This is a rush transcript from "Your World," August 27, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, ANCHOR: Indeed, no change. Thank you, Shepard, very much.

Welcome, everybody. I'm Neil Cavuto.

My thanks as well to Charles Payne and Maria Bartiromo for filling in while I was out. Great job, as always, guys, and much appreciated.

And one day after the president's signaled the trade talks are back on, lingering doubts remain, as China talks are, well, at least talking about getting more goods from this country. But talk is cheap. Actions, that's another matter.

Rich Edson at the White House with the very latest.

Hey, Rich.

RICH EDSON, CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good afternoon, Neil.

And the U.S. and China say they're willing to keep negotiating on this, as these trade discussions have dragged on for months. Officials say they're expecting next month will be the next round of negotiations between the United States and China.

Markets have swung wildly on these trade developments. China claims President Trump is bullying, trampling trade rules and violating his agreement with President Xi Jinping. The Trump administration says China has walked back previous commitments, as they try to reach a deal where China gives American companies better access to its markets and stop stealing American trade secrets.

The president says, starting October 1, the U.S. will raise tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports from 25 to 30 percent. Tariffs on the remaining $300 billion will eventually go from 10 to 15 percent. Some of those tariffs, some of the items September 1, beverages, baby gear, produce, livestock, clothing, and pantry items. This all from USA Today.

On October 1, juices, personal care, seafood, nuts, fresh fruits, school supplies. And December 15, electronics, appliances, baby gear, personal care, pet toys, and musical instruments.

The president has also been targeting the Federal Reserve in all of this, did so again today earlier this afternoon, tweeting -- quote -- "The Federal Reserve loved watching our manufacturers struggle with their exports to the benefit of other parts of the world. Has anyone looked at what almost all other countries are doing to take advantage of the good old USA? Our Fed has been calling it wrong for too long."

The president has been pushing the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell responded last week, kind of threw this one back on the administration and said that the uncertainty around trade is what is really playing a role in slowing down the global economy -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Rich, thank you very much, my friend.

So, this trade situation, it is uncanny how the market is in lockstep with it. I have said on FOX Business, which, if you don't get, you should demand, that it's almost like an abusive relationship here that seizes on hope that we get a deal, then tumbles when there's ever a hint or comment or tweet from the president that we might not, or he's upping the ante or the Chinese are upping the ante.

So where's all this going? And are we a little too slavish to what happens on the trade front here? And is that to all our detriment?

Let's go to RealClearPolitics' Susan Crabtree and our market watchers Sam Stovall and Erin Gibbs.

Susan, my biggest concern is just, that we have this sort of Pavlovian response to trade, for good or ill, and yet nothing has really changed in the 18 months since all of this began.

SUSAN CRABTREE, REALCLEARPOLITICS: Right, I think we have a finite time period where the president can really make this stand, this last stand, before we head into the 2020 election season.

If you look at history, since World War II, there's only been two presidents that have run during a recession time, with recession on the horizon or people talking about that. It's really a risky strategy. You have Harry Truman and Jimmy Carter.

It was great for Harry Truman, not so good for Jimmy Carter. And Jimmy Carter was the incumbent in the situation, Harry Truman having benefited from FDR's role and his role of getting the country out of the deep Great Depression.

So I think it's a risky strategy going into 2020. If you look at China, they have their national celebration coming up October 1. This is really the last stand where President Trump can make -- really push this issue I think before that period. You're not going to see that much, I don't think, traction with this before October one.

It's kind of like when we lead up to our July 4. There's a lot of patriotism.

CAVUTO: Well, that's not good news. That's not good news.

And I think what it seizes on -- and, Sam, you can help me with this -- the market is sort of like the abused spouse that just refuses to leave, because some days you get some good news. Some days, you get the president talking about how optimistic he is that a deal could be had, or he staves off some tariffs that could kick in, instead of September 1, to December 15, and they start buying.

Then, all of a sudden, he slaps added tariffs or tariffs amounts on the Chinese. Then they tumble.

It's an unhealthy relationship, period, isn't it?

SAM STOVALL, CFRA INVESTMENT STRATEGIST: Oh, absolutely, Neil.

And maybe you can use another analogy. It's just like somebody pulling petals off of a daisy saying there will be a resolution, there won't be, there will be, there won't be.

And it makes it very hard for analysts to come up with earnings projections. What they really have to do is pay more attention to what management is now saying, because a lot of the economic projections are up in the air because of what might happen or what might not happen.

CAVUTO: You know, Erin, there are a lot of factors that influence the stock market. You always remind me that the rest of the world and interest rates going down, that's a worry.

But almost everything these days is seen through the prism of trade, close to a deal or not close to a deal. And I'm wondering if that's a healthy development, period, even when we hopefully get to the point where we do have a deal.

What do you think?

ERIN GIBBS, GIBBS WEALTH MANAGEMENT: So I think, particularly for August, it's been exceptionally unhealthy. We have seen volatility really spike.

And so particularly on any of these low trading volume days, where you get these massive swings, it just creates more investor fear. And, therefore, we're more concerned about what is looking ahead, and investors are more cautious about getting into the market.

So I think particularly in this past month of August, where we have seen these bigger swings, I think it really creates a certain amount of sentiment that makes it really hard for companies to get investors to come in for companies that are actually making money.

And, again, the same projections, it's even -- to your analogy of an abusive relationship, I think the companies are should have the children where they're having to watch this. And they're also fearful because they don't know what's going to happen next quarter.

CAVUTO: And that's what worries me, Susan, this notion -- and you touched on it at the outset here -- that we respond to the slightest hint of progress and pounce on the slightest signs that maybe we were -- we were misplayed on that.

And it could just via a presidential tweet or a comment out of the Chinese, no, we had no such phone calls that we could remember with trade counterparts in the United States. The president insists that they did.

It adds to the confusion. I'm not saying one side is right and the other is wrong. I'm just saying everyone's confused.

CRABTREE: That's right.

The president is very mercurial in the situation. That's mainly been his strategy. But you know that saying about him that you should take him seriously, but not literally, it doesn't really work with the markets, because they take him very literally, everything he says, like you said.

It swings wildly.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Does he know that? Does he know that his constant vacillating -- because I'm not here to criticize.

I'm just saying that he's been all over the map on some of these trade issues. Yes, we're talking to the Chinese. No, we're not talking to the Chinese. Yes, I'm extending the deadline for some tariffs. No, I'm going to hike those tariffs right now.

It's sort of like a bad Abbott and Costello skit. Right?

CRABTREE: Well, I think that we do have a finite period where this can go on, this fall up until December.

I don't think the Republicans are going to be very happy with him come January, if they don't know where the market is heading and where the economy is heading.

But I do feel like there's a little irony here -- there on the Democratic side, because you have people like Bernie Sanders, who I have covered for years, and Elizabeth Warren, who have taken very big stands on trade, and - - in the past.

CAVUTO: Yes.

CRABTREE: And they say that they would have put impose sanctions. It's just that they don't like the way Trump is doing it.

Well, push comes to shove, and you're the president, and you have to make some hard decisions. This could be President Trump's last time period where he could do this before the election. So maybe he's trying to create a little bit of negotiating room, and we will see what happens. We will see what happens.

CAVUTO: Maybe that is it. No, maybe that is it.

Sam, do you think if we don't get a deal by the election, that's bad news for the president?

STOVALL: I think it'll be bad news for the president, because, really, what he's attempting to do, in my opinion, is to force the Fed's hand by having them be aggressively easing interest rates at the September meeting, again by the end of this year, et cetera.

And I just find that trying to put the trade on the sidelines in order to play the Fed, maybe that will deliver a stay of execution. But I really think that we need a trade deal in order to postpone a recession.

CAVUTO: All right, guys, I want to thank you.

Some breaking news we're following, so I'm cutting this short.

We have already heard the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, now has responded to President Donald Trump's willingness to have a meeting. He's apparently just quashed the prospects -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, maybe it was just a tease, but it looks like any hopes of a meeting between the president of the United States and his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, well, they're off right now, because Rouhani apparently says the only way a powwow will happen between the two is if the U.S. drops these sanctions, and now.

Republican, Senate Armed Services Committee member Senator Tillis, Thom Tillis, with us right now.

Senator, always good to have you. Thank you.

SEN. THOM TILLIS, R-N.C.: Good to be back, Neil.

CAVUTO: I guess it was Emmanuel Macron's way of trying to reach the two sides and say, all right, you know, Rouhani is right here. He's open to this idea. Are you?

And, obviously, it all evaporated. Should there be a meeting?

TILLIS: Well, I think I follow the president's lead on trying to engage in some of these rogue states that we would like to at least start a dialogue with, try to normalize relations.

That's what he's trying to do with North Korea. I think, by the same token, his maximum pressure strategy is an important strategy, because Iran hasn't shown any evidence of their continued investments -- or ending their continued investments in terror.

We're talking about Iranian government dollars going to terrorist organizations across the globe. And I think the president's right in applying pressure, but also encouraging dialogue.

CAVUTO: So, when the president said, sure, I would be open to it, if they think it will work, it'd be fine, what was he talking about?

TILLIS: Well, I'm not really sure.

I think that the president is one who negotiates in his own style. He's trying to get people talking. When people are talking, there's at least a chance of bridging the gap.

When we isolate, go into our corners, we make no progress.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: No, there's no doubt about that, Senator. I'm not besmirching you or the president on this.

TILLIS: Yes.

CAVUTO: But Republicans were mighty critical of the Obama administration reaching out to the Iranians. And this just seems kind of like that.

TILLIS: Well, I think what -- what -- the concern that we had with the Iranian deal is that it wasn't one that I thought would produce the outcome that the president was seeking.

CAVUTO: Right.

TILLIS: What we're trying to do is make sure we have a non-nuclear Iran, and we have an Iran that stops investing in terror, stops making incursions into Syria and a number of other countries that are not in our best interest.

CAVUTO: So would that be a precondition for you, Senator, with setting up any meeting with the leader there, and unless you get that, no meeting?

TILLIS: Well, I think that the -- the president is trying to normalize relations and trying to reduce the tensions in the region.

And at this point, I'm going to give the president a lot of leeway, in the same way that I'm giving the president a lot of leeway in China to try to get a situation that, in Iran's case, is just reducing tensions and risk in the region, in China's case, getting us on a level playing field for trade purposes.

CAVUTO: Are you confused, Senator, over the back and forth with the Chinese over whether they called the president or his team, or the president misgauged that? I mean, someone is zooming someone here.

What do you think of it?

(LAUGHTER)

TILLIS: Well, Neil, what I'm not confused by is the risk that China represents to the United States and the free world.

I view China through several different lenses. And I have less information than the president has available. I view them through the lens as the subcommittee chair on Intellectual Property and Judiciary, where they are very clearly guilty of intellectual property theft.

I view them through the lens as the chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel.

CAVUTO: Right.

TILLIS: I have had hours of briefings on the threats from China.

I think the president is trying to recognize that, if we don't get to a good relationship with them on trade, they're going to use those resources to ultimately achieve their strategy for dominating the world globally and militarily by 2050.

All people in the United States and the free will -- world should take that threat very seriously.

(CROSSTALK)

TILLIS: And I'm not discounting at all...

CAVUTO: But the president has been saying that the tariffs are working and that China's paying for them.

As you know, I think it's fair to say that the Chinese don't pay these. American consumers, American operations do. They will absorb that before they pass it along.

But do you think he is not helping Americans get ready for the possibility they could get zoomed here?

TILLIS: Well, I think there's always that risk.

But if we take a look at the long-term risk of not getting it right with a president who's willing to stand up to them, we can go back to the old ways, which is increasing currency in China used to actually fuel their economic and military aspirations.

Sooner or later, we have got to recognize the two are intertwined. If they are -- if we're the near peer competitor to China in 2050, we will look back at this time, having not taken strong action, as probably a missed opportunity.

We have to get -- there's no question in my mind that the stock market volatility you talked about in the last segment is about the varying messages that we get in the discussions with China.

But, at the end of the day, we think in quarters and year-ends. China thinks in decades. And we -- I firmly believe that China is hoping to wait out this president. I firmly am going to work hard to get him reelected, so that we have four more years to give China an opportunity to come to the table and trade fairly, or there has to be a consequence for it.

The consequences for the free world and the United States are dire 25 years from now. Now's the time to act.

CAVUTO: All right, looks like they're waiting him out, right?

TILLIS: I think so.

CAVUTO: All right. We will see.

Senator, thank you very, very much. Always good seeing you.

TILLIS: You too, Neil.

CAVUTO: All right.

Well, you got to wonder. A company like Johnson & Johnson pays more than half-a-billion dollars in a case on opioids. And a lot of people are wondering why the stock was up again today. It was up yesterday. Pharmaceutical stocks are climbing through all of this.

What do they see that others do not and what are doctors seeing that others do not?

After this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: Who cares if it's 570-million-dollars-plus?

Johnson & Johnson's still up today after an Oklahoma judge cracked down on the company over opioids. The punishing drug companies that you would expect from this has not materialized yet, at least in their stocks, on the belief that, well, those fines could have been a lot higher.

Family physician Jen Caudle joins us right now.

Doctor, your concerns go way beyond, though, what the companies might or might not have to pay out. It gets back to doctors. Could you explain?

DR. JEN CAUDLE, FAMILY PHYSICIAN: You know, Neil, and I think that this is an issue that involves lots of places and lots of people and lots of things, including doctors.

I have to say, when I first heard the verdict, I was surprised, but I have to say pleasantly surprised to be honest with you. And as a family doctor, what I want is I want us to look at all sides of the coin, and really make right the wrongs that we have seen that -- on the pharma side, but, as you mentioned, on the doctor's side.

Doctors have a role in this too, in terms of how we prescribe opioids, if we're educating our patients, if we're prescribing them properly. But there are also other elements too, law enforcement, how we educate the public and patients and other things.

So it's a complex issue. It's not just one thing. But am I happy to see the direction that it seems that we're going? Yes, I am.

CAVUTO: You know, Doctor, the argument has been made that this is very similar to the tobacco crisis some decades back, where we later learned that the tobacco companies were well aware of the addictive nature of their product.

And these companies, the pharmaceutical companies, are well aware of the addictive nature of some of their products, and that they would push it as hard as they could. Did you ever discover that? Did you ever discover, in dispensing of such medications, opioids now, as they're known, that the company was really telling you, here you go, here you go, here you go?

CAUDLE: Yes, so it's interesting.

When I was coming up in medical school and residency, I literally came up in the era in the early 2000s, where we were taught that pain is the fifth vital sign. I remember being on rounds in the hospital and literally being told to ask the patient, are they in pain, how much pain are they in, and to treat the pain?

Now, do I remember pharmaceutical reps literally coming up to me saying, hey, prescribe this OxyContin, oxycodone? No, I don't have those experiences.

But I did grow up in medicine at a time where, literally, I saw this huge insurgence of opioids being prescribed over and over and over by multiple medications. And now I'm on the other side of this, after 10, 15 years in this industry.

I'm now seeing we're on the other side trying to say, wait a minute, hold up. This is not the right way to go. Doctors, we need to back up. Hey, let's look at the addictive nature of this.

So while I didn't have personal experiences of pharmacy companies coming up to me personally, I lived in that environment. I lived in that era where I saw more pain medications than I ever thought I actually would.

CAVUTO: Interesting.

All right, Doctor, thank you for taking the time, Dr. Jen Caudle, a family physician, Rowan University associate out of Philadelphia.

All right, in the meantime, Lindsey Graham said something the other day that I thought was very profound when it came to this ongoing battle with the Chinese, that Americans should be prepared to accept pain that comes to standing up with the Chinese.

Now, the president hasn't said that. Others are saying that there's not much to make of that. Why did he say that?

We will ask him, because Lindsey Graham is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: See these lines at a KFC near Atlanta wrapping around the building?

It's a KFC featuring plant-based chicken, the latest meat alternative craze. I understand that the plant version tastes just like chicken.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, the president calling his G7 meeting a success. Now he's hoping for another win. Trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping could be set to resume. Everyone waiting to see what comes of them.

Republican Senator of South Carolina Lindsey Graham with us right now.

Senator, good to have you.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, R-S.C.: Thank you, Neil. Thank you.

CAVUTO: Senator, I caught your remarks over the weekend. And you were talking, I think on CBS' "Face the Nation," about, we have just got to accept the pain that comes with standing up to China.

I got what you were saying, that tariffs don't come cheap, it will eventually be passed on, and that we have got to get it right. But I think you were saying the greater good is keeping up the fight.

But I don't know if a lot of Americans know that they're going to soon be feeling that. Do they?

GRAHAM: Well, I think the president knows that if you surrender to China's cheating, it will devastate our economy and the world economy over time.

So, the price to standing up to China, I think, is a lot less than just giving into China. The tariffs are a tool. Nobody likes it as policy, but I don't see how you make China change their behavior until there's a consequence to what they're doing.

That's why we have the tariffs.

CAVUTO: So, Senator, when the president says he loves tariffs, and he's gotten better than $30 billion...

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: ... from the Chinese because of those tariffs, what do you think of that?

GRAHAM: Well, tariffs are generating revenue. He's sharing some of that money with the farmers that have been hard-hit. But tariffs, as a policy over time, I don't really like, because it does eventually go to the consumer.

But here's what I do like. I do like the idea that President Trump, unlike every other president, is actually doing something about China's cheating.

You know, I liked President Bush a lot, tried to work with President Obama. President Trump has designated China as a currency manipulator, when the other two presidents refused to do so, because they are.

And these tariffs are designed to get China to buy more of our products. The $500 billion trade deficit means that China is selling us $500 billion more than they buy from us. And the tariffs are trying to level that playing field, but mainly to change their business practices, which are way out of line with international norms.

CAVUTO: You're right about that.

But I'm just wondering if the president is potentially deceiving people into thinking that China's paying for this, and not them.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Now, I know what he says and what you just said about devaluing your currency to absorb that.

GRAHAM: Yes. Yes.

CAVUTO: But the fact of the matter is, it's American entities who are sucking that up, some passing that to consumers, other not.

The latest wave that takes effect September 1, as you know, Senator, could be immediate, these up-to-15 percent tariffs that will affect school supplies and a host of other items. Are you worried that the president's not conveying that?

GRAHAM: Well, I'm worried that we will -- that we won't stand behind the president.

I'm trying to be honest with folks. Listen, the steel and aluminum tariffs have hurt BMW. They have hurt...

CAVUTO: Right.

GRAHAM: They have hurt Boeing. But the reason we are doing this is because China in one year, Neil, produced more steel than the entire world consumed.

So Trump is pushing back against Chinese dumping of steel and aluminum to give us a chance to recreate our steel and aluminum industry.

The intellectual property theft. If you go to China, they require you to have a Chinese business owner to do business in China. They steal your intellectual property and try to put you out of business. State-owned enterprises -- steel companies, the largest cost is power generation.

The Chinese government pays the power bill for Chinese steel mills. There's no difference between the Chinese army, the business community, and government. They're all one and the same. And this president is really hurting China, because the supply chain, Neil, is beginning to relocate.

Because of these tariffs, it is now more expensive to do business in China. So people are looking to alternatives to the Chinese supply chain, which will devastate their economy over time.

CAVUTO: All right, well, they appear to be waiting it out.

GRAHAM: Yes.

CAVUTO: But, Senator, your colleague Roy Blunt warned that farmers are the ones caught in the broadside of this, even with some of that money, that tariff money that's been credited to them.

GRAHAM: Right.

CAVUTO: He said: "They can feel it. The farming community up until now has really supported the president without flinching, but, eventually, you flinch."

He's worried they're already flinching. Are you?

GRAHAM: Well, let me tell you to our farmers here in South Carolina, either you're going to fight China or you're not.

And I hate it, for the fact that the farm community suffers the most. No matter who you get in a trade dispute with, the first thing that goes is they start hitting farm products. Everybody wants to buy farm products made in America, so they do a lot of business in China.

But how do you get China to change their currency manipulation, their intellectual property theft, state-owned enterprises competing with the private sector? How do you do that, unless you push back?

So, to the farmers, it's either pay now or pay later when it comes to China. They're going to destroy the American economy and there will be nobody here really able to buy your products.

So the textile industry was destroyed by China here in South Carolina. One day, commodities are going to come back in America if we push back against China. I know commodities go where the labor is the cheapest and all that good stuff.

CAVUTO: Right.

GRAHAM: But if -- they're not outworking us, Neil. They're just cheating us out of market share. They're cheating Europe out of market share. God bless Donald Trump for finally doing something about China.

Let me tell you about South Carolina. We have got his back here when it comes to fighting back against China.

CAVUTO: He likened Xi Jinping last week to Jerome Powell, put them on the same enemy of the U.S. sort of pedestal.

(LAUGHTER)

GRAHAM: Yes. Yes.

CAVUTO: He's since dialed that back a little bit.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: But not when it comes to Jerome Powell.

He -- obviously, he regrets hiring the guy, thinks he compounded the problems we're having.

GRAHAM: Yes.

CAVUTO: What do you think of the job Jerome Powell is doing?

GRAHAM: Listen, the Fed is supposed to be an independent agency outside of politics. That has served us well over time.

If we could lower interest rates a little bit more, it would help. But it's no substitute for changing China's systematic abuse of trade laws.

I would like them to be in the WTO as a developed nation. If you cut interest rates...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Yes, but, Senator, the reason why I mentioned it, that -- what is important here is, he's citing the Federal Reserve chairman. He needs all the friends he can get on this matter, right?

And if the chairman has expressed a willingness to absorb the body blows of this trade war by cutting interest rates...

GRAHAM: Yes. Yes.

CAVUTO: ... and then he compares the guy to practically an enemy of the state like Xi Jinping...

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: ... that's a little weird, isn't it?

GRAHAM: Yes, well, it's -- here's the point.

The Federal Reserve, if they cut interest rates, will help us with the trade conflict with China.

But here's the point. And you're far smarter than I will ever hope to be about this. If China continues to systematically manipulate and steel intellectual property, manipulate the value of the yuan against every other currency...

CAVUTO: Right.

GRAHAM: ... have state-owned enterprises, there's nobody in the world can stand up to that.

So they are more vulnerable than we are over time. Yes, the farmers are going to feel it. I wish we had lower interest rates. But we have got to hang in there and see this through, because if you don't change the way they do business, it's just a matter of time.

CAVUTO: No, I agree with you on all that. I understand the method of what you're saying and outlining it the way you just did.

GRAHAM: Good.

CAVUTO: But, Senator, the one thing that just surprised me is that the president blaming sort of the bumpiness that we have been having...

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: ... on the Federal Reserve.

GRAHAM: Yes.

CAVUTO: And the Federal Reserve is responding to the trade war that, maybe for all the right reasons, he started, right?

GRAHAM: Well, the president is a street fighter. If he thinks you're not doing something in his interest or the country's interest, he is going to push back.

But the Federal Reserve chairman is thinking about lowering interest rates even more. That's a good thing. But here's the point I'm trying to make to you and your viewers.

Every president before Trump complained about China cheating. Every Democrat has been advocating for us to stand up to China because they cheat us out of market share. They're not smarter than we are. They don't work harder than we do. They're a Communist Party command-control economy that cheats the American work force.

Now Trump is doing what everybody said we should do.

CAVUTO: All right.

GRAHAM: They are a currency manipulator for the first time, because Trump said they were.

CAVUTO: All right, Senator, always good having you. Thank you for taking the time.

(LAUGHTER)

GRAHAM: Thank you.

CAVUTO: Lindsey Graham.

GRAHAM: Thank you.

CAVUTO: All right.

All right, guess what Puerto Rico is looking at? Another storm. Guess how soon? Try possibly tomorrow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: Here we go again.

Puerto Rico declaring a state of emergency, as a strengthening tropical storm barrels toward the island.

AccuWeather broadcaster Erin Calandra with the latest on how bad things could get.

What are you seeing there?

ERIN CALANDRA, ACCUWEATHER METEOROLOGIST: Well, right now, all eyes are on Tropical Storm Dorian.

And it is pushing away from the Windward Islands, winds around 50 miles per hour. It's moving slowly to the west-northwest at 13 miles per hour.

Here is the track. We expect it to reach the southwestern part of Puerto Rico Thursday, early and then heading toward Hispaniola and eventually through the Bahamas toward Florida.

Now, once this storm reaches warm water, we will see less wind shear in the atmosphere and we will also see less dry air. And that's going to give U.S. good conditions to see strengthening. We could see this develop into a Category 1 hurricane.

Now, here are the impacts for Dorian's risks. We expect to see localized flooding, damaging winds and an AccuWeather real impact scale of 1. What does that mean? Localized flooding, limited property damage, wind gusts up to about 80 miles per hour. And we could see up to eight inches of rain -- back to you.

CAVUTO: Wow.

Erin, thank you, Erin Calandra on all of that.

In the meantime, vegan meat now going way beyond just burgers. Wait to you KFC this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, it's officially a rage.

Look at it, crowds lining up outside KFC's new vegan fried chicken restaurant. It was an Atlanta store, lines wrapping around the block. This push for plant-based foods is apparently here to stay.

Again, we're told that this plant-based chicken tastes, well, just like chicken.

Nutritionist Vandana Sheth joins me right now.

I'm looking at this, and I'm wondering, this craze is for real, but from your perspective, as a nutritionist, is it better than the meat alternative?

VANDANA SHETH, REGISTERED DIETITIAN NUTRITIONIST: You know, plant-based foods are definitely here to stay. And they can be healthy. They are lower in saturated fat.

But these foods are still fried. So we want to make them an occasional food. It's an indulgence food. They can be good for our environment, they can be good for our health, but just keep in mind that it's not like eating fruits and vegetables and whole grains and beans.

CAVUTO: Yes, I mean, I have tasted some of the burgers of that type.

And the one thing I noticed is, it certainly tastes like the real McCoy, and actually better than the real McCoy. But I don't know what's in it, just that it tastes really good. Am I making the right nutritional choice? What do you think?

SHETH: So, when it comes to research, what we know is that red meat consumption has been linked -- at least increased red meat consumption has been linked to potentially increasing our risk for certain types of cancer, specifically colorectal cancer and certain other types.

So if we are trying to cut back on some of our red meat consumption, these might be nice transition foods to get in.

CAVUTO: So what about if you're looking for a chicken alternative?

In other words, you want to go full vegan all the time, no meat of any sort? What do you think?

SHETH: Possibly it can fit into your lifestyle, but, again, as an occasional treat. Hopefully, you're eating a variety of foods.

CAVUTO: That's a lifestyle that I don't want to lead, right? It's not my idea of a lifestyle.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: But some do who actually care about how they look.

But what do you think?

SHETH: I do think it's important to enjoy a variety of foods. If you want the real thing, go for the real thing. But if you're trying to cut back on animal protein, these might be exciting. These might be good options. They can be lower in saturated fat, but they are still fried, so enjoy them occasionally.

CAVUTO: You know, Vandana, maybe you can help me with this.

They say that if there are natural ingredients used, and not chemicals, all is good with that, no matter how they're mixed and varied. Is that true, I mean, that natural ingredients even combined in ways to make, for example, a burger look like it's bloody and then rare and all that, that's still better than having chemicals or anything processed in there? Is it?

SHETH: You know, again, it's a catch-22.

There are people who enjoy their meat. But if you're at risk for heart disease, is if you have a family history for heart disease, and we know research connects increased intake of red meat to increase your risk for certain types of cancers, then these might be better for you.

They are a good source of protein. They are a good source of plant-based protein, but they're still processed. And that's why I said these can be part of your lifestyle, but not on a daily basis, not multiple meals a day.

CAVUTO: You know, a doctor told me everything in moderation, everything in moderation. That's what it comes down to. Do you agree with that?

SHETH: I agree. It's not a sexy message, but that's the case, right?

You enjoy a variety of foods, lots of whole grains, beans. Enjoy that burger. Plant-based can shift you towards eating more plant-based foods. These might be good products to try.

CAVUTO: All right, thank you very much, Vandana.

Vandana Sheth is a registered dietitian. She knows of what she speaks, nutritionist extraordinaire out of Los Angeles.

Well, I know that a lot of you missed me while I was gone. I have got the proof, kind of, right after this.

Be kind. Just be kind.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: I'm back, but let's just say a lot of you aren't exactly thrilled that I am back.

Thomas via Yahoo: "I heard you were just on vacation and had not died. Sad."

Canton in New Rochelle: "I absolutely loved your being away. Maria Bartiromo is a stunner, and Charles Payne is everything you want in an anchor, solid, dependable, unflappable, and, most importantly, not you."

Really?

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Vinny in the Bronx: "Yes, my name is Vinny. And you have a problem that I live in the Bronx? Then I have a problem with you, Cavuto? Who do you think you are?"

I don't even know this guy.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: "Charles Payne? I think not, my pudgy pal."

Pudgy, Vinny? Who you calling pudgy?

And, P.S., I had no idea you were from the Bronx until you pointed it out.

Donald in Washington, D.C. Wait a minute. Not that Donald in Washington, D.C.: "Hickory, dickory, dock, something wonderful was happening at 4:00. The Grim Reaper was gone. Charles Payne was on. And viewers began to fly."

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: That is pretty good.

Anne and Bill in Waymart, Pennsylvania. I know Waymart very well: "You might recall bumping into us when we were visiting your FOX headquarters last month. You were so kind and gracious and even let us take a picture with you afterwards. We both said, he's not nearly as smug and sassy in person as he is on the air. And you're very funny too. Welcome back."

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Well, thanks for welcoming me back.

Another couple, Barry and Lee, not so smitten: "As much as we don't like it when you fact-check the president, you are consistent, consistently wrong and stupid, but consistent just the same."

Well, thanks for that.

Peter S. via AT&T: "How nice it was to have a vacation from Cavuto. No negative globalist Trump bashing, those snide remarks from somebody whose cheeks look like they are filled with Cheetos."

Really? They're Ring Dings, but whatever.

"Just professionals who weren't dull, weren't depressing and most of all weren't you."

You can always take the channel thing and just flip.

Anyway, Porter e-mails: "Long time no write. Longer time no fan. I only returned when I had hoped you never were returning. My bad. Back to the Cartoon Network for me."

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Why am I not surprised? You might find that more your speed, Porter.

Then there's Jim in Cedar Rapids, who writes: "Welcome back, my friend. The others do an OK job of filling in for you. But when you're gone, the show becomes a snoozer, even though you make me so mad that sometimes I would like to reach through the screen and slap you and also sit here and call you names. You are still the best news show on TV."

Well, that's the closest I got to good mail.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Anyway, Sonia in Atlanta writes: "I know you have faced a lot of health challenges and overcome more than most of us will ever know. But that's no excuse for being a jerk, questioning our president and just being obnoxious to all your guests. Did you ever think that maybe God's a Republican and hates you?"

No, I never thought of that, Sonia. So when I questioned his Democratic predecessor also piling up debt, does that mean God isn't affiliated with either party? Just asking.

To Sharon from New Orleans, who writes: "You know the best part about you being out, Cavuto? Hoping, praying you might never come back" -- as if I have not heard that before.

Kipp e-mails: "It's not just that you're a never-Trumper. It's just that you're never happy. It's like you're always on a diet, even though I know you can't be in this case, because you're always the same slothful stiff. Got to be something else, right?"

Well, got to be, Kipp, right? Why with the weight thing? I don't know.

Anyway, Charles just misses, well, Charles, e-mailing this timely smackdown: "Charles is a natural. You are not. Charles knows his stuff. You do not. Charles looks great in his beautiful suits. You look like you're trying out for the cast of 'Guys and Dolls' and just failed to make the cut."

You have written before, because the "Guys and Dolls" analogy, I have heard before.

Paula e-mails: "FOX is 20 times better without you."

Kim: "Charles and Maria make 'Your World' 10 times better than with you."

Well, it beats 20 times.

Alex via SBC: "My German shepherd has 15 times more common sense than you, and I can understand him better."

All right. I have a German shepherd. And she loves me. Ask yours. Probably feels the same way, but is afraid to admit it.

And, by the way, you're spending a tad too much time talking to your German shepherd.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Fortina writes: "OK, Cavuto, what is the difference between your show without you vs. you? I watch it when you're not there."

Hmm.

And, Fortina, pretend that I'm not -- I'm not here, because if that's the stopper for you, just close your eyes.

Anyway, O'Brien e-mails: "You know what I don't like about you, Cavuto? Everything."

Well, you know what I like about you, O'Brien? Nothing. So we just evened out. Thanks for writing.

And Sara gets a kick out of all the fuss just the same: "What I like about you, Cavuto, is you get crap from both sides. It's nice to see fair and balanced in action. Everyone hates you."

Well, there is that.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Alexis e-mails: "I, for one, am offended you get so much hate mail. Having worked in the broadcast business myself for years, I can tell you that a typical e-mail reflects the views of at least 10 others, which means lots and lots of viewers loathe you, and that's just not nice."

No, it isn't. But thanks for reminding me.

And also, apparently, I'm worse than I even thought. And that's worse, the worst.

Michael via Verizon.net: "I will give you this much, Cavuto. No matter what life throws at you -- and I have followed you for decades, my friend, from your heart surgery."

Oh, did I tell you about that?

"And your battles with cancer and M.S., no matter what, you're always smiling, always joking, always laughing. It kind of creeps me out. But it impresses me too. It's like I told my girlfriend. This dude has no idea how depressed he should be."

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: You know, my dad used to say, you might as well laugh at yourself, because God knows everyone else is.

You guys prove it every day right there.

But, for me, he would add this pearl of wisdom: "Stay humble. In your case, Neil, it will come in handy."

He'd laugh. I would laugh. But the point was, we both enjoyed the lead, no matter the ebbs and flows of life.

Maybe it's because of something my Irish mom used to say: "Life is short, but that doesn't mean you have to be, son."

My mom and dad are long gone, but, you know, not a day goes by that I don't marvel how much they practiced what they preached. They endured the Great Depression, but, ironically, with wonderful memories, and even more wonderful laughs. I can hear them now.

As a kid, I used to ask them how they could look back on those days, when money was tight and steak was considered a luxury, and each worked multiple jobs growing up just to help out at home. They tell me about gathering around the radio for the rare times they had breaks to listen to Jack Benny.

"He was so funny," my mom would say. "Good times," my dad would add.

"And, besides," my dad said, "if you didn't laugh, well, you would just cry."

So they laughed and laughed and laughed. It was their tonic.

And now there's a study out that says it's life tonic as well, that looking at the half-full glass of life actually improves your life, sometimes even extends your life. It's true.

According to a study just out from the National Academy of Sciences, men and women with the highest levels of optimism also tended to have the highest lifespans. The more upbeat in life, the more years you add to your life, up to 15 percent longer than their grumpier counterparts.

Specifically, the study found that the most optimistic women had about one- and-a-half times greater odds of living to 85 or more, about the same for upbeat men.

Now, there are a lot of variables to this, including this consistent constant, focusing more on good things than bad things. That's what unites this group. Apparently, it focuses the mind on focusing on the body, taking care of it and the attitude that comes with it, something like that.

Such optimistic individuals also tend to make others optimistic as well. You see, good attitudes are contagious as bad attitudes, and could explain why it's human nature for us to gravitate to the guy who makes us laugh than the guy who makes us scowl, not all the time.

And this study doesn't even apply, maybe not most of the time, but enough times for enough folks that maybe the added years don't matter as much as how they live those years. That's why they're optimistic. They choose to be.

Maybe that's why my mom laughed and my dad laughed, and they made us laugh, and laugh at ourselves. It sure beats the alternative.

That's why I laugh at myself, so you don't have to.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Not because I'm trying to beat you to the punch, but just enjoying being the punchline, even when I am again and again the punchline, especially when I'm that punchline.

You see, the way I look at it, I could actually get depressed thinking that maybe you're right, I am fat, or calorically challenged, or vulnerable, preferring instead to think that the camera adds 50 pounds, even if it doesn't.

The joke never gets old, even as I do. But I just might outlive you, at that.

Have a great night.

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