'Your World' on Florida search and rescue efforts

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Hurricane Ian victim Mike Yost details harrowing floods

Yost tells ‘Your World’ the floods went from two feet to 10 feet in a matter of minutes.

This is a rush transcript of "Your World with Neil Cavuto" on October 3, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

CHARLES PAYNE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Now, this is the way you tart the week for your money, stocks staging a turnaround today after suffering steep losses in September.

In fact, the Dow posting its best day since 2020, and, at one point, coming close to gaining 1,000 points, all of the major averages finishing in the green. We got more on the markets coming up.

Meanwhile, search-and-rescue operations in full throttle in Florida, as the death toll from Hurricane Ian continues to rise. We're going to talk to one survivor who says he's lucky to be alive.

Welcome, everyone. I'm Charles Payne, in for Neil Cavuto. And this is "Your World." And we have got FOX team coverage.

FOX Weather's Brandy Campbell in Fort Myers, Florida, where they are checking on every home, and Madison Alworth in North Port, Florida, on the mountain hurricane losses.

We began with Brandy in Fort Myers.

BRANDY CAMPBELL, FOX WEATHER MULTIMEDIA JOURNALIST: Good afternoon, Charles.

We're here at a food pantry, where a lot of people have been coming to get some of those necessities that they needed after the floodwaters came through this area. Just to quickly paint the picture here in the Fort Myers area, if you were to come here, you would see a lot of the lights still out.

So if you're driving down the road, you have to stop at the red light. There is no signals actually working right now, a lot of downed trees. And those that are still up look like they have the bark just stripped from them. So they're a lighter brown shade right now.

But it's also very active here, a lot of people driving around, starting to get things recovered out here.

Now, I want to bring in Mary. She's here with the organization Gladiolus Food Pantry.

You guys have been working for the past few days. Can you tell me -- I know you guys are closing up shop for the day. But what have you guys been providing for people here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, since the pantry was flooded during the storm, what we have done is brought out all the food we have had, and we have been getting donations.

We have provided bleach and cases of water, clothing that people have been donating, hot food. We served over 1,000 meals today and just some support for our community of Harlem Heights.

CAMPBELL: There we go. And if you guys didn't hear, she said they were also flooded out, impacted.

What is it like to give back while you're also on the same -- and, as they are, being impacted and flooded?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At first, it was overwhelming. The entire pantry was flooded up to the desk level. We lost computers. We lost files. We lost everything like that.

And, on the other side, everyone in this community needs help. So we dragged out what we could, dried off what we could, set up tables and started.

CAMPBELL: All right, and how long are you guys going to be out here doing this? How long you think?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our mission is until all are fed.

CAMPBELL: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to be here every day 11:00 to 4:00 until we can't do it anymore, until we open the pantry back up.

CAMPBELL: There we have it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

CAMPBELL: I'm sure your community appreciates you guys.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

CAMPBELL: Thank you.

All right, we're going to stick around here in the Fort Myers area, especially in the surrounding neighborhood here. There's a lot of impacted homes. Just across the street, we can still see the streets are flooded -- back to you, Charles.

PAYNE: Brandy, thank you very much.

Meanwhile, Florida officials are working around the clock to restore power and account for everyone, this as estimated costs of rebuilding are skyrocketing.

FOX Business' Madison Alworth is in North Port, Florida, with that part of the story -- Madison.

MADISON ALWORTH, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Charles, part of the problem with the rebuilding and the rescuing is that we're still seeing storm damage, streets like this one completely covered and flooded.

The only people that are able to get in and out have to use kayaks, huge trucks or ATVs. And you can just see down the street cars being swallowed up by the storms. And the power lines look to be intact. But part of the issue is that, when you have a break in that line, flooding like this makes it hard to get to those lines.

That's why here in North Port, 40 percent of residents are still without power. Could be until Friday or even as late as Monday. Those people are looking for help. We went to a distribution center today because, people without refrigeration, they need water, they need ice, and they need food.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Need food. My food in the fridge has all been spoiled.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And a lot of the stores aren't open yet, or, if they are, the shelves are empty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No electric, no water. They're just saying now, hopefully, it'll be on by Friday, where I live, so just hoping for the best.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALWORTH: You know, we have been here for a while now. And you keep seeing people come in and out, people trying to get to their homes.

We have seen people that have come in to get medicine because, even though the home is fine, the road is not, so people kayaking in, this man behind me walking back to his home. This is still the recovery, when you get the people out and you get the things you need out.

But then you just got to look at the cost. And, at this point, it's looking like damages across Florida, that could be $63 billion in total -- Charles.

PAYNE: Thank you very much.

And then there's this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The water got all the way to the deck there. So you're looking at about 14. I would say 14 feet, don't you think? I don't know. But it was really scary. And we were looking around.

And, basically, I said, we're probably going to have to hold on and get on the air mattress, and, hopefully, it won't go all the way to our ceiling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAYNE: My next guest thought he was a goner as water from Hurricane Ian continued to rise at his home in Fort Myers Beach.

Mike Yost joins me now from Fort Myers.

Mike, a harrowing story. I can just -- as we watch these images, and it's just hard to fathom how this water -- first, it's at knee level. Then it's at your waist. Then it's at your chest. And, of course, now you're scurrying upstairs to the second floor.

Walk us through your thoughts.

MIKE YOST, HURRICANE SURVIVOR: Well, when we first saw it coming in, we thought, well, all right, this is what we expected. We saw it coming up the road.

And the foam was around the water. And it came up, went up the mailbox pole. I'm like, OK, here it is. And we knew the storm surge was coming. And that's -- I thought, well, we're on the second floor. And everybody kept saying, Charley never made it up this -- to the top floor here.

And, actually, I'm -- I was -- well, I was living in the house where my friend's wife used to live. And she said it never made it up there during Charley. I knew the people from downstairs. And they said they had to move out and live in a trailer later on. But -- so we're watching it come in. And it went up the pole of the mailbox.

And my girlfriend walked away. And she said -- when she came back, she goes, oh, the water is already over the mailbox. I said, no, it swept the mailbox away. And this was a big four-by-four, and it snapped it right away. And it just kept going up and up and up, and I mean fast.

It went from two feet to 10 feet in a matter of maybe 10 minutes. It was just incredible. And I'm like, oh, my God, this is not good. This is not good. And I even texted people on Facebook. I said I think -- I know I made a mistake.

And I said -- I was just kind of like -- and that's when I told -- you heard the other video. I said, we might have to get on that air mattress and try to ride it out.

PAYNE: Mike, I understand you also lost two friends?

YOST: My two best friends on the beach, Mitch Messina (ph) and Damon Utterback (ph), yes.

PAYNE: Yes.

YOST: They both saved their wives. And I know Damon probably, from what I hear, went back in for his little dog, and that was kind of the end of him.

But their wives made it. And the dogs actually made it. My buddy Mitch Messina that passed away, his wife, Mary, held on to her deck railing for about four hours out in the hurricane on top of somebody else's house. And seven feet from her, her neighbor was holding on to a tree for about five hours in the storm surge and the wind.

And he said a branch snapped and hit him, almost knocked him off. But he had the will to pull him back in. And these are people in their 70s that are doing this. And they held on for dear life. But Mary, they told me that, when they went back to where the house used to be, because it was completely gone, they said their little dog Lulu was standing there.

So I said, what a little fighter that thing is.

PAYNE: Yes.

YOST: And it was just horrible.

And my day that day was going to check on these two guys. And I thought about checking on more. But, at that point, I'm like, no, every time I go to look for somebody, they're dead. And I'm -- I'm done.

PAYNE: Yes. Mike, I know it was...

YOST: Then I went back home and -- yes.

PAYNE: I'm sorry to cut you off. I didn't mean to cut you off.

YOST: It's OK.

PAYNE: But I want to say, we're sorry that that happened, a horrific incident for everyone.

We're glad you're alive. Want to say, God bless you. And thank you for coming on to share your story.

YOST: Thank you. Thank you.

PAYNE: Thank you.

All right, more right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAYNE: To the battle over the Southern border, where migrants keep screaming and Congress is no closer to figuring it out.

FOX News' Bill Melugin is in Washington, where he confronted lawmakers on the issue -- Bill.

BILL MELUGIN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Charles, good afternoon to you.

We came here to Washington, D.C., to go face to face with politicians and try to get some answers from them about this historic border crisis which we have been covering for the better part of a year-and-a-half now. But it turns out, not everybody was willing to talk to us. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELUGIN: Two hundred and fifty thousand unaccompanied migrant children arrived at the border since President Biden, some of them trafficked, some of them drowning in the river. Any issue with that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Should be a note right there in that...

MELUGIN: Last question.

Ma'am, is the border secure? Do you agree hi the administration that the border is secure? We will let you go.

Chairman, one question. In your opinion, is the border secure?

REP. BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS): I have to go give a speech. Did you hear him?

MELUGIN: I heard you.

THOMPSON: OK. Thank you.

MELUGIN: It's a quick question. Is the border secure?

(voice-over): Answers about the border few and far between from some Democrats on Capitol Hill, including the secretary of homeland security, Alejandro Mayorkas.

(on camera): I'm Bill Melugin with FOX News. Do you have a few moments to talk about the border real quick?

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: I'm sorry. I don't.

MELUGIN: A week before this, we sent this e-mail to DHS, notifying them we would be in D.C. and we were requesting an interview with the secretary. We received no response. So we went to him.

(on camera): A few moments of your time is all we're asking for. And we will let you go. Reached out to your office, asked to talk to you last week. They blew us off.

MAYORKAS: I appreciate it.

MELUGIN: Is 900,000 got-aways a secure border?

MAYORKAS: Have a good day. Thank you.

MELUGIN: No comment, sir.

(voice-over): Only Democrats from the state of Texas, the front line of the border crisis, ended up talking to us, and they expressed concern about the border.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is unsustainable. It has been unsustainable for years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have resources down there, but we clearly need to be doing more.

REP. HENRY CUELLAR (D-TX): This is our administration. I'm a Democrat. And they need to understand they own it now. They own it now. And they have to take the steps to correct this. Otherwise, when are we going to see an end to this?

MELUGIN: We also put questions to Democratic leadership.

(on camera): Do you believe the border is secure?

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Well, I believe that we have to have a secure border. And I think that we are trying to address -- the president is -- has a plan to address that.

MELUGIN: Democrats have had majority control here in D.C. for almost two years now, and still there has been no significant progress on any immigration legislation in the Senate.

I asked Chuck Schumer why that's the case.

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D-NY): Republicans don't want to do immigration reform. Even on something as simple as DACA, which has the overwhelming support of the American people, Republicans are blocking it.

Under Republicans, would amnesty of any kind for any group of these migrants who have come across ever be on the table?

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): No amnesty. I know, if Nancy Pelosi was no longer here, there'd be a lot of Democrats that would feel free to do exactly what they know is best, to vote for a secure border and work with us to have a real immigration reform.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MELUGIN: And, Charles, fiscal year 2022 came to a close just a few days ago. And a CBP source tells me that fiscal year 2022 ended with 599,000 known got-aways at our Southern border.

That's an average of 50,000 every single month, and more than 1,500 slipping past our border agents every single day. We will send it back to you.

PAYNE: Bill, great work on the front line and the borders and now the front lines of Washington, D.C. Great job, Bill.

MELUGIN: Thanks.

PAYNE: National Border Patrol Council Vice President Art Del Cueto is joining me now to discuss.

And, Art, I mean, obviously, you have been facing this issue on the front lines yourself for so long. What's your reaction, though, to those responses, particularly the real cold and intense ones that Bill received from members of Congress?

ART DEL CUETO, VICE PRESIDENT, BORDER PATROL UNION: It's embarrassing.

It's embarrassing because they know the facts. They have seen the numbers. They have seen the video. They know exactly what's going on. And it's a simple question. Is it secure? And they just need to admit it. It's not secure. Why is it not secure?

It's because this administration has caused the chaos that we're seeing each and every single day, and they need to do something about it, because what people need to understand is, while the drug cartels control the Southern border, and they say who comes across, who doesn't come across, they're controlling the amount of drugs that are coming in, they're lining their pockets with money, they don't care what side of the aisle you're on.

They don't care what side of the aisle the children are that are consuming the drugs. They don't care what side of the aisle the individuals are that are bringing across the human trafficking. They just don't care.

So, at the end of the day, the politicians that are there, they need to make up their minds and actually say, you know what, we do care about America and we need to get this taken care of, because it doesn't matter what side of the aisle you're really on.

PAYNE: Art, I was particularly struck by Mayorkas and the way he brushed all of this off, even though he had advanced notice. And it is, by the way, his job.

What does that make you feel? Because it's just -- it's really mind- boggling, to be quite frank.

DEL CUETO: The guy that's in charge of it can't answer the questions when it comes to doing the job. How ridiculous is that?

I mean, realistically, everyone needs to hold these individuals accountable, hold the individuals in this administration accountable. And, actually, we need to call out every single one as often as we can, because they need to do the right thing. And I honestly find it very embarrassing that the person that's in charge of the Department of Homeland Security can't even answer the question. That's embarrassing.

PAYNE: Yes, with 600,000 got-aways.

I want to get a quick response, New York City apparently looking to house migrants on cruise ships as more buses arrive today. What do you make of that plan?

DEL CUETO: They need to hold the administration accountable. Instead of holding them on cruise ships, they need to hold them at the Southern border in detention facilities, send immigration and asylum officers down, just so they can fast-track some of these cases and remove those individuals that are actually falsely claiming asylum.

That's where they need to spend the taxpayer money.

PAYNE: Art, again, thank you for your service. I know that you have -- the job that you have is just mind-boggling.

I was on your Twitter page today for the Border Patrol and the drug busts and the people and the people saved every single day. It is absolutely amazing. Thank you.

DEL CUETO: Thank you very much.

PAYNE: Meanwhile, folks, stocks surging in September's -- after this September freefall, really the 2022 freefall.

But, listen, these relief rallies have come and gone this year. Will this one actually stick? We're going to report. You decide.

Meanwhile -- oh.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAYNE: Talk about a pain in the gas.

Prices back on the rise in the West Coast, this as that state sees a drop in inventories, in fact, national average back up toward the $4 area. We're going to be watching and bracing.

And we will be back in 60 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAYNE: Great way to start the fourth quarter, huh?

Big rally on Wall Street to start the week. Of course, we could use some good news after September's brutal sell-off in this really brutal year.

Connell McShane is with us with the latest -- Connell.

CONNELL MCSHANE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: We will take it, Charles. We will take it.

More than anything, this seems to be investors buying the dip, as they say. In other words, stocks were down so much last month and really the first nine months of the year that we were, like, overdue for a day like this. One other contributing factor we probably should point out is, there was a weak report this morning on factories.

Maybe that actually helped stocks a little, because some investors see that as making the Federal Reserve a little bit less aggressive. But look at these big tech names, the likes of Meta, Amazon, Netflix, Alphabet, all in the green today. But even with those gains that you see on your screen, Meta and Netflix are still down around 60 percent for the year.

The other two are down maybe 30 percent or so. And none of this wipes out the anxiety overall. I mean, OPEC and its oil-producing allies are considering a production cut. That very well could send oil prices up from here. The new government in the U.K. continues to have issues, now backtracking a bit from its tax cut plan that's been poorly received by investors.

But, today, it was simple. It was just a bounce-back day that we have been waiting for on Wall Street. Energy stocks led the way, but all 11 sectors in the S&P 500 were actually in the green.

So, now the question obviously becomes whether stocks can put together a strong final quarter, after falling three-quarters in a row for the first time since the financial crisis. So we will see, but a good start to the fourth quarter -- Charles.

PAYNE: Yes, it has been brutal.

Connell, thank you very much.

I want going to get to read now from one of our go-to moneymen, Kenny Polcari of Slatestone Wealth.

Kenny, Connell making the point that we got a nice spark off of bad news. And that's sort of ironic, but isn't that where we are right now?

KENNY POLCARI, SLATESTONE WEALTH: Yes.

It seems exactly where we are. But, look, it's also the beginning of the fourth quarter, right? So it's a new quarter. Last week, we saw a lot of pressure. There was a lot of chaos, but it was also the end of the quarter, so there was a lot of that toss it all out and let's start again, which we did today, right? Up -- you see we're up.

Everything was up 3 percent across the board, and they went after all the names that have gotten really beaten up. But bad news is good news. And good news is apparently bad news at the moment. So we will see. One way or the other, core inflation on Friday was up more than expected. I think that also added to some of the pressure.

PAYNE: Right.

POLCARI: Because that just gave the idea that the Fed is going to have to remain as aggressive as they have been talking.

Today's lighter economic data all of a sudden makes everyone say, oh, look, maybe the Fed can back off. I don't think the Fed's backing off at all. I think they're going to -- they're going to stay the course, and they're going to continue to raise aggressively.

PAYNE: You know, about 24 hours ago, maybe a little bit more, on social media, everyone was talking about Credit Suisse.

And, of course, we saw their stock come down tremendously. We know they have had some issues. And a lot of people are concerned, because we saw a major bank in the 2007 2008, those major banks that crumbled were the start of the great financial crisis.

POLCARI: Right.

PAYNE: Are you concerned that there could be a similar situation brewing now?

POLCARI: So, listen, I'm always concerned about Credit Suisse. They have had a problem. Every time we turn around, Credit Suisse has another problem. There's a change in management.

There's some scandal that's brewing. They have lost so much money. So they always seem to have a problem. But they always seem to kind of skate through it, right? This one seemed a little bit more anxious just because of everything that's happening in Europe right now, not only in the U.K., in the bond market, in the currency markets.

And then you have headlines like Blackstone saying that they're pulling back out of the U.K., which only adds more anxiety. I would only be concerned a little -- I'd only be more concerned, actually, if the U.K. in the Eurozone continues to spin out of control in terms of inflation, not being able to handle it.

PAYNE: Right.

POLCARI: They continue to raise rates aggressively, then I might say that first boss is going to come under a little bit more pressure. And then I'd start to be a little over concerned.

But I don't think it is the Lehman moment, at least not yet.

PAYNE: OK.

And, by the way, we were showing some footage of the -- 2008, when all the employees were leaving Lehman with their boxes. And it was a shot across the bow. It really was the beginning of something extraordinarily painful.

POLCARI: Right.

PAYNE: I got to ask you about a big news story today.

Kim Kardashian, she's been fined by the SEC 1.3 million for her promotion of cryptocurrency.

POLCARI: Right.

PAYNE: And the reason this is big, obviously, mainstream media will pick it up, but a lot of celebrities are out there promoting these kinds of things. And it's not just cryptocurrencies.

There's a major lesson here for our viewers, aren't there?

POLCARI: Yes, there's a big lesson. Look, she got paid whatever it was, $250,000, to go out there and push some token. I don't even know what it was. It wasn't Bitcoin and Ethereum. it was something else.

But whatever it is, to her 225 million followers -- I think it's ridiculous, because she's not in the industry. She doesn't -- she didn't really recommend it. But she doesn't necessarily have to recommend it, per se, just have to talk about it to create all this excitement amongst her viewers. Oh, look at what Kim did.

And so, therefore, someone has to draw the line and someone has to say, look, you can't go there, right? She's not the face. She's not the voice. She's not a registered person. She's not an adviser. She doesn't necessarily understand the crypto -- the cryptocurrencies, nor all the regulation around it.

So, someone's got to put their foot down. In fact, I think the SEC was right for doing that. Now, notice, she settled it right away. First of all, it's a drop in the bucket...

PAYNE: Right, $1.3 million.

POLCARI: ... in terms of her net worth. Yes, right.

PAYNE: She...

POLCARI: Go ahead.

PAYNE: No, I just -- I just think that the fact that it wasn't fully disclosed, right? Anyone can say, I think this is a great stock.

POLCARI: Right.

PAYNE: And, by the way, I forgot to let the audience know. Credit Suisse is saying they're OK. Like, they have got enough money to weather the storm.

So I do want to add that.

POLCARI: Right.

PAYNE: I got less than a minute to go.

Your sense right now as we head into this last quarter? Technically, historically, September 30 in a midterm year is the market bottom. Can we be hopeful that history will repeat itself?

POLCARI: I'd like to be hopeful history could repeat itself.

I'm just concerned about the coming earnings this quarter that are going to start next week. I'm concerned that the estimates haven't come down enough. Look what they did to Tesla today, right? They took 10 percent of it. The market is up big all over the place.

But Tesla warned that they missed deliveries by, I don't know, X amount, whatever. it was, not huge, but they missed delivery. And they took 10 percent out of the stock.

PAYNE: Yes.

POLCARI: Good for Tesla for coming out and messaging the fact that that's the case. I'm worried that not enough companies are doing that.

I think the strong dollar is going to be the story. It's going to hurt a lot of the multinationals.

PAYNE: Yes.

And, by the way, Tesla had record deliveries. Just wasn't what Wall Street thought.

Kenny, thank you so much, my friend. Appreciate it.

POLCARI: Yes, thank you. Bye-bye.

PAYNE: So, with concerns over Putin's nuclear threats growing, how much should we be worrying?

And search-and-rescue efforts under way in Florida as the death toll rises from Hurricane Ian. We're going to get an update from the National Guard next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAYNE: President Biden surveying hurricane damage to Puerto Rico today and planning to head to Florida on Wednesday.

FOX News White House correspondent Peter Doocy has the details -- Peter.

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Charles, on the ground in Puerto Rico, President Biden is insisting he is not using the federal storm response to do favors for friends.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are times like these our nation comes together, put aside our difference, our political differences, and get to work. We show up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOOCY: Officials still are not committing to a meeting with Ron DeSantis Wednesday, when he goes to Florida, but officials are cleaning up a comment from the vice president where she seems to suggest that race could impact federal relief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Lowest-income communities and our communities of color that are most impacted by these extreme conditions. and -- and impacted by -- by issues that are not of their own making.

And so we have to address this in a way that is about giving resources based on equity, understanding that we fight for equality, but we also need to fight for equity, understanding...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOOCY: Aboard Air Force One on the way down to Puerto Rico, the press secretary clarified.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We are committed to quickly getting resources to all communities impacted, period, full stop.

But we also know that some people, particularly in lower-income communities, have a hard time accessing that help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOOCY: And that is more in line with what we have been seeing and hearing from FEMA officials talking about their responses in the U.S. mainland and also down in Puerto Rico -- Charles.

PAYNE: Peter, thank you very much.

My next guest is part of the search-and-rescue efforts in hard-hit areas of Florida.

National Guard Major General James Eifert joins us now.

General, thank you so much for joining us.

It's been a hectic, obviously, at least 72 hours. Tell us where you are. What's happened over the last day or so with you?

MAJ. GEN. JAMES EIFERT, FLORIDA NATIONAL GUARD: Yes, great question.

The Florida National Guard has probably reached its pinnacle of operations that are involved through the response to Ian. We have got to a point where we are starting to insert our soldiers right onto the barrier islands that previously have not had access through any other means, really. The bridges have been down.

So, we have been able to get quite a number of soldiers, about 160 total, into the islands of Captiva, Sanibel, and Pine Island. And those soldiers now will be able to help distribute commodities, as well as provide security, which is one of the main things that we're trying to do.

The pictures you see there are actually on one of our inland counties, which is totally underwater, it's been flooded, not so much from the storm surge, or any of the high winds, but just from the amount of water that came onto the peninsula of Florida.

Many of our lakes and rivers have overflown to the point that they're really reaching 500-year-record flood levels.

PAYNE: A lot of opinions, a lot of -- some criticism, particularly with Lee County and other areas.

But when you have a storm that's so unpredictable, when you have gone such a long period of time, as you assess this as a commander, as someone who flew fighter jets in the U.S. Air Force. You have commanded men. You command 2,300 Guardsmen at this moment. How do you feel about the response overall?

EIFERT: Yes, I couldn't be prouder of the response really from the bottom up. The governor was right on target, along with all of his emergency management team. The counties were responsive as the hurricane shifted direction. They did exactly what they needed to do exactly in the time that they should have.

So there's a lot of naysayers and second-guessers. And that's not being very helpful, really, to the task at hand. We're trying to get through helping people getting through where they are. And the blame is on Mother Nature. And you just can only do so much. And you prepare and you make the decisions that you have the best information available. And then you move out.

PAYNE: Speaking of preparations, as you go through this process, are you formulating -- is there a formulation of thoughts and ideas to -- even to improve response for future storms like this?

EIFERT: Yes, we will always look at after-action reports and see things that we could have done differently.

I know, from my seat, we could have gotten some liaisons into some of these counties quicker. I think it didn't really impact the response in any significant way. But there's little things that add up and every -- every event that we have in the military, we do a pretty hard scrub after the after the fact, try to learn lessons and make improvements.

PAYNE: It certainly was devastating.

Thank you for your service, particularly in the aftermath of this storm. We all appreciate it, not just the citizens of Florida. Thank you, sir.

EIFERT: My pleasure. Thank you.

PAYNE: A key legal decision just coming in with major impact and implications for the Georgia's governor's race, but which side won?

Well, we have got those details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAYNE: Well, just about six weeks away from the midterms and some key governor's contests, including Georgia, where a federal judge just handed down a ruling impacting the race.

To the FOX's Eric Shawn with the latest -- Eric.

ERIC SHAWN, FOX NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Charles.

Well, it's an election suit setback for Democrat Stacey Abrams in Georgia, and it could affect her challenge against Republican incumbent Governor Brian Kemp. A federal judge ruled against a voting group that Abrams founded that claim the state's voting process violates the Voting Rights Act.

The suit said that the state's voting requirements were too restrictive, citing the exact match for voter registration information. And that county election officials, they say, are not properly trained by the state. But the court disagreed.

Kemp told "FOX News Sunday" that the numbers of people voting in his state has gone up, not down, as Abrams had predicted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): In our state, it's easy to vote and hard to cheat.

And, look, she is spinning that narrative, Shannon. I mean, we just had record turnout in our primary, not only in the Republican primary, but also in the Democratic primary. And this is the same crowd that cost us the All- Star Game saying that the new law that we passed to protect the integrity of vote was suppressive and Jim Crow 2.0. And we have had record turnout.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHAWN: Well, Abrams reacted by saying the ruling was -- quote -- "not the preferred outcome."

She did call it a victory for black and brown voters, whose she says are impacted by the restrictions. This all as there is this new FOX News poll. As you can see, it shows Kemp leading neighbors by seven points, with the governor at 50 percent, Abrams at 43 percent.

Meanwhile, Abrams held a town hall. She focused on helping the state's economy and boosting small businesses, saying the governor has just not done enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STACEY ABRAMS (D), GEORGIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: We do have time to make a different choice. We have a chance to change the future.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

ABRAMS: As governor, I want to get us back to the basics, education, health care, housing, and the ability to make a good living.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHAWN: And, tomorrow, a group of black radio stations will host both Kemp and Abrams, as well as Senator Raphael Warnock and his Republican opponent, Herschel Walker, to talk about the issues.

Of course, there's 36 days until the election -- Charles.

PAYNE: All right, you can feel the tension.

Eric, thank you so much.

So, from the states to Washington, there's a new Gallup poll finding Republicans coming out on top of the Democrats for national security and maintaining American prosperity.

Let's talk it out with Democratic strategist Kristal Knight and Kelsey Bolar from Independent Women's Forum.

Kelsey, let me start with.

This poll has been going back and forth for some time, but Republicans seem to be building momentum.

KELSEY BOLAR, INDEPENDENT WOMEN'S FORUM: Charles, inflation and public safety are top of mind for American voters.

To borrow a term from our White House press secretary, we know, from the White House to Congress, Democrats have had control in Washington of policies regarding our national security, regarding public safety. And for the past two years, these policies have consistently failed the American people, from our national immigration policies, which have enabled at least 78 individuals on the FBI's terrorist watch list to make it through the border.

Another up to a million more have gone undetected. Who knows how many of those individuals are on the FBI's terrorist watch list? And then look across our Democrat-controlled cities, where crime is just surging across the board.

Politics matter because people matter. And if people want to see a change in their local cities in our country, they have to go to the polls and vote for that change.

PAYNE: Right.

You know, Kristal, we had a sound bite of candidate Abrams. And what I found a little intriguing there, she had been really talking abortion, abortion, abortion, for several weeks now, but appears to be pivoting, talking more about the economy and other things.

I mean, is it -- how important is it that the Democrats find a way to message how they would do with the economy, despite the fact that we do have a president, a Democrat in the White House now?

KRISTAL KNIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, it's absolutely important that this administration and Democratic candidates understand what voters care about.

And inflation, the economy, these are things that people are talking about and things that people feel when they go to stores, when they go to gas pumps throughout their day-to-day lives.

And so it's really critical, based upon the state that you live in, based upon the district that you're running in, that you speak specifically to voters and ensure them that this administration, this party, the Democratic Party, does have their back, and that things will get better as we continue out through this election cycle.

PAYNE: Kelsey brought up the images of crime. I know Democrats have worked really hard to try to get away from the defund the police debacle.

Still, though, almost every single day, we see videos, people seeing them right on social media, on TV, everywhere you look. And they're devastating. I mean, they're just heart-wrenching, victims being pummeled by people in these major cities, people with track records of dozens of arrests.

And it feels like that falls at the feet of Democrats because they have been in control of most of these places for so long. How do you push back against that?

KNIGHT: Well, I push back against it by stating that there's money that has been placed in the federal budget to address some of the systemic issues surrounding crime in many of these cities.

What we also know is that crime isn't just limited to cities that are run or that are democratically controlled. Crime is everywhere. And it's in every major city across this country. And so the notion that it's only a Democratic issue is just false. It's a false narrative.

And if we really care about crime and solving it, then every person that's in Congress will vote to increase the budget that will help with community violence intervention programs, mental health programs, and all the other things that attribute to the rise in crime.

PAYNE: Kelsey, there's obviously ebbs and flows when it comes to this sort of stuff.

Republicans were up early. Democrats had momentum. And now it looks like Republicans have momentum again. You feel like this is going to be a nail- biter all the way through?

BOLAR: Absolutely.

I think Republicans have a good chance, but it's something they need to fight for. I have to push back a bit at what my panelist just said. Look, across the board, you see these Democrat-controlled cities, this is where crime is surging. President Biden and the entire Democrat establishment has pushed in anti-police, soft-on-crime agenda.

And there had been real-life consequences for Americans across the country as a result of that. Add to that inflation, these are the real issues that are impacting Americans right in their homes. These things matter. And these are what need to drive Americans to the polls.

PAYNE: Kristal, you got 30 seconds, but watching people in these in these big major cities, where they're -- they don't have to pay bail, where they're in and out of jail all the time, where they have these long track records commit heinous, hideous, just heart-wrenching crimes, I mean, it's -- I don't see how you can blame that on Washington, D.C.

KNIGHT: Well, no one's blaming it on Washington, D.C.

But I'd be curious if we really surveyed many of these cities and look at the governorships in these states, if they have permitless carry, those are issues and challenges and policies that lead to rising crime. And so when we talk about the crime statistics, we really have to look at all of the nuances that surround it and not just a city controlled by a Democrat, but if the state is controlled by a Republican governor who has a very relaxed policy on carrying weapons that contribute to crime.

PAYNE: Yes, I'm not sure what state you're talking about.

But, ladies, we have to leave it there. Thank you both very much.

Meanwhile, folks, Ukrainian forces are making gains. And Putin continues to make nuclear threats. Where it all stands is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAYNE: Ukraine clawing back more territory over the weekend, delivering a sharp blow to Russia's President Putin, as he renews his nuclear threats.

NATO, though, warning of severe consequences if nuclear weapons are used.

Joining me now to discuss, retired U.S. Air Force General Richard Newton.

General, where does the war stand? When I hear the reports, it feels like Ukraine is winning. When I look at the map, there's still a large swathe of Ukrainian territory that's controlled by Russia.

LT. GEN. RICHARD NEWTON (RET.), U.S. AIR FORCE: Well, Charles, good afternoon.

It's always -- always good to be with you. Certainly, the momentum has shifted significantly over the last seven months, but now over the last several weeks, in Ukrainian and President Zelenskyy's favor.

And what you're seeing on the map is, again, the Ukrainian forces are pressing not only towards the east, but towards the south as well. And so I believe the tide has definitely turned, almost to the point -- and I will quote my friend and colleague David Petraeus over the weekend, who says it's nearly irreversible in terms of the position that the Russian army finds itself on the battlefield.

But let's keep in mind, I want our audience to know the war is far from over, but it certainly has shifted the tide towards Ukraine.

PAYNE: I don't think Americans grasp how large an area this is, how much is going into this.

And then maybe there was the initial media reporting, it felt there was going to be a skirmish. Western leaders were telling Zelenskyy to get out of there, and Russia would win in a matter of 24 to 48 hours. Explain the scope of this. The size of this, I think, we just don't appreciate.

NEWTON: Well, the scope of it, Charles, is, this is a largest invasion, landmass invasion, since World War II. It's extraordinary, and not only in terms of the depth of the battlefield, but in terms of the various areas not in the east, but in the south as well.

And so it's provided a significant challenge to Putin and his forces, which I, frankly, thought and a lot of my colleagues thought that Russia is 7 feet tall. We found out they're only perhaps about 5'5'' five tall, if you if you put that into perspective.

But the challenge here is, Russia is fighting not on its home soil, but it's fighting an away game. Ukraine and President Zelenskyy has shown tremendous might. In fact, they have outmobilized the Ukrainian forces and their capabilities against the Russians and so forth.

And so Ukraine has got a fairly good military as well. Another aspect of this, Charles, that is very important is the billions of dollars, $17 billion to date and $1 billion most recently, that the United States and also some NATO allies have provided in terms of military support to Ukraine. That has been significant.

PAYNE: Right.

NEWTON: But we can't let our foot off the pedal, because the momentum is now swinging, but we have got to keep -- keep providing those capabilities, especially regarding ammunition and fuel.

PAYNE: What about the repeated threats and now more frequent threats of nuclear -- the use of nuclear weapons, perhaps a limited use of nuclear weapons, from Vladimir Putin and his close friends and allies?

NEWTON: We have to take those threats seriously.

Russia is the largest nuclear nation in the world, in terms of tactical and nuclear forces and so forth. So we have got to make sure that we pay very close attention to that. But, in my view, in my estimation, especially what's happening on the battlefield right now, we can't let that deter us from supporting President Zelenskyy.

We cannot have that deterrence in terms of not providing that ammunition, fuel and other capabilities to continue to keep this tide turning in the favor of Ukraine.

PAYNE: Right.

NEWTON: I believe it's absolutely essential that President Zelenskyy in Ukraine wins this conflict. It's not going to happen over the next month or two.

PAYNE: Right. Right.

NEWTON: We're still looking, Charles, at several months.

PAYNE: General, let me -- we have got one minute to go. And I got to ask.

NATO saying there would be severe consequences. I fear that, would the use of nuclear weapons in any form, no matter what size, draw America into a physical conflict as well?

NEWTON: I believe, not only would it draw America, but it would draw our NATO allies as well.

I'm -- I don't want to get into a whole lot of details in terms of trying to figure out what that would look like, but I can tell you this. Russia's military forces, especially in Ukraine, all their conventional forces, their air forces, their land forces, and even some of their sea forces around the Black Sea, would be destroyed.

And that would bring in all the capabilities to bear against Russian conventional forces.

PAYNE: Right.

NEWTON: We don't necessarily have to go nuclear, but in terms of destroying their military, that's exactly, I believe, what would happen.

PAYNE: Wow. The plot -- I mean, this is really -- General, thank you so much for your expertise.

And we will be asking you for help again real soon. I appreciate it.

And, folks, thank you so much for watching me at home. You can catch me on FOX Business 2:00 p.m. on "Making Money." It's a real difficult time for the markets and your money. I got your back.

In the meantime, here's "THE FIVE."

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