Former NYSE chair on reopening Stock Exchange after 9/11

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Former NYSE chair on reopening Stock Exchange after 9/11

On 'Your World,' Dick Grasso says reopening the New York Stock Exchange after the 9/11 attacks was a message to the terrorists that 'you can never defeat the American way of life.'

This is a rush transcript from "Your World," September 11, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ROY COOPER, D-N.C.: Hurricane Florence will affect each and every one of you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a serious storm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Florence is the real deal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This storm is a monster.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the weather worsens, your risk goes up, and you put us, as well as yourself at risk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is going to be the worst disaster in recorded history, natural disaster, for the Carolinas.

GOV. HENRY MCMASTER, R-S.C.: We are in a very deadly and important game of chess with Hurricane Florence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't bet your life on riding out a monster.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: You have been warned. You are in the path of Florence, you better get moving.

Welcome, everybody. I'm Neil Cavuto.

And, man, oh, man, folks boarding up, as Hurricane Florence revs up. North Carolina joining South Carolina ordering folks along the coast to get in their cars and get out and fast. No mystery why. Florence is already making history now. It could soon be a Category 5 storm packing winds in excess of 150 miles per hour.

There is really nothing to stop it or slow it. The National Hurricane Center is set to issue an update at any moment.

Ahead of that, we have got you covered with Rick Leventhal in Wrightsville Beach on the mass exodus, and Adam Klotz in the FOX Weather Center why it is looking for and more like a huge exodus.

We begin with Rick.

Hey, Rick.

RICK LEVENTHAL, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Neil, the size of this storm is staggering and the track seems pretty certain to hit the Carolina coast.

And that's why governors in both North and South Carolina issued mandatory evacuation orders for coastal areas. About a million people in South Carolina are being told to head for higher ground. I-26 all the way from Charleston to Columbia is now all lanes westbound.

In North Carolina, hundreds of thousands being told to also move out and away from the coast, the Outer Banks, here in Wrightsville Beach, mandatory evacuation orders in effect. We're told the bridge between here and Wilmington will close tomorrow at 8:00. And that's it. No one else is able to get in or get out.

We're just off of the ocean here. We want to show you this 26-unit condo that is under development. And there are efforts under way now to clear all the debris out of here, Neil, because, as you know, if and when all this storm hits, all this stuff could go flying. They loaded three flatbeds with lumber earlier today to get the possible debris out of the area.

P.J. Kelly (ph) is building these homes, and you also live here. You have been here 25 years.

Are you and your friends and family staying or going?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we have chosen to stay, Rick.

On the beach here, obviously a mandatory evacuation. The low-lying areas, you need to be careful with some flooding, storm surge at the beach. But if you're inland a little bit, board up your windows, have a generator, and you will be in good shape.

LEVENTHAL: But you have seen the size of this thing. And it does look to be coming right this way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has. It's a little intimidating. It's turning north a little bit, so we like to see that. But I think, all in all, we will be OK at the end of the day.

LEVENTHAL: And these homes that you're building you said were rated for 130-plus miles per hour. This storm right now right around there. Could get up to 140, 150 even.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is. And obviously these condos in Wrightsville Beach, they're built to the wind codes. They're built for storm surge. My guys have done a great job cleaning up the site, getting the debris, getting the lumber out of here.

And I don't foresee any problems with it.

LEVENTHAL: Well, we hope there aren't any P.J.

And we will be here to watch and make sure that nothing goes wrong. If it does, I will help you put it back together again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will hold you to that. Thanks, Rick.

LEVENTHAL: Neil, it is serious business. And the mayor says they're ready for this. They have evacuated many times. Right now, the smooth flow is smooth from Wrightsville Beach away.

And they fully expect water to be turned off by tomorrow night and power likely to go out not just here, but across the state for hundreds of thousands of customers.

CAVUTO: All right. Rick, thank you very much, Rick Leventhal.

Well, Hurricane Florence remains a massive storm now spreading, as we indicated here, about 340 miles. This time-lapse video taken by a hurricane chaser, no less, shows you just how big this monster is, expected to gain strength, as it's doing so right now.

Meteorologist Adam Klotz, I got to get my hats off to him. He warned us about this, so when it wasn't anything approaching this. Now that it is, man, oh, man, Adam.

ADAM KLOTZ, FOX NEWS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's big. And, as you said, it's only going to intensify, forecasted too here from today running into tomorrow, winds currently at 130 miles an hour.

But it does look by the time we get into the middle of Wednesday, winds jumping up to 140 to 150 miles an hour as it continues along this track to the coast.

Now, right as it approaches the coast, maybe those winds back off just a little bit. That's what the current models are suggesting, falling down to somewhere between 142 to 120, maybe even a strong Category 3 storm, but this is still a major hurricane, and all the effects we have been talking about.

It is still going to bring those effects stretching along the Carolina coast. Now, likely we're looking at spots anywhere from running into Charleston, all the way up to Norfolk, Virginia. But wherever this ultimately makes landfall, that is where you're going to see the largest storm surge.

And that's going to be one of the major concerns here. Anywhere from six to 12 feet of storm surge. A lot of low-lying areas, especially in areas of North Carolina, where flooding couldn't just be the beach, it could be flooding inland even farther because of those low-lying areas.

The other story is going to be rain as the system eventually works its way on land. With storm surge, you start to add 20 to 30 inches of rain in some isolated areas, and the flooding is going to be even worse. You see large areas there were we're talking about those rains getting up over potentially two feet.

Now, why would that happen? Why would we get so much rain? Well, here's the system we have got, again, pretty tight path there running you somewhere into the Carolinas. And then we start to get a little more indecision.

Current models are suggesting this stalls out, begins to spin around the coast a little bit more. You see there. All the models aren't necessarily in agreement of where it spins. But if you start to slow down and you start to sit there awhile, Neil, that's when you start to see these numbers really beginning to pile up.

We have got hurricane warnings now stretching again from South Carolina all the way up into the Outer Banks. That has a lot to do with these winds, which are going to be in that 120- 130-mile-an-hour range.

But the rain and the storm surge, that's what I'm most concerned about at this hour, Neil.

CAVUTO: All right, buddy, thank you very, very much, Adam Klotz.

Meanwhile, Wrightsville, North Carolina, is bracing for a direct hit from Florence and possibly a huge storm surge. As Adam pointed out, this thing is going to hang around a while, so a lot of rain.

And doesn't my next guess know it all too well. The mayor of Wilmington, Delaware (sic), Bill Saffo, joins us right now on what has been -- helping people in that area to deal with this.

Of Wilmington, North Carolina. I apologize.

Mayor, thank you for taking the time here.

What are you noticing now. What are people telling you?

MAYOR BILL SAFFO, D-WILMINGTON, N.C.: People are taking this very seriously.

They have needed the warnings. They know the size of this storm is pretty large. They know it's coming right at us. And they're heeding the advice of the elected officials and the emergency management folks, and making preparations and evacuating the area.

CAVUTO: Mayor, what do you do about people who say, no, I don't want to leave, I don't want the hassle of leaving, and I want to stay right where I am?

SAFFO: Well, you know, I have said this over and over again, but once this storm is under way, all emergency responders, first-responders, will stay put until after the storm passes.

We cannot come and get anybody out of their house or out of their car during the middle of this storm. And that's where -- why we tell people, evacuate, get out of the harm's way, make the preparations, hunker down, because once this thing -- event is under way, we will not come get you until it's over.

And we want people to be safe. We want them to stay alive. And we want them to get out of harm's way.

CAVUTO: You know, Mayor, I'm noticing that the water surge on this could go quite a ways inland, hundreds of miles inland, as a matter of fact.

So, where do you recommend they go ,just as far inland as possible? What are they being told?

SAFFO: Well, you know, we have asked people to start evacuating a couple of days ago. We have anticipated the storm's track is to hit the Carolina coast anywhere from the South Carolina line all the way up to Virginia.

People have heeded that advice. A lot of people have already left the area. But, for those few or those that have decided to stay to the last moment, you still have time to get out. You have got 40 heading west that will take you to the middle part of the state up into Charlotte and Asheville and Greensboro, Winston-Salem, or maybe even turning, going south, going down 95, down that way.

But we want people to get out of harm's way. And for those that are wanting to ride it out here in the Wilmington area, and a lot of people have decided that they will try to ride this thing out, we want them to secure their homes. Want to board up their windows. We want them to make sure that they have flashlights, they have water, they have food, they have whatever they are going to need for a couple of days, because we feel pretty confident that we're going to be without power for possibly a week or two.

And in the, of course, inland areas, we may have significant flooding that we have seen in the past where we have 24 to 30 inches of rain. So, people are not going to be able to get back to their properties or get back to the city in a very timely manner.

So, you have got to get prepared. You need to heed the advice of the emergency management folks and get ready.

CAVUTO: All right. Wise words, all, Mayor.

Thank you for taking the time. You be safe, and your fine folks as well, Bill Saffo, Wilmington, North Carolina, mayor. All right.

All right, in the meantime, to the White House, where the president has just been briefed on all this.

John Roberts is there -- John.

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: FEMA director, as well as Kirstjen Nielsen, the secretary of DHS, were here in the Oval Office just a short time ago, Neil.

The president's trying to get out ahead of this storm, knowing how devastating that it's going to be, learning from the mistakes of the past, from some other administrations, already acceding your request from governors of both the Carolinas and Virginia to declare an emergency declaration.

It allows them to take steps that they wouldn't normally be able to take to try to get ahead of this thing. The president suggesting as well that he is ready and that this going to be a bad one.

Let's see here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We are sparing no expense. We are totally prepared. We're ready. We're as ready as anybody has ever been.

This is going to be a storm that's going to be a very large one, far larger than we have seen in perhaps decades.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: And a real warning this afternoon from the FEMA director, Brock Long, saying that, as much as the wind is going to be a problem here, a bigger problem, as you were hearing from just a moment ago, is the fact that the hurricane is going to stall out.

After pushing to shore an enormous storm surge, there could be feet of rain in some areas, Director Long saying that this is going to be as much a water event as a wind event. Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROCK LONG, ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: Let's set the expectations as well. This has an opportunity of being a very devastating storm. The power is going to be off for weeks. You're going to be displaced from your home in the coastal areas.

And there will be flooding in the inland areas as well. So these are going to be statewide events.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Statewide events. It's not going to be concentrated to just the confined areas we see with many hurricanes when they come ashore with that -- that tight center of circulation, and you see hurricane winds extending out 20, maybe 40 miles.

Hurricane winds and devastating, damaging winds will be out much further than that. So this could encompass entire states.

The president getting his briefing from the DHS director -- the DHS secretary, as well as the FEMA director, after going to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, this morning for his second observance of the September 11 anniversary, 17 now in total.

The president there in Shanksville paying tribute to the 40 men and women aboard Flight 93 who died in an attempt to bring the plane down, rather than letting it hit a target presumed to be somewhere in Washington, D.C.

The president also paying tribute to the nearly 7,000 service members he said have died facing down the menace of radical Islamic terrorism. As commander in chief, the president said: "I will always do everything in my power to prevent terrorists from striking American soil."

According to terrorism experts I talked with today, the U.S. intelligence, as well as our allies, have done a very good job in try to hunt down and prevent any large-scale terrorist attacks like 9/11 from happening again.

But, Neil, these lone wolf attacks like we saw there in New York last year, where the guy in the truck mowed down a total of 19 people, killing eight of them, on the Greenway there in Western Manhattan, very much more difficult to try to prevent those from happening. But they're -- they're doing their best -- Neil.

CAVUTO: That's all they can do.

All right, thank you, my friend, John Roberts.

A moment of silence corner of Wall and Broad at the New York Stock Exchange, not for all the money that was lost and the financial opportunities would take days to recoup, for something far more important - - after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, 2001)

RICHARD GRASSO, CEO, NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE: Ladies and gentlemen, our heroes will now open the marketplace. The green button.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(BELL RINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: That was six days after 9/11, and a lot of people thought that, once the market opened and was starting to crash, and swoon big time, it did, that it was a sign that Lower Manhattan, Manhattan, capitalism itself was in danger.

That wasn't the deal with the fellow you just heard there and saw on top there, the NYSE chairman, Dick Grasso, who joins us now.

Always good to see you.

GRASSO: Neil.

CAVUTO: Not under these circumstances, my friend.

But opening after that, there was a great deal of damage to facilities, to operations, so many buildings in the area, but it was important that you open up. For what reason?

GRASSO: It was, Neil.

I mean, we had to recognize, obviously, with sensitivity that we had lost thousands of people here in New York and the Pentagon and certainly in Shanksville, billions of dollars' worth of damage to buildings in New York and the Pentagon.

But the reality, the attack was on our way of life, the American way of life. And what better proxy for America's resurgence, America's recovery than to see the stock market reopen, not how matter volatile it may have been that day?

CAVUTO: And it was pretty volatile.

GRASSO: It was volatile. But it wasn't...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: But it didn't take all that long to stabilize, but stabilize, it did.

But you made a point -- in fact, you might have coined the expression at the time -- I remember talking to you -- forget the financial capital, Neil. Remember the human capital. We remembered all the firms and securities and Cantor Fitzgerald, and Marsh & McLennan, and all of those traders, many of whom would work on the floor of the exchange, who were not going to be there, and we somehow had to plow on, right?

GRASSO: My dear friends at Sandler and O'Neill and Cantor Fitz, the two firms most dramatically affected.

CAVUTO: Sure. Cantor losing over 650 people.

GRASSO: But, you know, Neil, today, it's so important, every anniversary, to remember that 25,000 to 35,000 people came out of those two towers, thanks in large part to the efforts of those 343 firefighters, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority police officers who gave their lives.

And the reopening was a statement to the terrorists. You have killed thousands of people. You have destroyed billions in property. You can never defeat the American way of life.

And what better an opening than to have an ESU police officer and a New York City firefighter ring that opening bell, pump his big arms, Billy Fischer, as he did, surrounded by the mayor, the governor, and the treasury secretary, our two senators.

CAVUTO: Secretary Clinton -- then Senator Clinton.

GRASSO: They were all there. But the people...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: And not of one them was arguing with the other.

GRASSO: That's right. .

CAVUTO: Remember that time where they sang together and held hands? Yes.

GRASSO: And that was the -- they sang "God Bless America" with me, with the whole trading floor, with the whole country, who was watching.

You know, it was a lesson then that we can take now. Everyone put aside, whether you were Democrat, Republican, whether you were Goldman Sachs or Merrill Lynch. We were all Americans, and we had a job to do. And that was to send a message that American can never be defeated.

And that's what that opening bell stood for. I was very proud to stand behind those police officers and firefighters, because they and their brothers risked and in many cases gave their lives, that so many New Yorkers, so many people from around the world came out of those towers, got to go home to their families that night.

CAVUTO: You know, you and I have talked over the years about how New York was a target then, as it was in the first World Trade Center attack in 1993.

Of course, it was the epicenter of the meltdown in 2008. So, New York has a bigger-than-normal target on it, doesn't it?

GRASSO: It's the capital of capital throughout the world.

CAVUTO: Yes.

GRASSO: And if you wanted to take a shot at the American way of life, you take a shot at the American stock markets.

CAVUTO: Do you think we have dropped our guard, though? We were mentioning before that a quarter of the population today wasn't born at the time. I find that stunning, but that we have gotten not cavalier, but we have forgotten?

GRASSO: Well, you know, it's important on the anniversaries to make certain those of us who were there and those of us who do revere what was done to save lives communicate effectively with those young Americans that this is why we are here, this is what we do and how we do it, and why this country can never be defeated.

CAVUTO: Well put.

Dick Grasso, he's the last person to say it, so I will say it. If not for him and just remembering what was important, we wouldn't have opened up so soon or capitalism tried to get back to normal so quickly.

That was important then, as much as for the lives lost as the lives plowing on. That was then. I hope we remember it now, what we got through.

So, every time people tell you about how horrific things are, look back then. We have gotten through much, much worse, my friends.

More after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: I still can't believe this, eight weeks from today, the midterm election.

The stakes have never been higher, right now at stake, control of Congress and how that could go.

Let's get the read right now from Republican pollster Chris Wilson.

Chris, if had you to hazard a guess right now, would Republicans hang onto the House? That's the gazillion-dollar question, I guess.

CHRIS WILSON, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER: Boy, it really.

And that's -- it's depends on how you calculate predictions here. If you look at it based on the party generic ballot, the president's favorability, then odds are Republicans lose the House. If you look at it based on the performance of the economy, odds are Republicans win the House.

It really depends on how you want to base your forecast, Neil. When it gets down to it, if the election were held today, I think Republicans would keep the House by a small margin. And, frankly, it's really a tossup. They could end up losing it by a large margin.

How is that for coming down real hard on one side or the other?

CAVUTO: No, you should run the other way. That's kind of my prediction. I think they lose some seats but I think they hang onto the House. I think they hang onto the Senate. So, you should run the other way from that prediction.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: But, you know, Chris, I am wondering why the economy isn't benefiting more. It still might. But I'm told, in midterm elections, it's less of a factor than the pent-up rage of the other side, because people enjoying a good economy are less inclined to go running out to the polls.

Those concerned either that they are not part of it or angry at the party in power that is are more likely to. What do you think?

WILSON: Yes, anger is a bigger motivator than acceptance or appreciation for the economy and the tax cuts that have by any measure made the economy better and created more jobs.

And we have more jobs right now needing to be filled than people who are looking for jobs. It's almost unprecedented in the economy. We are achieving unprecedented growth. And from that standpoint, you are right. Everything points to a situation in which voters should be rewarding Republicans, should be rewarding the president and turning out and giving them a bigger majority in the Senate and a bigger majority in the House.

But, right now, frankly, you are right, in that fear is more of a motivator and anger toward the party in power. And so I think Republicans have got to do a better job messaging on the economy and tax cuts is what it gets down to.

CAVUTO: All right, because on polls that are out, including one out today, CNN and some others, that seem to show happiness and contentment about the economy is very high.

WILSON: It is.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: ... for the president there. Less so his overall approval numbers, which dipped a little bit. Of course, this was all in the wake of the McCain funeral and everything else, and then some other concerns and the Woodward book, et al.

But what do you make of that and whether the president is a draw or drag on the midterms?

WILSON: Well, it depends. I mean, it is -- I have looked at several states where you have the president goes into a state like North Dakota or goes into a state like Montana and has a big impact on those races, helping the Republican nominee there.

And so I think there are a lot of places where the president is big help for -- overall for the candidate, for the Republican nominee, whereas there's other places where it probably wouldn't be in the candidate's best interest for the president to visit.

And so it's kind of -- I think they are being very strategic in their travel schedule. And it's smart, because there are a lot of places where he can be helpful, and that seems to be what -- where he is going as of the most recent campaign swings.

CAVUTO: All right. Thank you very, very much.

We will watch it closely, Chris Wilson, GOP pollster, joining us in our Washington bureau.

Of course, we're keeping you posted as well on this doozy of a storm, Florence, you know, not the only storm, but by far the most significant for the time being.

There are a cluster of these storms forming, and a lot of folks are wondering, they are all hitting at around the same time, but no more so than this one, which stands to affect fully a quarter of the American population. And it gets bigger and faster and meaner all the time.

What you have to do, whether you are in the director path of this or not.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: We are moments away from getting a briefing on Hurricane Florence, right now packing Category 4-size winds. How about Category 5 maybe hours from now, north of 150 miles per hour, with nothing to slow it or stop it?

We're on it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, by now, you are probably sick of superlatives being thrown at this storm, because it's in open and sort of uninterrupted waters, warm waters, at that, gaining steam, speed and danger. It's big. And it is Category 5 potentially big by later on today.

The former FEMA official Thomas Panuzio joins us right now.

Thomas, thank you for taking the time.

This is unusual, in that there's really...

THOMAS PANUZIO, FORMER FEMA OFFICIAL: Nice to be with you.

CAVUTO: Thank you, sir.

There is nothing that can slow it or even alter it for the time being. But what do you expect?

PANUZIO: Well, this is an extremely serious storm.

Residents, I am hoping, are going to evacuate, heed the warnings to evacuate immediately. We are going to have extremely dangerous winds, historic flooding, potentially. And the loss of life could be great.

And the best thing that everyone in North Carolina or South Carolina could do, in lieu of this storm, is to get to a safe shelter with your pets and ride out the storm there, where emergency officials can help you. Do not stay in your home.

CAVUTO: But a lot of people ultimately decide to do that. I was talking to a mayor in Wilmington, North Carolina, earlier, Tom. And his view was, well, we can't help you if you stay there. We will try to get to you later.

But a lot of people don't heed the advice. Maybe they are just put off and find it daunting that they would have to travel hundreds of miles inland, or they can't find a place right now. But wherever it is, a good many opt not to do that. What do you say to that?

PANUZIO: Well, I say, if you are going to ride out the storm, make sure you have certainly enough water and food for at least five to maybe seven days.

CAVUTO: Wow.

PANUZIO: Second, if your home begins to get flooded, turn off your electricity breaker. That could save your life.

And, third, do not try to navigate floodwaters, especially at night. A lot of people don't realize until the storm gets there -- that's it's as bad as it is. And then what they try to do at the last minute is try to get out. And that could be deadly. So, if you are going to stay, stay put.

CAVUTO: And it's very deadly for those who have to then rescue them or try to. Good luck on that. Right?

PANUZIO: Correct.

And, remember, most of these law enforcement and emergency officials are also going to be victims of this. This storm is -- could be 500 miles wide. But, like I said, stay safe, heed the evacuation warnings. I think this is going to be a historic storm. And I don't think anything is going to slow it down.

CAVUTO: All right. This is one case, Tom, where I hope you are wrong, but it doesn't look like you are. But thank you for taking the time, Thomas Panuzio.

PANUZIO: My pleasure, sir. Take care, Neil.

CAVUTO: To you as well, the former FEMA official.

Well, over the years, I have commemorated and looked look back at 9/11. There is one individual, one family's story that stays with me. And I was reminded of it yet again today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My grandfather, Ronald Carl Fazio Sr., you now have four grandchildren who never got the opportunity to meet you, but love you very much and never go a day without thinking you. We miss you, grandpa.

(APPLAUSE) (END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: Maybe because I worked down there for so long and I knew so many folks, and so many were guests on this show, over the years, looking back at the 9/11 attacks, each year, every year, there are so many stories of that day that hit me, but none, I really don't think, more than this next one.

I think, every ye, I had the pleasure of having him on my show. I watch him grow older and wiser. He lost his dad on 9/11. And the irony of Rob Fazio losing his dad on 9/11, it didn't have to be that way.

Ron was one of those who was doing his best to make sure everybody got out. And we found out proof that he had gotten -- gotten out himself, but he was holding the door open for everyone else to make sure they did. He went back to see that they were OK. And he lost his life.

And his son is here.

And one of the things I love about Rob and his beautiful family is, it's such a touching story. Rob, I remember, in the first few weeks there, when you didn't know your dad's fate, you would leave out Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

ROB FAZIO, LOST FATHER IN 9/11 ATTACK: Yes.

We would. You know, in very difficult times, sometimes, a moment of levity can help you do what you needed to do. And what we needed to do was to look for my dad.

CAVUTO: And he loved them, right?

FAZIO: He loved them. Had a heart condition, wasn't allowed to eat them.

(LAUGHTER)

FAZIO: I don't know if you know this, but a lot of people who aren't allowed to eat things actually go ahead and eat them.

CAVUTO: Tell me about it.

FAZIO: Yes.

CAVUTO: Right.

What was so magical about it, even to this day, you will go to the memorial site, and, oftentimes when I go there -- I have been there many, many times -- and I will see your dad, there's oftentimes some Reese's Pieces there or a Reese's Pieces Butter Cup.

Your daughter, who is all of two-and-a-half years old, is named Reese.

FAZIO: She is named Reese after my dad. And she loves mozzarella just as much as him.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: What about peanut butter or Reese's?

FAZIO: Oh, she loves those too. She actually shared with him one yesterday. We went down there, and she shared one. She actually didn't leave any behind. So she doesn't know the whole sharing thing yet, but we're working on it.

CAVUTO: Kind of like your dad. Kind of like your dad.

FAZIO: My dad.

CAVUTO: But you never gave up. I remember, initially, there was hope with so many people who left out pictures and signs and notes and anything.

But when did you find out for sure he didn't make it?

FAZIO: I remember the moment. It was probably one of the toughest moments in my life.

We were in our kitchen, and we had been talking with a lot of people, FBI, firemen, policemen. And they said that there was a chance he could be alive.

And we -- and The New York Times came out and they talked about where people were. And I said to my family, I said, and this is where he is. And someone said to me, "Rob, he is not there anymore."

And we talked to some doctors and realized that after three weeks he wasn't there anymore and he had passed. And that was a moment I will always hold dear to my heart, and what really started us focusing on what we're going to do next for him and to honor him.

CAVUTO: You know, it had to get your gut when you found out he had, in fact, gotten out, he was OK.

FAZIO: It did.

We knew that he was someone who would always put others first. So, it didn't surprise us. And the -- if you think about it, it's such an honor to know, in the last moments of his life, he chose to tell people to get out of the South Tower, when they were saying to stay in. And he chose to lend his cell phone to a stranger that called his wife.

We actually bumped into that woman today. She was reading alongside my niece, Breanna (ph). And she said, thank you. It was the last time her husband got to say I love you to his wife. And just beautiful memories.

And now we're really focusing on how, through his grandchildren, we can create more memories.

CAVUTO: But was your -- and you are always so polite and patient with this line of questioning. But I don't know whether I would be sad or bitter or angry or all of the above knowing my dad was safe and he put his life on the line, as your dad did, and died.

FAZIO: It is all of the above. And I make a choice. And I choose to feel that way and then to focus on what I think my dad would want, which is me spending my time and energy on helping people help themselves, as well as enjoying life.

I mean...

CAVUTO: Are you sure you are Italian?

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: No grudge?

FAZIO: I will tell you there is some downside to this whole thing.

(LAUGHTER)

FAZIO: My mom is no longer allowed to cook Italian meals on September 11, the meatballs and the sauces...

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: How is the family with everything?

FAZIO: They are doing well.

And I think what's beautiful is, we are seeing other people step up. My wife today took charge and said, you know what? We're going to ask for a day of giving. And just seeing her with this helpful program we do with Hold the Door for Others, using her expertise in communications and helping other people, we're reaching so many more people. And that's what's beautiful about September 11.

CAVUTO: When you go downtown now, it's very different. For those who haven't seen it since the Freedom Tower went up and a new station down there, it's become like a tourist Mecca, beyond just the tragedy.

But it's a live, vibrant place, much more so than it was in the days when the Trade Centers stood. What do you think your dad would think of it now?

FAZIO: I think he would actually be very pleased with the way New York and New Jersey did the memorial. That's a place where...

CAVUTO: It's stunning.

FAZIO: It's beautiful. And...

CAVUTO: And you just took your daughter there last night. Right?

FAZIO: We took her there last night. And then my wife said, let's go to the museum.

So, around 5:30, we went to the museum. And that's tougher. You know, it's more raw. But it's real. And I think they did a beautiful job with that as well.

CAVUTO: I always think, Rob -- and you I have talked about it -- that we all lose loved ones over the years. Many, sadly, have died over the years.

But you are reminded of it every year when they show those planes going into the towers and everything else. It's a constant reminder. It can't get easier. But do you just get used to it, or what?

FAZIO: Well, we have to use the wisdom that we learn from our research in helping people.

And so what I do is, I actually watch videos of September 11. I prepare for these things. It's not that it doesn't get me emotionally. It's just that I'm ready for it and I expect it.

And, yes, it is difficult, but you can't enjoy life if you don't know what suffering is.

CAVUTO: Do you -- I read a statistic. I was -- I don't even know if it's accurate, Rob, but something like a quarter of our population wasn't even born at the time, including my two sons.

FAZIO: Yes.

CAVUTO: And I'm thinking, wow, that's amazing. For them, it's just a history lesson.

What is it for Reese, for your daughter?

FAZIO: It's so much more than that.

At the museum, she sees my dad's picture, and she says, there is grandpa. And she knows. And she sees firemen and policemen and automatically says that they are helping people, no matter where we are in the country. And that's part of my dad's legacy. And that's pretty wonderful, if you ask me.

CAVUTO: It is.

You know, we talk of the thousands who died since, not only in war, but a lot of those officers and Port Authority workers who developed all sorts of cancers and ailments, since then, that eclipse even the number lost, including your dad, that day. It is staggering.

FAZIO: It is staggering.

And I'm grateful that there is help. I also think that there needs to be more help for people who were probably hesitant to try to seek help. So, we need to figure out a way to touch them. And there are some people that are -- feel too proud or feel guilty to get the help. But it's definitely needed.

And I hope more people can reach them, because what they went through and did in many ways is just as bad as what the families of 9/11 went through.

CAVUTO: I notice -- and I have talked to some over the years, and my production staff has, all the years we have been downtown and since, who are bitter and angry, and rightly so.

But I never got a trace of that from you or your family. And I can't understand that, even for a little bit. I never saw it.

FAZIO: Yes, it didn't hit me.

People ask me, are you angry at Usama bin Laden? And I say, I don't know Usama bin Laden, but I know people need help. And that's where we are really going to put our energy.

And, yes, I never went through that. And it's OK if people do get through that -- go through the anger. It's just that we don't want people to stay there, and we want them to use that anger in a positive way and realize that they can live a happy, healthy life and love people again and be connected.

CAVUTO: Real quickly, what would your dad think of his son and author, and author soon again, and a professor and a real smarty-pants?

(LAUGHTER)

FAZIO: He would probably tell me to stop talking so much.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Just have a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and shut up.

FAZIO: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: All right, Rob Fazio.

We will have more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: Well, the president has just been tweeting on this storm.

"The safety of the American people is high absolutely highest priority. Heed the direction of your state and local officials. Please be prepared, be careful and be safe."

Wise words, all there.

A lot of people are looking at this and this dangerous storm, thinking, well, thank goodness I'm not in harm's way, so I will be fine. Well, think again.

Susan Li on which prices go up and what could be affected whether you are in the path of this or not.

Hey, Susan.

SUSAN LI, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: And so, Neil, as Hurricane Florence approaches, we have residents on the Carolina coast, they are stockpiling on supplies, filling up their gas tanks, hopefully trying to get out of the evacuation zone.

And, as you know, when there is higher demand, generally, price do go up. So, gas prices in South Carolina are up 5 cents from a week ago. So, we're looking at $2.58 a gallon, according to AAA. Supplies are also dwindling. Almost 6 percent of Wilmington, North Carolina, gas stations are out of gas, according to the retail tracking service GasBuddy.

Now, GasBuddy is offering a free service on its app to track gas stations in the evacuation area, which shows which stations have supplies and which ones don't. It's a great resource for the 1.5 million that have been told to evacuate in those states.

Oil prices have also been surging over the past few days in anticipation of Florence' arrival, being lifted not only by drivers filling up their gas tanks, but also by concerns over infrastructure and how gas gets piped across states.

For instance, the Colonial Pipeline supplies gas, diesel, and other fuels from Houston to New York, and it runs through North Carolina. So given that the pipeline carries more than three million barrels a day, any disruption means supplies are short.

Its operator, though, is preparing for potential flooding, loss of power when Hurricane Florence hits, but says it's currently operating normally at this point.

We also have rental car companies like Hertz and Avis rallying today, with the thinking that most people or some people will rent more cars in order to drive away. Last year, during the Atlantic hurricane season, we saw shares of Hertz and Avis almost doubling. So, this might be a seasonal pattern.

But officials in the Carolinas, Virginia warning businesses that the state's price-gouging laws are in effect. So this includes necessities like lodging, gas and food. Price increases, we know, are expected, but if residents feel they are being ripped off, they should take a picture, note the price that they are paying, the difference in the price they are paying compared to elsewhere, and make a complaint -- Neil, back to you.

CAVUTO: You know, what type of people would take advantage of people at a time like this, you know?

LI: Hopefully, not many, hopefully.

CAVUTO: It always happens, though.

Susan, thank you very, very much.

LI: Yes.

CAVUTO: People should heed families like the Fazios dealing with crisis, but they are few and far between, aren't they?

The latest on this monster, where she is headed, and when -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: The National Hurricane Center has just issued an update right now on Florence.

Meteorologist Adam Klotz is now to join us on that.

Adam, what are we learning?

KLOTZ: Well, we're getting new information about the strength of this storm and even the track of this storm.

Here's what we're seeing. And we kind of expected this. You see how the eye of the storm there was a little disorganized just several hours ago? It's come back together. That indicates that it's strengthening once again. It went from 130 mile-an-hour winds up to 140 mile-an-hour winds.

And what we're going to see is this strengthening is going to continue at least for the next day or so. By the time we continue on, winds likely running up to 155 miles an hour. That is one mile an hour shy of a Category 5 storm. So we're going to be right on that borderline.

But as we continue to watch this track towards the coast here in the next couple of days, what you're going to notice is, it begins to slow down again as we make landfall. That's good news, still a monster storm.

The other thing we have noticed here in this most recent update is, while it moves very quickly to the coast of the Carolinas, it starts to slow down, and you start to see these updates getting real tight, these little lines.

The bad news there means the storm is slowing down right at the coastline, which means more rain potentially. When will it be making landfall? Well, the most recent update I saying right around noon on Friday. Again, there's still time for that to move a little bit. But it is slowing down when we hit the coast.

And when you talk about a storm that slows down when it hits the coast, that's when you start to talk about rainfall really beginning to pile up.

Here's another model of that, and just giving us an idea. It's too early to really pinpoint where these totals will be, but widespread spots getting up to 12 to 18 inches, Neil, spots in some locations 20 to 30 inches. That's the type of models we're getting.

So the trend has been picking up right now, and then maybe slowing down once it gets to the coast, which is bad news.

CAVUTO: Wow. And it goes quite a ways inland, too.

KLOTZ: Yes, it does.

CAVUTO: So, when you drive, I mean, you better keep driving. Keep going west.

All right, Adam Klotz, thank you very, very much.

We will be monitoring this, obviously, throughout the day here on Fox and tomorrow on all angles on this. But it is a massive storm here. And if they're telling you to get out of town, get out of town, and keep driving. Keep driving.

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