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Majority of states imposing dining restrictions

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This is a rush transcript from “Your World with Neil Cavuto” November 27, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

EDWARD LAWRENCE, FOX NEWS HOST: Coronavirus cases are surging, but that's
not stopping shoppers from buying, FOX on top of all the sales expected to
be on fire, despite the pandemic.

Welcome, everyone. I'm Edward Lawrence, in for Neil Cavuto, who may be
doing some last-minute shopping. And this is "Your World."

Now, we begin with Garrett Tenney in Chicago on how the shopping season
will kick off.

And, Garrett, I'm interested here. How are the people doing about being so
close together out there?

GARRETT TENNEY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're not seeing folks as
close out here as they would be on a typical Black Friday.

There are a lot of folks out on the streets, but stores do have a lot of
precautions in place. You don't see these throngs of folks waiting to break
down the doors to get inside. A lot of stores have virtual online queues to
wait to get inside.

And, of course, a lot of stores across the country are restricted on how
many folks can actually be in the store at one given time. But, from a
purely numbers perspective, this holiday shopping season is off to a very
strong start.

And that's in part because it really started more than a month ago, as
retailers launched early Black Friday deals, knowing that Black Friday
itself would look like none other before.

Online sales are going to be huge this year. Yesterday, Americans spent a
Thanksgiving record $5.1 billion, according to Adobe. And online sales
overall are projected to increase by more than $40 billion compared to last
year.

That virtual shift has been apparent across the country today, with almost
no crowds or long lines of folks waiting outside stores. As for those folks
who are venturing out, for some, it's more about the tradition of Black
Friday shopping. And, for others, it's a bit of retail therapy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're used to being out real early on Thanksgiving.
I'm probably just going to do our deliveries and keep it local because of -
- we don't want to go in any stores with the crowd, so we're ordering a lot
online.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just coming up for me just to do a couple of things
for myself, treat myself to jewelry maybe or some underclothes and stuff
like that just for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TENNEY: Despite the lack of crowds out today, this holiday shopping season
is still expected to break records.

The National Retail Federation is forecasting holiday sales will increase
between 3 and 5 percent compared to last year, which is a jump of more than
$750 billion -- Edward.

LAWRENCE: That's amazing.

Garrett, I'm interested. Are some of those people going to go online, some
of the folks that were going into those stores, do you think?

TENNEY: Yes, some of them, yes, absolutely.

But you heard from some of those shoppers just a minute ago that, for a lot
of folks, this is more of an experience of going out, doing holiday
shopping, and the joy that that can bring to you personally.

Across the board, though, the most sales that are going to be done this
year are going to be taking place online -- Ed.

LAWRENCE: In the pandemic, absolutely.

So, now to the White House, where President Trump says deliveries of a
coronavirus vaccine could begin as early as next week.

Kristin Fisher at the White House with more on that -- Kristin.

KRISTIN FISHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Edward.

Well, President Trump sir sounded very optimistic about the timeline for
distribution for this very first COVID-19 vaccine when he talked to
reporters last night during his first Q&A since the election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The vaccines are being
delivered. Literally it'll start next week and the week after.

And it'll hit the front-line workers and seniors and doctors, nurses. A lot
of people are going to start. And we're going very quickly. Two companies
already announced, a third one coming up, and a fourth and fifth one coming
up soon also.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER: So, the date to watch is December 10. That's when the FDA's vaccine
advisory committee will be meeting to grant emergency use authorization for
the first COVID-19 vaccine.

If they do, the chief scientific adviser to Operation Warp Speed says that
they will be able to ship those first vaccines to immunization sites within
24 hours of that approval. So, that means December 11 or 12 would be the
day that those first people could actually get the shot, which is just two
weeks away.

It's been an incredibly expedited timeline, thanks in large part to
Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration's push to get a vaccine in
record time. And during that Q&A with reporters last night, President Trump
says that he believes he is the person who should get the credit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: There are those that say what I'm doing right now is the single most
important thing I've ever done, and I think it may be true. It may be true.

The vaccines -- and, by the way, don't let Joe Biden take credit for the
vaccines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER: Now, despite this very encouraging news about a vaccine, Dr. Fauci
says we still have a long way to go.

In fact, he told USA Today that he thinks the pandemic is going to be just
as bad during the Christmas and New Year's holiday as it was over
Thanksgiving -- Edward.

LAWRENCE: Kristin, thank you from the White House.

So, now, so will retail sales be as strong as predicted, though? And does
it have a lot to do with the success of those vaccines? The marketing -- or
the markets seem to be signaling good times ahead, the Nasdaq, S&P 500
closing at all-time highs today in a shortened holiday session.

Now, with us now, retail watcher Hitha Herzog, market watcher Lindsey
Piegza, and Scott Martin.

I want to start with Hitha, first of all, on this.

Tell me, what do you think? Is it true? I mean, do you think that the
pandemic is going to hold back the shoppers? Or are we going to see a good
season this year?

HITHA HERZOG, RETAIL WATCHER: Well, I think we're seeing a lot of pent-up
demand.

One way I can phrase that is really frugal fatigue. We have seen frugal
fatigue over the last couple years, but nothing like this. And what I mean
by that is that people haven't been able to go out and shop too much. And I
think there's a lot of guilt for not being able to be with your families or
not being able to provide the amazing gifts or parties or whatever you
could for your kids.

So people are going a little bit overboard. I was looking at this Oracle
study that just came out that was saying that 48 percent of people will be
shopping online, but 62 percent of people are expecting the same amount of
gifts that they got last year, if not more.

So, there is certainly that layer there. Do I think that a vaccine will let
-- make people want to go out and shop more? Probably, but then you have
that -- there's other things that are having an effect on the economy.

I mean, Janet Yellen may be Treasury secretary. We haven't gotten confirm
on that yet. So I think that's what may be moving the markets right now.

LAWRENCE: Yes, we're going to have to stay on that.

Lindsey, I wanted to ask you, turn to the markets here. I mean, we're
seeing what could be the longest Cyber Monday in history this year. Could
that help the bottom line of businesses enough to sort of save them, most
of them, or cause -- avert problems, avert those job losses that we're
seeing?

LINDSEY PIEGZA, ECONOMIST: It certainly could.

The consumer has been resilient, for lack of a better word up, until this
point, which could provide welcome support to businesses. But the question
is, will it last? We have already seen indications of waning momentum on
the part of the consumer, with both retail sales and overall consumption
falling to multimonth lows.

Now you layer in the risk of federal assistance and forbearance
opportunities expiring at the end of the year, as well as potential further
restrictions and lockdown as COVID cases rise, which could lead to further
job losses, further business closures.

So this is going to paint an increasingly difficult scenario for consumers
and businesses, if shoppers do, in fact, pull back, and maybe not through
the holiday season, but as we turn the corner into first quarter.

So, really, depending on the depth and duration of the second round
resurgence, this is the longer-term perspective that the markets should be
looking at. And growth is likely to slow significantly, potentially falling
back into negative territory, if, in fact, the consumer is once again
forced to stay within the confines of their home.

LAWRENCE: So, Scott -- so this is critical then, Scott, when you look at
going forward for the business survivability.

How are these businesses looking at this, as opposed to years past, for
their bottom line?

SCOTT MARTIN, KINGSVIEW ASSET MANAGEMENT: They're frightened, Edward.

And I think that's why we're looking for calls for another round of say,
PPP, because I believe the government's going to have to step in and
provide some support for the reasons that Lindsey laid out, and, frankly,
too, I think, for some of the reasons that Hitha laid out as well.

There's kind of a yin and yang to what's going on right now. Now, one of
the optimistic things, as money managers, as investors, as we are at
Kingsview, that we're looking at, Edward, is the fact that we have been
through a little bit of this movie before. Maybe this is the bad part of
the plot that's really been coming down the line here.

But the reality is, we are getting closer to the end of this pandemic than
the beginning. So I think that this hopefulness that the market has here is
well-warranted, and it's in anticipation of us coming out of this sooner
than later.

LAWRENCE: Yes, and, Scott, we're seeing that Disney is laying off an
expanded amount of people, 4,000 more, now 32,000 people.

Could online help them with their bottom line to stave off more layoffs,
then?

MARTIN: Some. I mean, in some areas.

Now, certainly Disney is one of those companies that has a wide spread. And
that's another thing too, Edward, that's happened with a lot of the
companies that have been out there laying off folks and then maybe hiring
folks in other divisions of their areas of work, is that the companies now
have been forced to find other ways to do commerce.

And so what we have had abilities to do with these companies is go online.
We have seen the streaming certainly take off for Disney+. So those are
areas too where companies have really efficient-sized their business.

LAWRENCE: Got it.

MARTIN: And so coming out of these issues really makes them a lot stronger
than they were before.

LAWRENCE: Thank you, Scott. I appreciate it.

Hitha, we're out of time. Lindsey, thank you very much.

Now, coming up next: A fiery debate is erupting, as the Supreme Court
blocks New York's restrictions on religious gatherings. Governor Andrew
Cuomo playing down the ruling, but should other states see it as a warning?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LAWRENCE: Well, the Supreme Court voting to block New York Democratic
Governor Andrew Cuomo's order restricting the size of religious gatherings,
Justice Neil Gorsuch writing in this: "It is time, past time to make plain
that, while the pandemic poses many challenges, there is no world in which
the Constitution tolerates color-coded executive edicts that reopen liquor
stores and bike shops and shutter churches, synagogues and mosques."

This is a ruling that attorney Deborah Blum says other governors should be
watching.

Deborah, why is that?

DEBORAH BLUM, ATTORNEY: Well, the Supreme Court here granted emergency
relief, temporary injunction, holding Governor Cuomo's restrictions were
disparate or unequal treatment and too drastic of a measure, as there were
lesser restrictions on secular businesses in the same zones.

New York state's house of worship regulations are far more severe than has
been shown to be required to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Here's what
the other governors should be looking out for and other city officials.

The Supreme Court opined, even in a pandemic, the Constitution cannot be
put away and forgotten. Barring most from being able to attend religious
services strikes at the very heart of the First Amendment's guarantee of
religious liberty.

LAWRENCE: So, Deborah, is this a precedent that they're setting here going
forward? Could it affect other orders, like, say, shutting down certain
industries, as opposed to other industries?

BLUM: Well, I think that, going forward, the Supreme Court is taking a
strong stance and saying that blanket state power is more powerful than the
individual right, that's negating the Constitution.

And a big reason for the Constitution is to protect the individual against
the state. There's a lot of leeway for individuals to operate in the United
States. We don't live under a communist regime, which includes the state
controlling businesses, telling people where they can and cannot go.

Yet we're seeing this in extreme form, under the broad brushstroke of
promoting public safety. L.A. County's Department of Public Health just
recently shut down outdoor dining in L.A. At first, it was about
overwhelming the hospital system. Now non-infectious disease doctors are
able to take away others, American citizens' ability to make a living.

LAWRENCE: So, this really boiled down to the Constitution vs. what powers
the state government than has and can impose. Is that what the core of this
was?

BLUM: Well, the core of this, it's a specific analysis, because it's
emergency relief, and it's pending another decision that's pending in New
York state right now.

LAWRENCE: Right.

BLUM: But, overall, I think that they're sending the message that we have
to follow the Constitution, and we have a lot of individual liberties.

And then it becomes a question of, can you take less restrictive measures,
which is what they held here, that could have been done to prevent the
spread of the disease?

LAWRENCE: So, Deborah, this is a...

BLUM: And I think...

LAWRENCE: Well, let me just interject here. This is the first ruling that,
really, Justice Amy Coney Barrett made a big difference on, 5-4, swaying
the court.

It could have been very different, say, earlier in the year. Does this then
-- can we extrapolate what may happen in the future with the way she's
going to vote based on this? Or is it just too early to tell?

BLUM: I would say that it's too early to tell.

It really depends on how somebody interprets the Constitution, what the
issue is, what their prior analysis is in that area. So, I don't think we
can say that she's going to rule this way every time.

I want to focus, though, on Governor Cuomo calling this decision
irrelevant. This is very dangerous, even if it's no longer applicable.
Signaling irrelevant is a political precursor to negate the upcoming court
election battle.

And whatever your stance or disregard, you cannot disregard a Supreme Court
decision and call it irrelevant.

LAWRENCE: Exactly. Yes, the Supreme Court would not consider themselves
irrelevant at all.

Deborah, I really appreciate it. Thank you for your time there.

So, President Trump now with Georgia on his mind. He is set to campaign in
the state, as the majority in the Senate hangs in the balance. Will that
help or hurt Republican candidates?

We will see -- coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LAWRENCE: The NFL moving the Baltimore Ravens-Pittsburgh Steelers game for
a second time this week due to a COVID-19 outbreak on the Ravens side.
Kickoff slated for Tuesday night.

We will be back here in just 60 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LAWRENCE: President Trump will be hitting the campaign trail in Georgia one
month ahead of the January run-off elections.

FOX News' Steve Harrigan is in Atlanta with the details.

Getting very busy there in Atlanta, Steve.

STEVE HARRIGAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Really the political focus for the
country over the next two months.

President Trump making the announcement yesterday that he will be coming to
Georgia a week from tomorrow, December 5, on a Saturday to hold a rally
with both Republican candidates here, both of those candidates really
greeting the news with some excitement and joy.

We have seen a string of Republican senators visit the campaign for the two
Republicans in these run-off races scheduled for January 5 which could
determine control the Senate, but we weren't sure about the president's
plans.

One thing that still is a question mark is, what will the president's focus
be? How much of it will be on the two Republican candidates for Senate? How
much will be on his own bid for reelection?

The president has been quite critical of the voting process in Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The only recount that matters in Georgia is to look at the
signatures on the envelope, and you will find that those signatures do not
match the people that were, many of them, hundreds of thousands of them,
hundreds of thousands -- and I only lost by 12,000 votes.

I didn't lose. I don't even like to say I lose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIGAN: Almost five million presidential ballots.

Right now, they're being counted for the third time. It's a machine recount
due December 2. Georgia election officials say they don't expect any
change, Biden with a lead of more than 12,000 votes -- Ed, back to you.

LAWRENCE: Yes, Steve, thank you in Atlanta, Georgia.

Now, taxpayers and investors are watching those races closely. So, will
President Trump's visit help or hurt Republican candidates?

Let's ask Washington Examiner's Kaylee McGhee, also New York Post's Kelly
Jane Torrance, and The Wall Street Journal's John Bussey.

Kaylee, let's start with you.

What do you think? Will it make a difference or not?

KAYLEE MCGHEE, THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Well, that's going to depend on
what Trump chooses to focus on.

Obviously, he has the potential to tremendously help both Kelly Loeffler
and David Perdue. He's easily one of the most popular Republican presidents
in the past few decades. His popularity, his approval ratings remains
remarkably high. And he attracted more voters this time around than he did
in 2016.

But if he chooses to make this -- these two run-offs about whether he won
the presidential election or not, there's a very good chance he could hurt
both candidates, because what this election needs to be about is, it needs
to be about checking a Biden administration and about preventing Kamala
Harris from being the deciding vote in the Senate.

And that's what he needs to tell voters.

LAWRENCE: And it's also going to be about a lot of money.

Kellyanne (sic), let me ask you about this. A lot of money is being poured
into Georgia there on both sides of this. Is it turning off voters at all?
I mean, everywhere you turn, there's a political ad, there's a sign,
there's somebody trying to give you a flyer. Is that going to turn voters
off?

KELLY JANE TORRANCE, NEW YORK POST: That's a good question, Ed.

The turnout for a run-off election is always lower than the general. And in
Georgia, it's ranged from 20 percent of those who voted in the general
voting in the run-off to 60 percent.

The most recent one, I think, was 40 percent. That was -- that was actually
for the governorship or the secretary of state. We have had 40 for the last
time we had a run-off in the Senate. So there's always less interest in the
run-off. There's fewer candidates on the ballot. There's no president on
the ballot.

So, people could be turned off by these ads.

LAWRENCE: But...

TORRANCE: But I do think it's good that President Trump is going to
Georgia.

For one thing, it signals that he is actually interested in the health of
the Republican Party once he is gone. He lost the presidential election. He
could say, you know what? I'm done. I'm not interested. But he's going,
because it is very important for Republicans to keep control of the Senate.

And I do think that President Trump can probably make the case better than
anyone else that Republicans need to keep control of it to keep a
progressive agenda from passing. He made that very, very firmly in the...

(CROSSTALK)

LAWRENCE: Exactly. And...

(CROSSTALK)

TORRANCE: ... election, yes.

And, Kellyanne (sic), keep his foot in the door for possibly four years
from now.

John, I wanted to ask you the financial question here is that, should the
results of this election go towards the Democrats, should we be looking at
our 401(k) and making changes, should be concerned about our finances?

JOHN BUSSEY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, the market is way up. And it's
been way up for the last several months, as Biden's victory in the election
became more clear in the polling.

And then, finally, when it actually happened, and he won the election, the
market transcended an all-time record. So, I'm not sure that -- I think the
market has metabolized a Biden victory, perhaps even a -- the Senate
victory. Maybe it's assuming that there's going to be a split power.

But, look, with the Biden victory comes more stimulus most likely, and
that's good for the market. I think, for the candidates there, a downside
is that the president comes, and he comes with the burden of having
mismanaged the coronavirus crisis.

It's hitting Georgia hard. He comes with having failed in his effort to use
legal strategies to overturn a legal, lawful American election. That has
failed. And that may rub people the wrong way.

And he's engendered a certain amount of infighting within the GOP in
Georgia by criticizing the governor and the secretary of state, who are
both Republicans.

On the other hand, he lost this election by six million votes to Biden, but
got 74 million votes, the second most -- the highest number of votes that
any presidential candidate has ever received. He goes into Georgia with a
lot of support from his base.

So, I think Perdue and Loeffler see this as a big plus if he comes down.
That's why you're seeing a lot of other senators, GOP senators, wade into
that contest as well, because their jobs also depend upon success there,
their chairmanships of various Senate committees.

LAWRENCE: And, to that point, I want to ask Kaylee about this.

Kaylee, tell me. There's a lot of attention going on this. Is it about
getting the base out, or is it about getting new voters? What is the focus
in order to win those races down there?

MCGHEE: Well, it's about both.

Obviously, a lot of people went into the 2020 election expecting that
Georgia would remain a red state. And now we know that it is definitely
more purple than red. And it's really important not to underestimate
Democratic enthusiasm, especially going into these run-offs.

They are pouring millions of dollars into this state, and they are
registering as many voters as they possibly can in order to win both races.
So, you're looking at not just needing to win over Trump's base, but you
are also going to need to win over a lot of the on-the-fence voters who
might have voted for Biden during the presidential election, but voted
down-ballot for Republican candidates for both the House and the Senate.

LAWRENCE: And, Kellyanne (sic), in that race with Loeffler, was it --
Representative Collins sort of split the Republican vote there.

Now, bringing that vote back together, does that push her over the top, or
does she need to do more in this race?

TORRANCE: I think she does need to do a bit more. It certainly helps if all
the Collins voters voted for her, but it's not quite enough. It was pretty
quite evenly split between Republicans and Democrats.

The Libertarian candidate was the reason, I think, that neither party went
over that 50 percent line. I think one place that they could look to get
some voters in that they maybe didn't before was among Hispanics. Trump
actually increased his support among this group from 2016. He's made a very
good case to Hispanic voters, especially ones that come from communist
nations.

His unemployment rate for these groups was really record lows before the
pandemic. And so, again, with that Senate control being so important to
stop a progressive agenda, I do think Hispanic voters are people that the
Republicans really need to appeal to here.

They need, I think, to get some people beyond the base.

LAWRENCE: And, John -- a key demo here.

John, $101 million, something like that, being pumped in already. Can you
buy a seat on the Senate?

BUSSEY: Well, both sides are going to be spending an extraordinary amount
of money. You're going to turn on the television in Georgia, and you're
going to see campaign ads between now and the run-off election.

Arguably, the voters have kind of made up their minds that this stage of
the game, and it's a turnout -- it's a turnout effort. You get excitement
by having a big presence on television.

I'm not sure that, at this stage, you're going to change many minds. And it
really is fascinating what has happened to Georgia. This is the first time
that a Democrat has won the electoral votes in Georgia since 1992, a long
time.

The Democratic machine is geared up. Stacey Abrams, who lost in a
governors's bid, has done that. She has been one of the people in the
forefront of that. And so you see the demographics changing. You see a lot
of enthusiasm on the Democratic side.

That said, Joe Biden won the state by 12,000 votes. That's a very, very
narrow margin. And so the senator -- senatorial races are very much up for
grabs.

LAWRENCE: John, I appreciate it. We're going to have to leave it there.
Kelly Jane, thank you, also Kaylee.

I appreciate the time on all of this, very good discussion.

Now, what the hack? The biggest threat to a COVID-19 vaccine could be from
hackers from North Korea. We have the report. You might want to hide.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LAWRENCE: A vaccine hack from North Korea, the rogue nation reportedly
trying to break into AstraZeneca's major breakthrough on a COVID-19
vaccine.

FOX's David Spunt has the latest from the Department of Justice. Kind of
frightening on this front -- David.

DAVID SPUNT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Ed, this is one of those bizarre
stories that makes you take extra steps when you are on your computer and
really pay attention.

Reuters is reporting exclusively that hackers from North Korea were posing
as recruiters and contacted AstraZeneca employees on LinkedIn and WhatsApp
-- almost everybody has access to that across the globe -- and were -- was
trying to send them documents for jobs. And those documents had malicious
code inside them. That's how the hackers were able to try to get into those
AstraZeneca employees' computers to get some of that information about the
COVID-19 vaccine.

Seems like it could happen to anybody. Now, curiously, this comes at the
same time as British drugmaker AstraZeneca revealed issues with its COVID-
19 vaccine trials, announcing the participants received a lower dose,
making the percentage less effective.

Great Britain, Ed, moving forward with the vaccine, but U.S. officials are
taking a step back. It doesn't mean we won't get the vaccine. It's being
reevaluated, as there is no margin for error. Now, North Korea is denying
the hacking charges through second and third channels. There's no direct
contact with the outside world in that country.

Reuters also reporting that some of the accounts used to lure AstraZeneca
employees were Russian e-mail addresses, a way to possibly mislead
investigators.

Now, Reuters also reporting that the attacking -- the hacking attempts --
excuse me -- were not successful. That's the good news.

Reached out to the Department of Justice and the FBI here in the United
States. As typical, they are not commenting on an investigation -- Edward.

LAWRENCE: That is pretty shocking, David. Thank you very much from the
Department of Justice.

SPUNT: You bet.

LAWRENCE: Yes.

The Trump administration saying that a vaccine will be ready for
distribution by mid-December. So, how safe will it be? And can the general
population get it? And when can they get it?

Let's ask Dr. Amesh Adalja of Johns Hopkins this.

So, when do we expect the mass vaccinations for this?

DR. AMESH ADALJA, INFECTIOUS DISEASES SOCIETY OF AMERICA: For the average
risk person in the American public, it's likely going to be mid-2021 before
we have access to it.

Health care workers, high-risk individual will start to see that maybe late
winter, early spring. But this is going to be a really massive undertaking
to get this vaccine into the arms of Americans. So, I think it's important
to remember that we have got many months ahead of us before we actually
have this vaccine.

So we can't really let up on what we're doing now to keep our hospitals
safe and out of crisis.

LAWRENCE: Doctor, I want to talk to you briefly about what David had
touched on.

AstraZeneca, through a mistake, found out that their efficacy rate is
actually better if they give a half-dose first and then the full dose. Does
it concern you that a mistake is what found this?

ADALJA: Yes, it does concern me that there was a mistake that found. This
it seems to be a serendipitous mistake, and it might actually make their
vaccine more efficacious.

But we want to understand how that mistake was made, because we don't want
mistakes to be made when they're trying to roll out hundreds of millions of
doses. So, there is an important question there, how that happened.

Fortunately, though, it looks like it might have made their vaccine better.
And I think we also have to understand why it made the vaccine better. So,
this is also another important question. I think this is a good vaccine and
I think, eventually, it will get approved. But we obviously have some
questions about how this all happened.

LAWRENCE: This also goes to the trust component of this, because it could
show that we can trust the vaccine now, because AstraZeneca may have to go
back into trials to try this new concoction they have of the half-dose
first, and then the other dose.

Does it go to that? Does it go to the trust of having this vaccine and that
it will work?

ADALJA: Yes, I do think that there is a trust issue.

We want to make sure that we're very transparent about the clinical trials,
how everything was determined, what the safety profile is, what the
efficacy is, especially for different subgroups and different demographic
groups. So, we want to be very proactive with this vaccine, because, if
there is hesitancy, if there's people who doubt the efficacy of this
vaccine and don't get it, we will still be in the same situation.

So, we want to be really, really careful with this vaccine, because the
whole point of this vaccine development program is to turn it into a
vaccination, to get it into the arms of people, so that we can put this
pandemic behind us as a public health threat.

LAWRENCE: Now, the COVID lead for the World Health Organization said that
we don't want to go lockdown to lockdown to try and control this virus.

Where do you fall on that? Should we lock down to control it? Or is there a
balance? As you said, we have to deal with this until mid-2021 for the mass
population.

ADALJA: I'm not a fan of lockdowns. Lockdowns are an evidence of a policy
failure.

What we want to do is to be able to test, trace and isolate and to use
targeted public health, to treat people that are not infected, allow them
to be as free as possible, vs. those who are infected who have to restrict
their movements, because they need to be in isolation, or they might need
to be in quarantine.

So, what we want to do is look at the case data, how are people getting
infected, and target public health to those activities. That's the way
countries like Taiwan and South Korea did it from the beginning. It's
something that we have failed to do over and over again in this United --
in the United States.

So, I don't think that lockdowns, because of the auxiliary and ancillary
cascading problems that they cause, are the solution. It's targeted public
health. That's what we want to be able to get back to. So we need to test,
trace, and isolate, and get testing up.

LAWRENCE: Yes, well, Doctor, in the last 10 seconds we have, quickly, do
you expect to see another rise in cases because of Thanksgiving?

ADALJA: Definitely.

I think that people did gather, and there's going to be some transmission
that's inevitable. We will only know this in maybe two weeks or so. But it
will likely be the case.

LAWRENCE: Dr. Amesh Adalja, I really appreciate your time. Thank you for --
you're the expert. We're interested in this.

So, now see that red in all of this -- on this map? See all that red there?
That has a lot of restaurant owners seeing red with COVID-19 dining
restrictions.

The founder of the iconic Planet Hollywood chain has some ideas on how to
fix it. And you know what? He is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LAWRENCE: Your table is not ready.

Whether it's limiting capacity or shutting down indoor dining, a majority
of states are placing restrictions on restaurants. And where's the help
from Congress? Restaurants are still waiting.

Let's get all the read on this from Robert Earl, the chairman of Earl
Enterprises and the founder of Planet Hollywood.

Robert, welcome.

So, how do you navigate this, then, as a business owner, to help those
employees?

ROBERT EARL, FOUNDER, PLANET HOLLYWOOD: Edward, our sector is part of a
complete disaster at the moment. Our sympathies go out to concert
promoters, movie theaters, Broadway, cruise ships, theme parks, and, of
course, Las Vegas, Orlando, cities like that, and the restaurant industry.

It is a mess.

There are only three things that can help save the restaurant industry, a
second PPP, a lot more care and attention and love from our landlords to
help us through the short term, and more creativity inside the restaurants
through creation of new virtual dining brands, creation of more ways for
pickup and delivery.

Those are the only things that, in the short term, will save us.

LAWRENCE: And let's take the first part of that, the PPP.

Are you frustrated with Congress at this point? I mean, you have got -- you
have got employees that depend on the paycheck that you help them get.
What's your level of frustration, I guess, is a better question?

EARL: Well, I'm not sure frustration is right.

But, from our perspective, the first PP helped the -- PPP helped the
industry generally. And the industry needs a second one to get through the
coming months. We still do not know. Hopefully, summer '21, people will
have sufficient confidence from the vaccine to get back out there.

But, until then, we need help. And the employees need to work and to earn
tips and everything else, of course, in a safe environment.

LAWRENCE: So, you have had to adapt your business too. And a lot of small
businesses, a lot of restaurants have gone online. How do you adapt in this
marketplace, and then you do it quickly, correct?

EARL: Yes.

Well, firstly, the -- what we call the third-party platforms, Grubhub, Uber
Eats, DoorDash, Postmates, have been exceptionally helpful to the entire
restaurant industry. They have encouraged the restaurants to create second
brands.

Personally, we have started a new business where I have partnered with an
array of wonderful celebrities from all walks of life with large social
media followings. And we have created some national brands that we are
offering to restaurants to become our market partners and essentially get a
ready-made concept that they can add on to their kitchen.

It's creative. Other people are doing it as well. There's one company doing
it out of putting mobile kitchens in car parks called REEF Kitchens, and
they're absolutely excellent.

So, people are...

(CROSSTALK)

LAWRENCE: So, let me get -- I want to get it right.

So, you're connecting -- you're creating a new online business where you're
connecting kitchens that have capacity to do this and connecting those with
customers through online.

Interesting. And that helps keep those jobs?

EARL: Yes, Edward.

But, first and foremost, sadly, other than some restaurants in the quick
service with drive-through, we all have spare capacity. So, just to be
illustrative, there is a wonderful new YouTuber with millions upon millions
of followers.

And he has become our partner. And we have created a new burger brand with
him. And we are offering it to restaurants across the country to become our
local partners in it. And it will give them instant business once we're
launched. It will be on all those third-party platforms. And he has an
enormous following.

His name is Mr. Beast, by the way.

(LAUGHTER)

EARL: And he has over 40 million people watch his YouTubes.

LAWRENCE: Wow.

EARL: And his call to action will be to buy his burgers.

LAWRENCE: It's interesting how you did that.

I did want to ask you before you went, you probably read about Disney
having to expand their layoffs there. I mean, just a sign of the times?
Because they can't reopen their parks and Disneyland. These attractions are
suffering.

EARL: I'm a participant at Disney. And I think they have been treated very
badly, particularly in California.

They have exemplified how to deal with COVID in Orlando. They're on a
reduced capacity. They have had very little incidents. They have tried to
keep as many people at work as possible. And the people that they can't
keep, they have been maintaining their health insurance and assisting them.

And they have asked for the same thing in California, and it hasn't been
forthcoming, whilst they have displayed lots of evidence about their
ability to deal with things, as Disney do, in a great way.

LAWRENCE: Robert Earl, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much.

Enjoy the holidays. Thank you.

EARL: Good to see you, Edward. Thank you.

LAWRENCE: Good to see you.

Many top House Democrats say the push to defund the police cost them seats.
So, what does this mean for president-elect Joe Biden, now that the
movement's supporters are telling him they're not going away?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LAWRENCE: Defund the police supporters want president-elect Joe Biden to
know that they're not going away.

While some Democrats in Congress think the movement hurt the party this
election, supporters reportedly say they're only going to get louder once
Biden's in office.

So, what does this mean for president -- the president-elect?

Now, Independent Women's Forum's Inez Stepman and Democratic strategist
Jason Nichols are here to discuss this.

Inez, I want to just start with you.

Vice -- former Vice President Joe Biden, the president-elect now, seemingly
supporting defund the police. Then he changed, saying that, no, he actually
supports some reforms of the police. Now we're looking at expanding money
for police, $300 million for training.

Is this a situation where he said what he needed to do to get elected, and
now it may cause a problem for him?

INEZ STEPMAN, INDEPENDENT WOMEN'S FORUM: Look, Joe Biden has been walking
this tightrope since the beginning, right? He wanted to president a
moderate face to the American people for the general election.

And, indeed, Joe Biden has usually been sort of at the center of the
Democratic Party as that party has moved left over time. But the reality is
that he's just a transitionary figure, that there isn't a lot of support
within -- with any energy in the Democratic Party for the kind of slow-
moving progressivism of a Joe Biden.

And, in fact, he was always sort of a transitionary -- as he says himself,
transitionary figure and a papering over of a very serious leftward shift
on this issue and many, many others. But the reason that Joe Biden has had
to change his rhetoric on this issue is, of course, because defund the
police is extremely unpopular, including with Black Americans.

LAWRENCE: And, Jason, I wanted to ask you about Georgia specifically.

Do the Democrats' hope to make changes or reforms to the police department
and policing across the country, does that rest in Georgia, and if they can
retain the majority there?

JASON NICHOLS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I think Georgia is going to be
a very key race -- or both of those races there.

We have seen that David Perdue doesn't want to come out and debate. And I
think that's going to hurt Republicans there.

I don't think that this issue is necessarily the make-or-break issue in
Georgia. I think it's all going to be -- excuse me -- it's all going to be
turnout. And I also don't believe that there's a one-size-fits-all -- fits-
all approach to local policing.

Different jurisdictions have different needs to ensure best practices. But
I think it's good that activists are going to hold Joe Biden accountable. I
think that it would be disappointing if they were just being quiet just
because Trump is gone.

Activists are the people who are beholden to the communities that they
serve, not to any politicians or political parties. And I think that's what
these activists are saying. And the people who believe that this is why
they lose elections, that's just absolutely not true.

I know Abigail Spanberger has been someone who said that, because she ran a
close race. She has to understand the district that she's, in the Seventh
District in Virginia. That's always going to be a conservative district.
And it's going to be a close one for Democrats, if they pull that out.

(CROSSTALK)

LAWRENCE: So, Jason, I wanted to ask you, then, so can the president-elect
to reach across the aisle and get something done should things be divided?

You have about 30 seconds

NICHOLS: Yes.

No, I think he absolutely can. It depends on how reasonable some
Republicans want to be, or whether they want to hold grudges and keep us
divided.

But Joe Biden has always been a fan of community policing. He's done that
since 1994 with the bill that he passed. So I think that there are
Republicans who will support community policing, more funding for policing,
but policing the right way.

LAWRENCE: So, let me ask that to Inez then.

Are there Republicans that will be receptive this? Because, clearly, some
Democrats believe that it cost them an election, and the House of
Representatives shrank in terms of the majority that the Democrats had. So,
Inez, does this play a role?

STEPMAN: Yes, and you have Representative Clyburn, among others, saying
that messaging like defund the police have was responsible for some of that
loss.

I don't know how much bipartisan work would be possible on this issue, only
because Republicans have advanced, for example, legislation that would ban
no-knock warrants, right? There are some common policy grounds, but it
largely seems to me that this movement for defund the police goes much,
much further beyond any kind of common ground that could be held between
Republicans and Democrats and, indeed, sort of rejects that common ground,
right?

On -- we saw that -- Senator Rand Paul's bill on no-knock warrants get
knocked down by Democrats in the Senate. So, I don't know how much common
ground there really is.

LAWRENCE: Inez, I'm going to have to leave it there. I'm going to have to
leave it there.

Don't miss "Cavuto Live" tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.

The "Five" is coming up next. So, stay tuned. Don't go away.

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