well. have a great weekend, everyone. stay right there. "special report," next. donald trump defends religious freedom and stands by his praise of vladimir putin as a better leader than president obama. while hillary clinton insists the trump campaign is not serious. this is "special report." welcome to washington. i'm bret baier. donald trump's speech to the value voters summit here in the nation's capital seemed very well received, judging by the audience reaction. the republican nominee promised that his administration will cherish, protect, and defend the country's christian heritage. meanwhile, trump is being criticized for his praise of the leader of the nation with a much

different her tackle. chief political correspondent, carl cameron, is with the trump campaign tonight here in washington. >> your values of love, charity, and faith, built this nation. >> reporter: at the conservative values voters summit in washington, d.c., donald trump made no mention to have the growing controversy over his latest remarks on russian cable tv, after again praising russian vladimir putin on prime-time tv wednesday, trump did interview with larry king that appeared yesterday on the russia today network known in this country as rt america, which is basically directed by moscow, and he cast doubt on the u.s. government's assertion that the russian government and associated hackers are trying to undermine the u.s. election. >> they think it's probably unlikely. i think, maybe, maybe the democrats are putting that out. who knows. but i think that it's pretty unlikely. >> reporter: during the interview, trump slammed the northeast free press in the world on a network controlled by the kremlin. >> but there's tremendous dishonesty with the media. not all of it, obviously, but tremendous dishonesty.

>> reporter: trump then openly criticized both former president george w. bush and president obama's iraq policies on the russian satellite and cable channel. >> we should have never gone into iraq, okay? period. and the way they got out really caused isis, if young about it. >> reporter: trump's aides said they thought the interview was for larry kidnapping's podcast didn't know it would air on the russian network. trump's repeated admiration nor the russian president stands in stark contrast to harsh criticism from the republicans and president obama for russia's annex of crimea and the violation of ukraine's sovereignty. >> not confident we can trust the russians to vladimir putin. >> reporter: but the obama administration began with a push to re-set russian relations. >> you got it wrong? >> i got it wrong. >> reporter: gop leaders are distancing themselves from russian's charm offensive, too. house speaker paul ryan in a statement said, putin is an aggressor who does not share our

interests. trump's exchange doesn't sit well with foreign policy experts, either. >> i think one has to be a little careful to let flattery affect's one judgment. >> reporter: orunning mate mike pence is defending trump's view of putin. >> i think it's inarguable that vladimir putin has been a stronger leader in his country than barack obama has been in this country. >> reporter: trump insisted that north korea would be china's problem, not the u.s.'s, if he became president. and he blamed north korea's latest weapons test on clinton. >> it was announced that north korea performed its fifth nuclear test. its fourth since hillary clinton became secretary of state. it's just one more massive failure from a failed secretary of state. >> reporter: trump tonight heads to conservative pensacola, florida, for a rally. it's an area with a big concentration of military. something he's been concentrating on this week himself. and tomorrow he'll attend funeral services for phyllis schlafly, the conservative icon that passed away earlier this

week in st. louis, missouri. bret? >> carl cameron here in washington, thanks. as hillary clinton tried today to pump up her foreign policy and national security credentials in the midst of another serious foreign policy challenge for her old boss, her campaign is once again being accused of hypocrisy and playing the race card. fox news correspondent jennifer griffin is with the clinton campaign tonight in new york. >> reporter: the meeting with the bipartisan group of republican and democratic former national security advisers was planned before north korea carried out a fifth nuclear test. its second in a year. secretary clinton spoke to reporters after what was designed to look like a meeting in the situation room. >> i'm not waiting until november. i'm bringing democrats and republicans together now, because i plan to get right down to work on day one. >> reporter: with polls showing a tightening race in all-important battleground states, where the african-american vote could prove crucial to the clinton campaign, her running mate, tim kaine, visited birmingham,

alabama, and a potent symbol of the civil rights movement, the 16th street baptist church, which was bombed in 1963, killing four young girls among the churchgoers. on thursday, clinton spoke to students at a traditionally black university in north carolina, and then flew to kansas city. where she delivered a speech to the national baptist convention. clinton reminded the group of baptists about what her opponent has said about president obama. >> he traffics in toxic conspiracy theories, like the lie that president obama is not a true american. >> this as her husband delivered a blistering attack on donald trump in orlando, florida, another battleground. >> that message, where "america great again," if you're a white southerner, you know exactly what it means, don't you?

>> reporter: bill clinton seems to have forgotten when he favored the same phrase when he was running for president. >> together, with we can make america great again. >> make america great again economically and socially. >> reporter: a phrase that the clintons used again when hillary ran for president in 2008. >> it's time for another comeback. time to make america great again. i know hillary can do it. >> reporter: both candidates have taken to accusing the other of racism and bigotry. >> i say you can take trump supporters him and put him in two big baskets. there are what i call the deplorables. the racists and the haters. >> hillary clinton is a bigot who sees people of color only as votes. >> reporter: but the to families were not always enemies. in fact, the clinton library responded to a foia request today, releasing photos showing

bill clinton and donald trump in 2000 looking rather chummy at the trump tower with melania and a former model, who was trump's girlfriend. politics makes strange bed fef w bedfellows. bret? >> jennifer griffin with the clinton campaign, thank you. attorneys for the parents two of of the men killed during the benghazi terror attacks are asking a judge for a default judgment against hillary clinton. the parents of tyrone woods and sean smith are suing clinton for wrongful death, defamation, and other charges. they say she failed to respond to their lawsuit. no comment yet from the clinton team. tune in sunday night at 8:00 p.m. for a live special report. i'll be speaking with the former chairman of the house select committee on benghazi, trey gowdy, on the 9/11 anniversary and the anniversary of the benghazi attacks. "special report" is going six days a week until the election. five women and two men have been arrested for allegedly planning an attack near the notre dame cathedral in paris. amateur video appears to show

police arresting a 19-year-old suspect. several gas canisters were found in a vehicle near the cathedral earlier this week. a paris prosecutor says the women were radicalized by the islamic state. a terror attack spearheaded by women would mark a new step in the isis campaign. dozens of tourists were rescued today after being trapped overnight in cable cars dangling above the french alps. the ordeal began thursday afternoon when cables on the panoramic mt. blanc cable car service became twisted, trapping 110 people in a string of cars at 3,800 feet in altitude. many were rescued by helicopter, right before dark. 33 others had to spend the night in those cable cars. as mentioned earlier, north korea is believed to have tested what may be its most powerful nuclear weapon to date. today, president obama's defense chief said the international community must re-double the pressure on north korea to halt

its nuclear program. chief washington correspondent james rosen is monitoring reaction tonight from the state department. >> reporter: north korea's state-run media said the country's second nuclear test this year, its fifth overall, was successful, with scientists having standardized a nuclear warhead that can be mounted on ballistic missiles. in seoul, south korea's president, fresh off the phone with president obama, warned a nuclear threat from the north is real and imminent. >> translator: and we should view as out of control the mental status of kim jong-un, who refuses to listen to anything from the international community and neighboring countries in order to maintain his power. >> reporter: senior pentagon and state department officials are also in seoul, while secretary of state kerry was in geneva, trying to negotiate a syrian cease-fire with russia's foreign minister. >> russia, the united states, everybody shares concerns. but we're trying still to monitor, to find out precisely what took place. >> we are committed to making

sure that the sanctions that we have in place are implemented and enforced. >> reporter: south korean defense officials say the blast was the north's largest, with a force equivalent to 10 kilotons of tnt. by comparison, the atomic bomb the united states dropped on hiroshima was the equivalent of 15 kilotons. early assessments suggest the device featured an uranium core, which if true would mean the impoverished heavily sanctioned north is far along on both of the known pathways to nuclear bomb, uranium and plutonium. >> i don't understand why they're continuing this way. >> reporter: the u.n. security council scheduled a closed door session, but they only fitfully pressure their client state to curb its nuclear petitions. a north korean official visited beijing wednesday and analysts doubt the tests would have gone

off if she would have received a genuine warning from the choo z chinese. >> the north koreans got a the big green light, and the fundamental fundamental assumption is wrong. china is not on our side. china is actively working to help the north koreans. >> we are keeping an yin that emergency closed door session of the emergency council up in new york. so far, nothing has come from it. the smart money holds if anything were to come from it, at least today, the most that would be would be a statement of some measure of severity. as for the imposition of more sanctions on north korea, that would take more time. >> we're getting breaking news out of geneva. secretary kerry meeting with the russian counterpart, lavrov, saying there has been the beginning of a deal being struck on syria. and we're just getting word, as they're just talking about it. i know you don't have detail ifs it's happening, but how significant is that and what are the questions that remain about the ability to enforce something

that put's together in geneva. >> the ability to enforce this, whether the syrians would stick to it, and whether the loosely affiliated group which include the syrian rebels, which include some terrorist elements as well, would stick to it. but this is the product of some very intensive negotiations between secretary kerry and foreign minister lavrov in geneva. at one point, the text went back to capital, and according to the russian side of things, they waited five hours for the white house to make some kind of decision. apparently, that has reached geneva now. >> we're just getting word from the wires that secretary kerry says that if there is a sustained reduction in violence, russia and the u.s. will work together to develop a military plan against the nusra front. and we should point out, the nusra front are the terrorist radicalized elements on the ground in syria. >> reporter: that's right. and in fact, they are a former affiliate of al qaeda. so it's going to be a very long road for syria, even if we do get some cessation of

hostilities, that allows the humanitarian aid to start flowing again. >> james rosen at the state department with breaking news, thank you. a volkswagen engineer is pleading guilty in the automaker's scandal over emissions cheating. the 62-year-old worker was indicted on two counts, including violating the clean air act. volkswagen put software in some of its diesel powder vehicles, allowing them to evade clean air standards. the cheating scandal has cost the company nearly $15 billion in settlements. a federal judge here in washington has denied the request for an injunction from a native american tribe that opposed a huge pipeline project near its north dakota reservation. hundreds of people have come to that area to protest. a joint statement from the departments of army, justice, and interior are asking the pipeline company to voluntarily pause work near the disputed lake. the stock market today tumbled to its biggest losses since june over worries that

interest rates may be heading higher soon. the dow dropped 394 points today. the s&p 500 fell 53 1/2. the nasdaq lost 134. for the four-day trading week, the dow lost about 2 1/5 percentage points. the nasdaq and s&p were off about 2 1/3. american's election headquarters in depth tonight. voting for president, for most of us, happens in 60 days. 59, to be exact. but some of you started voting today. correspondent peter doocy is in north carolina tonight, where the first early voting in what has become a key swing state, are going out. >> reporter: trump and clinton still have 60 days to make their case to residents of swing states, right? wrong. because thousands of ballots were mailed out today in north carolina, where four years ago, more than 60% of voters made their presidential picks early

and local officials are preparing for more. >> so far, we have 821 requests as of day one to go out. so it looks that's going to be a little bit higher if the trend were to continue. >> reporter: the tar heel state went for obama in 2008, then romney in 2012, even though democrats had a clear edge by the time the first ballot boxes opened up on election day. with democrats casting 47.6% of early ballots by mail or in person, republicans only casting 31.5%. that means the gop candidate may need to play catch-up. right now, trump only trails clinton by a fraction of a point in the real clear politics polling average, but he may have another problem. governor pat mccrory is up for re-election here, and he's hurting in the polls, after months of controversy over the state's transgender bathroom bill. something hillary clinton reminded voters of this week. >> others are not coming to this beautiful state. because they don't want to be associated with the discriminatory, bigoted policies of your governor and legislature.

>> reporter: now some experts are forecasting a one of a kind political phenomenon in this state. >> very often, we expect to see the way that the candidate at the top of the ticket perform trickle down and affect the way that candidates below -- the way the candidates below run. but in the case of north carolina, i expect we will see some of the reverse. >> people who cast their ballots early can't change their mind between now and november, which means the trump and clinton may have already made their final arguments to some north carolinians. and that's just one of the reasons republican officials say a two-month early voting period is a problem. >> you know, we have a situation here, where you have to be alive on election day. if you vote early, you still have to be alive. and that can be in a very close race, you could literally have dead people voting. >> reporter: 17 days of early in-person voting starts soon, and democrats are calling recent republican attempts to limit hours at some of these early voting locations an attempt to

suppress minority turnout. but the gop says that is not the case. they are just concerned that starting so early gives people too many chances to cheat the system. bret? >> peter doocy live in raleigh. thank you. louisiana's governor is asking congress for $2 billion in aid following last month's devastating flooding. the storm that dumped as much as 2 feet of rain in some parts of that state caused almost $9 billion in damage and affected more than 55,000 homes. it's back-to-school time in chicago, but for how long? remains to be seen. correspondent matt finn reports an impending teacher strike is just one of the many problems facing public school students and parents this fall. >> good morning, good morning. >> only a few days back from summer break and parents in chicago are already bracing for schools to close again. >> it's frustrating, you know, because you're wondering, okay, do i have to stay home from work? >> everybody's working hard. >> reporter: about 30,000 members of the chicago teacher's

union, whio have been working without a contract for over a year, warn they will strike by october if they can't reach a new deal with the district. the biggest sticking point, pensions. the cash-strapped chicago public school system says it can no longer afford to contribute 7% towards teacher's pensions. the union argues that the district's pension contribution is sympathetic that they deserve, not a perk. >> anybody who knows anything about negotiations, wherever you give sympathetomething up, you ever get it back. >> teachers argue they aren't getting much help from the mayor or the broke state of illinois, that hasn't cast a budget in over a year. the chicago school district's latest offer includes a 13.5% raise over the life of a teacher's contract, which the district says will offset that pension pickup. a top school official tells fox, quote, a strike can be averted and cps will work tirelessly to make sure children's education and progress is not interrupted. outside of the classroom,

parents also worry about their children's safety. the month of august was the deadliest in 20 years in chicago. year to date, 344 teens were shot. 42, fatally. on a single day in july, three children under 11 years old were hit by bullets. >> indeed, it's safe going from the bus to the door. it's a lot to think about. >> parents and students in america's third largest city are caught in the middle of the windy city's prickly politics. >> we are not going to work another year without a contract. >> it's going to be extremely hard, if there's a strike. >> reporter: the chicago teacher's union will hold a strike authorization vote later this month. and over 30,000 teachers say that will walk off the job if there's no new deal by october. bret? >> matt finn in chicago, thank you. up next, why would president obama veto legislation allowing 9/11 victims to get financial compensation? we'll explain. he has to make a decision soon. first, here's what some of

our fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight. wsvn in miami with public protests over another round of spraying to stop the zika virus. the mosquito-killing pesticides was dropped this morning over the objections of many in that community. the president of the pta said she was keeping her child home from school and suggested to other parents to do the same. the mayor and the cdc insists is the chemical is sale. fox 26 in houston with an apology from the owner of this mattress company over this advertisement, promoting a 9/11 anniversary sale. the add shows two men asking a woman about a twin tower sale. she pushes the men backwards, as you see, into two stacks of mattresses. and this is a live look at san francisco, from our affiliate, ktvu. the big story there tonight, a $185 million fine for wells fargo. the penalty is over bank employees opening millions of unauthorized accounts for their

customers, in order to meet aggressive sales goals. roughly 5,300 workers were fired. that's tonight's live look outside the beltway from "special report." we'll be right back.

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beautiful shot of new york city there. the pressure is on president obama tonight over a piece of legislation that could eventually lead to money for the families of the 9/11 victims. the administration has signaled a possible veto, just two days before the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. correspondent rich edison reports from the white house tonight on what could be a major confrontation between the president and congress.

>> reporter: and with that, two days before the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, congress has forced president obama to decide whether to deny victims' families the right to sue those they hold responsible. >> this is vital legislation. i think it would be foolish to veto this bill or not let it go through. i think this would do a better service to add his name to all of congress and the will of the people. >> reporter: this morning, the house joined the senate in unanimously approving a bill to allow family members of those killed in the september 11th 2001 terror attacks to sue saudi arabia, or any nation or foreign official found responsible for terrorist attacks that kill americans within the united states. 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were saudi nationals. victims' families say officials within the saudi government aided them while they were in the u.s. saudi arabia denies those charges. >> a government which has protested for so long that it is

wholly innocent of any responsibility, shouldn't be complaining that it will have to answer to these charges in a court of law. >> reporter: president obama argues the bill opens the possibility of americans routine lie suing other governments. he says that could then expose the u.s. government to lawsuits from those in other countries. two top officials in the administration of george w. bush agree. his form ambassador to the united nations, john bolton, and attorney general, michael mukas mukasey, write in the "wall street journal" that the bill, quote, shifts authority for a huge component of national security from the politically accountable branches, the president in congress, to the judiciary, the branch least competent to deal with international matters of life and death and least politically accountable. as for whether the president will veto the bill, white house officials point to earlier comments from white house press secretary, josh earnest. >> given the concerns we have expressed, it's difficult to imagine the president signing this legislation. >> if the president vetoes this

bill, congress with wide bipartisan support for this effort could vote to override that presidential veto. it would take a two-thirds majority in the house and in the senate. and if that happens, it would be the first veto override of president obama's administration. bret? >> and rich, quickly, just judging by the vote in the house and what we saw in the house, they might have those numbers. >> reporter: there were no on-record objections in the house or in the senate for this. if they were forced to take a roll call vote, that could happen differently, but there is wide bipartisan support for this. >> rich, thank you. we're learning the tonight that federal agents have disrupted several advanced terror plots to the homeland during the tenure of homeland security secretary jeh johnson. he spoke exclusively to fox news chief intelligence correspondent, katherine hairridge today in new york, as federal workers return to the site of unspeakable tragedy. >> reporter: 15 years after 3,000 americans were murdered in new york city, washington, d.c.,

and shanksville, pennsylvania, the threat is more diverse with the emergence of homegrown terrorists, and encrypted communications that make it increasingly difficult for investigators to attack. >> 9/11 was the prime example of a terrorist-directed attack. we now live with the prospect, in addition, of terrorist-inspired attacks, where isil, al qaeda, tries to literally reach into our homeland, through the internet, through social media. katherine, welcome -- >> reporter: with exclusive access, fox news went with hopeland security secretary jeh johnson, as federal government employees returned to ground zero for 15 years and take up new work space at one world trade center. ♪ o, say can you see >> reporter: the return marked by today's ceremony is deeply personal for those who lived through the attacks. >> in some ways, it feels like victory, you know? >> goes to our resilience as americans, as new yorkers, as

people of the free world, that we won't let somebody else dictate -- dictate what we do. >> the anniversary, as well as the current threat, are never far from anyone's mind. >> is there a specific or a credible threat to the 15th anniversary? >> we know of no specific credible threat around this 15th anniversary. but in this environment, it's important to frankly not get too hung up on that, when you're dealing with terrorist-inspired attacks, which could strike with little or no notice, the cop on the beat could be the one to detect the next terrorist attack on the u.s. >> are there plots that have been disrupted on your watch that the public is not aware of? >> all the time, yes. we have prevented a number of actors from carrying out their intent, at the very latest

stages of their plotting and their planning. >> reporter: johnson says tashfeen malik and omar farouk, who gunned down 14 in san bernardino, california, and omar matine at the pulse nightclub in orlando are the new faces of a self-radicalized threat. >> can anything ever prepare you for the moment when a terrorist murders 49 people in a florida nightclub? >> no. nothing can prepare you for that moment. just like nothing could prepare anyone for a 9/11, for a san bernardino. >> what do we know about omar mateen today that we didn't know in june? >> there were very definitely signs. and if people close to someone who carries out an act of terror can be encouraged to come forward and say something, that can make a difference. >> reporter: over the debate on syrian refugees coming to the u.s. and whether it will increase the risk, johnson is guarded. >> i don't comment on what the

candidates say to vilify and isolate muslim american communities is very much counter to our national security, homeland security efforts. i was in my law office -- zb >> as the anniversary approaches, johnson, who was practicing law in new york city on 9/11, says the attacks altered his focus, as it did for so many americans. >> it was a moment in my life when my brain did not believe what my eyes were seeing. and i kept thinking out of the rubble and the smoke would emerge the towers, but it didn't happen and it changed our nation and it changed our world. >> reporter: and his department's message is one of resilience. >> we are a strong, courageous, resilient nation. and so, on this anniversary, it's important to remember and honor those who were killed. remember the heros on that day. but it's also important to look forward. >> reporter: in new york, katherine hairridge, fox news. >> with the anniversary coming sunday, many who were in new

york or in pennsylvania or in the pentagon reliving those terrifying moments tonight, rick leventhal focuses on some of the heros. >> reporter: when two hijacked planes hit the twin towers on september 11th, 2001, thousands of people fled the burning and collapsing buildings in lower manhattan. and thousands of first responders raced into the smoke and flames. firefighter billy quit was one of them. >> i ran up to the building and police officer said, i have people trapped in the subway. i went down to the subway, got people upstairs, people were screaming, bleeding, crying, i said, go to your left, find the ambulance, go to your left. but then two to three minutes after that, the first collapse happened of the building. >> reporter: quick spent the next 60 plus days breathing toxic dust while working the pile in the massive rescue and recovery operation at ground zero, until he blew out his knee, then developed serious lung problems. quick died five years ago at age 55 from 9/11-related illness.

one of 127 members of the department whose names have been added to the memorial at fdny headquarters. >> we were there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and we're paying the price. >> reporter: danielnygrove was promoted to chief of department on 9/11 when he escaped the collapse, but his boss did not. he says lessons have been learned, but the mission hasn't changed. >> we are determined to do everything we can to protect life and property in this city. >> reporter: we just looked up and a guy next to me said, that's going to hit the trade center, and it hit the trade center and it looked like you were in a horror movie. >> reporter: we met john moments after the tower fell, covered in its dust. he watched the planes hit and saw people leap to their death who were trapped on high floors. he still works across the site and thinks about what happens here every day. >> it makes me appreciate the first responders, the military, the peep who are down here, the

iron workers. people who rebuilt and i think they did a great job and hopefully, you know, for the people that lost people that day, this is a beautiful place for them to come and go to and reflect. >> reporter: behind me, you can see the one world trade tower rising above lower manhattan. a dramatic symbol of the recovery at ground zero and the resilience of this city and the nation and a constant reminder of the tragedy that took place here 15 years ago. on sunday, we will have the now-traditional reading of the names of every single life lost on 9/11, 2001, part of the healing process that will likely last our whole lives. bret? >> i know you remember that well, on the ground as well. rick leventhal, live in new york, thank. we will have live coverage of the 9/11 moments of silence and other memorials throughout the day on sunday with a special sunday night. tune into fox news. donald trump, vladimir putin, president obama. breaking news about syria, u.s. and russia talk. we'll talk about one nominee, two presidents when the panel join me after the break.

you're actually supposed to hear that sound bite. that was president obama, and let's take a listen. >> this is my last election. after my election, i have more flexibility. yeah. >> i wanted to present you with a little gift, which represents what president obama and vice president biden and i have been saying. and that is, we want to reset our relationship. we worked hard to get the right russian word. >> you got it wrong. >> i got it wrong.

>> as president obama talking about working after the election. he'll have more flexibility, and hillary clinton on the reset button. now word from geneva that secretary kerry is working closely with his counterpart, lavrov, and they've reached a deal on syria that the u.s. and russia can work together to strike isis forces on the ground in syria, a cease-fire is set to start at sundown on monday, in syria. this, of course, as donald trump is coming under increasing criticism for praising vladimir putin and talking about working with russia on that front as well. let's bring in our panel tonight. steve hayes, senior writer for the "weekly standard." welcome, clarence paige, "chicago tribune" columnist and member of the tribune editorial board. lisa booth, columnist with the "washington examiner," and syndicated columnist, charles krauthammer. listen, there's a lot of focus on -- and criticism about donald trump and what he's said about putin. the reason we ran those other clips is that the administration has obviously had their own

issues in dealing with russians. >> yeah, no question. i mean, it's important to note that what donald trump has said recently about vladimir putin has sort of benefited the comments on vladimir putin are not new. this is something we've seen from donald trump now over the course of several months. i remember in an interview that he gave to joe scarborough in which he praised vladimir putin and scarborough called him on his praise for vladimir putin, and reminded trump that putin routinely killed journalists and finally got him to back down on his praise. i think it's untoward for the republican nominee to be praising vladimir putin in this way. having said that, if you look at the obama administration's record with respect to russia, you report on this new deal, this diplomat breakthrough, supposedly on syria, with russia, it's just a couple of years ago that the obama administration was promising that the united states and its international partners would isolate russia, because of its

aggression in the crimean policy in ukraine. and those pledges disappeared almost within weeks as the u.s. tried to forge diplomatic consensus on syria. if you're not going to keep the props promises, don't paycheck tmake promises? >> your thoughts? >> i agree. i think it's a serious situation to the point that they've got to have cooperation in order to get any kind of progress. although i'm surprised to hear about this breakthrough today. i hope it holds. but there are still questions about trump's own relationship, financial relationships with russian businesspeople. his sons indicated they're rather extensive. and until mr. trump releases his income tax returns, we're not going to know just how extensive. but, it makes me wonder, though, because he has a very -- he really likes putin a lot for a guy who he's never actually talked to, as far as we know. >> lisa, what about clinton's

attacks on this front? today she said she wasn't surprised that he was on russian television, but disappointed, that this is unseemly, and judging by her past and the reset button and the administration's efforts, does this work for clinton on this front? >> well, hillary clinton certainly has her own vulnerabilities in dealing with russia, as you mentioned, the failed russia reset. also the fact that bill clinton gave a speech in russia not too long ago, got $500,000 from the speech in a personal thank you phone call from vladimir putin himself. she has her own weaknesses in regard to russia. that is why donald trump should not be giving interviews to larry king and to russia today, because what it does is takes the focus away from hillary clinton and president obama's failed policies, and it feeds this fodder she's putting out about this close relationship between putin and trump. it's not a narrative he should

be feeding. >> here's what kellyanne conway said this morning about the interview that ended up airing on rt, with rnks television. >> he actually did an interview with larry king, a personal friend of his, and he said he was doing it for his podcast, didn't know it would be on russian tv. >> larry king put out a statement late today saying that his company, his show, rather, is produced and owned by orra media, and they're solely responsible for it and rt, the russian -- rt america is one of several dozen companies licensed to run it. still a problem for trump? >> look, whether or not he knew where it was going to appear, i think, is irrelevant. it's the content of what he said. look, four years ago, the republicans nominated in a year when they could have, should have run against obamacare, would have been their strongest issue, and they nominated the one guy in the country who couldn't bring it up, because he created it in massachusetts. this tile, they have an opponent

in hillary who is clearly vulnerable on russia. the reset was an embarrassment. it was clear at the beginning. it was hopelessly naive. putin has played obama for a fool over the four years. obama actually thinking even four years ago, as late as then, that he could deal with putin, be a tough guy, after he's re-elected, on every front, but the republicans end up nominating the one guy who can't make this case, because of his peted express administration for a guy who kills his political opponents, jails his opponents, the ones he doesn't kill, took over the press, controls it, and invades sovereign countries. so we have an issue that is no longer an issue that can be used. >> meanwhile, north korea tests what is believed to be its

strongest nuclear weapon yet. i think we have a sound bite from hillary clinton and donald trump today on that issue. maybe. maybe not. some days you don't. some days, it's just everything doesn't come together. >> we like that. >> but basically, it was done in secret. >> yeah, it was done in secret. basically, trump says that this is the fourth of five nuclear tests and four of them happened under hillary clinton as secretary of state. thoughts about this and the seriousness of this issue? >> look, it's a very serious issue. we've seen north korea with missile tests periodically over the past year, going back even further than that, but these nuclear tests are much more significant, obviously. and if you want to criticize the obama administration, criticize that approach, generally, you can point out that the same person, wendy sherman, who originally negotiated the agreed framework back in the 1990s, under president clinton, which hillary clinton has embraced and touted as a model for diplomacy,

was also responsible for the iran deal. this is what diplomacy looks like. and president obama ought to be hitting this in every speech he gives, in every conversation he has, from now until election day. >> panel, stand by. next up is make america great again. that slogan. is it racist? look at all these purchases you made with your airline credit card. hold on...you only got double miles on stuff you bought from that airline? let me show you something better. the capital one venture card. with venture, you earn unlimited double miles on every purchase... not just...(dismissively) airline purchases. every purchase. everywhere. every day. no really! double miles on all of them! what's in your wallet?

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that message, i will give you america great again is if you are a white southerner, you know exactly what it means, don't you? what it means is i will give you your economy you had 50 years ago and i will move you back up on the social totem pole and other people down. >> now you are being called upon every one of to you secure a better future for

your children and grandchildren and make america great again. >> i want to attack these problems and make america great again. >> it's time for another come back. time to make america great again. i know hillary's the one that can do it. >> paid for by hillary clinton for president. >> well, former president bill clinton suggesting that make america great again, donald trump's slogan may somehow be racist in some way and then, obviously, you saw the past times that he has used it in elections. we're back with the panel. clarence, what about that and the role of bill clinton here? i mean, if you look back to 2008, back in south carolina, when he was getting so upset that he said that this was a race that the obama campaign was saying that he was somehow racist. >> right. right. >> a full turn around. >> in all seriousness, bret, ever since the beginning of trump's campaign i thought i heard that phrase make america great again somewhere before. i thought it was reagan. it wasn't until today i

realized it was bill clinton and repeatedly. maybe his memory has slipped, too. i don't know. >> on the stomp stump. >> context matters. certainly when black folks hear let's make america great again coming from a conservative what are you talking about? >> pat buchanan thinks america went down hill after elvis hit the he had sullivan show. this is what a think again. that's just bubba. is he dog his bubba thing. other context means a lot. there is kind of a funny bit of coding going on here in the speeches. bill clinton also knows how this message is received by black voters and a lot of liberals. so it's fun to have it both ways. >> it's a big turn around, steve. from where he was saying that he was being in a different spot in 2008. >> big turn around for bill clinton. not the first time for bill clinton. can we say that make america

great again is not racist. there is nothing controversial make america great. >> america is great already. >> there is not code. people believe that the united states has slipped. that the united states is in decline over the past decade. i think it's fine to say make america great again. the fact that donald trump made that his campaign slogan i think is one of the smartest things that donald trump has said. look, there is plenty -- if bill clinton wants to attack donald trump for making bigoted comments, there is actual stuff there. go back to the things that he said about the judge. go back to the things that he said about hispanic americans. don't invent something out of a campaign slogan where you say make america great again. there is nothing there. >> lisa, donald trump is reaching out to african-american communities. look at the meeting in detroit. look at the fox news poll and general election preference among nonwhite voters. the clinton-cain team 72, trump pence 31%. look back to 2008, 2012, the

percentages of african-americans, 95% and 93%. the question is whether hillary clinton is going to win that percentage among black voters and whether she is really just trying to gin up that base. >> and i think that does represent a problem for hillary clinton. trying to rebuild the obama coalition. african-americans, you know, came out to support the first black president in 2008 and 2012 with president obama. i do think that represents a difficulty for her. i think it's even going to be difficult for her to reach the same amount of support with women voters as president obama did. he was an inspiring candidate. she is not. i think that level enthusiasm is going to be a problem to be her. it shouldn't really surprise anyone for bill clinton to have this level of hypocrisy. clearly there has been a different set of rules with the clintons in their mind and everyone else as well. if you go back to bill clinton he had defended the late senator bird's involvement with the kkk. i think the clinton family isn't necessarily clean on these issues and it does

represent an overreaching by hillary clinton. and maybe a little desperation. >> someone we don't talk about on the campaign trail because he hasn't been there for a while is president obama. he will be back out there. and likely that's going to help the clinton campaign and hillary clinton, especially on those communities. >> exactly, look. i think her problem is not so much the percentage of african-americans is he going to get. it's going to be in the 90's. it will be a question of a point here or there. it's the turnout. obama was one of the things that made him president is that among minorities, african-americans hispanic southerners the turnout was higher than ever historically. had there been historic levels of turnout he might not have won, especially in 2012. i mean, i think that's going to be her problem. as to the slogan, you know, there are only so many slogans that you can have if you are the out party. one of them is to make the country great. another, for example, is to take back our country. and i remember msnbc, one of the anchors saying that in

itself was racist. >> clarence, last word here in 2008 bill clinton said they played the race card on me. talking about the obama campaign. >> yeah, yeah. people play it back and forth. a lot of folks back in 1992 criticized clinton for the execution that he had out in arkansas, ricky recker, believe, mentally incapacitated and bill clinton executed him anyway knowing he had to be a law and order candidate. bill clinton is a realist about these things and knows how to finesse them. hillary is not as skilled at finessing them. be interesting to hear how she handles it. >> next up your friday

finally tonight, your friday feedback. in our report we asked if you are comfortable with the candidate praising vladimir putin. ranger says:

in our story about north korean nuclear testing we asked what the u.s. should do about the most recent test: and in our piece about 9/11 first responders, ahead of the 15th anniversary of the tragedy sunday, we asked if you feel safer than you did five years ago. that's your friday fee feedback.

join me 8 p.m. eastern time. six days a week for "special report." that's this edition. thanks for inviting us into your home, fair, balanced and unafraid.opopopopopopopopop your life too if you're struggling in any way. have a great weekend. welcome to "hannity." donald trump caps off another very good week on the campaign trail with a rally in the key swing state of florida. here are some of those highlights. >> there are thousands of people outside that can't get in. fantastic. way to go. thank you. thank you, everybody. it is so great to be back in florida, my second home. you know it's my second home. thank you. thousands of people outside cannot get in. this is what's happening. it's a movement like they have never seen befor