Two FBI agents gunned down serving search warrant in child porn case

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Two FBI agents gunned down serving search warrant in child porn case

FOX News correspondent Phil Keating has the latest from Sunrise, Fla. on 'Special Report'

This is a rush transcript from "Special Report" February 2, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR (on camera): Jesse is that a Doberman? All
right. Anyway, thank you, Dana. Good evening, I'm Bret Baier.

Breaking tonight, we are covering three big stories. The battle lines are
becoming clear for next week's impeachment trial. Democrats will say
President Trump aimed a mob of supporters like a loaded cannon at the U.S.
Capitol last month. Trump lawyers will argue the Senate has no authority to
try him now that he has left the White House.

The current occupant of the Oval Office President Biden announcing a review
of the immigration system as he seeks to reverse Trump border policies. One
day after hosting Republicans for COVID relief talks, as the sides remain
more than a trillion dollars apart.

As Dana mentioned, in just a few minutes we will speak exclusively with a
man with a lot of power in Washington nowadays, West Virginia Democratic
Senator Joe Manchin.

But first, we begin in Florida where two FBI agents were killed while
trying to serve a warrant today. It's the first time a bureau agent has
been killed in the line of duty in more than 10 years. Correspondent Phil
Keating is on the scene in Sunrise, Florida. Good evening, Phil.

PHIL KEATING, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Good evening,
Bret. It all went down just after six this morning a brutal, brazen and
tragic incidents inside that apartment complex behind me. Five FBI agents
were shot, two of them fatally.

Just minutes ago, the FBI down here called this a very dark day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE PIRO, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, FBI MIAMI: We are saddened by their
loss as we struggle to come to terms with what happened.

However, as we grieve their loss, we will continue the mission to protect
the American people.

KEATING (voice over): The federal agents showed up to the subjects
apartment before dawn for what was planned to be a surprise serving of a
search warrants in an ongoing child pornography case.

Instead of nonchalantly answering his door, the subject grabbed his gun and
started shooting. The two agents killed taken from the hospital to the
Broward County Medical Examiner's Office, with American flags draped over
their bodies, and a solemn line of fellow agents and local officers
saluting and paying grim respects.

In Washington, FBI Director Christopher Wray stated: Every day, the Federal
Bureau of Investigation special agents put themselves in harm's way to keep
the American people safe. Special Agent Alfin and Special Agent
Schwartzenberger exemplified heroism today in defense of their country. The
FBI will always honor their ultimate sacrifice and will be forever grateful
for their bravery.

The still unnamed suspect also died inside the scene in his apartment after
barricading himself for a time. It appears he took his own life instead of
surrendering, Bret.

BAIER: Phil Keating in Florida. Phil, thank you.

Now, to immigration. Late this afternoon, President Biden announced the
creation of a task force to reunify families, rescinded some policies from
the Trump administration and ordered the review of others. Moments ago, the
president defending his executive actions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's a lot of talk with good
reason about the number of executive orders that I have signed. I'm not
making new law, I'm eliminating bad policy.

What I'm doing is taking on the issues that, 99 percent of them, that the
last President of the United States issued executive orders I thought were
very counterproductive to our security, counterproductive to who we are as
a country, particularly in the area of immigration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: National Correspondent William La Jeunesse is in San Diego on the
border. Good evening, William.

WILLIAM LA JEUNESSE, FOX NEWS CHANNEL NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera):
Hi, Bret, the executive orders definitely send the signal not just to the
president's base, but also abroad. And it's a very narrow offence to
(INAUDIBLE) because he's telling migrants not to come.

But if they happen to already be here in Tijuana or elsewhere along the
border, well, be patient, help is on the way.

The executive orders, as you said, make it easier to obtain a green card
for Central American countries to obtain aid and creates this task force to
basically reunite some 600 families separated by President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We are trying to repair the damage
and the horrific actions of the prior administration.

LA JEUNESSE (voice over): The challenge, how to undo the policies of
President Trump without increasing illegal immigration.

PSAKI: This is not the time to come to the United States. We need the time
to put in place an immigration process, so people can be treated humanely.

LA JEUNESSE: President Biden currently enjoys an immigration honeymoon
thanks to Title 42, a COVID protection protocol allowing the Border Patrol
to deport everyone but children.

Since the pandemic began, the agency turned back more than 300,000
migrants.

REP. ANDY BIGGS (R-AZ): Title 42 is the essence of right now keeping people
back. And by taking away the remain in Mexico policy and then eliminated
Title 42, you're going to see a tremendous surge.

LA JEUNESSE: It's already creating a backup in the immigration pipeline
with migrant camps forming along the border.

DEMETRIO MARTINEZ, GUATEMALAN MIGRANT (through translator): Don't send me
back. I asked you please to look at me. I am Guatemalan and you will see
that things are tough over there.

LA JEUNESSE: Agent says smugglers are using the words of candidate Biden to
pull migrants north were starting asylum, legalizing millions already here,
limiting ICE enforcement.

KEN CUCCINELLI, FORMER DEPUTY SECRETARY, HOMELAND SECURITY: The Biden
effect is creating its own humanitarian crisis with an already overwhelmed
immigration system.

LA JEUNESSE: Some sectors report a steady climb in apprehensions,
especially of Central American families and unaccompanied children, some
left by parents at the border, who then go it alone. Without detention,
many continue until they succeed.

ALI NOORANI, PRESIDENT & CEO, NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM: The Trump
administration cut down (INAUDIBLE) shut off the nation's asylum system, so
that these parents were left with no other choice to protect their children
other than pretty much handing them over to the U.S. government.

LA JEUNESSE: President Biden promises to leave families intact while asylum
claims are heard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hope that those who have been put in remain in Mexico
will be able to make their asylum cases from the safety of the United
States and outside of detention.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LA JEUNESSE (on camera): So, the task force reports back in four months.

Meanwhile, the Border Patrol is preparing for another surge driven by the
poverty in Central America and a more welcoming approach here. No mention
of Title 42.

As for the wall, officials what the Biden administration said last night,
it was wasteful and useless. The agents here beg to differ with that, Bret.

BAIER: William La Jeunesse along the border in San Diego. William, thanks.

The second impeachment trial of Donald Trump begins next week. Democrats
will seek to present a case that the former president incited an
insurrection at the Capitol. Trump's legal team says the trial is a
political weapon, calling it unconstitutional and undemocratic.

Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram is following the case on Capitol
Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHAD PERGRAM, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over):
House impeachment managers say rioters couldn't have stormed the Capitol
without former President Trump "Creating a powder keg, striking a match."

House managers weaponize the words of Senate Minority Leader Mitch
McConnell against the former president.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by
the president.

PERGRAM: The president's defenders say Mr. Trump encouraged his supporters
to march "That managers say the president's other language was incendiary."

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We fight. We fight
like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a
country anymore.

PERGRAM: President Trump's attorneys deny that that phrase had anything to
do with action at the Capitol, defending his right to freedom of speech.

DAVID SCHOEN, TRUMP DEFENSE LAWYER: This is a very, very dangerous road to
take with respect to the First Amendment, putting it risk any passionate
political speaker.

ANDREW MCCARTHY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: If this were a legal
trial, I think that would be an exquisite defense on the president's part.
Having tried a solicitation to violence case, it's a very, very tough proof
in a courtroom. But we're not in a courtroom, we're in a political realm.

PERGRAM: The former president's attorneys contend the trial is moot because
Mr. Trump now holds no public office. Unresolved is a framework for the
trial.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): The impeachment resolution on the trial, you
know, has been set back because the president keeps switching lawyers.

PERGRAM: It's unclear if senators will hear from witnesses.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): If you vote to call one witness, non we're
calling the House get ready for a long trial.

PERGRAM: The Senate lacks the two thirds vote required to convict the
former president. But Schumer cracked the door open to censure for Mr.
Trump if senators don't convict him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PERGRAM: A somber mood at the Capitol tonight, the remains of U.S. Capitol
Police Officer Brian Sicknick will lie in honor in the rotunda. Sicknick is
just the third Capitol Police officer to lie in honor or did so after dying
defending the Capitol, Bret.

BAIER: Chad Pergram on Capitol Hill. Chad, thanks. Both President Biden and
the group of Senate Republicans he met with for almost two hours in the
Oval Office Monday to discuss COVID relief called that discussion
substantive and productive.

On Capitol Hill, the Senate approved the first step to fast track Biden's
nearly $2 trillion package. White House correspondent Kristin Fisher joins
us from the North Lawn with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTIN FISHER, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): White House
Press Secretary Jen Psaki says President Biden is not bending from his $1.9
trillion request for COVID relief despite Monday night show of
bipartisanship. An Oval Office meeting with 10 Republican senators who want
a less expensive and more targeted package.

PSAKI: The risk here, as he has said many times is not going too big, it is
going to small. That's why he can -- he supports the efforts by Senator
Schumer, leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi to move this package forward.

FISHER: Today, the Democratic leadership did press forward with a key
procedural vote to set up passing the president's proposal through an
obscure but powerful tool known as reconciliation. It would allow Democrats
to pass the American rescue plan without any Republican support.

And while Psaki he says the president "Is hopeful that the rescue plan can
pass with bipartisan support, a reconciliation package is a path to achieve
that end."

Republican Senator Mike Braun doesn't see it that way.

SEN. MIKE BRAUN (R-IN): Looks to me like an approach of hey, I want to talk
to you. But if you don't kind of come my way, we're going to do it anyway.

FISHER: Today, President Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen dropped
in virtually on Senate Democrats weekly luncheon.

SCHUMER: He was very strong in emphasizing the need for a big bold package.
He said that he told Senate Republicans that the $600 billion that they
proposed was way too small.

FISHER: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says the president did tell
Republicans that he'd be willing to make some modifications, though Psaki
declined to speculate on what those concessions might be.

PSAKI: We're not going to negotiate from here or frankly in public about
what is going to be in and out of the package.

FISHER: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says the 10 Republicans who
met with the president last night, walked away with the impression that the
commander-in-chief was more interested in bipartisanship than his staff.

MCCONNELL: I can't remember a budget and the time that I've been here that
either side has ever voted in a bipartisan way. So, we're off to a totally
partisan start.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER (on camera): Now, there was some bipartisanship on Capitol Hill
today. Six Republican senators voted yes to confirm Alejandro Mayorkas as
the new Secretary of Homeland Security. And he is going to be playing a big
role in executing the executive orders on immigration that President Biden
signed here at the White House just moments ago, Bret.

BAIER: Kristin Fisher live in the North Lawn. Kristin, thank you.

One of the key votes in the Senate joins us right now. Democratic senator
from West Virginia, Joe Manchin. Senator, welcome backto SPECIAL REPORT.

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV) (on camera): Thanks for having me, Bret. Appreciate
it.

BAIER: Senator, I want to make clear what happened today, you voted to move
the procedure forward on the budget resolution. You didn't vote for the
package itself, the 1.9 trillion, you moved it forward. You have problems
with the 1.9 trillion as it's written?

MANCHIN: Basically, we know we have a challenge in our hand, we have a
pandemic, and we're not sure what direction this pandemic is going,
especially if the variants come into it.

So, the need for a pandemic relief is needed. People can decide on what the
size of that needs to be. The president has said 1.9. and then my
Republican colleagues and friends have taken a different approach.

But, at least, they started this and I thought it was a great meeting last
night that the president -- the first entertainment of any legislators was
10 of my friends in Republican colleagues who went and spent two hours with
the president that showed a tremendous gesture of goodwill. Now, we just
got to find a bipartisan way through. I voted to start a --

BAIER: There's a big difference here between 1.9 and 600 obviously, just on
top line, but as you go into the specifics, the $1,400 stimulus checks. But
the big one, are you for raising the minimum wage to $15.00 an hour?

MANCHIN: Bret, I don't think that's going to make it in because it doesn't
fit within I know it's just the inside ballgame, but inside the bird rule.

The only thing we can do during this -- during this reconciliation is
anything that comes within the financial realms of what we're dealing with.
It's called a budget reconciliation, has to be within the budget lines.
That does not come within that at all.

And it really needs to be debated. It doesn't work in different states are
different. Some states already have $15.00.

I think anybody that goes to work in the morning and works 40 hours a week,
and works 50 weeks a year, that's 2,000 hours shouldn't be above a family
of three above the poverty guidelines and that's not $15.00.

BAIER: Yes, let me put up the Biden coronavirus relief plan and that's
$1,400 stimulus checks, the $15.00 an hour which you're saying is not going
to fall into the rules as --

MANCHIN I don't think it does.

BAIER: And also, 350 billion in state and local relief, you're for that?

MANCHIN: Well, we have to look at that. I think that's way high, from
everything I've seen that's extremely high.

But with that, we want to make sure that the states that truly hit -- been
hit the hardest, have revenue shortages, because the type of economy they
had have some relief. We're very sympathetic towards that.

And you know, we've worked together in the 900 billion 908 team that we put
together with Democrats and Republicans and came up with a good compromise.
But you had to meet metrics in order to do it. You had to show me need. You
had to show basically the coronavirus, how much it attacks your state and
basically how your economy lost in the population.

So, they're going to have to prove that they need it, but I don't think
it'd be anywhere near that.

BAIER: So, if they say we're pushing forward with reconciliation which
means not 60, 51 votes.

MANCHIN: Sure.

BAIER: Let's say they figure out a way to write it where it all fits under
the rules. You're questioning that, but let's say they do. And they come to
you and say, Joe, we need that vote. And it's $1.9 trillion. Are you voting
for it?

MANCHIN: What -- Bret, what I have told everybody I made it very clear from
the president of the United States to all of my colleagues, we're going to
make this work in a bipartisan way, and my friends on the other side are
going to have input, and we're going to do something that we agree on.

I'm not going to do it just down the lines of just saying party-line vote.
It has to make sense. And if it's out of the realm that makes sense in what
we've worked on together, we built too much trust up among each other to
allow this to fall apart, so they can count on me to make sure that we do
everything to make this bipartisan.

BAIER: So, that sounds like a no, if they try to blow it down the line.

MANCHIN: We're not going to blow it down the line. They can't do it down
the line. Basically, we've got to be able -- to those who are defending
their numbers whatever they may be and whatever category, they have to show
where it comes from the sources, and where the need is.

We have to look at basically how much we've already spent in those arenas.
There's a lot of money that's going out the door and we all know that. I
didn't -- I wish we would have been able to sit down and work through a
bipartisan way. They all knew that, they knew where I stood. But I wasn't
going to stand and not allow us to go down a pathway.

And they're going back in history Bret. In 2009, they said that I wasn't
here. They tried to work on the Affordable Care Act. They worked for eight
or nine months negotiating, and then, it all fell apart.

We really don't have that amount of time if we -- it would fall apart. I
don't think it would, but that's their interpretation of it. So, I said,
fine.

BAIER: Yes.

MANCHIN: We'll start this process. But I want you to know, I will vote in a
bipartisan way.

BAIER: Senate -- now-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the reason
he was going to forward with the power sharing deal is because you and
Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema essentially pledged publicly that you would
not break up the filibuster, the 60 vote threshold for legislation.

MANCHIN: Sure.

BAIER: Two questions here. One, under what conditions would you vote to end
the filibuster?

MANCHIN: I don't think there is any. You understand I come from the state
that had a senator who served this country unbelievable. But the bottom
line was he was a defender of the Senate.

He used to tell me, Bret, he said, hey Joe, he says, when I was governor,
he says, let me tell you about the Senate, it's a special place. There's
nothing like in the world. He says, why do you think Rhode Island has two
senators in California? The smallest and the largest. Why do you think
that? Don't you think our founding fathers were thinking of basically how
the big person couldn't press to the smaller person? Why do you think we
have the filibuster, so the minority has input? I was -- this was ingrained
into me.

And he said, Joe, they even named a rule after me, called the Byrd Rule.
You know what that's there for, why I put that in? He said, so, they
couldn't go around the back door and do away with it. So, you're talking
about a person that's going to defend the legacy of Robert C. Byrd.

BAIER: And so, Sinema and yourself, you're both public. But are there other
Democrats you know of that would --

(CROSSTALK)

MANCHIN: I sure do.

BAIER: -- not (INAUDIBLE) to bust up the filibuster?

MANCHIN: I think there is. I really do. I think though. And just it's --
you know, they're have to speak for themselves, but I have -- I've had a
good conversations, a lot of my friends, and I think there's people that
feel exactly like I do.

This didn't work well in 2013 when Harry Reid did it. And then, my -- Mitch
McConnell did it in 2017, it hasn't worked well for anybody. OK? We should
work together.

(CROSSTALK)

BAIER: Yes. Let me --

MANCHIN: That's the purpose of the Senate, Bret.

BAIER: But let me ask you this.

MANCHIN: Yes.

BAIER: The White House, politically, tried to put a little pressure on you
it seems. You know, having the Vice President Harris go to his local
station in West Virginia.

MANCHIN: Yes.

BAIER: You said you didn't know about it. Have you talked to them since
that? Did they make a mistake by doing that?

MANCHIN: Absolutely, they made a mistake and it shouldn't have been done.
But a mistake was made, and we're going to make mistakes. (INAUDIBLE) says,
to err is human, we're human beings.

But with that being said, I've spoken to the president about that and I've
spoken to his -- some of his top officials, and I understand the mistake
was made, it should not have been done.

BAIER: You know, today at the White House, Jen Psaki pointed to West
Virginia Governor Jim Justice and said that he is for a big package as far
as coveted relief. What they don't talk about though is the other part of
that interview from Governor Justice. And here is a little piece of that
about climate change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JIM JUSTICE (R-WV): If you want civilization to advance, today, we
need clean energy. And I'm all for it. But we just have to have a strategy
rather than a knee jerk and that's what we have going on right now and it's
going to backfire. It's really going to hurt us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Do you agree with Governor Justice or what happened with the climate
change executive orders in the Biden administration?

MANCHIN: Well, at the bottom line, I disagreed, and I respectfully disagree
with the president and executive order on going away the Keystone pipeline.

I've seen the train blow up in West Virginia carrying that crude. I've seen
tanker cars explode going through towns. It's much safer in that pipeline
than it is coming across the road or the rail. If they think they're going
to stop that project, that's a heavy crude we need in our refineries.

The bottom line is in that -- I'm an oil and energy person, Bret. And we
have to have energy basically and not depend on foreign energy. So, we have
to have the heavy crude. I rather for come from Canada and I would from
Venezuela.

So, all of this being said, we're going to find a pathway forward. But
bottom line is we can do it cleaner. You cannot eliminate your way to a
cleaner global environment. You can innovate your way through technology
and that's what we intend to do.

And in West Virginia, we'll build the new technology that the rest of the
world can clean up the environment. This is -- it should be an opportunity.
There is transitions going on.

BAIER: I have 10 seconds here, Senator.

MANCHIN: Sure thing.

BAIER: Are you the most powerful person in Washington?

MANCHIN: Let me tell you something. I've seen people who thought they had
power and abused it. I've seen the people that desired power and abused it.
And I've seen people that had an opportunity to be in a situation where you
can make a difference, and I hope I'm that person to make a difference to
bring our country together and start using --

(CROSSTALK)

BAIER: Senator, you're always welcome -- you're always welcome back here on
SPECIAL REPORT, we appreciate the time.

MANCHIN: Thanks, Bret. Nice to be with you.

BAIER: Up next, the careful balancing act congressional Republicans are now
facing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): We have to move beyond what someone thinks might
be true because it's on the Internet into what is true as best as we can
understand it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Positive day on Wall Street today on the prospects of the stimulus
coming. The Dow rose 476, its largest one-day gain since November. The S&P
500 jumped 52, the NASDAQ finished up 209.

Republican leadership on Capitol Hill has a tough task trying to wrangle
the wings of the party. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has said he
will speak to Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene about her social media
post and conspiracy theories, while at the same time, being under pressure
to remove Congresswoman Liz Cheney from her leadership post.

Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich looks at the political tag of war right now
on Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACQUI HEINRICH, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Surrounded by
Republican colleagues in Texas, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy kept
the conversation to President Biden's energy policies, avoiding questions
over newly elected Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and conspiracy
theory she espoused.

In a rare move, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell nudged McCarthy to
act, inserting himself into McCarthy's domain, writing, "Loony lies and
conspiracy theories are cancer for the Republican Party and our country.
Somebody who's suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11,
that horrifying school shootings were pre-staged, and that Clintons crashed
JFK Jr.'s airplane is not living in reality."

Other Republicans agreeing with the minority leader.

CASSIDY: I'm a doctor, my whole training is we need to base things on
facts. I agree wholeheartedly with what the leader has said.

HEINRICH: Greene claimed this weekend, she has the former president's
support. And she clapped back after McConnell's statement on Twitter,
writing, "The real cancer for the Republican Party is weak Republicans who
only know how to lose gracefully. This is why we are losing our country."

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): I think I adequately spoke out about how I
feel.

HEINRICH: McConnell is also inserting himself in calls from within the
party to oust Representative Liz Cheney from her leadership post after she
voted to impeach President Trump last month.

Ahead of her sit down with McCarthy, deciding her leadership fate,
McConnell endorsed Cheney, writing, "Liz Cheney is a leader with deep
convictions and the courage to act on them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEINRICH (on camera): And Democrats are trying to force McCarthy's hand and
threatening to strip Greene of her committee assignments. If McCarthy won't
do it himself -- if he won't, they will make (INAUDIBLE) of it in the
midterms. Bret.

BAIER: Jacqui Heinrich, live on Capitol Hill. Jacqui, thank you.

Up next, masks are now mandatory on public transportation. We'll bring you
that story. First, here is what some of our Fox affiliates around the
country are covering tonight.

Fox 32 in Chicago where the stalemate between the city and teachers
continues tonight. Public school systems announcing remote learning will
continue through Wednesday, and teachers will not be locked out of the
system, calling it a gesture of good faith toward educators. The head of
the teachers' union called it an encouraging step.

This is a live look at Philadelphia from Fox 29. Remember what today is.
The big story there, six more weeks of winter expected, at least, according
to Punxsutawney Phil. The famous groundhog saw his shadow on a snowy
Gobbler's hill with no crowd in attendance due to coronavirus restrictions.
Thousands watched the live stream of the event. Bill Murray, apparently,
was not in attendance.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER:  Mother Nature has not helped the vaccine push with the northeast
snowstorm causing vaccination sites to close, and at airports across the
country the TSA is now enforcing mask mandates. Correspondent Jonathan
Serrie is following it all from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in
Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JONATHAN SERRIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT:  As a severe winter storm cripples
the northeast, governors have been forced to cancel or postpone vaccination
appointments for some of those who need the shots the most.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO, (D) NEW YORK CITY:  We don't want folks, especially
seniors, going out in unsafe conditions to get vaccinated.

SERRIE:  In an effort to get as many shots into arms as possible, the Biden
administration is urging providers not to hold vaccine supplies in reserve,
saying manufacturers are scaling up production to ensure second doses will
be available when needed. And next week the administration plans to begin
shipping 1 million doses of vaccine to 6,500 U.S. pharmacies.

JEFF ZIENTS, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS COORDINATOR:  This pharmacy program
will expand access to neighborhoods across the country so you can make an
appointment, get your shot conveniently and quickly.

SERRIE:  Today the CDC's mask mandate took effect on commercial and public
transportation, including planes, trains, buses, and ride shares. Operators
are required to notify passengers of the federal law, only allow people
wearing masks to board, and they are directed to monitor passengers for
compliance and to disembark violators as soon as it's safely possible.

PATRICIA MANCHA, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION:  This is not about
strongarming people or trying to force people to do something. This is
really more about everybody working together to help secure the
transportation system.

SERRIE:  The mandate allows exemptions for children under two and persons
with disabilities that make mask wearing dangerous. You and your family
don't have to wear masks when traveling in your personal car, and
commercial drivers can go mask-free if they're alone in the vehicle.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

SERRIE (on camera):  And the federal mandate, which also applies to
airports, imposes civil penalties for noncompliance. The nation's carriers
had voluntarily adopted policies earlier, including airlines, which have
already banned more than 2,000 travelers from flying. Bret?

BAIER:  Jonathan Serrie live at the Atlanta airport. Jonathan, thanks.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made an emotional appeal to her
Instagram followers connecting the Capitol riots to her past trauma of
being sexually assaulted. She says Americans must recognize the lingering
impacts of such events, and those downplaying it and telling people to move
on are using similar tactics to what abusers use.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRA OCASIO-CORTEZ, (D-NY):  When we go through trauma, trauma
compounds on each other. All of a sudden, I hear that whoever was trying to
get inside, got into my office. Then I just start to hear these yells of,
where is she? Where is she? This was the moment where I thought everything
was over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER:  Person in that office was a Capitol police officer. This afternoon
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a security review of the Capitol
complex, plus extra security is being added for members while traveling to
and from Washington. The Speaker is also calling for a 9-11 type
commission, 911 type commission to issue a report retelling what exactly
what happened with that terrorist mob on January 6th.

Up next, how the Biden administration is reacting to the military coup in
Burma and the arrest of a Russian opposition leader. We're live at the
State Department.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER:  2021 is off to a wild start across the globe, with a military coup
in Burma, protests and police crackdowns in Russia, plus the ongoing
Iranian nuclear threat, and repression in China. State Department
correspondent Rich Edson looks at some of the hot spots and how the Biden
administration is handling them so far.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

RICH EDSON, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT:  A military coup in Burma, that's now
the official conclusion of the United States, a determination that
restricts American aid to the government there.

NED PRICE, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON:  It was an absolute priority for
us to determine exactly what happened and to be decisive in calling it what
it was.

EDSON:  State Department officials say they are also considering sanctions
against those responsible for arresting Burma's civilian leaders. The
department also says officials have consulted the like-minded partners on
Burma, including allies in Europe and East Asia. The State Department
refused to say whether there were discussions on Burma with Chinese
government officials.

This coup is an early foreign policy test for the new secretary of state,
whose spokesman held his first press briefing today. Department officials
have referred questions about many of their most pressing challenges to
ongoing administration reviews. On China, Iran, and Russia, where a court
just sentenced Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny to two years in
prison, Secretary of State Antony Blinken writes, quote, "We reiterate our
call for the Russian government to immediately and unconditionally release
Mr. Navalny, as well as the hundreds of other Russian citizens wrongfully
detained in recent weeks for exercising their rights, including the rights
to freedom of expression."

On Iran, the State Department says the U.S. is ready to return to the 2015
nuclear agreement once Iran does.

PRICE:  We would then use that as a platform to build a longer and a
stronger agreement that also addresses other areas of concern.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

EDSON (on camera):  On the relationship with China, the State Department
says the U.S. is in a serious competition with China, though there are
areas where the two countries can cooperate on a limited basis, issues like
climate change. Bret?

BAIER:  Rich, speaking of the State Department, the State Department's
deputy spokesperson drawing criticism for comments she posted calling
police, quote, the largest threat to U.S. national security?

EDSON:  Yes, this is the Deputy Spokesperson Jalina Porter. She in a
statement told us that she made those comments, or wrote those comments in
a Facebook post as a private citizen five years ago in response to what she
calls uncomfortable and deeply painful truth of race-based violence in the
United States. She also goes on to say "The pain I expressed was real.
Nevertheless, I should have chosen words that were less passionate and spur
of the moment as well as more constructive. I, of course, know well that
not all law enforcement officers pose a threat to our community."

Now, we asked the State Department whether officials take issue with that
statement that she posted on Facebook. Officials referred us to Jalina
Porter's statement. Back to you.

BAIER:  OK, Rich Edson at the State Department. Rich, thanks.

Up next, the panel on President Biden's immigration plans and COVID relief
funding, including reaction to my interview with West Virginia Democratic
Senator Joe Manchin.

First, Beyond Our Borders tonight. An out of control wildfire burning near
the Australian city of Perth has destroyed at least 59 homes after doubling
in size overnight. Six firefighters have been injured. The cause of that
blaze still unknown tonight.

And sad news from the United Kingdom. Captain Tom Moore, the British World
War II veteran who raised millions of pounds for health service workers on
the frontline of the battle against COVID-19 has died. Moore gained fame by
walking around the garden, his garden, during the lockdown to raise a lot
of funds. Captain Sir Tom Moore was 100-years-old. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN, (D-WV):  Bret, what I have told everybody, and I made it
very clear, from the president of the United States to all of my
colleagues, we're going to make this work in a bipartisan way. My friends
on the other side are going to have input, and we're going to do something
that we agree on. I'm not going to do it just down the lines of just saying
party line vote. It has to make sense. And if it's out of the realm that
makes sense in what we've worked together, we've built too much trust up
among each other to allow this to fall apart. So they can count on me to
make sure that we do everything to make this bipartisan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER:  Democratic Senator from West Virginia Joe Manchin on this show
earlier. The gap, the difference between the proposal by the Biden
administration, $1.9 trillion, and Democrats on Capitol Hill, and what GOP
senators are bringing forward, $600 billion, that's a lot, $1.3 trillion.
Joe Manchin is saying they've got to negotiate. It's not going to be pushed
down anybody's throat.

Let's bring in our panel, Bill McGurn, columnist for "The Wall Street
Journal," Mara Liasson, national political correspondent for National
Public Radio, and Jonathan Swan, national political reporter for "Axios."
Mara, your take from the Manchin interview? It sounded prior to that, that
everything was heading down reconciliation and it was going to be a party
line vote maybe.

MARA LIASSON, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO: 
Well, Joe Manchin is going to vote for at least the process to let
reconciliation go forward. But he said pretty clearly he wants it to be
bipartisan. Does that mean he has to have 10 Republican senators make it
bipartisan or just a couple for reconciliation? Because, it's very hard for
me to imagine the package that would keep all those 10 Republicans on board
and Bernie Sanders and Joe Manchin. It's just hard to see it, the gap is so
big.

BAIER:  But Jonathan, he also said he is against raising the minimum wage,
which is part of the Biden plan.

JONATHAN SWAN, NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER, "AXIOS":  Right. So he's trying
to draw at least a few red lines. But I think, as mara said, the fact that
he has voted to move forward with this process suggests that ultimately
he's going to support something that is going to be basically a partisan
vote.

There's a lot of posturing going on right now, but if you're reading the
tea leaves, it does seem like it's going to be a Democrat bill,
overwhelmingly if not entirely and exclusively supported by Democrats.

BAIER:  Bill McGurn?

BILL MCGURN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR:  I agree. I would like to see things go
down the normal process rather than through budget reconciliation, because
I believe that all these moves so the Democrats are in a position to do it
now, like executive orders, going down budget reconciliation, they don't
feel unity. What we really need is a lot more emphasis on the legislature
where the Democrats dominate and where each side gives a little. That's the
way the system is meant to work.

And that's really the path to unity. We're never going to agree, the two
sides are never going to agree on policy. But you have give-and-take. You
get some and you lose some. And I think that the Democrats might see a
short-term advantage of pushing all this through, but it makes these
achievements very brittle, and I don't think it helps.

And the president's problem, sometimes it's harder when you have the kind
of slight majority that the Democrats have now, because you're always
vulnerable for defections, as the Republicans learned with John McCain and
healthcare. And so it's not just Joe Manchin. Every Democrat in the Senate
is the 50th vote. And that's a problem. To slightly resay what Mara said,
it's hard to see a bill, if you go too far in Joe Manchin's direction, the
Bernie Sanders wing is going to object, and vice versa. So it is a very
delicate balance.

BAIER:  The other news out of there was on busting up the filibuster.
Kyrsten Sinema, the Arizona senator, and Joe Manchin publicly have said
that they would not vote to do that. But he said, the senator said, that
there are other Democrats he's talked to who are in that boat.

Mara, I want to turn to immigration. President Biden defending his
executive orders and actions, now more than 43, that have been signed, this
one on immigration. And he said that, I'm not making new law, I'm
eliminating bad policy.

LIASSON:  Well, several of the immigration executive orders are basically
to study the situation, see how you can reunite parents with their children
when they were separated. To see what you can do to stop a surge at the
border that might include giving more aid to countries in Central America
to keep people from going to the United States. So, so far these are
executive orders are attempts to put something in the place of the Trump
immigration policies.

BAIER:  Jonathan, Brit Hume said last night that maybe these executive
orders and actions are giving him cover to do some negotiations with
Republicans, with his progressive side. Do you buy that, from inside the
White House?

SWAN:  Some of them might, but this one won't. This was a recognition that,
actually, it's really easy to criticize Donald Trump for all of his
immigration plans. It's much harder to implement your own policy. So this
was basically a punt. Today, it was actually very cautious and reflected
that he realizes, oh, it's much harder once you're actually in office. Easy
to criticize, much harder to actually implement.

BAIER:  And quickly, Bill, there could be some immigration legislation that
has some bipartisan appeal, the DACA situation. But on the big picture of
immigration, it's always been like Lucy and the football, trying to get
something through Congress.

MCGURN:  Yes. Bret, I was with President Bush when we were trying to craft
the immigration proposal back then and watched it blow up in our faces. I
still think America needs a fixed and reformed immigration system. I don't
think we're going to get comprehensive reform. But any agreement
legislatively is the first path to a permanent solution, and not just
something that will hold for the next few years until the next president
comes in.

BAIER:  All right, panel, stand by, if you would. When we come back, the
panel looks ahead to tomorrow's headlines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER:  Finally tonight, a look at tomorrow's headlines with the panel.
Jonathan, you are up.

SWAN:  I'm going with Biden's awkward dance. He's making a show of
consulting Republicans on the COVID relief package. Meanwhile everyone on
the team knows it's must more likely to be Democrats jamming this through
with a simple majority.

BAIER:  All right, Bill?

MCGURN:  Bret, kids languish, but still no sign of Chicago teachers
returning to the classroom.

BAIER:  That's kind of cut and dry. Mara?

(LAUGHTER)

LIASSON:  Mine is Reddit day traders find a new stock to boost, Bed Bath &
Beyond.

(LAUGHTER)

LIASSON:  Just thinking of another kind of sleepy company that doesn't seem
like it should be valued at a gazillion dollars, but might be soon. And
it's being shorted.

BAIER:  But Mara, do you think that there's going to be some pushback on
that effort?

LIASSON:  Sure, but they did it once, they can do it again. And some
obscure company, which doesn't seem like it should be valued at billions
and billions -- hundreds of billions of dollars -- might just get there.
They seem pretty powerful.

BAIER:  And by the way, if you want a podcast to listen to, Jonathan Swan,
what's the name of it?

SWAN:  "How It Happened" by "Axios."

BAIER:  "How It Happened," very good, by "Axios." Thanks, panel.

Thank you for inviting us into your home tonight. That's it for the
"SPECIAL REPORT," fair, balanced, and still unafraid. There is this great
show, FOX NEWS PRIMETIME. This week it is hosted by a former congressman,
Trey Gowdy, FOX News contributor. I watched last night. I was intrigued.

END

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