This is a rush transcript of "Your World" on December 14, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: All right, we're live in Mayfield, Kentucky, the president heading there tomorrow, the governor touring more the devastation today in Kentucky, this as search-and-recovery operations continue.

Relief groups are moving fast to help folks get heat, hot water, electricity, all that ahead of the holidays. We're going to be speaking to the American Red Cross on the ground in Mayfield on how maybe even you can help.

Welcome, everybody. I'm Neil Cavuto, and this is "Your World," and a busy one at that.

Mike Tobin is in Mayfield, Kentucky, with the very latest there -- Mike.

MIKE TOBIN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: And, Neil, investigators with the National Weather Service specializing in big tornadoes have been brought in to put a rating on the engine that caused all of this destruction.

It is really a remarkable tornado. And they're looking at the possibility of a tornado with multiple vortexes. That means tornadoes within tornadoes, the inner tornadoes being stronger.

Despite three teams of investigators, the rating is taking a long time, simply because there is so much destruction to investigate, destruction to the extent that people who live in this area got out Saturday morning and didn't recognize their hometowns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS (R-NY): More than anything right now, he has the ability to use that bully pulpit to call out those Democratic mayors and governors who are making the people of this country less safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TOBIN: And with nearly 600 Guardsmen activated, the death toll now stands at 74 in Kentucky. And that is still -- or this is still considered a search-and-rescue operation, meaning there is hope to find survivors.

But with 100 people missing, there is reason to anticipate more bad news. The sound of heavy equipment is constant in Mayfield. Debris is loaded and hauled away. The governor called the cleanup a relief, a light at the end of the tunnel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): It feels pretty good to not just be pushing this stuff out of the way, but to be loading it up and taking it out of town.

There's something therapeutic about taking that chaos and destruction and death and getting it out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TOBIN: And, Neil, the National Weather Service out of Paducah posting bulletins that conditions were ripe for something bad to happen about two hours ahead of the tornado touching down.

It's really hard to tell how many people were helped by that, because you don't have a statistic for how many people weren't hurt -- Neil, back to you.

CAVUTO: Mike Tobin, you have covered so many of these. This -- the breadth of this damage has to be stunning.

TOBIN: It is really something that I haven't seen before.

You're talking about a mile-wide in some places, according to the National Weather Service. But when you're in the center of it, you can't see the edges of the destruction. It's that big. Usually, you will see a tornado hop along, cause some problems, hop back up in the sky, or sometimes touch down in an area that's not populated.

To have one just take a foothold on the ground and drive like a lawn mower over 200 miles, that's something I have never seen before, Neil.

CAVUTO: Great reporting, my friend. Thank you very much, Mike Tobin, in the middle of all that.

TOBIN: Thank you.

CAVUTO: Well, the president is, as Mike said, headed to Mayfield, Kentucky, tomorrow.

What does my next guest want to hear from him. Tyler Goodman is a Graves County commissioner and a Mayfield resident, says there's no doubt that they will rebuild, but they have a lot to focus on for the time being. He was kind enough to join us right now.

Tyler, how are things looking there right now?

TYLER GOODMAN, COMMISSIONER, GRAVES COUNTY, KENTUCKY: Well, it's very busy right now.

I mean, there are rescue teams. There are Red Cross. There's utility crews. There's road crews. There's people everywhere in Mayfield, and everybody's here to help. And it's good to see all the outpouring of support that we have got.

CAVUTO: What do you most need right now, Tyler?

GOODMAN: Well, really, we need the utilities back on.

The Transportation Department has done a great job clearing everything off. We have had donations come in as far from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Arkansas. We are -- I mean, we're blessed with the outpouring of support that we have had. We have got water, blankets, personal products, all kinds of stuff, food, food trailers, just a variety of things.

And it's been a ton of support that people have shown to us.

CAVUTO: You know, Tyler, I don't know how much you would know about this. But we keep hearing from the governor there are still better than 100 people who are missing.

Could it be that with, power outages and the like and cell phone service next to impossible, that they're fine, they just have no way to reach anyone?

GOODMAN: That's entirely possible.

There have been volunteer crews and rescue crews go house to house, business to business, building to building, searching for people, clearing off certain areas. So, I think that will be answered as time goes forward. But communication is still an issue. So that could be part of the problem.

CAVUTO: What do you want to hear from the president tomorrow when he tours around where you are right now?

GOODMAN: I think what we want to hear is, we're with you now, but we're with you in the days, weeks and months to come. We will help you rebuild. We're here for you. We want to see Mayfield succeed, Mayfield a greater chance to succeed, because we have no doubt we will rebuild.

And we would like to that support from a state and federal level. And I believe we will get it.

CAVUTO: I'm wondering, Tyler, while I have you here -- and I know you have been asked this many times about the warnings that went out that night. And we know they were constant. But did people have enough time?

GOODMAN: I would say, with this storm being as large and on the ground as long as it was -- I mean, it was on the ground from Jonesboro, Arkansas, to -- through Kentucky, so 200-something miles.

We did have quite a bit of notice. Our news and meteorologists did a great job. A lot of people were able to get out or get to a basement or safe place because of that advance notice.

CAVUTO: All right, best of luck with this.

Tyler Goodman, the Graves County commissioner, ahead of the president's arrival there tomorrow.

The Red Cross is on the scene, as it always is during times of crisis.

Holly Baker of the American Red Cross kind enough to join us right now.

Holly, how are things looking there to you?

HOLLY BAKER, AMERICAN RED CROSS: Well, thank you so much for having me. And I'm here on the ground in Mayfield, Kentucky.

And I can just tell you that everything that we have heard, all the images that you have seen, it is so much worse in real life. The devastation is real. But I can tell already that the community is coming together.

And the Red Cross is here. We have identified several partners on the ground as well. And we're going to be a part of this response for as long as needed. And from what I can see, I can tell it will be weeks, if not months, that we will be here. And the people who experienced this, they're going to be talking about this and dealing with this for probably years to Congress.

It's really that big of a disaster. It's huge.

CAVUTO: How do you coordinate all that, Holly?

BAKER: Well, we have an amazing work force of volunteers. We're 90 percent volunteers at the Red Cross.

So we have volunteers on the ground from the Kentucky area that were here already, the Kentucky Red Cross. And then Red Crossers from around the country, including many unaffected areas, are making their way here. Many are already here.

And they're going to be a part of his response as well. And we're going to wrap our arms around this community. And we're going to provide comfort and hope. And we already have many shelters set up, including one here in Mayfield.

And right now, we're helping people with those things that they don't have when you lose everything in the middle of the night. We're replacing glasses. We're helping people get prescriptions refilled, those things, and then we're looking at the long term, and trying to determine what needs will really be needed here, because, like I said, this is going to be a major response.

CAVUTO: Now, obviously, where you are standing now is the epicenter of all of this, but it affected Illinois and Arkansas and Missouri and Tennessee.

And I'm just wondering, how does the Red Cross coordinate all of that with, again, private entities on the ground? Because, as you move from here, obviously, you spread out to these other areas hit, maybe not as hard, but hit pretty hard.

BAKER: Yes, this is definitely a large-scale, multistate response.

I'm from Illinois, and we were hit there as well. And I know that people in Southern Illinois are dealing with this, people in Tennessee, people in Arkansas and everywhere. And so we work together and kind of figure out how we can make the biggest impact and use our resources and connect with other agencies as well.

A disaster like this is so big, no single organization would be able to meet all the needs created. But we're going to do what we can do best. And that is provide comfort and bring hope for tomorrow. And we're going to make these people feel like they are not alone.

I spoke to many local people today. And a man who said he was 59, who said he lived here his whole life, he had never seen anything like this. Another man I spoke to said he knew somebody who lost their brother in all of this.

And I can just tell that people are going to need healing. And that's what we're here for. We have volunteers who are specializing in disaster mental health, in casework, in everything that might come from a disaster like this.

So we're here to help. And we will be here as long as we're needed.

CAVUTO: Thank you very much, Holly, for what you and all your colleagues are doing.

Again, Holly Baker, the American Red Cross, in the middle of all of that.

Just want to update you on another development we're following out of Washington right now. And that is this contempt vote they plan to hold for Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff for President Trump, for refusing to come and testify before Congress to that January 6 Committee, of course, when rioters took over Capitol Hill.

The vote is expected to be close, but that they will subpoena him and force the issue. It could mean jail time if he still refuses. And it could mean some hefty fines. We will keep a close eye on that vote.

And keeping a close eye on what you see all the time at the store, inflation. It is running out of control, running at the latest wholesale price report -- those are the prices before what you and I pay at the retail level -- running at close to a 10 percent clip year over year.

So here's the deal. You're seeing yourself making a little bit more money, about 4 to 5 percent more, but the cost of the things you want to buy are running double that. What do you do?

After this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: And they rise and they rise.

You're already spending a lot of green. Now a new report on inflation that could have you seeing red.

To Susan Li from FOX Business with the breakdown that has a lot of folks fired up -- Susan.

SUSAN LI, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Neil, no relief in sight for consumers, with price pressures continuing to build in the U.S. supply chains.

So we saw a record jump in producer prices in November. And that means suppliers are charging businesses at the highest level for their goods since data started being collected 11 years ago. Now, combine with the highest consumer price jump in 40 years last month, and that suggests that prices are going to stay elevated into next year.

So businesses being businesses and meaning that they need to make money, they're going to try to pass on the bulk of any price increases onto consumers, with nearly 60 percent of small businesses raising their prices. And that is a highest number since the Carter administration in 1979, with a majority of wholesale suppliers, construction companies and manufacturing passing the buck onto consumers.

And that's why Americans are paying a lot more these days, whether it's at the grocery stores or filling up their gas tanks, booking trips, or buying furniture. Now, geographically, consumers in the Midwest and the South of this country are more concerned of a negative inflation impact than, say, residents in the West or the Northeast, according to the New York Fed survey this week.

And that's why Wall Street now predicts that the Federal Reserve will have to be more aggressive in its fight against inflation and skyrocketing prices. That means that they will start cutting back on their monthly bond purchases by twice the amount the Fed Chair Jay Powell had indicated just six weeks ago.

And they will likely start raising interest rates in the early springtime, with Wall Street anticipating maybe two or three interest rate hikes next year, as the Fed, Neil, tries to battle and bring down the cost of goods.

CAVUTO: Susan Li, thank you very much for that.

Just as a point of explanation here, what the Federal Reserve can do, it's been buying up a lot of Treasury notes, mortgage securities, and forcing to keep interest rates down, already indicating -- and we will get confirmation of that tomorrow -- that it's going to slow down on all that buying, and maybe, maybe stop it eventually, within just a couple of months.

That could have an effect on interest rates moving up pretty much by themselves, even if the Fed doesn't formally raise interest rates to respond to this. And all of this with a backdrop of a lot more spending on Capitol Hill that some worry is going to make a bad thing get worse.

Hillary Vaughn with the latest on that in Washington -- Hillary.

HILLARY VAUGHN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Neil.

Well, Republicans say that the programs in President Biden's Build Back Better bill are not going away, but are here to stay. The Congressional Budget Office says, if that were to happen, the real cost of the Build Back Better bill is closer to $5 trillion.

But the White House and Democrats on Capitol Hill say that's not fair because they cut programs short on purpose and will extend them on a case- by-case basis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PSAKI: The new CBO score, it is a fake score about a bill that doesn't exist.

The president has conveyed very clearly multiple times publicly that he would like programs, if they're extended, to be paid for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUGHN: But the federal government is already borrowing to pay the bills we already owe. In October and November, the government brought in $565 billion in tax revenue, but spent over $900 billion, which means we're about $350 billion short.

The Senate will vote any moment now to raise the debt limit by $2.5 trillion, while Democrats in Congress continue to push for trillions more in new government spending. So I asked Senator Elizabeth Warren about the rising debt that's still unaddressed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VAUGHN: How high do you think the debt needs to get before it's time to cut government spending or freeze any new government spending?

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): I think you look at this the wrong way.

When we have a growing debt load, it's because the revenues coming in don't match the expenditures. So, yes, we have a debt problem. But we have a debt problem partly because the very richest people just aren't paying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUGHN: Neil, if you took all the money away from the billionaires in America, that would only add up to about $4 trillion.

So, when you look at the national debt, you would still have about $27 trillion that you would need to get the money from somewhere else -- Neil.

CAVUTO: You either cut spending less or widen the tax-hiking pool a little further.

Hillary, thank you very, very much, Hillary Vaughn following all that.

Ohio Republican Senator Rob Portman with us on these developments.

Senator, what did you think of what Senator Elizabeth Warren said; it's really about not taxing the rich enough?

SEN. ROB PORTMAN (R-OH): Well, what is fascinating about that is, our revenues are actually very high right now, relative to where they have been.

In other words, last quarter, it looks like our revenues may have been at a record level. So it's not that we're not taxing enough. We're taxing a lot. And there's a lot of uncertainty in the economy. So the more you tax the economy, the more you're going to hurt working families.

All the things that are in this so-called Build Back Better tax-and-spend extravaganza hurt working families. So the real issue is spending. It's spending that has increased dramatically. And $1.9 trillion in March that was already spent is part of the problem. And now they want to make it even worse by once again overheating the economy with more stimulus spending that's going to result in higher inflation.

The American people get that because they're going to the store, they're going to the gas pump, they're trying to buy clothes, and everything's going up. You just had a great report from Susan Ball saying -- or Susan Li saying that it's not only about the consumer prices going up, but now, as of the new numbers we just got last night, it was about the producer price index at historic levels since we started keeping track of it over 10 years ago.

That means that this is upstream. That means this is not going to end soon, and that businesses are raising their prices.

CAVUTO: Right.

We should just explain, when they are paying more for goods, the argument is, they have to pass that along to us at the retail level, the average mom-and-pop level, and that's about to what -- what hits us.

PORTMAN: Yes.

CAVUTO: Now, the indications are right now that this inflation will stick around a while.

Do you think Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve should start hiking interest rates like now?

PORTMAN: Well, I think they should start tapering, as he's talked about.

And you mentioned this a moment ago. The effect of that should be to raise interest rates slightly. But what's going to happen eventually is, with this kind of inflation, we're going to have to do something. Raising interest rates is the obvious way to do it and has been successful in the past. You don't want to do it too much...

CAVUTO: Right.

PORTMAN: ... because you don't want to get to the stagflation of the late 1970s, early 1980s, where you had low growth because interest rates were high, double digits, and also high inflation.

It's a double whammy. The best thing to do right now, Neil, though, is on the fiscal side. Let's just take a pause. As Joe Manchin said wisely, let's take a strategic pause. We're in the middle of four things right now, incredibly high inflation, which will only be exacerbated by this, record levels of debt, both in nominal terms, but also as a percent of our economy, which is how you ought to look at it.

And that's really scary to all of us, also a lot of uncertainty because of COVID. We have a situation now where, unfortunately, the COVID situation doesn't seem to be getting better, as we'd all hoped.

And then I would just say we're in an uncertain time here, in terms of a lot of other expenditures. Look at the natural disaster that just happened in Kentucky and other states around the Midwest and the South. Look at all the other natural disasters. We don't have enough money in the FEMA bank to be able to handle all this.

CAVUTO: So, in other words, you're arguing go slow on the spending. I get that.

But -- and you're -- you're closer to Joe Manchin. He's been very leery of this. He's worried about inflation. The president was kind of strong-arming him yesterday, I would assume, when they met yet again on this.

PORTMAN: Yes.

CAVUTO: Do you think he will end up voting for this?

PORTMAN: That's up to Joe Manchin.

He's an independent politician who cares about his people in West Virginia. And I think that's how he's going to look at it. And what he has...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: I understand that, Senator, but, in the past, he has ultimately voted along with his party.

Now, he does succeed in changing the dynamics and changing the size of the package and all that. So do you think he is closer to voting for this? It's a gut call you're making on a colleague and friend, I understand, but what do you think?

PORTMAN: Yes, and he is a colleague and friend. And I don't know, the answer to your question.

What I do know definitively is that, if he voted for something, it would be a lot smaller than the $6 trillion and the $3.5 trillion they were talking about. They claimed this was only $1.7 trillion. But, by the way, on that issue, whoever is talking about $1.7 trillion, because these things are all temporary, these spending programs, doesn't realize that what Congress does when there's a program like the child tax credit is, we tend to extend it year after year after year.

That's why the real cost of this, as the Congressional Budget Office just said, is closer to $5 trillion, $4.9 trillion.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Right. We should just explain. I'm so glad you said that, Senator, because that was what was asked.

PORTMAN: Yes.

CAVUTO: Some minority members of Congress had asked the CBO, if these did not just sort of die on the vine, what would this be?

PORTMAN: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: And that's when they came out with that $5 trillion figure.

PORTMAN: And there's no better example of that than right now.

CAVUTO: Got it.

PORTMAN: So what's happening today in the halls of Congress, Democrats are being pressured to vote for the Build Back Better legislation. Why? Because, at the end of this year, what expires? The child tax credit.

So they're pushing people to give that another year. What's going to happen a year from now? What will be different?

CAVUTO: Got it.

PORTMAN: Once again, there will be the same pressure. And it's very, very likely to happen, because that's what happens around here, meaning that the real cost of this legislation is far higher than advertised.

And the revenue to try to pay for that is far lower than advertised. So, it creates big deficits, but it also creates this issue where we're adding more to inflation in an economy that's already suffering too much. And it's getting -- middle-class families and lower-income families are the ones taking the hit here, people on fixed incomes, seniors, young poll.

CAVUTO: Got it.

All right, Senator, we will follow it very, very closely. It could be anyone's guess, even if they take that measure up.

Senator Rob Portman following these developments.

PORTMAN: Thanks, Neil.

CAVUTO: We should also let you know the Senate is separately taking up this debt ceiling increase measure. That's not expected to run into any problems.

The House separately taking up this measure to go ahead and punish Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff for Donald Trump, for saying that he was not going to testify to the committee that is looking into the January 6 attacks on the Capitol. Now they're ready to slap him -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: Liz Cheney on the floor of the House right now, where they are debating a contempt resolution against Mark Meadows, Donald Trump's former chief of staff, for refusing to testify.

Big penalties and possible jail time if he doesn't change his mind -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, right now, there's a debate going on, on Capitol Hill.

The House has been on one-hour debate on a resolution that recommends the House find Mark Meadows, Donald Trump's former chief of staff, in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena related to the January 6 Committee investigation, where the Capitol was stormed.

Liz Cheney was up there before. We're hearing for representatives from both Democrats and Republicans to say that this action was necessary, they thought they had cooperation from the former congressman, the former chief of staff. Then he changed his mind, did a 180, said that he would not cooperate with them.

They're forcing the issue by trying to force him with this resolution to hold him in contempt of Congress if he doesn't change his mind. We will continue monitoring this on Capitol Hill if and when they ever get to a vote. This was unanimously voted on within the committee looking into those January 6 events. It is expected to pass.

That is this contempt of Congress resolution in the House, but it will be close as a tick. So we will follow that.

Also waiting to hear anything from Mark Meadows or any of the key confidants around President Trump at the time of all of this.

In the meantime, also following Omicron, spreading worldwide and fast, with cases now over 200,000 in the latest day in Britain alone. They're doubling right now. There's a death in Britain to talk about. But, overall, the impact of this has been surprisingly mild. It is a very contagious variant, but, right now, not all that dangerous a one.

The read on all of this from Dr. Amesh Adalja, the infectious diseases specialist, Johns Hopkins senior scholar

Doctor, I was thinking of just, once we got word of Omicron, the swift moves that were being taken and has since been taken all around the country, from an indoor mask mandate in New York, to the same in California, to companies also making much more sweeping requirements, restrictions as well

Is all of this justified, in your eyes?

DR. AMESH ADALJA, INFECTIOUS DISEASES SOCIETY OF AMERICA: We don't know enough about Omicron to be able to know exactly how to risk-stratify it.

I do think that there was a reflex jump as soon as people heard about it and its mutations to kind of go back to the early days of the pandemic, forgetting that we have vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, rapid tests, and lots of knowledge about how COVID-19 spreads.

So I do think there was a panic reaction, especially, for example, in the travel bans that President Biden initiated that are still in place, even though there's no reason for them to be there. And they actually ended up punishing South Africa.

But I think what we're learning is that, yes, this is more contagious, it may be less severe, but it's something we have to take seriously. But we know how to do this. It's not as if we're helpless or back to the drawing board.

CAVUTO: So, Doctor, when you see these measures taken, like masks and some of these others, are they justified or are they taken out abundance of caution? A lot of people hear them, they go, no, not this again.

And then a lot of people hear this idea of maybe a third or fourth booster shot to ward it off, and they're getting sick of it. What do you tell them?

ADALJA: Well, I tell them that COVID-19 is going -- is here to stay. It's not going to be eliminated. It's not going to be eradicated. We are going to get more variants.

And it's likely that we would get variants like Omicron that are able to get around immunity and infect people. But we have got tools to be able to take care of this. And we don't have to go back to all of the -- those blunt measures.

And what happens is, many of the places that put these things in place are areas where vaccination rates are very high. What we need is people where they're not vaccinated, where those vaccination rates are low to take this seriously.

So what you kind of have is this two-track pandemic, where states like New York, cities like Philadelphia are aggressive. But then places, for example, in the South or the Midwest, they don't really double down on any anything. The stuff that they should be doing for Delta, they're not going to do for Omicron.

And then we end up in this kind of limbo, where we still worry about hospital capacity. I mean, the solution to this is to get more people vaccinated, because we know, even if there's a breakthrough infection with Omicron, you're still protected against what matters, serious disease, hospitalization and death.

So that's the biggest thing we need to be doing to increase our resiliency to this and any other variant.

CAVUTO: Doctor, thank you very much. We needed to hear that, some reassuring, calming words. Thank you very, very much.

In the meantime, you have been seeing a lot of these smash-and-grab robberies, so retailers are trying to fill the void and do something about it -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: Rising prices is one thing. Rising crime across the country, that's quite another. And it has set the nation ablaze right now, worried that this could get worse.

It's one thing to absorb the cost of goods, but the cost of your safety quite another matter.

To FOX Doocy at the White House -- to FOX News' Peter Doocy, I should say, at the White House.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Yes, right? Man, it has a nice ring to it.

So, what is their take on this?

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Neil, they would really rather talk about anything but crime. We have not heard the president talk in depth very much about crime since this summer.

And back then, he was saying, well, this is an issue that I have been working on and dealing with my entire career. And that has certainly persisted throughout his entire first term.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS (R-NY): More than anything right now, he has the ability to use that bully pulpit to call out those Democratic mayors and governors who are making the people of this country less safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOOCY: Officials here at the White House tout funding to keep cops on the beat.

But, in Los Angeles, for example, the sheriff there says that doesn't do a ton when they have got a progressive prosecutor that just lets them go. The sheriff there says they have had 1, 200 -- pardon -- 12,000 cases in the last year where the cops go make an arrest, and they do an investigation, and they hand it off to the prosecutor, and 12,000 times -- quote -- "That crook has walked away scot-free."

So far, officials at the White House will not say if they think some of these prosecutors are too soft on offenders. They instead blame a recent rise in crime on a range of issues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOOCY: Would you consider one of the reasons in the range prosecutors who are cutting people who are accused of many criminal offenses loose too quickly?

PSAKI: Again, I am not, as I wasn't yesterday, going to give an assessment for every motivation or reason for crime in different communities across the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOOCY: The thing is they have given that assessment at different times in the last year, blaming the rise in crime on either guns or COVID -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Peter, thank you very much, Peter Doocy.

Meanwhile, there is an L.A. mall that's using a barbed-wire-like fencing to fight mob lootings, other retailers hiring more security, pushing for more funding for license plate readers. Is it enough?

Retired Las Vegas Police Lieutenant Randy Sutton now on all of that.

What do you think, Randy? I mean, I think it was the Chicago mayor who said it's up to retailers to address this too. And they're not doing their part. Now you have some examples of a lot of them trying just that. But they seem like desperate measures and desperate times.

RANDY SUTTON, FORMER LAS VEGAS POLICE LIEUTENANT: They are.

Imagine putting a barbed wire in front of in front of a retail establishment. It's madness. And the Biden White House is -- they're -- not only are they inept when it comes down to combating crime. They simply don't want to even address it.

It's -- I mean, it's kind of bizarre. But then you go to these activist prosecutors and district attorneys that are across America now. I mean, it's like a cancer growing within the law enforcement criminal justice system, because they are literally the Trojan horses who are destroying the criminal justice system from within.

You have recall efforts now in Los Angeles and San Francisco between Gascon and Boudin, which I really, truly hope are successful, because the two of those people are -- they're a two-person crime wave themselves by their complicity with their failure to prosecute criminality.

CAVUTO: You know, and, by the way, both have minimized this problem, saying it's a fixation of FOX or whatever.

Leaving that aside, though, Lieutenant, one thing that interests me -- and maybe you can help me out with -- is this idea that maybe some of these smash-and-grab events are coordinated on the Internet. Now, a lot of this stuff fingered Snapchat, where a lot of these groups sort of plan these attacks. Snapchat says it's not happening, they find that insulting, et . I'm just paraphrasing.

But do you think there is coordination here, that these aren't just random events?

SUTTON: I believe that there is definitely an organized group that are committing these acts.

And I don't -- I got to tell you that I really don't like the media referring to these events as shoplifting or retail thefts. They are mass criminality events, OK? That's what they truly are, because they aren't just going in -- shoplifting, you go in, you take some fingernail polish and you stick it in your coat.

These are robberies. They are placing people in danger. Many of these men and women who are going into these stores are armed with either firearms or hammers or hatchets. These were armed robberies. They need to be dealt with as armed robberies.

And the only cure for this, Neil -- and I know that the liberal left is not going to like hearing this. But the only cure for this is prosecution and mass incarceration. You incarcerate those who are committing the crimes. I don't know how we got away from this. But that is going to be the only answer to this crime problem.

There have to be consequences. These district attorneys, like Gascon and Boudin, they have taken away those consequences. And this is happening across America. And this is the cancer that's eating at our criminal justice system.

CAVUTO: It is wild, Lieutenant. And you're not imagining it, and better than a dozen cities at record highs and record spikes.

We will keep a close eye on it. Thank you, sir. Always good having you.

All right, in the meantime, the tension convention that has two of the world's most prominent leaders maybe coordinating, trying to goose and get a response out of our leader?

What the Russian and Chinese leaders are planning for tomorrow that leave us wondering -- after this.

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CAVUTO: What is it with all these virtual powwows?

Russia and China's leaders the next to sit down and talk without necessarily being in person. It's all going to be done virtually, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping to do so tomorrow, all of this as Vladimir Putin is warning of this arms buildup going on in Europe, and the Chinese, well, every day, something's going on there.

Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Danny Davis on all of this.

Danny, always great to have you.

LT. COL. DANNY DAVIS (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Thanks.

CAVUTO: What do you make of the timing of all of this?

DAVIS: Well, this really is the ramifications of a long process.

And one of the problems that a lot of so-called experts in Washington don't take advantage of or don't pay attention to is the big picture. They want to look at the near-term things, the Russian buildup here or the flights that -- going on over Taiwan in China.

But, look, we have been pushing both Russia and China for decades really, going all the way back to the George Bush administration. And what we have been doing is pushing them closer and closer together. And that does not work to our advantage to have the two biggest, most powerful nuclear military powers on the planet working together or, God forbid, allied against us.

And we need to start changing our policies and looking beyond the end of our nose.

CAVUTO: Do you think they compare notes on this stuff? I mean, I'm being a little simplistic here. But you have endured my idiotic questions in the past.

But I think, if China is saying, all right, you keep them busy in Ukraine, and we will keep them busy and wondering what the heck's going on in the South China Sea and taunting Taiwan and all of that. What do you think?

DAVIS: Yes, I'd be it would almost be crazy for them not to.

I mean, you whether they're going to take action it is a complete separate matter, because there's so many other factors to work in there. But, I mean, they're -- they have common cause now because they are both, what -- from their perspective, being pushed by us.

So it only makes sense that, on the two issues of the most critical importance to each of those two countries, Ukraine and Taiwan, to Russia and China, that they're going to compare notes.

And it least is theoretically possible that they -- if they're going to do something, they would do it simultaneously, because we can't respond really to one and certainly couldn't to both.

I certainly hope that doesn't happen, but it is something we have to consider.

CAVUTO: You know, Colonel, there are reports that Putin is now threatening to employ intermediate-range of missiles in Europe, saying that NATO is planning to do the same. NATO argues that is not on the table. But I'm wondering if this is like a head fake or gesture to sort of ease the tension with all those 100,000-plus Russian soldiers at the Ukraine border and use that as a means by which this crisis subsides?

DAVIS: Well, I think you would say it's a more comprehensive picture that's somewhat more concerning, because it's not just the nuclear missiles or even just the troops on the border, but what Putin is basically saying, hey, if you expand NATO into Ukraine -- and that's his real red line.

And that drives everything. That's more important than any other single issue. Then he's saying, those troops could be used. And he's saying that, because we can't guarantee and we certainly don't trust NATO, which they just said two days ago, then that we wouldn't put missiles there.

So they're saying, if you come up to our border, then we will also bring missiles up closer too. And he's saying, hey, let's don't do either one of those. We will -- let's have some kind of agreement that NATO won't move up, we will move our troops back, we will take them -- we won't put missiles up there.

So some of his positions have some merit that we should explore. But we should explore those, as opposed to pushing more, because all that's going to do is push Russia and China closer together. And that doesn't help us.

CAVUTO: Colonel, if the Chinese were to attack not Taiwan, but some of these islands that Taiwan administers, would that be deemed the same act of war?

DAVIS: I don't think so.

But, again, even with Taiwan, we don't have a defense treaty. So even that wouldn't be an automatic trigger for war. And God help us if we move in that direction, because we cannot -- militarily, in that area, we cannot compete with China tactically in the air. They have the advantages, and it would be foolhardy for us to even attempt to do so.

And I, frankly, think that's what we should be communicating privately to the leadership in Taiwan, because we simply can't. It's not even a matter of want to. We can't do it, because we would -- all we ended up would be losing the war. So we need to not be military -- we did take, privately, military off the table for any of those contingencies.

CAVUTO: Got it.

Colonel, always good talking to you.

DAVIS: Thank you.

CAVUTO: Danny Davis taking a look at what's happening, two very different parts of the world, but maybe joined at the hip.

Meanwhile, as Kentucky begins picking up the pieces left behind by these deadly tornadoes, a local pastor who is trying to help the community find answers and hope.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, as Kentucky continues grappling with aftermath of those deadly tornadoes, a local pastor working together the Mayfield community through this tragedy by coordinating supply distribution and serving up some hot meals, operating a relief fund, you name it, doing all of it.

Relevant Church Pastor Joel Cauley with us now to talk about all that stuff.

Pastor, very good to have you.

Man, you're a one-man band here. And you're taking care of a lot. Could you explain how it's going?

PASTOR JOEL CAULEY, RELEVANT CHURCH: Hey. Well, Neil, first of all, thank you for having me.

And it is definitely not a one-man show. There's hundreds and hundreds of volunteers, multiple organizations that are helping us on the front lines right there in ground zero in Mayfield, and not just in Mayfield, but we're sending relief efforts all throughout the state of Kentucky and just doing what we can to get people some relief after the devastation of these tornadoes on Friday night.

CAVUTO: What's in the greatest demand? How can other folks help what you're trying to do, Pastor?

CAULEY: Man, right now, we're just trying to keep people warm, trying to keep people fed.

Man, Convoy of Hope and Master Chefs has come in and done an amazing job with getting us some supplies to give people some -- what little bit of comfort they can get right now. And then we're -- we're -- I think we're feeding probably close to 4,000 to 5,000 people a day all throughout the state. And then we're just trying to give people some relief, and so anything to keep people warm, keep people fed, and to give people a little bit of light before power comes back on.

So we're just trying to keep up those efforts and do what we can and assist.

CAVUTO: Pastor, obviously, this is such a devastating event and traumatic...

CAULEY: Yes.

CAVUTO: ... especially for those who have lost loved ones, family members, friends, and many still missing.

That's where the pastor side of you comes in. How do you help them with that?

CAULEY: So, man, number one, it's just so heartbreaking.

But the biggest thing that we can give them is hope and prayer. I love that verse in Psalm that says, God is close to the brokenhearted. So we know that he's here and near. And so it's our job just to try to lift their heads and hold their arms up in these times, and not just to be with them now, but, when this tornado is yesterday's news and this lifestyle now becomes their normal, to be with them there in the long haul, because it's going to take a long time for this to recover.

CAVUTO: How are kids handling all this?

CAULEY: Man, I will tell you what.

We have several counselors and crisis mental health counselors on site right now. We also have the coroner that's on our site that is helping deliver some of the news. And, man, we're just trying to do what we can to just tell them that better days are ahead, that this just is a season, it won't last always, and that -- and just to be here and show them that we're the hands and feet of Jesus, to give them supplies that they need, and just to help parents that even lost -- today, today, we had to help a family assist to help bury their 4-year-old little boy.

CAVUTO: Oh, man.

CAULEY: And he wanted -- yes, he wanted some of this particular cartoon and some of that stuff to be buried with.

So we help find -- because all of their stuff had been destroyed. And so we're just trying to get -- give those needs, give them a little bit of comfort in this devastating time.

CAVUTO: Pastor, thank you for all you're doing and reminding us what we could be doing to help you help them.

Pastor Joel Cauley....

CAULEY: Thank you.

CAVUTO: ... the Relevant Church pastor.

We will keep an eye on this, ahead of the president's visit there tomorrow.

For now, here comes "The Five."

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