your favorite checkout girl. >> totally. >> or getting 2, 1 at home -- i mean, it's funny, and i guess it's kind of a cool-looking tattoo even when it does expire, it's not his first. >> i'm glad it's not my partner doing that. here is "america reports." >> john: emily, thank you so much. president biden says americans are so down on the economy and yet we are not in recession, according to the white house. the president's solution, tax and spend even more. republicans railing against the democrats $430 billion spending plan. >> sandra: what is the fix for all of this, and we live through inflation. put it to senate gop whip john thune, and will the spending plan even bring down prices. >> john: begin with a fox news

alert and new warning from beijing, and major escalation of rhetoric out of china. suggesting if house speaker pelosi flies to taiwan with a fighter jet escort, the chinese military could shoot her plane down. happy friday, i'm john roberts in washington. hi, sandra. >> sandra: developing story. that is brand-new, i'm sandra smith in new york. that stark warning just came from beijing, it happened moments ago. china state media saying a fighter jet escort for pelosi would constitute a "invasion," but still no word whether pelosi will be visiting taiwan. yesterday chinese president xi warned president biden not to play with fire, meanwhile russia publicly standing with china on this matter. >> john: fox team coverage to kick off the hour. the rising red threat. begin with jacqui heinrich, live on the north lawn.

jacqui, new information about how the chinese might respond to pelosi's visit? >> sure do, john, concerning suggestion from state media that the chinese could shoot down pelosi's plane. they said on twitter if u.s. fighter jets escort her plane taiwan, it is an invasion. they have the right to forcibly dispel pelosi's plane and the u.s. fighter jets, including warning shots and tactical movement of obstruction. if ineffective, then shoot them down. so, that is probably the most escalated rhetoric we have heard over this whole potential trip. a pentagon source tells me the most concerning thing they have heard so far about a potential chinese response would be a flyover of the red line or potential naval activity. i just asked john kirby about this and whether, how the u.s. might respond, he refused to speculate what the response might be, and said so far the

white house does not see concrete indications of upcoming military activity but no reason to come to blows or increased physical tension, because there has been no change u.s. policy toward taiwan. pelosi just took some questions on her upcoming travel plans, but would not confirm a taiwan stop. she did say this, though. >> we have global responsibility, security, economy, and governance. and this will be part of that. >> this morning the chinese issued a new warning against the visit from pelosi, saying it violates their red line, met with resolute counter measures, and china sees it as a violation of promise to stay out of taiwan measure, and speakers said anything less would be caving to pressure from china. the white house refuses to say whether they view this warning of death by fire over taiwan

involvement and escalation, but they did have a pretty rosy readout of the call between biden and xi and agreed to a face-to-face meeting after their two hour and 17 minute conversation yesterday. >> john: general keith kellogg, former national security advisor to president trump president trump and mike pence, and fox news contributor. china's reaction to the potential pelosi trip, an official statement, a visit to taiwan by speaker pelosi would challenge china's red line and any challenge will be met with resolute counter measures. how do you expect china will respond? >> now we are in dumb and dumber. if anything, right now that means pelosi needs to go, she needs to go, needs to be bipartisan commission and she needs just say this is how, you don't dictate to the united

states of america. gingrinch went in 1997 but this is different, it's different times. this goes back to the shanghai communique in 1972, taiwan is part of china, we said we understand that. times have changed right now and now a democratic country in taiwan, 23 million people, it's our right to go to that country to help them, and i think maybe it's reaching a point we just push back on the chinese and say you know, maybe this whole idea of 1972 with one china was wrong, and maybe we need to have a two china. now maybe come back to the u.n. need to support them. i think in the next two years this is going to reach a culmination point. >> john: i don't think that idea would go over well in beijing. >> probably not. >> john: the tweet that came out, this is not an official chinese government tweet we should point out, a tweet by a columnist with chinese state affiliated media global times.

but he says here if u.s. fighter jets escort pelosi's plane into taiwan, it's an invasion, going on to say china would reserve the right to intercede, and if those are ineffective, then shoot them down. what would the net effect of that be? >> start of a war. you can't -- first of all, it's an insane comment to make. but if you are saying that about our speaker of the house of the united states, regardless of political party, if you are taking some military action against the united states of america and against our aircraft, then you are going to start a war. military action, this, when you do the switch into the military operation in taiwan, if this is hard for the chinese to do, it would be hard for them to invade if they want to. taiwan strait, 100 miles wide, same they had to cross in the normandy invasion of world war ii. some of the actions, instead of one, the reagan in japan with

the 7th fleet, maybe what we did in 2017 and 2020, bring more carrier battle groups to the pacific region. you know, maybe station another battle group and the 7th fleet in japan. this will be just not a chinese-u.s. issue, it's going to become an issue that's going to involve japan, it's going to involve the philippines, vietnam, it's going to be a massive regional issue. for them to be speaking as they are, we need to push back on them. and the president needs to push back on them, maybe in private but not fold and say we are not going to go. >> john: in terms of pushback, the president held a two-hour phone call with xi jinping during which according to the chinese foreign minister xi said to biden on taiwan, those who play with fire will perish by it. and hoped that the u.s. will be clear eyed about that, in other words saying hands off taiwan, it's a chinese thing. and russia is full throatedly behind xi jinping as well.

lavrov says the position on the existence of only one china remains unchanged. no problem with upholding the principle of china's sovereignty, open to interpretation. like what measures do you take to uphold china's sovereignty? >> shanghai communique in 1972, 1 china. the next year and a half to two years out there, this may come to some type of conflict with the chinese. they are not going to back away from this, and we need to push forward as well and we should not in any way let the chinese dictate what we want to do. i remember when president trump said to kim jong-un, said we have a red button, and trump said we have a red button bigger than yours. and you cannot dictate to us. >> china's red button is getting bigger every day.

>> that it is. >> john: have a good weekend. so sandra, this is clearly something that is of greater and greater concern by the hour. we'll be talking more about this coming up on "america reports." senator john thune will be joining us and congressman michael mccall. >> sandra: and michael was part of a small group of lawmakers the speaker invited to join her supposedly on this trip to taiwan but declined, he says for other obligations. but first the fiery readout of the phone call from xi, one version from china, and then the readout from the white house that looked much different and then the statement from russia that it's standing in solidarity with china on this issue, john. it's a developing story to your point hour by hour. see where this goes next and we'll be speaking to those lawmakers coming up. president biden signing a disaster declaration for the state of kentucky after fast rising floodwaters killed at

least 16 people there. they are expecting it to grow. we are live in hindeman, how will the disaster declaration help the situation. so many people are suffering right now. >> yeah, absolutely. major disaster declaration essentially puts into motion long-term federal disaster recovery programs. talking about help for businesses, victims, and even local governments that now have to pay a lot of overtime to help with the clean-up. and the clean-up here is going to be extensive. you can just look over my shoulder, this fire engine that was picked up by the force of the water and lodged underneath this bridge, just incredible pictures out of here in eastern kentucky. many roads here are still impassable and a little under 24 how people are still without power. rescue operations are still underway, and according to the governor, around 300 people had to be saved from the floods either by helicopter or boat. three senior living homes had to be evacuated and unfortunately

some were not able to escape the floodwaters in time. the governor saying in a press conference that 16 people are confirmed dead. so many people are still missing and there are fears the death toll will continue to rise. >> everybody out there that is scared, that can't get in touch with one of their relatives, cell phones are down and so many of the regions. i could not get in touch with members of my family after the tornadoes. so please, continue to hope, continue to pray, and we will try to connect as many people as possible. >> several shelters have also been opened up to help people who have been affected by the floodwaters. also some state parks are available for people to go. the governor estimating that thousands of people have been impacted in one way or another by these floods. >> sandra: max gordon reporting from kentucky, thank you. john. >> john: after the dryest june in 128 years, a monsoon causing

massive flash flooding on the las vegas strip. video on social media showing several inches of water rushing down las vegas boulevard and pouring into casino, and rain waters gushing through ceilings and soaking carpets. severe thunderstorm warnings have expired, more rain is expected this afternoon. what a turn around from just a couple weeks ago. >> sandra: absolutely. we are watching all of that, meanwhile, fox news alert, secretary of state antony blinken, this just in, says he has now spoken to russia's top diplomat and pressed russia to accept this proposal for the release of detained americans. we knew earlier this week, right, john, the u.s. offered in a deal to russia aimed at bringing home britney griner and another jailed american, we speak to his family often, paul

whelan. and we you know the pitch was being made and reportedly involved a swap of a russian arms dealer, victor boot, for them. and blinken has spoken to russia's top diplomate. no further details what the united states is offering to bring the two americans home but certainly news he has spoken to that top diplomat and potentially in an effort to bring them home. update as it comes in. >> john: so lavrov will talk to putin and find out what their fate is. rebecca will join us to talk about who victor boot really is. millions of americans turning to food banks to help feed their families as the u.s. enters recession. they say biden's policies are to blame. >> sandra: something to see what's happening around the country. the white house says the recession is more about how americans are feeling, not the

word itself. but the president says americans are feeling so down on the economy and missing big government payouts. will more spending make matters even worse? money man charles payne is up next. >> there's a massive tax increase which is going to do great harm to businesses and working folks and finally you have this huge volume of spending, tax hikes are going to cause a worse recession. veteran homeowners, this is the best time in history to turn your home equity into cash. because home values have climbed to all time highs. and so has your equity. turn it into cash now. the newday 100 va cash out loan lets you borrow up to 100% of your home's value. you could take out more than $60,000. use it to improve your home. pay off high rate debt. pay for big expenses. or put it in the bank for real peace of mind. turn your equity into cash with the newday100 va cash out loan

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>> these men and women live, they call it stand time. you know, they get a scan every three months, and if the scan is good, they get a decent three months and if the scan is bad, and they cannot wait any longer, this delay has to stop.

>> sandra: that was a passionate jon stewart blasting senate republicans after a bill to provide medical care to veterans affected by toxic burn pits failed a procedural vote. now another chance for an amendment vote on monday. republicans who voted against it, says there is spending unrelated to veterans issues. john. >> john: as americans get crushed by rising inflation, turning again to food banks to help feed their families. those centers say they are struggling to keep up as feeding america says more than three-quarters of facilities are seeing an increase in demand in the last few weeks. lydia hu is live at hillside, new jersey, more on the story. lydia. >> hi there, john. inflation is exacerbating demand and straining supply.

they are paying 40% more for the same amount of food they are buying just last year and volunteers are here toda packaging dry goods up. >> the stories are the same, much more expensive to fill up the tank to go to work or to drop, to go to school, and then of course when they go to the grocery store they get hit with another high cost. not since the great recession, not through sandy where i had the opportunity to serve. we have never seen anything like this. >> and it's not just here in new jersey, this is happening coast to coast. take a look at this, because the numbers are staggering. some food pantries are seeing -- increase in demand for food over last year, that is happening in phoenix, arizona. the need, it's also exploding in

houston, texas and alameda, california. this video that you are seeing here shows lines of people, some of them waiting for hours for food in california, pennsylvania, texas, and new york city. the folks here at the community food bank of new jersey say they are overwhelmed, they have never had demand like this before. so now john, as the debate rages on after the most recent round of economic data came out about whether or not the country has sunk into a recession, perhaps some of the data we should consider are the thousands of people who are turning to food banks now just to put food on the table. >> john: and i think if you were to poll those people they would tell you yes, we are in recession. that's what it feels like to them. lydia, thank you. sandra. >> sandra: thank you very much. critics slamming president biden for pushing for more tax hikes and more government spending as most voters blame government spending for the high prices they are today paying. the president insisting that

massive spending will actually lower prices. a lot of critics say that's not the case. charles payne, host of making money on fox business. so, dig into this for us. because it's not hard to look back at moments in history where even democrats, democratic president barack obama said it's just not a good idea to hike taxes in the middle of a recession. here is obama, 2009. >> the last thing you want to do is to raise taxes in the middle of a recession because that would just suck up, take more demand out of the economy and put businesses in a further hole. >> sandra: so why, why are we having a white house push for more spending while americans are suffering through historic inflation? >> because nothing this white house does has anything to do with economic policy, nothing. it is all about environmental justice, social justice, fundamentally changing america and i say this over and over again, they have to put the

veneer on it, that's the way the white house speaks, talk about economics. but their main goal is to change america and make us much like europe, and the sad thing is, we have a real life example. look at electricity prices for the folks in france and germany. mind boggling. they have to cut back on 15% natural gas, can't use the air-conditioner. the president of spain told people not to wear ties because it will make you hot, instead turn off the a.c. you talk about quality of life and they believe that's better, you know, sacrificing quality of life for this climate agenda. number one, it is number one and the only thing that drives now the obama -- i mean, biden administration, and it's been driving europe for a long time. >> sandra: and one man in the way of more spending in this inflationary environment and that has been joe manchin and mitch mcconnell just said this, calling him out on this new

bill. listen. >> a few years back our colleague, the senior senator for west virginia said "i don't think that during a time of recession you mess with any of the taxes or increase any taxes" but alas, yesterday, washington democrats announced they plan to do just exactly that. a reckless taxing and spending free to delight the far left and hammer working families even harder. >> sandra: so president obama said it in 2009, manchin said it recently and now has had a change of heart. do you see that as a change of heart? what's going on there? how could i approve spending when he was so against it? >> and he said he would maybe wait until september, right. we have some inflation data today worse than expected. on the business side and the consumer side. you know, it's so weird. i was reading the interviews that evening, a couple nights ago when the news came out and he was talking about how he told

his colleagues he was still working on it. i really believed that the a.o.c.s of the world hurt his feelings. i hate to say it. i think he put the camaraderie of his fellow democrats in washington, d.c. over west virginia. he set the bar himself, he was clear thinking, smart thinking, this is one of the poorest states in america. looking out for his citizens and gave it up so everyone can hug him again. >> sandra: and there for the industry -- >> i don't see anything -- what the heck, didn't bring a bridge to nowhere home. >> sandra: "new york post" decided to put up the definition of recession. jeffrey frankel is coming up, he sat on the body not officially declares a recession, but sort of, and historically has been two straight quarters.

why are we stuck in this moment? and why couldn't the white house said charles, by whatever your definition is, it's bad out there, people are suffering. we are addressing these problems, addressing inflation. why are we stuck in these semantics? >> it throws us off the topic, we are talking about it. anything that they can do to muddle the waters, the reality is it's tough out there to people. i woke up at 2:50 and went over the entire list of the people decision making. one thing i heard yesterday sandra, everyone said it's a body of unbiased, yada yada -- >> sandra: non-partisan -- >> they are partisan, and they are partisan to what they believe in. look at the roamers, christina roamer and her husband, and this guy named stock, look at the, another guy, public economics, the economics of government adding money, welfare to

society. only one person i saw in there who i consider as to the right who supported tax -- >> sandra: influenced by politics. >> deeply, and far left may not see what the person trying to buy groceries in alabama sees. >> sandra: charles, appreciate you, you always do your homework. see you at 2:00. >> john: i bet none have a blazer like that. as house speaker nancy pelosi is set to take off for asia, startling threat from u.s. media. how should the u.s. respond? senator john thune up next on that. >> sandra: another bus load of migrants arriving on d.c.'s doorstep. the mayor there asking the national guard to step in. border states are saying welcome to our world. >> welcome to our world. what we have been dealing with for the last year and a half and finally it's getting to washington, d.c.

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>> john: biden administration doing another 180, quietly completing more sections of former president trump's border wall. yep, you heard that right. the homeland security department is closing four gaps in the barrier near yuma, arizona. secretary mayorkas giving the green light to customs and board protection to seal those openings. this despite president biden's insistence that not another foot of border wall would ever be built under his administration. the area is one of the busiest crossing points for migrants entering the united states. sandra. >> sandra: another bus load of migrants arriving at the nation's capital from texas earlier this morning. democratic mayor bowser is demanding help from the national guard, calling it a humanitarian crisis. but first, new details on dozens of migrants found in stash houses in that city.

gillian turner is on it from washington for us. gillian, what are the officials saying about that? >> gillian: sandra, this breaking right now, 73 migrants, including 13 of them children, have reportedly been found in stash houses along with cocaine. i.c.e. telling us in a statement they cannot comment due to an ongoing investigation but say our goal is to identify, disrupt and dismantle significant trans national criminal organizations involved in human smuggling. they are off loading migrants blocks away from lawmakers' offices. in a situation the mayor has deemed a humanitarian crisis. also overnight, migrants were seen sleeping outside union station, which is also just feet from the capitol building. temperatures reached 91° last night. she is calling in the national guard. and expects fema, the u.s. military and even president biden to get involved.

>> well, we need space and we need the federal government to be involved. so i've asked for the deployment of the guard as long as we need the guard to deal with the humanitarian crisis. that we expect to escalate. the number of people crossing the border seeking asylum we expect to only go up. >> gillian: the pentagon confirms they are working on it, saying the secretary takes the request for assistance very seriously. the white house is going all in, blaming republicans for the crisis. listen. >> said this last week about republicans using migrants as a political tool and that is shameful that is just wrong. >> gillian: over half a million people are known to have crossed the southern border illegally without being detained by border patrol since october, beginning of the fiscal year. >> sandra: gillian turner live in washington. thank you very much, john. >> john: sandra, there are growing concerns over a showdown with china as house speaker

nancy pelosi heads to asia today. beijing is warning if she visits taiwan, that would be a red line the u.s. cannot cross. comes as russia expresses solidarity with china saying it respects china's territorial integrity. joining us now senate minority whip john thune. good to see you. language from china capped off with this tweet from a fellow who is a commentator from global times, don't imagine it's a personal sentiment of his, he says if u.s. fighter jets escort pelosi's plane into taiwan, it is invasion. p.l.a. has the right to forcibly dispel her plane, and the fighter jets, including warning shots and tactical move of obstruction. if ineffective, then shoot them down. what should biden be saying to china at this moment? >> i think, john, what he's got to do is project strength. i mean, if you -- we are where

we are with this situation, and it appears at least on her trip she's going to make a stop there and we have always had a relationship, and these are sovereign nations and have visited taiwan in the past and that should continue. i think the president needs to make it clear if we have diplomats coming from the united states who have, you know, work to do, negotiations and discussions to have with the taiwanese government, that he's going to support that. i think all the rhetoric around the last few days i think projects weakness and that's something that this administration shouldn't be doing, particularly now. >> john: a lot of people are saying the biden administration is projecting weakness, but would also appear there might be a fear in china of xi jinping projecting weakness. a series of meetings coming up he is expected to grab an unprecedented third term as the president of china. and if nancy pelosi shows up in

taiwan despite all the saber rattling from china, that could be a real embarrassment from him and make him look weak. are you concerned that might provoke him into a more strident response? >> colleagues of mine have visited taiwan, not real recently but not that long ago, and certainly again, have that right. and i don't know what, you know, the leader of china decides to do in this circumstance. i understand a lot of political pressure there, too, but i don't think it would be incredibly provocative if he were to do something to intervene to demonstrate strength going into an election. i think he should let well enough alone and understand these are countries with whom we have relationships and the government, those types of discussions ought to be able to continue and i would certainly hope that he would treat it that way and our president needs to

acknowledge the fact that we are going to have folks who will go to taiwan and the case of the speaker, a high level obviously, member of congress, but we have had delegations there before and should be viewed the same way by the chinese. >> john: see how it goes in the coming days. don't know if nancy pelosi will go to taiwan but is leaving today, we'll watch that closely. i wanted to ask you about the pact act, the burn pit bill. most republicans voted against that bill yesterday authorizing $280 million in new spending to help veterans. jon stewart, formerly from "the daily show" was on capitol hill in support of it. didn't like the fact republicans voted against it. >> tell someone with cancer that's been fighting this for years that eventually they'll get the help that they have earned. that is not a sensible answer. it is despicable to use

america's men and women who are fighting for the country as political pawns. this bill is utterly and completely focused on veterans issues. there is no pork in it. it is a kosher bill. >> john: senator, you were among those who voted against this, what was the reason for that? >> i think most republicans, i would think all republicans, all members of congress, john, want to address the issue, the underlying issue here, and that is those who have been adversely affected by burn pits as a result of their service. this issue got prompted by a screw-up the democrats made. this bill passed the senate weeks ago, months ago, went to the house, and because the technicality could not pass it. so the house democrats and senate democrats screwed this up so the house had to pass it again, and back to the senate and what they tried to do, something that should have been done the first time it was passed in the senate, to fix the

way it was funded that makes it stronger and more fiscally responsible. a simple fix. add it, the bill passes on monday, and it's really that easy. >> john: when will this bill get passed and will it about get based? >> as soon as the democrats agree to fix that basically screw-up that was in the bill originally and which pat has raised and allow him to offer an amendment to address this. i think once that happens then the bill, whether it gets amended or not remains to be seen. 85 votes in the senate, and like i said, most senators on both sides are supportive of what the bill attempts to accomplish. >> john: senator john thune, we'll see if it does pass, the veterans urgently need some

relief. >> sandra: john, a starbucks just steps from you and steps from the nation's capitol closing because it is too dangerous? >> john: wow, how about that. union station. plus, we reported at the top of the hour that secretary blinken says he has pressed russia to return american prisoners. but the guy we may return to them is an arms dealer called the merchant of death. one former intelligence officer says that will be a big mistake. hear from her coming up. >> these are not comparable. this is a bad guy moving arms around the world, neither paul or britney were engaged in that kind of activity.

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>> john: full steam ahead for the saudi-backed liv golf

tournament, they say they are trying to buy favor and for the world to forget human rights and terror groups. live in bedminster, new jersey. madison, how is the league handling the backlash? >> pushing ahead without acknowledging that, continuing on with their new league and we are seeing support from some of the golf community. former president trump is playing at the course today and practicing behind me here on the driving range. so when it comes to liv, they obviously are focussed on the season but they are doubling down despite the controversy, announced a full season next year and nearly doubled the pot to $405 million. now, that's prize money on top of the contracts that these golfers have reportedly received for joining the league. you know, these players have had to wave good-bye to the pga tour by signing on to liv.

the organization has taken a hard line stance on anyone who joins, banning them from pga events. hudson had this to say about the decision. >> i think it's a little harsh. we are here, we are professional golfers, we play golf, we are essentially entertainers, per se. so banning people for stuff they have earned i don't think that's great for the game, honestly. you want the best guys playing with each other. >> so john, this is a three-day tournament, just started at the top of the hour. at the end of this weekend the purse is $25 million, so put it in perspective, the average purse for a pga tour, around 9 million. >> john: and the winner of this one will get $4 million cold hard cash as well. for just 54 holes as opposed to 72. wow. that's a big pay day.

>> that's right. >> sandra: majority of americans say we are in recession but the biden white house is still saying otherwise. all of this after economic data revealed two back-to-back negative quarters. and welcome to you, and thank you for joining us. >> thank you, sandra, good to be with you. >> sandra: work off first the pr he miss of whether or not you believe that we are currently in a recession. >> well, we have a fair amount of data for the first quarter and confident a recession did not start in the first quarter despite the widely reported negative gdp number you mentioned. we don't have complete data for the second quarter but clearly the economy is slowing down and i don't think recession started in the second quarter but it's not impossible.

and then going forward, who knows. given the various threats out there, the increase in interest rates, what's happening in the outside world, odds of recession in the next two years are greater than usual. >> sandra: one thing if the white house wanted to insist they are looking at other things other than gdp and they think we are not in recession yet, but to your point, we are seeing a significant decline in economic activity as many on the left are noting, here is your former boss, president bill clinton on the issue. way back when. listen. >> mr. president, what do you think about a recession? >> well, a recession is two quarters in a row of negative growth. >> sandra: why do you fathom, and sound of nancy pelosi and others over the course of time saying the exact same thing.

why do you think the white house thinks it's a good idea to, i don't know, sort of die on this? why is this so important to avoid using that word or that definition? >> well, i disagree with the premise. for one thing, there's, you talk, look to the history of what the leaders have said and what the committee has said and what the economists have said, you can get plenty of quotes on the other side. two consecutive quarters is a rough and ready rule of thumb and i understand it's useful. but for example, treasury secretary for richard nixon said two quarter-rule is simple minded and of course everyone knows the official, so this is not something new that the biden administration has brought up. if you go back, i mean, committee is there for the reason of declaring recessions

and analysis. >> sandra: i think that's interesting, and really good to get somebody who was part of making those decisions. i was talking to austin goldzby, and pointing out a difference between the mbbr, and then the group says it's non-profit, non-partisan, although charles payne says his homework reveals a lot of that is involved. stats on the screen real quick. we are talking about whether or not we are in recession or not. most americans are feeling it. i mean, we fact check where we are today and 60% of americans are living paycheck to paycheck. real wages are down, inflation is sky high, four decade high. 64% respond in a cnn poll they believe we are in recession. they are feeling it. and then you've got this actual

data, gdp growth down a second straight quarter. are we avoiding the real truth here by nitpicking the definition of recession? >> i don't think anybody is denying that americans are unhappy with the economic situation and especially with inflation and inflation is at a 40-year high, that's all true. and by the way, you ask why the white house on this subject seems eager to explain the definition of a recession, official definition of recession. i'm not sure it's completely in their interest. the odds of a recession in the next two years are higher than usual and if it does come, it won't look good having said the recession has not begun in the first year, the first half of 2022, even though i believe that that is correct. just too many other indicators that are very positive. >> sandra: finish with these two quick questions. biden treasury secretary, janet

yellen said yesterday the economy remains resilient. real quick, you agree or disagree? >> well, resilient is an overused word but i guess i would say yes. >> sandra: yes you disagree? >> no, no, i mean, i agree, but resilient is a vague word, i'm not sure what i'm being asked. >> sandra: those words matter when you are the treasury secretary. the president is saying we are not in recession. is it a good idea to say that, considering the body that you are very familiar with that declares recessions, sometimes it can take a year to look back to see perhaps we are going to learn we certainly are, is it a good idea for him to be so definitive on this? >> if he was that definitive, it's not a good reason for the reason you say. we have no data for the third quarter virtually, no idea. i think he said god willing different.

>> sandra: yesterday in a speech he cited multiple economists saying we are not in a recession, none that said we were. seems that's where he's leaning and used those words. good to have you here. appreciate you joining us. hope to have you back again. thank you. >> my pleasure. >> john: sandra, thank you. will smith addressing the most memorable moment from the oscars this year. emotional video, apologizing to comedian chris rock for slapping him. rock not yet ready to speak to smith. smith previously apologized in march and now doing it on video. look here. >> i will say to you, chris, i apologize to you, my behavior was unacceptable and i'm here whenever you are ready to talk. >> john: well, he's not ready to talk, at least not yet. i think it's going to be a while before chris rock forgives him.

how do you really forgive somebody for doing that. the principle of turning the other cheek but got whacked hard on the left one, not sure if he's ready for the right. >> sandra: why now, i would say follow the money, this is damaging to his career. ask why it took this long and why he's doing it now and ee if they are able to make amends. >> john: i would think will smith is feeling like a man alone, at least when it comes to hollywood circles. >> sandra: new at 2:00, china warning the u.s. we are playing with fire and speaker nancy pelosi will be challenging china's red line if she visits taiwan. it's anyone's guess if that's going to happen. texas congressman michael mccall might have an idea. he was invited to go along on the trip. and brian kilmeade, with the white house out of touch with struggling americans and karl

rove how joe biden's recession denial could impact the midterm elections. that's coming up. ♪ it wasn't me by shaggy ♪ you're never responsible for unauthorized purchases on your discover card.

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be ready for every moment, with glucerna. it's the number one doctor recommended brand that is scientifically designed to help manage your blood sugar. live every moment. glucerna. >> sandra: fox news alert new at 2:00, just getting the first update on the investigation to find out who leaked the supreme court draft opinion foreshadowing roe v. wade. >> john: what investigators have learned in their hunt for the leaker behind the historic breach of an american institution. >> sandra: china's red line is drawn. speaker pelosi's bags are being paed. now chinese state run media warning the military is prepared to shoot american planes down.

welcome back as "america reports" rolls into hour two on a not so feeling like a summer friday. a lot of news today, john. good to be with you. >> john: good to be with you as well, john roberts in washington. setting the stage for an east/west showdown not seen in a generation. stark threats from china warning a visit from speaker pelosi is a red line not to be crossed. now with her visit to taiwan up in the air, one thing that is clear, decisions being made on both sides of the pacific will be critical as this comes to a head. >> sandra: where we stand at this hour. bloomberg is reporting speaker pelosi will depart today for asia, but it's not clear if she plans to stop in taiwan in defiance of china's government. >> john: amid china's threats, the u.s.s. ronald reagan aircraft carrier strike group

has been recalled to the china sea, including a missile destroyer and cruiser. >> sandra: taiwan, calm disbelief. many not believing china will make a move, even as they finish a fifth straight day planning for missile attacks. >> john: congressman michael mccall was invited to go on the trip and will join us live in a moment. >> sandra: and the latest from greg palkot live in london. but new reporting on how communist china tried to work its way into american homes and into the minds of american teenagers. gerry willis has the story for us. >> amazing story. bloomberg reporting the chinese government account would target american audiences to spread favorable messages for the chinese government. meant to be a stealth account with no tags back to the government agency that would run it. according to bloomberg, company

executives tried to push back against the request. tiktok spokesperson says the company declined to offer support for the request. in general, though, white house press secretary claims the president brought up the unfair business practices in a two-hour and 17 minute call yesterday with the chinese president. >> the president did explain on his decision but the president did explain his core concerns with china's unfair economic practices that harm american workers and families, but again, they did not discuss any potential steps he might take with president xi. that has not been decided. >> no warnings to china to stop meddling, either with propaganda or stealing intellectual property. president trump's administration took a critical eye on tiktok and he tried to ban the

platform. this president ended that look into tiktok. the chinese company has exploded in popularity so now we are seeing china trying to weaponize a popular social media platform as a tool for the chinese communist party. sandra. >> sandra: thank you very much, john. >> john: team coverage continues, senior foreign affairs correspondent greg palkot is live in london. what is the white house saying about the latest threats from china? >> john, washington is trying to stay cool as beijing is ratcheting up the rhetoric. speaker pelosi has not confirmed her movements, she says for security reasons, a growing number of reports say she's going to asia and could be visiting taiwan, making her the highest ranking elected official to go there in 25 years. and yes, triggering even more tough talk from china, from shooting down the escort jets to starting a war. specifically today, government

spokesman saying the trip would cross the red line for beijing and the u.s. should be ready for counter measures and consequences. meanwhile, white house spokesman john kirby says they are not seeing anything untoward regarding security around taiwan but the pentagon is not taking any chances. ronald reagan aircraft carrier in the south china sea, a cruise back to the home port in japan would bring it right alongside taiwan in just a matter of days. and underscoring the threat from beijing, taiwan has wrapped up the annual military exercises, ready to defend the island from the land, sea and air. officials have said they would welcome a visit by and the support of nancy pelosi and again, growing signs are indicating that visit will happen maybe in the coming days. all are girding for and hoping for the best. >> john: we'll see what develops. greg palkot, thank you.

sandra. >> sandra: texas republican congressman michael mccall, you were invited along on the trip with nancy pelosi. you declined. why? >> well, you know, we have not seen our families in a long time and i have family obligations, so family first. ever -- i fully support her going to taiwan as i would any member of congress. speaker, the last speaker to travel in 1997, i think it's very important from a political deterrence value that she go. the question is whether she's going to get an airplane or whether the president will tell the military to deny the airplane. the biden administration is going to cowtow to president xi and deny the speaker of the house to visit taiwan, to provide political deterrence. president xi is looking at

taiwan and potential invasion. this is one of the few instances i actually agree with her. >> john: all the saber rattling between china and the united states over this trip. president xi in the two-hour phone call with president biden saying those who play with fire will be perished by it. it's hoped the u.s. would be clear eyed about this. the former secretary of defense in the washington post said we cannot allow china to dictate who travels where and when, saying we should not take all the declarations and proclamations from beijing too seriously. where does that end? why are we not hearing that from president biden? >> that's right. those who play with fire will perish by it. that's what president xi said. if president biden denies the speaker of the house, the speaker of the house of all people, denies a trip to taiwan,

what does that send to president xi, weakness to our adversaries, and putin, right, when he did the nord stream, invaded scraping. it lays a predicate for invading taiwan. i think it's a trip that needs to go forward and extraordinary for the president of the united states to defy a speaker of the house to travel to taiwan and a sign of support tore that country. >> sandra: congressman, the latest tweet out of chinese state media, the latest development in the story, in that it posted a tweet with this threat. u.s. fighter jet escorted pelosi's plane into taiwan, it is invasion. p.l.a., the army, has the right to forcibly dispel pelosi's plane and fighter jets, including firing warning shots and tactical movement of obstruction. if ineffective, then shoot them down. what's your response to that?

and how should we respond to it? >> well, they have been very provocative, and if the biden administration backs down it's weakness. they have been very provocative lately. they intercepted an american plane in international space, australian and canadian plane. australian plane, they clipped the wings and threw aluminum into the jet engines. i predict if this trip goes forward to taiwan, they will do something very provocative. president xi is probably smart enough not to shoot down an aircraft of the speaker of the house on it. he's not going to like it, but i don't think he's going to go to that extreme. and so i think this trip should go forward and send a strong message to president xi that the american people, whether republican or democrat, are against your invasion of taiwan. >> john: let's hope that president xi is smarter than

that. we had general keith kellogg on and he believes in the next two years china will make a play for taiwan. president biden said the united states would come to the defense of taiwan but china's military is growing at a break neck pace, many analyst believe a u.s. victory in a confrontation with china is not necessarily assured. >> it's not at all, and what i worry about, if you look at the map, they are circling the island right now, being very military provocative. i think as long as biden is in office and they see the weakness projected, that is their timetable to invade just like putin invading ukraine, and looking at ukraine very closely. would they prefer to do it like hong kong without a shot fired, of course. or maybe president says i cannot run in two years, maybe by overthrowing an election or by disinformation. but plan b is the military

invasion and it's going to happen under president biden's watch. >> sandra: michael mccall, thank you for joining us, appreciate your time, thank you. >> john: that is not a comforting prediction. thank you for that. jump to kentucky, governor beshear is giving an update on the deadly flooding, started in st. louis a couple days ago and now the eastern part of kentucky is inundated. >> just in the area we were in, a number of them, and that is a good sign that we are marshalling the resources that we need. we are starting to receive more information of more deaths. we do not have an official update at this time as they have to be verified by d.p.h. i have received notice that they've located the bodies of those four children mentioned in "herald leader" story today and

i know we will be contacting their parents. that means we have at least six dead children and it's hard, even harder for those families and those communities. so keep praying, still a lot of people out there, still a lot of people unaccounted for, we will do our best to find them owl. open it up forw if that is true if -- >> i haven't heard that. if it's the case, we will ensure they have all the resources that they need. but i have not received that report directly. i know we have significant search and rescue going on because i saw it and we need it.

that's the national guard, the kentucky state police, that's fish and wildlife, national guard from tennessee, west virginia. so, haven't heard that, but even if it's the case, we are not going to let it stop us from helping the people of breatha county. >> [inaudible] >> i'll head back over to the emergency operation center to get an update. i will be in regular contact. we will put out probably a written update later today that will provide any additional important updates. some information needs to get out again, like the numbers to call for ksp if you can't find a loved one, it's really important and any help getting that out would be greatly appreciated, and then we'll see as we move into tomorrow, it's a dynamic situation. search and rescue is still ongoing and we were not able to reach parts of eastern kentucky

where the water has not even crested. but, no, no, we are going to do our very best and everybody out there trying to help is doing their very best. we are going to be with those that have been impacted tomorrow, the next day, the next week and the next year to gut them back on their feet. >> and tomorrow, areas of the water [inaudible] >> certainly once the water recedes and where it recedes, more people can get out. we can get to various equipment right now that we can't, hoping to get some of our water treatment facilities that have had to shut down. there is some natural gas we have had to shut down for access reasons, so i know that they will be there. our folks are also very attuned to places that we are worried about getting to, that the water might come up again monday and tuesday, we want to make sure they have water. we also want to get people out

of any area that we think could have any additional problems. the area in jackson that we evacuated. make sure there aren't any more of those. but we've got to act quickly after the water recedes tomorrow. certainly before it rains again. but once the water goes down in any of these areas, we can do a lot more, we can check on a lot more people, we can go door to door and make sure everybody is ok. >> [inaudible] in western kentucky mayfield -- [inaudible] >> both picked me back up and admittedly has me emotional. it's the mayor of benton and marshall county hit really hard that was gathering supplies last night and they are on their way now. you can understand, they keep those supplies. people there are still in need. and then my goodness, the mayor

sending the fire chief of mayfield, something really special. i know those people and i guess after meeting them i'm not surprised. but to hear how grateful they still are the people of kentucky were there for them and they want to pay it forward to a pretty good example for all of us. the first information that we will put out will be a demographic information like we do with covid, we'll see what and when names might come. certainly families would have to be notified first. and then we'll see what we can do from there. >> at least six children have died, do you know which county? >> i don't have a firm grasp on the counties. i know we have two in our official number and i believe we found four more, and it's -- it's going to grow from there. from everything we have seen, we

may be updating a count of how many we lost for the next several weeks. some of these areas, it's hard to know exactly how many people were there and we might not have an exact number and people that live in the area might not have an exact number. it makes calling the numbers, the ksp numbers, so important. ok, thank y'all very much. >> john: governor andy beshear, the governor of kentucky, update on the flooding situation across the state. started in st. louis and now moved to the eastern part of kentucky with the big hills and ravines and rivers overflowing and flooding out areas, sandra, up to the rooftops in some cases. catching people by surprise as the flash flooding roars through the towns. >> sandra: 16 confirmed dead, he said, the governor, that is expected to rise. at least six children, two confirmed and seemingly is

confirming four children are dead that were reported in the lexington "herald leader," absolutely devastating story of four young cousins, john, one and a half years old to eight years old. they were swept away reportedly from their parents' grip during this deadly flooding yesterday, just an absolute tragic story and to hear the governor say six children dead, 16 total so far and that there are more to come. this is a horrific situation there. >> john: can't even imagine what the parents and the children went through. katie burn is live from one of the hardest hid areas in eastern kentucky, hazzard. what does it look like where you are? >> you get the real sense of urgency, they are looking for updates and a lot of people say the biggest issues are the fact there is no cell service in a lot of the hard hit areas, no

power, no water, a lot of communication issues and getting in touch with their loved ones who they have not heard from in some cases days, and the governor told you he went out with search and rescue crews and they were not able to get into some parts of kentucky where water has not crested yet. some parts of the area, water is not expected to start cresting until tomorrow, which means the water is still going to continue rising, unfortunately. we have seen it fluctuate throughout the day, it has receded now but we know we are expecting more rain on the way. i will tell you we have been talking to people in the communities here, you are going to see utter destruction and a lot of different places. a lot of different counties. it's widespread damage but some people are actually having these reunions. so i met rod earlier today, he's with me now and told me this morning that you were still looking for your cousins. tell me the latest. >> i found two of them, talked

to them but they lost ask el phone service. there's no electricity, no water, and he has not had nothing for two days and it's like they are just out in the dark. it's sad. actually a bridge got washed out where he lives, totally washed away. people lost a lot of stuff. that's sad. >> what was going through your mind when those days went which and you were not hearing from him? >> it scared me, it really did. you've got people like that you love, your cousins and you can't get ahold of them. it's scary, it really is. >> and you are talking about this bridge that washed away. did that hamper efforts of people trying to get into the areas to save them? >> a lot of people they can't get to. to this -- today they can't get to them. they don't know how many people, people don't have phone service, can't call nobody, it's really sad, really is. >> what was the conversation like with your cousins when you got to talk with them today. >> like i said, he has not had

electricity or water for two days, and more or less suffering. >> without the bridge is he kind of stuck out there? >> yeah, he can't get out. there's no way unless somebody comes in there and he goes across the water to get to him, you know. that's the bottom line. >> it's so interesting to think about it from that perspective, too. because we are in kentucky, we are in the mountainous terrain, and one way in and one way out. >> more or less, that's the bottom line. >> what's your plan. hoping to see him in the future? >> well, i'm going to try to get up so see him when i am. i'm afraid to go that way now, that's where i was born and raised but afraid ail get stuck somewhere. the way the situation is, it's not good. really is not. so -- i just hope everybody is ok, that's the bottom line, you know, so -- >> so glad he's ok. did he tell you anything about his neighbors or everyone around him? >> everybody is doing the same. the roads are washed out and

like nobody can get anywhere, you know, to do anything, so to get help. they can't get help to them, that's the bottom line. >> that's something i was hearing a lot about today, we need help, something even people who are not necessarily looking for loved ones, but just trying to assess the damage they are facing right now. >> john: extraordinary situation there, katie, thank you for that, appreciate it. sandra. >> sandra: thanks for telling their stories. john hunt now, floyd county sheriff. please do give us an update what is happening on the ground and what you are seeing, sir. >> obviously our water has receded a whole lot and getting out of the roadways where we can travel to a lot of these parts by vehicles, in a boat yesterday and trying to go in the vehicle to make sure we can account for every person and home and community that is still alive. >> sandra: i wonder what it's going to take, you know, before the waters recede.

these four cousins reportedly dead now, governor beshear brought that story to us, one and a half to eight years old, there are tragic stories all over that state, sir. >> yes, so sad. so sad to see it develop and watch it unfold as each county, there was about six of our counties that neighbor each other and some are worse than other, it's so sad to watch. >> knowing there are so many people who need help still right now, what is the latest with actual water rescues that are happening? >> so our water rescues are minimal today. we are able to get to most locations, we are trying to get to them by vehicle. we still use a boat occasionally, but the most residents and check on the well-being of every individual there. we are really connecting a lot of the people here to their family from other states. our cell phone service is out, land line service is out, so those people have had no touch

with their family members now going on two days, and they are getting very worried. so we are making a lot of home visits to hook these people up with our personal cell phones so they can talk to family members. >> obviously some air rescues happening there, rolling on video of doing everything you can with the resources at hand. i know you told our team there are some areas that you still cannot get to. but you've heard people crying for help. tell us about that. >> yes, that was so sad. we obviously are getting text messages from people that were trapped themselves, begging please come to me, please come and get me or get my mom, get my dad, and then we could hear people by voice distance away from us we could not get to for some time. we were able to eventually, but, and that's a hard thing to do is get back and try to put all your efforts to get to somewhere but you can't do it because of the swift of the water. >> knowing how hard it is to get around, what can you tell us

about the number that have been able to be transported to hospitals? >> yes, we had a number of people transported by ambulance to medical centers around the area. nothing real serious of injuries, nothing related maybe to the water itself, but elderly people on medical medicines to begin with, whether it's oxygen or whatever, and transport today get medical attention. >> knowing a state of emergency has obviously been declared there, what is it you need the most right now? >> our governor was on the ground immediately, yesterday morning, he was so quick to get out to counties and find out what our needs were. he activated the national guard by declaring an emergency, we were allowed to use resources we would normally not be able to use during times like that, such as jail inmates. we deployed all our resources once the governor declared the emergency and now we are looking for disaster relief groups to

come in and they are cooperating with us and coordinating with other relief groups to set up and provide many different resources to the communities that are affected. >> sheriff, really quick final question on that. obviously a lot of the authorities, the police, the national guard are on the ground to help, but a lot of private citizens have stepped up and they are a big part of the rescues we have been seeing. >> absolutely. probably not even related to no kind of fire or ems or law enforcement but they wander up like everybody else, they swam out, they carried different vital resources whether oxygen tanks or whatever to us, so helpful, the whole community pitched in, no matter what their possession or what ever color, they pitched in and did what we had to do. >> sandra: sheriff john hunt from floyd county in kentucky, our hearts are with you and those making the rescues, it's a

process. we will keep reporting on it, our heart and prayers are with you all. thank you for joining us with the update. >> thank you. >> john: sandra, now to st. louis where record setting rainfall caused widespread flash flooding on tuesday. then again on thursday. some parts of the metro area seeing more than a foot of rain in a single day. rising waters leading to several rescue, including some children and adults trapped at a daycare center. dennis jenkerson is the st. louis fire chief and we hope to be joined by jacqui griffin from the daycare center. you got walloped on tuesday and again yesterday. >> thursday was a repeat of what we had tuesday. right now the sun is out, water has receded. we are kind of in recovery mode, if you will, but yesterday afternoon between 3 and 4:00 we received another four and a half to almost six inches of rain in

a very short time period. again flooded the streets and put our fire department companies into service along with the police department. at one time we had 16 rescues at the same time in different parts of the city, so our resources were on the streets and they were being utilized heavily. throughout the day, we made a total of 70 calls we responded to, and 65 assists/rescues, it was a busy day. >> john: we see your firefighters and your swift water rescue teams out there in an urban area and it's so disoriented because typically you expect something like that to happen in a river valley, you don't expect it to happen in a metropolitan area. >> right, right. we had -- unfortunately the time of day it struck on thursday was right around about 3, 3:30, and a lot of people on the streets. a lot of people -- it came up so quickly they were trapped in their cars sitting at the streetlights, at the stoplights, so it -- we received a lot of calls, it got to the point the

dispatch center was trying to put out as many calls as they could, but the receptionist at the front desk, and we were trying to eliminate the wait time because we were really busy. tough day. >> john: i saw one priest trapped in his car said i can't walk on water, so i had to stay in my car, and he was trapped there until he was rescued. we heard about one fatality, somebody was found in the car as the water receded. do you know the total count of fatalities in the area yet? >> in the city and the county area, two fatalities. one was a truck driver, and one was an individual in a private car. those are the only injuries or fatalities we had, too, so i would say we came out very lucky, and i'll take and thank the first responders to keep the

fatality rate very low. kudos to them. >> john: you jumped in as first responders always do. chief thanks for joining us, appreciate it. i know you still have a lot of work ahead of you. >> have a good day. >> john: jackie griffin from the zion expedition daycare center, a number of children and adults were rescued from that. jackie, take us back to the time the food waters rose around you. what was it like and what did you have to do? >> we had just gotten back from a field trip and once we got in, it was quiet time, the kids were laying down asleep, it was raining, i looked out, saw my car had submerged underwater but i did not think the water would come inside the building, and about two minutes later like water just started gushing in the building. so my staff and i got all the kids up and inside the sanctuary

to try to keep them safe from the water. >> sandra: jackie, how were the kids doing? what were you able to do to get them out? >> so my staff, we just kind of moved them really quickly over to the sanctuary. they were crying, they were scared, so we did our best to keep them calm. i immediately started reaching out to parents and immediately called 911 to try to get some help on the way. >> john: you know, jackie, typically when it rains we take a look and say it's raining or raining hard. you looked out the window and said oh, my god, my car is underwater. had you ever seen anything like that before? >> i had never seen anything like that but i still didn't think the water would come inside of the building, so by the time i turned my back t walk away, the water started pouring in. so it was -- it was crazy. >> sandra: jackie, everybody will have their own stories from

this. you are probably reaching out to your own friends and family to make sure they are okay. have you been able to account for everyone in your family? >> i have. i made sure all the kids were safe. we actually went to the white castle right around the corner for shelter because it was still raining and they were actually closed, but they allowed us to come in and the parents were able to pick their kids up, so everyone was accounted for, everyone was safe and i have been in contact with my family since yesterday. >> john: jackie, when you think about ports in a storm, white castle is not a bad one to hang out in. glad everybody is safe and congratulations for doing the right thing as the water was coming in. >> sandra: losses in las vegas were not measured in cash, but in flooded buildings and totalled cars as a monsoon hit

the vegas strip. the nonstop sheets of rain overwhelmed casinos there. brand-new pictures now. somebody taking that video showing the water flowing through the ceiling there. the video does not identify which that is, but several famous resorts did see a lot of water damage from the rain. of course, the flooding was even worse when you left the gambling floor. this video shows intense flooding and sloshing water in a vegas parking garage, looks like a river, john. >> john: and particularly when you consider that nevada had its dryest june in 128 years, and then in -- and then this happens. hot and dry. it will get hot again, no question. fox news alert to tell you about. the supreme court investigation

into that leaked draft opinion on roe v. wade is gaining steam this hour. multiple sources telling fox news investigators have narrowed down the list of suspects. david spunt is live at the justice department now and david, we were led to believe in the early going here that the circle was pretty small. now it's even smaller? >> david: john, that's exactly right, and that's coming from sources. and clear, this investigation began almost three months ago. you know how many officials updates we have gotten from the supreme court, big fat 0. nothing officially from the supreme court. but sources say the list is narrowing down. you remember politico first broke the story and leaked the draft opinion what turned out to be the real opinion from the supreme court at the end of june. politico leaked the majority would go ahead and overturn roe v. wade, that's what happened. john, shortly after this happened, chief justice john roberts, the other john roberts, ordered the marshal of the court to lead the investigation, not

the u.s. marshal, not the secret service, fbi or department of justice but the marshal of the court. and they say no disrespect to the marshal of the supreme court, but those that i've spoken to wonder if that specific agency can handle really what could be a cyber leak of this size. multiple sources tell fox news the investigation began with around 70 individuals in the court who may have had access to the draft opinion. sources say much of the initial focus was on three dozen are so law clerks who directly work with the justices on their case load. that number is now smaller. fox news previously reported they were asked to turn over their cell phones and sign affidavits. it's unclear if they have cooperated. also questions, john and sandra, could the leak have come from a united states supreme court justice. it's a legitimate question, one we have asked. again, the supreme court giving us a no comment and we are approaching three months into this investigation.

john. >> john: we look forward to more findings. david spunt, thank you. >> sandra: you have heard the white house denying we are actually in recession. the white house holding a briefing a short time ago. it's still ongoing, i'm told. we will tell you what they said about the state of the economy. brian kilmeade and karl rove, that's friday for you, they are coming up next.

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♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪ >> sandra: the bhous still -- the white house still insisting the economy is not in recession despite meeting the exact definition so many economists use for one. >> every day i have come in here i've been asked, karine, we are answering the question. we are using economists who said hey, for example, chair powell said i don't think the u.s. is in recession. too many areas in the economy that are performing well. >> john: while the president and his team are caught up in semantics, americans are left shelling out more money in just about everywhere. we took to the streets and asked folks where they are feeling the

pinch. >> oh, everything, gas prices, food prices, obviously in recession. >> are you feeling any kind of an economic pinch? >> gas. >> gas pump, especially. >> breakfast was really expensive. pancakes are like $15. >> maybe a couple years before i make any big purchases. >> tell me how the economic down turn is affecting you. >> i'm a physician, not yet. >> a dip we'll come through. >> i think we are in a bad situation economically. >> things that used to be regularly priced are marked up tremendously, it's difficult. >> it's hard coming out of college. >> the gas prices and just stuff at the store, you know, everything is expensive. >> do you think we are in an economic recession? >> i, you know, yes, i believe that we are. it's hard to see that when you see so many people out shopping

and things. >> two reports now come out, have not looked good. >> people don't know where they are going to get their next food from. they have to walk, they can't pay for gas and no one is doing anything about it. >> when president biden says we are not in recession, how do you respond to that? >> the guy is off his rocker. >> sandra: ok, you get quite a sampling of america right out our doors here at fox news, from the pain on main street, to what it means come november, brian kilmeade and karl rove are here. brian, fox and friends host and one nation saturday night 8:00 p.m. eastern, a great show. we were taking in the comments from folks walking around new york city and a mix of feelings. i like the optimism from the one guy, no, no, no, it's a recovery and we are in a dip in the recovery, and it's gonna get better. ok, we hope, but in the meantime we have to decide where we are so we can fix the problem. >> brian: i think charles payne should call and book him.

i would say this. a couple things. i don't know if the president is off his rocker, but whoever is telling his economic team and the president to lead the team and on recession, what i like about the economy, what i want to do better, he wants people, he wants to challenge people by saying don't believe what the numbers reveal, and you know from business the last 40 years, we knew two consecutive quarters equal recession and then how it's affecting people, instead he's making people doubt him because we cannot get past go, cannot get past start, he's in denial what we are actually experiencing right now. and i think, i was in a restaurant for fox and friends and asked him how it was going and he showed me his list. every week he gets charged more for all the food he buys and look what i do. i charge more for all the food i sell. i have such small margins, i can't have one month where i cannot reflect the price increases. >> sandra: and then people say he's price gouging.

consumer goes in and why are prices so sky high. >> brian: the truck driver. >> sandra: exactly, the transport jacks everything in up. the new york post takes on this whole talk about what's recession and not recession today and very simply, put recession on the cover. and it is a period of temporary economic decline. so why are we battling over the semantics here and why don't you just have the white house come out and say whatever you want to call it, recession, not recession, recovery, a dip, whatever it is, and acknowledge how bad it is. for so many folks right now, that's what they are seeing, even the cnn poll, 60, 70% of people think we are in recession, 60 to 70% of the population living paycheck to paycheck, a hard time covering grocery and gas bills.

>> brian: what i would do if i was this administration, get out of washington, got it. not another event. go out to the farmers. i have talked to people, and still shots of these guys working in iowa, and walking in montana, see what's happening in texas and then come back. we have academics in washington and denying the numbers they lead us to, the exact opposite business model that fox has. we are about the average people, and we like to bring them the news. they are about washington, california and new york, and then telling everybody else don't believe what you are experiencing. that's problems, to me is a bad model. >> sandra: we heard more and more the transition coming from the white house, in every respect, it's a transition. and that's a tough thing for people to swallow when they are footing the bill for this, and now talking about tax hikes and more spending. i know you will talk about it on one nation. >> brian: and try to book karl

rove for me, and then going to have ray kelly talk about the crime in the street, and what's going on. and what happened to the time in which when cops told you to stop you not only stopped, but you don't punch them. and more disrespect for the men and women in blue, as well as james madison and thomas jefferson's historical homes, they are spinning them out, making our founder fathers look like also rans, and i'm pushing back on that. >> sandra: not working enough. john. >> john: no, a lazy sot, isn't he. let's bring in karl rove, karl, put that front page of the new york page on the screen, interesting cover, as most covers are, recession, a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced, fallen gdp and two successive quarters.

the country is the depths of recession, yet the white house is playing a favorite parlor game in washington, depends what the meaning of the word is-is, but people at home trying to put food on the table, gas in the tank, roof over their heads, clothes for their children, do they care about semantic games? >> karl: it puts them off, makes them feel like the leaders in washington think they are dumb and stupid and can be sort of misled. i think brian kilmeade, i'm excited i might get an invitation on his program, but they want to hear their president say, i don't know if they are in recession or not, that's up to the bureau of economic research to determine. all i know is, we are in tough times and i'm doing everything as your president to help return prosperity to communities and your family and what i'm trying to do.

instead we get lectured and when we get lectured, told last year the inflation was transitory and did not turn out to be transitory, that hurt the administration. and now when they say oh, we are not in recession, we are in a transition, people say you are living in a different economic world than i am, i'm dealing with lots of difficulties. so the administration is misplaying this and it's why the president's numbers are the, approval numbers are the lowest of any modern president and his numbers on handling the economy and inflation are even worse. one bit of whiteboard wisdom. new study out from the federal bureau reserve bank of st. louis, pointing out that real per capita income today is lower than it was when the president of the united states came in in january of 2021. that's one of the reasons why people are feeling, you know, prices are not only going up, but that's eating away at the purchasing power of their wages, so even if they get a wage

increase they are not keeping up with the inflation of the goods they are trying to buy and the services they are trying to purchase and as a result, makes them, you know, it puts them behind the eight ball and they are feeling that and the administration is making a mistake by not acknowledging that. >> john: treasury secretary janet yellen must have had a preview of your whiteboard. what she said in testimony yesterday. >> we simply have not seen anything like this since the 1970s and seeing what's happening to food prices and energy prices and rent and other prices in the economy is making families very concerned about their household budgets. >> john: to quote bill clinton a second time, if ever there was an i feel your pain moment, this is it. yet the white house is trying to tell us, oh, everything is fine, the economy is great. everybody is getting a job, there are jobs going unwanted.

>> karl: the administration's problem starts with communications. and it's not just simply inflation and wages, it's all kinds of things. i mean, and it starts from the president. the president declaring that kabul was a great success, but the problem is not just communications. it's policy. why do we have inflation today in large measure because the president insisted on a $2 trillion stimulus bill when the economy did not need further stimulating. what's his answer to that? let's have another build back better version bill, a version of that, with taxes and spending, 300 billion plus, nearly $400 billion in so-called climate spending, and a bunch of tax increases. so increase demand and raise taxes, that ain't a great way to get the economy back on its legs. >> john: but they all claim it's the inflation reduction act, a

lot of people call it build back better, jr. see which it is. have a great weekend. and i hope brian gets you on the show. it's an honor. >> karl: got any fingers crossed, got my fingers crossed. >> sandra: after decades, starbucks is closing a location deciding not to do business in such a bad neighborhood. that crime-ridden area is better known as capitol hill. aishah hasnie is live in washington for us. aishah, a very popular starbucks, lawmakers use this station, what are they saying about this closure? >> hey, sandra. whether they agree with starbucks' decision on safety and leaving this train station or not, they agree on one thing, and that is they have to do something to keep the commuters safe. so we looked into the crime stats here. union station is not in the jurisdiction of the d.c. metro police department, data shows all crime in this neighborhood

surrounding the station has increased in the past year, and that includes a reported stabbing outside the train station last month. now some, though, are calling starbucks' bluff. a group that has been helping workers around the country unionnize, 30% of the 16 stores closed had ongoing union activity and they are calling it an act of retaliation. tim kaine of virginia is not sure he believes the starbucks' reasoning but agrees something has to give. >> we have to make investments in transit to make sure people transiting feel safe. >> meanwhile, republicans of course are blasting democrats for not moving on police funding which by the way, sandra, democrat house leadership says they support police funding but instead of voting for the

package, they punted it to mid august and instead, vote for an assault weapons ban, you and i both know will go nowhere in the senate. sandra. >> sandra: live on the hill on that story. thank you, john. >> john: sandra, the so-called merchant of death could soon be free to kill again sent back to russia as part of a prisoner swap. exchange would be for wnba star britney griner along with paul whelan. our next guest says it's a big mistake. >> sandra: and reminder of who the merchant of death is, viktor bout. at one time the best known illegal arms trafficker. 2008, d.e.a. caught him at a hotel in thailand. >> john: bloody bio so outrageous, it was the nicholas cage film "lord of war." >> supplied every army but the

salvation army. >> can you bring me the gun of rambo? >> part 1, 2, or 3? >> i have only seen 1. >> john: author of "putin's playbook," great to see you. rebecca, the goal to get britney and paul back to the you state but is trading them for viktor bout the right thing to do? >> absolutely not, john. yes, we all feel compassion for britney griner and for paul whelan, but here is the deal by releasing this convicted criminal in and a very dangerous one who conspired to kill americans. the biden administration would be endangering so many more people, many americans, because this is putin's playbook and it works every time. they will grab more people and hope to trade them for high value assets. it's a military intelligence

officer, putin wants him back and he should be kept in a u.s. prison. >> sandra: mike pompeo agreed with you, he said something similar. listen. >> to offer a trade like this is a dangerous precedent. we can get people home without offering up, neither paul nor britney were engaged in that activity. >> sandra: viktor bout, convicted on conspiracy to kill americans, aiding a terrorist organization, so you point out how bad of an idea you think this is, rebecca. but you feel for the two americans held over there. can you envision a deal that could get done? >> right now it's very difficult to predict, sandra. and this is because despite the fact that we have all these reports in western media that president biden approved this deal himself, what the russians are saying is not so fast. today putin's spokesperson said

that we are not aware of any deal being finalized and lavrov repeated, the foreign minister repeated the same thing. remember, the russians know that this is a hot button for us. britney griner and paul whelan, they are also smelling blood knowing that president biden is under tremendous pressure to bring these americans home because president biden's popularity has been going down very, very rapidly and we are having domestic issues here due to his incompetent economic and foreign policies so they are going to drag their feet. >> john: also an idea here that countries like china and russia can push biden around and we had this tweet from a guy from the global times about pelosi's trip suggesting that if they try to touch down in taiwan, they should shoot down the plane. a government official from the

u.s. said this is unnecessary rhetoric and the u.s. policy toward taiwan remains unchanged. very quickly if you could, how do you think this is going to go? >> this is very unpredictable. our adversaries are simply emboldened by president biden's weakness and i am very concerned about how this is going to go down. >> sandra: unnecessary rhetoric does not sound like a full-out condemnation, rebekah. >> absolutely, they are really, really emboldened. today the russians supported the chinese. >> sandra: thank you for joining us. >> thank you, sandra. >> sandra: ok, thank you. finally this summer friday shark sightings more common along the east coast. >> john: a lot of people want to know why. dr. neil hammerslag, research and conservation program in activity, and i downloaded an app, a white shark was spotted

off the coast of cape cod maybe five minutes ago. why are we seeing more sharks up and down the east coast? >> well, there's a lot of different species that can be found along the coastline, but you know, i think one possibility is increasing water temperatures from ocean warming and climate change. it's certainly pushing some more tropical species further north where they are spending a little more time in areas that historical weren't. >> sandra: should people fear swimming in these waters? >> you know, i would say absolutely not. fortunately for us, you know, humans are not on the menu and it's about being more safe. the oceans are where the sharks live, be aware of that and safe when we are in the water. >> john: i've seen some drone video of sharks very close to shore chasing these manhaden fish, and the water is clear,

too. it's good you have more fish in the water and it's cleaner but as a result you get more sharks, right? >> well, there are certain times where shark activity peaks and they may aggregate to feed on that, not a good time to get in the world. if you see a lot of fish, one sign i would say to stay out of the water that day. >> john: good to talk to you. have a good weekend. >> sandra: be safe, enjoy your summer and your weekend. i'm sandra smith. great to be with you, john. >> john: and take caution when you go in the water. trace gallagher is in for martha. >> exclusive interview first though, a stunning claim from chinese state media as speaker pelosi departs for