New York reports its first decline in ICU admissions since pandemic began

This is a rush transcript from "Special Report," April 10, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: President Trump weighs what he calls the biggest decision of his life. City and states adopt and adapt to the changing conditions surrounding the pandemic. And we answer your questions about COVID-19. This is SPECIAL REPORT.

Good evening, welcome to Washington. I'm Bret Baier.

President Trump says pulling the trigger on restarting the U.S. economy will be the biggest decision he has ever had to make.

The president saying during today's coronavirus task force briefing, data suggests the pandemic is at its peak. And he's crediting what he calls the greatest mobilization of our society since World War II.

On this Good Friday, worshipers around the world mark the occasion in front of computer screens, instead of in church pews. The worldwide death toll has now surpassed the 100,000 mark.

Correspondent Kristin Fisher starts us off tonight from the North Lawn of the White House. Good evening, Kristin.

KRISTIN FISHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bret. President Trump says he believes that he is about to make the biggest decision of his entire life when to reopen the U.S. economy.

And to help him make that decision, President Trump announced tonight that he is going to be announcing a second coronavirus task force on Tuesday. He calls it the opening our country council.

And when he was asked tonight what metrics that council is going to be using to make such a critical decision? Here is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The metrics right here, that's my metrics. That's all I can do. I can listen to 35 people. At the end, I've got to make a decision. I don't know that I've had a bigger decision. But I'm going to surround myself with the greatest minds.

Not only the greatest minds but the greatest minds in numerous different businesses, including the business of politics and reason.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER: President Trump didn't name any names, but he said that the task force is going to include doctors, business leaders, and several governors. Because remember, all of these statewide stay-at-home orders have to be lifted by the governors.

Now, something else that's going to be happening next week. President Trump, says he will be making an announcement about the World Health Organization. He's been threatening to freeze funding to the group all week. He accuses it of missing the mark on the coronavirus and for being to China-centric.

So today, I asked the president if he's given any more thought to holding China financially responsible for the economic toll that the virus has taken on the United States and here is his response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: If people knew, including the World Health Organization -- and I do believe they knew, but they didn't want to tell the world. And we're going to get to the bottom of it. And we'll have reports on all of this, and we are -- we are not happy about it. But I wanted to leave the World Health war later, and I can tell you that we're constantly in touch with China -- we're talking to China.

And we've expressed how we felt. We're not happy about it. We're not happy about it at all, Kristin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER: Now, today, the task force talked a lot about encouraging signs that they are seeing all over the country. Hotspots like New York City appear to be stabilizing. Emerging hotspots like D.C., Baltimore, and Philadelphia are beginning to change the curve. And governors are calling less and less to make requests for more masks and ventilators.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: As encouraging as they are, we have not reached the peak. And so, every day, we need to continue to do what we did yesterday, and the week before, and the week before that. Because that's what, in the end, is going to take us up across the peak and down the other side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER: Dr. Anthony Fauci, noted tonight that this is the end of the famous week that the task force predicted. The week that they said would be one of the worst in American history. And now that we are on the other side of that, Doctor Fauci is pleading with Americans to not pull back from these social distancing and stay-at-home guidelines, especially, as we head into Easter Sunday. Bret.

BAIER: As you see there, Dr. Fauci will be with Martha next hour. Kristin Fisher live in the North Lawn. Kristin, thank you.

President Trump held an Oval Office ceremony today, marking the Easter weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I asked all Americans to pray that God will heal our nation, to bring comfort to those who are grieving, to give strength to the doctors, nurses, and health care workers to restore health to the sick, and to renew the hope in every person who is suffering. Our nation will come through like never before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: President, said even though Americans will not be able to gather as normal, the time should be used for prayer and reflection.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says deaths in his state jumped by 777 in one day. While the number of people hospitalized is growing far less than last week. Correspondent Jonathan Serrie has the latest look around the country tonight from Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN SERRIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: New York reported its first decline in ICU admission since the pandemic began. But the state continues to experience high death counts, a delayed effect of the large numbers of critical patients admitted over the past two weeks.

In the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, the daily tributes to hospital workers continued.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): We think the federal government should set up a hero's compensation fund to compensate our healthcare and other frontline workers for what they did here.

SERRIE: As major cities in the Midwest approach their peaks, the Detroit areas converting two convention centers into field hospitals. Chicago's Cook County is converting this 66,000 square foot refrigerated warehouse into a temporary morgue.

California and Washington State are sending surplus medical equipment, including ventilators, to places with greater needs.

GOV. JAY INSLEE (D-WA): We have seen the horrific suffering of places like New York, in Louisiana, and I just saw a terrible story coming out of Detroit. And these assets, which are national assets can save people today in those places.

SERRIE: Washington and California are in a position to help because aggressive mitigation efforts have so far prevented their hospitals from becoming overwhelmed. Their efforts along with those in New York have contributed to a favorable national trend.

BIRX: You can see for the first time that in the United States, we're starting to level on the logarithmic phase, like Italy did about a week ago.

In Wuhan, China, a resident captured this time lapse of hundreds of cars returning to the streets after the government lifted its 76-day lockdown on the city where the outbreak began. But routine checks on health and travel continue, as residents cautiously returned to work and bring the city back to life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SERRIE: And the U.S. has weathered what federal health officials predict it would be a very difficult week. But as we go into the holiday weekend, they are urging individuals and houses of worship to resist the temptation to gather, and instead, urging Americans to celebrate with their own immediate families in their own personal homes so that the social distancing continues, and along with that current favorable trends. Bret.

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

The federal government's budget deficit for the first half of this budget year totaled $743.6 billion. That's up about 7.6 percent from last year, and well on its way to top a trillion dollars. Now, that is even before the impacts of the coronavirus were felt.

The Treasury Department, says the deficit from October through March was 52-1/2 billion higher than the same period a year ago. Some economists are now estimating the rescue package could push this year's deficit well above $2 trillion.

President Trump, says he is working on getting some more funds to help small businesses survive the pandemic. Correspondent David Spunt shows us how some business owners are trying to access the money which is supposed to be already available.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID SPUNT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: With stay-at-home orders blanketing much of the United States, small business survival is in jeopardy.

NINA EJTEMAI, DENTIST IN VIRGINIA: So, I'm definitely nervous. However, I don't know what I can do.

SPUNT: Dr. Nina Ejtemai is a dentist in Virginia just outside Washington, D.C. One month ago, she closed her doors and laid off her two employees. She says she only has about two months-worth of money to stay in business. Paying rent will soon be impossible.

EJTEMAI: I'm not taking any salary myself. So, at this point, I tried to apply for the, you know, loans and it doesn't look like its moving.

SPUNT: Ejtemai is trying to apply for a loan through Capital One, the bank where she does business. Step one is this web site, but when you get there, the company says it's still working to make the application available to customers, promising accessibility soon. Other banks are facing similar issues.

Ted Kaiser owns a recycling company in New Jersey and says the loan process is full of red tape.

TED KAISER, OWNER, DOCK SEVEN MATERIALS GROUP: It has been frustrating going through a couple of different banks in order to try to get this done. It does seem like we will be able to get the application through with Bank of America at this point.

SPUNT: He is trying to be patient given the circumstances.

KAISER: It's difficult for both, you know, the banking managers, and for us to know if what we're doing is the correct thing, and if ultimately it's going to go through.

SPUNT: As the clock ticks, Dr. Ejtemai will continue to look online and make phone calls, hoping her bank will come through.

EJTEMAI: We just have to wait and see what they can offer.

SPUNT: To apply for a loan, you have to do it through your bank or another lender. To find a lender, the Small Business Administration has a search tool online.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SPUNT: Banks are giving priority to business clients. If you're not a business client, it will be a challenge but not impossible. Bret.

BAIER: David, thank you. While the COVID-19 pandemic has obviously dominated the attention of the American public, the underlying political fallout will be felt in a presidential election year.

Tonight, one prominent member of the Trump administration is sounding off on another key talking point that promises to become political fodder in coming months. It has been before the coronavirus really for three years.

Correspondent Gillian Turner looks at the simmering Russia probe and new comments from the U.S. Attorney General.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GILLIAN TURNER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Attorney General William Barr is putting the FBI's handling of the 2016 Russia probe back into the 2020 political spotlight.

WILLIAM BARR, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES: What happened to him was one of the greatest travesties in American history.

TURNER: In an exclusive interview with Fox News, the attorney general says the agency lacked any basis for launching a probe into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia's efforts to interfere in U.S. elections.

BARR: Even more concerning actually is what happened after the campaign, the whole pattern of events while he was president. So, I -- to sabotage the presidency.

TURNER: Bob Mueller special counsel report found insufficient evidence to link any conspiracy between candidate Trump's campaign and Russia. Democrats, though, have long criticized the nation's top law enforcement officer of being a Trump loyalist and unfairly criticizing the FBI for partisan gain.

The president's critics point to the Justice Department's own inspector general. He found fault with the FBI's handling of the sensitive matter, but concluded the bureau was justified in launching the probe and not driven by political bias.

But a U.S. attorney who was appointed by Barr to examine the origins of the Russia probe may reach a different conclusion.

BARR: The evidence shows that we're not dealing with just mistakes or sloppiness, there was something far more troubling here, and we're going to get to the bottom of it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TRUNER: So far, the attorney general hasn't given an indication of when this internal investigation into FBI actions is going to wrap up, or whether any FBI officials are ultimately going to be charged.

He also says that when it comes to election security, China poses a much graver threat to the United States. Bret.

BAIER: Gillian, thank you. And just in the past few minutes, we have a release from Senator Chuck Grassley talking about the footnotes -- to classified footnotes in the inspector general's report about FISA abuses.

Grassley, says in this released, four years, the public was fed a healthy diet of leaks, innuendo, and false information to imply that President Trump and his campaign were part of Russian conspiracy to spread disinformation.

The FBI's blind pursuit of the investigation despite exculpatory and contradictory information only legitimized the narrative. The mounting evidence undercutting this narrative should have stopped the investigation early in its tracks, instead, it took several years and millions in taxpayer dollars to conclude that the allegations were baseless.

Grassley goes on to say he expects the declassification to come in coming days.

Up next, should there be more mail in voting in light of the coronavirus pandemic? We'll look at that. First, beyond -- of course, we'll look at what some of the Fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight.

Q13 Fox in Seattle as the Washington State Supreme Court says people are not entitled to make minimum wage for jury duty. The court, says jury duty is not traditional employment subject to the Minimum Wage Act, because of the civic obligations involved.

Fox 40 in Jackson, Mississippi as the attorney for William Nash, says he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the 12-year prison sentence for Nash who carried his mobile phone into jail cell after he was arrested on a misdemeanor charge.

The state Supreme Court said Thursday, it will not reconsider its earlier decision to uphold that sentence.

Fox 29 in Philadelphia as firefighters battle a large forest fire in Cumberland County. Officials say that fire has consumed more than a thousand acres. Firefighters expect the blaze will be under control by later today. No injuries were reported, no evacuations expected.

And this is a live look at Austin from our affiliate Fox 7. One of the big stories there tonight, a federal judge rules Texas clinics may continue to perform abortions in some cases, despite the governor's order banning them during the coronavirus outbreak. The decision appears to contradict a federal appeals court ruling upholding that ban.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: The Justice Department and other federal agencies are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to revoke China Telecom Corporations authorization to provide international telecommunication services to and from the U.S.

The company is a subsidiary of a Chinese state-owned telecommunications firm. Official site concerns the Chinese government could use that company to conduct espionage against the U.S. government.

The firm rejects the allegations and says it has been extremely cooperative and transparent with regulators.

Meantime, the Treasury Department's inspector general says the agency followed proper procedures in denying House Democrats access to President Trump's tax returns. Last May, you may remember, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal issued a subpoena demanding the administration turn over six years of the President's tax returns.

Lawmakers went to court to try to compel their release. Inspector General says the Treasury process the request properly, sought legal guidance from the Justice Department, determined that it was bound by that guidance, and based on that advice decided not to provide the tax information.

We're waiting on a reaction from the Trump administration.

In tonight's "DEMOCRACY 2020" report, the growing controversy over mail-in voting amid the coronavirus pandemic. Democrats want to see more of it. Most Republicans including President Trump, do not.

Correspondent Peter Doocy lays out the battle lines tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS GENERAL ASSIGNMENT REPORTER: If candidates aren't in public campaigning, should constituents be in public voting now or in November?

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We should be thinking now ahead, have all the experts, both political parties, and academia, laying out what would it would take to have voting by mail. I'd much prefer to have on -- you know, in-person voting, but it depends.

DOOCY: Five states already conduct all elections by mail. Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. But Joe Biden's allies are pushing for more.

PETE BUTTIGIEG, FORMER MAYOR OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA: There could be a positive development here, and that is if we finally do things we should have done a long time ago, like making sure there is universal access to things like vote by mail.

DOOCY: Voting by mail is more convenient so turnout could grow. But it could also take longer to count ballots and be tough to tell whether anyone was pressured to vote one way or another.

DARON SHAW, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, AUSTIN: And when you go into about booth and you're voting alone that's different than if, let's say, you've got your ballot laid out on the -- on the kitchen table, and everybody's kind of asking you what you're doing and looking over your shoulder.

We don't know what sort of facts that are, but that's not systematic fraud, that's just kind of a different election environment that we all might be dealing with this fall.

DOOCY: Republicans resisted attempts to tie voting reform to coronavirus aid.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA) (via telephone): What they all did, and what they did on the Republican side was they took out some of our positive pieces that we wanted to include that would be same day registration, mailing a ballot to every registered voter, initiatives like that. That open the process.

DOOCY: But some Republicans are promoting mail voting in their delayed primaries.

GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): We've made it pretty easy, you know, in Ohio.

DOOCY: President Trump isn't one of them.

TRUMP: I'm not going to say which party does it, but thousands of votes are gathered and they come in and they're dumped in a location. And then, all of a sudden, you lose elections. If you think you're going to win, I won't stand for it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOOCY: There is another problem that officials in Wisconsin are just now finding about, days after their primary where they tried to get more people to vote by mail at the last minute.

Thousands of people who requested ballots didn't get them. So, if vote by mail is going to go national, it will require months of preparation. Bret.

BAIER: Well, Peter, Joe Biden is obviously the Democratic nominee in waiting after Bernie Sanders' dropped out. He said, Biden did that he wanted to name a woman to be vice president. So, do we have any idea about the short list for Biden?

DOOCY: It's 11 names long. We don't know who the names are yet, though. So, we are looking for any little clue about who might be on it. And we do have some new clues. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was a guest on Biden's new podcast. Senator Kamala Harris was a guest at a Biden virtual fundraiser. Senator Elizabeth Warren never did wind up endorsing her pal, Bernie Sanders. Senator Katherine Cortez Mosto, the first Latina ever elected to the United States Senate is now saying she's honored by reports. Biden told, Harry Reid, she's in the top three, and Atlanta mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, one of Biden's first big-city surrogates back in June, when there were still more than a dozen candidates to choose from. Bret.

BAIER: Obviously, Senator Klobuchar on that 11, someplace as well. Peter, thank you. Up next, lessons learned during a pandemic a century ago.

First, "BEYOND OUR BORDERS" tonight. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now walking short distances as part of his recovery from the coronavirus. That's according to his office. Johnson came out of intensive care Thursday after three nights in that unit.

A global chemical weapons watchdog is blaming the Syrian Air Force for a series of chemical attacks in 2017. It's the first time the investigation and identification team of that organization for the prohibition of camel weapons has a portion blame for the attack in Syria.

Parts of Africa are seeing a second wave of the biggest locust outbreak in 70 years. Billions of the young desert locusts are winging in from breeding grounds in Somalia in search of fresh vegetation, springing up with seasonal rains.

Fire scarred Notre Dame Cathedral came back to life briefly on this Good Friday, in locked down Paris, days before the first anniversary of the April 15th inferno that ravaged it. Services were broadcast from the nearly empty Cathedral.

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

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BAIER: The saying goes, history repeats itself, and in the coronavirus crisis, that's exactly what we're trying to avoid.

Tonight, State Department correspondent Rich Edson shows us the lessons learned from a past pandemic more than 100 years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICH EDSON, FOX NEWS WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Christmas 1918, Angelina DiGiacomo, brought her 5-month-old daughter to New York to visit her parents for the holiday.

Less than a week after the 1919 New Year, Angelina was dead. One of the 50 to 100 million victims of a worldwide flu pandemic. She had just turned 19.

JOHN BARRY, AUTHOR, THE GREAT INFLUEZA: One of the big differences between coronavirus and 1918 is that 1918 targeted otherwise healthy young adults.

EDSON: It's unclear where that flu started. Reports of flu infections surfaced among American troops, who were traveling throughout the country and across the Atlantic Ocean.

A volunteer nurse assigned to military installations treating the infected wrote to a friend, "When I was in the officer's barracks, four of the five officers of whom I had charged died. The first one that died sure unnerved me. I had to go to the nurse's quarters and cry it out."

A highly fatal second wave struck in the fall of 1918. Like today cities like New York encourage social distancing and staggered business hours. Unlike today, even as the city posted public warnings, New York kept theaters and schools open, figuring they could educate and monitor the public.

JOHN BARRY, "THE GREAT INFLUENZA" AUTHOR: Most places did not impose these restrictions until it was too late.

EDSON: By the summer of 1919, the flu ended, as those infected either died or developed immunity. In New York, Angelina was buried in Calvary Cemetery with thousands of other flu victims. Her baby daughter stayed in New York where Angelina's parents were left to raise her.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

EDSON: That little girl grew up to have three children of her own, including a daughter who is currently a nurse working at a hospital inundated with coronavirus patients. She also had seven grandchildren of which I'm the youngest. Up until her death in 2016 my grandmother would still talk about the 1918 flu pandemic that took her mother, altered her life, and changed the world, now more than 100 years ago. Bret?

BAIER: Wow. Rich, thanks for sharing that story. Rich Edson at the State Department.

Let's answer some of your questions about the coronavirus pandemic. Joining us tonight and again, Dr. Marty Makary, Johns Hopkins health policy expert and a FOX News contributor. Doc, thanks for being here. I want to play a soundbite from Tony Fauci at the Coronavirus Task Force briefing asked about reopening the economy and the country. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAUCI: Don't let anyone get any false ideas, that when we decide at a proper time when we are going to be relaxing some of the restrictions, there is no doubt you are going to see cases. I would be so surprised if we did not see cases. The question is how you respond to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Doc, I guess the question is, the president it's going to be one of the toughest decisions he's ever had to make. How do you think they're going to come to that decision knowing what you know about where we are now?

DR. MARTY MAKARY, JOHNS HOPKINS SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: We had some very encouraging news today, and we have the benefit of looking at Europe and countries like Italy and Spain. We are behind them in terms of this pandemic, so as they start to go back to work and decide who goes back to work first, we can learn some lessons. Generally speaking, these pandemics are symmetrical, and if you look at the different curves and the models, the peak usually represents you are right at the halfway point. So I'm still feeling good about June as a time when we're going to greenlight, hopefully a little bit sooner. But I'm planning on June.

BAIER: OK, and obviously different parts of the country at different times. Let me get some specific questions from viewers. Mel types in, "I have been wiping my cash with disinfecting wipes. Do the wipes kill germs and help deter the spread of COVID-19?

MAKARY: Anything helps because this virus is a fragile virus. It doesn't do well in the environment, it doesn't do well in wind and UV light. So wiping something down for 10 seconds is better than five seconds, 20 seconds is better than 10, and soap is better than with nothing, and certainly alcohol is most effective.

BAIER: We saw that graphic, the animation it, I don't know if you've seen it, at the grocery store where somebody coughs and it goes three rows over. Keith writes in about this. He says, "Has absorption through the skin been fully ruled out? If medicine can be delivered topically, what stops it virus from being absorbed? Say during speaking with someone some spittle hits your arm and sits there for hours?"

MAKARY: That's right. Small molecules and medications that are very small can diffuse through the skin, and some medications are topical. But this virus is selective to the respiratory cells, to the mucosa. It is primarily an of your airway tract and your mouth and mucus membranes. So no, it does not have any evidence of passing through the skin directly.

BAIER: It's more your eyes and your mouth, and your breathing. OK, Sec Mom, last question, Doc. "I would like to know about the second wave of the virus. Do we have projections on a plan for this? Also, do we have a plan for the 51 percent of infected they get re-infected?"

MAKARY: I'm glad you brought up that point, because we should not be surprised when there are some cases in the fall. We may want to think of this almost as a chronic disease until we have a therapy. But historically, the final waves in the fall after the big waves in the winter are much smaller. In 1918 that was about a quarter to a third of the size, and hopefully now that we have got everybody programmed and wired in on social distancing and good handwashing techniques and other good hygiene, we might be able to go into preparation mode quickly and manage this in a way that it acts like the seasonal flu come this fall.

BAIER: Dr. Makary, we always appreciate your time. Have a great Easter weekend.

MAKARY: Thank you, Bret.

BAIER: The panel on the pandemic when we come back.

First, we wanted to share this. New Yorkers are showing their appreciation every night for first responders and health care workers amid this pandemic. Here's what it looked like earlier this week. This is from Broadway actor Ben Davis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The metrics right here, that's my metrics. That's all I can do. I can listen to 35 people. At the end, I've got to make a decision. I'm going to surround myself with the greatest minds, not only the greatest minds, but the greatest minds in numerous different businesses, including the business of politics and reason.

I'm going to make a decision, and I only hope to God that it's the right decision. But I would say without question it's the biggest decision I've ever had to make.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: President Trump answering a question from Jeff Mason at the White House Task Force briefing today about when to reopen the U.S. economy. This as the doctors there as part of the task force say they are reaching the peak, not quite there, but New York sharing some data today that hospital beds and the need for them is down significantly. You can see the graph. They did see a 777 New Yorkers die today alone, but the numbers are going in the right direction according to the governor today.

Let's bring in our panel, Jason Riley, "Wall Street Journal" columnist and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, Leslie Marshall, Democrat strategist, and the aforementioned Jeff Mason, White House correspondent for "Reuters."

Jeff, that was another marathon task force briefing today, several rounds of questions. Yours really get to the heart of what everybody is asking is when is the moment that the country will open back up for business. And your thoughts on the president's answer and what Fauci and Birx said as well.

JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, REUTERS: I think that is the heart of the question that we're all asking, and I think there's a lot of tension about that. And I don't mean necessarily fighting, although there might be some of that as well, but just the genuine tension. You could see that in the president's face and you could hear it in his answer that he sees this as the biggest decision he's ever had to make. Obviously, he has made very clear he wants to get the economy open soon. But the counterarguments to that are clear. And that's why he ended up extending the federal guidelines on social distancing until the end of this month.

So I think he did, he has tried to make clear he will listen to his advisors, including the health advisers. But his instinct seems to be that he would like to open it soon. We'll see if he's able to do that.

BAIER: Jason, he said he's going to have this council. It's essentially a second task force, but calling a reopening the economy council that he'll talk about on Tuesday. Your thoughts on that decision that he calls the biggest of his life?

JASON RILEY, "WALL STREET JOURNAL" COLUMNIST: I think it is going to be the biggest decision of his life, and I think right now is the time to be preparing for it. This is going to happen on a rolling basis. You're going to see, just like we saw infections peak around the country on a rolling basis, we'll see them come down from that peak on a rolling basis. So in places like New York where things do seem to be peaking, this is the time to start thinking about it.

I do think the states are going to play a pretty big role in this and they're going to have to make decisions on the ground state by state, region by region around the country, but they are going to be looking for some guidance from the White House in terms of what metrics they should be using, infections rates, hospitalization rates, mortality rates. What should trigger us doing what, opening up which sectors, what time, when can people go back to work, and so forth. So the White House is going to play an important role here in terms of providing some much needed guidance for the various states around the country.

BAIER: Leslie, the president spent some time saying that he thinks the governors are happy with what they are getting health-wise from the federal government. Obviously that dynamic has changed in days and weeks as we've been dealing with this, and different places have a shortage of PEE, and obviously the ventilators are not needed as much as they once were. Your sense of that governor, federal government relationship?

LESLIE MARSHALL, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: When you have governors like the state I'm in, California, Gavin Newsom, or Cuomo in New York, who are liberal Democratic, blue state governors, who are applauding the president and applauding the administration, definitely we can see that we are now finally, in a sense, headed in the right direction.

But there are some areas, look at the state of Baltimore that say help, we need more. And we see states helping each other. Here in California we have more ventilators right now in certain sections than we need, and we are going to be sending them to other states. I think that's when it's not states individual that we are in that nation collectively, and this is something we have to get through together, politicians and laypeople in order to put this behind us as a page in our history books.

BAIER: I want to play one more soundbite, the surgeon general with his recommendations, specifically for African American communities that are disproportionately being infected by coronavirus. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JEROME ADAMS, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: Avoid alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. And call your friends and family, check-in on your mother, she wants to hear from you right now. And speaking of mothers, we need you to do this, if not for yourself, then for your abuela. Do it for your granddaddy. Do it for your big mama, do it for your pop-pop. We need you to understand, especially in communities of color, we need you to step up and help stop the spread so that we can protect those who are most vulnerable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you, I guess, have a response for people who might be offended by the language that you used?

ADAMS: That was not meant to be offensive. I use the language that is used in my family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Jason, the surgeon general seems to be a pretty earnest guy. What did you make of that exchange?

RILEY: I do think he's a pretty earnest guy, but it's also an example of the types of belligerent questions that the administration officials from the president on down are getting from the press. I think he was trying to make a very practical, a common sensical argument, and that's the response that he's getting from the media. So that's what the administration has been up against in dealing with this situation.

BAIER: Much more to talk about on this, but next up, the Friday lightning round, we are actually getting to do one, and Vice President Candidate Casino. Stay tuned.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: While Bernie's campaign has ended, I know his leadership is going to continue. And he didn't just run a political campaign. He created a movement, and that's a good thing for the nation and for our future.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Joe, he's not going to adopt my platform. I got that. But if he can move in that direction, I think people will say, you know what, this is a guy who we should support.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Joe Biden is essentially the Democratic nominee in waiting. This as a new FOX poll has a new head-to-head number out this week showing Joe Biden and Donald Trump tied in this poll. You can see the shift from March till now. This as Joe Biden gets ready to head towards what will be a convention, and he will obviously have to pick a vice presidential nominee.

With that, let's head down to the Candidate Casino Vice Presidential Nominee Casino, a different casino, $100 in chips. You have to bet, and you have to say who Joe Biden will pick. Starting with you, Leslie, $100.

MARSHALL: It's $30 on Senator Kamala Harris, $30 on the governor of the great state of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmore, $40 on Stacy Abrams as of now.

BAIER: OK, Jason, who do got?

RILEY: I think Klobuchar would be the smartest pick. I think Harris and Abrams are there if he wants a progressive. And I know what he said about picking a female running mate, Bret, but I still think that Andrew Cuomo is in the mix. He's become a superstar politician in America over the past few weeks, and Biden would be crazy at least to not consider tapping into that.

BAIER: All right, Jeff Mason.

MASON: All right, Bret, first really quickly I just want to say to Jason's comment earlier, I didn't think that that question for the surgeon general was belligerent at all.

But back in the Vice Presidential Casino, I've sort of split my hand, and not being a huge betting man between Klobuchar, Harris, Whitmer, and Warren.

BAIER: OK, not a lot of out on the limb there.

MASON: No.

(LAUGHTER)

BAIER: Let's go with Winners and Losers. Jeff, start with you, winner and loser?

MASON: The winner is easy for me. I just think another shout out to the medical staff and grocery clerks and everyone who has been social distancing as well. We can't take our hats off enough to those people. For losers, I chose Thomas Modly, the former acting secretary of the Navy for the controversy with relation to the Roosevelt and his comments to the sailors there.

BAIER: All right, Leslie, winner and loser?

MARSHALL: The winner is all of the moms and dads that are at home with their kids that have become teachers and that are homeschooling them, including myself, adding things to our resume. My loser, all of the governors currently that are still not having a shelter in place order. The faster we do that it would seem the data shows the quicker we'll flatten that curve, which we need to do.

BAIER: OK, Jason, winner and loser?

RILEY: My winner is the Federal Reserve for their efforts to continue to make loans available to businesses big and small so that they can stay afloat, limit the number of layoffs, and then hire people when things do turn around. I think that's going to be much more important than the government sending out these checks.

My loser is Bernie Sanders. The revolution is not coming, and I think all that he has really done is make it more difficult for Democrats to do well in November with Biden at the top of the ticket since he continues to pull Biden to the left, which is not only where the Democratic Party is not right now, but with the country is not.

BAIER: All right, panel, thank you so much. I have two winners. One is obviously the medical staff and personnel working every day on the front lines, and we can't say enough about it, I agree with you 100 percent there, Jeff.

I have a winner, though. The SPECIAL REPORT staff every night and all of the technical folks putting together a show that for the first time in a long time is on the air tonight, and it's complete. So a winner there tonight, double winners. Panel, thank you very much.

When we come back, "Notable Quotables."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Finally tonight, it is Friday. That means "Notable Quotables."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: There's tremendous light at the end of the tunnel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The American people are stepping up so strong at putting others ahead of themselves.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tyler Perry paid for your grocery bill today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you kidding me?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not getting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have got an I-24. I-24.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I-24.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, waving the hammer up high.

CROWD: Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you

(SINGING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you for all the doctors that are working out there.

TRUMP: They are warriors. They're running through those doors. It's the most incredible thing. It's a beautiful thing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not only the nurses and doctors but everyone in that health care delivery system, these are the heroes of America.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we are doing is working. I know I sound like a broken record. That's good. I want to sound like a broken record. Let's just keep doing it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You gave me another chance at life.

TRUMP: We're going to have many Easters together in churches.

We are getting much closer to getting our country back to the way it was.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: In these tough times, we have seen really the best of America as we head into this Easter weekend.

This weekend on FOX News Sunday, Chris Wallace will speak with Dallas Mavericks owner, "Shark Tank" shark Mark Cuban. Check your local listings for air time.

Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. That's it for this SPECIAL REPORT, fair, balanced, and still unafraid. Tonight we are one day closer to getting through this.

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