Portland authorities survey damage following four nights of unrest

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Portland authorities survey damage following four nights of unrest

This is a rush transcript from “Special Report," September 2, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: I do, thank you Dana from Pennsylvania. Good evening, I'm Bret Baier.

Breaking tonight, we are in Exeter, Pennsylvania just down the road from Scranton, a very important place in the presidential race. Scranton of course, the hometown of Democratic nominee Joe Biden. This is a key region in a key battleground state.

And today, the area was the site of a campaign speech by Vice President Mike Pence. We will have a live interview with the vice president right here in just a few moments.

First, President Trump traveling today to Kenosha, Wisconsin, like Scranton, an important city in a crucial race but Kenosha is also the epicenter of the latest round of racial violence over the police shooting of an African-American man. The president thanking law enforcement and National Guard today for what he calls a job well done.

But Biden and Democrats seeking to afford -- portray the strife as a problem of the president's making. We have Fox team coverage tonight. Peter Doocy is with the Biden campaign in Wilmington, Delaware. We begin though with correspondent Kevin Corke at the White House. Good evening, Kevin.

KEVIN CORKE, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bret. And making that trip to Kenosha today to thank law enforcement and the National Guard, the president, as you pointed out, waited into the latest eruption over racial injustice in the country. A trip by the way, made over the objections of some state and local leaders.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CORKE: Those separated by just a short distance, the scenes were sharply disconnected and seemingly worlds apart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our nephew was shot seven times in the back; nothing can justify that.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We came to thank the law enforcement, the police, they're incredible and the National Guard has been truly amazing.

CORKE: President Trump's visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin to thank law enforcement and the National Guard was in many ways a reflection of competing visions of where the country is now and perhaps headed.

TRUMP: So, I'm committed to helping Kenosha rebuild, we all are. You took a rough -- it was a rough week to put it mildly and you've done it incredibly well.

CORKE: A law and order pitch in a town beset by violence after the shooting of a black man by a white police officer where a 17-year old gunman fired on his would-be attackers, a town now hoping to heal.

JUSTIN BLAKE, JACOB BLAKE'S UNCLE: We're asking everybody here to stay focused on getting justice for little J. We're staying focused on helping the Kenosha community get over this horrendous act that has taken place in their backyard.

CORKE: Indeed, the Justice Department has launched a criminal enquiry into the leadership in financing a protest against police that have roiled American cities throughout the summer. A mission to target any coordinated criminal activity and violence related to the riot, say officials.

Today's visit by the president meanwhile was criticized by some who worried it could reignite the tender box of emotion that swept the region of late. And while there was no evidence of that today, the pain left by the recent unrest was no less evident.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need a president that's going to unite our country that take us in a different direction.

TRUMP: Well, I feel terribly for anybody that goes through that. That's why I was so honored to meet the pastors.

If we can help, we're going to help but it is a question and it's under investigation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CORKE: Bret, the president has not yet spoken with the Blake family. Although, he did say today he spoke with the pastor of the family that knows the mother very, very well and spoke highly of her.

And for the record, the White House did offer to have a conversation with some members of the family but insisted that they have that conversation without attorneys listening in, Bret.

BAIER: Kevin Corke live at the North Lawn. Kevin, thank you.

There are new concerns tonight about what some political analysts are calling a red mirage on election night, we'll explain that.

Meanwhile, the Biden campaign fundraising numbers no mirage, they are clearly impressive. Correspondent Peter Doocy explains from Wilmington, Delaware.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Biden, Harris and their official outside groups raised a blistering $300 million in August alone. Including 48 million in the first 48 hours after Harris joined the ticket.

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA): We're going to get this done, Joe.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, I think we are.

DOOCY: But the Trump campaign is signalling that since it's September, they're about to go on offense.

BILL STEPIEN, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: You want to be controlling the narrative. You want to be talking about the things you want to be talking about and you want to spending time and money in the states that put you in an aggressive posture.

DOOCY: Election Day is 63 days away. In a data firm founded by Michael Bloomberg called Hawkfish is forecasting twice as many mail ballots this cycle than last cycle, mostly by Biden supporters. Something Hawkfish's CEO told HBO could create a red mirage.

JOSH MENDELSON, CEO, HAWKFISH: This is a very real possibility that the data is going to show on election night an incredible victory for Donald Trump.

DOOCY: In a memo obtained by Fox News, Hawkfish explains, after tallying virtually all polling place votes, only a fraction of mail-in ballots, initial results will reflect a higher percentage of Republican than Democratic votes. Only as more mail-in ballots are reflected in the counts will this red mirage dissipate, and Biden's lead materialize. That's not stopping the Trump team from trying to expand the electoral map.

JASON MILLER, TRUMP CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISER: As long as we hold on to Florida, that -- and we do well in the states that we believe that we are, in states like Arizona and North Carolina, Joe Biden has to shut us out and go four-for-four in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

DOOCY: Joe Biden is a champion for voting by mail but he's also pushing to make it easier to vote in person eventually.

BIDEN: When you and I get elected, God willing, we're going to push hard to make voting Election Day a national holiday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOOCY: That was part of a video the campaign had been teasing and they finally did the big reveal today even though it was taped on August 21st. Biden didn't had any in person events today, just a virtual fundraiser but we do expect to see him popup tomorrow away from the house here in Wilmington at an event about re-opening schools safely, Bret.

BAIER: Peter Doocy live in Wilmington. Peter, thanks.

A federal appeals court is blocking a New York prosecutor from obtaining President Trump's tax returns while the president's lawyers continue to fight a subpoena seeking the records. The three-judge panel ruled after hearing brief arguments from both sides. The president's lawyers had asked for a temporary stay while they appealed the lower court ruling, granting Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.'s office access to his tax returns. A lawyer for Vance's office had argued further delays would only impede his investigation.

Fox News has learned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited a San Francisco hair salon yesterday for a wash and blow out despite local ordinances keeping salons closed amid the coronavirus pandemic. Security footage obtained by Fox News timestamp Monday 3:08 P.M. Pacific, shows Pelosi walking through East salon in San Francisco with wet hair and without a mask over her mouth or nose.

Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill maintains the speaker was following the rules, "The speaker always wears a mask and complies with local COVID requirements". However, the owner called the whole incident a "slap in the face".

Let's go in depth on the presidential race tonight here in Pennsylvania. Joining us, Vice President Mike Pence. Thanks for joining us.

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good to see you, Bret.

BAIER: (INAUDIBLE) a lot of supporters here, you see fertile ground in Pennsylvania.

PENCE: A lot of enthusiasm on the ground. You know, Joe Biden's boyhood home is not far from where we're seated but this is Trump country now, Bret.

And I think it's because of the choice in this election and President Donald Trump, the people of Pennsylvania see someone who's kept all the promises that he made.

We rebuild our military. We revive the economy through less taxes, less regulation, more American energy. We stood by the right to life and religious liberty.

And Joe Biden, by contrast, despite his heritage in this area, now, leads a party that I think has been overtaken by the radical left. They want higher taxes, socialized medicine, open borders, abortion on demand and actually want to cut funding to law enforcement.

And what I saw here today, what I saw on the road to way here is that the we're going to win four more years for President Donald Trump in the White House.

BAIER: You know, Vice President Biden was here in Pennsylvania yesterday. He said among other things, does anyone believe they'll be less violence in America if Donald Trump is reelected. How did you take that?

PENCE: Well, I didn't know how to take it, to be honest with you.

Yesterday, we heard that Joe Biden kind of -- you know, mouth words against violence in the streets but then he very quickly criticized law enforcement. He described an unwarranted police shooting while an investigation is still going on.

He never mentioned Antifa. He never mentioned the radical left mobs that have been tearing asunder and setting fire to many of our major cities over the last three months.

And I think what the American people know -- and they saw today in Kenosha with President Trump's visit there, is we have a president today who's going to stand for law and order. We're going to stand with the men and women of law enforcement. We're going to give them the resources support they need and we're going to continue to call on governors and mayors to do their job and restore order in the cities where we've seen the kind of violence that we've seen over the last several months.

BAIER: Here's more from your predecessor former Vice President Biden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: This is a sitting president of the United States of America. He's supposed to be protecting this country but instead he's rooting for chaos and violence.

The simple truth is Donald Trump failed to protect America. So now, he's trying to scare America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Trying to scare America.

PENCE: Well, I think that's the kind of rhetoric that people here in Pennsylvania and around the country see straight through. And what the American people are concerned about are these left-wing mobs that have been allowed to run roughshod in places like Portland and New York and Seattle and over the last several days in Kenosha.

I mean, look, there's -- you know -- you know, there's no excuse for what happened to George Floyd months ago and justice will be served. But there's also no excuse for the rioting and the looting and the violence that has followed. And the American people know they have a president who is going to demand that governors and mayors in these Democrat run cities news Democrats states step up, do their job, restore law and order. That's really the choice that we have.

BAIER: He did mentioned Jacob Blake there?

PENCE: Well, Jacob Blake that's a tragic situation that's under investigation today.

BAIER: But seven times.

PENCE: It will -- shot seven times and you know, we grieve an incident like that, we really do. But I want to let the investigation play out.

It's remarkable that Joe Biden yesterday announced that it was an unwarranted police shooting before we have all the facts in.

But frankly, if you look at the last administration, Joe Biden and Barack Obama often reflexively criticized law enforcement.

It's one of the reasons why in the last campaign and President Trump enjoyed so much support from law enforcement because we're going to follow the facts, justice will be served in every case. We abhor violence in any circumstances but we're not going to reflexively condemn law enforcement.

President Trump, as vice president, our administration are going to stand with the men and women of law enforcement. We're going to let investigations proceed, justice served.

BAIER: Speaking of facts, we're trying to get to the bottom of the story that the president has now told twice to reporters that a person was on a plane, said there were six people dressed in black, filled with looters, rioters, anarchists, people looking for trouble. Do you know what he's talking about?

PENCE: Well, I think what the president referring to is actually what we heard in many of the cities that I know in Detroit there were a large number of arrests several weeks ago and the vast majority of people were from out of state. The same thing -- the same thing occurred in arrest that took place in recent cities.

I mean, we -- look, there's something going on here where the radical left, these anarchists and Antifa are moving people around the country and it's one of the reasons that the Justice Department is looking into where is the funding for this coming from. I think the American people could see what's happening here.

BAIER: -- charge against anybody funding this. I mean, it's been going on for some time. We haven't seen any Antifa arrests or you know, people tied with the funding of this operation.

PENCE: Well, that's actually not right, Bret. We've actually -- the Justice Department has overseen about 300 arrests.

BAIER: Well, specifically, but not --

PENCE: Since the violence has broken out in cities around the country and we're going to continue to lean into that effort. We're going to make sure the American people know that we're going to work closely on the state officials and law enforcement side, but we're vigorously investigating where this is being organized from.

I remember -- I remember when the -- when the rioting and the setting fire of buildings in Washington D.C. was taking place, we actually heard that some organization was pre-positioning assets and resources around the city.

And so, I think people can see this is an organized effort in part. Some of it may be spontaneous on the radical left certainly has its adherents in every city in the country. But we're looking to the Justice Department to get to the bottom of it.

BAIER: I want to turn to COVID in the second but I want to fact check another thing. The president tweeted out today, it never ends, now they're trying to say your favorite president, me, went to Walter Reed Medical Center, having suffered a series of mini-strokes. Never happened to this candidate, fakes new -- fake news Perhaps they're referring to another candidate from another party.

This refers to Michael Schmidt's book where he says the president went to Walter Reed which in fact happened in November last year. He says in the book that you were put on alert to take control, to take office essentially if he went under for anesthesia, is that true?

PENCE: President Donald Trump is in excellent health. And Bret, I'm always informed of the president's movements. And whether he was on that day or any other day, I'm informed but there is no -- there's nothing out of the ordinary about that moment or that day, and I just refer any other questions to the White House physician.

BAIER: But as far as being on standby?

PENCE: I don't -- I don't recall being told to be on standby. I was informed that the president had a doctor's appointment, and -- but I must stay. I --

(CROSSTALK)

BAIER: I don't want to speculate, but I just want to clear that --

PENCE: Yes, I got to -- I got to tell you, part of this job is you're always on standby, if you're vice president of the United States. But, the American people can be confident that this president is in remarkable good health, and every single day, I see that energy and high relief.

BAIER: I want to talk about COVID. In hindsight, do you think the lockdowns were a mistake?

PENCE: I don't -- I really do believe that when the president made the decision to suspend all travel from China, when he stood up, the largest national mobilization since World War II, when we asked the American people for what became 45 days to slow the spread, I think we saved countless lives.

And those lockdowns permitted us to stand up. That literally, billions of supplies to our doctors and nurses and hospitals around the country, manufactured more than 100,000 ventilators in less than 100 days.

And I really do believe the sacrifices of the American people made during that time made it possible for us to ensure that no American who required a ventilator was ever denied a ventilator. Our doctors and nurses had the PPE that they required.

We were able to reinvent testing, that where we're doing 800,000 tests a day. More to come with the announcements of this last week.

(CROSSTALK)

BAIER: I mean, (INAUDIBLE)

PENCE: And ultimately, it put us in a place where every single day, I think we're one day closer to the day we have that vaccine in addition to the therapeutics that we have, and we put this coronavirus in the past.

BAIER: You did a lot, but I guess I was asking whether you look back and could have done something different. We learned a lot as the virus was continuing as did you, you were the head of the coronavirus task force are --

(CROSSTALK)

PENCE: Right.

BAIER: You've talked out about wearing masks and social distancing. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PENCE: Wear a mask when -- whenever your state and local authorities say it's appropriate. So, where it's always a good idea to wear a mask when social distancing is not possible.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): What further evidence does anyone need that this president didn't care less about the spread of this virus than to see what he did, vandalizing, by the way, the White House, by bringing all those people there, no mask, no distancing, and the rest, he slapped science right in the face.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Talking about the speech there on the South Lawn, no mask, no distance, but that's kind of what you were saying all along. Respond if you would to the House Speaker.

PENCE: Well, I appreciate the Speaker's concern about the American people, but President Trump and I trust the American people. You give the people the best information and people make decisions in what they believe is most appropriate to their health.

That setting at the White House was not only inspiring, but we also provided mask anyone that wanted one, with hand cleaners and sanitizers. But what's remarkable to me is that Nancy Pelosi had to my knowledge not a word to say about the gathering that took place outside the Lincoln Memorial the next day.

I mean, literally, thousands and thousands of Americans all gathered. But I would say, in both cases, the American people were exercising those God- given rights enshrined in our constitution to peaceably assemble.

We did it on the South Lawn on Thursday night. We did it -- they did it outside the Lincoln Memorial on Friday, and I really do believe that it's - - it is a choice between many -- in the Democratic Party that simply want, once again, to tell the American people what to do. And a president and a - - and a team at the White House that really trusts the American people that to put the health of themselves, their families, and our country first.

BAIER: Your, now opponent, Senator Kamala Harris, tweeted this. "Nearly 183,000 Americans have died from coronavirus. More than 16 million out of work .Students across the country can't go back to campus. More than 110,000 small businesses closed for good. This is Trump's America." How do you respond to that?

PENCE: Well, there's not a day goes by that I don't think of the families that have lost loved ones, Bret. As I said, in Pennsylvania today, more than 7,000 Americans in this state passed away, and I wanted those families to know that they'll always be in our hearts and in our prayers.

But I have no doubt in my mind that had President Trump not suspended all travel from China before we had a single case of community transmission in this country. Had he not stood up the White House coronavirus task force, had we not suspended travel from other countries, and then, used that time working with the American people, 45 days to slow the spread, provided nearly $4 trillion in relief to businesses that has now created a foundation where in the last three months, we've already seen 9 million Americans go back to work.

I think the combination of all of those for fair-minded Americans looking on, they know that this is a president who has led us through one of the most challenging times in my lifetime, and he's led in a way that put the health of America first.

BAIER: Last time you faced Senator Tim Kaine. Here's a little piece of that from your debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PENCE: Donald Trump supports our veterans.

SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): He won't pay taxes.

PENCE: Donald Trump has paid all the taxes that he's --

(CROSSTALK)

KAINE: Do you not take deductions?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CORRESPONDENT, CBS NEWS: Gentlemen, this is --

PENCE: How does that work?

KAINE: Americans need to worry about whether Donald Trump will be watching out for America's bottom line or his own bottom line.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: So, it's a different person you're facing in Kamala Harris. But along the taxes line, why haven't the American people seen the president's taxes? You know, at first, there was years of he was -- it was under an audit. Now, his lawyers are spending a lot of time fighting a subpoena by the Manhattan District Attorney to try to get the taxes. Why not put them out ahead of this election?

PENCE: Well, the president's responded to that many times. And as I said in that very same debate, you know, the president literally has produced hundreds of pages of financial disclosures which is what the law requires.

But, you know, different than the time I was sitting for that debate, and today, the American people actually voted four years ago to elect Donald Trump to be president of the United States.

BAIER: So, you think that ends that issue?

PENCE: Well, look, I think at the -- at the end of the day, the American people are more concerned about their bottom line and their income than about the income of the president of the United States.

I really believe that when you look at the fact that in our first three years, because this president kept his word to the people of Pennsylvania, and we cut taxes for businesses large and small and working families. We roll back more regulation than any administration in American history. We unleashed American energy so that states like Pennsylvania now are part of an American energy renaissance.

I mean, Joe Biden, actually, has repeatedly said that his administration would abolish fossil fuels. Now, I know he said yesterday that I'm not banning frackling -- fracking, but that flies in the face of what he has said over and over and over again over the past year.

(CROSSTALK)

BAIER: As vice president --

PENCE: And when you look at their agenda, his version of the Green New Deal, they'll make good on it. Joe Biden and the Democratic Party have been overtaken by the radical left as an agenda to abolish American energy.

I think the enthusiasm you saw in Pennsylvania today tells you that this president's commitment to less taxes, more jobs, more American energy, is going to be a winning message in Pennsylvania.

BAIER: I've got to hit a break, and I could talk to you all day with a lot of questions. But two very quick ones. One, will you assure -- will the president assure that there's not a government shutdown? And is it possible that the coronavirus bill, whatever it is, is going to be tied to that effort?

PENCE: Well, we're continuing to have discussions with leaders in Congress about another coronavirus relief bill. And I can tell you, nobody wants to send more support to American families and businesses than President Donald Trump. But we're not going to allow Democrats in Congress --

(CROSSTALK)

BAIER: So, the government won't --

PENCE: To use the coronavirus bill to basically bail-out badly run Democrat states around the country. We're going to stand firm, but the president is looking at a variety of options. We're going to bring the American people through this challenging time. We're going to be there to support families, support businesses, and we're going to bring America all the way back with four more years of President Donald Trump.

BAIER: Mr. Vice President, we appreciate the time. You've been in the broadcasting business. I've got to hit a break. Thank you very much, it's been great to have you here.

We'll be right back after this for more SPECIAL REPORT.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEGGY LOVECCHIO, VOTER, PENNSYLVANIA: So, you know, you want to say number one is the economy. But it really isn't in my opinion number one.

BAIER: And when you talk to your neighbors, what's the going consensus around here?

LOVECCHIO: Where I live, it's a very, very Donald Trump -- pro-Donald Trump area. A lot of farms out there, a lot of farmers, and they're very, very interested in re-electing Donald Trump.

BAIER: Do you think it'll be close?

LOVECCHIO: I really think that people are going to come out of the woodwork and vote. That the silent majority, if you will, and that we're going to have people voting for Donald Trump, who -- and normally, we just keep their mouths shut.

BAIER: Who wouldn't talk about it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Another big day on Wall Street. The Dow gaining 216. The S&P 500 finished ahead 26. The NASDAQ jumped 164. Both of those record closes again.

Its primary day in Massachusetts. The big race is the Senate fight between Democratic incumbent Edward Markey and Congressman Joe Kennedy III. He's the 39-year-old grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, and he would end a winning streak for the Kennedys if he loses tonight.

The tension increasing tonight in Portland. Friends and colleagues are mourning the death of a protester from a right-wing group called a Patriot Prayer. They don't call themselves right-wing but that's how it's characterized. Murdered on the street allegedly by a left-wing rioter. They don't count themselves left-wing. The violence is continuing in other big cities though. Correspondent Matt Finn is in Portland tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT FINN, FOX NEWS CHANNEL NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Monday marked the 96th night of unrest in Portland as rioters marched to the mayor's condominium tower on his birthday, and set fires outside. 19 people were arrested.

The acting secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, wrote a scathing letter to Portland's Mayor Ted Wheeler, urging the mayor to request federal assistance or the president might take action to end Portland's mayhem.

Wolf, writing, in part, "Your inaction has fostered an environment that has fueled senseless violence and destruction night after night. For more than three months, Portland has become the epicenter of crime and chaos, with rioters attacking government buildings with the intention of burning them to the ground.

TRUMP: I'd like to stop it, and we could stop it quickly. All they have to do is say, OK, president, now we're ready.

FINN: Tense moments in Los Angeles, where hundreds protested outside the South L.A. Sheriff's Station after deputies shot and killed a black man Monday, who they say, punched a deputy and revealed a handgun. Cell phone video shows the man running away from police moments before he was shot.

FLETCHER FAIR, AUNT OF DIJON KIZZEE: My nephew was sweet, he loved his mom, and his little brother.

LT. BRANDON DEAN, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: We're out here obviously doing a thorough investigation. Give us time to conduct our investigation.

FINN: In Chicago, FBI officials have warned the Chicago Police Department that they may be under attack from a cabal of three dozen street gangs who have pledged to shoot cops on site if they see a CPD officer with a gun drawn.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FINN: And here in Oregon, the governor has requested help from agencies around the state to come here to Portland to assist the police department. But two neighboring sheriff's offices and the state's police chief association says, they're not sending in backup, because of the "lack of accountability" for those arrested, for committing criminal acts here in Portland. Bret.

BAIER: Matt Finn in Portland. Matt, thanks.

Up next, some good news about the coronavirus from one important region of this country. Also you saw at the beginning there at the first break, we talked to a number of voters throughout the area today about what they're concerned about ahead of the election and how they think this area in Pennsylvania will vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW FORD, VOTER, PENNSYLVANIA: I voted for Trump in 2016. I had to look myself in the mirror and say I could have made better choices in that matter. And that's one of the reasons why I'm now a strong supporter of Joe Biden for president of the United States. Now, we need to reign in this overreach.

BAIER: When you talk to your neighbors, you talk to people you work with, how do you think this place, this state is going to go?

FORD: I think that it's going to be right down to the wire. You see that the president had a rally here just a couple weeks ago. The vice president is now here, and quite frankly, I think that Mr. Biden needs to do the same. I think that Joe needs to get done here because this is going to be a very close race.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: There are encouraging signs out of the sun belt tonight regarding the coronavirus pandemic, seven of the nine states along the nation's southern and western rim. The new from the Midwest, however, not so positive. There are new worries about how frontline health care workers may be affected. Correspondent Jonathan Serrie has our report from Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN SERRIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: New infections are increasing across the Midwest, and public health officials say college towns are largely to blame. At the University of Iowa, more than 900 students have tested positive, with roughly a third of those cases identified since last Friday.

DR. TOM FRIEDEN, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: What starts in the young and young adult doesn't stay there. It's going to spread to their parents, grandparents, to susceptible people. We're all in this together, and that's why I think masks are so very important.

SERRIE: The federal government announced it will begin shipping millions of rapid coronavirus tests this month to help states reopen K through 12 schools. Under pressure from teachers' unions, New York City announced it will delay the start of in-person classes by 11 days to September 21st. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says his state will allow family members to resume visits with loved ones in nursing homes. And as a third leading vaccine candidate enters its final stage of human testing in the U.S., FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn insists political pressure will not play a role in regulatory approval.

DR. STEPHEN HAHN, FDA COMMISSIONER: Our decision at FDA will not be made on any other criteria than the science and data associated with these clinical trials.

SERRIE: A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  suggests most coronavirus infection among frontline health care workers go undetected. Twenty-nine percent of infected workers had no history of symptoms, and 69 percent had received no diagnosis until tested for the study.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SERRIE: Today Google and Apple announced an update to their COVID tracking system that will allow public health officials to send exposure alerts to smartphone users without having to design their own apps. As before, participation is anonymous and voluntary. Bret?

BAIER: Jonathan, thanks.

Up next, the panel on the presidential race, the president's trip to Kenosha, and Vice President Pence here in Pennsylvania.

First, here's what some of our FOX affiliates across the country are covering tonight. FOX New Mexico in Albuquerque as the National Cancer Institute says some people probably got cancer from the radioactive fallout that wafted through across New Mexico after the U.S. government detonated the first atomic bomb in 1945. The exact number is unknown. Scientists say it's impossible to know with certainty if cancer rates changed in the first decades after that test.

And this is a live look at Los Angeles from FOX 11, our affiliate out there. One of the big stories out there tonight, an American Airlines pilot reports seeing a mystery person in a jetpack flying in the path of incoming jets at LAX Sunday evening. A second pilot says he saw it, too. The FAA says it turned the report to the LAPD, but the police tell FOX 11 they have not received that report.

That's tonight's live look outside the beltway from SPECIAL REPORT. As we head to break, some locals still have not decided here who to support.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGEL MATHIAS, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: We are not exactly enthusiastic about both candidates.

BAIER: Either campaign has a shot at your vote?

MONIQUE PARHAM, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: One thing is a plan for COVID, because it's like, between my bronchitis and my asthma, this mask is killing me.

Both campaigns have a shot.

MATHIAS: We're open-minded. We weigh everything, and ultimately, we're going to vote what's best for us.

BAIER: Both campaigns hitting this area hard, trying to get independents, undecided voters, trying to get the middle. SPECIAL REPORT with the race to the White House continues after this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think peaceful protesting is fantastic. I think it's great. But by and large, this is not a peaceful protest. When you walk into an area and you see buildings that are burned down. And fortunately, here, we stopped it early, and so the damage is relatively minimal. But when you look at some of these areas that they just don't ask for the help, they refused to allow us to go in and help them, by the time they get there, the place is disintegrated. And then they say it was a peaceful protest. It's not a peaceful protest and you shouldn't call it a peaceful protest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: President Trump in Kenosha, Wisconsin, today. What about that trip, the violence issue overall, the vice president here in Pennsylvania? Let's bring in our panel, Byron York, chief political correspondent for the "Washington Examiner," Amy Walter, national editor for the "Cook Political Report," and Matthew Continetti, founding editor of the "Washington Free Beacon." OK, Amy, the trip overall to Wisconsin, obviously both of these states really in the target for both campaigns.

AMY WALTER, NATIONAL EDITOR, "COOK POLITICAL REPORT": There is no doubt. Wisconsin is going to be, I think, the tipping point state. Who wins Wisconsin is who wins the presidency. What we don't know right now, though, is how voters are perceiving the two candidates on this issue. We do know that the issue of violence is one that not a lot of voters are going to support, but whether they believe that the president himself is capable of keeping the waters calm rather than roiling them back up, and whether he can be as focused and disciplined as he was today in Kenosha for the rest of these next two months.

And for Joe Biden, are voters going to believe the attacks that Republicans are placing on him, that putting him in charge means more cities are going to look like that when he is not the person sitting in the White House right now. So we're in sort of a poll lull right now, Bret. We've got to wait probably for the next few days before we start to see how voters are reacting.

BAIER: Yes, I asked the vice president about that, Matthew, and I was interested to hear his response. He said he didn't know how to take when Joe Biden said if you put us in, essentially the violence will stop, or the reverse. Is that a pitch that's going to work, that suddenly the mob or however you want to characterize them, is going to stop when and if Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are in the White House?

MATTHEW CONTINETTI, EDITOR IN CHIEF, "WASHINGTON FREE BEACON": I think to many swing voters, Bret, it sounds like something of a threat. All I would do is compare Trump's appearance in Kenosha today to his walk across Lafayette Park a few months ago. I think the optics are different. I think his presentation was different. And I think the political situation is different as well. And it's a new situation, I think, that benefits him in these swing states.

BAIER: Here is Joe Biden and the president talking to Laura Ingraham on armed militias.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Does anyone believe there will be less violence in America if Donald Trump is reelected? He may believe mouthing the words "law and order" makes him strong, but his failure to call on his own supporters to stop acting as an armed militia in this country shows how weak he is.

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: Do you want your supporters to confront the leftwing protesters, or do you want to leave it to law enforcement?

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, no, I don't want them. I want to leave it to law enforcement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: I should say former vice president there. Byron, he is saying he wants to leave it to law enforcement.

BRYON YORK, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "WASHINGTON EXAMINER": That was a key moment in that interview last night. First of all, in the big picture, as a president I think it was a good idea for the president to go to Kenosha today. Yes, Jacob Blake and his family has suffered greatly, but there are other people who have suffered in Kenosha, and you could see that as the president was walking around ruins.

But the other thing is he could have addressed the Kyle Rittenhouse situation more directly, and the way to do it was exactly what you just played, what Laura Ingraham asked him -- do you want your supporters to confront the protesters or leave it alone enforcement? The president was very clear, and he should say it more often, leave it to law enforcement.

BAIER: I have 15 seconds here Amy, but we have new battleground state polls out tomorrow. We'll have them at 6:00 p.m. for SPECIAL REPORT, first polls that we've taken since the conventions. It seems like the Republicans got a little bit of a balance. Is that fair?

WALTER: The president was in a very difficult place going into that convention, so any bit of coming back will be good for him. But here's the thing to look for. Don't look for the margin. Look at his vote share. What percentage of the vote is he getting in those states, and is it better than he did in 2016?

BAIER: Well, guys, thank you very much, the panel from afar.

Up next, we take the pulse of Pennsylvania with some Scranton area journalists.

As we had to break, though, we stopped by an establishment that has been feeding locals here for nearly 100 years.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BAIER: Abe's Hot Dogs, been here since 1924. Hot dogs, hamburgers, you come here, you order one with everything. You also get some political talk. Some people don't want to talk on camera but they'll tell you they think this area is going Trump, but it's going to be close. The economy is really still the big question here.

SPECIAL REPORT continues after this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's a place for the energy workers right here in western Pennsylvania. I am not banning tracking.

MIKE PENCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: That flies in the face of what he has said over and over and over again over the past year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: It's a big issue here in western Pennsylvania. If you look back to 2016, not Donald Trump won this state by a little bit more than 40,000 votes. A lot of those votes came from this place, Luzerne County, and really took him over the top.

If you look at the latest RCP, Real Clear Politics average, you have Joe Biden up about 4.7, but again, some of those poles in there were taken at or before the conventions.

We're back here in Exeter to talk about what people in Pennsylvania are thinking about this election. Joining us, Dylan Fearon from FOX 56 in Wilkes-Barre, and Bob Kalinowski, he's of "The Citizens' Voice" newspaper, also in Wilkes-Barre. Guys, thanks for being here.

DYLAN FEARON, FOX 56: Thank you, Bret.

BAIER: Dylan, let me ask you. What do people care about here? We heard the vice president hitting on some themes. What about the voters?

FEARON: You see the signs out there, jobs, jobs, jobs. They care about working. The care about energy, manufacturing, fracking. These people here, we're in the community. We see them at grocery stores. We see them out in the community. We tell their stories. They roll their sleeves up. They want to work hard. They want to put food on the tables for their families. So jobs would be the number one priority for the voters here.

BAIER: I talked to Democrats today who said they think that this area is going Trump, and they have even Democratic friends who say they don't say that they're voting for Trump, but they are. Did you see that?

BOB KALINOWSKI, "THE CITIZENS' VOICE": Bret, in 2016 I think you saw it coming a mile away. There was a groundswell of support from people here for Trump, a lot of conservative Democrats who are persuadable.

BAIER: So does that really translate? Is there a hidden Trump voter here?

FEARON: Absolutely. Look at Luzerne County, which was blue for a while, then swings to red for President Trump in 2016. And then you look at Lackawanna County just across the border went to Hillary Clinton last time in 2016. It's going to be very close. You said 40,000 votes in 2016. That's 0.7 percent. That was the narrowest margin in about 170 years or so since the 1800s. It's going to be very, very close.

BAIER: Energy, though, plays as an issue?

KALINOWSKI: And that's what I was just going to say. This area was a big coal mining area. My grandfather from a town 15 minutes away Nanticoke was a coal miner. That built modern America, the coalmines of this region. Once the coal barons left and the industry collapsed, a lot of people no longer trusted politicians to bring the economy back. And for some reason, the people around here felt like they could just relate to Trump. And they gave have a chance. I don't know if they're going to do it again.

BAIER: So you guys are watching it, but this thing, you're going to see a lot of candidates coming in and out of out of here, right?

FEARON: And we already have. Think about it, Joe Biden was here in Dunmore, Lackawanna County a couple of months ago. We saw President Trump in Old Forge right outside Scranton a couple weeks ago. Vice President Pence shows up today. We're seeing the candidates already. We're going to see them again until November for sure.

BAIER: Guys, you're going to see us again. So thanks a lot for having us, and we will have you back on.

KALINOWSKI: We appreciate it.

FEARON: It's been an honor, thank you.

BAIER: Thank you, guys.

When we come back, a most unusual 5K. As we go to break, the final Pennsylvania resident we spoke to owns a restaurant in this area, very common for candidates to stop by.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE KRAPPA, THE AVENUE RESTAURANT OWNER: So back in 2008 when Obama was on the campaign trail, he did stop in the area, and last-minute notice, he did stop into The Avenue here. It's a little bit of history, and I think it put Luzerne County onto the map.

BAIER: That's a different time than this time. What's on people's minds here issue-wise?

KRAPPA: They need the happiness back in their lives, I think. It's just a lot of people are looking at what's going to happen tomorrow. And we need reassurance to get us back.

BAIER: But your biggest deal is trying to figure out how to deal with COVID?

KRAPPA: Yes, COVID did do a number to us. It wasn't something we did here. It's something that affected all of us. We are all one at that point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Finally tonight, chasing a dream.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thumbs up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: That's 11-year-old Fred. He's working toward his dream of one day walking on his own without the help of a walker. You see, Fred has cerebral palsy, and he decided five kilometers, a 5K around the Ronald McDonald House in St. Petersburg, Florida, raising money for that place. He finished after 10 days of laps and encouragement and raised a lot of money. Nice work, Fred, way to go.

Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. That's it for the SPECIAL REPORT, fair, balanced, and still unafraid. I'd like to thank all the people here in Pennsylvania who welcomed us, talked to us today. We're going to be back. This is a swing state just like Wisconsin that we're going to visit many, many times before Election Day, November 3rd.

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