so your loan could close in as little as 30 days. so if you're a veteran and need money for your family, call newday usa. go to newdayusa.com, or call 1-855-429-4863. >> harris: thanks for watching. >> dana: hurricane michael battering the florida panhandle leaving utter destruction in its wake. at least five deaths now blamed on the storm. that number expected to rise as search an rescue teams are entering sea side towns. hello, everyone. i'm dana perino and this is "the daily briefing." so hurricane michael was one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the u.s. mainland leaving the region in ruins. check that out. just unbelievable destruction.

florida's panhandle taking a direct hit. whole blocks of homes obliterated. trees and power lines blown down. survivors describe the terror of riding out this devastating storm. >> undescribable. hail. you couldn't see. you look out the windows and you got pieces from people's houses flying by. you got trees flying by. >> we started seeing roofs ripping off there, we ran to the bathroom and stayed in the shower. the roof ripped off. it was pulling us out of there. the wind was pulling us out of the room. >> dana: we have live fox team coverage. rick levinthan on the ground. first mike tobin. >> reporter: this is john boys restaurant, a very popular place here in calloway.

one of many businesses flattened. we've seen homes with the roofs ripped off. we've seen tractor trailers tipped over, tossed around the parking lot. it seems that ground zero, at least where the hurricane ashore. 20 minutes later the mexico beach, i can show you the destruction. the destruction is everywhere you look here in mexico. pile of rubble in the road. this is very common. 3 1/2 miles of mexico beach and the debris is everywhere. houses ripped off their foundation. if you look at the two haases on the front lawn of this hotel structure, those houses aren't supposed to be there. they came from somewhere else. the storm surge came in. they floated all the way to where they are now which really complicates things. we know about the physical destruction. what we don't know is the human toll. 280 people elected to ride out

the storm here in mexico beach. there's no way to communicate with those people now, so search and rescue is a top priority. the problem is all of this debris, keeping the road ways clear. the army front in a big front loader, but that broke. now it's even part of the problem because it's in the way. you can see here's an emergency vehicle. he's got to get around all of this debris. job number one, search and rescue. parallel to that, getting all the debris out of the road. power lines are down in the road. there are hundreds and hundreds of power crews that came from out of state. they started their work, but they can only fix one power line at a time. that's why you have state and emergency officials urging people not to return to their homes if they've evacuated. just gonna take some time. it requires patience.

it's not fair. it will be a while before they make homes inhabitable again. >> dana: that video was absolutely stunning. thank you. rick levanthal is live in panama city. this is a pretty devastating storm. i wonder how it compares to others? >> reporter: well, on the ground here in panama city, this is as bad as we've seen in many situations. i want to paint a picture of how grim this situation is. major highways are closed by national guard check points. the only people getting in are first responders. no one else is being allowed back in. the authorities have told us to please tell people, if you evacuated, stay evacuated. if you want to come home, stop and wait because it's just not safe to come back in here. this is what you're gonna find. there are literally thousands of

trees down across panama city alone. that means a lot of power lines down as well. there are utility crews out, as mike said. this is what you're looking at. go back to the street. hundreds of roads are blocked by these downed trees. hundreds in bay county alone. there are power lines. four lane roads are down to one lane. utility crews and police need to get out and about to do rescues and to clear and repair roads. we just had a bunch of police clear roads. this is how they respond to calls as best they can. there are a lot of calls they can't get to. people calling on their friends. they can't do it because they're still trying to clear roads, help people who need it the most. we have five confirmed fatalities according to police in this county alone. they have not gone house to house yet so there could still

be more, considering tens of thousands who were told to evacuate didn't. we just spoke to a woman who told us she wished she had. listen. >> this just came out of nowhere. it came out of nowhere. nobody had any idea that this was gonna strengthen and strengthen until it got to the shore and then it kept on going. >> reporter: so the people who are still here are being asked to stay in their homes, allow the authorities to do what they need to do to get things back to normal. >> dana: all right, rick. thank you. everyone stay tuned to fox news. our incredible reporting team is down there. it's a good way to get information. take a look at this. >> we know it's publication, not realization. we never had anyone there. >> dana: that was kanye west in the oval office one of the president's most famous and

vocal supporters visiting the white house today. he's going to have lunch with mr. trump discussing a range of topics including prison reform. the former doj prosecutor, we wanted to talk to him about this. listen to what kanye said about a very controversial topic, stop and frisk. >> we feel that stop and frisk does not help the relationship and the city. everyone that knew i was coming here said ask about stop and frisk. that's the number one thing that we are having this conversation about. >> i'm open to everything. look, i think it's a shame what's happening in chicago. >> dana: james russy, tell me about you take an issue like stop and frisk, which was a police tool. it was, as i first understood it, employed here in new york city. became a national controversy during the previous administration. your thoughts on how effective stop and frisk is or how it might be better to not have it?

i'm not sure where you come down on that. >> it's a mixed bag. it has helped stop violent crime. in new york, they had a stop and frisk policy. it did a lot to cut down on people carrying guns. it helped the public perception that you aren't going to be able to walk down the street armed and get away with it. but the amendment says if you are going to stop and frisk unsomeone, you have to have a specific police action. the tug here is that we know sometimes that sort of police work can actually help lower the crime rate in communities. i think that's where president trump was going about chicago. >> dana: this is usually a decision made either city by city, police department to police department, state legislature. it's not really a federal government decision. or does the department of justice and the president of the

united states have a role to discuss addressing a policy direction? >> i think they could have a role that's not absolutely a dominant role, but they could certainly opine whether they it this's worth exploring. some modified stop and frisk would be possible. at the end of the day, policy doesn't trump the constitution. you have a constitution that calls for reasonable suspicion, it's hard to just announce a policy that steps over that line. >> dana: so they talk about other things. prison reform is larger. there's different parts to that. listen to president trump talking about that this morning on fox and friends. >> i heard your attorney general doesn't want prison reform. is that inaccurate? >> if he doesn't, then he gets overruled by me. i make the decision. he doesn't. >> dana: prison reform wide variety of issues including things like cash bail, issues of whether or not to hold somebody for a certain amount of time. all those types of things. what role does the president of

the united states, the attorney general, play here? is the attorney general standing in the way of something that the president wants? >> well, not for long, apparently. the reality is that the president and the attorney general in that order can announce federal policy. they can make changes. they can study and then make changes that relate to the way federal prisons are conducted, the way time is conducted. there's some very serious issues there in terms of the idea that sentencing guidelines are too harsh. there's some hot topics that the far left and far right seem to be coming together on. >> dana: they might be able to do that after the midterms when everybody calms down a bit. i did want to ask you about rod rosenstein. always under fire from one side or the other. right now mark meadows chairman of that committee on the house saying this about rod rosenstein. it is disappointing he will not be answering questions before congress, to put it mildly.

the deputy attorney general owes the american people answers whether he participated in any decisions seeking to under mind president trump's administration from within. there is reason to show that he did. there's one memo he suggested even wearing a wire. he has said that was sarcastic and others saying no, it wasn't and he was serious. so he's in hot water again. >> i have known rod for about 18 years. other than his poor choice of friends, he's not an idioidiot. he would know first hand the 25th amendment is about inca pass taeugs, where the president literally is inconscious or urge surgery like president reagan after he was shot. so the idea that he would ever with a straight face suggest they could have this coup, this kind of game of thrones moment

is absurd. mccabe has been found to have lied four times. lisa page is in the mix for this story. there's yawning credibility gaps for some of the people that are trying to assert rod rosenstein was part of this game of thrones moment. >> dana: do you think rod rosenstein wants this struggle here? is there a struggle or something el? >> i'm not sure. i think rod is respectful of the whole idea of congressional oversight. but he also recognizes there's some limits. that pending investigations shouldn't be fair play. he may be generally offended that "the new york times" story is still alive because i think he would be the first to tell you it is complete friction. >> dana: james trusty, thank you. >> thanks, dana. >> i'm shocked. you know, i was like, this is a very quiet area, for the most part. and so when i heard that, i was like, i didn't know what to say.

>> dana: what's he talking about? you might have missed this story. there was a plot to set up a bomb on election day where prosecutors say one new york man planned to strike. we teal you all about it. there's a new poll showing dean heller pulling just ahead in nevada. our panel will talk about this and other closely contested senate seats. coaching means making tough choices. jim! you're in! but when you have high blood pressure and need cold medicine that works fast, the choice is simple. coricidin hbp is the #1 brand that gives powerful cold symptom relief without raising your blood pressure. coricidin hbp. their medicare options... before they're on medicare. come on in. you're turning 65 soon?

yep. and you're retiring at 67? that's the plan! well, you've come to the right place. it's also a great time to learn about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. here's why... medicare part b doesn't pay for everything. only about 80% of your medical costs. this part is up to you... yeah, everyone's a little surprised to learn that one. a medicare supplement plan helps pay for some of what medicare doesn't. that could help cut down on those out-of-your-pocket medical costs. call unitedhealthcare insurance company today to request this free, and very helpful, decision guide. and learn about the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. selected for meeting their high standards of quality and service. this type of plan lets you say "yes" to any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. there are no networks or referrals to worry about.

do you accept medicare patients? i sure do! see? you're able to stick with him. like to travel? this kind of plan goes with you anywhere you travel in the country. so go ahead, spend winter somewhere warm. if you're turning 65 soon or over 65 and planning to retire, find out more about the plans that live up to their name. thumbs up to that! remember, the time to prepare is before you go on medicare! don't wait. get started today. call unitedhealthcare and ask for your free decision guide. learn more about aarp medicare supplement plan options and rates to fit your needs. oh, and happy birthday... or retirement... in advance.

>> dana: a new york man is facing charges after federal authorities say he planned to set off a 200-pound bomb on the national mall on election day. prosecutors say paul rosenfeld, seen there, wanted to blow himself up to bring attention to his political beliefs. brian ennis is in new york where rosenfeld lives. >> reporter: this is just a

quiet neighborhood. neighbors are shocked to hear this news come out about their own neighbor, paul rosenfeld. this is where federal prosecutors say between august and october he was building a bomb. there's pumpkins on the steps. just a normal neighborhood. the fbi said he planned on blowing himself up and others on the national mall with that bomb in washington, d.c. on election day 23406th. prosecutors say he wanted to draw attention to an alternate political theory. the 56-year-old ordered black powder online and had it shipped to new jersey. he drove eight pounds of that black powder to his new york basement. that's where he built the bomb out of a plywood box. other components were added to ensure the bomb would kill him when it exploded. prosecutors say it appeared the bomb was functional and rosenfeld treated his basement like a bomb factory.

he conducted tests using smaller bombs. we spoke to neighbors and we also spoke to ed, the mailman, who's been delivering mail on this route for the last eight years. >> i never suspected that there would be a bomb inside this house. i would have never suspected a normal place like this on a quiet street would be home of a mad scientist. >> reporter: rosenfeld was caught, dana, because a person was receiving letters and text messages from rosenfeld. that person said that they did not have any idea who rosenfeld was, but that he was sending them details about this plan that he was wanting to enact on november 6th. he now faces up to 20 years in prison for transporting and building this bomb. >> dana: thank goodness they caught him beforehand. live to the market, where the dow is -- it's about, let's see, down about 290 points now. that's after a massive drop of more than 800 points yesterday.

that's the largest since february. banks and health care companies taking some of the biggest hits today and we'll keep an eye on it. republicans hoping to hold on to the senate seat in tennessee and texas. our panel will discuss recent polls from those states as both parties hope to win control in the midterm. veteran families know what it means to serve. moving. renting. moving again. stop renting. let newday usa help you buy a home of your own. newday usa's zero down va home loan lets you buy a home with no down payment. and, since newday usa has been granted automatic authority by the va, they can say yes when banks say no. now when you walk into an open house and say "this is the one" ...it really can be. call 1-877-806-8148.

you see clear skin. cosentyx can help people with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis find clear skin that can last. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen, or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. serious allergic reactions may occur. how sexy are these elbows? ask your dermatologist about cosentyx. ask your dermatologist our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition... for strength and energy! whoo-hoo! great-tasting ensure. with nine grams of protein and twenty-six vitamins and minerals. ensure. now up to 30 grams of protein for strength and energy!

♪ when the moon hits your eye ♪ like a big pizza pie ♪ that's amore ♪when the world seems to shine ♪like you've had too much wine ♪ that's amore ♪ bells will ring ♪ ting a ling a ling ♪ ting a ling a ling more to love. applebee's new neighborhood pastas. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood.

i decided that i wanted to go for electrical engineering and you need to go to college for that. if i didn't have internet in the home i would have to give up more time with my kids. which is the main reason i left the military. everybody wants more for their kids, but i feel like with my kids, they measurably get more than i ever got. and i get to do that. i get to provide that for them. >> dana: republicans hoping to expand their hold in the senate. while other republicans fend off democratic challengers in a few close races.

in nevada a new york times poll shows republican dean heller leading his democratic challenge jackie rosen by two points. i'm joined by tim kessler, former adviser to senator schumer and alex koenig, partner at firehouse strategies. i want to talk about three races. let's start with nevada. jim, let me ask you something, has jacky lost her ability to sort of full aled in this race? >> i don't think so. i have seen a private poll that shows her up two points. both polls can be accurate with the margin of error. this is going to be a close race. it will go down to the wire. i think republicans are on a little bit of a sugar high after the kavanaugh high. we'll see how long it lasts. if there's any democrats pick up, i think it will be this seat. i feel confident about this one. >> dana: alex, what do you think about that? hillary clinton won nevada in the 2016 election and for dean heller to be even two points up,

even or down, it's pretty close. >> that's right. it's the only state where we are truly on defense. it's the only state that hillary clinton won. she won the state by 2.5 points, nearly 30,000 votes. so i think to be now barely a month from midterms and have senator heller leading in some polls or being tied despite all the democratic enthusiasm that we hear about, that's very encouraging to republicans. not only are we gonna hold the majority in the stphaeurbgt but likely increase it. >> dana: nevada will be one to watch. another state we've been talking a lot about is texas and the race between senator ted cruz and o'rourke. now a poll saying ted cruz is in the lead 54-45%. now, a lot of -- i remember colin reed. he was on this show. he said texas is fool's gold for democrats. jim, there's no doubt o'rourke raised a ton of money. he's not gone negative on ted

cruz. he's falling behind. do you think it was worth it putting all this money towards this race? >> i don't know how you can call it fool's gold when benson won it in 1990. this is a tough, tough place for democrats to run in. beto o'rourke has run a tremendous race. to be even this close, this is a race that was on no one's radar. lot of this money is small dollar donations, real just grasping enthusiasm. so he still has a chance to pull this out. but this is red country here. democrats win here, it's not a blue wave. >> dana: i want you to come back and explain if that happens. let me ask you about this, alex. are republicans enthusiastic about turning out to vote in texas. >> they are especially after the kavanaugh hearings. he benefitted as well as any other stater in the country. he was under performing in a lot

of polls, in part because his base hadn't come back yet. democrats are clearly excited about beto o'rourke. neither campaign here is going after the middle. they're both just trying to turn out their base. beto's problem is there are a lot more republicans than democrats in texas. republicans are coming home in texas. >> dana: the other race i wanted to ask you about is tennessee. last night there was a debate the former governor and congress woman marcia black burn. watch their debate last night. >> i did not think you could possibly beat the number of mentions you made of chuck shumer in our last debate, but i believe you had with hillary clinton here tonight. >> they don't want democrats in control of the senate. they don't want dianne feinstein running judiciary. they don't want bernie sanders running the budget committee. they don't want elizabeth warren running the finance committee.

>> dana: this race has been a tossup. it's now moved to a lean r. so that shows marcia blackburn doing something there in tennessee. president trump had gone down there for her. now, senator corker, who has declined to get involved in the race and doing a fund-raiser for blackburn, what do you think will happen? >> when this was a local race between a popular governor and popular republican congress woman it was going to be a close race. tphoeut's become nationalized. you saw that debate where marcia blackburn was talking to much about chuck shumer and hillary clinton. i think taylor swift did a huge favor to republicans in that race. we want this to be a national race. exactly. she was not helping the governor by having a national celebrity like that weighing in on this race. >> dana: let me give you a quick last word on tennessee. >> tennessee is a state a democrat has not won since al gore in 1990. the fact that we are even competing in tennessee shows the

favorable environment for democrats. i think nevada and arizona are the places with prime pickup possibilities for democrats. tennessee and texas are much harder. >> dana: is north dakota, do you think north dakota is off the table for you all now? >> i don't think it's off the table. it's the hardest one for us to keep. heidi heitkamp is a very popular person. but the fundamentals are republicans so much. let' see if she can hold on. >> dana: thank you. >> thank you. >> dana: a rocket booster with failing forces an emergency landing. excuse me. how two astronauts were able to get back to earth. plus the latest on the disappearance of a saudi journalist as calls increase for the united states to get involved and take some action. billions of mouths.

billions of problems. sore gums? bleeding gums? painful flossing? there's a therabreath for you. therabreath healthy gums oral rinse fights gingivitis and plaque and prevents gum disease for 24 hours. so you can... breathe easy, there's therabreath at walmart.

>> dana: an update now. saudi arabia continuing to deny any role in the disappearance of jamal kashogi amid growing calls to put more pressure on the saudi regime p . benjamin hall has more. >> reporter: this is becoming a geo political storm with accusations being thrown by turkey. lot of denials in saudi arabia. still, no evidence of what happened exactly to the journalist who wrote for the washington post.

what we do know, the only evidence being released is by turkish media. they say they have images showing a saudi hit squad, landing in private jets and making their way to the saudi consulate a few hours before khashoggi was due to arrive. then later it shows them leaving a convoy of which they claim khashoggi is inside. denying any involvement though, saudi arabia have allowed reports of inside the consulate, showing them around saying khashoggi left by a back door. they did not know where he was. today president trump said u.s. investigators were going to turkey to help. >> something like that shouldn't happen. it is a reporter with "the washington post." something like that should not be allowed to happen. something like that should not happen. we intend to get to the bottom of it. >> reporter: so many fingers being pointed at saudi arabia.

saudi arabia saying this is turkey trying to drive a wedge between them and the u.s. and to break up their strong relationship. dana? >> dana: turkey all struggling under the sanctions of president trump's administration put forward after an american pastor was not released as asked. what are you hearing about that today? >> reporter: welsh dana, in fact, we came to turkey to cover brunson's trial. he had been held for two years in charges of terrorism and espionage in connection to a coup in 2015. people believe those are trumped up charges. we spoke to his lawyer who said this is about much more than that. it was a deal being done between the u.s. and turkey. turkey wants sanction relief on its major bank and a fine reduced. just today we are hearing that a deal may well have been done and they are optimistic that pastor brunson may be flying back to the u.s. his lawyer pointed out the same

thing happened before his last case. there was a plane waiting to take him home. we don't want to get too optimistic. this american pastor being held here for two years under these charges may well hopefully be coming home in the next couple of days. >> dana: we'll stay in touch with you. thank you. i'm joined by retired four star general and fox senior strategic analyst. let's start with saudi arabia, what happened there. and the significance of it geopolitically, but also why americans should care or not. >> yeah. that's great question. first of all, we've got to wait until we get the facts. we have to recognize that the players have some tension between each other. talking about turkey and saudi arabia. just identified the recent tension we have with turkey over our pastor. we got to get the full investigation completed and understand if saudi arabia has complicity here. if they do, then this is a

serious problem because the trump administration just renewed the relationship with the sunni arab at large and specifically with saudi arabia. saudi arabia. remember, for the last eight years, we've had a closer relationship trying to work a nuclear deal with the iranians than we did with our sunni arab friends. in their minds, we abandoned them. i think there's justification and ample evidence of that. so the other thing that's in the room here is that the new leadership, who's the kproeupbs of saudi arabia, destined to be the king, is on a transformational path that no one has seen in the middle east in terms of its positive goals in changing that society. from a very restrictive society, far right ideological base for their religious interpretation of the koran called wahabeism

and putting people to work and getting them off the roll. these are all positive things that are been talked about by his peers and also by the united states. if this investigation reveals some degree of complicity by the king and saudi arabia leadership, it will absolutely under mind not only our relationship with them, but his ability to accomplish these roles. >> dana: senator lindsey graham basically saying that it's a bipartisan tsunami building against saudi arabia if this is true. they would suffer a lot in the eye of the american people. part of that is not only just hoping that there's change in saudi arabia, but there are defense agreements and arms deals at stake. >> oh yeah, absolutely. let me tell you, the russians are willing to step in and take our place because they've got arms deals with all of the sunni arabs as a result of

intervention in syria which is a net strategic plus. they will be waiting right here to pick up what some left over in terms of this relationship. but again, let's not foreclose on this until we absolutely get the facts. >> dana: it might be coincidence that pastor brunson's trial was to commence tomorrow and then this is happening. now turkey making some signal that maybe they would be willing to let him go. is this coincidence or could bit connected somehow? >> i don't think they're related to each other. the fact that trial is coming and they're making public pronouncements about that, that tries to tell me i think something positive is gonna happen here with this. >> dana: it would show president trump's sanctions against turkey were ultimately effective if it happens. >> there's no doubt about it. as we all know, turkey's economy is tanking and those sanctions are certainly putting more pressure on them to make some changes here. >> dana: general jack keane,

thank for your expertise. >> good talking, dana. >> dana: close call for an american astronaut and his russian counter part after they were forced to make an emergency landing when their booster rocket headed to the international space station failed right after launch. we have the story live from washington. kristen? >> reporter: dana, this is the exact kind of scenario is why they spend years training for these flights. so many people and so much complicated equipment had to work quickly in order to get this astronaut and cosmonaut back to earth safely. his whole family was on the ground watching. it was launching from khazikstan. ever since back in 2011, nasa astronauts have been totally reliant on the russiansoyez to get to space. they experienced g forces much

higher than usual but they were okay. on the ground to greet them, nasa administrator jim bridenstein. i spoke to him on the phone. he said he was just in awe of the crew of nasa and their russian counter part. he also made a point to highlight how space is one of the few areas where these two countries work together and seem to get along. >> that because american leadership and russian leadership, space has been separated from those terrestrial disputes. space is unique. it is a channel of communication and a way for our nations to cooperate when, in so many other ways, cooperation is difficult. >> dana: dana, for him, today was not only a technological achievement but a diplomatic one as well. >> dana: we know you know a lot about it, too. thank you for bringing that story to us. next, catastrophic damage from the worst hurricane to hit florida in decades. the latest on search and

recovery efforts. make sure to check out our next podcast. today we discuss nikki haley, 2020 presidential candidates, and the proper way to eat a steak. download that. let us know what you think. are you a veteran, own a home,

and need money for your family? newday usa can help. we earned a lot of va benefits with our service. but the va home loan benefit is a big one. if you want to use it to get cash, call newday usa. va loans are all they do. and don't let less than perfect credit hold you back. even if you've been turned down for a va loan by your bank, call newday usa. they've been given automatic authority by the va... they can often help veterans when other lenders won't. by re-financing up to 100 percent of your home's value, you could take out 54,000 dollars or more. you could use that money to pay credit card debt and other expenses, plan for retirement, and get back on your feet financially. need money for your family? call newday usa right now and use the va home loan benefit

you've earned and deserve. go to newdayusa.com, or call 1-877-423-5739. >> we're getting a look at the hardest hit areas one day after hurricane michael slammed into the florida panhandle as an extremely strong category 4 hurricane. plus the american journalist entering the saudi consulate, now there's word the saudis set him up. we'll talk with one of his colleagues. the dow down some 3% yesterday, down more than 2% today, off 550 points or so. we'll continue to watch it in the final hour of trading on a big hour of news. shepard smith reporting starts top of the hour.

>> dana: hurricane michael downgraded to a tropical storm but not before leaving behind a trail of devastation stretching for hundreds of miles. crews working to clear debris. jonathan serry is in panama city beach. >> reporter: governor rick scott taking a tour with national guard troops today by air and on ground. here in panama city beach, look at these vacation condominiums. usually these large beef front structures hold up quite well, but this storm was so powerful, it ripped off much of the roof and took away much of the siding in that upper level. it doesn't appear that anyone was injured here. as you look down, you can see some of the windows were blown out. there was also extensive damage in panama city proper. look at this drone video from a middle school.

heavy winds tore off the roof. hurricane michael disrupted travel. drone video shows traffic, standstill traffic backed up for miles as residents try to return to panama city. county officials are urging people who evacuated during the storm to delay their return because many roads are still blocked by trees and power lines. cell service is unreliable. first responders are still struggling to keep up with the large volume of 911 calls. some hospitals also suffered damage in the storm. gulf coast regional medical center is moving patients to other facilities. shutting down its normal hospital operations, but keeping its er open to treat patients in emergencies. dana, back to you. >> dana: jonathan, thank you very much. president trump speaking on hurricane michael at the interagency task force and how to combat trafficking annual meeting. we're going to listen to him now.

[ applause ] >> please. thank you very much. great honor. thank you very much. thank you to ivanka for the wonderful introduction. she knows me well. and also very importantly on the tremendous work you've done on this on behalf of human trafficking victims and survivors all over the world. very important subject. incredibly, with the age of the computer, it's gotten worse and worse and worse every year. we're gonna turn that around. this is an urgent humanitarian issue my administration is committed to leveraging every resource we have to confront this threat to support the victims and survivors, and to hold traffickers accountable for their heinous crimes. before going any further today, i'd like to provide an update on hurricane michael, which made

landfall on florida's great panhandle. incredible people in the panhandle. they went through a lot. followed a really destructive path. then to georgia. north and south carolina. our prayers are with those who lost their lives and with their families. and our hearts are with the thousands who have sustained property damage in many cases it entirely wiped out, the many families that have been displaced and many businesses that have been affected by this devastating hurricane. all residents should heed all local warnings and instructions. my administration is in constant contact with state and local authorities in florida, alabama, georgia, south carolina and north carolina 37 fema and first

responders are on the ground and we have teams currently conducting search and rescue missions. by the way, the coast guard has been incredible. it's saved many lives. working to restore power and delivering needed supplies. we will do everything in our power to help those in need and we will not rest or waiver until the cleanup is complete. it was so fast. it went through like a bullet, but it was a devastating bullet. it was complete. it was winds about as big as we've ever seen in history. we've never had anything like this. so i just want to thank everybody for working so hard and for fema and first responders and law enforcement. they have been incredible. incredible.

>> dana: president trump talking about the hurricane damage in florida. we'll keep an eye on that. plus florida voters are facing a stark divide in the race for governor. we will bring you a report on that coming up next. - at athene, we think it's time for the financial world to stop acting the same old way. you need a partner that is willing to break free from conventional thinking. we are a different kind of financial company. we are athene, and we are driven to do more.

minutes can mean the difference between life and death. proposition 11 saves lives by ensuring medical care is not delayed in an emergency. proposition 11 establishes into law the longstanding industry practice of paying emts and paramedics to remain on-call during breaks and requires they receive fema level training and active shooters and natural disasters. vote yes on 11 to ensure 911 emergency care is there when you or your love one need it.

>> dana: fox news power ranching shifting six of eight races to the left. arizona moving from lean republican to likely republican. three states moving to tossup. three more states moving from tossup to lean democrats. oregon shifting from lightly democrat to lean democrat. john thompson communications director for the republican governors association. governors races don't get as much attention as some of the house and senate races. do you think that we're missing something in the media? >> absolutely, dana.

governors races are very impactful on the senate side. we have 36 governors races. republicans defending 26 of them. you see it from state to state. wisconsin, florida, arizona, republican governors are having an impact on people's lives. just looking at the governors themselves, an impact on redistricting, taxes, healthcare. so you're absolutely right. the media should be paying a lot more attention to governors races. >> dana: new england governors, republicans high popularity, coasting to re-election like larry hogan of maryland. obviously, that's not new england, but mid-atlantic. but why do you think some of the governors are having a harder time? republicans have dominated state legislatures and governorships for a long time. are people signaling they're ready for a change? >> i don't think so, dana. you see from state to staoeut, like new england governors, blue state governors. republicans are proving they can win anywhere. we're at an all time high of 33 republican governors.

i think it's normal to see some competitive races. look at races like you said massachusetts and maryland, but we're also competitive in oregon, rhode island and connecticut and colorado. these are states that normally voted for democrat governors but we're within margin of error. >> dana: tell me about florida. that's a state president trump's been to quite a bit. rick scott now running for senate. you have the governors race between desantis and gilliam. lots of money, high stakes. really close race. >> right. we feel real good about florida. after the primary you saw the democratic up in most of the polls. there's since been a lot of voters that have got to know him. they don't like what he's selling. he's high on single payor healthcare. he wants a $1 billion tax hike on florida's job creators. you see the economic progress in the state stopped. >> dana: yet it's still close. is the message just hard to get through for republicans? and do you hope as a communications director for the

rga that president trump would get more involved in talking about some of the governors races? >> right after the primary you saw gillum up in the polls. last few days we saw it tied. that's because people are getting to know ron desantis and they like what they see. on that second point, you're absolutely right. in some states the president can get involved and it's very positive. we have the president's approval rating above 50%. 52% in florida, so absolutely, in a place like the florida, he can get involved and be impactful. >> dana: he might not think -- he wants to keep congress, certainly, but governors can help in the re-election to president. i got to take the last word there. john thompson, thank you. >> thank you, dana. >> dana: we'll be right back. what would it look like... ...if we listened more? could the right voice, the right set of words,

bring us all just a little closer, get us to open up, even push us further? it could. if we took the time to listen. the most inspiring minds. the most compelling stories. download audible. and listen for a change. your insurance rates skyrocket you could fix it with a pen. download audible. how about using that pen to sign up for new insurance instead? for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise their rates because of their first accident. switch and you could save $782 on home and auto insurance. call for a free quote today. liberty mutual insurance. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

coaching means making tough choices. jim! you're in! but when you have high blood pressure and need cold medicine that works fast, the choice is simple. coricidin hbp is the #1 brand that gives powerful cold symptom relief without raising your blood pressure. coricidin hbp. >> thanks for joining us. you can see how you can follow

"the daily briefing" on social media, twitter, instagram and facebook. we'd love to see you there. we have extra stuff including polls that we take on twitter. also fun but informative as well. tomorrow it's friday. it's always good. thanks for joining us. i'm dana perino. here's shep. >> shepard: the latest video out of mexico beach, florida. look at these pictures. this is the mexico beach canal which goes right through this small beach community of about 1,072 people according to the census in 2010. it's largely obliterated. almost all of it has been destroyed. there's structures which remain, but none which were untouched. this town was home to 563 households. 320 families.

of the