washington. i'm bret baier. breaking tonight. it is election day in more than 30 states across the country today. handful of those races are being closely watched tonight. possible implications down the road. as polls close. polls close in an hour in virginia and kentucky. we have fox team coverage on all of that a bit later. but, first, one month after the hamas attack on his nation, israel's prime minister is ruling out any cease-fire or pause in the fighting without the release of all hostages. president biden asked benjamin netanyahu to consider what are being called tactical pauses in the fighting, perhaps a three day stop to get humanitarian aid into gaza and try to get hostages out. tonight, we're also hearing from some relatives of american hostages still believed to be held by hamas. and there is more controversy about where president biden stands regarding all of the dissent in this country for israel's actions. white house correspondent jacqui heinrich has details tonight lye from the north lawn. good evening, jacqui. >> good evening, bret. today officials would not speak to reports that president biden and top aides have discussed the likelihood that prime minister benjamin netanyahu's political days are numbered. and the u.s., they say, is unequivocally and unwaveringly still behind israel. but we're seeing more distance between the u.s. and its ally than ever before on a few key issues. >> president biden speaking to reports that he pushed israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu to embrace a three-day pause in fighting in exchange for the release of 10 to 15 hostages. >> did you ask the prime minister of israel to take a pause. >> i did not ask him i did ask him if he would pause in the past, yesterday. still waiting to hear. >> netanyahu evidently rejecting biden's ask saying there will be no cease-fire or even fuel to gaza until the hostages are released. the prime minister reportedly told biden yesterday he doesn't trust hamas' intentions or believe the negotiating in good faith. and there are more apparent disagreements over israel's plans to keep forces in gaza. >> we do not support reoccupation of gaza and neither does israel. >> that's not what netanyahu said. >> i think israel will for an indefinite period will have the overall security responsibility because we have seen what happens when we don't have it. >> the administration insists there's no daylight between the u.s. and its ally. >> friends don't have to agree on every single nuances and every single word. >> officials are under pressure to deliver clearer messaging. >> i think the entire world is getting mixed messages. anthony blinken standing next to foreign ministers around the region talking about a cease-fire, calling it a pause as though we don't know the difference. >> after families of hostages pleaded for action on capitol hill -- >> this is all of you here all of america, all of europe. you are next. >> the press secretary initially refused to say whether it's wrong that pro-palestinian protesters are tearing down hostage posters across the country. >> i'm just not going to go into specifics on that particular thing. >> prompting this correction on x, quote: tearing down pictures of their loved ones who are being held hostage by hamas is wrong and hurtful. >> and pro-palestinian protesters are targeting major military and government contractors tomorrow in a national day of action, according to a threat advisory that fox news obtained. defense and national security personnel are being told to stay cognizant of their surroundings and avoid demonstrations. the list of places being targeted include lack heed martin, raytheon, boeing, microsoft, amazon, and a few others, bret. >> bret: jacqui heinrich live on the north lawn. israel's prime minister says his country will take overall security responsibility for gaza indefinitely after the war ends. raising question marks about what that looks like. meanwhile, israeli troops battle hamas fighters deep inside gaza's largest city. senior correspondent mike tobin is live again in southern israel tonight. good evening, mike. >> mike: good evening, bret. a month since the mass and israel's prrming promises to stay on the offensive until gaza can no longer be a threat to israel. hamas defiantly fires rockets and palestinian civilians pay the price. >> waving the right flag, hundreds of palestinian civilians emerged from their homes in the northern half of the gaza strip on foot for a march south away from israeli forces. in a waist land of scorched earth and rubble the idf takes off what they call command and control structures. some with heavy equipment shows fighters in civilian clothes peppering civilian forces with more tars. slow as they locate tunnels used by hamas. one was found in a children's amusement park, then destroy the entrance. >> for the first time in decades the idf is fighting in the very heart of gaza in the very heart of terror. this is a complex and difficult war and unfortunately it comes at a price. >> one month into the war, israel's prime minister vows to keep the pressure on. >> this enemy will be defeated. gaza will not be a threat to israel again. together, we will win. >> the aggressive combat tariffs loved ones of the hostages held in gaza. they gather at the prime minister's residence and demand their return. >> we must stop all cease-fire and the first thing we must do to bring them back. >> bring back to his family, to his life. to say give all the children, the old people again to be freedom. >> u.n. agencies providing temporary shelter for palestinians are overrun with more than a half million refugees. 2,000 evacuated sunday. another 5,000 on monday. many are left to sleep on the ground. >> look at our situation. is this a life that we are living? we have no food, electricity, or water. we sleep in the corridors without any blankets. it is very cold. this is not a life. >> the idf says the weapons seized from the gaza strip include 427 explosive belts and mechanisms reminiscent of the second palestinian inif i fad da and the suicide bombers. israel hasn't been hit by a suicide bomb in seven years, bret? >> bret: mike tobin live in southern israel, thank you. one of the lawmakers who has been most critical of israel and most supportive of the palestinians is now facing two separate censure resolutions. michigan congresswoman rashida tlaib posted a message that is causing considerable tension. this is just part of the ongoing fishfissure democratic party in israel and anti-semitism. senior congressional correspondent chad pergram is on capitol hill tonight. good evening, chad. why is the house seeking to punish tlaib? >> well, rashida tlaib is on a coalition courts with censure. the house plans to punish tlaib, the daughter of palestinian immigrants, for anti-semitic language. she expressed support are for the phrase "from the river to the sea." jews say that calls for destroying israel. >> this type of anti-semitic hate is being promoted by a small group of members in this body. chiefly representative tlaib. we must hold her accountable. >> tlaib defended herself on the house floor. she became emotional, and was consoled by fellow members of the squad. >> palestinian people are not disposable. we are human beings, just like anyone else. >> tlaib says no matter what happens to her, the house can't silent palestinian voices. bret? >> bret: chad, what are democrats saying about congresswoman tlaib? >> well, democrats hope to kill the effort to rebuke tlaib. they oppose her remarks but defended tlaib's right to say offensive things, especially when she parrots hamas talking points. >> they also call for the killing of all jews. so if someone repeats that phrase in america is highly inflammatory. >> why not have the democratic caucus then take some action against her. >> as members of congress, we have outsized platforms that we can individually criticize, commend, say whatever we want about any issue we want to. >> there is another censure on the floor tonight for tlaib. the house votes foam to sanction tlaib. she becomes the 26th member to receive this form of punishment. bret? >> bret: chad pergram live on the hill, thanks. police say an elderly jewish man died from injuries after he was attacked at pro-palestinian rally sunday in california. paul kessler was 69 years old. authorities say it is being treated as a homicide and they add the alleged perpetrator has been cooperating. >> the suspect was identified, willingly remained at the scene, and was interviewed by deputies. the suspect was cooperative and indicated he was involved in an altercation with mr. kessler. investigators have not ruled out the possibility of a hate crime, and this is being investigated as a homicide. >> witnesses say the assailant crossed the street, hit kessler over the head with a megaphone. knocking him to the ground. he died monday of a skull fracture. ♪ >> bret: breaking tonight, the prosecutor who says he is in charge of the hunter biden investigation was on the hot seat himself today on capitol hill. correspondent david spunt has that story. good evening, david. >> bret, good evening. special counsel david weiss spent about six hours behind closed doors. he made history today as the first special counsel in the middle of an active investigation to answer questions before congress, not to mention an investigation involving the sitting president's son. house republicans say in the room that weiss refused to answer many questions about the investigation, but the purpose of the interview today, bret, was to discuss questions about his authority, not investigation details. on this broadcast, back in june, irs whistleblower gary shapley testified and told you that weiss complained he was denied special counsel status and could not charge the president's son in washington, d.c. or california because of politics. weiss refuted that today he said, quote: it's not what i said nor is it what i believed. he also said in his opening statement today, quote: at no time was i blocked or otherwise prevented from pursuing charges or taking steps necessary in the investigation by other united states' attorneys, the tax division or anyone else at the department of justice. republicans insist he was denied special counsel status in 2022. >> he requested it, was not given that request. never had that authority throughout the time and, yet, he pretends that somehow he did have that. >> resources tell fox news house republicans chose to interview weiss behind closed doors. though doj officials and some democrats wanted this to be a public hearing today. >> reason the department of justice would agree and want this to be public is because they are well aware that there was no interference. >> in addition to the federal gun charges against hunter biden, special counsel weiss indicated in a summer filing he plans to charge the first son with tax crimes in either california or washington, d.c. bret? >> bret: david, thank you. stocks climbed on optimism over interest rates. the dow gained 57. the s&p 500 finished ahead 12. the nasdaq rose 121 today. up next, as we said at the beginning of the show, it is election day in 31 states today, a handful of them will be closely watched. tonight as the polls close. about 45 minutes in a couple states. we will look at some of them. first, here is a look at what some of the fox affiliates are covering tonight. fox 11 in los angeles as a fire rips through a hanger at the former marine corps air station tuesday gone. the hanger once housed blimps in world war ii and featured in shows jag, x files and pearl harbor. fox 5 largest culinary. three major resort companies and the union representing 35,000 hospitality workers on the strip. this is a live look at miami, one of the big stories there tonight from wsvn, our affiliate down there. online sports betting has returned to florida. the seminole tribe is offering limited access to existing florida customers to test its hard rock bet platform. that system relaunched today after two years. that's tonight's live look outside the beltway from "special report." we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ uh, this lets me adjust the base, add more guitar, maybe some drums. -wow. so many choices. -yeah. like schwab. i can get full service wealth management, advice, invest on my own, and trade on thinkorswim. you know carl is the only front man you need. 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>> good evening, bret. governor glenn youngkin is campaigning right up until when polls close about 40 minutes from now. the governor told us at a nearby polling location that he feels pretty good about a republican sweep of the legislature, those he acknowledges that these races are tight. that turnout is large and that it's going to probably come down to just a few hundred votes. >> have you voted yet? >> yeah. >> it's just about a year until the presidential election and voters across the country are heading to the polls to decide legislative elections and ballot initiatives. in virginia a test for governor glenn youngkin and whether he can deliver his party full control of the state legislature. is he highlighting inflation, and public safety. >> do you see this and these issues setting up a national conversation ahead of the presidential election next year? >> well, i expect it does. going into next year i expect the exact same issues will, of course, be so important to virginians and americans because this is what impacts everybody's daily life. >> also part of this campaign, abortion and whether voters here will support republican plans to pass limits after 15 weeks. >> we will make sure that people understand that's when a baby feels pain. >> yes. >> and that's where we can come together as virginians. >> democrats have made gun control, education, and also abortion a centerpiece of this campaign. >> at stake is whether or not virginians on wednesday expect an abortion ban in the state to have their vote counted to make sure they are safe in schools and don't have to fear being shot while they are there. >> abortion is on the ballot directly in ohio. and in a referendum to add a constitutional amendment guaranteeing a right to abortion. >> it just goes much, much too far. it would enshrine in our constitution the right to have an abortion up until birth. >> proponents point out the amendment allows lawmakers to restrict abortion until the fetus can survive out outside the wound. a decision a treating physician would make. >> that issue this summer ohio voters rejected a measure that would have raised the threshold to raise from 50% to 60. >> bret: rich, thank you. ron desantis is in iowa today, trying to capitalize on that endorsement from the state's popular governor, a move that has been criticized by former president donald trump, one of the other candidates, vivek ramaswamy, is in south florida hosting a rally that he says is aimed at preventing world war iii. correspond bryan llenas is in miami the site of the debate. good evening, bryan. brinebryan bryan bret, good eve. so too is the biden harris campaign, tonight they are using a familiar playbook, the abortion issue to attack republicans after new polls show former president trump hand diddly defeating biden in a rematch. >> every republican running wants it ban abortion and force victims of rape or incest to show proof to be able to get access to healthcare. druren remains the frontrunner, according to the latest poll. florida governor ron desantis is stagnant at second place. desantis campaign says iowa governor kim reynolds' endorsement last night is a game changer. today they campaigned together in davenport, iowa. desantis is betting her popularity and vast statewide political operation will lead to a big win. >> do everything we can to get him elected the next president of the united states. >> clearly have the governor help us out is a big boost. we will continue to ride that all the way to the january caucuses. >> in a new memo the desantis campaign argues he is the only viable threat to trump urging all the candidates, specifically former ambassador nikki haley to drop out of the race. haley's campaign responded with a new ad attacking desantis' energy policy. >> ron desantis is against fracking. >> that's not true. >> ban fracking? >> yeah, yeah. >> desantis says he supports fracking outside of florida. vivek ramaswamy is holding a rally here in miami tonight to stop world war iii. rams and desantis have been going after will haley, expect that same kind of attack here at tomorrow night's debate in miami. it's the third debate in which trump will not be featured. he will, instead, be hosting a rally across town. bret? >> bret: all right, bryan llenas in miami, thanks. up next, a look at the ground war between israel and hamas. and the latest on the ground. plus the effect of social media on our perce