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This is a rush transcript of "Your World with Neil Cavuto" on September 15, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Well, crisis averted, or is it?

The White House union striking a deal to avoid a rail strike with a hefty pay increase and a payout for union workers who sign on. Now the big question is, will they?

We are all over it with Edward Lawrence at the White House, where that deal was struck, Jeff Flock in Philadelphia on if the rank-and-file will follow up, and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, the man who helped get it all done in the first place.

Welcome, everybody. I'm Neil Cavuto. So much going on, this deal that could have been a disaster for the U.S. economy. That doesn't mean, as I said, it's a done deal, but it's closer to a done deal. And the vote is on.

Jacqui Heinrich at the White House with the very latest -- Jacqui.

Oh, Edward Lawrence.

EDWARD LAWRENCE, FOX BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Here at the White House, though...

CAVUTO: I apologize, Edward.

LAWRENCE: Although I can be confused for Jacqui. That's easy.

CAVUTO: I apologize.

LAWRENCE: I can see how that would happen.

But yes -- no, no, no. So, yes, this was all approved about 5:00 a.m. this morning. This is what we understand. And the president says that this is good for America, says that Americans -- it averts that strike that possibly could devastate the economy, while giving the unions about a 24 percent increase over the next five years or so.

But, again, the president saying this is good for Americans. Here's the president. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Together, we reached an agreement, you reached an agreement that will keep our critical rail system working and avoid disruptions of our economy.

And I'm grateful, grateful for the members of administration who worked tirelessly on both sides to help get this done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: Now, Republicans say there's still a long way to go, because all the unions now have to ratify this agreement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): Well, I hope -- I have heard that they have a tentative agreement. I hope it becomes an agreement. I hope there's not -- I hope we don't have a real strike. I'm surprised the administration couldn't get this done before today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: So, union bosses say that they can get the job done and the agreement will be pushed over the finish line.

Still, the White House again saying that this was a disaster averted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: But we have to remember what we averted here. This would have been devastating for our economy, devastating for our supply chain.

So what we saw the last few hours in this -- in this agreement is that we're -- it is good for our economy and it is good for the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: And the president could use a win on optics this week. As you know, earlier in the week, he held his celebration the day that inflation was around a near 40-year high and core inflation rose for the first time in five months -- Neil.

CAVUTO: All right, Edward, I'm so sorry again about that.

LAWRENCE: That's OK.

CAVUTO: I thought you were going to become Jacqui and just do one of these -- but, no, that did not happen. Thank you very, very much.

All right, let's go to Jeff Flock in Philadelphia. He has been following us very, very closely.

And, again, Jeff, I guess it's not quite a done, done deal here. But there are features to it that would be pretty appealing to other unions looking at this.

JEFF FLOCK, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are some features that are appealing, Neil, but on the subject of the perhaps most important issue, that is to say, work rules, attendance policies, there's not a lot of detail in there.

Yes, they say it's going to get better. But devil is in the details, as they say. We did catch up with the president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. He had just emerged from that 20-hour negotiating session. He said it was a slog, but he understands that there are people that will be hard to convince. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENNIS PIERCE, BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS AND TRAINMEN: We think we have a deal that our membership will accept and our job now is to get out there and get it ratified.

A strike is always a last resort. But it's part of the process. And not only do unions have the right to strike under the Railway Labor Act. Employers have the right to lock us out. And that's happened before too. So it's a two-way street.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLOCK: Here's what we know is in the deal, Neil.

The part that you're referring to I think that looks pretty good is that 24 percent pay increase, retroactive, five years. But they say they haven't had a raise in a couple of years as they negotiated this contract. So maybe it's not as much as you think.

Attendance modifications, attendance policy modifications, what are they? At this point, we don't know. They get one extra paid day of leave. That's all we know. What else is out there? No hikes on their co-pays or deductibles for health care and $1,000-a-year bonus. That's kind of nice, too.

But I will tell you, talking to some of these people, they really feel they have been taken advantage of over the course of the past couple of years without a raise, continuing to work long, on call at times, shifts. This may not be enough for some people. Some people have said they are going to strike or they're going to vote against it if they don't have to enough of an improvement in their quality of life -- Neil.

CAVUTO: No, it's a very good point, Jeff

One key union just yesterday essentially rejected the same deal. I don't know how much it was sweetened, but we will explore that a little later.

Jeff Flock in Philadelphia on that.

I did raise the issue with Marty Walsh, the labor secretary on FOX Business. He was talking about now the ticktock moving forward to get this thing approved.

The labor secretary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTY WALSH, U.S. SECRETARY OF LABOR: What will happen now is that the union leaders will take it back to their membership.

They will have a chance to discuss it. This is a democratic process. The members will take a vote on it. There's 12 contracts in total that needs to be voted on. And they're all going to be kind of in sporadic time.

But I feel good. This contract -- a lot of time and effort went into this contract. And I think that, at the end of the day, the members will look and see the importance of this contract, because I think this contract respects the value of workers for the -- for the train companies.

CAVUTO: We're told that you were shepherding this process, and it took the better part of 20 hours. I don't know if you have had any sleep.

But, normally, what I enjoy, as an interviewer, when someone hasn't had any sleep, they will say crazy stuff. So I'm going to keep asking your questions.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: But I will, out of curiosity, Secretary, wonder, what took so long? What were the sticking points?

WALSH: Well, this has been a two-year negotiation. It took a Presidential Emergency Board to come together to get this negotiation moving forward.

And then there was several issues last night. A lot of it's language. It was about getting into the weeds on language. And when you -- when you're in negotiation and you're down to the last several items, it always seems to be the longest to get it resolved.

And I think a lot of it was passing paper back and forth. But what I was doing is walking back and forth between the rooms, making sure both sides were staying and talking. Leading up to yesterday, a lot of it was done in person, but through computers. And I -- yesterday morning, when I -- when everyone came in the office, I said, I want to get an agreement before we leave here today.

And with the help of both sides, we were able to get an agreement done.

CAVUTO: These are very generous provisions, Secretary, for the workers, and a lot of the paid stuff was already ironed out. So, those were not new developments, but a 24 percent pay increase by 2024, an immediate 14 percent pay increase, like now, $1,000 annual bonuses for the next five years.

Someone's going to have to pay for that. I'm just wondering whether it's going to turn up in higher shipping costs, higher product prices for Americans.

WALSH: Well, let me just address that, the 14 percent right now.

The 14 percent is, the workers on the trains have been working without a contract for the past two years. So, they have been working with a wage from three years ago. And this was -- if they had done a negotiation and got it done in time, you would have seen that increase happen across the board. So, that 14 percent is for the last two years. That's where that increase comes from.

And, again, I think this is a good contract. You're looking at -- the companies have done really well in the last couple of years here in the United States of America. The workers have worked really hard. They have worked through a pandemic. They have kept our supply chains moving forward.

And what we have to do is respect our workers, quite honestly. And I think that that's what this contract shows. And the carriers were at the table last night, and they stated that. The unions were at the table last night. They stated that. And at the end of the -- at the end of this all, we -- everyone walked away feeling in a good position.

And the president talked about it today. It's about making sure that we continue to move our freight around the country and we continue to respect our workers that move that freight.

CAVUTO: I did want to get your thoughts on inflation...

WALSH: Sure.

CAVUTO: ... and whether that is, now with some companies laying off workers or downsizing, in light of those pressures, does that worry you, that inflation itself -- this is a separate deal, I grant you...

WALSH: Yes.

CAVUTO: ... is a real problem for American workers?

WALSH: No, certainly, I mean, I think we have been very clear in this administration that we're doing everything we can to bring down inflationary pressures.

The numbers that came out the other day, certainly, we would liked to -- I would have liked to seen them lower. And we're going to -- we're doing everything we can to bring those costs down, just like I'm doing everything I can to make sure people get into good opportunities for good jobs.

And we're going to continue to work. I'm working on supply chain issues. Obviously, if this -- if this -- if the rails struck and they were out of work tonight, that would have added even additional freshness to our inflationary numbers.

So, we need to do everything we can to prevent adding to inflation and bringing costs down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: All right, the labor secretary, Marty Walsh.

We should explain, the full interview, the long interview, quite a long interview, at that, is on our FOX Business Web site here. And we get into the math and the numbers and whether they add up, and specifically about whether this is going to translate, because I did follow that up a lot, on higher costs for items.

I regret that was not in this thing. But you can go ahead to our FOX Business Web site to see exactly how he explains the math and it will not lead to higher prices or other unions trying to seize on this and say, what you did for them, we want you to do for us.

Steve Moore on that part of the story.

Steven, I apologize that was not included here. But the gist of that was, no, we don't think that this is something that other unions will do. It's a different case for different groups. Do you agree with that? Now, this has generous provisions, but, again, some of these are backdated. I get that.

But if I'm another union, private or public, I'm looking at this and say, well, that's a good start. What do you think?

STEPHEN MOORE, FORMER DONALD TRUMP CAMPAIGN ADVISER: So, it was a fascinating interview.

And one of the things that really struck me was that 24 percent pay increase. It reminded me a little bit, the last time I have seen pay increases like that, you know what it was? The late 1970s, when you had the high inflation.

And I will never -- I will never forget, there was a very famous story of the United Auto Workers signing I think it was like a three year deal for a 25 percent pay increase. And it turned out they lost money, because inflation was so high over that period, that they -- the wages just couldn't keep pass -- keep pace with the higher prices.

So we're in this spiral right now, Neil, where prices go up, so then labor -- the wages have to go up, and then the prices go up.

CAVUTO: Right.

MOORE: Because, obviously, if -- you ask the right question. Isn't this going to raise shipping costs? Of course it will.

And that will be eventually passed on to consumers. We're in a dangerous situation right now, where the pressures are all right now to keep lifting prices. And, by the way, I'm not against wage increases for workers. I want to see it.

CAVUTO: Right. I hear you.

MOORE: I just -- I just want to see them getting wage increases over inflation, not under inflation.

CAVUTO: Yes.

And we should stress that the labor secretary also said that he did not think that this was passed along into higher prices.

MOORE: Yes, I don't agree with him. I don't agree with him.

CAVUTO: Yes. The history doesn't indicate that with other deals.

MOORE: Yes. Yes.

CAVUTO: But having said that -- and you raise a very good point -- prices go up, the wages go up, then the wages go up some more in response prices going up some more.

MOORE: Right.

CAVUTO: And that was the experience of the 1970s.

MOORE: Exactly.

CAVUTO: Now, a lot of people say that's where we're headed.

We see sporadic evidence of that, because now we're also starting to see layoffs or employers now rethinking about how many workers can work from home. So, the pendulum is swinging a bit. But where do you see it going?

MOORE: I think the economy is slowing down. Look what's happening in Europe right now.

Europe is in a pretty harsh recession right now. And there's real worries. I have talked to some major CEOs of Fortune 100 companies in the last few days. And they just -- they're worried that that infection, like a virus, from Europe is going to head this way.

You look at, for example, what's happening in London right now, where people are paying $9 and $10 a gallon for gasoline.

CAVUTO: Yes.

MOORE: I mean, that kind of inflation, God forbid, could be coming this way.

And then you wonder...

(CROSSTALK)

MOORE: ... going to come from.

CAVUTO: And, by the way, their inflation is running at north of 9 percent.

MOORE: Exactly.

CAVUTO: And that's a relief from where they were in double digits. But the fact is, that might be a preview of coming attractions.

MOORE: Yes.

And it is true that there have been some layoffs, and it's true that there's been some hiring freezes. But a lot of these companies are still having a problem finding workers. And I think a part of this solution to getting Americans back to work, because we're still about two or three million Americans below the number who should be working if we had the labor force participation rate before COVID, Neil.

CAVUTO: Yes.

MOORE: And one of the reasons for that -- there are a lot of reasons for it, but one of them is a lot of these welfare benefits, and then the end of work requirements for these benefits.

And I can't tell you how many employers I talk to who say, I'm having a hard time competing with Uncle Sam for getting workers back on the job.

CAVUTO: Real quickly, Steve, we were down another 173 points on the Dow today.

MOORE: Yes.

CAVUTO: So we have made up virtually no ground since that big 1,200-plus- point hit.

MOORE: That's right.

CAVUTO: And I'm wondering what you make of that.

MOORE: You know, if you compare the Dow Jones today vs. the Dow Jones on January 21 of 2021, when Biden came in the office, it's basically flat, no gains.

And so that may sound not too bad, except that don't forget that inflation also affects investors as well. So investors have lost about 12 percent of their money in the stock market since Biden came in because he got zero gains, but 12 percent increases in and prices. And so that's a pretty negative situation. I would call it a bear market.

CAVUTO: Yes, and the fear is that the Federal Reserve is going to keep hiking rates, and that would further affect that real wage and real gain issue.

MOORE: Yes, but what else are they going to do?

CAVUTO: Right.

MOORE: You know, Neil, they have got to get this inflation under control.

CAVUTO: Got it.

MOORE: And I don't -- it's like chemotherapy for a cancer patient.

CAVUTO: They're the only game in town, Steve. They're the only game in town.

So we will be watching that.

MOORE: That's right.

CAVUTO: Steve Moore, always good seeing you, my friend.

MOORE: OK.

CAVUTO: In the meantime, we were talking about Washington. Some big news in the nation's capital having nothing to do with any of the stuff we just talked about and everything to do with migrants, a bus coming, this time outside the vice president's residence.

And Griff Jenkins was there for that -- Griff.

GRIFF JENKINS, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Neil, it was quite a scene this morning, two buses dropping migrants off outside of Vice President Harris' home.

And we got quite a reaction this afternoon from the White House. I have got that story -- when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN-PIERRE: What these Republican governors are doing, again, is a political -- they're using people. They're using desperate people, people who are trying to come here because they're fleeing communism themselves, as a political pawn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: All right, the politics notwithstanding, this goes on with buses of migrants.

You have heard about the planes that arrived in Martha's Vineyard from Florida, now from Texas two buses to Washington, D.C., right outside the vice president's residence.

And Griff Jenkins was there to see it all early this morning -- Griff.

JENKINS: Hey, Neil. Good afternoon.

And Governor Abbott has sent nearly 200 buses, Neil, of nearly 8,000 migrants just to Washington, D.C., since April. But this morning, for the first time, two buses here outside of Harris' home. Take a look at this video we shot a little before 7:00 a.m. This is two buses with 101 total migrants, most of them Venezuelan, although there were some Cubans, Nicaraguans, and Colombians.

Now, we talked to some of the migrants. One in particular named Wazir Khan (ph) had a very different opinion of whether this border is open or closed. Contrary to Vice President Harris, here is what he had to say. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody believes that the border is open. It's open because we enter. We come in free.

JENKINS: It's open for you to come illegally, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Illegally, yes, illegally, that's true, because we see it on the news that everybody coming illegally. So, we do the same.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JENKINS: Now, some local NGOs took the 101 migrants and brought them to another local church to try and help them find their way wherever they wanted to go.

Meanwhile, Texas Governor Abbott saying the buses will continue, because he needs to bring much-needed relief to his border towns.

At the White House, the reaction, very strong. Here's what Karine Jean- Pierre had to say. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN-PIERRE: It is a political stunt. That's what we're seeing from governor -- governors, Republican governors in particular. And it is a cruel, inhumane way of treating people.

We do our best to secure the border. We do our best to make sure that we fix a broken system that was left behind by the last administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JENKINS: But, under the last administration, the numbers weren't off the charts and unprecedented.

Neil, those two buses were from the Del Rio Sector. And in the last 24 hours, in just that sector, they have had 2,043 migrant encounters. Finally, another governor weighing in. California Governor Gavin Newsom has sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, asking him to investigate the legality of Governors DeSantis and Abbott's busing the migrants to cities far from the border -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Griff, were any of them worried about the plight of these migrants when Texas was handling this all alone?

JENKINS: I'm sorry. I broke up just a little bit. What was your question?

CAVUTO: No, I'm sorry, my friend.

But were there any of them expressing this alarm and worry over the plight of migrants when Texas essentially, Arizona as well, were handling them all alone?

JENKINS: Well, what we heard most from the migrants was their concern about where they were going to go when they got off this bus. They didn't know exactly how they were going to get to their destination. Most of the ones on these buses wanted to go to New York is what we found out.

But they talked also about the fact that they have been pretty much led to believe that, wherever they want to go, they can't come under this administration. And that's a very different story than what the administration is saying, blaming it on the previous administration -- Neil.

CAVUTO: It was amazing watching him, as I said earlier this morning, seamlessly going in and out of Spanish, with all of these guys.

If it were me, I would have just said, all right, this is the best I could do. There they are.

Thank you very much, Griff Jenkins, on all of that.

I want to go to Roy Boyd right now, the Goliad County, Texas, sheriff.

And, Sheriff, always good to have you. But this rage of being expressed by those in Martha's Vineyard and in some of these other areas where migrants are landing, I didn't see this when guys like you were dealing with his on your own from anyone outside of Texas, at least politicians outside of Texas.

But it does seem odd when it's in their neck of the woods that you get this response. What do you make of it?

ROY BOYD, GOLIAD COUNTY, TEXAS, SHERIFF: Well, you're absolutely right.

And that's the genius IN what Governor Abbott has done is, on the other side of the spectrum, the liberal side, wanted to pretend like nothing was going on and everything was fine and dandy.

But what the governor did is, the governor opened this back up into the national scene and caused them to have to react to it from a political and a public standpoint. So it just goes back to the deliberate mind of the governor and what he's done to try to bring this problem back into the spotlight while it was being ignored.

CAVUTO: You know, this Dylan Fernandes, Sheriff, state representative representing the Martha's Vineyard area, but he had said something interesting to me -- not to me, but made a statement: "These immigrants" -- well, first of all, they're illegal immigrants -- "These immigrants were not met with chaos. They were met with compassion. We're a community and a nation that is stronger because of immigrants."

But, again, by just calling them immigrants and not illegal at the face of it, that gets maybe to the core of the problem no one's distinguishing. And a lot of these sanctuary cities, they're not distinguishing. Yet they don't want those immigrants. And that's what makes this kind of weird.

BOYD: Well, they're all really good about embracing the theory of what they -- what they espouse, but they're not really good at dealing with it from the actual perspective of seeing it on a day-to-day basis.

And they talk about all this, and the spokeswoman for the White House talks about compassion and all this stuff. But, in reality, the inhumane side, it comes from the fact that the administration has provided a completely open border.

And we have turned over our responsibility and -- of our border over to the cartels and the Mexican government. And they're enslaving these people, because when these people get off these buses, they're not just free to go wherever they want and live their life. They still owe money to the cartels.

And most of these people are going to have to go off to where it was they were assigned, and they're going to have to go into indentured servitude. We're importing a peon class and putting them into slavery right here in the United States. Obviously, the administration and their talking heads took a really good point from Joseph Goebbels, who said that even a lie becomes the truth if you tell it enough times.

And that seems to be what they're doing right now.

CAVUTO: Yes, I don't know if I would go that far, Sheriff.

But you did mention an interesting point and this notion that they're immigrants. And again and again, I have heard it from New York Mayor Eric Adams, and we have heard it from the Washington mayor just Chicago mayor, that this is a big treatment, and again and again, they say of immigrants and our welcoming nature.

So, if they don't recognize these migrants as anything less than illegal, and they have seen them as illegal, therein lies the problem, right? That tells you they don't see it as a problem, two million migrants trying to get into this country, that they don't see that as an issue. They're not illegal. They're immigrants. And we have to treat all immigrants equally, those who go the legal process and those, in this case, who don't.

That does not hint of any progress on this.

BOYD: Well, there's no desire for progress. There's just desire to continue on what the problem we have.

If they wanted progress, this week, when I drove all the way out from Nogales back to Texas, I wouldn't have driven through a bunch of Border Patrol checkpoints that are closed, unmanned. There's nobody there. Out of all the -- I went over 950 miles the other day driving home from Nogales, and I found one checkpoint that was manned. And there was only one person in the checkpoint.

And he was just waving people through, because what's he going to do. With a line of 1,000 cars down the highway, what's the one Border Patrol agent there going to do? He's just going to stand in his booth and flag everybody through. The border is completely open. And we have seen that firsthand. And it continues to this day.

CAVUTO: Sheriff, it is amazing. Thank you very, very much, Sheriff Roy Boyd, the Goliad County, Texas, sheriff.

Again, to put this in perspective here, this country has consistently year in and year out taken in a 1 million to 1.5 million, 1.5 million in the most recent year, of legal immigrants. Now, if you're looking at the two million-plus that are getting into this country illegally, and lumping them in with just as illegal immigrants who should be treated the same, you have got a serious math problem.

But, beyond that, you have got a serious crisis, because you're more or less saying that this inflow of people coming into the country, they are just immigrants, not anything illegal about them. So do you like it when Texas is dealing with this on its own and you don't address it, or do you only start worrying about it when Texas is busing those same migrants, legal immigrants to you, and now you're upset about it?

We are all over that after this and also over the ongoing long goodbye.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: Would you wait 12 hours or more, some say 24 hours, to say one final goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II? Well, they are in Britain.

And the world waits and watches to see how many more will do the same. Quite a few.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: You know, they're already saying that next Monday's formal and final funeral for Queen Elizabeth II could be the most watched global event, I mean, of any event, ever, billions expected to be tuning in, one way or the other, either in person or around the globe.

And maybe these long lines that are developing outside the queen's resting place is a sign that, well, those numbers could turn out to be the case.

Greg Palkot has more from London -- Greg.

GREG PALKOT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Neil.

It was just about a week ago at this time that we first got the news which turned this country upside down and maybe a little bit of the world. That is the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

As we speak right now and for the last 24 hours, the late queen has been lying in state in a flag-draped casket in Westminster Hall at the houses of Parliament just behind us. There has been a steady stream of people paying their respects in all sorts of respectful ways.

And, yes, the line, or queue, as it's called here, leads outside Parliament, across the Thames and down the river. Right now, it's said to be five miles' long, the wait at the moment, nine hours. The mood along that queue -- though, and we spent some time near the folks there, utterly feel-good.

Even in death, the queen is uniting folks. And Charles III took a bit of a break today, but his son, Prince William and wife, Kate, observed the flowers, met with crowds at the Sandringham estate. That's in Eastern England and one of the queen's favorites.

William confided to one member of the public that yesterday's solemn procession brought back memories of the funeral of his late mother. And, overnight, on the streets all around here, another dress rehearsal, this time for the huge state funeral which is planned for Monday. The casket will be brought from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey. That's where the event will -- and then, by procession, by cortege out to Windsor.

That is the final resting place. Along with, Neil, President Biden and the first lady, folks are coming from all over the world in the next couple of days for the funeral on Monday. Yes, it will be a grand event regarded by just about everybody, including, of course, the people here -- back to you.

CAVUTO: Understandably. Greg, thank you very much.

Greg Palkot on that.

Want to take you to Ukraine right now, where President Zelenskyy was involved in a car accident today. He's OK, but it did remind the world, what would happen if something happened to him?

Jeff Paul in Kyiv with more -- Jeff.

JEFF PAUL, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Neil, some scary moments for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

He had just toured some of that damage in the newly liberated city of Izyum, when he got involved in that car crash. But as you take a look at some of this video from today here in Kyiv, it's really hard to tell if he suffered any sort of serious injuries. Ukrainian officials say he didn't, only minor injuries.

But the other driver in the other car was taken to the ambulance. That wreck is now under investigation. But the incident didn't slow down President Zelenskyy, who welcomed the European Union's top official.

Now, during his address, President Zelenskyy referenced the need for more aid, weapons and, of course, military equipment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Indeed, safety should be provided with air defense. I'm sure this is not a surprise for you.

We all understand that air and missile defense systems are important. However, I am not sure how to solve this very quickly. I know this is a priority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Chinese counterpart today in Uzbekistan. Putin thanked President Xi for his -- quote -- "well-balanced approach" in regards to the war in Ukraine.

The Chinese government later put out a statement not mentioning Ukraine, but saying that Xi promises strong support of Russia's core interests.

And, Neil, you might remember, before Russia's invasion into Ukraine, the Chinese government put out a statement saying that they have a friendship with Russia that has -- quote -- "no limits" -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Jeff Paul, thank you very much my friend.

Jeff Paul in Kyiv, Ukraine.

In the meantime here, we know that inflation is a very big worry, the first and top worry on the part of most Americans. But we also know that abortion is moving up fast to be one, and maybe because Lindsey Graham just made it an even bigger issue -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, this poll is rather telling. It just shows you what voters are mostly concerned about right now

Inflation higher -- and higher prices, not surprisingly, 59 percent see that as something they're very, very worried about, extremely concerned about. But you might notice that abortion is still up there in the top three or four. And maybe it's been resurrected again, just as it was dying down, by no less than Lindsey Graham.

We have Shannon Bream with us right now, the anchor, host of "FOX News Sunday."

We haven't had a chance to talk since that big news. So, congratulations, Shannon. Very good to have you.

SHANNON BREAM, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Thank you, Neil.

CAVUTO: On this, it's interesting. Abortion remained a hot topic. But it was, I wouldn't say fading as a topic, but less of one, the worse the inflation and the economic news got.

Then, lo and behold, Lindsey Graham enters into this debate with a 15-week abortion ban. Maybe you could tell me how that might change the equation.

BREAM: Yes, this is really interesting, because, Neil, as you point out, inflation and economic issues tend to be at the top across the board for people who are looking to vote in the midterms. We have got brand-new FOX News polls coming out at 6:00, and we will see if that's still the top issue.

It has been for months, and abortion has crept up certainly following the Dobbs decision, after the leak and the decision becoming official. Democrats have made a lot of gains on this issue. They say that it's helped them in special elections. They think it'll help them in the fall as well.

So now comes, two weeks out from the midterms -- or -- excuse me -- two months out from the midterms Senator Lindsey Graham, who has always been a pro-life advocate and many times has introduced a 20-week ban. He now is coming forward with a 15-week ban.

Now, previously, he and many other Republicans have said abortion should be a state issue. And that's what happened when Roe got overturned. It was back to the states. So, now for him to show up with a 15-week ban at the federal level is raising a lot of eyebrows and questions.

No doubt, the left, the Democrats are going to be against that. But there are those on the right saying, huh, this timing is a little curious. It seems some of those in Republican leadership in the Senate seemed a little caught off guard by the fact that this is coming forward at this point.

I have talked to folks within the pro-life communities who say, well, of course, we're going to support it. That's what we're about, but we feel like the timing could have been better.

He's my exclusive guest on "FOX News Sunday." So I will ask him all those questions and more -- Neil.

CAVUTO: No, I have no doubt you will.

But it's interesting, because had he not said anything and just left it with the official position, the states are going to decide this, in some states, even conservative ones like Kansas, say, no, no, no, not going that far.

And yet it seemed to be just moving in that direction. And, all of a sudden, I imagine there's some Republicans who say, why now? Why do this now?

BREAM: Yes.

And GOP candidates are now having to answer out in the field whether they support this, after there had been such an argument about sending it back to the states. You have seen some of them come forward and say like, no, I am pro-life, but I am not going to vote for a federal ban. That's not the deal we made when we asked for Roe to be overturn. We said this was about states.

So it is confusing to a lot of folks. But, listen, Senator Graham has said there's never a bad day in his mind to fight on behalf of the unborn. So it's just the timing, I think, that has us all scratching our heads.

CAVUTO: Shannon, this is a dumb question, but you have indulged them over the years from me.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: What happened to the discipline among Republicans that Mitch McConnell used to inspire, insist on?

You have Rick Scott going his own way on the senatorial committee push, his own idea to tax everybody that he himself has dialed back, but now has been sort of stamped as official Republican policy. Obviously, the Lindsey Graham stuff and the back-and-forth on this abortion issue.

They're not as tight or single message as they used to be. What's happening?

BREAM: Yes, I think you're right.

Over in the Senate especially, Mitch McConnell, minority leader, really hoping to become a majority leader again, has run a very disciplined house. He's very good with procedure and process. I mean, he's an expert at that. And so he's done a very good job of keeping the caucus together.

But you're right. Senator Rick Scott, Senator Lindsey Graham, these are kind of unnecessary headaches, I think he probably feels like, in the lead- up to this huge midterm. Both of those senators would say, listen, what I'm doing, my cause is righteous. I don't think there is a need to apologize for it.

And they're asking Republicans, both candidates and voters, to embrace what they're doing.

CAVUTO: Yes, it is an interesting development.

Shannon, again, look forward to the Lindsey Graham interview. You're jazzing up Sundays now. It's appointment TV.

Shannon Bream, "FOX News Sunday." Don't forget Lindsey Graham with her. Now, that should be a pay-per-view event. But you don't have to pay for it. You can just watch it. That makes it much easier.

All right, we wanted to get Nancy Mace's view on all this, the South Carolina congresswoman, what she makes of this concern that Republicans are getting kind of off-message or confusing message. She's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, we told you a little bit earlier right now that Mitch McConnell, of course, is concerned about whether Republicans have a shot at taking back the Senate. He has his doubts about some of the quality of candidates that you have heard.

You also heard, with Shannon Bream, the idea of Lindsey Graham now talking about a 15-week abortion ban, after that period, might have complicated that. But we just don't know.

How that would affect things in the House is anyone's guess, where Republicans are still favored to pick up the seats they would need to control that body.

Nancy Mace hoping to make that, the South Carolina congresswoman herself running for reelection, joins us now.

Congresswoman, good to see you.

REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): Good to see you too.

CAVUTO: Do you -- and I raise this more on what's happening in the Senate, Congresswoman, so I apologize for that. You're in the House.

But that this mixed messaging or that Republicans are sort of wandering off the message itself, the focus on inflation and the economy get distracted on issues like abortion, the focus on defending Donald Trump, however meritorious that might be among your colleagues, but sapping time and energy from the economy and inflation, what do you make of that?

MACE: Well, inflation and the economy -- and I represent a swing district, Neil, where Republicans are outnumbered almost 2-1 in this congressional district, but the economy and inflation is still the number one issue across the board for every hardworking American this year.

And I think, when you look back at the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, I think both sides were taken aback and taken by surprise by that ruling, and then we were like, well, what's next?

And, as a Republican, I'm one of the very few I think that have leaned into this issue. This is an issue in my district. It's an issue in my state. I think it's an issue across the country. It's not the number one issue. But, in many districts across the country, it's the second, third or fourth, certainly top three to top five issue.

And it's something that I think we should be able to communicate with people about, because there's no -- there's no consensus on abortion for any reason up until birth, just like there's no consensus for outlawing every single abortion. And coming up with solutions, either in state legislatures or in Congress, finding that center middle ground, trying to find common ground is a place where we can start.

It's an issue that I have been talking about extensively since overturning Roe, trying to find where we can bring people together, so that both sides don't continue to use it to fund-raise and to use it to their advantage in campaign season. These decisions, this policy is going to make a real difference in somebody's life.

CAVUTO: Still, Lindsey Graham is the South Carolina senator. You're in South Carolina.

Would you have preferred he not get into this and what had been a view let the states handle this?

MACE: Well, the overturning of Roe simply took the issue out of the courts, and did largely put it into the hands of states legislatures.

But there's always been a role for Congress. Under Obama, Democrats could have codified Roe v. Wade, and they decided not to after, after telling America that they would. I do believe that there's a role for Congress to set some guardrails.

And Senator Graham's legislation actually wouldn't have an impact on the state of South Carolina, because South Carolina's legislation and bills that have been signed into law are more restrictive. And I don't believe his legislation, reading it firsthand, would have an impact there.

But I do believe that we do need to have a message that's compassionate, showing compassion to women and girls who've been raped, who are victims of incest, that we're not going to leave them behind and, in states where they are banning abortion, that we ensure that every woman has access to contraception.

In my state of South Carolina, we have women in rural counties and rural areas where there's not a single OB-GYN doctor. And so we need to be thinking, I think, very pragmatically. There's no -- it's not mutually exclusive. I think you can protect women's rights and protect the right to life together.

And that's where we have got to find and build consensus on both sides of the aisle and not be so one-sided about it either way, whether you're pro- choice or pro-life.

CAVUTO: Got it.

Congresswoman, thank you very, very much. Very good seeing you again.

By the way, we did reach out to the congresswoman's Democratic opponent, Annie Andrews. We have yet to hear back. But we're always fair and balanced, try to get to everybody when and if we can.

The latest is Thursday Night Football. It's on, and Amazon is streaming it to your home. Here's the thing, though. A lot of people don't know how this whole streaming thing works.

We're on it -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, you ready for Thursday Night Football? Well, Amazon.

It paid better than 11 billion bucks to sort of own Thursday Night Football. And today's game will prove it here. But there is one little wrinkle. A lot of people don't know what the whole streaming thing is about. So older viewers might have some difficulty getting it.

We just need some guidance on this with Jim Gray, the sportscaster extraordinaire, bestselling author, among others, "Talking to GOATs."

That's the rap, right? I don't think it's fair, Jim, that people my age are sort of saying oh, you don't know how to stream. We do. But the game on, and, obviously, Amazon, you can stream just fine with it. So what do you think?

JIM GRAY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think it's a big change for the NFL. And the NFL has been willing to change.

Go back to 1987, Neil. They put the games on cable TV, ESPN.

CAVUTO: You're right.

GRAY: It was Sunday Night Football on ESPN back then.

And everybody, the audience eventually went with it. Then they did it with the FOX television network back in 1994, when they left CBS and jumped over. So, they have -- they have been willing to change and move with the times. And that's what they're doing here.

And the people who are in the indigenous cities, in other words, Kansas City and Los Angeles, tonight, in Los Angeles, the game is on FOX, FOX local, KTTV, Channel 11. So the people in those cities, they will get the game, not on Amazon prime, but on their local station as well.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: No, I hear. I hear.

But you got Al Michaels, 77 years young. He's a familiar face. He's got this very nice three-year deal. So that's a recognizable face. And that's someone who's going to be sort of a comfort in the booth. How do you see all this going?

GRAY: It's going to look like football has every place else for a long time.

Kirk Herbstreit has been a great analyst on ESPN. He will be a terrific analyst doing the games now on Amazon and Amazon Prime. So they got Freddy Gaudelli. Freddy Gaudelli is 62 years old. He did Sunday Night Football for a long time as their producer. So he's assembled quite a crew.

They're going to do a great job. It's going to look like the NFL. It's going to look like just like every place else. People will struggle to find it.

CAVUTO: You're right.

GRAY: And they have told advertisers, Amazon, that 12.5 million people will tune in. But the TV networks who are competing against them say there will be seven or eight million. So the audience will drop off. But, eventually, they will find it.

CAVUTO: Yes.

And the fact of the matter is, football remains hugely popular; 75 of the top 100 shows on television are football, professional football. So it has that draw, doesn't it?

GRAY: And the ratings were up huge this weekend.

I mean, they were up across the board.

CAVUTO: You're right.

GRAY: So this is something new. And people aren't used to it. You can still go to the bars and get it on DirecTV and still go to restaurants.

So, everybody who wants to see this game, believe it, they're going to figure out how to find it. And they will find it quickly. And before you know it, they will be migrating to more of these services as time goes on.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: I think you're right.

My teenage sons will nevertheless volunteer: "No, dad. No, no, you press here. You press here. And now you're ready," right?

We will see what happens, Jim.

GRAY: And you can watch it -- and you can watch it on this thing real quickly, real quickly, on your device.

CAVUTO: Exactly. You're exactly right.

GRAY: So, you know, it's going to come right...

CAVUTO: Thank you, Jim.

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