Pennsylvania and Nevada certify election results as Trump touts market

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Pennsylvania and Nevada certify election results as Trump touts market

President makes two brief appearances Tuesday as Biden transition ramps up; Kristin Fisher reports

This is a rush transcript from “Special Report” November 24, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR (on camera): I didn't think Jesse made
mistakes. (INAUDIBLE)

Good evening. I'm Bret Baier. Breaking tonight, the stock market soars on
optimism over a coronavirus vaccine, another one. And also, the progress in
the presidential transition. The Dow eclipse the three -- 30,000 mark for
the first time ever. President Trump made a brief appearance to talk about
that in the White House Press Briefing Room, details on all of that
shortly.

And I will speak with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a few minutes about
the transition and foreign policy.

Also breaking tonight, The U.S. is now averaging more than 1,500 deaths per
day from the coronavirus. That grim news comes as millions of Americans
prepare to defy the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's
recommendation that they stay at home for the Thanksgiving holiday and
limit their gatherings to people in their household. States continue to
consider new regulations but families from across the country are pushing
back.

Tonight, even one big city mayor is tweeting a warning about any
Thanksgiving travel in his city. Senior Correspondent Laura Ingle starts us
off tonight from Malverne, New York. Good evening, Laura.

LAURA INGLE, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Good evening,
Bret. And while the CDC is standing firm on its recommendations for
traveling this week, there is word tonight that public health officials
with the CDC are said to be considering ways to shorten the quarantine
period. But they tell Fox News tonight, they can't announce any of those
changes as of yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT REDFIELD, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION:
Clearly right now you can see the surge that we're seeing in new cases
unfortunately in hospitalizations and deaths.

INGLE (Voice over): The numbers of people dying each day in the U.S. and
around the world rises once again. Concern from health care officials and
frontline workers grows.

DIANNE SPOSITO, EMERGENCY ROOM NURSE: I don't understand it. I can't grasp
around it for what all the horrors that I'm seeing and why people can't
believe this is real.

INGLE: According to data released this week by Johns Hopkins University,
the United States has the highest case tally in the world at 12.4 million
and the highest death toll at nearly 260,000. Averaging over 170,000 new
cases a day. Help though, is on the way.

ALEX AZAR, U.S. SECRETARY, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: If all goes well, we
could be distributing vaccine soon after December 10th.

INGLE: Today, Department of Defense officials gave an update on how they
will get the vaccinations to hospitals and frontline health care workers
within 24 hours of FDA authorization. A plan that they hope will be
implemented as soon as the vaccines are ready.

AZAR: OWS and our partners have been running not only tabletop exercises,
but actual field exercises for the shipment procedures.

INGLE: In the meantime, business owners in Los Angeles County where all
outdoor dining will be banned for three weeks starting tomorrow are bracing
for financial impact after the California Restaurant Association lost a
court battle today to bar the shutdown.

JOEY KOUCHAKIAN, RESTAURANT OWNER: So, it's just been devastating now that
we're going to close the outside, it's -- we're going to have to tell 11 of
our employees go home. And how are they going to pay their bills?

INGLE: And if you have plans to hit the bars in Pennsylvania the night
before Thanksgiving, think again. There is now an order by the state's
governor, last call for alcohol at all restaurants and bars at 5:00 p.m.
tomorrow to cut down on a lack of social distancing.

The director of the CDC says he hopes people will hold tight and remain
vigilant.

REDFIELD: You don't want to be the last group to end up getting COVID
because the vaccine is going to begin to be rolled out probably by the end
of the second week of December.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGLE (on camera): And here in New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo abruptly
canceled his plans for Thanksgiving after he revealed he would be spending
it with his 89-year old mother and his two adult daughters. He got a lot of
flak. He has since said he's now going to be working on Thanksgiving.

And this just in, the mayor of Los Angeles has just tweeted that officials
there are asking everyone to cancel non-essential travel. Adding, if you
must travel, travelers arriving at LAX or Van Nuys airports will have to
fill out a quarantine questionnaire and then they will have to possibly
quarantine for about 14 days. So, some big changes in Los Angeles starting
tomorrow, Bret.

BAIER: That's quite something. Laura, thank you.

As we mentioned, the Dow hit an all-time high today surging 455 points to
eclipse and finish above the 30,000 mark for the first time ever. The S&P
500 gained 58 for a new record close there as well. The NASDAQ jumped 156
to its second highest close in history.

Pennsylvania and Nevada have joined the list of states officially
certifying their election results today. Also tonight, we're learning more
about the president's decision to allow the transition to begin. With
President Trump formally granting approval for Joe Biden to receive the
classified presidential daily briefing. This on a day, President Trump made
two short appearances, a pardon and an announcement about the stock market
jump.

Correspondent Kristin Fisher reports tonight live from the North Lawn of
the White House. Good evening, Kristin.

KRISTIN FISHER, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Good evening,
Bret. Yes, the first appearance from President Trump was this morning in
the Briefing Room. And then, we saw him again this afternoon for the annual
turkey pardon in the Rose Garden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER (Voice over): Trump walked into the Briefing Room with little
notice.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I just want to congratulate
everybody. The stock market, Dow Jones Industrial Average just hit 30,000
which is the highest in history.

FISHER: And he walked out just one minute and three seconds later, his
shortest briefing ever. The president took credit for the soaring stock
market and the encouraging news about coronavirus vaccines.

TRUMP: Nothing like that has ever happened medically. And I think people
are acknowledging that and it's having a big effect.

FISHER: But he took zero questions from reporters and not once did he
mention the outcome of the election. He inched closer to acknowledging Joe
Biden as the president-elect with a tweet last night telling the head of
the GSA, the agency responsible for signing off on the transition process
to "do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols". Adding that
he's told his team to do the same.

The president later said he will never concede, but multiple staffers
within the West Wing took that initial tweet as an acknowledgement of sorts
that their time in a Trump administration is winding down.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was one of the people encouraging
the president to allow the transition to begin. Those efforts began in
earnest on Saturday after the Trump campaigns lawsuit in Pennsylvania was
tossed out and culminated with Michigan certification on Monday.

Since then, two more contested states have also certified the results of
the election for Joe Biden, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.

Governor Tom Wolf thanked election officials who he says administered a
fair and free election during an incredibly challenging time in our
commonwealth and country's history.

TRUMP: That is a lucky bird.

FISHER: The president again steered clear of questions during the annual
turkey pardon in the Rose Garden.

TRUMP: Corn and cob.

FISHER: But he did take time to thank those on the frontlines of the
pandemic and those fighting to keep America safe.

TRUMP: To keep America great. And as I say, America first. Shouldn't go
away from that, America first.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER (on camera): And in another sign that this transition is moving
forward, this afternoon, the White House gave the green light for
president-elect Joe Biden to begin receiving the presidential daily brief
or the PDB that is the classified intelligence briefing that the president
receives each morning, Bret.

BAIER: Kristin Fisher live in the North Lawn. Kristin, thanks.

Let's go inside the Wall Street numbers tonight, big numbers. Connell
McShane in a Fox Business Network joins us from New York. Good evening,
Connell.

CONNELL MCSHANE, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK ANCHOR: Hi, good evening, Bret. While
it has been quite a run for the Dow Jones Industrial Average optimism about
three potential coronavirus vaccines helping to drive the average to this
most recent milestone.

On January 15th, the Dow closed above 29,000 for the first time. It then
flirted with 30,000 the next month but with the nation being hammered by
the coronavirus in March, it fell. And it fell below 19,000.

Since then, helped by low interest rates, it's been a long climb back. And
the positive vaccine news from Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca has helped
with this most recent stage of the rally coming after the presidential
election earlier this month.

And then, when word leaked yesterday, the former Fed Chair Janet Yellen
would be president-elect Joe Biden's pick as the Treasury Secretary, more
buying.

And then, when the Trump administration did clear the way for Biden
transition to officially begin last night, some investors saw that today as
more uncertainty being removed, the market climb even higher.

Now, today's rally was broad based when you look at it. Oil stocks like
Exxon and Chevron helped to lead the way on signs of a better economic time
coming ahead of us.

Shares of the electronic vehicle maker Tesla have continued what's been an
incredible run for the stock helping the founder Elon Musk passed Bill
Gates becoming on paper, the second richest human being on planet earth
behind Jeff Bezos of Amazon.

Now, there certainly are questions about whether this market rally can
continue. Some say stocks are getting ahead of themselves. Others point to
today's report a drop in consumer confidence as a sign of trouble on the
horizon.

But for now, it's a focus on the positive, we have the Dow closing above
30,000 for the first time ever, Bret.

BAIER: Good stuff. Connell, thank you.

We're getting our first look tonight at some of the just announced
perspective members of the incoming Biden administration and talk of the
rapid retreat from policies of the current administration is already
beginning. Correspondent Peter Doocy reports tonight from Wilmington,
Delaware.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT (Voice over): President-elect
Joe Biden's foreign policy plan, send experienced civil servants out to
patch things up with other countries.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: America is back, ready
to lead the world, not retreat from it.

DOOCY: No America First, which has been President Trump's foreign policy
strategy is no problem for the nominee to be Secretary of State Tony
Blinken.

ANTONY BLINKEN, FORMER GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST, CNN: We need to be working
with other countries. We need their cooperation.

DOOCY: Especially, addressing climate change.

JOHN KERRY, SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL CLIMATE ENVOY: To end this crisis, the
whole world must come together.

DOOCY: Kerry will be the face of the Biden administration's $2 trillion
climate plan.

BIDEN: He will be -- there will be a principal on the National Security
Council who can make sure climate change is on the agenda in the Situation
Room.

DOOCY: Another seat in the Situation Room goes to National Security Adviser
Jake Sullivan.

BIDEN: He'll lead the early negotiations that led to the Iran nuclear deal.

DOOCY: National security will be reimagined by order of the president-elect
and will now cover terror threats plus --

JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER-DESIGNATE: The pandemic, the
economic crisis, the climate crisis, technological disruption, threats to
democracy, racial injustice and inequality.

DOOCY: The nominee to run DHS Alejandro Mayorkas is being asked to do
things differently too.

BIDEN: It's a job that plays a critical role in fixing our broken
immigration system.

DOOCY: Biden is also breaking with Trump and picking insiders, not
outsiders for jobs like Avril Haines nominated as Director of National
Intelligence.

BIDEN: I didn't pick a politician or a political figure. I picked a
professional.

DOOCY: America has long been a melting pot and now on the world stage, the
nominee for U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield will make sure there's
also a pot of gumbo.

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N. NOMINEE: In my 35 years in
the Foreign Service across four continents, I put a Cajun spin on it. I
called it Gumbo diplomacy. Wherever I was posted around the world, I'd
invite people of different backgrounds and beliefs to help me make a roux
and chop onions for the Holy Trinity and make homemade gumbo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOOCY (on camera): Biden transition officials are telling us tonight they
have spoken to counterparts at every federal agency on this, the first day
they were allowed to. The president-elect to saying staffers have spoken
now to Dr. Anthony Fauci but he hasn't had time to phone Fauci. And that he
would sit down with President Trump if the president asked, Bret.

BAIER: Thanks, Peter. Let's talk about the transition and foreign policy
specifically Secretary of State Mike Pompeo joins us again tonight. Mr.
Secretary, thanks for coming back to SPECIAL REPORT.

MIKE POMPEO, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: Great to be back with you,
Bret. Thank you.

BAIER: You've just returned from a trip to many places overseas. But the
thing that got the most attention was a meeting that was believed to have
happened. Did Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu meet with the Saudi Crown
Prince on your visit to the region?

POMPEO: Bret, I had (AUDIO GAP) the Crown Prince there. I had a meeting
with the Crown Prince in the Emirates. And I don't want to expand any
further on that. But importantly, what I was continuing to work on is
creating space for the American people, security for the American people
and reducing risk in the Middle East.

And what I took away from the gatherings is that while there is more work
to do, I think each of them has come to understand that the work that we've
done with the Abraham Accords, the work that we've done to isolate the
regime in the Islamic Republic of Iran has been good for their people, been
good for the Middle East. I know it's been good for the security of people
right here back at home.

BAIER: Well, the report, Mr. Secretary was that the Prime Minister Bibi
Netanyahu and the head of Mossad flew to Neom Saudi Arabia to meet with
MBS, the Crown Prince. So, did that happen or not?

POMPEO: Well, look, I've seen the reporting, I was with each of those to us
with the Prime Minister in Jerusalem, I was with the head of Mossad in
Jerusalem as well. We had productive discussions. I know, I'll leave it to
them to discuss the meetings that they may have had or may not have had.

BAIER: Do you expect more normalization announcements from other countries
like Saudi Arabia with Israel before the end of the president's term?

POMPEO: You know, I do. I expect more normalization (INAUDIBLE). Whether
they'll come in the next 30 days or 60 days or six months is difficult to
know. But the direction of travels are very clear and the rationale for
that has a little bit to do with American policy. We got it right. We took
away the excuse of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. We
took away the excuse that the United States was going to appease Iran.

And so, we took that away, and in the end, it was a good sovereign decision
by those leaders. Those countries are more safe, more security, they'll be
more prosperous. I saw Emirati businessmen in Israel. I saw Israeli
businessmen in the Emirates. Good things are happening with those two
countries are coming closer and closer together. And everybody who joined
the Abraham Accords will see the benefits for their own people.

So, I am highly confident that many, many more nations will ultimately
choose to do the right thing and recognize Israel as the rightful homeland
of the Jewish people.

BAIER: When you -- when you speak about Iran, you've talked about the
maximum pressure campaign and how it has been effective in your words. What
do you say to the critics who say that Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon
now as you get ready for this transition with another team that may look at
the situation completely different than you?

POMPEO: Well, they're just wrong factually about that. First, I came into
an administration, as did President Trump, where we were funneling tens of
billions of dollars into that country, creating wealth and prosperity that
the real tools of creating a nuclear weapon, our capacity, smart people,
money. Those are the things that help you build out a nuclear weapons
program.

The previous administration had chosen them to give them an awful lot of
that thing, money. We've chosen to deny them.

I think the Iranians had now tens and tens of billions of dollars in wealth
has been denied them as a result of the isolation which we have created.
We've saved lots of lives, lots of American lives. We have to have fewer
soldiers in the Middle East today because of the actions we've taken.

I'm confident that that's the right policy. Appeasing terrorists, appeasing
those who have hegemonic desires, appeasing those who are underwriting
militias all throughout the region. Destabilizing Middle East cannot
possibly be the right course of action. That will put them on the pathway
to a nuclear weapon and we should never give Iran that chance.

BAIER: Have you spoken to Tony Blinken since Joe Biden has said that he
wants Blinken to be his secretary of state?

POMPEO: I have not. Today, we began the process to see what GSA's decision
was, and we'll do everything that's required by law. We'll, we'll, we'll
make -- we'll make this work.

BAIER: I want you to listen to the person that the President-elect Joe
Biden has selected to be the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations,
obviously nominated to that, speaking about foreign policy and
multilateralism. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, NOMINEE, UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO UNITED
NATIONS: And on this day, I'm thinking about the American people. My fellow
career diplomats and public servants around the world, I want to say to
you, America is back, multilateralism is back, diplomacy is back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the nominee to be the U.S. ambassador to
the U.N. Your response to that statement.

POMPEO: Where to begin, Bret? I remember what the previous administration
did. They described leadership as leading from behind, President Trump
never did that. We built our real coalitions. A coalition that crushed the
caliphate in Syria, a coalition that's pushed back against the Chinese
communist party, a coalition that refused to appease Iran. The list of work
that we've done is great.

What we -- what we said all along, Bret, and this is where I think -- I
think I take a different path, I couldn't tell exactly from her statement.
But multilateralism for the sake of hanging out with your buddies at a cool
cocktail party, that's not in the best interest of the United States of
America.

We work with nations when we have common interests and we develop
coalitions that actually deliver real results and reflect the reality on
the ground. That wasn't what was happening when we came in here to the
state department. We built that enormous teams, I'm proud of the work the
state department's done. We're going to continue to do that. It's our
responsibility.

So, long as we have these offices, it's our duty to continue to deliver on
American security, and we've done it well, and we'll continue to do so.

BAIER: The defense secretary you worked alongside wrote an opinion
editorial or in part wrote it, former secretary James Mattis, saying this.
"In practice, America First has meant America alone. That has damaged the
country's ability to address problems before they reach U.S. territory and
has thus compounded the danger emergent threats pose."

That's Jim Mattis. Your thoughts.

POMPEO: I have a lot of respect for Jim, but he's just dead wrong on that.
America First has been at its heart, a recognition that when America is
secure at home, when America does good things for our own economy, for our
own prosperity, that America will be a force for good all around the
region, and that indeed we can't deliver security -- increased security
around the world when America is not secure.

I take great umbrage of the fact it's been America alone. I would tell you
that our Japanese colleagues, our South Korean colleagues, our Indian
colleagues, our Australian colleagues all know that the pivot to Asia was a
joke, but that the United States under President Trump actually delivered
real benefits to them.

And whether it was the work that we've done to build out an enormous
coalition to go after the socialist Maduro, to go after the Cubans, these
are real coalitions. Real things that work it was in America alone, it was
us doing it with our friends and allies based on shared interest and a
reality that recognized central facts about what is and not pretending that
things are as we would like them to be.

BAIER: What's your greatest concerned with what the next administration
could do when it comes to foreign policy?

POMPEO: You know, Bret, I don't want to speculate. I know some of these
folks that they took a very different view, they lived in a bit of a
fantasy world, they left from behind, they appeased. I hope they'll choose
a different course.

You know, here we are in 2020, it's different than 2015. I hope they'll see
the things that we have done, and how this is delivered. Greater peace in
the Middle East. How it's reduced risk from North Korea, where we took down
what was a very tense situation when we came up into office.

Whether it's the central recognition of the Chinese communist party as a
true threat to jobs all across America. If they'll keep those things at
center point, center mass, I think America's trajectory will continue to be
one that is safer, more prosperous, and more secure. The freedoms that we
have secured for the American people in these four years are something I
hope will continue.

BAIER: Mr. Secretary, we appreciate your time.

POMPEO: Thank you, sir.

BAIER: There's a lot of people with questions when it comes to foreign
policy, and you're the guy who has the answers. We -- thanks for coming.

POMPEO: Bret, thank you very much. Have a happy Thanksgiving, Bret.

BAIER: You too.

There's a second part to this interview with Secretary of State Pompeo, it
will air Thanksgiving night. We'll talk about Afghanistan, his most
memorable moment in the job, and what his future may hold.

Up next, if you watch a lot of cable news, the Biden administration may
look very familiar. We'll tell you why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Purdue Pharma is pleading guilty to three criminal charges formally
admitting its role in an opioid epidemic that has contributed to hundreds
of thousands of deaths over the past two decades.

The maker of OxyContin admits impeding the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration's efforts to combat the addiction crisis. Purdue has also
agreed to a settlement with more than $8 billion in penalties and
forfeitures. But an actual -- its actual direct payment to the federal
government is $225 million.

The Biden administration is going to look very familiar to connoisseurs of
various cable news stations. Fox News media analyst and host of Fox's
"MEDIA BUZZ", Howard Kurtz, has that story tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I'm pleased to announce nominations and staff --

HOWARD KURTZ, FOX NEWS CHANNEL MEDIA ANALYST (voice over): As Joe Biden
starts to staff his administration, the revolving door between media and
politics is spinning once again. As a CNN global affairs analyst Tony
Blinken, who've been deputy secretary of state under President Obama, often
chastised Obama's successor.

BLINKEN: President Trump is abdicated that responsibility; he's put us in
full retreat from our allies and partners.

KURTZ: And today, Biden formally announced Blinken as his pick for
secretary of state.

BLINKEN: Thank you.

KURTZ: CNN contributor Jen Psaki who was Obama's state department
spokeswoman has also left for the transition.

MSNBC analyst Rick Stengel, a former Time Magazine editor is on his second
go-round, having jumped from Obama's state department to fierce Trump
critic.

RICK STENGEL, He's the epicenter of disinformation around the world.

KURTZ: And now, Stengel has joined the Biden transition team.

Barbara McQuade, a U.S. attorney in the Obama years has also left MSNBC for
the Biden transition. Sometimes, the connections are less visible, as with
Jon Meacham, the former Newsweek editor and presidential biographer was an
NBC and MSNBC contributor who praised Biden's victory speech.

JON MEACHAM, CONTRIBUTOR, MSNBC: This is a moment where the life of the
nation is intersecting in a fascinating way with the personal life, not
only of President-elect Biden but also the vice president-elect.

KURTZ: But the networks dropped him from the payroll after the New York
Times revealed, Meacham had privately helped Biden with that and other
speeches.

At least two dozen journalists joined the Obama team, including Times' J.
Carney and ABC's Linda Douglass. That musical chairs tradition is widely
viewed as routine, but Fox News drew criticism for those who moved between
the network and the Trump administration, including John Bolton, Heather
Nauert, Bill Shine, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Larry Kudlow also joined
the president from CNBC.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KURTZ (on camera): When political players turn into a pundits, they can
bring an insider's perspective. But more of them seem to move between the
media where they can resemble a government in exile and Democratic
administrations such as the one now taking shape. Bret?

BAIER: Howie, thanks.

Up next, government pleas for you and your neighbors to stay home this
Thanksgiving are not stopping. Huge numbers of people from traveling all
across the country. We will go live to one of the busiest airports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need this. I need this. And my family and friends need
this too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we can't -- we can't just stop living. So, I
think it's really important that everyone just takes the precautions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER:  As we told with the top of the program, millions of Americans are
ignoring the government's pleas to skip holiday travels this week because
of the coronavirus. That means airports are busier than they have been
since the start of the pandemic. Correspondent Casey Stegall takes a look
tonight from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

CASEY STEGALL, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT:  On the eve of what's considered to
be the busiest travel day of the year, infectious disease experts are
concerned about the number of Americans who are still moving forward with
their holiday plans and ignoring public-health guidance.

DR. MICHAEL HOFFMAN, COOK COUNTY HEALTH:  Please make no mistake that
people will die because of Thanksgiving gatherings.

STEGALL:  The CDC advised people not only to cancel their travel plans, but
also avoid gathering with people outside their own households to decrease
the risk for exposure. Yet AAA says some 2.4 million people still plan to
fly.

We are heading home for Thanksgiving. We are going to go hang out with her
family. It's going to be really fun.

I'm not letting this hamper my lifestyle and life. Family and friends are
really important to me at this time of the year.

STEGALL:  Almost 95 percent of all holiday travelers are expected to drive
to their destinations, with AAA projecting nearly 48 million people hitting
the road. Overall, travel numbers are anticipated to be down about 10
percent compared to last Thanksgiving. Millions of other Americans are
heeding the warnings and staying put.

It's just not worth the risk right now with the amount of people that have
it across the country at this moment.

We miss not being able to see the grandchildren. All of them together.

STEGALL:  And doctors insist if more people followed the guidelines, it
will pay off in the long run.

HOFFMAN:  I know that this is a lot to ask, but a virtual, safe
Thanksgiving will potentially prevent an ICU Christmas.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

STEGALL (on camera):  And live here at DFW International Airport tonight,
the nation's fourth busiest when it comes to overall passenger traffic,
officials are predicting that the Thanksgiving volume will be down about 35
percent here than it was in 2019. Bret?

BAIER:  Casey, thank you.

In tonight's "Focus on Faith," the pushback from organized religion against
coronavirus restrictions. Many worshipers of different denominations are
coming together to try to fight the government in court. Religion
correspondent Lauren Green shows us tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

LAUREN GREEN, FOX NEWS RELIGION CORRESPONDENT:  On Monday, two California
churches sought an emergency injunction with the U.S. Supreme Court to halt
the state's threat of criminal penalties.

MAT STAVER, LIBERTY COUNSEL CHAIRMAN:  No one should have criminal threats
up to a year in prison hanging over their head simply for attending a place
of worship.

GREEN:  California has some of the strictest policies rove leveled against
churches and gatherings imposed to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
The church's claim that Governor Gavin Newsom's executive order, which
threatens jail time and $1,000 a day fine, violates the Constitution's
freedom of religion.

STAVER:  You need to look at those liberties and determine how you can best
protect the people, but the balance doesn't tip to protecting people and
throwing out the Constitution. That is the sign of tyranny.

GREEN:  California is one of 25 states where houses of worship have taken
legal actions over restrictions on gatherings. Lawyers collectively say
it's a sign that America's bedrock principle of religious freedom is being
severely tested by the pandemic. The bishop of the Catholic Diocese of
Brooklyn, which also filed a case with the Supreme Court against Governor
Andrew Cuomo, says politicians must reclassify faith as fundamental.

BISHOP NICHOLAS DIMARZO, DIOCESE OF BROOKLYN:  You have to recognize
religion, I think, is essentially to society just as the food stores are.
They take care of the body. We take care of the soul.

GREEN:  But some religious groups have hurt their cause. As this video
obtained by "The New York Post" shows, in Brooklyn, hundreds packed a
synagogue to celebrate Hasidic wedding, dancing and singing, and no masks.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO, (D) NEW YORK CITY:  There was a very conscious effort
to conceal what was going on, and that's what makes it even more
unacceptable.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

GREEN (on camera):  The cases may go to the full court, leaving justices to
decide if the benefits of protections against the pandemic outweigh the
cost of possibly weakening the Constitution. Bret?

BAIER:  Lauren, thank you.

Up next, the simmering conflict in Georgia between the president's
supporters and the senators trying to keep their jobs. We'll bring you
there.

First, here's what some of our FOX affiliates around the country are
covering tonight. Q13 FOX in Seattle as the Seattle city council votes to
cut the police budget there by 18 percent. Many activists had wanted a 50
percent decrease. Several councilmembers had agreed to that, then reneged
on that promise.

And this is a live look at Salt Lake City from FOX 13, our affiliate there.
One of the big stories there tonight, the discovery of a mysterious
monolith in southeastern Utah. Its drawing comparisons to the structures in
the movie "2001, A Space Odyssey." It was found by state wildlife employees
counting sheep from a helicopter.

That's tonight's live look outside the beltway, an interesting one, from
SPECIAL REPORT. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER:  Investigators believe California may have paid nearly $1 billion in
fraudulent pandemic-related unemployment claims to inmates and cyber
criminals using their stolen information. Death row inmate Scott Peterson's
name was one of more than 35,000 inmate names used to file for unemployment
benefits. Investigators say more than 20,000 of those bogus claims were
paid.

The two senators from Georgia trying to hang onto their seats and preserve
the GOP's majority in the Senate chamber are in a tough spot tonight.
They're getting hammered from some in their own party over President
Trump's election challenge. Correspondent Jonathan Serrie reports tonight
from Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JONATHAN SERRIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT:  On a bus tour across Georgia with
Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, David Perdue makes the case for a Republican
firewall against the radical left. But he and fellow Georgia Senator Kelly
Loeffler face discontent within their own party, from Trump supporters who
believe the president's still unproven allegations of widespread voter
fraud.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE:  What you doing to help Donald Trump in this fraud case?

SEN. DAVID PERDUE, (R-GA):  I'm going to tell you that in a minute. I'll be
glad to help you with that. I'll tell you that in a second. We called for
the resignation of our secretary of state is what we did. We are calling
for lawsuits. We're doing a lot.

(APPLAUSE)

SERRIE:  But some of the president's supporters want Georgia's Republican
leaders to do more to challenge the results. As Georgia today begins a
statewide machine recount at the request of the Trump campaign, Democratic
Senate candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff are criticizing GOP
leaders for pandering to conspiracy theories about the election.

JON OSSOFF, (D) GEORGIA CANDIDATE FOR SENATE:  I'm not sure about the
impact on turnout, but the disruption of an orderly transfer of power to
the new administration has already done damage to the response to this
pandemic and the response to the economic crisis.

SERRIE:  Stacey Abrams and other influential Georgia Democrats are tweeting
links to the state's official absentee ballot request form.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

SERRIE (on camera):  Elections officials say more than 760,000 Georgians
have already requested absentee ballots. That's more than three times the
number requested during the 2018 election. Bret?

BAIER:  Jonathan Serrie in Atlanta. Jonathan, thanks.

Up next, the panel on President Trump's transition decision, and the new
members of the Biden administration, or prospective one, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE:  We're already working out my ability
to get presidential daily briefs. We're already working out meeting with
the COVID team in the White House and how to not only distribute, but get
from a vaccine being distributed to a person being able to get vaccinated.
So I think we're going to not be so far behind the curve as we thought we
might be in the past. And there's a lot of immediate discussion. And I must
say, the outreach has been sincere. It's not been begrudging so far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER:  Joe Biden earlier tonight on NBC talking about the transition and
what is happening right now. The Dow is liking what's happening right now,
the markets closing above 30,000 for the first time ever. There you take a
look at the year to date, starting there above 29,000 January 15th, and
then closing again after that dip for the coronavirus. Success on the
vaccine front, a lot of positive news on therapeutics, vaccines, how the
logistics is working. And obviously, the Biden folks will tell you it's
about the transition moving forward.

Let's bring in our panel, Bill Bennett, former Education Secretary, host of
"The Bill Bennett Show" podcast, Susan Page, Washington bureau chief at
"USA Today," and "Washington Post" columnist Marc Thiessen. Marc, what
about where we are now as we are still seeing these legal challenges by the
president, although they seem to be diminishing, at least now, in a number
of these states as they officially certify. But the positive news on the
vaccine front is palpable.

MARC THIESSEN, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE:  The positive news on the
vaccine front is palpable, and the positive news that the Trump-Biden
transition is finally getting underway, and by the way, getting underway
faster than the Clinton and Bush transition did. We're ahead of schedule.
So all of these people setting their hair on fire that the transition
wasn't happening, it's happening at a good pace.

The problem is that the president is focused on the wrong thing right now.
His chances of overturning the last election are next to zero, if not zero
itself. And so he has a path to a second term, but it's in 2024. And the
path to a second term flows through Georgia and winning the Georgia Senate
race.

And right now it's not just the opportunity costs, the fact that he is
spending his time and energy on these legal challenges that have no chance
of succeeding, but there are -- it's because -- it's also the fact that
he's -- the Trump supporters are not -- are not -- are not energized behind
his candidates. You just showed this clip of a Trump supporter yelling at
Perdue, saying what are you doing to help Trump? This whole legal thing is
creating a distraction that's going to depress Republican turnout, and it
could cost Republicans control of the Senate, and that would be an absolute
disaster.

BAIER:  So speaking of that, Bill, Sidney Powell, who we thought was part
of the Trump legal team, is not, doing her own filings. But one of them is
going to be a filing in Georgia. She just talked to Lou Dobbs about that
earlier tonight. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNEY POWELL, TRUMP ATTORNEY:  I think no later than tomorrow, it's just
going to be -- it's a massive document, and it's going to have a lot of
exhibits. And the defendants are going to be folks in Georgia who are
responsible for supposedly making sure the elections in Georgia are done
properly. And there are just countless incidents of voter fraud and
election fraud writ large in Georgia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER:  Now, we have not seen this filing, we have not seen all the
affidavits that are supposedly going to be filed in Georgia tomorrow. The
problem, Bill, as Marc mentions, is that does that create a wrench in the
system ahead of the January 5th runoff trying to hold control of the U.S.
Senate?

BILL BENNETT, FORMER EDUCATION SECRETARY:  Well, we'll see. I understand
Marc's point about the importance of Georgia and not getting in the way of
the Georgia election. Nevertheless, you're not going to win my Georgia
without the huge support of huge Trump supporters. And so this has to be
done carefully.

Look, I don't want to be a dead ender here, one of those Japanese soldiers
in the cave, but I think this election was stolen. I will not keep saying
it, but I will keep believing it. And it has to do a lot with these
absentee ballots. There's too many statistical improbabilities, too many
anomalies, too many bellwether states that predict and didn't predict here.

But the issue is very similar in Georgia. You heard earlier in your report,
you announced that the fact that there's going to be so many mail-in
ballots in Georgia. I hope Republicans, who maybe didn't get on this for
the general, will get on this in Georgia, else we may face the same
problem.

But otherwise, the president will cooperate with this transition. But we
have to get on this thing and fix it, because there was something that went
wrong. By the way, if I'm a dead end are, half the country believes that
this election was illegitimate. About 75 percent of Republicans and about
10 to 20 percent of Democrats. There's something wrong here, still is.

BAIER:  Yes, Bill, but I guess when the pushback to that is why aren't any
of these legal cases getting through? Why isn't there one judge someplace
that says I see what you mean, let's turn over this election, let's change
the tens of thousands of voters in this state. Why hasn't one judge done
that yet?

BENNETT:  Right, no judge has done it yet, and a judge has to do it yet.
That's for sure. A judge has to do it. I don't know about -- I don't know
about Sidney Powell. I know Lin Wood in Georgia is a formidable guy, very
smart guy, very successful guy, represented that kid from Covington
Catholic. And we shall see. But look, we shall see soon. There's no reason
for us to close this thing off immediately.

BAIER:  Agreed.

BENNETT:  And again -- OK. I will leave it there.

BAIER:  Agreed, and the legal challenges are going to continue, and we will
follow each one.

Susan, meantime, the Biden transition is moving a pace, the national
security team kind of outlined today. Thoughts on the choices so far,
coming really from career, for the most part, career folks, minus John
Kerry, who obviously has a political past?

SUSAN PAGE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "USA TODAY":  It would be hard to find
a starker contrast with the Trump team than the team that President-elect
Biden has unveiled. With Trump you felt that the outsider status was an
advantage. This is clearly a group that is deeply experienced. Many of them
have experience with Biden himself back to the Senate or during his days as
vice president in the Obama White House. It's a really senior group. They
know each other. They're generally known as pretty collaborative people,
and they are, I think, ready to get a very quick start, and that's
important to the Biden folks, because you are about to see a wholesale
change in the fundamentals of our foreign policy, as you heard Mike Pompeo
protest in your interview with him.

BAIER:  Yes. Marc, quickly, the Pompeo interview with the change potential
in foreign policy?

THIESSEN:  One of the things that's interesting is this new Biden team is
really the old Obama team. And that's the Obama that failed to deliver
Arab-Israeli peace deals that the Trump administration did. If they revert
back to the 2016 way of thinking on the Middle East, that peace goes
through Ramallah, that you can't -- detente with Iran is the key to peace
rather than an obstacle to peace with Arab-Israeli peace, then they are
going to fail, and all this progress we are having will stop.

BAIER:  All right, panel, thank you very much, we appreciate it, a little
shorter because of the interview.

When we come back, helping those in need this time of year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER:  Finally tonight, the season of giving. Police officers in Brooklyn
took a break from fighting crime to hand out free turkeys ahead of
Thanksgiving. NYPD officers placing the turkeys in bags before passing them
out to residents.

In Las Vegas, police piled cardboard boxes carrying more than 2,600 turkeys
into vans and pickup trucks to be distributed to families, shelters, and
churches in need of help.

And in Orlando, the Orange County sheriff's office doled out some
Thanksgiving chair, handing out 400 free Thanksgiving dinners to those in
need this holiday season.

We'll see more of that over the coming days, and that's a good thing.

Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. That's it for the SPECIAL
REPORT. Fair, balanced and still unafraid. "THE STORY" guest-hosted by
Sandra Smith starts right now.

Hi, Sandra.

END

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