William Shatner previews upcoming Blue Origin space flight
The actor and passengers discuss the ‘possibilities’ of spaceflight ahead of traveling in Jeff Bezos’ rocket.
This is a rush transcript of "Your World" on October 11, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: So, when you get a chance to be up there for the 10 minutes that you will, what's the first thing you're going to want to do?
WILLIAM SHATNER, ACTOR: I'm going to look out the window, Neil.
(LAUGHTER)
SHATNER: I'm going to see the vastness of space and the fragility of the Earth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: Captain Kirk getting ready to fly into space. And all this time, I thought he really had been in space. Apparently not. But he's excited for it, 90 years young.
Hear what he had to say about what he's looking forward to and actually some of the things he's worried about. This whole flight has been delayed because of weather. So, for now, he will have to cling on to Earth for one more day.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: Cling on.
OK, I'm trying here. Basic cable. Welcome, everybody. I'm Neil Cavuto, and this is "Your World."
At least, when he is up there come Wednesday, he can look down at an Earth that is, well, having its share of problems, rocketing inflation and, of course, rocketing, well, chain supply problems that are actually contributing more to that inflation, prices the highest they have been in so many years, touching everything you can think of, including cotton and bacon and gasoline.
And I could go on and on, but no real reason to. You're used to it, right? This is far from transitory, right?
We have got Susan Li covering the impact of all of this and Grady Trimble on how it could impact your holiday season as well.
First to Susan Li -- Susan.
SUSAN LI, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Neil.
Daily life is getting more expensive. This morning, you had oil prices jumping to the highest in seven years, costing $82 a barrel for the first time since October 2014. Prices are spiking on supply shortages. But it's not just oil and gas. So far this year, cotton and corn are the most expensive in a decade. Aluminum is the most pricey in 13 years.
Steel and soybeans have never cost as much. Now, the rally a commodities as Wall Street nervous about higher consumer prices, inflation, especially combined with slower growth, which is being made worse right now by supply bottlenecks, especially the congestion at U.S. ports.
Now, the Port of Savannah in Georgia is a great example of this. It has 80,000 containers piled up, an epic logjam that's 50 percent above the average, a problem that's affecting in many other major ports in the U.S. and also around the world, a lack of ships and drivers, labor to take the goods to their final destinations.
And that means American manufacturers are waiting a record 92 days to get their parts and raw materials. And that also means there aren't enough chips to go into your favorite electronic goods or your pickup trucks, which means a slower economic rebound than first thought. Goldman Sachs just cut their predictions for GDP for this year and next, pointing to the global chip shortage, which will not improve until the first half of next year, they say.
And that really complicates the picture for the Federal Reserve if they're facing a slower economy with rising prices and subpar jobs recovery. And that also, Neil, has investors on edge, clinging on, as you say.
CAVUTO: Yes. Ooh, I like that. I like that.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: And it did hit the corner Wall and Broad today, the Dow selling off about 250 points on all of these concerns.
And they're compounded by the possibility that even if you're willing to pay up for a lot of these goods, good luck getting them under your Christmas tree.
Here with more on that, Grady Trimble in Glenview, Illinois -- Grady.
GRADY TRIMBLE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Neil, the chip shortage is making products harder to come by. And, like you said, if you can find what you're looking for, you will almost certainly have to pay more for it.
They have had to raise prices several times in the last six months to a year here at Abt Electronics and really at electronic stores all across the country.
Carl Prouty knows that well.
You already have customers coming in for Christmas shopping and you're asking them to be patient because all of these supply chain problems from the factories to the shipping to the transportation within the country is causing prices to skyrocket and making products unavailable in some cases.
CARL PROUTY, ABT ELECTRONICS: Yes, we're seeing lots of delays. We're seeing price increases multiple times in a year, where we generally see it maybe once a year or maybe once every other year. And now we're getting it to three times within a short window.
TRIMBLE: I want to show folks the numbers, because they have probably noticed it. It's not just their imagination. They're paying more for things like TVs.
But other things that you wouldn't traditionally consider electronics, like refrigerators, washing machines, those have semiconductors in them too. So prices are going up.
I wouldn't dare ask you to predict the future, but do you think this is here to stay for some time?
PROUTY: I think until things get cleared up a little bit more, I think we are going to be dealing with this as things are scarce. The prices are going to keep going up as the demand increases.
TRIMBLE: At least in the next year?
PROUTY: At least, yes.
TRIMBLE: So, Neil, we always talk about mark-downs this time of year. The message this year, though, is to be flexible, because they might not have exactly what you're looking for.
So just be flexible. You might have to get something other than what you had in mind.
CAVUTO: Yes. And no matter how early you start, you're going to face the same reality.
Grady, thank you very, very much.
Well, a lot of people are jumping on this and saying, all right, we had a sputtering jobs report, right? We have companies beginning to warn about how that's going to impact their bottom line, and we have prices running rampant. Does that sound like anything to you?
Well, a lot of people of a certain age -- I'm way too young to remember, of course, myself -- they hearken back to the days of Jimmy Carter, when we had something called stagflation, a slowing economy, but prices going just the other way. They were soaring.
Could we be looking at that right now?
Bill McGurn, FOX News contributor, Wall Street Journal columnist, former speechwriter for George W. Bush.
Bill, what do you think? I don't know if it's too soon to jump on the stagflation theme, but the worries are there.
BILL MCGURN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, I assume, Neil, you had me on because I am of a certain age. And...
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: Actually, you and I both are, but I'm giving myself away here.
MCGURN: I remember those years well, with the lines for gas and so forth.
CAVUTO: Sure.
MCGURN: Look, it should be a concern. A lot of people are telling us the inflation is going to be temporary, but they didn't predict we would be where we are today.
And people are feeling it. First, they were told it's not real. But this morning, I came back from the grocery store, one bag of groceries, 60 bucks. My kids go to the gas station, and they notice how much it's costing to fill it, fill the car.
People are seeing that. We have a sluggish -- we have a sluggish economy. My fear is that, what are we doing in response? The Biden agenda is about dumping another $5 trillion into this in entitlements and taxes and green spending, and they tell us it's going to have no cost, and it's not going to have any inflationary effect.
I mean, that would get me very worried.
CAVUTO: You know, Bill, another thing that gets me worried, too, and maybe what makes it a little different, maybe more worrisome now is this supply chain problem, because it has the weirdest way of impacting different parts of the world, in Britain, where gas lines are forming because they can't get the oil to the refineries to the stations.
And we're seeing this play out all across the globe right now. Will it play out here?
MCGURN: Well, I think it is playing out.
If you look at the ships backed up at Long Beach and so forth, it's a big problem for suppliers. And I hear that anecdotally when I go to buy something or the shelf is empty. Look, I think a lot of this is also the function that a lot of people have not got back to work, even though we have -- it looks like we passed through the work to the COVID crisis.
People should be going back into the economy, and the economy should be humming. And that's not happening. If you look at the latest job stats, forget the stats themselves, but look at the labor force participation rate. It's not really much improved over last year...
CAVUTO: No.
MCGURN: ... which suggests a lot of people have decided to permanently opt out of the work force.
CAVUTO: And that's what makes it weird when you consider, Bill -- and you have reported this extensively -- we have almost 11 million jobs that are apparently going begging right now.
MCGURN: Right.
CAVUTO: And only 194,000 Americans took employers up on that last month.
What is keeping them from at least looking into those jobs?
MCGURN: Well, people are asking all sorts of questions. I mean, normally, the answer is for employers to raise wages and offer more, but a lot of employers say they are. They're offering bonuses, and they're having a hard time still finding people.
For a while, people were blaming the supplemental federal jobless benefits. That ended last month, but there's still a lot of other benefits that might lead people, like food stamps, to say, I don't -- it's not worth it marginally for me to return to work.
And then, on top of this, if you have inflation eating away at paychecks, that's one of the cruelest taxes on working people there is, because it gets to their bundle of necessities, their food, their gas, and so forth, and it robs them of their full paycheck.
CAVUTO: Yes.
And they're seeing a big boost in pay, but, unfortunately, a bigger boost in what they have to pay out. So it's coming as a double whammy and a surprise for that.
Bill McGurn, thank you very, very much, my friend.
And, Bill, you don't look that old, but I guess we have both been that route, haven't we?
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: We have both been through that '70s feeling.
MCGURN: That's right.
CAVUTO: I wonder if he has the leisure suit to prove it. But we don't go there.
(LAUGHTER)
MCGURN: Never had a leisure suit.
CAVUTO: No, we don't go there.
All right, in the meantime here, we told you about that we're looking forward to hear from William Shatner, of course, Captain Kirk, getting ready to go into the space.
It's delayed a day because of weather conditions. But it could be a lot worse. He could be trying to fly out via Southwest. Good luck with that -- after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, if you're trying to fly on Southwest, good luck.
About one out of three planes essentially wasn't going anywhere. And it was compounded by shortages. No one knows for sure, except that it continued into today.
The latest from Lydia Hu on where things stand right now -- Lydia.
LYDIA HU, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Neil.
Yes, travel insiders are calling this an operational meltdown, those cancellations that started over the weekend continuing today. One in 10 Southwest flights are canceled as of today. Nearly 30 percent of flights are delayed after nearly 2,000 flights were canceled over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were on the phone for, what, seven hours?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seven hours before they answered.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Forty-four minutes before they answered the phone because it was so backlogged.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They said they were having problems. They wouldn't say what it was. And you're lucky you have got a flight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no -- there's no bad weather. There's got to be something behind the scenes that they're not telling us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HU: Now, Southwest first blamed the cancellations on disruptive weather and air traffic control issues.
But the FAA pushed back, saying there have been no air traffic staffing shortages reported since Friday. And, notably, no other airlines seem to be experiencing this level of disruption. Now, there was also speculation social media that the airlines vaccine mandate was causing a staffing shortage. The cancellations came after the union representing Southwest pilots filed a request with a court to temporarily block the vaccine mandate.
But the union and the airline insists that's not the issue. Pilots are not staging a sick-out or some other similar type of demonstration.
Now, Neil, I just moments ago gotten a statement from Southwest Airlines on this topic. And they say, unfortunately -- quote -- "The out-of-place aircrafts and continued strain on our crew resources created additional cancellations."
So it sounds there like they are acknowledging the staffing shortage that many airlines are experiencing right now. But analysts also say the airline -- the airline, Southwest Airlines, packed flight schedule is also an issue here, where they're scheduling more flights than it can handle.
The airline says it hopes to return to normal operations soon. On Twitter, they're testing possibly this week -- Neil.
CAVUTO: Yes, and all these people grounded as a result. Man, oh, man. All right, Lydia Hu, thank you very, very much for that.
To Mark Murphy, the travel expert.
But to show you how sweeping this was, even friend Mark was caught in all of this.
Mark, how you holding up now?
MARK MURPHY, TRAVEL EXPERT: I'm good. It took me an extra 24 rough hours to get back. But I made it back on a flight to a different airport. But then I was able to get picked up and back to Fort Lauderdale here.
So, it worked out.
CAVUTO: What was the problem? What was -- do you know what was going on?
MURPHY: So, when I first went through security, probably about an hour before my flight took off, I got the text saying, your flight has been canceled. There was no rebooked -- rebooked flight. They just told you to call a number.
Obviously, from your previous reporter, you can't get through. So you go on and you actually look at the app, and there was nothing available until the next day. Then there was nothing available to the end of the next day. There were cancellations. They were -- they were just sold out. They appeared to be sold out.
So what I did was, I ended up booking multiple flights back. And I started with the first one, the best one I could get. And I kept checking the app, checking the app, checking the app. I ended up with six tickets, a total of six tickets.
CAVUTO: Wow.
MURPHY: And I ended up canceling the other five because a Miami flight opened up. And that's the one I got. So it was a real pain, cost me an extra about 600 bucks all in.
And I can afford it. There's a lot of people that can't. And there's a lot of people that are still stranded. And so it was really frustrating for a lot of folks and continues, like you said, to this day.
CAVUTO: You know what's weird?
Now, this so far seems unique to Southwest. But we're only a few months out from Spirit Airlines having the same nightmare scenario where thousands were stranded. How does this sort of stuff happen?
MURPHY: So, you got to go back to the start of the pandemic.
They incentivized a lot of employees to take early retirement because of the pandemic. They didn't know how long it was going to go on. Unfortunately, at that point, we already had a pilot shortage, and a lot of pilots opted out. So they went from 9, 300 pilots at the end of December 2020 -- I'm sorry -- at the end at the end of December, and now they're down to 8, 500.
So imagine what their count was even before that. And we're going back to like 2016 pilot levels, when demand is coming back. And if it gets back to anything close to what 2019 was, it's going to be felt everywhere in this industry.
And we hear about worker shortages, supply line issues, et cetera, et cetera. It's happening in travel. And part of it is these mandates. Anyone telling you that these mandates are not impacting things, they're not talking to the people at Southwest Airlines who are part of that -- they call them anti-vaxxers.
But they have their reason for not taking the vaccine. And so, unfortunately, that's part of the problem, despite what they're saying at ATC, because they have that issue with staffing.
CAVUTO: Right.
MURPHY: Despite what they say at Southwest, it's definitely an issue.
CAVUTO: So, if you're a pilot, you're not getting vaccinated, you're ignoring the mandate, you obviously don't show up, can't show up, so you have fewer pilots, bottom line.
MURPHY: Well, that hasn't -- yes, that hasn't happened yet. That's scheduled for November.
CAVUTO: Right.
MURPHY: But what's happening now is, a lot of those folks heard that, come November, should they need to take time off, they're not going to be able to use that time.
CAVUTO: Right.
MURPHY: So they're taking that time now. That's exacerbating things.
And then what happens is, when a flight comes in or doesn't make it in, it creates a domino effect. And, usually, it's about a 72-hour window to get back on track after like a major snowstorm cancels thousands of flights.
The fact that they're saying they hope to get back this week to normal, that's not very encouraging. So, my tip is, don't fly if you can avoid it. If you have to fly, avoid Southwest. If you have to fly any airline, and you're going on a cruise or something, go out a day or two early, because you may find yourself doing a 15-hour drive.
CAVUTO: Wow, just to prepare.
MURPHY: Otherwise, you will lose your cruise.
CAVUTO: Incredible. Yes.
MURPHY: And you're not going to get that money back.
CAVUTO: Yikes.
All right, this has played out before. And I fear we might see it play out again.
Mark, thank you very, very much.
Mark Murphy following very closely what's been happening here, because, if it can happen to him, it can happen to you.
In the meantime, the battle among Democrats over how big to make that big spending package, why progressives are going after moderates and moderates are close to giving up because they are -- after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: So, William Shatner is flying on a Jeff Bezos rocket, but there was another billionaire who asked him to fly on his rocket first.
Who is he? And why did Captain Kirk turn him down?
After this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: Forget Democrats going at it with Republicans. It's more like Democrats going at it with Democrats, where progressives, a dominant force in the party, are letting it be known they're not going to be making concessions left and right to moderates.
It gets a little more complicated than that.
Aishah Hasnie on Capitol Hill with the latest -- Aishah.
AISHAH HASNIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Neil. Good afternoon to you.
Complicated is an understatement when we talk about anything happening on the Hill. So, right now, we still don't have a top-line number when it comes to the president's big spending plan.
But climate, climate policy is a non-negotiable when it comes to progressives. And climate hawks, they are not holding back. Take a look at what happened today, protesters from the Build Back Fossil Free Coalition vandalized a statue of former President Andrew Jackson that sits just outside the White House.
They were out there demanding an end to fossil fuel use. They're trying to pressure the White House and Democrats.
Now, it comes as, just last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was over in Italy engaging in climate talks and said that it would be -- quote -- "a dereliction of duty" to pass any legislation that does not address the climate crisis.
She's joined by progressive Senators Bernie Sanders and Green New Deal author Senator Ed Markey, who's basically telling the White House and moderates out there, like Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, look, we're willing to listen to you, we're willing to talk with you, but, at the end of the day, no climate, no deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. EDWARD MARKEY (D-MA): We are here to say that we know that, unless we do everything, that we can't solve this problem. And we're willing to listen to Senator Manchin to try to deal with his concerns, but, ultimately, all of those programs that we talked about here today, we want to have in the final reconciliation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HASNIE: OK, so a little bit of a tough issue for the Democrats right now, because The New York Times is reporting that Kyrsten Sinema, she wants to cut at least $100 billion from this entire package.
And as, Neil, we have seen in recent weeks, she's facing a lot of pressure. She's been harassed a couple of times everywhere from the airport on a plane to a college bathroom. And, apparently, today there was talk that activists from the Green New Deal Network, they were playing to show up at the Boston Marathon and basically harass her, track her down and try to pressure her, pressure her into supporting the president's big spending plan.
But, Neil, she is dealing with a foot issue, a foot injury, so doubtful that she even showed up. But that was the plan -- Neil.
CAVUTO: They're relentless.
HASNIE: Yes.
CAVUTO: Aishah, thank you very, very much, Aishah Hasnie.
HASNIE: You bet.
CAVUTO: Well, Bill Maher, of all people, has a message for Democrats: Keep the infighting going. One guy is really loving it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL MAHER, HOST, "REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER": It's the easiest three predictions in the world. Trump will run in 2024. He will get the Republican nomination. And whatever happens on election night, the next day, he will announce that he won.
I have been saying ever since he lost he's like a shark that's not gone, just gone out to sea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: No, he's not gone.
And, in fact, his polling numbers are looking pretty good, the weaker that the president's numbers get.
Let's go to Noelle Nikpour, GOP strategist, Kelly Hyman, Democratic strategist.
Kelly, are you worried, as a Democrat here, that whatever you say that the gains that Donald Trump is making go into a place like Iowa, clearly telegraphing something maybe down the road, that the president is seriously damaged here?
KELLY HYMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: No, I definitely don't think so.
I definitely do think that Trump is going to run in 2024. But we have to think about what the American people and the American people need and what they want. And A majority of the American people support the infrastructure bill, and they also support the Build Back Better Act.
And I think we need to focus on that and build back better and bring this country together and to help the American people.
CAVUTO: All right. They might like a lot of aspects of the Build Back Better plan.
But, right now, a lot of people at this point, Noelle, are saying it's looking pricey, it's looking fairly divisive just among Democrats. Republicans are saying they want nothing to do with that expensive package. Is there some risk to just saying no to it?
NOELLE NIKPOUR, REPUBLICAN FUND-RAISER: You know, as far as the Republican aspect goes, I don't think that there is much risk to holding firm.
The only thing that I could see would be something within the infrastructure package. But, right now, I think that the Republicans are sitting back and watching and looking at how the Democrats are fighting with their own party, especially the progressives that look like that they are going to stand strong, and apparently going on some sort of a listening tour with Joe Manchin and Senator Sinema, but not willing really to do much about it.
So, the Republicans, I don't really think, have a losing position in holding strong.
CAVUTO: You know, Kelly, does it look bad the way some have gone after Kyrsten Sinema, following her into a bathroom, or chasing Joe Manchin on his houseboat, that these tactics jar people and independents in -- particularly, who the president is lost the support of by 50 percent of what he enjoyed on Election Day?
HYMAN: Well, I would disagree with you on some of that points.
But, first off, I definitely agree that someone shouldn't chase someone into the bathroom or do something like that. We can agree to disagree on the topics, and I don't think it's appropriate for them to do that.
But I do believe that Democrats, whether they're progressive or a moderate or conservative Democrat, will come together and unite and have a plan to help the American people.
CAVUTO: Now, if they don't, Noelle, do you think that Republicans at this stage are just salivating at the midterm prospects, but also worried about how 2024 is shaping up?
In other words, will all other potential presidential candidates in the Grand Old Party stand back if it looks like Donald Trump is indeed stepping it?
NIKPOUR: That is a very -- that's a great question and very difficult.
I work on campaigns. So we're all waiting to see what's going to happen. If he teases 2024, there are a lot of consultants, there are a lot of candidates that are going to hold back. And it will be interesting to see if people -- some people go ahead and declare their candidacy. I know that Ron DeSantis, among a lot of consultants, fund-raisers and different supporters, is a very strong person that a lot of people are rallying behind silently.
Nikki Haley. I think Chris Christie has expressed interest. But there are a lot of candidates that people are thinking may end up being something that we want to take a look at.
CAVUTO: Right.
NIKPOUR: Trump talking about 2024, whether or not he does it or not, kind of pulls back on a lot of candidates that want to come out, because, right now -- you said it earlier -- the numbers show in his favor that he pretty much trumps everybody that would be considering a run right now.
CAVUTO: Yes, we will see.
Some of them might run whether he does or not. It's hard to say.
But, ladies, I want to thank you both very, very much here.
We told you earlier about the inflationary threat in this economy and how it's emptying some store shelves. But what if I told you, in some key cities around the country, they're emptied not because of any supply chain problem, but because people are stealing stuff?
After this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: You know, it's not only a supply chain issue. You're looking at a lot of empty store shelves in a lot of cities, because people are swiping this stuff. I kid you not.
Joe Cardinale joins us right now, the former NYPD lieutenant.
So, they're taking stuff, but it's happening in a lot of cities, isn't it, Lieutenant?
JOE CARDINALE, FORMER NYPD LIEUTENANT: Neil, you and I had this discussion not too long ago...
CAVUTO: Yes. Yes.
CARDINALE: ... when it was happening. And it's the same thing.
It's just migrating across the United States. And once again, it's in liberal cities that just allow it. When you don't have fear of prosecution, when you don't have fear of apprehension, this is what's going to happen. They use our system to their advantage.
And who wouldn't? I mean, look at the prosecutors. They're not doing their jobs. They will get the case and they will say, nah, we're not going to prosecute that. But, more importantly, the stores aren't doing anything about it. So it's open season, and they can just do whatever they want to do.
So until you have the triple effect, where the stores cooperate with the police, the police make the arrests, and then the prosecutors prosecute the crimes, this is going to continue to happen all over the United States.
CAVUTO: You know, we should explain to a lot of people, particularly in California, where we first noticed this, Joe, they have a rule, unless it's more than $1,000 worth of goods sold -- I'm simplifying it here -- they're not going to do anything to you.
So we would see people carting out goods from stores with people taping them on smartphones, even store security guards all bit opening the door for them, because they know there's nothing they can do and they don't do anything.
But this now has spread elsewhere, where the same kind of liberal rules -- I say liberal by open policy where up to $1,000 you can steal without worrying about being punished. What do you think?
CARDINALE: Absolutely.
So, think about it. They have a threshold that they actually sit there with their phones, with a calculator. And they say, hold up, John. We're just about there. Go grab a couple more.
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: We're at $989. Careful. Careful.
CARDINALE: Exactly. OK, we're there. Walk out the door.
But who pays for this in the end? And I think you, being the economics expert, can tell everybody that this is going to have a ripple effect down to the consumer, because somebody's got to pay for it.
And then the other adverse effect of this is the stores that just say, well, we have had enough of this in this area. Let's just close the store, pack up and go. And what does that solve? That just hurts the people that are counting on those stores in that community.
So until everybody gets on board with this, and it's a unified effort across the United States with these big chain stores especially, this is going to continue to happen. And we just need somebody to step up to the plate and say, enough is enough.
And maybe New York can be that example in the very near future.
CAVUTO: Well, don't hold your breath just yet. But you're right. Anything is possible, Joseph.
But, man, oh, man, this is bold as brass, these people just going right out of the store with all these goods and all.
But when I saw the guy take these giant Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, I said, now, wait a minute, pal.
(LAUGHTER)'
CAVUTO: All right, Joe Cardinale, let's see what happens here.
But, man, oh, man, this is surreal, but it's playing out in a lot of cities.
Also surreal, what's happening on the energy front and natural gas prices, and even -- you have heard all about this, but prices are rocketing.
And doesn't Jeff Flock know it -- Jeff.
JEFF FLOCK, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK CORRESPONDENT: Maybe you should steal the natural gas, Neil. That's what they're drilling for right back there.
That's a natural gas or drilling rig. You're going to get your gas, but you're also going to pay for it this heating season. We're going to explain why in just a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: Well, what the heck. If you're going to pay more for a lot of things, why not just add natural gas to the bill? And, this winter, it could be quite the bill, at that.
Jeff Flock with more from Pennsylvania.
Hey, Jeff.
FLOCK: It's normal, Neil, to have natural gas be the cheapest way to heat your home in the winter.
In fact, most of America does heat its home with natural gas. And this is where they get it, or at least a lot of it. This is the Marcellus Shale. That's a natural gas rig operated by Chesapeake Energy. They're drilling a the new well there. They have drilled multiple ones in there as well.
There's plenty of oil out there -- or, I should say, gas out there. I don't know. I think there's plenty of oil too. If you look at the numbers here in Appalachia, the amount of natural gas they're extracting now compared to say, 10 years ago, it's incredible. It's maybe six or seven times what it was.
But you're going to pay for it, because there is great demand all around the world. And the U.S. is an exporter of natural gas now, liquefied natural gas. You look at the heating cost for a home that is heated by natural gas, last year, it was about $572 for the average home. This year, they say it's going to be $743. That's an increase of about 30 percent.
Why is this happening? It's not because there's not enough gas. There's plenty in the Marcellus Shale beneath the ground where I stand right now. The problem is getting it to the places where people need it, like you in New York there and in New Jersey and in Upstate New York.
There were three pipelines that were designed to do just that, so more gas could get out there. More on the market means less cost. Problem is all of them were canceled. That is because, Neil, there were environmental concerns. There were permitting problems. There were people that just didn't want it, fought it, and so no pipelines.
so, I guess you're going to pay this winter. If you could steal it, go ahead, because it's going to cost you if you don't, sir.
CAVUTO: OK.
So that's Jeff Flock recommending that you steal natural gas, if you can.
FLOCK: Well, maybe not.
CAVUTO: No, I understand where you're coming -- we might have a position for you in that Blue Origin rocket, my friend.
I do know, I do know that there's a special place saved for William Shatner. He's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: You definitely don't want to be outside right now. Little did he know being inside wasn't safe either. And 11 minutes later, later, along with six of his fellow crew members, they would all be dead.
The NASA organization will make with that extra $1 billion that's been promised by the president over the next five years to eventually, eventually land a man on Mars.
Who better to talk about this subject than John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, who went back a few decades later?
Senator, a lot of people are saying this value return is way off and the cost of this certainly way beyond the billion that the president's promise NASA over the next five years, and that this is really just a pipe dream.
People forget how concerned a lot of folks were when you when and Neil were going to walk on the moon that you would sink in or that you would never be able to get off, or that you would never come off of that, and then Michael Collins would be flying back alone.
BUZZ ALDRIN, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: To me, it was a magnificent tribute to all of humanity and especially to the United States to be able to carry out this sort of a challenge.
CAVUTO: I didn't realize that, at least in Jim Lovell's view, he wasn't very confident he or his colleagues would get back to Earth. He scored it at 10 percent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, during the mission, the White House constantly kept asking, what are the odds we will get them back? And, basically, I said, we're getting them home. I mean, there was no question I was going to get my crew home.
And the -- one of the Los Angeles papers called me the arrogant optimist.
CAVUTO: Congratulations to all of you.
Jeff, I was thinking of you that joining you on this journey will be both the oldest and youngest human beings ever to go into space and your brother. That's a lot of pressure.
I know you have had 15 successful automated fights. This is the first one with human beings. Are you a tad anxious?
JEFF BEZOS, FOUNDER, AMAZON: Neil, I'm not. I am excited, but not anxious. We will see how I feel when I'm strapped into my seat, and -- but I'm very excited.
We're ready.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: Indeed, they were.
And over the 25 years I have been at FOX, talking to astronauts and some of the original astronauts, and all the way through Apollo 11 and the space shuttle, the Skylab, all the other programs, and now business enterprise is taking over this whole sphere.
Enter Blue Origin, of course, Jeff Bezos fame, and now launching Captain Kirk into space himself. I'm talking about William Shatner, who, with three others, will get their 10 minutes suborbital flight, technically into space, on Wednesday.
Let's just say Captain Kirk's excited.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAVUTO: Again, congratulations.
William Shatner, I understand that you had turned down a flight on Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic. And now here you are going up on Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos fame.
Why the Bezos rocket over Richard Branson's? '
SHATNER: Well, it's not that I don't love each of those billionaires.
But it's because the opportunity presented itself. Jeff Bezos' vision is really a remarkable, practical one. Let's build the industries that pollute on Earth, let's build it in space, in connection with space. It's not so esoteric as flying to Mars, colonizing Mars a year-and-a-half, six months there, six months back, six months on the planet.
This is, let's build now and start right now to protect our planet.
CAVUTO: You have heard this more than you care to, Mr. Shatner, that you, at 90 years young, will be the oldest human being, at least up to this point, to travel into space. And when you were peppered with that question, you had said over the weekend: "I'm bloody Captain Kirk."
And yet all they're focusing on, including this questioner, is your age. What do you think of that?
SHATNER: Yes.
Well, the only thing about age that has an application to this particular vehicle is getting in and out of the seat with any kind of arthritis. So, unless you're really supple, getting in and out of these seats in weight, when we're on gravity, is a chore.
But, of course, it's designed to float out of the seat and be weightless.
CAVUTO: Yes, that should be pretty cool.
You know, Audrey Powers, as the Blue Origin representative, vice president at the company, I'm sure you're familiar with this FAA review of safety concerns that was raised by present and past workers. Is that an issue going forward here? Is there something to this that should cause some of your colleagues there concern?
AUDREY POWERS, MISSION AND FLIGHT OPERATIONS VICE PRESIDENT, BLUE ORIGIN: Well, my experience at Blue, I have been here eight years and worked on a number of areas across the New Shepard program.
My experience has been that we're exceedingly thorough. We conduct safety reviews continuously through the design, through the flight test program, through our operations and maintenance of the vehicles and ground systems. So my experience is that we have been very thorough. We bring in outside reviewers from other agencies and companies.
We partner with our FAA partners to ensure the safety of people on the ground. So, I -- my experience has been that we're as thorough as any of the other companies that I have worked on through my -- through my career in this industry.
CAVUTO: And, after all, you're flying in this thing. So it's -- you're part of that process.
POWERS: Right. Right.
CAVUTO: Glen, you and Chris are paying customers here. The reported check you wrote out is about 250 grand. I don't know what it was, but it is still prohibitive for most folks to get the chance all of you are.
How soon do you think that average folks will be able to afford a trip like this, get an opportunity like this?
CHRIS BOSHUIZEN, BLUE ORIGIN PASSENGER: What do you think, Glen?
GLEN DE VRIES, BLUE ORIGIN PASSENGER: Yes, so I think equity and access is something we have to think about in everything.
I think about it in medicine and health care every day in my profession. And I'm not going to try to predict when it's going to happen. But the point is, this industry, this opportunity for us to travel to space is about accelerating, how quickly we can get access to space for everybody, and how we can democratize the benefits of space and space technology for as many people on Earth as we can.
That's what's so exciting as a paying customer to be able to contribute to.
BOSHUIZEN: Yes, I mean, space has always been the domain of governments. And it's quite remarkable that, in 2021, there's going to be five private spaceflights.
So I think, in 50 years, we will look back at this year and go, this was the beginning of actually the public's movement into space and the opening up of the space frontier. So I think it's a really exciting time to be doing this with this crew.
CAVUTO: You know, William Shatner, you are obviously an iconic figure, well-known name. You have written 30 bucks. Of course, a lot of people hearken back to your "Star Trek" days that turned out to be a hit that lingers to this day.
But you won't be the first actor in space. I mean, as you have probably heard, a Russian actor and director are now filming two weeks on the International Space Station. How do you feel about that and those in the entertainment business doing what you're doing?
SHATNER: Well -- well, he's there doing a job.
And Russian to English is very difficult. That's my way of saying, of course, the entertainment industry wants to dramatize what's going on, because what is going on, our liftoff and weightlessness and return to Earth, is very dramatic and filled with a certain amount of possibilities.
Different -- different outcomes are possible. And to record this and to dramatize it and to speak about it is very important. So it doesn't matter which language it's in, except that there are more people who speak English than speak Russian.
CAVUTO: So when you get a chance to be up there for the 10 minutes that you will, what's the first thing you're going to want to do?
SHATNER: I'm going to look out the window, Neil.
(LAUGHTER)
SHATNER: I'm going to see the vastness of space and the fragility of the Earth.
And I'm going to continue that theme in my thinking and in my work.
CAVUTO: It's a good goal.
BOSHUIZEN: This view that Bill is describing has been seen by fewer than 600 people in the entire history of the human race. So, it's a real privilege to see it. And we can't until more of you can go and experience the same thing.
So...
CAVUTO: Well, you have got a whole world very proud of all of you. And enjoy that flight, a very special flight, at that.
Congratulations.
SHATNER: Thank you, Neil. Thank you.
BOSHUIZEN: Thank you.
POWERS: Thank you.
DE VRIES: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAVUTO: All right, and it will last all the 10 minutes, the suborbital flight on Shepard, referring to Alan Shepard, the first American to go into the space. That was a suborbital flight as well.
There are plans to go beyond this for Jeff Bezos. Of course, Elon Musk and a host of others are playing in this game as well, as well as Richard Branson, who was trying to get Captain Kirk to go on his jet/rocket. But, instead, the captain is going with Jeff Bezos.
That will do it.
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