entering gothom city. >> individuals committing countless acts of crime. >> don't have to worry about consequences. >> sandra: in chicago, crime victims speaking out at a field hearing there and they say it's about to get even worse as far as crime after one week under the state's no cash bail law. >> john: residents say they have had enough, speaking out at this fiery town hall meeting last night. listen here. >> i'm hear to find -- and i can't ask questions? >> that's not part of the format, we asked people in advance for questions. >> prevention -- >> quick, it's both. >> how do you stop crime? i have a request as a citizen -- prepared question -- [indiscernible] you are losing the room. >> sandra: you are losing the room. "america reports" starts hour two with the crime crisis. hitting our cities and streets across america. sandra smith in new york. >> john: good to be with you, too, sandra. seen it happen in other places and they repeat it. can't figure that out. john roberts in washington. latest chicago attack on video in an upscale neighborhood called bucktown, two men follow a man down an alley before beat withing him senseless and robbing him in broad daylight. >> sandra: the next guest said there will be no charges and consequences under the new bail law, #fail and he's a democrat. chicago alderman raymond lopez joins us announcement the video goes on for quite some time. i've watched it several times, it's obviously a street camera, it shows the approach of those two men, they enter the alley where the 33-year-old man is walking about with his bags, appears to be eating something, and he does not see anything coming. alderman, he is struck from behind, dragged to the ground, beaten senselessly, dragged over to the garbage cans, he is screaming for his life. and we know chicago, bucktown, a nice -- considered a nice neighborhood for as long as i can remember. i mean -- is any place safe anymore, what is your reaction to the video. >> i don't think there is anywhere off limits to crime in chicago anymore. innocent people are hunted down like prey in the city of chicago and that's what happened to this young man, walking home, going about his business, eating when these two individuals viciously attacked him and the screams, the cries for help unanswered. and we see this pattern repeat time and time again, just in lincoln park, 18 robberies in one day where even a 78-year-old community leader was savagely robbed and beaten simply for whatever was in his pockets. as we see the new law ending cash bail, ending the pretrial detainable offenses list grow, things like robbery, burglary, arson, assault, even threatening elected officials like myself, do not warrant held on bond anymore in the state of illinois. and criminals are taking note, they are emboldened and the deafening cry is not heard by the politicians demanding change. they only sit back as you saw and try to stick to the script, even when the public refuses to participate. >> sandra: do you have any update, by the way, on that young man? we see in the video he was able -- that the criminals walked away from him after stealing his bag and beating him up. do you have any update on him, specifically? >> we have no specific update, but we are hoping for his speedy recovery and we look forward to him speaking out. his story is compelling and resonates with so many in the same predicament. >> that and other crime spurred this town hall meeting late last night. people got together in a room, not the hearing, but the town hall last night. the hearing happened this morning in chicago. but they gathered at this town hall meeting to say we have to do something. well, we know elections have consequences and i highlight you are a democrat, it's a democrat-led city. you offer a unique perspective. can you put democrats in leadership in the city if crimes like that go unpunished? >> well, i think definitely elections do have consequences and the voters are starting to stand up and take notice and realize that when you put people who are socialists or ultra progressives in office, everyone in the town hall was, a tone deaf leadership doesn't care and too busy to try to find root causes as opposed to finding root criminals in the midst. and common sense requires us to stand up and push back on the criminality in the neighborhoods to start holding people and parents accountable because often times these are 12, 13, 14-year-olds who are engaging in this behavior. such as the armed carjacking that is so rampant in the city of chicago and it's unfortunate as we saw today where the judiciary committee came to chicago, not one single democrat chose to participate and make their voices heard or to hear from those most impacted like the hero, carlos yanes, a police officer responding to a routine traffic stop and ella french's partner who was killed, he was nearly killed and his other partner, joshua, saved his life and prevented further mass casualties in the area. >> sandra: you mentioned the hearing, not a single democrat showed up. this is giano caldwell. >> my brother christian had the potential to do well in life. i still remember the day he begged me to take him on a college tour out of state when he was just 16 years old. and we went. but christian will never have the opportunity to go to college or to get married or to have kids or to build a career. and so many other youth in chicago have experienced the same reality. >> sandra: incredibly sad story and giano speaks up and out about the situation there. i'll finish with this question to you and thank you so much for coming on, alderman. but, do you sense that there will be change in that city? i mean, considering what people are going through, and the mass exodus of people and companies who say they can no longer live there, or work there, what is going to happen? >> i think that we are seeing people vote with their feet, they are moving, they are leaving if they can but also have nearly two-thirds of our city who cannot do that, who must stay here, and they are the victims of the violence that we see so often and particularly black and brown communities, and they have had enough because no one talks about them. they are often talked about for the progressive agenda, for the extreme liberal agenda that says they care, but their policies, particularly when it comes to police reform and criminal justice reform, in my opinion, are very racist because often times the victims of the most heinous crimes by the repeat offenders are those same black and brown residents that the white liberals claim to care about but truly don't. >> sandra: wow, that is a huge statement. love to have you back again soon. thank you so much. >> john: and stunning new data out of oakland, california, where police have reported more than 10,000 cars stolen this year alone. 10,000. that's about 40 every day, and business owners say they have had enough of the rampant crime and slow police response. hundreds of businesses locking their doors today in protest. brand-new nationwide survey shows businesses last $112 billion last year through retail theft. senior national correspondent william has more from the west coast newsroom. bring us up to speed on the protest in oakland and will city leaders take notice? >> they should, but they could not even start the presser on time because people could not find a safe place to park their car. the first person who spoke said something you rarely here, john. as a proud progressive, it pained her to admit their policies were not working, that the social contract they pay taxes, property tax, business tax and the city would provide public safety, not working. in fact, 65% in a poll there identify as progressive want to increase the police force. so 100 shop and restaurant owners today closed down because residents are too afraid to leave their homes and that means these merchants can't make a living. >> without basic safety there's no business. without basic safety there's no community. without safety there's no city. without basic safety, there's only chaos. >> so violent crime in the city is up 20% this year, robbery up 30%, car theft, 50%. so, i want you to watch this video, a recent carjacking attempt, a man is going to just try to get in his car when two gun toting thieves in hoodies take his keys and his wallet as you'll see, and then two local men are going to see what's happening and they emerge with bats to step in to help. and they are going to smash out the car windows of that get-away car. >> it's not about the small business getting angry and upset because you want to take action, and because we have been promised many, many times, many, many political promises, but what about the delivery. >> protestors met outside an iconic oakland restaurant, show, and it's closing after 38 years because of crime. >> this is my city, i love oakland. and i cannot leave anywhere, but i cannot do business in oakland. >> so, critics at city hall called the protest an unproductive publicity stunt, but the mayor says she understands. >> you know, my home was broken into and they saw my son inside the home, they just kept going. it has traumatized my son. i get that, i understand that. >> so the state made $300 million available to help cities fight retail theft, john. but oakland missed the application deadline because they said they had no one available to apply for the grant, in fact i heard today that when these guys go down to get a business permit at city hall, there's nobody there, it's not safe downtown. back to you. >> you know, giano cald well said it at the hearing, america is becoming gotham city. where is batman when you need him. >> sandra: a live look at eagle pass, texas as the surge of migrants continues at the southern border and hitting hundreds of miles away. "new york post" releasing new pictures showing migrants sleeping on the floor and even in chairs at the roosevelt hotel, now operating at a relief center as the big apple struggles to keep up with the unflux. nate foy is outside the hotel in new york. what's the scene there right now? >> well, sandra, what was once the van derbar inside, completely unrecognizable. instead of waiters and waitresses serving food and cocktails, migrants are sleeping on the floor of the bar, or former bar as the migrant crisis worsens in new york city. you see the migrants here, and the situation could get worse quickly because 13,000 single adult migrants are supposed to be sent here to reapply for housing which is something that now will happen every 30 days rather than 60 days. new york city is also dishing out over $1.3 billion in taxpayer money to house migrants over the next three years. mayor eric adams extended the city's contract with local hotels, and democrat queens councilman robert holden tells fox the city is overpaying for a problem it can't afford. >> i think it's a mistake. we did this during the pandemic where we paid five times the price of masks and other medical equipment, and we are doing it again because of the emergency that president biden has thrust upon new york city with the migrant crisis. these are no-bid contracts. >> meanwhile, sandra, a win for staten island residents. judge ruled the city cannot convert a former private school into a shelter. one less option for the mayor. kathy hochul is sending 150 additional national guard personnel and $50 million to help migrants get work permits. back out here live, sandra, city officials are in court today, again challenging the city's right to shelter mandate. mayor adams expressly says the city can't fulfill the obligations of that policy with over 60,000 migrants currently in the city's care. back to you. >> sandra: nate foy live at the roosevelt hotel. nate, thank you. john. >> john: sandra, is this a new low in u.s.-china relations? as relations deteriorate between the two countries, china now demanding the d.c. zoo give their pandas back. >> sandra: plus the white house now contending with a string of bad poll numbers but the team is making sure he doesn't fall? mark pen is here to break it down for us right after the break. ♪ limu emu & doug ♪ what do we always say, son? liberty mutual customizes your car insurance... so you only pay for what you need. that's my boy. now you get out there, and you make us proud, huh? ♪ bye, uncle limu. ♪ stay off the freeways! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ i'm patriotic kenny. and, hi, i'm amanda. my scooter broke down. i went into a depression. 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(none of this would've happened without tiktok.) you're probably not easily persuaded to switch mobile providers for your business. but what if we told you it's possible that comcast business mobile can save you up to 75% a year on your wireless bill versus the big three carriers? it's true. plus, when you buy your first line of mobile, you get a second line free. there are no term contracts or line activation fees. and you can bring your own device. oh, and all on the most reliable 5g mobile network nationwide. wireless that works for you. it's not just possible. it's happening. >> polls are polls, right. they are going to be all over the place. they are going to -- they are going to, you know, they don't tell the whole story, actually, and that is just the way a poll is. >> john: white house press secretary karine jean-pierre playing down the recent string of bad numbers for president biden. new poll from abc news and the "washington post" shows former president trump leading president biden among all respondents 51% to 42% in a hypothetical general election rematch. but the "washington post" already saying oh, take this with a big grain of salt because it's probably an outlier. let's bring in mark pen, stagwell ceo and former clinton adviser and pollster. mark, it's true that polls are snapshots in time, but the fact that the "washington post" is saying pay no attention to this one really is quite extraordinary. >> yeah, that's pretty peculiar. normally when you analyze a poll, if you think there is something wrong with the demographics or whatever, you correct, or do more interviews when you get something is that way. you don't publish it and say but we don't believe it because it gives us a finding that we don't believe. look, you know, polls are a snapshot in time but they do reflect what voters think and this is a tough time for president biden and the polls. >> john: in terms of what voters think and whether or not this poll is an outlier, let's go through some of the other numbers. biden's handling on the economy, approve 30%, disapprove 64%. biden on immigration, approve 23%, 62%. now, arguably those numbers are significantly worse than a poll that was taken back in february, but take a look at this number. when asked about the state of the economy, 25% of people had a positive view of it, 74% had a negative view of it. that is literally identical to numbers that this same poll got back in february. so, is it an outlier or did biden's numbers just get significantly worse on other topics? >> well, look, i think several things. our polls on the harris poll and harris are showing trump up by 4 or 5. other polls are showing by 1. you know, polls are imprecise win a few points but i don't think there's any question that the polls are showing a trend in favor of trump, against biden, and they are showing that people are upset about economy, immigration, crime, generally whether or not their living standard is getting better or worse, and that there are a lot of voters out there who are unhappy with every day issues, which is why it's often surprising to me how little time the politicians spend on those issues that are really driving the voters. >> john: all right, another story out there in axios we thought was interesting. axios headline, scoop, biden teams don't let him trip mission. apparently the white house and the biden campaign are going to some pretty lengthy measure to say make sure he improves his balance and doesn't have any more episodes like falling up the stairs on air force one or when he tripped over the sandbag at that commencement ceremony. >> well, look. obviously something they should do. i would have added to this, no pictures on the beach, you know. i don't think that the summer endless pictures of the beach were particularly helpful to the president, and obviously -- obviously, look, with an 80-year-old falls, one of the most hazardous things. i fell myself about a month ago. so i think it's great he's getting the protection. i do think they have to improve some of the way that they are depicting him because he did not come off this summer as more vigorous, which is something he's going to need to do in this election campaign. >> john: some people might say the biden campaign needs a mike dever person, he was ronald reagan's image guy and nothing got past him that would not make the president look good. and bob menendez, 18 democratic senators, including ten up for re-election, have said he should step down, and cory booker said stepping down is not acknowledgment of guilt, but that holding office is great personal cost. senator menendez has made sacrificis in the past to serve and he must do so again. i believe stepping down is best for senator menendez, for those senator menendez has spent his life serving. you are a democratic pollster. what do you think he should do? >> well, look, it's about as big a course as i have seen for someone to resign and got to take senator menendez at face value. he said he's not going, doesn't seem to be a process for taking him off anything but committee assignments and he said he's going to have his day in court. so, could be, you know, almost -- could be 51 or 50, i guess, minus him, senators. i think don't think any realistic way that he's going to change his mind at the moment no matter how many people call for his resignation. i think he's been clear, i'll have my day in court, i had it in the past. whether it's right or wrong, he's not going to do it. >> john: i mean, if he's found guilty, maybe it changes the equation but a lot of people are saying look, he's due due process, so why kick him out now? mark pen, always great to get your take on things. thank you. >> thank you. >> sandra: how bad are things getting between the u.s. and china? the answer may be coming from our national zoo. details in the growing geopolitical battle over bears. >> john: plus president biden appearing at the picket line in michigan despite his press secretary claiming he would stay out of the details of the negotiations and not take sides. our panel is here to break down his visit and the 2024 impact coming up. this is spring semester at fairfield-suisun unified. they switched to google tools for education because there's never been a reported ransomware attack on a chromebook. now they're focused on learning knowing that their data is secure. 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we don't have any pandas. what are you talking about? >> gillian: i'll ask the folks around here, i'll let you no he what they say. >> john: appreciate it. sandra, that would be a shame. the pandas have been a fixture at the zoo for so long. >> sandra: great zoo, i have never been to your zoo there. >> john: what? it's amazing. boo at the zoo, they have the halloween thing and the kids can run around and grab candy and see the animals as well. >> sandra: sounds fantastic. now this. >> fact of the matter is you guys, uaw, you saved the automobile industry back in 2008 and before. made a lot of sacrifices. gave up a lot. and the companies were in trouble. now they are doing incredibly well, and guess what, you should be doing incredibly well, too. stick with it. you deserve the significant raise you need and other benefits. >> sandra: okay, so president biden there urging the striking auto workers to stick with it on that bull horn even though the strike could have a major impact on the economy. self-proclaimed most union president ever meet the moment at the picket line? elizabeth mcdonald, host on fbn, and david carlucci, thanks to both of you. >> he spoke 15 minutes, spent an hour, left. >> sandra: if that. >> it's great for the president to say pay them more money, but trump is going to show up tomorrow at a rally, right, a bigger, probably a longer rally, and looks like the president went empty handed. what are his policy fixes to his electric car mandates that are going to wipe out, 30, 40% of union jobs, according to ford and volkswagen. so, that's coming from the car industry. you didn't hear what the policy fixes are for his electric vehicle mandates, will wipe out the very jobs of the people he was speaking to. >> sandra: the issue of sending the jobs overseas, demanding work load of making the evs and also inflation. i mean, the inflation, he's la menting they are living paycheck to paycheck, we believe it. so is two-thirds of the country. >> this is unprecedented, a president going to a picket line, and i think it speaks to president biden's mantra he's going to be the most pro labor president in modern history and standing up to that challenge. >> sandra: you believe he's the most pro -- >> i believe he is. showing it day in and day out on his policies. inflation reduction act is a good example. he fought to make sure the new electric vehicles made are going to be made in this country. a fact i read in the rocky mountain institute, gas powered vehicles peaked in 2017 and 5% a year decline since then. so it's happening, it's about making sure those jobs remain in the united states. >> you bring up inflation. more than 17% now compounded under biden. you know, double what it was under trump. debbie stabenow from michigan is saying the majority of electric vehicles are going to be made in china, she said that today. the cola, the cost of living adjustment wiped out in the 2008 car bail-out. so yeah, you are right, workers are feeling that pain and as for electric vehicles, i mean -- the eia, energy information agency said 60% of the cuts in greenhouse gas is coming from natural gas, versus solar and electric so a big difference in policy approaches. >> sandra: this is karine jean-pierre, she gaggled today. listen. >> he believes this is when it comes to automakers, when it comes to the uaw, this is the future, the future of cars. cars need to be made in america, something the president has been working on with his policies the last two years. >> sandra: yet he still has not gotten the endorsement of the uaw. he addressed that today as well. here is the president. >> uaw to endorse you, sir? >> i don't worry about that. >> sandra: why is it taking so long for the most pro union president, your words, ever, to get the endorsement? >> he was invited by union leadership today to go stand at the picket line. the leading republican candidate was asked to stay away. you look at the record, it's being juxtaposed right here, biden going to the picket line and trump showing up tomorrow, it's going to drastically show the differences between these two leaders who stands with labor and who doesn't. >> trump is going to say i'm going to get rid of the electric car mandates. >> that's false. >> no, it's not. electric car mandate saying you have to go all electric by 2035, and adhering to california's standards. i have to say this. the weight of those batteries in electric cars, you know, the poundage for truck batteries, it's going to tear all the roads and bridges the president is going the infrastructure spending on. now what trump can do, come back tomorrow and rebutt word for word what biden was saying. >> sandra: david, i have to wrap this up, even the president's own energy administration predicts that e.v.s will make up a mere 10% of the car market by the year 2050. when it comes to reality and actual forecast, they don't believe the transition is happening that fast. >> all the major car companies are in agreement, the trend is happening, either happen in the united states or another part of the world. >> piling up, the inventory is doubling up on car dealer lots. people are not buying electric cars. why not go hybrid, why not do electric and gas. >> allowing the consumers to make the decision. >> sandra: this was a spirited debate, thank you so much. we'll do it again. appreciate it, thank you so much. john. >> john: all right, coming up, the pentagon prioritizing aid to ukraine ahead of a potential government shutdown, leaving out a major ally. who may get left without the cash. >> sandra: cbp officials have seized over 2700 pounds of fentanyl between the border ports of entry this year. just a tiny amount of drug could kill you. doj is taking steps to crack down on the cartels. we'll find out what those are next. i'm at a point now where i've outgrown my house. growing up, every me i'd get out of the shower, i would itch. my first experience with goat milk soap, it kinda was like a light bulb moment. tiktok is a fantastic platform for diy. if you'd have told me three years ago that i would own my own business and be expanding into a separate building, i would've told you you'd lost your mind. we really don't want people to think of feeding food like ours is spoiling their dogs. good, real food is simple. it looks like food, it smells like food, it's what dogs are supposed to be eating. no living being should ever eat processed food for every single meal of their life. it's amazing to me how many people write in about their dogs changing for the better. the farmer's dog is just our way to help people take care of them. ♪ >> for the first time recently i walked into a room of high school students and always ask the same question. how many of you have heard of fentanyl? when i first came into office a little over two years ago, almost no one raised their hands. a couple months ago, every single person in that room raised their hand. >> sandra: dea administrator speaking about the widespread dangers of fentanyl as she and attorne attorney general merrick garland met with families of overdose victims. nearly 75,000 americans died from synthetic opioid overdoses last year, and they are working on stopping the cartels from bringing in more. david spunt, the government blames two specific organizations, what are they? >> that's right. jalisco and sinaloa cartels think el chapo, fentanyl at a record pace, whether by people or even in the mail. u.s. border chief posting a picture of it, pounds confiscated. put out a tweet on x hours ago, jason owens said the different drugs seized and this fiscal year, more than 2700 pounds of fentanyl seized across the border. john, ashley romero, 32 years old when she died in 2018. her mom says she took half a pill of what they thought was her medicine, since her tragic death, her mother andrea thomas works to prevent the same thing from happening to other families. she is in washington, d.c., aims to bring awareness and understanding, a granual can kill someone, like a grain of sugar or salt. >> if you have been thinking about talking to the family, do it now, don't wait. might be too late. i would encourage you to talk about it now. >> last week the son of former mexican drug lord el chapo was arrested and extradited to the u.s. he and his brothers were charged with distribution, and they are looking for others connected with the cartels a top priority for doj. >> john: david spunt, thank you. >> sandra: count down is on for the second republican primary debate set for tomorrow night. dana perino will be one of the moderators. she'll join us with more on what to expect. she'll join us next. call newday. pay off your high rate credit cards and car loan with an affordable va home loan from newday. you can save $500 every month. rates on credit cards have gone up to 22%. for late payments, as much as 30%, more than three times higher than a newday va loan. pay off your credit cards and car with a newday100 va loan and save. >> sandra: congress racing to avoid a government shutdown, five days away, as americans prepare for the worst. lloyd austin is making sure aid to ukraine is protected but unclear what other aid to u.s. allies would be protected, including taiwan. jen griffin live from the pentagon, how is the pentagon preparing for the potential shutdown? >> the last government shutdown in 2018, lasted 34 days. from a national security perspective, the chaos that ensues at the pentagon, what has huge implications, that's why defense secretary austin has granted an exception for u.s. support to ukraine if the government shuts down at the end of the week as planned. >> we are trying to keep equipment and supplies flowing, but absolutely, like things could be delayed when it comes to training, if any of our personnel are furloughed, yes, that could have impacts to the larger mission. >> the exemption means even if there is a lapse in funds, the weapons shipments for ukraine signed off by the president and training of f-16 weapons, crucial weapons they need to destroy the russian military will use the remaining funds available through the presidential drawdown authority. undersecretary of defense for acquisition explained implications. >> production lines stopped, f-35 stopped, munitions stopped, can you imagine if the chinese had something like this where their government would shut down every few years? and they would freeze their budget and not start up things for six months? >> 1.3 million active duty service members are at risk of not getting paid, that would include more than 100,000 in california, virginia, texas, north carolina, and troops abroad about 171,000 would be affected. the pentagon may ask that taiwan weapon shipments be exempted but they have not done so so far. that's because it's more difficult because those shipments are not part of a named military operation like operation atlantic resolve in ukraine, which brings with it certain obligations. there are some polls showing increasing wariness of republicans sending support to ukraine. i spoke with the chairman of the foreign affairs committee, said if someone told him at the beginning of the conflict the u.s. could spend 5% of the dod budget and hurt the russian military, he would say sign me up. back to you. >> sandra: jen griffin, thank you. live from the pentagon. >> john: sandra, you'll want to know about this. taylor swift-travis kelce romance rumors have the world swirling. and how the rumors could benefit the nfl. ♪ it's a love story, baby just say yes ♪ - i got the cabin for three days. it's gonna be sweet! what? 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that was the slogan that he used in 1980 in order to make jimmy carter a one-term president. it feels similar today. in that poll you mentioned, it's a record low, the lowest since that question has been asked and the abc "washington post" poll since 1986. so yes, the republicans have a real opportunity here. the question i think for them is how do they stand out from one another on the stage. that's up to them. we'll press for specifics. americans are hurting. we know it and hear it and we want everybody to feel better about their future going forward. >> john: in terms of how the stage will be set up, there's seven candidates instead of eight. there will be a center lectern. that will be occupied by the florida governor. vivek ramaswamy and nikki haley on either side. the only real move is that mike pence has moved from center stage now to the wings. how do you think this dynamic will play out? >> well, if you remember, in the first debate, mike pence tried to say i'm the person with the most executive branch experience here. let me jump in here. the reason that the candidates are in the order here in, it's based on the average of the polls the rnc looks at it. so if you're on the wings, you might have to fight for some scraps. we'll make sure that every candidate has a chance to get the -- hopefully as much as we can, the same amount of questions and the speaking time so it's fair to everybody. just because you're on the wings doesn't mean you didn't earn your spot there. governor ron desantis is holding on to the center position. he's got some polling -- i'd say a little trouble like in new hampshire, for example. nikki haley has jumped him and that poll that came out this morning. >> john: dana, i wasn't allowed to say this when you were the press secretary but we love you here at fox. you'll do a fabulous job tomorrow night. >> thank you. you know what? even when you're a reporter, i loved you. >> john: thanks. sandra? >> sandra: dana is the best. can't wait for tomorrow night. i'm looking forward to it, john. it will be a big night and a big night for voters to hear those questions answered. >> john: looking forward to it. >> sandra: i'm sandra smith. >> john: i'm john roberts. "the story" with martha starts right now. >> martha: hello, everybod