Transcripts For FOXNEWSW Americas Newsroom With Bill Hemmer And Sandra Smith 20181012

With his family and with his church. Sandra he was arrested two years ago on charges of terrorism, which he denies. We will have more on this in just a few moments. First, a million homes without power. At least 11 people dead and a path of destruction across five states with parts of the panhandle flattened all in the devastating wake of Hurricane Michael. Good morning, im sandra smith live inside americas newsroom. Jon good morning to you and happy friday. Im jon scott in for bill hemmer. It is not much of a happy friday on the gulf coast. Take a look at this terrible destruction. Some of the worst damage in mexico beach, florida, where the hurk crashed in as a category 4 monster leaving almost everything in ruins. Sandra survivors and the governor still reeling from the horror. A lot of stuff everywhere. I saw bad stuff in Panama City Beach. You saw some in st. George island. Total devastation. Every piece of property, if it isnt, you know, got something wrong with it, its leveled. Trees were going by and i realized it was our house. It had been broken off the foundation. And was flowing around. Rick jenkins is live from tallahassee, florida. Griff. John, its the sound of chain sauce and bulldozers here in tallahassee. This is just one of dozens of streets with this tree clearing going on. Look at this. Such an unbelievable task at hand. You have in this case this bulldozer trying to get this tree thats crashed one of several on the street out of the power lines. Quite a mess, quite a task. Theyre very lucky. The sustained winds only 75 miles an hour here. More than double down on the coast. If you look at some of the video that was shot its really unbelievable because they arent doing recovery down there, theyre doing search and rescue. The governor touring mexico beach in just a little while in this hour. But they are doing a lot of rescues and evacuations even of people that decided to stay behind. Officials say that as many as 250 may have stayed behind in mexico beach alone. Thats a tough task as the day gets going here, jon. Jon jon you were able to get up in the air over mexico beach. Tell us what that was like. I grew up going and playing as a kid in the sands of the panhandle and to fly over and see this footage that we shot is just unbelievable to see entire homes ripped off their foundations and cast about like a toy house. The streets absolutely destroyed. The combination of the storm surge and the 155 mileanhour unprecedented cat 4 winds leveled that entire place. When people say it looks like a bomb went off. When people say it was totally devastated, it is really not an overstatement. It is crazy. I asked the pilot. I believe we have a sound bite. The pilot, branden, flying for us. I asked him what was it like, here is what he had to say. Ive never seen such great damage from a hurricane in a coastal area. Im glad i wasnt there when that storm came through. I hope everybody got out safe and hopefully they get everybody taken care of and get it rebuilt quickly. It will be a long time before its ever what it was before. Hopefully it doesnt affect their tourism too much. Great people around here. Hopefully they get it rebuilt quick. In the air we saw several blackhawks and medevac helicopters flying in. We dont know the full story in mexico beach but its not a good one. Jon those pictures you shot are incredible, the devastation is almost complete. Thanks very much, Griff Jenkins. Sandra reporting on the ground there. Breaking news in the suspected murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Reports surfacing of actual audio and video recordings proving khashoggi was killed inside the saudi consulate in istanbul nine days ago amid growing calls in washington for answers. President trump well be having a report out soon. Were working with turkey and saudi arabia, what happened is a terrible thing assuming that happened. Maybe well be pleasantly surprised, but somehow i tend to doubt it. The one thing i can say without any hesitation, behavior like this is unacceptable, violates every international norm. It cant be condoned and the way we deal with saudi arabia will be a message to others. Sandra rich edson has more from the state department. We continue to learn a lot more. There are many developments ongoing all week long. Saudi arabias ambassador to the United States has left washington and the Administration Says it has asked him when he returns to d. C. From saudi arabia that he have some information regarding the disappearance of columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The ambassador, his brother is crown Prince Mohammed and the heir to the saudi throne. It did not request the ambassador to leave. It is waiting on an investigation into the disappearance of khashoggi. It is reported saudi assassins killed him after arriving at the saudi embassy. He is critical of the government and they deny responsibility. A Bipartisan Group of senators wrote a letter to trigger an investigation and require sanctions on whoever is held responsible. The state Department Says that mechanism is premature. This is entirely a hypothetical situation at this point. We dont know what happened. We dont have the facts of the case. We want to learn what happened. The president has said that, the secretary of state has said that, ambassador bolton has said that as well. Lets not get ahead of ourselves. It is understandable that congress and others are concerned. Lets not get ahead of ourselves. Some in congress and senators are calling for the administration to halt arms sales to saudi arabia. The president has said thats premature and pushed back against that idea. Sandra thank you. Jon a bit more now with republican congressman Adam Kinzinger of illinois. I want to ask you about pastor brunson in a moment but first, the disappearance of this columnist from the Washington Post. What is the appetite on capitol hill to confront the saudis over what might have happened here . Well, if its true, it appears that it is, that he was murdered in their consulate by an assassination team. There needs to be significant consequences to that. I think thats eventually targeted sanctions on individuals or any other host of things available to this administration of which they know more than any member of congress or senate in terms of the tools. Some people are saying well cut off all relations with saudi arabia. These are people even on my side of the aisle that have been pining for a day when we can cut off relations with saudi arabia for whatever reason. There has to be something in the middle between do nothing and cut off all relations. Lets keep in mind in syria, there are 500,000 dead syrians, 50,000 which are children and iran has responsibility with that, syria does, and so does russia. There needs to be consequences but lets not jump off the deep end and say lets never talk to the saudis again. Jon it is difficult, these things are always thorny questions. Youve got the saudis as the counter weight to iran in the middle east. They are a big oil supplier to the world as well as to us. But then you have elements like the fact that the 9 11 hijackers came from saudi arabia most of them. There has always been a complicated relationship with saudi arabia in this country. Yeah, imagine what happens if we push saudi arabia away, have no relations. They should be held accountable, dont get me wrong. If we push them away and isolate them. The russians who have no moral compunction will be happy to sell them all the weapons they want and then they say how did the russians get such a big role in the middle east and how did that happen . This is why with International Politics we have to hold strong to our principles but we have to be nuanced, otherwise we would have a relationship with almost nobody around the world if every time there was something terrible that happened this is very terrible, we cut off any relations or sales. Jon some called for canceling arms purchases the saudis want to make. You dont sound like you are in that camp. I think that is really, really premature. If you look at some of the senators calling for this, they have been calling for this before this ever even happened. This has been an agenda. Even some on my side of the aisle more isolationists that want to extract ourselves from anywhere around the world. Lets be very careful before we jump to that. I did this even for president obama i give the president leverage on Foreign Policy. He has more intel. Jon what is your intel on pastor brunson. Does it appear he might be released today . Thats the indications were hearing. That certainly would be fantastic news as you know for the last few years our relationship with a nato ally, turkey, has been declining. If they release the pastor today it would do a lot for the detente we have with them. You might see the sanctions lifted and we can get a much closer relationship. But i think there is a message in this which is reacting even to allies with strength as the president is doing can get some of the positive things we need. And thats a lesson i think was forgotten for the last eight years prior to this administration. Jon i cant help but wonder if the two stories arent somehow related and if you know. The saudis, the disappearance of the columnist, a lot of information is coming from the turks and all of a sudden we get this discussion and the possible release of Andrew Brunson. Do you think there is a connection . Are the turks trying to somehow get back in the good graces of the United States . The relationship has been downward spiraling for years. It is quite possible. Their economy is hurting. Erdogan trended toward Muslim Brotherhood ideology is paying a price now in his polls and economy. Being on the side of the United States of america versus russia or versus iran or anybody else is a winning proposition. You are our buddy, well be your buddy. Youll get paid big dividends for that. Thats an important lesson to remember whether youre turkey or any country in the world seeking to be our friend or enemy. Jon Adam Kinzinger is a member of the House Foreign Affairs committee and republican congressman from illinois. Thanks. Sandra as we continue to follow the breaking news this morning, there is a lot of it, washington is still abuzz about a kanye west meting with the president at the white house. You know, they tried to scare me to not wear this hat. My own friends. This hat, it gives me it gives me power in a way. Sandra so a lot of folks have a lot to say about that meeting. Could kanye west, though, help President Trump and his party with the africanamerican vote . Well discuss that. Jon dramatic video showing a rescue from a burning house. How fire crews saved a man in the nick of time. Incomparable design makes it beautiful. State of the Art Technology makes it brilliant. The lexus nx, experience the crossover in its most visionary form. Experience amazing at your lexus dealer. But prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered. In jellyfish. In clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve shortterm memory. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. When youre looking for answers, its good to have help. Because the right information, at the right time, may make all the difference. At humana, we know thats especially true when youre looking for a Medicare Supplement insurance plan. Thats why were offering seven things every Medicare Supplement should have. Its yours free just for calling the number on your screen. 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As weve been mentioning, some of the worst damage from Hurricane Michael is in mexico beach, florida, where the city is now in ruins. The cajun navy helping with rescues there. Joining me on the phone is scott, a board member of the relief group united cajun navy. As we all know its an allvolunteer group. Scott, thank you to you and everyone involved in the search and rescue efforts and on the ground there. What are you seeing specifically when it comes to mexico city, which has really been ground zero for this storm . Thank you for having me first off. If you look at this hurricane, it is much different than that weve heard on the news. This is like a large tornado that went through, complete devastation. There is hardly any structure left there that might be salvageable. Were working with the local Fire Department with a team of 20 individuals that have been assisting in search and rescues, unfortunately we have a feeling it will turn into recovery in the near future. Sandra it was a while before you and the rest of the cajun navy could get in there. When you finally got in were you able to see anybody looking for help . What was the actual human presence when you were able to enter we started this operation two days prior to the hurricane making landfall located in avalon where we did a prestaging and we sent crews east of mexico city and we actually were in that area hunkered down when the storm came through and immediately started search and rescues that night with the local Fire Department and rescue services that were already there. Sandra what are you hearing from people on the ground there what is the what is the outlook and its tough for people to stay positive when your home is ruined, the trees are across the road and hard to get anywhere. What do people say when you talk to them on the ground there . The number one thing that comes out is they feel theyre in the middle of a war zone in a third world country. Sandra whats being done to get them food and water and that area still without electricity . Correct. So we have set up a central hub on the east side of panama city and calloway. One of the only places we can get cell signal. We have crews that are constantly out day and night working with local officials and then they check in with us to make sure we can update them with information. I currently right now have over 1,000 gallons of diesel being delivered and 5,000 pounds of ice this morning and 10 pallets of watered delivered to the eoc in panama city. We have volunteers that go through the gulf coast, east coast and have supplies coming in from all states. It is an allvolunteer organization. Were a registered 501c3 and people put their lives in jeopardy to help out others. We knew it was like in new orleans during katrina and that is how this organization started. Sandra based on your experience with hurricanes, what do the recovery and rebuild efforts look like from this storm compared to others . This is definitely longterm. Harvey doesnt compare to this one. People have lost everything, not just water damage. But going back to their property and their house that once was there is no longer there. It is a complete rebuild. Sandra scott, with the united cajun navy, thank you for everything that you and your volunteer organization are doing on the ground there and thanks for calling in. No problem. You have a great day. Jon overheated political rhetoric nearly took the life of a sitting congressman last year but what about this year . Are tensions reaching an alltime high. You see leaders on the left inciting more violence and they dont like the direction were headed. Theyre trying to threaten and intimidate people and it is not what america is about. Jon has political incivility become down right dangerous . Plus is it another low blow to ask the first lady about rumors of infidelity . Our ateam takes all that up in our next hour. You arent the first first lady to have to deal with her husbands alleged infiled elts. Has this put a strain of your marriage . It is not a concern and focus of mine. I am a mother and first lady and i have much more important things to think about and to do. Sandra a dramatic seen in fresno, california as firefighters rush into a burning home to save a mans life. The house was abandoned but Officials Say one homeless person was inside. Firefighters had to use a chain saw to cut through the siding, pulling him to safety and immediately giving the injured man firstaid. The good news is he did survive. Unbelievable scene there. Firefighters doing what they do, heroes. Jon they call them americas bravest for a good reason. Thats terrific. Sandra thank you to them. Jon in just a few hours President Trump will be on his way to ohio campaigning at another rally ahead of the midterm elections while washington is still buzzing about kanye wests visit to the white house. As many wonder whether the rappers admiration for the president could attract more africanamerican voters to the republican party. Gillian turner live at the white house with more on that. Kanye was officially invited to the oval office to advocate for Prison Reform but that issue didnt get a lot of play, did it . No, jon. He did definitely steal the show here at the white house yesterday while the jury is still out on whether his appearance ultimately hurts or helps the president moving forward. All signs point to this is going to be a boon for the president when it comes to support amongst the maga crowd. Kanye mentioned larry hoover he is hoping to get pardon but his focus in the oval office was elsewhere. You know, my dad and my mom separated. So i didnt have a lot of male energy in my home. There is a lot of things affecting our Mental Health that makes us do crazy thing that puts us back into the trap door called the 13th amendment. Would you build a trap door that if you messed up and you accidentally something happened you fall and you end up next to the unibomber . There is the matter of the hat, jon. Kanye saying he prefers make America Great again. He added this. They tried to scare me to not wear this hat. My own friends. But this hat, it gives me power in a way. President trumps focus is on the campaign trail. In a few hours he heads to lebanon, ohio where he will host a rally this evening. It was one of the more unusual news conferences you might say in the oval office, thats for sure. There is also a new development in the mueller probe, gillian, what can you tell us about that . Sources have confirmed to fox news the president s team of lawyers is working with muellers team to narrow down the scope of questions they believe the president may answer. And all signs point to their making significant progress today. Not a final agreement, the two sides seem to be coming together around the idea of President Trump submitting written answers to questions about russia and the campaign specifically. The president s attorneys are now focused on paring down those questions and putting together Background Materials to support any written answers the president ultimately does provide to mueller. Jon Gillian Turner at the white house. Thank you. Sandra just a few moments from now the markets will open after two heart stopping days. So will wall street recover today . Well be watching it. Jon plus take a look at this scene in orlando. What did you do on the way to school today, jimmy . Well, my school bus went into a swimming pool. Nine children and a driver on board. Were happy to report no one injured. Sandra fox news alert. Trading has resumed on wall street moments ago. 1 1 2 minutes into trading and a rally for a friday morning. 373 points the dow is moving to the up side after a second big selloff yesterday. The dow dropped another 545 points. Remember, wednesday it fell more than 800 points. So the big board reflecting some optimism as we end the week, but that doesnt necessarily mean it will recover all the losses from the week. This is coming in from Senior Editor at the fox business network. Barring a massive rally today much larger than were seeing on the open it is likely the dow, s p and nasdaq will suffer their biggest weekly drops in seven months. Something were watching. All of this has been higher Interest Rates has been a concern for the market. Inflation, trade, all of that sort of has been playing into fears, a rally to start off this friday morning. The dow up 380. All right. Talked right through the script. I get excited when looking at these markets. One of those things folks have gotten nervous at the selloff. Why . It was record after record after record and cant go up forever. Everybody is wondering when it would take a breather. The president weighed in and said were looking for a correction. It can make a market healthier. Maybe we got a little bit of a selloff this week. Well see where it ends. Jon the numbers today recoup a lot of what happened yesterday. Sandra well see. When they go low, we go high. No, no. When they go low, we kick em. Sandra we all remember that moment now. Former attorney general eric holder rejecting the notion that democrats should hold themselves to a standard of civility. Mitch mcconnell hitting back calling out politicians who engage in divisive rhetoric. These comments come less than a year and a half after republican members of the house and senate were literally shot at by a politically crazed gunman. Graphic Death Threats. Senators and staff have needed Extraordinary Police protection. And the democrats calling for more incivility and more rage . Sandra joining us now is charlie hurt opinion editor at the Washington Times and fox news contributor. Great to have you on friday morning. If you could look back at this Big Conversation that has taken place over civility this week and tell us your thoughts. You know, it really is sort of amazing especially when you look back at the last couple of weeks with the sordid really disgusting scenes that we saw in the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation fight on capitol hill. I have never seen things get so ugly and the politics of personal destruction become so acute where the allegations that got thrown out didnt need to be substantiated or anything like that. It really we really have hit a new level. I was glad to see that Michelle Obama came back out to preach the importance of being hopeful and using different rhetoric. But i have to say that it kind of reminded me of her husbands 2008 campaign, also of hope but what was the first thing that he did when he became president . He put eric holder as attorney general. And from there on out it was a very, very different type of politics we got from the obamas. Sandra here is Michelle Obama now that you brought it up responding to eric holders comment. Listen. Fear is not a proper motivator. Hope wins out. If you think how you want your kids to be raised, how you want them to think about life and their opportunities. Do you want them afraid of their neighbors, angry and vengeful . We look at the values we try to promote to our children. Sandra since then eric holder has responded to all the outrage over his comments, charlie. He tweeted out, okay, stop the fake outrage. Im obviously not advocating violence. When i was a. G. Violent crime in the u. S. Was low. Republicans are undermining our democracy and democrats need to be tough, proud, and stand up for the values we believe in, the end. Yeah, you know, obviously because who would imagine that kicking someone is a violent act. You know, its insane. Like i said, you know, i always go back to that 2008 campaign that was the most hopeful, positive campaign i think ive ever seen and look at the eight years, the way the obamas governed and in particular the way that eric holder weaponized the department of justice to divide people. It was an incredibly divisive campaign. They did use fear. Thats kind of how they kept voters, you know, in check. It was a really it was such a missed opportunity that initial that first obama campaign. Sandra i go back to leader mcconnells comments and he is saying that the fight over kavanaughs confirmation came at a perfect time for republicans as far as generating enthusiasm to get out and vote in the midterm elections. He says here is his warning, lose the senate and the project of confirming judges is over for the last two years of President Trump. That i think is a scary prospect to the people who like what weve been doing on the judge project and i hope will help us hold onto our majority. I wanted to get your final thoughts on that. There is no motivator among Republican Voters like the courts. Mitch mcconnell and the republicans everywhere need to hit that message every day. It was the primary reason why President Trump won the white house in 2016. And as we have seen with the enthusiasm over the last couple weeks from Republican Voters, it is probably the biggest thing that can get republicans to turn out between now and the election day. Sandra charlie hurt. Great to have you on on the friday morning. Have a great weekend. Jon fox news alert and it appears to be good news for pastor brunson in turkey. The Turkish Court has convicted him of a terror charge but it releases him from house arrest. It appears that means he will be free to return to the United States and perhaps North Carolina, his home. Lets check in with Benjamin Hall live with the latest on that. It does appear, as you say, the ordeal for pastor brunson is over after two years under arrest year. A year and a half in jail and a half year in house arrest we learned although being convicted of terror charges has had the travel ban lifted, house arrest lifted and control order lifted and he was sentenced to time served. The path is clear for him to return to the u. S. The trial went quickly. They had a few witnesses, brunson was asked to say a few words. He said i am innocent, please let me go. And then a few hours later the judge made this ruling. This would never be decided in the courthouse behind me. It was more political trial. Weve heard him called a pawn of the turkish government. He was sentenced facing 35 years for terror and espionage charges connected to the failed coup who took place here. People said that was ridiculous. A pillar of the Christian Community, gentle man and used as a pawn. Now he is released. Were getting evidence yesterday it came down to an agreement made yesterday. Turkey has been suffering financially and this may now be pastor brunson coming behind us and ill let you see him. This may be them leaving the courthouse. The military convoy, this is the way he came in. Well see if we can get a glimpse of him through the window here. We dont know if that perhaps was pastor brunson on his way to Free Development as i said, this has been political and President Trump made it a Campaign Promise to get unlawfully held americans free. Here today it appears we have one more coming home and great news out of turkey. To be honest it could have gone either way as of yesterday. He had a court case four months ago a jet waiting to take him home and the two countries could not agree. Today it appears that has gone through. We dont know the specifics of that deal. We do know that turkey wanted relief from some tariffs and sanctions. Well wait to find out about that. Certainly today a great day. Although sentenced to terror charges he is only having to do time served. The house arrest lifted, travel ban lifted. Control order lifted. Paving the way for a return to the u. S. Back to you. Jon what do we know about his health . He was in a turkish prison but was released supposedly for Health Reasons and released into house arrest. Do we know how he is doing . Well, he is not in ill health. People said he was hopeful he would be released today. He was angry at some of the charges and witnesses appearing from nowhere to accuse him but no indication he is in bad health. He had been with his wife under house arrest and free to come and go. She had been held under arrest at the beginning. He is in good health. A number of supporters allowed into the court today. Certainly for all involved a good day. Jon Benjamin Hall reporting from turkey where pastor Andrew Brunson, it appears, will be released even though he was convicted on this socalled terror charge. Turkish authorities have decided to set him free. Thank you very much, Benjamin Hall. Sandra up next well have senator thom tillis of North Carolina joining us live. He has been fighting for the release of pastor brunson. He will join us with his reaction next. Sandra we are just getting the latest now on pastor brunson. The verdict has been reached and he will be freed. In the courtroom a short time ago the Turkish Court freed pastor brunson sentencing him to three years and gets time served. The actual sentencing he has already served. We await news as to when pastor brunson will come home. That verdict was just reached moments ago. Senator thom tillis has been fighting for his release and joins us now by phone. Senator, first of all, your reaction to what weve just learned came out of that courtroom. Its the best possible outcome. Were very excited for pastor brunson and his wife and working through the logistics and getting him back home. Sandra they convicted him of terror charges that he denies. But, of course, is news that theyre releasing him from the house arrest he has been under. Is this a bestcase scenario based on what youve been asking for . Without any question. We expected there would be some conviction. I think some of the witness statements were withdrawn. I spoke with pastor brunson on sunday. The second anniversary since he has been incarcerated and he was in good spirits. We were talking about possible scenarios and this is the best case. Sandra do you know anything about Andrew Brunsons ability to leave the country and when that might happen . No. Well be working with the state department and the turkish officials to work that out. But were hoping were talking just a couple of days, if not hours. Sandra President Trump just moments ago it seems to be that he tweeted this out after the news of the verdict coming down in the courtroom there. The president tweeting working very hard on pastor brunson. Do you know that there would be plans in place if Andrew Brunson was to be released from the country in the next day or two if he would come home and go directly home, perhaps go to the white house . Well, i think we will. First i have to thank President Trump. He was, i think the mvp in helping us get pastor brunson released, secretary pompeo and Lindsey Graham. It was really a team effort. The team came together and gotten them freed. Now we have to work through the logistics. I dont know if we can have a u. S. Asset bring him home or if he will have to come through commercial airlines. Those are all logistics im thrilled to know we can work through over the next day. Days or hours. In my opinion i would like to get him out of turkey before the sun sets. Well have to see what the processing on the turkish side is. Sandra senator tillis, we were told as pastor brunson sat in the courtroom there wearing a black suit and white shirt, red tie. His wife was there looking on. And as they brought forward prosecution witnesses, pastor brunson said i do not understand how this is related to me after the judge questioned one of a series of witnesses. He said the judge was asking the witness about incidents brunson was not involved in. How did this all how did this all come about . I sat in a courtroom for 12 hours in turkey just outside of the city the first extensive hearing, and the charges that were levied there were absurd and quite honestly why some of the statements have been withdrawn. The Turkish Court is very different than a u. S. Court. You have a threejudge panel, a prosecutor that sits up, a fourth judge. The accused is presumed guilty. You have to prove your innocence. I was proud how pastor brunson stood in the courtroom for hours taking questions and defending himself and asking how could this be . How could you have witnessed the light on in the middle of the night in a room in my church that has no windows . And the absurdity of the charges gave way to what happened today, i think. Sandra the Turkish Courts found pastor brunson guilty of the terror charges as we detailed him but sentenced him to three years, the time he has already served. He will be released shortly. This is what were getting from there. Senator tillis, your expectation he could be home when . Were hoping, as i said, if not hours, en route back to the United States over the next couple of days. Our office will be working with the state department, some of my colleagues in the senate that have worked hard with us to compel his release and well be pressing to get him here as quickly as possible and hopefully back in North Carolina. There are a number of people in the courtroom today who are back from his hometown in western North Carolina and looks like he will have a great welcoming party once he is released in turkey and once he gets home. Sandra a longawaited moment. You have been fighting for his release. Senator tillis, thank you. Thank you, its a great day. Jon another major shakeup in the Roman Catholic church. Pope francis accepting the resignation of washington Cardinal Wuerl as sexual abuse allegations continue to engulf the church. Stay just twice this fall. N you or, badda book. Badda boom. Book now at choicehotels. Com ito address my fellow veterans, because i know so many of you have served our country honorably. One of the benefits that we as a country give you as a veteran is the eligibility for a va loan for up to 100 of your homes value. If you need cash for your family, call newday usa. With automatic authority from the va, we can say yes when banks say no. Give us a call. Call now 18553761361. Jon fox news alert. As weve told you, Hurricane Michael nearly flattening the town of mexico beach, florida. Now its heading out to sea as a post tropical storm. Mexico beach is now very much in ruins. One woman riding out the storm with her daughter recorded some terrifying images as the eye of the hurricane passed right over their condo. Patricia mulligan joins us now on the phone. Patricia, it must have been terrifying. Yes, it was. It was extremely scary. Especially when the building started to sway. Jon how big a condo are we talking about here . A couple stories, five . Four stories. We were on the fourth floor. Jon top floor. Concrete construction . Yes, thats why we felt safe. Concrete construction and even the roof was concrete. You rode out the storm. Would you do it again . Well, no, but this would be my second one because i was in hurricane andrew also. But we didnt think it would be that strong. It just it kind of got that way quickly. Jon it did blow up overnight. You said the whole building was shaking. What was the most terrifying moment for you . That, when it started to when it started to sway and then you could feel the vibration, a lot of vibration and there were about i think six or seven eight of us in there and we were all very nervous. Jon then the eye of the storm comes over and you get the weird quiet. No, we got the wall of the eye the whole time. Thats why we had the wind so strong for so long because we didnt get that quiet part. Jon we are glad youre here to tell us your story and thanks very much for sharing those images with us. What a story. Thank you very much. Sandra victory for the Trump Administration after turkey releases an american pastor detained there now for two years. Senator Lindsey Graham joins us with his reaction to this breaking news next hour. This is not a bed. Its a revolution in sleep. The new sleep number 360 smart bed is on sale now, from 899, during sleep numbers fall sale. It senses your movement, and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. It even helps with this. So you wake up ready to put your pedal to the metal. Dont miss the final days of sleep numbers fall sale. The queen sleep number 360 c2 smart bed is now only 899. Plus, 24month financing on all beds. Ends sunday. Sleep number. Proven, quality sleep. When it comes to managing your type 2 diabetes, what matters to you . Step up to the stage here. Feeling good about that . Lets see most of you say lower a1c. But only a few of you are thinking about your heart. 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Other side effects are sudden kidney problems, genital yeast infections, increased bad cholesterol, and urinary tract infections, which may be serious. Taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you have any medical conditions. Sowhat do you think . Well im definitely thinking differently than i was yesterday. Ask your doctor about jardiance and get to the heart of what matters. Give us the work no one else wants to do. We dont just go against the grain. We grow it. Give us the frontiers. The places where success is measured in pushed limits. Give us the middle of nowhere. Where the only map is your buddies tread marks. This life . No ones born ready for it. sandra a fox news alert. Breaking news out of turkey moments ago. A court there freeing an american pastor held prisoner for two years. Welcome to a brandnew hour of americas newsroom, im sandra smith. Jon im jon scott in for bill hemmer. News of the verdict coming in moments ago. Pastor Andrew Brunson found guilty of the charges that the u. S. Calls baseless but he was sentenced to time served and travel restrictions on him are lifted. That means he can leave the country. It is a victory for the administration that pressed the turkish government on this issue. Benjamin hall live in turkey with the latest developments. That ordeal, two year ordeal for Andrew Brunson is now over. Bittersweet. He was sentenced to terrorrelated charges but released. We heard from his lawyer who said he will be heading back to the u. S. He was facing a number of charges, terror related and espionage related to the coup in 2015. You speak to anyone who knows him say its ridiculous but caught up in the wave of arrests that took place. Since then people in the u. S. And Christian Community are fighting for his release and since President Trump came to office has made pastor brunsons case key. One of his major Campaign Promises. Weve heard from inside the courts and heard the travel ban has been lifted on pastor brunson. The house arrest and the control order which means he is free to go. The trial itself today was quite quick, four hours, a few witnesses, pastor brunson was given the chance to speak. He said a few words saying i am innocent and i hope to be found innocent and i love turkey. That was the end. It was a political case. We imagined this was decided previously. Last night there were reports of a deal between the u. S. And turkey. Done at higher levels than in the courthouse behind me. Turkey has been struggling terribly financially and serious threat of sanctions if they didnt release him. They want tariffs and sanctions lifted on one of the major banks. They have caved. A major victory for President Trump. He faced 35 years in jail if he was found guilty of all charges. Certainly for him this is a great day certainly. Sandra the president has been tweeting away since this decision came down. He tweeted out first working very hard on pastor brunson and just a minute ago he tweeted my thoughts and prayers are with pastor brunson and we hope to have him safely back home soon. What do we know about when he may actually set foot on american soil . Im afraid we have very few details about that. We spoke to the lawyer yesterday and he was optimistic but didnt want to be too optimistic and hopeful. He refused to make any comments on that. We expect to have him soon. The negotiations have been going on for some time. A few months ago at the third trial they reached an understanding and agreement and a jet waiting to take him home. At the 11th hour something fell apart and he was taken back into custody and why no one wanted to get ahead of themselves here. We knew then there was a plane waiting to take him. Whether its the same case now we dont know. We expect him to leave the country very soon. Again, the negotiations between the u. S. And turkey from the administration side have been going on a long time. Vice president pence has been clear and made it a cause of his as well. Certainly this is a great day for the administration as well. Jon this reached the highest levels of the administration, the Trump Administration imposed tariffs on turkish aluminum and steel imports to the United States as a result of the brunson imprisonment. Also slapped some financial sanctions on its interior minister and Justice Minister. This got to the highest levels of the turkish government and they sat up and took notice. Thats right. On top of that one of the main things that turkey and erdogan wanted was the release of a cleric who lives in the u. S. Who he believes is behind the 2015 coup. The administration being very clear that was never going to happen. Negotiations going on for some time at a high level. President erdogan just about talked himself in a corner. He made it a National Issue over here and never bow to the wills of the u. S. The judicial system has to be free and open. What weve seen here today is a way of both coming out on top. President erdogan will be able to say to people the judicial process was done. President trump is the one who forced his hand on that but we had to see the court case go ahead. He was found guilty. He will serve time served anyway. So both sides have done it in a big way and both sides will be happy with how its ended. Sandra the white house will have a lot to say. Well get reaction. Lindsey graham has been fighting for his release and appearing on this program in a bit. A top priority for him. I look back to i believe this is june or july President Trump saying calling pastor brunson a great christian, family man and wonderful human being. This became a very personal fight for the president. For pastor brunsons family. This is seen as a huge victory for this administration and part of its Foreign Policy and benjamin, that will be a discussion for days to come as we await his release and his return back to the United States. Absolutely. This is a Foreign Policy where as much as anything else, you know, again it was a Campaign Promise very early on and turkey has been its economy is crumbling and currency plummeted. This will see a rebound for turkey. A reset of relationship between the two countries. Last night when news breaking a deal might have been done the lira rebounded. I guess people will be hoping to see some tariffs lifted. Weve seen President Trump be willing to use the u. S. Economic power to influence things around the world and i think weve seen that happen here. Talking about pastor brunson and his family. Theyve been under a lot of stress. We know pastor brunson has been angry at some of the witnesses who appeared seemingly every time he has another trial new witnesses appear and getting angry with the judicial system here but always aware of the support he had in the u. S. And the lawyer said he was grateful for that and well see him resurrect that in due course. We dont know when he will speak to the press but hopefully well hear from him soon. Sandra Benjamin Hall thank you. Jon people criticize the judicial system in this country. A story like that helps you appreciate how great we have it here. Gillian turner is live at the white house. The white house worked very hard to see this result. The white house has been working incredibly hard across the National Security council, all across the west wing here for weeks on this issue. Once it is 100 officially done with it is going to be a tremendous victory for President Trump. But also a tremendous opportunity to reset the u. S. turkish relationship. It has been on a difficult path lately. The word on the street here inside the white house right now, though, is it is not Mission Accomplished yet. Nobody is going to breathe a sigh of relief until pastor brunson is safely back on american soil. Nothing is being taken for granted here. They are well aware that this gentlemans life still hangs in the balance until he is back here at home in the United States. No word yet on where he is headed next from turkey. No word on how he will be transported. Well keep you updated with that information as soon as we have it. Sandra you go back from a twitter post in august from the president calling him a great patriot hostage and said we will paying nothing for the release of an innocent man. Were cutting back on turkey. Steve mnuchin had warned in comments to reporters the government would take further action if pastor brunson was not released quickly. This administration, this White House Pressed relentlessly, gillian, for his release. They did. It was only a few weeks ago keep in mind the erdogan regime told the trump team they were not going to deal with the pastor, with the issue politically. They were turning it over to the courts. The Constitutional Court in turkey and wanted to let that process play out. There was fear about the unknowns here but clearly the white house came through here and the state department with their negotiating team. Sandra Gillian Turner at the white house. Thank you. Jon great news. Sandra meanwhile more on that in a moment. Rescue and recovery operations are underway in florida as entire communities come to grips with the massive scale of destruction left behind by Hurricane Michael. It left behind piles of rubble and debris. Rick leventhal is live in panama city, florida this morning. What are you seeing there . The people here in panama city have a long and very challenging road ahead of them. The evidence is everywhere including right here on 23rd street, a major artery. You see the utility pole down with heavy lines. In this roadway. If you look this way the lines are down all the way up. You see that long line of traffic. This is normally a fourlane road down to two lanes. Youll see why. A lot of folks were lined up early this morning for fuel. That fuel line extends in that direction farther than we can show you. Well down perhaps a quarter mile, half mile and theyre lined up to go into the sams club here. There are Police Officers in there directing traffic trying to keep people calm. Thats the Biggest Issue here is peoples tempers are getting short. There are major issues here with not just getting fuel but getting basic supplies, including power. 350,000 customers in florida are still in the dark. That includes roughly 90 of bay county where we are. Weve seen utility crews out in long convoys rolling around trying to get to the hardesthit areas and tree trucks. There are thousands of trees down across this county blocking roads, taking lines down and sitting on top of houses. A lot of folks have chain saws out. The message they want us to deliver if you got out of here, stay out. Dont come back. The people who evacuated are being told dont come back. They wont let people back in yet. It is not safe. The folks who are here, the officers i spoke with said please just leave. Dont stay here. They may not have Running Water or power for up to a month or more. You wont get basic services for a while. Go somewhere else according to local police trying to keep the peace out here while they try to keep the roads clear to get the utility and tree crews in to try to get the place back to normal. Its an absolute mess in panama city. Sandra were still learning how bad things are there. Thank you for your reporting. Jon even if there is gas in the tanks in the ground you have to have power to run the gas pumps. Fema is calling mexico beach, florida, ground zero for Hurricane Michaels catastrophic hit. Crews are trying to clear the roadways in that tourist town to conduct search and rescue operations. The mayor tells fox news many residents tried to ride out the storm. Were live on the ground in panama city. Our reporter was in mexico beach earlier. Whats the situation . We had to come back to get a broadcasting the situation is dire there. Pretty much total destruction. Not that its not here to follow up on ricks point in panama city. Trees are down as we see in this yard. Luckily this one fell in the right direction talking to the people in the house. They were able to get by okay. For as bad and desperate as it is here it is worse there as we found ot firsthand before the curfew was put in place. This is about the worst of it. Look at the devastation in mexico beach, florida. Beautiful beach front community. One of the members of the National Guard was telling me at the worst of the storm the gulf of mexico came all the way up here. This was all under water. Thats why you see so much devastation. Somebodys pillow we just found on the ground here. This structure there is really nothing left of it. Even when we stepped over to the other side here and look over there, those were once definitely beautiful condos, beachfront homes. You can barely make it out. We found a sign in the ground which was true a couple days ago and hopefully true again, read this, welcome to paradise. Its difficult to get a handle how bad the devastation is. The video tells part of the story. The personal side we still dont know about yet. Were waiting for updates. You talked about the people who stayed and how they did in terms of how many people may be still missing or unaccounted for. We still havent heard. Something like 280 people rode out the storm in mexico beach and some of those people havent been heard from yet. Sandra Connell Mcshane on the ground. Much more coming up on the stunning images coming out of the destruction showing the aftermath of michael. Well talk to a storm chaser who shot this incredible drone video of mexico beach, plus this. Ultimately we have to keep shining a light on this to make it clear this isnt what politics is about in america. It is not what the founding of our country was about. It was about freedom of speech, freedom of expression, not violence against anybody. Jon republicans speaking out against what they call increasingly violent rhetoric from the left. Is it time for Democratic Leaders to do the same . Our ateam straight ahead. To give you the protein you need with less of the sugar you dont. [grunting noise] ill take that. 30 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar. Ensure max protein. In two great flavors. 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You know medicare wont cover all your medical costs, so call now and see why a Medicare Supplement plan from a company like humana, just might be the answer. Sandra this is a fox news alert. The big news weve been following for you the past hour, an american pastor held prisoner in turkey for two years will soon be heading home. A court in turkey freeing Andrew Brunson just minutes ago. President trump tweeting my thoughts and prayers are with pastor brunson appeared hope to have him safely back home soon. Joining us by phone senator Lindsey Graham. Thank you for calling in. This has been a top priority for you. What did you make of the news . Well, im pleased. I wont celebrate until he gets home. I think the Trump Administration, President Trump and Vice President pence and truly bipartisan, senators tillis, langford and shaheen we visited pastor brunson months ago in turkey. Allow the relationship between the United States and turkey to improve and he is a fine man, pastor brunson and his wife, and im just going to withhold comment until he gets home but this is a great day and it maybe starts a new beginning with the u. S. turkey relationship. Jon can you say, was he simply a pawn in this battle over the attempted coup that tried to dislodge president erdogan there . I think he got caught up in something that was just not of his own making. Ive never believed one minute that pastor brunson had any ill will toward the turkish government. There was a coup against president erdogan. The military did try to take him out and physically detain him. It is a tense time in turkey and president brunson has been there for 25 years preaching the gospel. A situation where he got caught up in a situation that not of his making and its been two long years. I visited him in jail and talked to president erdogan about it. The relationship needs to improve and a great step forward. President trump and Vice President pence have been all over this. Senator langford, tillis and shaheen have been pushing hard for a long time. When he gets home ill feel better. He is not home yet. Sandra sounds like youre cautiously optimistic until he sets foot on american soil. What do you know about the communication with turkey to actually make that happen . What will the discussions and negotiations be to actually facilitate his return . I dont know what the Court Procedures are all about. I think he has been convicted and may be subject to being allowed to come home for time served. I know our embassy personnel, mike pompeo has been terrific. I went there several months ago, talked to the National Security advisor, talked to president erdogan directly. I know mike pompeos team is handling the details and i hope that we can get this behind us. I told president erdogan it would be hard for us to go forward in a productive fashion until this issue is resolved and turkey is a strategic ally. Its an important relationship. We have an air base there. They helped us in syria. Keep our finger crossed and i hope he will come home soon and pompeos people are working hard. Jon the u. S. Government slapped sanctions on the interior and Justice Minister of turkey in part as a result of the brunson case. Would you expect those now will be dropped . I would hope so. I would think so. Let me tell you about President Trump. He has been very involved in this. Tried to give turkey the space they need to get a result good for both countries. He has been very practical and firm. This is an example of, i think, president ial leadership working with an ally over a very contentious event. Trying to find the space necessary to get a good outcome but being tough. And so pompeos people are working as we speak. This will give us a new life in the u. S. turkey relationship. Sandra fascinating to watch. As far as the Economic Situation in turkey is concerned, we all know it has been a deteriorating situation there. President trump and his administration seem unmofshd by that in efforts to get pastor brunson home. They had a goal to make sure this fine man would come back home. He got caught up into something not of his making and where do we go from here . We get pastor brunson home other people are being detained that work for the u. S. Embassy. Im concerned about them, too. We arent going to forget about them. Theyre turkish nationals. A dea agent there. People still being detained we think inappropriately and we arent going to forget about them. If their families are listening we have not forgotten about you. How does this move forward . I hope one day to have a Free Trade Agreement with turkey. Their economy is in decline. It would be good for their economy and our economy to have a Free Trade Agreement and show were working as a partner and a team. Thats a ways off. Thats my goal. Jon there was a time turkey was demanding the u. S. Extradite into turkish custody, an islamist preacher who the government there, erdogan, considers an enemy of the government. Did that ever come into consideration, that kind of exchange . We have a process to look at were an evidencebased, legalbased country, not just political trades here. There is an investigation of i think the gentleman you are talking about about what his activities have been. Have they been against the government of turkey . Have they been criminal . There is an investigation of the person you are talking about. And well see where that takes us. We never linked the two. That would be inappropriate. That was rejected from the start. Turkey understood that. They have a legal system, we have a legal system. I want to thank President Trump and secretary pompeo for working hard. But this is a time when congress helped. We were pretty tough about the s400 Missile Defense system from russia. Theyre a nato ally. Thats against everything we believe. Were trying to sell them the f35 and having an s400 system sold to the turkey by russia is a very bad situation. We have to deal with that. That comes later. Were trying to find a way to have a normal relationship with turkey. Sandra i have to ask you meanwhile because pastor brunsons release, senator graham, coincides with the disappearance of jamal gash gash, the saudi columnist for the Washington Post who was inside the saudi consulate in instan bull. Turkey says they have video and audio evidence that khashoggi was killed. What is your latest thinking on what were learning here . Because we did not know much at first and continue to learn more. Well, with every passing day its more likely he is dead. You dont have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out what happened here. He goes into the consulate at 1 15 in the afternoon. Gives his cell phone to his fiance and never comes out. I have reason to believe that saudi arabia had targeted him in the past. He has been a dissident in the mildest form. If this is true that he was abducted and killed at the direction of the saudi government, it will destroy the relationship as we know it. Ive been the biggest defender of saudi arabia. Ive been a big champion of the relationship. Ive been there many times usually with senator mccain. The crown prince talked about reforming the country in a way that is pleasing and appropriate. But if he and others were involved in this, that would be an offense to me, to our values. It would be contempt for the u. S. saudi relationship and it would destroy it in my eyes. And i would do everything i could to punish the saudi regime if they did, in fact, kill this man because of his dissident voice. That would be a complete disrespect of our relationship and i would want to make sure others understood who we are as americans. Jon a lot of people on capitol hill are talking about the possibility of canceling 110 billion worth of arms sales to the saudis. Would you go that far . The president doesnt seem to think its a good idea. He may be right but i dont know. I feel used and abused, quite frankly personally. Ive stood with the saudis after the 9 11 actions here, ive tried to help the government. Theyve been a strategic ally. They help us with terrorism. Theyve been standing up to iran. Theyve been better toward israel. But it must be taking us for granted. To think that a guy like me and my colleagues would accept this and just go back to business as usual is completely misunderstanding who we are. Our Foreign Policy has a component of our values and our human rights values. And we dont believe in murdering people because they are dissident and you have to do business with unsavery characters in this business but when you have an ally you have to let them and the world know who you are. From my point of view everything is on the table and if the crown prince was involved with this in any fashion, it would be impossible for him to be a legitimate leader on the international stage. Jon South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham. We appreciate your insight. Thank you for calling in today. Sandra the president just tweeted from the white house pastor brunson just released, will be home soon. We hope to get more details on that throughout the morning. New concerns about the future of civility in our nations capital. Tough rhetoric from the left and the growing pushback. Our ateam is on deck this friday morning, plus this. Breaking News Coverage continues as an american pastor held prisoner for two years in turkey is now free. We are going to speak to pastor brunsons sister, lauren, next. An entirely new feeling, the difference between excellence and mastery, is all the difference in the world. Introducing the allnew lexus es. A product of mastery. Experience amazing at your lexus dealer. Billions of problems. Morning breath . Garlic breath . Stinky breath . Theres a therabreath for you. Therabreath fresh breath oral rinse instantly fights all types of bad breath and works for 24 hours. So you can. Breathe easy. Theres therabreath at walmart. Every road in the world is now an information superhighway. And the car has become an accessory to the smartphone. Ride hailing, car sharing carpooling. Mobility services are proliferating. And theres a new generation who dont seem to want to own cars in the first place. It all means massive disruption to the car industry, cities, businesses and investors. Sandra the dow trying its best to regain some of the big losses it saw this week on a friday morning. An hour into trading the dow is up 210 points. It was up higher earlier. But at least its back above the 25,000 level. A big selling this week, 800point plus drop. One day a couple hundred point drop. Concern about rising bond yields. Interest rate environment, trade, inflation, all that has been playing a part in the selloff weve seen. On this friday morning the dow is trying to claw back up 200 points. You are seeing some of the leaders on the left inciting more violence calling on more violence instead of saying there is no place for it. It is not the direction we should be going and not what our country is all about. Were a great country that celebrates the fact we can actually disagree with each other. We can disagree with our government. But there is a way to resolve it. You resolve your differences at the ballot box. You dont resort to violence. To see leaders calling on violence, that happens in third world nations, not in america. Jon thats House Majority whip Steve Scalise who was shot last year on a baseball field expressing concern earlier today over the heated rhetoric that he is hearing from the left. Lets introduce americas newsroom ateam. Lisa boothe is with us, fox news contributor. Shelly holliday from the wall street journal and Juan Williams cohost of the five and author of the new book what the hell do you have to lose . Sandra this is a friday ateam. Jon thats for sure. The comments of eric holder, the former attorney general, former law top Law Enforcement officer in the country, when he says when they go low, referring to republicans or conservatives, we kick them. He says its overblown. There has been a bunch of fake outrage over this. No, there is no fake outrage. You look at Steve Scalise who was on the end of a bullet because of a democrat who hated him because of who he is ideologically. You have people like cory gardner whose wife has been on the end of beheading fields and attempted assassination and worried that someone will be assassinated. Instead of taking these threats seriously, with the republican senators having to have polices courts because theyve received Death Threats from people that dont like them and oh pos kavanaugh. Instead of taking that seriously the media tried to downplay it and people like eric holder stoke the fires. Npr ran a story saying republican seize on angry mob mantra. There is legitimate concerns from people like Steve Scalise. They should be taken seriously and people like eric holder know better. When someone says when they go low, we go high. No, no. When they go low, we kick em. Sandra Michelle Obama that didnt sit well with her. She responded to this on nbc. Watch. Fear is not a proper motivator. Hope wins out. If you think how you want your kids to be raised, how you want them to think about life and their opportunities, which motto do you want them to live by . Sandra shelby. I appreciated those comments. She is speaking as a mother, former first lady whose husband largely won on his mantra of hope and change and uplifting messages. It can be done. You can win elections with a positive message. What were seeing right now stepping away from the violence part of it which is very concerning is this Huge Division within the Democratic Party. Democrats still dont know how to respond to President Trump. You see some of them abandoning the message of hope. Eric holder, Michael Avenatti is proposing mixed martial art fights with donald trump junior. Voters dont want to watch fights and mme spec tackles. Hillary clinton saying dems cant afford to be civil. Cory booker, Maxine Waters, comments coming from some in the Democratic Party that abandon hope and want to get down in the trenches and fight. Whether its coming from republicans or democrats the question is how does that serve voters . Jon i want to take apart his statement. Eric holder says when they go low we kick them or when Hillary Clinton says, you know, no civility, what about the last couple of months has been so uncivil on the part of republicans . Gosh, i think if you watched the kavanaugh hearings and understand the roots of it going back to the blocking of Merrick Garland on the court, it was really brutal, hardball politics. And what you do is you get a Supreme Court justice, i think, with 50 votes approved just barely despite serious objections and concerns as expressed by professor ford, then you see the kind of celebration at the white house, the president apologizing to judge kavanaugh, not saying a word about professor ford who he said was a credible witness after she had testified. So i think, you know, there is a lot of feeling on the democratic side. I say this goes beyond any left wing fringe, jon, that democrats dont stand up and dont fight back against republican control of the white house, the house, the senate, and now the Supreme Court. They want strong people. Sandra how did eric holders comment sit with you . He is right. All he is saying is democrats, show some spine. If youre in a political fight and the other guy sandra he didnt say that. When they go low. When they engage in low ball tactics, fight back. Sandra he responded to fake outrage. He said stop the fake outrage. Im not advocating violence. When i was a. G. Violent crime in the u. S. Was historically low. Republicans are undermining the democracy and democrats need to be tough, proud and stand up for the values we believe in. The end. He could have said that. Thats what he is saying. You have the right to express opposite views. What you are saying now is dangerous. There is a republican congressman a woman tried running him off the road recently because of healthcare. Death threats and Dangerous Things happening to republicans who have been on the receiving end. Democrats running, people like ted cruz out of restaurants saying they should have no peace and not sleep and cant go anywhere without facing intimidation. It is dangerous for you not to denounce it. Also denounce what . How despicable to say weaponizing false allegations against Bret Kavanaugh is justice for Merrick Garland. Republicans didnt do anything remotely close to that. They didnt allege things like that against Merrick Garland. Come on, juan. I dont think i said much of what you just said. Justified because of Merrick Garland . Thats ridiculous. People on the left to say they feel their political leaders are standing up to what they see. To act violent as a response . Sandra have to leave it there. Jon Emergency Rescue crews working overtime sifting through the massive damage left by Hurricane Michael going doortodoor in the hardesthit areas along the Florida Panhandle. This as more reports of death and destruction continue to come in. Five deaths reported in the state of virginia alone. And virginia was far from the hardest hit. More than 1. 5 million homes without power in six states. Many of those now in florida. Jeff flock live in panama city. Sandra were waiting on him, as you can understand, getting the shots up is difficult. Were told his shot is good and there he is. Jeff flock. Hi. Listening to you it is worth noting that this hurricane took on both republicans and democrats, the left and the right. And did a lot of damage to all of them. This is a neighborhood just one neighborhood in Panama City Beach and i just got to show you one scene here i think really speaks volumes. This is look at this, a tree right through someones home. And they are all over. I dont know if steve spins around, one here, one behind you if you look behind you there. This is what the panhandle looks like right now. We have a long way to go out here. I can say on a positive note i have never seen the kind of recovery effort that were seeing here in terms of stuff coming in, people coming in, supplies coming in. That speaks well, i think, of the future here. At the present, tough times for the panhandle of florida. Jon wow. Sandra thats something. Youve covered a lot of hurricanes. Thank you for your reporting on the ground there. Well have much more on our breaking story this morning. Many of them. This one, though, the release of american pastor brunson from turkey. Well have more on this coming up in moments. Plus. The u. S. Stock market attempting a rebound this morning after two days of wild trading on wall street. Were following all the latest moves on wall street. So lets pl travel deal on choicehotels. Com like this. Touchdown. 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Click or call for your free quote at the number on your screen. soft piano music sandra the news breaking in hour, a Turkish Court finding an american pastor guilty of terrorrelated charges but sentencing him to time already served. Thus freeing Andrew Brunson after more than two years in prison. A huge win for the Trump Administration fighting steadfast to bringing pastor brunson home. Joining us now by phone is democrat senator gene shaheen of new hampshire. Thank you for jumping on the phone. Your thoughts as we await the exact timing of his return to the United States. He has been freed. Well, i am so thrilled and so relieved. I applaud the efforts of so many people who have been involved in making this happen. First of all the advocacy of his wife and his family. They have been so critical in making the case that he never should have been arrested in the first place. But the work of the white house, the state department, our department of defense, congress. There have been so many people involved in this effort and it is just great news. I cant wait to see him on american soil. Jon you have pointed out that it is unusual and maybe unseemly for a nato ally to be treating an american citizen in this way. Absolutely. Turkey has been a nato ally and they are a very important nato ally. And thats why it was so disturbing to see this happen. Sadly, they dont just have pastor brunson in custody, there have been other americans who have been arrested, people who worked for our embassy who have been arrested and so i hope that this is good news that they will also be releasing those people who are being held inappropriately. Sandra senator, i know that you along with senator Lindsey Graham who we spoke with just a short time ago released a statement following the announcement of his release saying it is our greatest hope the pastor will finally be allowed to return home to his family in the United States after his hearing tomorrow. Do you have any further details about the actual timing of his return to the United States . I dont. I think were waiting to hear more about that. As you point out, this has been a real bipartisan effort. There have been a number of people who have been engaged in trying to do everything we can to bring pastor brunson home. Senator graham and i had the opportunity to visit him this summer, the end of june, and we were pleased to see he was doing better. But clearly we all understood that this was a total travesty that he had been arrested, that he was not doing anything. He had been in turkey for 23 years, raised his family there, loves the country, and im so pleased that now hopefully that tragic episode is over and he will be coming home to his family, to his congregation, to his friends. Jon this was a bipartisan effort. You joined with republicans tillis and langford and senator graham to see this through. A rare moment of bipartisan cooperation and shows you what can be done in washington what about the administration . Do you give them props for what has taken place here . Absolutely. This is something that was a real coordinated effort. There were, as i said, the president , the folks in the white house, the state department, secretary pompeo, folks in the department of defense, secretary mattis. I think this was a real coordinated and joint effort to try to make sure we could get pastor brunson home because as you know. Sandra i hate to cut you off, with all due respect we have to leave it there. Thank you for calling in on the breaking news. Thank you for all of your coverage of this story. Sandra thank you, much more on the breaking story when we come back. Hark invented duo cle. While deep cleaning carpets, the added soft brush roll picks up large particles, gives floors a polished look, and fearlessly devours piles. 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Sandra the longest stock market selloff since President Trump took office may be coming to an end after dropping more than 1300 points in just the last two trading sessions, the dow today it is fighting back, up 300 points at 11 00 a. M. Eastern. Lets bring in kristina partsinevelos. So what happens . The new york stock exchange, there are a few reasons, everybody can speculate. A lot has to do with the fed raising Interest Rates. Thats coming. Potentially another Interest Rate hike and makes it more expensive for companies to borrow money and you and i to borrow money and makes it more expensive for the debt we may already have. The trade war with china. There are tariffs already on literally half the amount of goods that enter the United States. Some companies have seen an increase in cost. The other factor could also be a slowing economy when it comes to china. Their numbers havent been as good as of late and such a large economy it has a Ripple Effect across the globe. Jon the president complains there is no sign of inflation, the numbers are coming in low. The most recent number that came out for september. The annual inflation rate is 2. 3 . And almost in line with what the fed wants. They want a 2 range. However, at the same time you see Interest Rates that are so low the average has been 6 . Sandra it will be dinner table and conversation throughout the weekend whether or not the stock market rally is over or whether well see more volatility but more strength with the Holiday Season coming up. Jon pastor Andrew Brunson is a free man. A victory for the Trump Administration as the american held for two years is released. Chris wallace, anchor of Fox News Sunday joins us in just minutes. To keep you both comfortable. Its the final days of our fall sale. The queen sleep number 360 c2 smart bed is now only 899. Plus, 24month financing on all beds. Ends sunday. For a nasty cold, take new dayquil severe with Vicks Vapocool. 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Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms. Or if you have received a vaccine or plan to. If you have inflammatory bowel disease, tell your doctor if symptoms develop or worsen. Serious allergic reactions may occur. See me now. Im still clear. How sexy are these elbows . Get clear skin that can last. Ask your dermatologist about cosentyx. Sandra a Turkish Court ordering the release of pastor Andrew Brunson this morning. The decision coming years after he was detained and accused of helping to plot a coup against turkeys president. The court still convicted the North Carolina pastor today on the terror charge, but sentenced him to time already served and released him from house arrest. The Trump Administration has been working for months now behind the scenes to make this happen. Well take you live to the white house and hear from Chris Wallace on this in just moments. Meanwhile, another fox news alert. 11 deaths now blamed on Hurricane Michael. The fastmoving storm carved a path of destruction across five states reducing some coastal towns to rubble. Welcome to a new hour of americas newsroom, im sandra smith. Jon im jon scott in for bill hemmer on this friday. In the hardesthit areas of Florida Panhandle search crews are working through dangerous wreckage to find survivors. Floridas governor, rick scott, describes the devastation. Like somebody took something and just threw it as hard as they could on the ground and just smashed it and threw it all over the place. You just hope to god nobody was in there. Sandra lets go to Griff Jenkins live from tallahassee. Sandra, the sound of chain sauce across tallahassee. The governor saying he hopes nobody stayed behind. Unfortunately officials down there in bay county and elsewhere saying they believe as many as 200 or more may have defied the Evacuation Order and stayed behind. When you look at the footage of the helicopter ride i took yesterday over mexico beach, it is really hard to imagine anyone could have survived the sort of devastation they took down there when that storm surge, combined with 155 mileanhour winds, literally ripped houses, large beach front houses off their foundations and threw them three blocks back where houses three blocks back were ripped, hotels every window blown out. Some collapsed. Cars and boats thrown about like small toys. The roads washed away. While we were flying around, sandra, there were blackhawk helicopters working. The National Guard guys stationed where we were doing constant search and rescue missions. Doing casualty evacuations, bringing in people injured. So it is a very, very difficult task. What the governor saw there may be becoming a grimer story as we find out exactly what the situation was in that area. Let me show you what is happening here. This is one of the many homes where trees fell down. This is the rodman family. This massive tree that came down and were talking with the rodman family earlier. Mr. Rodman, were just talking to people with the story of mexico beach is so very difficult and grim. Have you ever seen anything like that in this area . Not in the panhandle. I grew up here and born here and never seen lying thick this, this kind of damage. Here you had half the winds. Sustained winds at 75 instead of 155. You said you feel lucky. Very lucky. We had a lot of vehicles parked here. It missed the house and the main power lines and didnt hit the cars, yes, were lucky compared to what ive seen. How do you think people in tallahassee, do you think they thought it was going to be this bad . Nobody thought it was going to be this bad. I think everybody prepared well and the city did great getting us prepared. I think we all turned out pretty lucky over here. They got lucky here but not on the panhandle in areas like bay county and Franklin County and elsewhere. I leave it with the fact that i talked to a Service Member that wouldnt go on the air with me. Too devastated. Tyndall air force base next to mexico beach. His captain called him and said he lost everything and the base wont be open for 30 days. Sandra a long road ahead for so many down there. So many still without electricity and shelter. It will be a difficult situation, challenging one for some time to come. Thank you, Griff Jenkins. Jon back to the other big story of this morning. A Turkish Court convicted an american pastor of terror charges but then sentenced him to time served and lifted his travel restrictions. That allows Andrew Brunson to leave turkey where he has been detained for more than two years. Part of that time spent in jail. Senator Lindsey Graham shared his thoughts with us moments ago. I want to thank the Trump Administration, President Trump and Vice President pence and truly bipartisan, senators, we visited pastor brunson months ago in turkey. This would allow the relationship between the United States and turkey to improve and he is a fine man, pastor brunson, his wife. And im going to withhold comment until he gets home. This is a great day and it maybe starts a new beginning with the u. S. turkey relationship. Jon john roberts is live at the white house with reaction and breaking news. Good morning to you, whoever knew there was such a thing in turkey as credit time served. This was a deal put together between the u. S. And turkish government. President trump and a lot of other lawmakers working very hard on this. It looked like they were close a number of weeks ago to a deal to have pastor brunson released. That fell apart which is why everybody was on tinder hooks with this one. Now it seems as though he is on his way back to the United States. Were told he hasnt left turkey yet. President trump responding this morning to the news saying pastor brunson just released. Will be home soon. A person who played a big role in all of this is jay sekulow, he released a statement a short time ago including the words of pastor brunson who said were grateful for the president s commitments and efforts in securing my release. My entire family thanks the president , administration and congress for their unwavering support. This is the day our family has been praying for. I am delighted to be on my way home to the United States. A very difficult time for our family. We want to express our appreciation forthe millions of people who faithfully prayed for this day and thankful for the representation of the aclj and sekulow and heil as well as many others who worked so hard to obtain my freedom and i look forward to returning home and being reunited with my family. President trump and his team have been tenacious in seeking the reless of pastor brunson. The fact that he is now on a plane to the United States can only be viewed as a significant victory for pastor brunson and his family. Im told he will be on a plane to germany later on, if not now, because dont forget, turkey is eight hours ahead of us in terms of time zone. It could be he is on his way. We expect he will go to germany for a medical exam and then on to the United States. By the way, it was reported yesterday that there was a deal between the United States and turkey to reduce sanctions against turkey in return for pastor brunsons release. Were told that is absolutely not true by the white house. Turkey wants help in looking for the saudi journalist who disappeared after walk sboong the saudi consulate and wants the United States to help in that. That probably played into all this. The bottom line, pastor brunson is free and will soon be back in the United States. Jon thats the good news. John roberts the chief white house correspondent. Sandra lets bring in Chris Wallace, anchor of Fox News Sunday. What do you think of the news . Its obviously good news. Nobody was happy about seeing pastor brunson swept up in a dragnet after the 2016 attempted coup against president erdogan of turkey. The allegations against him did not seem very strong. I have to say you have to give President Trump and his team, as well as a number of republicans and Bipartisan Group of senators, actually, on capitol hill for all working. There had been sanctions against financial institutions, a big bank in turkey, the relationship was bad, turkeys economy was going down as john mentioned. You now have this very disturbing mystery about the whereabouts of Jamal Khashoggi. And apparently the turks did not want bad relations to continue or to get even worse with the u. S. With all of this in play right now. So they decided, as has been pointed out, yes, they convicted pastor brunson but they sentenced him to time sefrnltd he is on his way to freedom. Sandra senator tom cotton just issued a statement saying he is pleased he will finally be freed. At the end of it he thanks the administration for making it clear the u. S. Will not ignore the plight of americans held hostage abroad. What will this do . What impact will this have Going Forward with United States turkey relations you just talked about, how damaged they are and the economy in turkey has suffered quite a bit. How will things possibly improve Going Forward . Well have to see. There certainly does seem to be an indication as john pointed out. It looked like there had been a deal. Then it fell apart. President trump and president erdogan were both in new york for the u. N. General assembly. There may have been some negotiations that went on there. Clearly turkey wanted to move back from the confrontation that they had with the u. S. Over this and other issues. Well have to see where it goes. It is interesting that the white house flatly denies that they have removed the sanctions, the economic sanctions against turkey. They may not announce it now. It may happen later. But clearly president erdogan, a tough guy and has faced off and not always followed u. S. Foreign policy teams to want to move back from the brink in terms of relations with the u. S. Thats a good thing. The furthest erdogan pursued relations with iran and russia. The u. S. Wants turkey on our side, not their side. Sandra there is a dow watch right below you with the dow up 300 points. That hasnt been the case this week. The economy has been a huge focus. Before you go, Fox News Sunday you have the president s chief Economic Advisor coming on . Thats right. Well talk to larry kudlow. A lot to talk about. The dow taking a tremendous hit, 1300 points over the last two days. Up almost 300 points today. But all of this is happening against a back drop of rising Interest Rates, concerns about slowing Economic Growth and that trade war with china. Well talk to larry kudlow about all of that and possible sanctions against saudi arabia because of the Jamal Khashoggi disappearance and well have an exclusive interview with the Chinese Ambassador to the u. S. , ambassador, a very key official in the chinese hierarchy and close advisor to president xi and well talk to him. It didnt get a lot of attention but last week Vice President pence in effect said that the u. S. Is now in a new cold war on economic issues, military issues, also allegations that china is meddling in the u. S. Midterms. Well talk to the ambassador about all of that. Sandra well be tuning in this sunday Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. Thank you, chris. Jon meanwhile well have a lot more coming up on pastor brunsons release when we talk with former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer later this hour. Sandra Hurricane Michael leaves parts of the floridas panhandle flattened. We talk to officials on the ground with a live update straight ahead. Neil armstrong. Buzz aldrin. That is a big mother. Its gonna be a hell of a ride. [ dramatic music playing ] we got a bad fire. Theres no easy way to say this. Theyre gone, neil. We need you to be commander. We need to fail down here so we dont fail up there. What are the chances this is the last time the boys are gonna see you . 5. 4. 3. 2. First man. Rated pg13. Well do everything we can to get water, food, power back on. Gas to everybody. So we can get back to a normal life as quickly as we can. The first thing is making sure everybody is safe. Jon rick scott there on Hurricane Michael and its aftermath. The storm left more than a Million People without power after it demolished trees and power lines and flattened entire towns. Joining us now on the phone sergeant rich alloy with the Santa Rosa County sheriffs office. The storm came in east of you. You didnt get a direct hit but i imagine you are still feeling the effects pretty bad. Yes. We are feeling the effects here. My agency is in full support of Washington County and it is the same, a significant devastation to a very tight knit community. Jon whats the Biggest Issue today, lack of power . Yes. As of right now we do have full loss of power. We have a boil notice and we also have a curfew from 7 00 to many to 6 00 a. M. Is that to prevent looting . Absolutely. Not only looting but safety issues that may be out in the street. Electric companies are here providing power, you never know. You are better off being inside while workers are taking care of business. Jon the strange thing about these storms is they blow through and generally the sun comes out and it is a beautiful day. People want to get back to their homes. What do you tell them . Well, we are open. You can get to these places they need to get to. But our priority here is to make sure number one safety and number two we get everybody back to where they need to go. We totally understand folks need to come home but lives are more important. You can replace a house but you cant replace a life. Jon so often the death toll rises after the storm is gone because people do things with generators and die from Carbon Monoxide poisoning or perhaps electrical shock. Thats the kind of thing youre trying to prevent. Absolutely. As we are going out there, were also educating those that do have them. Everyone needs to be very careful when they are using those and general safety is to make sure theyre in a wellventilated area, outdoor location, and just be extremely careful where you keep your fuel as well. Jon in terms of the damage done to Santa Rosa County, any area that is particularly hard hit . Sant rosa county is fine. Washington county got hit. As i drove here you can see trees are down. Buildings have been substantially damaged. I tell you, it is pretty impressive to see everyone come together to get this Community Back up and running. Jon the images were seeing of the homes and businesses that have been obliterated, trees down. Power lines down. It will take a long time to get that part of the Florida Panhandle back together. Im sure the folks in Washington County appreciate your help. Absolutely, jon. We appreciate the other agencies coming out here to help out. Jon the Public Information officer for Santa Rosa County. Sandra violence at the israel gaza border. Thousands of demonstrators at the border right now. Well take you there live next. At humana, we believe great things are ahead of you when you start with healthy. And part of staying healthy means choosing the right medicare plan. Humana can help. With original medicare, youre covered for hospital stays and Doctor Office visits when youre sick. But keep in mind youll have to pay a deductible for each. 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Sandra we just got word a short time ago that pastor brunson being held in turkey will be released. He has been detained for two years now. Nikki haley just sending out a statement via twitter saying many prayers answered for pastor brunson. Welcome home, pastor, you have been missed after an unjust imprisonment in turkey for two years we can breathe a sigh of relief. Joining us by phone is pastor brunsons sister, lauren brunson. Lauren, thank you for coming on the program just a short time after we are all learning together of your brothers release. What are the thoughts of your family this morning as you learned this . Its been a rollercoaster ride. Weve been finding out the news like everyone else has. So weve been glued to the news since 10 30 last night our time knowing he was going in at 5 30 this morning. Weve been getting slow updates all through the night and morning and it just seems really surreal right now. Were overjoyed but it doesnt quite seem real. Sandra have you been able to have any direct communication with your brother or Anyone Around him . My sisterinlaw, noreen, has been sending updates to their daughter, jacquelin. And ive been getting messages from her throughout the morning. Sandra your family has remained so hopeful and youve been able to see President Trump pressing for your brothers release for some time now. The president , President Donald Trump has been tweeting this morning through this process and through the news pastor brunson just released, will be home soon. My thoughts and prayers are with pastor brunson and hope to have him safely back home soon. We just learned he is being sent to germany now for a medical checkup before being sent back to the United States. What will that moment be like when he finally returns and steps back onto american soil . I think it is going to be absolutely incredible. He has missed out on the last two years of life and i know he is eager to see his children again. And his three kids. Sandra it has been a difficult time im sure for your family. Two years he has been in that prison. Yes. I remember even now the initial message that we got saying that they had been detained at the Police Station and that was the last message they got out for another 12 days after that for a total of 13 days no communication at all. And since then it has just been like a nightmare day after day just waiting to see what is going to happen. Each trial we were hopeful and, you know, things didnt quite fit into place. Were glad this is over. It was a long time coming. Sandra he was detained and under house arrest as we know. His wife is there along with him. It has been a long time coming. This administration has fought hard for his return home. Yes. Sandra what has your communication been like with President Trump and the white house . Well, i went about a year and a half ago and met with several senators just even when this whole thing just started. The aclj and everyone on their staff has been incredible. They have been pressing and pressing and pressing for andrews release and bringing this up and making those contacts with the senators. And i would like to thank President Trump and Vice President pence and secretary of state pompeo and senators tillis, langford, shaheen, graham, corker just to name a few have been really working hard on this and pressing on this and i think a lot of times people will see some cases possibly get more attention than others, and they wonder why. I think in this case it was the aclj being the driving force and really pushing this and setting up those meetings for us as a family. I know that their daughter went to a lot of different speaking engagements trying to bring andrews case to the forefront. But i really dont believe we would be here today without the administration that we have in place now working so hard and so tirelessly to bring andrew home. Sandra when was the last time you saw your brother, lauren . The last time i saw him was in august before all of this happened over two years ago. He had been in the states and it was shortly after he went back that this all happened. Sandra while he is being released, the sentence basically is what the time he has already served and they are suspending the rest of it. Lauren, is what were learning. He will still be convicted on terror charges which he has denied throughout this process. What can you tell us about your brothers denial and the process he has had to sit there especially this morning as youve been learning with all of us listening to these witnesses and denying these charges against him . I think the most important thing is that god has been faithful to andrew and he has worked in his heart and in his life, and i trust that this experience will, you know, its part of his testimony and part of what he has been through and it is horrible that thats going to be used against him and all these false accusations, all these charges, but he forgave those who accused him in court publicly and if he is able to do that, then, you know, i dont think that we can im trying to think of the best way to say this. I dont think that we can go say well, ill judge them more harshly than he has. He is the one who has been through this and god allowed him to extend grace towards those who have treated him this horrible way. Im glad its over. Even though they said they are commuting the sentence for time already served. The statements were false, the whole thing was false. It was all based on hearsay. There wasnt any evidence whatsoever. And so as the family were just glad its over. Sandra lauren brunson, were all glad its over. Im sure your family will be waiting every minute until you finally see and can hug him again when he returns home. Lauren brunson, thank you. Very brave of you to hop on the phone so quickly after learning all this and we appreciate you coming on. Sure, thank you for having me. Jon well have more on the breaking news in a moment. The american Andrew Brunson expected back on u. S. Soil soon. What might his release mean for relations between the u. S. And turkey . Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer is on deck and he joins us straight ahead. Jon fox news alert. Chaos now at the israeli gaza border. Tens of thousands of palestinians protesting at this hour. Trey is live for us right now. Good morning, jon. For the 29th friday in a row palestinians are protesting along the israel gaza border. Todays demonstrations certainly have increased not only in the amount of people but also in the tactics that are being used by palestinian protestors. Weve seen deliberate efforts to obstruct the view of israeli snipers and actually a number of efforts to try to cross the border from gaza into israel. So far five people are dead. One person killed right by behind us here. I want to show you the scene. The black smoke you see coming from tires set on fire by palestinians protestors. Youll hear a loud explosion coming from a pipe bomb or grenade. Weve heard a number of those today. Any white smoke is tear gas. Settlement talks failed in cairo. A number of efforts to try to bring the israelis to the table and palestinians to the table. Palestinians in the west bank to try to find a longerterm Settlement Solutions those talks have not been going well leading to issues here along the border. Moving forward there is some hope that these sides will be able to come back to the table. A key problem now though on the gaza strip having to do with electricity. Most people have four to five hours of day of electricity and recently the Palestinian Authority in the west bank have said they arent willing to provide any money for fuel to the main electrical grid here in gaza. That is something that is upsetting many protestors. Not only looking at a disagreement between the israelis and palestinians but also hamas leadership on the gaza strip and the Palestinian Authority in the west bank trying to come to a solution over what weve seen behind me here today focused on the conflict that has been erupting each friday since late march earlier this year. Jon the tension continues to build in that alwaystense part of the world. Thanks for that live report. Pastor Andrew Brunson has been released from jail and being sent home to the United States. The Court Just Released pastor brunson. He is being turned over to u. S. Custody and flown in the United States of america. Many of you have been praying for this day. I want to thank you. I know the pastor and his family and a huge thank you to the president and his team for securing the release of Andrew Brunson. Sandra jay sekulow released that on twitter responding to the news of Turkish Court decision to release brunson a short time ago. The move seen as a big victory for the Trump Administration. Former press Secretary Sean Spicer joins us now and spokesman for America First action. Sean, good to see you this morning. Huge news for obviously pastor brunson and his family and also the conclusion of a long fight for the president and his administration. Absolutely, sandra. And good morning to you. This has been a continuation of a number of accomplishments the president received bringing americans back home. Pastor brunson being the next in line of so many folks that this president and this administration have brought back who have either been wrongly convicted or there was concerns about their imprisonment. You saw this as well in north korea where the president got the hostages back and then the remains back. So much of what he has been able to do over the first 20 months in this realm has been significant. These people have been imprisoned from one country to another. This president and this administration has fought hard and raised it to the highest level and made it clear he is aware and it is concerning. He has succeeded in every one of these cases. Sandra this is going to be something that the administration well continue to get updates. He will head to germany for a medical checkup before being sent home to the United States. We dont know if he will drop at the white house or what that he may be, if the president greets him. We await the details. It will be looked at as a big win for this administration, sean. Yeah. Its interesting whether you look at foreign or domestic policy. It lists almost 300 examples of accomplishment this president has been able to do bringing hostages home from one country to the next, the economy. This president is getting results for the American People and in so many ways in a very, very personal level. You think about the last two years that pastor brunson has been imprisoned and the impact it has had on him but also to his family, his congregation and friends. This is a huge day for them and a very, very personal way. Sandra meanwhile the lelease of pastor brunson company insides with the disappearance of the saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi now Officials Say they have evidence that khashoggi was killed. I know youve been following this. There has been so much we did not know about this story and we continue to learn more. Yeah. It is very concerning. In this day in age when you have Video Evidence and coverage of somebody going in somewhere and not coming out it makes it a lot harder to cover up Something Like this. I think the saudi government has a lot of explaining to do. And our relationship with them has been very, very respectful. This administration has really sought to bridge greater ties. But this is not something that can be swept under the rug. The saudi government and the royal family, the crown prince in particular has some explaining to do. Where this individual is, what happened, and the circumstances under which. I dont think we can let this go. Whether you are talking about the freedom of the press itself or frankly the Free Movement of any individual into a consulate, whether or not regardless of their profession. There is a lot of questions that need to get answered and the saudi government needs to be held accountable. Sandra meanwhile, sean, a Big Conversation this week about civility and rhetoric. Hillary clinton shared her thoughts on civility in politics right now, incivility. Eric holder talking about when they go low, we kick them. That getting a lot of attention. He called it fake outrage the way people have responded to that. Want to get your thoughts as we end what has been a crazy week newswise about this discussion about civility and the rhetoric being used on both sides of the aisle. Look, a couple things. Number one the temperature needs to get taken down all over the place. Number two, we have lost the ability to have civil discussions and be fierce partisans and good people. That needs to come back in the dialogue in a big way. Lets face facts. The violence coming from the left thats the big problem here. They can call it a joke or call it what they want. Republicans and conservatives were shot at on a baseball field. A republican congressman that they tried to break in and push down the office door to. It was a republican senator and his wife that were attacked at a dinner. It was a republican conservative senator that was accosted in an elevator. All of the violence, all of the assaulting, all of the action is going from the left to the right. I dont see much of it going the other way around. And regardless of where it started and who is to stop what i find concerning is the left is not trying to take the temperature down. They think it is a joke. They dont think its right but whether its eric holder, Maxine Waters or others, at some point they need to recognize their words are having an impact how their side is behaving. It is wrong. It needs to come down and they need to call it out. Sandra before i leave i only have a few seconds left. The dow is up. It hasnt been the case this week. It saw a significant selloff. You watched the president comment on the Stock Market Office and addressing the fed Interest Rate hikes and talking about the economy when it comes to the stock market. What are your thoughts about the president commenting so specifically on the Stock Market Movement and the feds actions . Well, i think the president wants to be very clear to the American People he has put in place policies that are moving the economy and workers forward and that if he sees policies going on and the fed is an independent board he wants to make it clear to the American People these actions that he may not have full control over because of the independent nature of the fed. That he doesnt agree with them and they may have an impact on the policies that he is implementing. Having a positive effect on so many businesses and workers. He wants to make sure that people understand where he is and what he believes. So i think its in line with exactly who he has been as a candidate and president , which is to speak directly to the American People. Let them know how he feels and what he is trying to accomplish. As i mentioned if you go to the tweet i just sent out there is a 300 point accomplishment list on this economy and so many ways it has been doing better and benefiting our country. Sandra the white house points that out often. Sean spicer, good to have you on americas newsroom, come back. Thank you. Jon harrowing survival stories from seaside towns in ruins after Hurricane Michael pounded the Florida Panhandle head on. The latest from the scene coming up. All of a sudden i noticed that things seemed to be moving outside and i thought that trees were going by and i realized it was our house. It had been broken off the foundation and was floating around, as were both of our vehicles, with us inside of it. Our lives and everything we have is gone now. We lost all our cars and everything. I dont know, i cant its hard to realize what just happened. Jon thats a resident of mexico beach, florida after Hurricane Michael ravaged his home and hometown. The storm obliterating neighborhoods in beach towns across the Florida Panhandle. Joining me now mayor gary jarvis of destin, florida as his city begins the recovery process. Whats the biggest challenge ahead for destin, mayor . Well, i hope that you can hear me. I had a tough connection for a second. Destin was really blessed. We have other devastation 55 miles to the east of us but we virtually came through it unscathed. All our businesses are open. Charter fleet is back in the docks and were wide open for business. Its amazing that just in a short period of time in less than 48 hours we went from storm preparation to getting ready for it to hit, to Damage Assessment and now all our focus now is trying to put together relief efforts to help our neighbors to the east. Jon if your hotels and motels dont have a lot of damage im sure youll fill up soon with people whose houses have been obliterated. Yeah. As everyone else has seen on tv and social media and through my own acquaintances in some of our folks have gone over there to Panama City Beach and lynnhaven. Theyre coming back with pictures and tales that make you want to bring a tear to your eye. So all our restaurants are open, our beaches are open, and weve been promoting that on social media. But at the same time my sons, our businesses, our city, were all gathering our resources together, generators, food, and things like that and weve already sent one semi truck over this morning and loading another one up today and so our community is counting our blessings and focused on trying to help the people in panama city, port st. Joe and mexico beach. From what ive seen it will take everybody pulling together to try to help these people out. It is absolutely incredible the damage. Jon and often communications are down even still because power is down. So you are putting out the word that you have not only got power, you have, you know, hotel rooms open and gasoline and all that kind of thing for your neighbors who need it. Thats right. Were actually coordinating ive got through my work in fisheries, a life long commercial fisherman were trying to take stock of our friends in the charter and commercial fishing business to see if theyre alive. If their vessels survived. And in the meantime we have acquaintances, a couple different Charity Groups their main focus is on feeding a large amount of people whether theyre workers or victims of the storm. And were trying to coordinate that now. We have a group the lighthouse rescue group out of houston coming over tomorrow. Jon well have to leave it there. Mayor jarvis, youre not able to hear me. Were trying to bring the resources to bear to help out the people. Jon thanks very much mayor gary jarvis in destin, florida. Sandra its hard to hear and see sometimes. 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Finding your Xfinity Username or wifi password, restarting your equipment, or paying your bill is easier than ever with x1. X1 help. Another reason to love x1. Say teach me more into your voice remote to get started. Sandra back down to florida now where the devastation continues to be seen there. Lets bring in florida senator bill nelson. Senator, you described the moment you got on the ground in panama city like a bomb went off you said. What are you seeing there . Yes. That First Impression yesterday when i got here, pine forests were no longer. They were all sticks that were broken in two. Live oak trees just completely bare. And you can imagine then when that kind of force hits, and this is on the west side of the storm. The east side of the storm is where that counter clockwise wind comes in and a place to the east of here, Tyndall Air Force base and ive spoken to the secretary of the air force, it is devastated. Then a little further east who got it directly from the gulf mexico beach. There is no Barrier Island out there to protect it. So it got the full force of that category 4 wind and that wall of water. And it is leveled. Youve seen some of the aerial photographs of mexico beach. Sandra how does the destruction for this storm compare to others that youve seen in your state . Not since the monster hurricane andrew in 1992, when it hit south miamidade county, that is the comparison to this one. Andrew was in the heat of summer, august. It was near a cat 5 and it leveled everything. Ill never forget flying over in a helicopter downtown homestead, florida, there were only two structures left, the Bank Building and an old florida cracker house that had been built in the 20s to withstand the wind. Sandra the images that are up next to you while youve been talking is hard to believe this has happened. It will be a long road ahead. I know you along with senator marco rubio are making sure federal resources are there and these folks can get what they need today and rebuild. Thank you for your best. All the best to you and the residents of your state. Thanks, sandra. Jon the other big story the release of Andrew Brunson, the american pastor freed from a turkish prison after two years in captivity. The latest on his release. Or, here. Kick your antacid habit with prilosec otc. One pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. There lots of people who are confused about which medicare plan is right for them. Hey, thats me. I barely know where to start. Well, start here with me, karen. Im a licensed humana sales agent. Well, its nice to meet you, karen. Im john smith. Hi, john. At humana, we know youre unique. So you have different needs from other john smiths. Yah, ive always thought so. And together, we can find a plan thats right for you. Great i go to the doctor a couple of times a year. And i have some prescriptions. But im never fully sure of whats covered and whats not. With humanas allinone Medicare Advantage plans, you get coverage for hospital stays, doctor visits, and part d Prescription Drug benefits. All for an affordable, and sometimes, no monthly plan premium. Do you have any more information . Sure. Ill get a decision guide in the mail to you today. Theyre free. Finally. Someone who understands the real me. Your health and happiness is important to us. Call or go online now to get your free decision guide. Call a licensed humana sales agent today. Sandra have a nice weekend, jon scott. We see you on the weekends. Jon 7 00 p. M. Tomorrow, eastern. Sandra thinks. Outnumbered starts right now. Harris this is a fox news alert as an american pastor is detained in turkey for more than two years is free from house arrest. He could be back on u. S. Soil soon. A Turkish Court finding Andrew Brunson guilty on terrorrelated charges. Sentencing him to time served and allowing him to leave the country. President trump, who sought sanctions on turkey to press for his release, my thoughts and players are with pastor brunson and we hope to have him safely back home soon. Rich edson is live at the state department with the latest. Rich . Good afternoon,