say as the result of a philosophy of killology.

All of this comes as President Trump makes the restoration of law and order a key plank of his reelection platform.

We have Fox team coverage; correspondent Kristin fisher though starts us off tonight from the North Lawn of the White House. Good evening, Kristin.

KRISTIN FISHER, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bret. President Trump spent the day pushing issues that are central to his reelection campaign. Expediting infrastructure projects down in battleground Georgia and threatening federal intervention in Democrat run cities that are seeing big spikes in violence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Next week we're going to have I think a very exciting news conference because we're going to be talking about some of the cities that where the Democrats running them have just lost control of the city.

FISHER: President Trump flanked by his attorney general and top law enforcement officials for briefing about the administration's efforts to dismantle the MS-13 gang.

WILLIAM BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: we are going to seek the death penalty against Alexi Saenz who is a leader in the eastern district of New York.

FISHER: New York is one of the cities likely to be mentioned at next week's news conference. And when pressed if he'll make good on his threat to go in and take over cities that he believes are out of control, the president said:

TRUMP: That's something that I think at this point think the American people want to see.

FISHER: From the Oval Office to battleground Georgia where President Trump is promising to expedite infrastructure projects by cutting red tape and removing regulations.

TRUMP: Biden is happy to tie up projects in red tape and we want to get things built.

FISHER: Georgia is also home to the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control, the headquarters for the nation's coronavirus response. But the White House is now shifting one of its key responsibilities, coronavirus data collection and dissemination to the Department of Health and Human Services. Critics say it's just the latest effort by the White House to undercut the agency but President Trump doesn't see it that way.

TRUMP: It didn't change for me, I -- they're all on the same team, we're all in the same team including Dr. Fauci. I have a very good relationship with Dr. Fauci.

FISHER: Today, the tense relationship between Dr. Anthony Fauci and another member of the Coronavirus Task Force, Peter Navarro, burst into the open when Navarro wrote an op-ed titled, "Anthony Fauci has been wrong about everything I have interacted with him on."

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: If you talk to reasonable people in the White House, they realize that was a major mistake on their part because it doesn't do anything but reflect poorly on them.

I can't explain Peter Navarro, he's in the world by himself so I don't even want to go there.

FISHER: But President Trump did go there and said Navarro should not have written the op-ed.

TRUMP: He made a statement representing himself, he shouldn't be doing that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FISHER: And today, the vice president also came to Dr. Fauci's defense calling him a valued member of the Coronavirus Task Force, and in fact the vice president even tweeted a photo of Dr. Fauci here at the White House in the Situation Room for a meeting of the Task Force, just today, Bret.

BAIER: Kristin Fisher live on the North Lawn. Kristin, thank you.

As mentioned before, what was supposed to be a peaceful show of support for police in New York City turned ugly and violent today. Correspondent Aishah Hasnie is there tonight. Good evening, Aishah.

AISHAH HASNIE, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bret. 37 protesters were arrested today amid some violent clashes with police and it all started on the Brooklyn Bridge this morning. Some alarming video here shows a protester striking NYPD officers with a bar as a Pro-Police march made up of primarily churchgoers and law enforcement unions was just getting underway.

Four officers suffered serious injuries, chief of department Terry Monahan, that's the highest-ranking uniformed officer, he suffered minor hand injuries.

But a counter protest organizer tells me at least one person on his side was hurt, too.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to talk about our issues in complex and nuanced ways as we always do. What we were met with was once our folks even were on the pedestrian walk of the bridge, police immediately went in with riot gear and arrested everyone.

HASNIE: Now, this follows yet another night of gun violence in the city, one dead, five hurt in Brooklyn. Today, the mayor launched a Brooklyn Crime Prevention Plan and also signed the controversial chokehold ban into law. The mayor has blamed coronavirus for the rise in gun violence. One police union president calls him a liar.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The criminals know we're not out there taking their guns, that's why you're seeing this violence. The mayor's lying to the public, the cops know it in the street and members of the public know it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HASNIE: And Bret, the mayor just released a statement denouncing the violence against those officers on the Brooklyn Bridge this morning and says that he is working to heal the community through primarily police reforms, Bret.

BAIER: Aishah, thank you.

On the other coast now, nightly protest in Oregon have devolved into confrontations with police and now, the mayor of Portland is asking federal officials to stay out of it. Chief correspondent Jonathan Hunt has details tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN HUNT, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CHIEF CORRESPONDENT: Political leaders in Oregon have never been comfortable with the presence of heavily armed federal agents on the streets of Portland and now, Mayor Ted Wheeler is saying simply, quote, we do not need or want their help.

He also suggested the agents who have been guarding buildings including Portland's federal courthouse, instead spend their time cleaning up the graffiti left there by protesters who have gathered for 48 straight nights now, at times attacking police and federal agents with rocks, bottles, ball bearings and even a hammer.

The mayor's comments were triggered by an incident on Saturday when a gas or smoke canister was fired by law enforcement toward one protester who bent down and appeared to flick the canister a few feet back in the direction of, but not near the line of federal agents in front of the courthouse.

Seconds later, that protester was hit directly in the head by some sort of impact munition. He is still in the hospital having undergone surgery for a fractured skull and facial reconstruction.

Oregon's Democratic Senator's Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley told the Trump administration they condemned any effort to, quote, silence those peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights.

President Trump meantime repeated today that if officials in cities like Portland can't control protesters, then he will.

TRUMP: The left-wing group of people that are running our cities are not doing the job that they're supposed to be doing and it's not a very tough job to do if they knew what they were doing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNT: This verbal battle between local leaders and the Trump administration is a stark example of the ongoing debate over whether sending in militarized federal forces calms or inflames these kind of situations, Bret.

BAIER: Jonathan Hunt in L.A. Jonathan, thank you.

The family of George Floyd is suing the officers involved in his death and the city they worked for. Senior correspondent Mike Tobin has details tonight from Minneapolis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE TOBIN, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Stating that Minneapolis police officers have been trained with, quote, killology, a warrior style training in a culture with a long history of racism. Civil rights Attorney Benjamin Crump filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family of George Floyd killed under the weight of a Minneapolis police officer.

ATTY. BENJAMIN CRUMP, FLOYD FAMILY ATTORNEY: It was not just the knee of Officer Derek Chauvin on George Floyd's neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. But it was the knee of the entire Minneapolis Police Department.

TOBIN: Reporters have now been able to see body cam video from two of the officers at the scene which starts before the initial encounter with George Floyd.

The contact initially becomes tense when Officer Thomas Lane demands, let me see your hands and pulls a gun. The encounter spirals downward over roughly a half hour as George Floyd becomes more panicked and emotional.

He sobs and says, I'm going to die in here. I just had COVID and I don't want to go back to that. Man, I'm scared as expletive.

As officers attempt to load him into a police SUV, Floyd complains that he is claustrophobic and he cannot breathe long before he's on the ground.

After a prolonged struggle that ends with Floyd on the ground, it is Officer Thomas Lane who inquires about his breathing, asking, should we roll him on his side? The response from Officer Derek Chauvin is no, he's staying put where we got him. OK, says Lane. I just worry about the excited delirium or whatever.

CRUMP: It's just deliberate in difference. Even with him saying I can't breathe, they still put him face down, had him handcuffed. He was clearly restrained.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TOBIN: And the city's Charter Commission is meeting right now about the potential of disbanding the police altogether and replacing the Police Department with a Community Safety and Violence Prevention Department. A change like that would need to get on the ballot and be approved by the voters before it goes into effect, Bret.

BAIER: Mike Tobin in Minneapolis. Mike, thank you.

The coronavirus mortality rate in the U.S. is four percent according to Johns Hopkins University. That puts the U.S., this country in eighth place among the 20 countries most affected. Great Britain is number one at 15.4 percent.

South Florida is being considered the epicenter for the COVID pandemic. Tonight, there are increasing concerns about infections, hospital capacity and a long wait for testing there. That's where we find correspondent Phil Keating. Good evening, Phil.

PHIL KEATING, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bret. Another record-breaking day for Florida during this coronavirus crisis. 10,000 new cases today added, pushing the state total to more than 300,000 since this all began.

Here at Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Super Bowl in February, it took about four hours to get from the end of the line to the testing tents.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEATING: In Florida, another day with more than 100 COVID-19 fatalities. 112 Wednesday following Tuesday's all-time high of 132 deaths. South Florida, specifically Miami-Dade County now considered the hottest of hot spots nationwide where roughly one in three tested is testing positive, bringing up comparisons to China at the very beginning of the viral explosion.

DR. LILIAN ABBO, PROFESSOR OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI HEALTH SYSTEM: We really need your help. Miami is now the epicenter of the pandemic. What we were seeing in Wuhan, six months ago, five months ago, now we are there.

KEATING: Florida is now bringing in 3,000 nurses from out of state to help staff the surging number of patients in hospitals and ICUs.

And it's not just bad in Florida, in Arizona, one in four COVID-19 tests is coming back positive. In Texas which set its one-day record of more than 10,000 cases Tuesday, intensive care nurses are voicing concerns that as the situation worsens, there won't be enough frontline workers to cover hospital needs in the country's hot spots.

And the directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is saying it's one of the most difficult times we've experienced in public health and warning that the fall and winter could be the worst yet as flu season coincides with the coronavirus and adding runny nose and nausea to the list of COVID-19 symptoms.

Back in Miami, the mayor now saying that if the curve does not start flattening and flattening soon, he may order the city's partial reopening back to full shutdown.

FRANCIS SUAREZ (R), MAYOR OF MIAMI: If things won't get better over the next week to four weeks, we're going to have a hospital problem and we're going to have to potentially consider taking some very extreme measures.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEATING: In Oklahoma, the governor there announcing via Zoom that he is one of that state's record number of new COVID-19 cases.

And the Florida Department of Health explaining why some smaller labs in the state were reporting positivity rates of testing at a hundred percent misleadingly because they were not sharing all of the negative tests as required by law.

And out in Pasadena, the New Year's Day Rose Parade is now canceled, Bret.

BAIER: Tough news. Phil Keating live in Miami. Phil, thanks.

In our Democracy 2020 report, two of the Republicans President Trump supported won their primary elections yesterday.

In Alabama, former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville defeated former senator and Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the Senate runoff there. And former White House physician, Ronny Jackson won the GOP nomination for congressional seat in the Texas Panhandle.

The president happy about both of those today after President Trump's lengthy political attack against Joe Biden in the Rose Garden against his presumed November opponent. Taking a lot of the oxygen out of the news cycle yesterday.

Today, former vice president Biden fought back, this as Democrats are trying not to let Biden leads in several national and battleground state polls slow down their full-court press to Election Day. Here's correspondent Peter Doocy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Do Pennsylvania voters have a secret? Maybe. A new Monmouth poll puts Joe Biden up 13 points over Trump there, 53-40.

But when asked if there are so-called secret Trump supporters, he won't tell anyone they're Trump supporters, more than half of Pennsylvanians polled, 57 percent said there are. If there is a silent majority like the one Trump and Nixon before him have spoken about, he'll try to solidify their support by redefining a man who has been in public life for decades as sympathetic to progressives who want to defund police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe Biden stands with them cutting police funding.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, absolutely.

DOOCY: But Biden says, no. And funding only gets cut for misbehaving departments.

BIDEN: If they do what they have to do, they, in fact, will get all the funding. And they need more funding and not less funding.

DOOCY: Biden was singled out for most of President Trump's remarks in the Rose Garden last night.

TRUMP: Joe Biden's entire career has been a gift to the Chinese Communist Party.

DOOCY: Now, Biden's senior staff argue that it wasn't the president but, "It was a politician who sees his re-election slipping away from him and who is furious that his own botched response to the coronavirus pandemic has denied him the campaign events he so craves. The American taxpayer should be reimbursed for the abuse of funds this spectacle represented."

The Biden campaign can't concentrate on Trump though, as New York magazine reports, Kanye West hired someone to help him get on the ballot in Florida and South Carolina. But after less than two weeks, "He's out." That means the next big deterrent to the race will be Biden's running mate.

He says, within week to 10 days from now, background checks on contenders will be done, then, he's just got to interview the strongest candidates and pick. One Democrat who says it could be her, Florida Congresswoman Val Demings.

REP. VAL DEMINGS (D-FL): I'm honor and humble by the possibility.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOOCY: Joe Biden's socially distanced campaign is not safe from hackers. Tonight, his Twitter account was compromised, along with Bill Gates and Barack Obama among others.

They all posted the spam links offering $2,000 and Bitcoin for anybody that sends in $1,000 and more than $100,000 worth of Bitcoin has been sent in. But it's not clear whose accounts people are clicking on to send that.

Twitter, says they are aware of it. The Biden campaign says their account was quickly locked down, but this is an episode now that threatens one of the main ways campaigns are reaching voters under quarantine. Bret.

BAIER: Yes, it's a big deal. We'll follow this. Peter, thank you.

Up next, the growing mystery of what's causing explosions at energy and military facilities in Iran increasing suspicions they're all attacks.

First, here is what some of our Fox facilities around the country are covering tonight. Fox 5 in San Diego, where the Navy says the fire aboard the U.S. warship has now moved away from the fuel tanks.

Officials say it's too early to tell whether the Bonhomme Richard could be saved, they say, the fire could be declared extinguished sometime today after a lot of effort there.

Fox 45 in Baltimore, as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is released from Johns Hopkins University Hospital after treatment for a possible infection. A court spokesman, says that 87-year-old Ginsburg is doing well.

And this is a live look at Denver from Fox 31. One of the big stories there tonight, a squirrel test positive for bubonic plague. Health officials say it happened in the town of Morrison, about 17 miles southwest of Denver.

Humans can be infected through bites from an infected animals or fleas. No indication that's happened. 2020 is great.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: The nation's top diplomat, being very blunt tonight about the U.S. grievances with China. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, saying he expects a World Health Organization investigation into the origins of the coronavirus to be completely whitewashed.

When it comes to China, Pompeo also saying the U.S. will impose visa restrictions on firms such as telecom giant Huawei that are accused of facilitating human rights violations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE POMPEO, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: We have a Chinese Communist Party that is putting freedom and democracy at risk by their expansionist imperialist authoritarian behavior. That's the behavior that we're trying to see changed. We've still got work to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Yesterday, President Trump, announced action aimed at responding to China's crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong.

Tonight, we take a closer look at a story we told you about Monday. It concerns a series of what appear to be attacks at Iranian military and energy facilities. They're being characterized by the Iranians as accidents, but they are all as specific facilities.

National security correspondent Jennifer Griffin fills us in tonight from the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER GRIFFIN, FOX NEWS CHANNEL NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Another set of mysterious fires erupted today in Iran with, at least, seven ships catching fire at Iran's southern port in Bushehr. The latest in a string of explosions at sensitive sites since June 26th.

The port is seven miles from the Bushehr nuclear power plant built in cooperation with Russia. Late Sunday, flames engulfed a petrochemical plant at a different southern port hours after an explosion in a two-story home in Tehran.

On July 2nd, a blast engulfed a series of industrial sheds at Natanz Iran's uranium enrichment facility. In 2010, Natanz was targeted by Stuxnet, a cyber-attack later attributed to Israel and the United States. It damaged Iran's centrifuges. Iran downplayed the latest damage to Natanz.

ABBAS MOUSAVI, SPOKESMAN, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY (through translator): The incident that occurred has not had a significant effect on activities there.

GRIFFIN: There have been six mysterious explosions in three weeks. A previously unknown Iranian group calling themselves the Homeland Cheetahs claimed responsibility, but experts doubt it was them.

BEHNAM BEN TALEBLU, SENIOR FELLOW, FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: What it simply looks like from 50,000 feet and from far away is that foreign sabotage is more likely than domestic terrorism, which is more likely than an accidents.

GRIFFIN: Three weeks ago, a fireball ripped through one of Iran's ballistic missile sites. Satellite images show damage to a liquid fuel production center near Parchin. The head of U.S. Central Command with coy during a visit to Lebanon when asked if the U.S. military was behind the explosions.

GEN. KENNETH F. MCKENZIE JR., COMMANDER, UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND: There's no essential military component to that campaign.

GRIFFIN: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was pressed about the setback at Iran's uranium enrichment complex.

POMPEO: Good morning, everyone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just to put it directly, was the U.S. involved in any way in the Natanz explosion?

POMPEO: I don't have anything to add.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think the Israelis were involved?

POMPEO: I just don't have any comment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: And Israel's defense minister added when pressed, not every incident that transpires in Iran necessarily has something to do with us. Bret?

BAIER: Jennifer Griffin at the Pentagon. Jennifer, thank you.

Up next, time is running out for you to pay your federal taxes. Literally, it is running out. But first, "BEYOND OUR BORDERS" tonight.

Heavy rain is forecast for five more days in the region of China, already devastated by flooding this year. At least, 141 people are reported dead or missing across China.

China's official daily newspaper says seasonal flooding has forced a million and a half people to evacuate so far this month.

A European Union Court rules Apple does not have to pay $15 billion in back taxes to Ireland. The E.U. Commission had claimed Apple struck an illegal tax deal with Irish authorities that allowed it to pay extremely low rates, but the E.U.'s general court says the Commission was wrong.

And the French tourist industry receives a further boost with the partial reopening of Disneyland Paris and the top floor of the Eiffel Tower. Both facilities due to coronavirus will feature enhanced safety measures and managed attendance including mandating wearing masks there.

Just some of the other stories "BEYOND OUR BORDERS" tonight. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: "BREAKING TONIGHT", the National Association of Police Organizations is endorsing President Trump. The union did not make an endorsement last time around and picked Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 in part because Joe Biden was on the ticket.

They are not endorsing Biden, this time, they are instead endorsing President Trump. That coming out just moments ago.

Today is the deadline for you to pay your federal taxes. It was pushed back because of the pandemic. But correspondent Rich Edson says even with three extra months, there are still plenty of problems.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICH EDSON, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Tax Day in July -- returns are due today three months later than the normal deadline. The pandemic, limited in-person staffing, and the unexpected task of processing about 160 million coronavirus relief checks, means the IRS is behind.

MARK MAZUR, TAX POLICY CENTER: Hopefully the IRS has overcome all backlog of the economic impact payments, and so they are in a place where they can process payments more quickly.

EDSON: National taxpayer advocate Erin Collins said in a recent report that, quote, "While the overwhelming majority of taxpayers file electronically, taxpayers who file paper returns are experiencing extreme delays in processing their returns." The report found that as of May 16th the IRS had a backlog of 4.7 million paper return. The IRS warns processing paper returns could take several weeks longer and advises Americans to file their returns electronically.

The tax agency says it's bringing more workers back, directing its employees who can't work from home to get into the office this week. The IRS says as of July 3rd it had processed more than 130 million returns, about 9.5 percent fewer than the same time last year. And as the IRS is part of the Treasury Department responsible for processing coronavirus relief payments, if Congress approves another round --

MAZUR: Ordinary tax refunds probably get pushed a little bit back in line.

EDSON: If the extra three months isn't enough, tax filers can request another three-month extension, though if they owe money to the federal government, they still have to calculate what they think they may owe and send it by today to avoid fees and interest payments.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

EDSON: Now, if the IRS delays your refund, as long as you file by today, the government will pay you interest on that amount, anywhere from about three to five percent. Bret?

BAIER: Rich Edson outside of the IRS. Rich, thanks.

The Dow was up for the fourth day in a row today, gaining 228. The S&P 500 finished ahead 29. The Nasdaq rose 62.

Walmart is the latest big retailer to require customers to wear facemasks. The chain will implement the wall Monday. The governor of Alabama is requiring facemasks in public starting tomorrow afternoon. The director of the CDC says wearing a mask is one of the most powerful weapons available. But there is much resistance here in this country.

That said, overseas there is growing acceptance in Europe. Senior foreign affairs correspondent Greg Palkot has that story tonight from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GREG PALKOT, FOX NEWS SENIOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: The U.K. is covering up against COVID-19. Starting next week Brits will have to wear facemasks when they go into stores or face the equivalent of a $125 fine. The coronavirus is pretty much under control for now in Britain. The move is aimed at preventing a new flareup as well as helping to restart a badly hurt the economy.

MATT HANCOCK, BRITISH HEALTH SECRETARY: We want to give people more confidence to shop safely and enhance protections for those who work in shops. Both of these can be done by the use of face coverings.

PALKOT: After observing a socially distant national holiday in France, French President Macron said his country would be doing the same. And they're getting ready.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): We are ready, and this has been prepared so that we can have the right stocks in good quantities.

PALKOT: As experts here, like in the U.S., are coming around to the benefits of face coverings to protect wearers and others, they are already being put to use in shops in Germany, Italy, Spain, and Greece, in schools in France, at airports in the Netherlands, and on the beach in Spain. In might be that covered up new normal for a while.

JEREMY HUNT, FORMER BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: We are not ever going to get back to normal until we have a vaccine.

PALKOT: Not all here like wearing masks. Some people in the U.K. think it comes too late and that the rule will be hard to enforce. But most we heard from seemed ready and willing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been making them, and so I've been wearing them. It just seems like common sense to me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like going against it or just because we think we know better. I think we should trust it.

PALKOT: Do you think that's a good idea?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It protects everybody for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PALKOT: The U.K. health secretary is not ruling out mandating wider use of facemasks in the future, in offices, for example, as officials here try to cover all of their health bases against the virus. Bret?

BAIER: Greg Palkot in London. Greg, thanks.

Portland, New York, here in Washington, violence escalates on some city streets as President Trump promises law and order, going after MS-13, others. The panel reacts to all of it and the breaking news when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is about MS-13, and we'll have another announcement next week. The leftwing group of people that are running our cities are not doing the job that they are supposed to be doing

WILLIAM BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: We are going to seek the death penalty against Alexi Saenz, who is a leader in the eastern district of New York, a leader of MS-13.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: For decades, the single biggest obstacle to building a modern transportation system has been the mountains and mountains of bureaucratic red tape in Washington, D.C.

We are cutting the federal permitting timeline for a major project from up to 20 years or more -- hard to believe -- down to two years or less.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: President Trump in Georgia talking infrastructure and regulations, and then in the White House talking about going after MS-13, that horrible group that has done a lot of damage and murders across the U.S., going after its leader.

And the breaking news, as we just reported, the National Organization -- Association of Police Organizations, endorsing President Trump. And just moments ago, its president said they got a call from the president thanking them for the endorsement. Remember, this organization endorsed President Obama, Vice President Biden in 2008 and 2012. They didn't make an endorsement in 2016. But the president, Michael McHale, saying that the president said it was an honor and wanted to let us all now how important this endorsement was to him personally and professionally. Obviously, it comes as efforts to defund police departments all over the country are springing up.

Let's bring in our panel, Susan Page, Washington bureau chief at "USA Today," "Washington Post" columnist Marc Thiessen, and Kimberley Strassel, columnist for "The Wall Street Journal." It seems, Kimberley, that this is significant for the president at this moment when polls show him trailing in key battleground states. The organization, National Police Organization, a significant organization.

KIMBERLEY STRASSEL, WALL STREET JOURNAL: This is a function of what we are now seeing as growing unrest and violence. It's one thing to have protest and some civil unrest. This is now turning into a long hot summer of violence and looting. And it's putting a new spotlight on this question of law and order and rule and law of cities, and the president is embracing that.

One thing that I think is interesting about that endorsement as it raises a broader prospect of whether or not the White House has some potential for inroads with the union votes, not just among police officers but firefighters, people who work in infrastructure and fossil fuels, because those are going to be big points and flash points of contention in this election.

BAIER: Here is governor of Portland talking about recent protests turned violent there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATE BROWN, (D) OREGON: The street violence in Portland absolutely needs to stop. Trump troops in Portland are definitely not the answer. As we saw, this only escalates the tension.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're like war zones. And if the city isn't going to straighten it out, if local politicians, all, in this case I don't say this for political reasons, they're all Democrats. They're liberal leftwing Democrats. And it's almost like they think this is going to be this way forever. We're not going to put up with that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: The governor of Oregon, not the governor of Portland, obviously, but the governor of Oregon talking about Portland there, Susan Page. We should point out that Joe Biden has said publicly as recently as yesterday that he does not support defending police, but this is an issue in different cities, especially where the violence continuing.

SUSAN PAGE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "USA TODAY": When we see the chaos in Portland and we see the violent demonstration we saw in New York, this is the ideal backdrop for the campaign theme that President Trump has been striking that it's a dangerous world and you can't trust Joe Biden to protect your family. I think we saw that in a 30 second TV ad that the Trump campaign put out today.

But I think the risk for the president is he at odds in some way with the mood of the country when it comes to think about racial justice, which was the spark for these protests. It's not 1968. In a way, it feels a little like he's running a 1968 campaign.

BAIER: Marc, it was overlooked by a lot of the press today, but that MS-13 announcement, that the leader has been captured and they are going after the death penalty, that's a big deal for some states that have been dealing with that gang for a while.

MARC THIESSEN, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: It is. And look, the president is running on law and order. He's always been campaigning, talking about getting tough with an MS-13, and now he's talking about getting tough with the looters and rioters in these cities. And, by the way, in Portland, the federal troops, the Trump troops as the governor called it, are protecting federal buildings because the Portland police aren't doing it. There has been $23 million in damages to businesses in Portland from these riots. This is not small stuff.

There are two ways of looking at it, and I'm of two minds on it. On one hand there is an argument to be said, let the cities burn. These people elected feckless Democratic leaders. They wanted to -- they are talking about defunding the police. Well, let them live with the consequences of that leadership. And if they don't like it, then they should do what the people of New York did in the 1990s and elect Rudy Giuliani to clean things up.

But on the other hand, the argument is, what about the minority? What about the business owners? What about the people there? You can't just leave them defenseless against mob violence. And the president has a responsibility, $500 million of damage in Minneapolis, as I said, $23 million in Portland. These people need to be defended, and if their elected leaders won't do it, then it's up to the president to do it.

BAIER: Meantime, Kimberley, an interesting back-and-forth inside the White House about Dr. Anthony Fauci. Peter Navarro, advisor to the president, in a "USA Today" op-ed, "Dr. Fauci has a good bedside manner with the public, but he has been wrong about everything I have interacted with him on. So when you ask me whether I listen to Dr. Fauci's advice, my answer is only with skepticism and caution." Here's the president, Dr. Fauci, and the vice president today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He made a statement representing himself. He shouldn't be doing that. I have a very good relationship with Anthony.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: It is a bit bizarre. I don't fully understand it. I think they realize that that was not a prudent thing to do because it's only reflecting negatively on them. I can't explain Peter Navarro. He is in a world by himself.

MIKE PENCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Tony Fauci is a valued member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. We just completed our latest meeting today, and we couldn't be more grateful for his steady counsel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: And the vice president even putting out a picture of that meeting. Kimberley, your thoughts?

STRASSEL: The White House also said that the Navarro piece had not been vetted, didn't go through the usual process. And that seems to have to be the case, because, look, in this case, Peter Navarro has not served the White House well. The press and critics have been attempting to cause a rift in the White House over its pandemic response policy and to try to suggest that there are issues between Fauci and the president for months now. And so why an advisor of his would actually publish a piece that further stokes that narrative and then require the White House to spend a good portion of the day repairing that damage, it's not serving the president well.

BAIER: Susan, last word. Dan Scavino we mentioned last night had his own Twitter post about Dr. Fauci, so it's not just Peter Navarro.

PAGE: No. And we think that Navarro is reflected an attitude the president has had, but not useful to have it at this moment when his credibility on COVID-19 is low and Dr. Fauci's credibility on that front is really high.

BAIER: OK, next step, the cancel culture, and a suggestion for a new National Anthem?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: This is the culture of the left and not being satisfied with making an argument or even prevailing in an argument, but in destroying personally and marginalizing people who oppose them.

It's time to do the obvious, to declare kind of armistice on the vitriol and the apocalyptic rhetoric, and simply say we are a republic. We have a loyal opposition. Let's be loyal, let's be civil, on both sides. I think it can be done. I don't despair of this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: So good to hear the late, great Charles Krauthammer, and his words on civil discourse. The last published words he wrote in "The Washington Post" June 8, 2018, "I believe that the pursuit of truth and right ideas through honest debate and rigorous argument is a noble undertaking." This of course comes in the wake of Bari Weiss resigning from "The New York Times," and in that resignation letter saying that Twitter is not on the masthead of "The New York Times" but Twitter has become its ultimate editor.

And now the "L.A. Times" has an op-ed out, saying "It's time to cancel this Star-Spangled Banner. Here's what should replace it. A song with words few people understand, which fewer can sing, whose sound and spirit bear no relation to our catchy, witty, unpretentious homegrown musical forms. Is this this really what we want to hear when we rise to honor America? Such songs celebrate power, majesty, monumentality. Often their view is militaristic. Our current political predicament is a reminder of how thing certain lines can be, how veneration of country can curdle into nationalism, how nationalism can tilt towards fascism. If we must have an anthem, it should be far different than the one we got now, positing another kind of patriotism, an alternative idea of America and Americanness.

In fact, there is such a song. "Lean on Me," a song that holds its gaze steady at the level of everyday life. It says what's important is the stuff happening down here."

That from the "L.A. Times." Back with the panel. Marc, your thoughts on all of this as we're in this moment?

THIESSEN: First thought is I miss Charles Krauthammer. Second thought -- and, boy, we could use his voice right now in the middle of all this. Second thought is, the left always goes too far. This is their fatal flaw. Instead of saying let's reform the police, which a majority of Americans agree with, they say let's defund the police of which a majority of Americans don't agree with. Instead of saying let's get rid of Confederate statues and have a national conversation about Confederate statues, they start tearing down the union, they start tearing down Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant and Washington. And now they are going after "The Star-Spangled Banner." What's next? Mom and apple pie? They alienate themselves from the American majority with this stuff.

BAIER: Politically it's tough, Susan, for somebody like a Joe Biden to wade through all of this as it's happening in front of us, right?

PAGE: I do not hear a serious debate about replacing "The Star-Spangled Banner." Maybe I'm out of touch here. But I think it's a fair point at how far do you go when you are looking at generals who led -- compared to founders who owned slaves. And that is a serious debate that we ought to have.

BAIER: Yes, Kimberley.

STRASSEL: So in the words of Charles Krauthammer, I celebrate that that op-ed came out and has such a diverse view. I also absolutely disagree with it. And that's what we're missing right now, Bret, is I think our Constitution is still fine, we still have a First Amendment, but what our framers potentially never imagined is that our institutions, including our media, would begin to self-censor. And that is what is wrong right now. And we need to remember what Krauthammer says, we need to embrace each other's ideas, be brave, and be civil about it.

BAIER: You will always hear different views on this panel. It's where Charles sat for many years. So panel, thank you very much.

When we come back, some brighter side things, some good news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Finally tonight, as we always do, ending with a few good stories.

That is NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal, who stopped to check on a driver on the side of a highway in Florida after a tire blew out. The basketball legend waited with her until deputies arrived to help out. How about that? Way to go, Shaq.

And World War II veteran Paul Bogenschutz has always, obviously, been a soldier. Now he's beaten a new enemy. The 93-year-old from Kentucky was just released from the hospital nearly two months after being admitted with coronavirus. He was surrounded and supported by his family and friends. Applause from the hospital workers. Thank you, sir, for your service, and congratulations.

Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. That's it for the SPECIAL REPORT. Fair, balanced and still unafraid. "THE STORY" hosted about Martha MacCallum starts right now in studio.

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