Biden builds on lead as Harris prepares for debate

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Biden builds on lead as Harris prepares for debate

Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy joins 'Special Report' to weigh in on the Biden-Harris campaign ahead of the Vice Presidential debate.

This is a rush transcript from “Special Report" October 6, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Thanks, Jesse. Good evening, I'm Bret Baier.

Welcome to -- we're coming to you tonight from outside Kingsbury Hall and the Nancy Peery Marriott Auditorium on the campus of University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

We are 27 hours away from the first and only vice presidential debate of this election cycle. It pits incumbent Republican Vice President Mike Pence against California Democratic Senator Kamala Harris. The moderator will be USA Today Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page, you may know as a frequent panelist on SPECIAL REPORT. There will be additional health safety measures for this debate after President Trump's positive diagnosis for COVID-19 a short time after his debate with Joe Biden.

President Trump is tweeting that he's looking forward to next week's debate in Miami that he's feeling great and that the country is "Learning to live with COVID." While former Vice President Joe Biden says the president should take some responsibility for his diagnosis.

The president's doctor says the first patient is showing no signs of the virus. The president is also halting stimulus talks with House Democrats until after the election, more on that in a second.

Also tonight, President Trump's director of National Intelligence releasing documents that seem to implicate former President Obama and Hillary Clinton's alleged plan to smear then-candidate Trump four years ago, least briefed on it.

We have Fox team coverage, Peter Doocy here in Salt Lake City has the Biden campaign story. Chief White House correspondent John Roberts starts us off tonight. Good evening, John.

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Bret, good evening to you. Only nine days now until the next presidential debate. But according to CDC guidelines, President Trump could end his isolation one day after the onset of symptoms, which means, he could leave the White House as soon as this Sunday and make it to Miami in time for that debate on the 15th.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: The president's physician Dr. Sean Conley said, President Trump continues to improve. He had a restful first night at home and today he reports no symptoms. Overall, he continues to do extremely well, Conley said.

As he recovers, President Trump is continuing to work. Today instructing his Treasury Secretary and chief of staff to suspend negotiations with House Democrats over a coronavirus relief bill until after the election.

The president tweeting, Nancy Pelosi is asking for $2.4 trillion to bail out poorly run, high crime, Democrat states, money that is in no way related to COVID-19. We made a generous offer of $1.6 trillion. And as usual, she is not negotiating in good faith. I am rejecting their request and looking to the future of our country.

Steven Mnuchin and Mark Meadows had been talking with Pelosi for weeks, but the two sides are separated by a gap of $600 billion they cannot seem to close.

President Trump tweeted that if he wins the election, we will pass a major stimulus bill that focuses on hard-working Americans and small businesses.

Adding that he has asked Senator Mitch McConnell to focus full time on approving my outstanding nominee to the United States Supreme Court Amy Coney Barrett.

The president was also talking tough upon his return to the White House last night. Speaking now from personal experience, he urged Americans to stand tall against the threat from coronavirus.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Don't let it dominate you.

Don't be afraid of it. You're going to beat it. We have the best medical equipment. We have the best medicines all developed recently and you got to beat it.

ROBERTS: Democrats criticized the message, accusing the president of being cavalier about a virus that has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I hope no one walks away with a message thinking that it is not a problem, it's a serious problem. It's an international pandemic and we have four percent of the population and 20 percent of the deaths.

ROBERTS: White House officials dismissed the criticism, insisting that under President Trump's leadership, the nation has made enormous strides in fighting COVID.

ALYSSA FARAH, WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: One thing I'd want to communicate to your viewers is on this date, you are the most likely to survive and get treatment for coronavirus in the U.S. than ever prior because of this president's leadership and how he's prepared us to deal with it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: White House connections to coronavirus infections in quarantines continue today. The Joint Chiefs of Staff all staying home after the Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard Admiral Charles Ray tested positive for coronavirus. They had all been together here at the White House for a Gold Star family event back on September the 27th and in the tank at the Pentagon two days before on Friday. The Joint Chiefs so far, all testing negative, Bret.

BAIER: John Roberts live in the North Lawn. John, thanks.

Stocks dove after the president's tweet cutting off the stimulus negotiations. The Dow lost 37, the S&P 500 fell 48, the NASDAQ dropped 178.

Joe Biden is trying to put as much daylight as he can between himself and the socialist wing of his party. He's making that effort as he continues to build his lead in the polls and his vice presidential pick prepares for her moment in the spotlight here in Salt Lake City. Correspondent Peter Doocy is here as well with that story tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Joe Biden says, today's speech in Gettysburg is one he's worked on and worked on.

BIDEN: I do not believe we have to choose between law and order and racial justice in America.

DOOCY: Biden leads Trump by 12 in Pennsylvania according to a new Monmouth poll of registered voters there and he leads Trump by 16 points nationally in a new CNN poll of likely voters conducted after the first debate.

Continuing to reassure voters he's not too far left.

BIDEN: Do I look like a socialist? Look, I'm the guy that ran against the socialist.

DOOCY: Kamala Harris remains in Utah behind closed doors working onlines for tomorrow's meeting with Mike Pence with another famous Indiana politician Pete Buttigieg.

PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), MAYOR OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA: A lot of Americans are going to be tuning in to see just a dramatic contrast between the vice president defending the indefensible and Senator Harris who has the right message for the right ticket.

DOOCY: Expect her debate style to draw heavily on her background as a prosecutor.

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The case against Donald Trump and Mike Pence is open and shut.

DOOCY: Last summer, she made the case against Joe Biden arguing his Senate voting record affected young black girls.

HARRIS: And that little girl was me.

DOOCY: She's also gone viral talking Trump too.

HARRIS: Dude got to go.

DOOCY: Harris and Biden are getting help campaigning against Trump from Michelle Obama who accuses President Trump of focusing on violence in cities for racist reasons.

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: It is racist but that doesn't mean it won't work.

DOOCY: It's Biden who's being scrutinized for a remark about race though.

BIDEN: The American public, the blinders have been taken off. They're saying, geez, the reason I was able to stay sequestered in my home is because some Black woman was able to stack the grocery shelf.

DOOCY: Still, Biden's pitch is that only he can save the soul of the nation.

BIDEN: I'll be a president who appeals to the best of this, not the worst.

I'll be a president who pushes toward the future, not one who clings to the past.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOOCY: Biden's event today was not open to the public but the campaign did invite a small group of supporters who were sitting in silence before one woman asked why can't we yell, isn't that what we came here for to yell?

And so, she did and a few others joined her for a few minutes but the pipes down once Biden took the mic, Bret.

BAIER: Peter Doocy here in Salt Lake City. Peter, thanks.

The director of National Intelligence has declassified documents today revealing former CIA Director John Brennan briefed then-President Obama on Hillary Clinton's purported plan to smear then-candidate Trump in 2016.

Adding to what the National Intelligence director has already declassified on this issue and raising more questions tonight about how much more of this will come out before Election Day.

Senior political correspondent Mike Emanuel is following the story tonight in Washington. Good evening, Mike.

MIKE EMANUEL, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: Bret, good evening. These are handwritten notes from former CIA director John Brennan written according to a source familiar after Brennan briefed President Obama.

At one point, Brennan writes, "Approved by Hillary Clinton a proposal from one of her foreign policy advisers to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service."

The notes say on 28th of July, in the margin Brennan writes POTUS but that section of the notes are redacted. Then it says, any evidence of collaboration between Trump campaign and Russia. The remainder of the notes are redacted except in the margins where it says JC, Dennis, and Susan.

That could be referring to former FBI director James Comey, former Obama chief of staff Denis McDonough, and former national security adviser Susan Rice.

The CIA sent a memo the former FBI Director James Comey and Peter Strzok writing, "The following information is provided for the exclusive use of your bureau for background investigative action or lead purposes as appropriate.

One example, the CIA includes "An exchange redacted discussing U.S.

presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's approval of a plan concerning U.S.

presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering U.S.

elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private e- mail server."

At a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, Comey was pressed on what he did with the information provided by the CIA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): Did you open an investigation?

JAMES COMEY, FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: I don't know what that (INAUDIBLE). As I said earlier, that does not ring any bells with me when I read that.

HAWLEY: You did not receive any investigative referral of this nature?

COMEY: I don't remember it. I don't -- I don't remember receiving anything that's described in that letter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EMANUEL: Hillary Clinton's spokesman Nick Merrill has called the latest revelation "Baseless bs", Bret.

BAIER: All right, Mike, thank you.

Let's bring in our panel early. Former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr., currently the chairman of RxSaver. Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at The Federalist and Byron York, chief political correspondent of the Washington Examiner.

I want to start with the story that might just did Mollie, adding to what the National Intelligence director has already put out on this story. What do you think this tells us and how it advances the ball ahead of maybe a John Durham report?

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CONTRIBUTOR: Well we already knew that Hillary Clinton did try to smear President Trump then-candidate Trump with this claim that he was colluding with Russia, that already was known. We discovered that over the course of years that she was the person behind that. That her campaign had purchased this operation from a group called Fusion GPS which contracted with an unregistered foreign agent of a sanctioned Russian oligarch. He hired a suspected Russian spy to create that dossier.

What this is saying is that Russia believed that she had personally authorized this plan on July 26 or so before -- of 2016 and that U.S.

Intelligence officials took it so seriously that Russians believe this.

They further believe that this was done to distract from her own scandal.

They briefed President Obama about it early on in this -- you know, in 2016. And so, he knew that this was part of her -- what she was trying to do.

Everything we found out about this story in recent years has pointed in one direction, that Intelligence agencies didn't really handle this very well.

And yet, nobody seems to be held accountable except for that one Mueller attorney who falsified evidence to spy on the Trump team.

So, we're getting all this information but it seems like a lot of people are getting away with some seriously bad activity.

BAIER: It also seems Byron, that we're running out of time before any big report to come out or even a summary of a report before the election.

HEMINGWAY: It almost seems like these are consolation prizes.

BYRON YORK, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CONTRIBUTOR: You know, a lot of people thought it would be out by Labor Day but it's -- but it's not here. Labor Day is coming on and it's not here.

I think one of the biggest things about this is, it does address perhaps the biggest mystery of the whole Trump Russia matter, which is, we knew the Obama administration, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies were targeting the Trump campaign in the last three months of the campaign and after that, during the transition.

We've never known exactly what Barack Obama knew about it and to what degree he approved of it. This doesn't tell us that but it gives us another example of a briefing from the then CIA director to then-President Obama.

BAIER: Herald, I know that the Clinton campaign is calling this baseless and other words. Are you troubled by this kind of drip of information that we're getting out?

HAROLD FORD J.R., FORMER REPRESENTATIVE OF TENNESSEE: Sure, thanks again for having me on. I guess, as I listen to all of this, I'm reminded of the great line from the movie Casablanca, I'm shocked that politics is being played in 2016 campaign. I'm not convinced this is going to be regarded as one of the great consequential actions that the DNA -- DNI Mr. Brennan takes. But if it gives us more insight into some things that we want to relitigate from years ago, we should go right (INAUDIBLE).

BAIER: Let me say with you Harold, obviously this is going to be continuing. The Trump campaign's going to raise this but also is what's happening with the economy now. They're saying the economy is bouncing back with the president cutting off stimulus negotiations today saying that it's ending. Nancy Pelosi -- it seems like comes away with a win politically in this moment. Harold?

FORD JR.: This is not a win that either party should covet. You consider the kind of pain that 10 million Americans -- 10 million Americans who remain unemployed.

A number that thousands if not, millions of restaurants will go out of business, the number of airline attendants, flight attendants, and for that matter, across so many service industries who have lost their jobs and who may not find their way back to the workforce. Whether this is a win, a small win for Democrats, or a small lose for the Republicans is one of the reasons I think so many in this country dissolution with politics.

If we need to push through a Supreme Court nominee and I respect the mandate the president has following through on his constitutional responsibility, it would seem like in a moment when so many Americans are hurting, that the president would not pull these negotiators, that he would press and push and press and push and try to find some negotiated settlement or some compromise before the election. This is bad politics; I think this is a win for Democrats. I'm not one that likes it.

BAIER: Mollie, when I -- when I say political win, it's because it was heading to the point where the president could say, well, they're not coming down to our number. They're not moving off of 2.2 trillion.

And now, Nancy Pelosi, obviously putting out a statement. If you look at the Dow today when the president tweeted out what he tweeted out, it obviously fell off a cliff in the numbers. Your thoughts.

HEMINGWAY: Well, if it's a win, it's been part because the way the media have portrayed Nancy Pelosi's refusal to pass legislation during this election season.

We saw this when Tim Scott tried to put forth criminal justice reform, a package that really should have -- should have been able to be passed. For some reason, Democrats decided that they wanted to use the issue politically rather than come to agreement with Republicans.

Likewise, it is Nancy Pelosi, who stepped away every stage of this process.

And I think that what President Trump is saying is that there's no reason to continue working that way, given that she has shown a reluctance to actually get this bill passed.

If she -- if she truly cares about it, she can get it done immediately. But it should be -- people should be honest about who exactly has been posing the problems here. And Nancy Pelosi, according to Hill sources say -- they say, you know she has just really refused to negotiate in good faith here.

BAIER: Yes. And Byron, we should point out that Senator Mitch McConnell supports the president's decision. He didn't say you're going anywhere either.

YORK: No, I -- listen, I do think it's a little baffling that the president would stop this even if it wasn't going to work because, first of all, there are people out there who need the money and the unemployment rate has thankfully gone down, some -- but it is still high.

And I think Mollie is correct. I think Democrats are pretty clearly to blame for stopping this. I don't see why the president can't keep an offer to help those Americans on the table, and let it be the Democrats who were the ones turning it down.

BAIER: All right, panel, we'll see you in just a bit. We'll preview the vice presidential debate tomorrow night. Thank you.

Up next, the U.S. Supreme Court lays down the law over mail-in voting in one state. And as we head to break, I got a chance to explore Salt Lake City a bit. We'll bring you some highlights throughout the show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Welcome to the University of Utah Rice-Eccles Stadium. This is home to the Utes football team. They're not playing yet, they are playing though. The Pac-12 starts just after Election Day.

Usually, 47,000 crowd into this stadium. Not now. In fact, this stadium today is home to COVID testing for the vice presidential debate. You have to get tested, you have to get a wristband -- it's very strict. And even the candidates themselves will be further apart and there'll be a plexiglass separator between them. COVID has changed everything this year.

Our show continues after this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Looking live there inside -- first look inside the commission on presidential debates -- the vice presidential debate. Vice President Pence will be on the left, Senator Kamala Harris will be on the right. Susan Page at that table in the -- in the middle there. There is plexiglass in between them. And now, they're setting up how it's all going to come together.

Seated but not at the same table. I'll be 12 feet away. Every precaution being taken.

Meantime, Democratic lawmakers calling for Congress to rein in big tech.

Such a plan could possibly force Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple to sever their dominant platforms from their other lines of business and impose new uniformity on the terms they offer users.

The proposals are in a report issued today following an investigation by a House Judiciary Committee panel into the company's market dominance.

Republicans counter by saying existing law is the best method of holding tech companies accountable for censorship and anti-conservative bias.

Facebook is tightening its policy against QAnon, the group that fosters political conspiracy theories. The company says it will remove Facebook pages, groups, and Instagram accounts from what it calls representing QAnon, even if they do not promote violence.

Less than two months ago, Facebook said it would only remove QAnon groups if they promote violence.

"BREAKING TONIGHT", the U.S. Supreme Court will handle an emergency filing over mail-in voting in Montana. Today, the Ninth Circuit declined a request to enjoin what the district court decided last month, which was essentially, to allow the statewide election to be held via mail-in in large part.

Montana's governor argues an emergency declaration connected to the pandemic, allows him to suspend a state law that bars holding federal elections by mail. Ballots are supposed to go out Friday.

On that line, officials in Florida are investigating a crash of the state's online voter registration system just before the deadline to participate in next month's election.

Also tonight, the U.S. Supreme Court has also reinstated a requirement in South Carolina that residents voting by mail get a witness to sign their ballots.

Senior correspondent Eric Shawn has all of that tonight from New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIC SHAWN, FOX NEWS CHANNEL SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: It's seen as a win for Republicans in South Carolina, but critics say it's a defeat for democracy.

The U.S. Supreme Court backing the South Carolina Republican Party's demand to reinstate the need for a witness signature when voters mail-in absentee ballots.

Republican State Chair Drew McKissick, says a second set of eyes can stop voter fraud.

DREW MCKISSICK, STATE CHAIRMAN, SOUTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY: Here in South Carolina, you have to have a photo I.D. when you go vote. Why would we then let people return absentee ballots with anything less than someone else, verifying that they are who they say they are.

SHAWN: But Democratic State Chair Trav Robertson, says the ruling is misguided and makes it harder to vote.

TRAV ROBERTSON, STATE CHAIRMAN, SOUTH CAROLINA DEMOCRATIC PARTY: It actually hurts the Republican Party as much if more than the Democratic Party because it affects a segment of voters that have always been traditional Democratic -- I mean, Republican voters, and that's our more learning citizens 60 and up.

SHAWN: Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, said it's too close to the election to end the requirement, and that the state legislature, "should not be subject to second-guessing by an unelected federal judiciary."

The ruling likely will have its greatest impact on the heated Senator Lindsey Graham-Jaime Harrison Senate race, which polls show is neck-and- neck.

Meanwhile, in Florida, echoes of the 2000 presidential debacle. The state's online voter registration system crashed last night, just before the 7:00 p.m. deadline for Floridians to sign up to vote in the November election.

Officials say the crash of more than 1 million people an hour who tried to access the site was too much. Now, back up and running, the registration deadline was extended by 24 hours.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you can have the best site in the world. Sometimes there's hiccups on it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SHAWN: And California has started mailing ballots to every one of its 21 million voters. But, just over 2,000 ballots sent to Woodland Hills did not include the presidential race. The L.A. County Registrar's Office blames a printing error and apologizes. Bret?

BAIER: Eric, thank you. Up next, optimism over a coronavirus vaccine, but worry over recent spikes around the country.

First, here is what some of our Fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight. Fox 45 in Baltimore, as the city council there votes to rename Columbus Day, Indigenous People's Day.

Democratic Mayor Bernard Young must sign the measure for it to take effect next week.

WSVN in Miami as Hurricane Delta rapidly intensifies into a Category 4 storm. It's packing 130 miles per hour winds on a course to hammer southeastern Mexico, and then, possibly strike the U.S. Gulf Coast later in the week.

And this is a live look in Los Angeles from our affiliate Fox 11 there. One of the big stories there tonight. Sad news, rock icon, Eddie Van Halen, has died of throat cancer. The legendary guitarist, one of the best ever, cofounder of the group, Van Halen, had been battling throat cancer since 2000. Eddie Van Halen was 65.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER:  Welcome back to Salt Lake City and the debate hall inside. Tonight, the Trump administration is agreeing to stricter standards for a coronavirus vaccine, making the chances of a vaccine before Election Day nearly impossible. But the World Health Organization says a coronavirus vaccine may be ready by the end of the year. Correspondent Jonathan Serrie has tonight's update from Atlanta. To.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN SERRIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT:  This afternoon the FDA published guidelines for approving potential COVID-19 vaccines. A senior administration official tells FOX News the White House has approved the guidance without changes. One requirement, that vaccine developers monitor human trial participants for two months, will likely push the first vaccine rollouts until after the election. But federal health officials say the review process is necessary.

STACY CLINE AMIN, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION:  The leadership at FDA realized that authorizing or licensing a vaccine for COVID is perhaps the most consequential action the agency will ever take. We will stand by her scientists no matter what.

SERRIE:  Today the head of the World Health Organization said there is hope that by the end of this year we may have a vaccine. Public health officials say the limited supply of initial doses will be prioritized to high-risk groups such as medical workers and people with underlying conditions. But over the months that follow, enough shots will become available for the general public.

Today, the National Institutes of Health announced six new contracts to developers of rapid tests. The agency predicts this will add up to half-a- million new tests per day in the U.S. by the end of the year. Physicians continue to learn more about the virus's effect beyond the lungs. According to a study published in the "Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology," more than 82 percent of hospitalized COVID patients experienced neurological problems, ranging from headaches to movement disorders.

DR. AARON BUNNELL, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON:  It's difficult to do your normal routines, your normal self-care. It's difficult to walk, difficult to go up flights of steps. And then other things that can be impaired are your ability to think, your mental health.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SERRIE:  And today, the world's largest cruise industry association announced that its members have agreed to conduct COVID-19 tests on 100 percent of passengers and crew aboard vessels large enough to hold at least

250 people. Meanwhile, a CDC no sale order extends through the end of this month. Bret?

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

The mainstream media has had a field day, actually several field days, with President Trump's coronavirus diagnosis and covering that. Let's take a look at that tonight. Here's FOX News media analyst and host of FOX's "Media Buzz" Howard Kurtz.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOWARD KURTZ, FOX NEWS MEDIA ANALYST:  An ailing president being released from the hospital might be treated as good news in a normal political environment, but for most of the media it's been negative coverage on steroids. CNN's John Berman.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR:  Don't even put it on the screen. Please take it off, because that's going to kill people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE:  I wake up some days, Wolf, frankly, feeling that we are in the grips of a mad man.

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST:  What kind of people seemed visibly disappointed when a president of the United States admitted, to an Army medical hospital, seems to be turning a corner?

KURTZ:  CNN's Jim Acosta called Trump the coronavirus in chief. The president also gave his critics ammunition by urging people not to fear the virus.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:  Don't let it dominate, don't let her take over your lives.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR:  There are children who don't have parents now because of this virus. Don't let it dominate your life?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE:  Don't be afraid. Tell that to the 211,424 families that are mourning someone.

KURTZ:  When Trump climbed the White House steps for a photo-op, his labored breathing prompting a "Drudge Report" headlines "President seen gasping," he also drew media flack for removing his mask before going inside.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR:  Here it is, the official reentry.

KURTZ:  CNN's Chris Cuomo, who taped his own reemergence from a basement quarantine after battling the virus, slammed the scene.

CUOMO:  And I tell you to ignore masks, and I rip mine off as I vanquish the virus because I am a leader. What a bunch of bull --

KURTZ:  MSNBC's Joy Reid.

JOY REID, MSNBC HOST:  This is a Mussolini moment. He's standing there and if he is a member of the old Russian czar family.

KURTZ:  There are legitimate journalistic questions. How sick is the president? Why tell others not to fear COVID when they don't have the same world-class medical care?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KURTZ:  The press is entitled to be skeptical given the conflicting accounts of the president's health, but lost in the handwringing is any sense of relief that his condition seems to be improving. Bret?

BAIER:  Howie, thank you. More on this with the panel.

Up next, victims give firsthand accounts of suspected poisonings by Russia.

And as we had to break, another very well-known spot here in Salt Lake City.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER:  This Is The Place, the words inscribed on this memorial behind me, This Is The Place Heritage Park. Mormons say July 24th, 1847, Brigham Young crested the hill just over there, looking at this canyon, saying this is the place that the Mormon pioneers would call home. In fact, July 24th is now a state holiday here in Utah. This is the spot where Kamala Harris visited first as she arrived in Utah before the debate because this is the place for the vice presidential debate Wednesday night.

Our show continues after this.   

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER:  Two Islamic state terrorists known as the Beatles are set to be transferred to the U.S. in coming days. Multiple government officials tell FOX News the two British men are currently being held by U.S. forces in Iraq. They are suspected in connection with the kidnapping and murder of U.S. hostages in Syria.

In tonight's, "Whatever Happened To" segment, the enemies of the state in Russia who are suspected of having been poisoned by the government. Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny says he thinks Moscow had him poisoned because he's considered a political threat. Correspondent Gillian Turner has tonight's report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GILLIAN TURNER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT:  For the first time since surviving a suspected nerve agent attack in August, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is speaking out about his recovery.

ALEXEI NAVALNY, RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator):  My hands shake. If I drink water out of the bottle, it will be a bit of a sight how I do it like that.

TURNER:  Navalny claims Russia's intelligence service poisoned him, an assassination attempt meant to silence him ahead of the country's upcoming parliamentary election.

NAVALNY:  Several people have asked me what it's like to die from Novichok.

It's difficult to explain because it's something they don't experience in everyday life.

TURNER:  He is just one of dozens of Russian dissidents believed to have been poisoned by Russia in recent years. In an exclusive interview with another prominent democracy activist, Vladimir Kara-Murza details firsthand his experience in the Kremlin's crosshairs.

VLADIMIR KARA-MURZA, RUSSIAN OPPOSITION ACTIVIST:  Both times after I was poisoned when I was lying in a coma in Moscow, doctors had told my wife I had a five percent chance to survive.

TURNER:  Kara-Murza believes President Putin directed two separate attacks against him in 2015 and 2017.

KARA-MURZA:  This is a clear signature of the Russian security service.

These sophisticated toxins, it's not something you'd go and buy in a pharmacy or in the market.

TURNER:  Sergei Skripal, a Russian military officer and double agent for British intelligence, was poisoned in March of 2018 in the U.K. along with his daughter. They both remain in hiding. Russian Secret Service officer Alexander Litvinenko suffered radiation poisoning in November, 2006. And former Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko poisoned in 2004.

BILL BROWDER, GLOBAL MAGNITSKY JUSTICE CAMPAIGN:  Vladimir Putin is a man who likes to kill his enemies, but he also likes to not take responsibility for the killing, because poison is hard to trace, hard to even figure out what it was, and hard to pin on him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TURNER:  With the exception of Alexander Litvinenko, who did not survive poisoning, these victims all remain alive and well today and are outspoken critics of both Putin and the Russian regime. Bret?

BAIER:  Gillian, thanks.

Up next, the panel comes back to discuss the president's return to the White House and the V.P. debate tomorrow night.

First beyond our borders tonight. Turkey's top diplomat travels to Baku in a show of solidarity with Azerbaijan in its decades-old conflict with Armenia. The two countries are battling over a separatist territory. Heavy fighting in the region has killed scores of servicemen and civilians since late last month. We'll have a detailed story on the new fighting tomorrow.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says China's increasingly assertive actions across the region make it more critical than ever for Indo-Pacific nations to cooperate. Pompeo is urging foreign ministers from Japan, India, and Australia to protect each other and their people from what he calls China's exploitation, corruption, and coercion.

Just some of the other stories beyond our borders tonight. As we head to break, what's being cooked up here in Salt Lake City.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER:  Great spot for breakfast, really a great spot for any meal. Ruth's Diner, one of the oldest restaurants in Utah started in 1930. They are fired up about the vice presidential debate being here.

KELLY RICKS, RUTH'S DINER:  Salt Lake is just already such a cool place, and so it's nice to be able to have such a huge, monumental thing so close to us.

BAIER:  What's it been like in these times?

RICKS:  We've adjusted as best as we could just like everyone else has. Our customers are so great, and they are loyal to us, so they've really stood with us through these hard times.

BAIER:  Businesses finding a way around COVID-19 to continue working, it's a big part of this election.

Our show continues after this.

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MIKE PENCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT:  In the middle of a global pandemic, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris want to raise taxes by $4 trillion. They want to stifle American energy and the American energy renaissance that has created thousands of jobs in places like here in Pennsylvania. They want to have an activist court once again, legislating from the bench. I'm going to lay on that case, I'm going to lay out that choice.

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS, (D-CA) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE:  We have seen an administration, the Trump-Pence administration, that has been completely unburdened by fact.

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BAIER:  They're getting ready for the V.P. debate here in Salt Lake City tomorrow night. Meantime, the national average of polls, the recent polls, likely voters, has Biden up. There are some polls recently have him picking up more points since the last debate. Battlegrounds still tight.

We're back with our battle, former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr., chairman of RX Saver, Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at "The Federalist,"

and Byron York, chief political correspondent for the "Washington Examiner." Byron, set the table, if you would, for the V.P. debate tomorrow night. What needs to happen, what do you think will happen?

BRYON YORK, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "WASHINGTON EXAMINER":  First of all, it's an extremely important debate at this moment because of the two top people on the ticket. You have one, the 74-year-old president who just got out of the hospital, and the other who would be 78 on inauguration day, by far the oldest president ever to begin his term in office. So it is a big deal. It's going to be a much more conventional debate than we have seen because Donald Trump is not there. It will be much more conventional.

And you will hear Kamala Harris staffers and supporters say they're going to tie Mike Pence to his record, but I believe for Republicans, a lot of Republicans would be OK with that, to talk about the court, to talk about deregulation, to talk about strengthening the military and an economy they believe was humming along before coronavirus and is now improving rapidly.

BAIER:  And obviously, for Senator Harris, Mollie, the focus would be COVID-19, if she could keep it there. Here is virus response from the president and Joe Biden.

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DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:  I stood out front. I led. Nobody that's a leader would not do what I did. And I know there's a risk, there's a danger, but that's OK. And now I'm better, and maybe I'm immune. I don't know. But don't let it dominate your life.

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE:  What is this macho thing, I'm not going to wear a mask? What's the deal here? Big deal. Does it hurt you? Be patriotic, for God's sake. Take care of yourself, take care of your neighbors.

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BAIER:  How do you think this will fall, Mollie?

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY, SENIOR EDITOR, "THE FEDERALIST":  I do think that they will focus quite a bit on coronavirus, and Mike Pence of course led that coronavirus task force for the White House, so he's probably eager to talk about what the administration dead. And Kamala Harris is probably eager to talk about President Trump having gotten coronavirus.

It is definitely true that both sides say they want to show how they are different from each other. That's good for the American people, to see what the choices are between voting for a Trump, and voting for Biden-Harris.

And on this issue of whether you should be optimistic and take coronavirus seriously but not let it control your entire life, versus this idea that we have to live in fear about it, I think that's a referendum that Americans do want to have. And clearly many people in the media and the Democratic Party very much want to keep children banned from schools, keep businesses shut down, keep everything locked down. And I think a lot of Americans are saying they are more than done with that and they are ready to move forward now that we have a better handle and better treatments and better understanding of what the coronavirus is.

BAIER:  Harold, Joe Biden gave a speech today at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, about coming together as a nation, about fighting the extremes, coming back and figuring out how to get things done. That does not sound like somebody who would pack the Supreme Court or kill the filibuster, but he won't answer that question. Do you think Kamala Harris will set that tone of coming together? Or will she say something different?

HAROLD FORD JR. (D) FORMER TENNESSEE REPRESENTATIVE:  I hope she does a little bit of both. The polling numbers you touched on from the outset, Bret, one thing we have to remember, as much as the polling numbers in 16 might have been similar with the gap between the president, or then Mr.

Trump, and then Secretary Clinton, President Trump was not president then.

So this is in many ways a referendum on him.

I do think it would behoove Senator Harris to be calm, to be prosecutorial, to press Mike Pence, who is a good debater. He was very steady, a fermentable performance in 2016. Can she get him to talk about how and why this White House doesn't talk about lost lives? Can she get him to talk about why the president talked in private about a deadly virus but in public downplayed it? These are the kinds of things I think the American public deserves to hear as much as they deserve to hear Vice President Mike Pence question her as well. I look forward to a good debate, an important debate. And I agree with Byron, this will take on more importance than others.

BAIER:  All right, panel, thank you very much.

When we come back, some good news. First, a little Utah Jazz.

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BAIER:  Welcome to the Vivint Smart Home Arena, 18,000 plus seats in here, home to the Utah Jazz. Some great teams have played here, Karl Malone. They had a good team, they made it to the playoffs. They just got knocked out by the Nuggets in the first round. This is our home this week. We're going to give you a little tour. Come on.

So this is our area where we'll have lunch and catering, and these tables here were all set up around the concourse. Pretty wild, we are the only ones in this facility.

Hair and makeup, here this is where we get all pretty. Look, behind-the- scenes, hair and makeup, getting ready.

Very important executives right here. Jay Wallace, Sherrie (ph) Grech (ph).

And then this is our big set. This is where we'll be doing the big show, and then we'll be over in the debate hall as well. But this is our home.

Utah Jazz and SPECIAL REPORT, THE STORY will be back after this.

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BAIER:  See the plexiglass, they're getting ready in there.

Finally tonight, some silver linings. Georgia pastor, Bishop Eusebio Phelps gave waitress Hannah Hill the surprise of a lifetime. Touched by her kindness and learning that her unborn child will of the same name as his late son Samuel, the pastor shared her story on Facebook, and within about a day, supporters raised more than $12,000 for her. And he gave it to her in a tip.

The day after Christmas last year, Isabel Kirby could no longer move her legs. The 13-year-old from Medina, Ohio, was diagnosed with a rare neurological disease. But with the help of physician therapy at Akron Children's Hospital, the motivated teenager is starting to walk again just this week. There are great things happening in our country.

Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. That's it for this SPECIAL REPORT, fair, balanced, and still unafraid.

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