MARIA-00
Hurricane Sandy; A Suicide Bomber Hits a Wedding Party in Turkey; Things
Heating Up in the Race for the White House; CDC Expands Travel Warning in
Florida; 2016 Olympics Come to a Close; Trump Changing Stance on
Immigration - Part 1>
Flock >
Nesheiwat, Randal Kirk>
Louisiana; California; Turkey >
SANDRA SMITH, FBN ANCHOR: Good morning, I'm Sandra Smith, in for Maria Bartiromo, it is Monday, August 22nd, and here are your top stories at 8:00 a.m. Eastern.
It's a new week for the Trump campaign following last week's leadership shake-up. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaking on "FOX NEWS SUNDAY" talked about the candidate's recent change in tone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Donald Trump is extremely focused now. If you look at this entire week, you can see it was focused on issues, hard issues, tough issues. Issues on which the American people agree with him and with us, maybe 60 percent to 65 percent.
Sixty five to 70 percent of the American people believe the country is going in the wrong direction, and if he can convince them that he is the person who will lead us, then certainly he's the only one who can give us change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: All right, we'll break down what's next for the GOP nominee. Tragedy in Louisiana. More than 100,000 residents there have now requested federal aid following the deadly floods. The latest from the ground ahead of President Obama's planned visit tomorrow.
Evacuation orders lifted in southern California. The latest as people are finally allowed to return to their homes following a massive wildfire. Devastation in Turkey, at least 51 killed by a teenage suicide bomber at a wedding.
Why the country believes ISIS is behind the attack. Pfizer spends big. We'll break down the company's just announced $14 billion deal with Medivation.
The stock is currently up $13 in the pre-market, Medivation, that is. All right, with the growing Zika threat, the company that is actually using mosquitoes to fight the spread of the disease here in the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the arena, there is no law. Racing is a blood sport. You lose, you die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: All right, "Ben-Hur" certainly losing in the Box Office arena this weekend, the details behind the latest Summer movie slot.
And turning to the markets, Futures are slightly in the red, investors are eyeing the Fed's annual meeting in Jackson Hole set for later this week.
So, some uncertainty weighing on sentiment as we kick off the week. Dow Futures down 49, over in Europe stocks there are also lower across the board, a leadership from the Dax in Germany. Currently the Dax is off six- tenths of 1 percent.
In Asia overnight, stocks saw some mixed trading action, the Shanghai Composite was the biggest loser, down nearly three-quarters of a percent.
And here with me to break it all down this morning, Fox Business Network's Dagen McDowell, Recon Capital's CIO Kevin Kelly and Maverick PAC National Co-Chair Morgan Ortagus. After my either shocking interview, I realized I had on my Hunter pink shoes.
KEVIN KELLY, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, RECON CAPITAL: Yes --
SMITH: Did you notice that?
KELLY: Yes, I did notice that --
SMITH: OK, good --
KELLY: They popped really well --
SMITH: Very important point to be made -- Dagen --
DAGEN MCDOWELL, FOX BUSINESS: I did very much --
(LAUGHTER)
SMITH: OK, good to have all of you this morning. A lot to get to, coming up. A little bit later this hour, former Hillary Clinton campaign senior adviser Mark Penn, Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway and the host of "VARNEY & COMPANY" Mr. Stuart Varney himself will be here.
Our top stories, the race for the White House, Donald Trump heads to the battleground state of Ohio as the Republican nominee looks to pivot. And Hillary Clinton faces new questions over her private e-mail server.
Blake Burman has the very latest from Washington for us, good morning, Blake.
BLAKE BURMAN, FOX BUSINESS: Hi there, Sandra, good morning to you as well -- to be determined.
That was the answer from Donald Trump's new campaign manager yesterday when asked if Trump would continue to call for the mass deportations of millions of undocumented immigrants.
Trump has called, as you probably remember for a "deportation force as a cornerstone to his immigration policy."
But that is now under question after "BuzzFeed" first reported over the weekend that Trump had appeared to soften his stance in a weekend meeting with his newly formed Hispanic advisory council.
Meantime, Hillary Clinton's campaign dug in over the weekend in its continued defense of the Clinton Foundation.
When asked why the foundation would wait until the election results before potentially ending accepting corporate and foreign donations, campaign manager Robby Mook tried to turn the tables on not just Trump, but also the Bush family. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBBY MOOK, CAMPAIGN MANAGER FOR HILLARY CLINTON 2016 CAMPAIGN: I don't think you heard these questions when members of the Bush family continued to serve on boards for the first President Bush's Foundation.
So, as I said, the foundation is taking unprecedented steps here, we're very proud that they're doing that. But right now we're focused on making sure Hillary Clinton becomes president and letting the foundation do the retooling that they need to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURMAN: Also from over the weekend, Sandra, Colin Powell pushing back against claims that he guided Clinton towards using a personal e-mail system as head of the Department of State. Powell telling "People Magazine", "her people have been trying to pin it on me." Sandra.
SMITH: Unbelievable words there, all right, we're going to keep talking --
BURMAN: Yes --
SMITH: About it, thank you to Blake for that --
BURMAN: Yes --
SMITH: Joining me now is the chief campaign strategist to Hillary Clinton during her 2008 presidential campaign, Mark Penn. Mark, where are we at with this? I mean, Colin Powell saying they're trying to pin it on me. Is she?
MARK PENN, POLLSTER & CAMPAIGN STRATEGIST: Well, look I think the issue is largely past here. I think what you're really seeing is a league of a league of some FBI documents. We don't know exactly what they say.
We know that Powell did send an e-mail saying that he did use at least some of the time as personal e-mail.
SMITH: So, just be clear --
PENN: I don't think this is --
SMITH: Why he is --
(CROSSTALK)
Mark, and I'm sorry, because I know that you and some others on your side, they say, people are making too big of a deal out of this.
But there are some lingering questions because Colin Powell saying she had already been using that private e-mail for a year before he ever penned a note to her about it.
PENN: Well, there is a question of whether there was a conversation at the dinner and when that was. But I don't really think that's going to become big issue.
The e-mail is a serious issue. It didn't play out of Hillary's favor, that's for sure, but it's really not going anywhere or any further than it have --
SMITH: Or Mark, the American people actually consider that posed, you know, a potential risk, a security threat to our country and to those that are fighting for us overseas.
But moving on, Mark, what do you -- how would you describe the state of Hillary Clinton's campaign right now?
PENN: Look, I think you have to see that she's got five and a half-point lead in the "RealClearPolitics" average, she's got superior money, she's got superior organization, she's pretty well-poised now to hold or even expand her lead.
I think you look at this campaign as in the last couple of weeks, people really rejected Trump, found him to be unacceptable, Trump is trying to make a comeback.
But Hillary is very close to sealing the deal now. A good debate for her, and I think she's going to turn things really even more decisively in her favor.
MORGAN ORTAGUS, NATIONAL CO-CHAIR, MAVERICK PAC: Good morning, Mark, this is Morgan. You know, I'm sorry to go back to the e-mail scandal, but what drives me crazy about this is that it's the Clinton campaign that's keeping this story alive.
It was her campaign manager that was accusing Colin Powell this weekend of the story. It's Hillary Clinton herself who comes out and keeps defending herself on what the FBI investigators said about her.
So, you know, we -- you often hear from campaign, Sarah gets it, the media is keeping the story alive, but every time I turn around it's Clinton and her campaign manager and her surrogate that keep it alive.
And we know that the single issue was what drives down her trustworthy numbers. So, when is the campaign and her surrogates going to let this die?
PENN: Look, I think this really came up for the "New York Times" story about leaks that really put this front and center. Look, I think the story is largely done.
I think you're right, there isn't really much upside in saying anything other than I said it was a mistake and moving right on, because I think that's what the end of the investigation really was.
MCDOWELL: Why are the markets -- Dagen McDowell, with all the money that she's spent on advertising compared to Donald Trump who just finally started running ads in five swing states on Friday.
Why isn't she further ahead? Given his foibles, his troubles and the amount of money that she's been throwing at this. Doesn't that speak to potential weakness in her campaign?
PENN: Well, look, I do think as I said, it's a process. I think you really saw rejection of Donald Trump as a potential president, following the two conventions. I think that she's going to get more and more clarity about people being really comfortable.
Remember, I've always said the deciding voters here right now don't like either candidate. I think Hillary's got to change that.
I think she's on the verge of changing that because Trump really has set the wrong tone, following the conventions, even though he's trying to make a comeback now.
SMITH: All right, so, and I want to get to this, first, today, Mark, 262 days since Hillary Clinton held a news conference. I know, Kevin, you've been talking --
KELLY: Yes --
SMITH: About this, this morning. Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook defending this criticism by noting Clinton has done over 300 interviews with reporters this year.
So, Mark, should Hillary Clinton take the time and the effort to hold a scheduled news conference to speak with reporters?
PENN: Well, I think what she's been doing is holding one-on-one interviews which frankly should be a more intensive process than holding some press gaggle.
I think she, you know, she had a big interview with Fox pretty recently, which I think was, you know, a path-breaking in the sense of her going one- on-one with Fox.
Look, I think the candidates can really -- can often hold more of these press gaggles, but I think that what she's really done here is say, look, one-on-one interview --
SMITH: So, do you not think that they served --
PENN: Give her time --
SMITH: An important purpose for the voter when you referred to them as just some press gaggle. Do you not think that news conferences with a presidential candidate serving important purpose. So close to the --
PENN: Look --
SMITH: Election.
PENN: Of course, press conferences can be important, but a one-on-one sit- down for half an hour which is regularly doing, really give us a reporter the ability to follow up questions, try to pin her down. I think these in many ways are more open than what these press gaggles would reveal.
KELLY: I think it's a little bit disingenuous seeing it as a press gaggle just due to the fact that it shows how she can be relatable. And that's how you want to see presidents act on their feet and also get some different questions.
I mean, when she has this one-on-one interviews, they're pre-canned, I mean, she knows what's going in, she's got her script, she's practiced it, she's done it.
And it doesn't have anything to do with a gaggle situation where she could be caught off guard by a hard-hitting question that actually voters want to hear about.
So, do you think she's going to continue to stay in a bunker and let Trump be Trump, still be unrelatable, but let Trump take himself down as opposed to her, trying to lead the foray, trying to let the people elect her.
PENN: Well, I think Trump has taken himself down. I think she has set the tone throughout this as being available for debates, is doing a lot of one- on-one interviews, you know, probably doing fewer press gaggles than she did in the past.
Simply because they seem to be somewhat disorganized and quickly get off track as opposed to these one-on-one interviews where she can really answer in-depth. And I think they've decided that's a better format --
MCDOWELL: Mark --
PENN: And it's really more open for the public.
MCDOWELL: Mark, I want you to be frank though, are they worried though about Trump? They're not writing him off and just missing him. They are worried about him potentially making a comeback, aren't they?
PENN: Well, look, miracles happen in politics, as I always say it's predictably unpredictable. But you look at the situation here, she's ahead on virtually every metric right now. Donald Trump needs a game-changer. He needs to do something to get out of the situation he's in.
And if he doesn't, it's going to --
SMITH: All right, Mark, so --
PENN: It's going to end up with a Hillary landslide --
SMITH: Just to sum this up, so, you decided that "RealClearPolitics" average of five and a half-points lead that Hillary Clinton has over Donald Trump, how closer that margin have to get before you would tell me that your -- you and the campaign are worried?
PENN: I don't think it's just that margin, I think it's organization, the funding, the message, look, they're going to Ohio today, I think, and does Donald Trump have the support of the governor of Ohio? No.
Does he have the infrastructure? Does he have a united party? I mean, really, when you're projecting forward, you look at today's poll averages, but you look at the capabilities of the campaign.
SMITH: All right, Mark Penn, good of you to be here this morning, thank you.
PENN: Thank you.
SMITH: All right, well, coming up, just as firefighters get one California wildfire under control, another threatens a historic landmark. More on the efforts to keep the Hearst Castle safe, next.
And Merger Monday is in full swing, Pfizer buying biotech firm Medivation. The details on how this $14 billion deal that was just announced during this show expands Pfizer's cancer treatment straight ahead.
(MUSIC)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SMITH: A suicide bomber targets a wedding party in Turkey. Dagen McDowell has that story and other headlines this morning, hey, Dagen.
MCDOWELL: Hey there, Sandra, Turkey's president blaming ISIS, the Islamic State for the deadly bombing at a wedding party that killed dozens of people. The Turkish president also saying the bomber was between the age of 12 and 14.
The blast killed at least 51 people and wounded nearly 70 others. Seventeen of them are in critical condition. To California.
More than 10,000 firefighters trying to contain six large wildfires. One of them in central California has destroyed nearly 50 structures, and it's threatening more homes as well. As Hearst Castle, that national historic landmark, a hugely popular tourist attraction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We now have the Hearst contingency group. So, we have resources here, firefighters and firefighting equipment doing some pre-planning here in the Hearst area.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCDOWELL: Fire officials say that the wildfire near Hearst Castle is about 35 percent contained. The big merger to tell you about in the pharmaceutical business. Pfizer saying that it is buying a U.S. biotech company Medivation.
Makes a critical prostate cancer drug. The price tag on this deal about $14 billion, Medivation is a significant addition to Pfizer's portfolio, particularly on cancer drugs.
Its cancer drug Xtandi. It's said to -- it generates about $2 billion a year in sales. Analysts say that amount could double.
The deal was a 21 percent premium to Medivation's closing price on Friday. It makes you wonder, Kevin Kelly might want to jump in here. Medivation shares are up 20 percent in the pre-market, on track to open at a record high.
And again, will another suitor step in, it's the company worth even more than what Pfizer is paying?
KELLY: Yes, you know -- yes, that's a good point. It's been -- this deal has been going on for a long time, I would say no.
Because if this deal has been out there since March, you've had a bunch of companies come in and do their due diligence.
This is probably going to be it, $81.50 a share is a cash offer. And look, you can see it's trading, and it is slightly underneath that. If another - -
MCDOWELL: OK --
KELLY: Deal would happen, it'd be trading above it.
BARTIROMO: Thank you for saying that, and then finally this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the arena, there's no law, racing is a blood sport. You lose, you die, you (INAUDIBLE), defeat him and you will defeat an empire, then you would have your vengeance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCDOWELL: Well, that trailer right there for "Ben-Hur" didn't work, because "Ben-Hur" opened at fifth place at the Box Office this weekend, making it one of the biggest budget bust of the entire Summer. The film costs about $100 million to make.
Starring Jack Houston, it brought in $11 -- less than $11.5 million in its opening weekend. Coming in first for the third week in a row, "Suicide Squad" brought in a little over $20 million. This made just in North America about $262 million ranking in fifth among all D.C. comic adaptations.
"Sausage Party" was second in its second week, 15.3 million, and "War Dogs" took third with 14.3, "Kubo and the Two Strings", and "Ben-Hur" rounding out the top five.
Nobody is better than Chalton Heston, I guess, this is what people are saying. Sandra.
SMITH: Wow, all right, anybody seen anything this weekend?
MCDOWELL: No -- oh, you know -- you know what I did? I started watching "Mad Men", I've never watched --
(LAUGHTER)
And I watched $14 hours of television --
SMITH: Wow --
KELLY: Just you did on "Netflix"? --
SMITH: Wow --
MCDOWELL: Yes --
KELLY: All right --
ORTAGUS: All right --
MCDOWELL: Because it's free --
ORTAGUS: I was doing "Netflix's" "Orange is the New Black", the new season, all right --
KELLY: Sure, I like that --
SMITH: All right, very good, thank you. Coming up, Louisiana beginning the long rebuilding process there in Baton Rouge, more than 100,000 residents asking for federal help after devastating floods that put thousands of their homes under water.
All the details on this, and the very latest from there, just ahead. And Barron's predicting a bright future for Facebook. Why the bullish report could win the social network more Wall Street friends next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SMITH: Well, Louisiana is starting to clean up after the worst natural disaster since Hurricane Sandy. More than 60,000 homes damaged, and one hundred thousand people asking for federal aid.
Jeff Flock is on the ground in Denham Springs, Louisiana, with the very latest. What have you seen since arriving, Jeff?
JEFF FLOCK, FOX BUSINESS: I'll tell you, you know, this just goes on and on and on, Sandra. I know you know this area well -- take a look. This is one street in Denham Springs, Walnut Street.
Sun just beginning to come up here by the way, as perhaps you can see. And I'll tell you, if we take a look -- Mark(ph), go ahead and take a look down the street, too. This just goes block after block after block.
It's almost unbelievable how widespread this is, just a very difficult situation and I don't know maybe we get even farther.
Hey, Mark(ph), go ahead and give them a scene even farther down this way, maybe you see, if you can, this just continues on.
You know, we had Donald Trump here on, well, last week, today, we've actually got Jill Stein, the green party candidate who is coming in and then of course President Obama tomorrow.
I don't know if we need presidential candidates or people, they need help here, they need money, they need donations, they need hands.
This is just a widespread disaster. But the only good thing about it is General Andre(ph) told you last hour, Sandra, is that unlike Katrina, where we had water in the streets for weeks, here it's already gone, people have already gotten their stuff out, so the clean up can begin.
SMITH: Wow --
FLOCK: A little more rapidly --
SMITH: That's an unbelievable situation, and it's just -- it's unfathomable to think about that cleanup and the efforts that are going to have to take place there.
FLOCK: Certainly --
SMITH: Denham, Springs though, you're due east of Baton Rouge, that's --
FLOCK: Exactly --
SMITH: Livingston Parish. And it just gives you an idea of how widespread and how many people, how many homes and just areas have been affected by this, Jeff?
FLOCK: Absolutely. It is just -- such a wide area. I mean, Baton Rouge is just a center point, but then all around it, and it just goes on and on and on.
It's like Katrina again in slow motion.
SMITH: Well, thank you for bringing those images to us, it's really important that this message and how bad it is down there gets out there because there was --
FLOCK: Agree --
SMITH: Arguably a lack of media coverage early on -- Jeff Flock, thank you. Morgan, Trump visited Louisiana while the President was on the golf course in Martha's Vineyard, and quite frankly, somebody who I do -- I left my heart in Louisiana, I love that place, I love that area.
I don't like that whole -- the President's golfing and he should be down there, because it kind of distracts from -- these people need help.
I mean, they need a lot of help. They need money -- I mean, some of them just the sheer rescue efforts that have to take place. Think about babies who need bottles and milk and clothing. I mean, it's a horrible situation --
ORTAGUS: Well, I disagree with you a little bit, Sandra. Because I remember vividly whenever -- I was young and there was a hurricane -- the hurricane in Florida -- I grew up in Florida. And I remember that Bill Clinton came down as president and gave a young girl a hug and she just held on to him.
And that picture -- if you remember this, it was in the '90s of course, was all over the television and I was probably in middle school at that point.
And I just remember feeling a sense of confidence in my president that OK, he has it under control, even though Bill Clinton wasn't my favorite president.
I think that it's important for the American people to see their leader emotionally out there responding to people, hugging people.
You know, and he doesn't have to spend that long there. If the President spends an hour there, he can reassure people, give people confidence in his leadership and it's not going to ruin the effort to help Louisiana if the President spends one freaking hour there.
MCDOWELL: And that's what Mike Huckabee, Governor Huckabee said on Friday, that very thing. He -- and he praised Bill Clinton, President Clinton --
SMITH: Right --
MCDOWELL: He said Bill Clinton showed up when there was a disaster, he was there.
And what it does when the President pays a visit to a disaster-torn part of the country, it draws resources. It keeps -- it keeps the -- what it does is, it keeps the cameras on the event and people's minds on the people and it helps bring in donations.
It helps bring in contributions, it helps draw the attention of private businesses --
KELLY: You're right --
MCDOWELL: To what's happening in these areas.
KELLY: The rank-and-file fall in line and he is the commander-in-chief. So, when the commander-in-chief sets the tone and lets everyone know this is important. People, not only in the government, but throughout the country follow his lead.
So, I think that's important to know. But he's been a president where terrorist attacks, he hasn't gone over them, walked in solidarity in Europe. So, he -- this is not his style, he just doesn't do this.
MCDOWELL: When -- remember Foley was beheaded, he made a statement about it, it was two --
SMITH: When golfing --
MCDOWELL: Years ago, and then went on the golf course and then later talked about the optics of the job.
SMITH: I understand.
MCDOWELL: And I think that was just -- he's shown some insensitivity in the past, so, if people feel that way about this, I personally understand that.
SMITH: You guys -- you guys are all riled up. No, it is very important and perhaps that was one of the presidential moments that a lot of Trump supporters were urging, that looks very presidential for him. There he was -- the first one on the ground.
MCDOWELL: Right --
SMITH: Ahead of Hillary Clinton, ahead of the President of the United States, he got on the ground there.
All right, coming up, mosquitoes to fight Zika, that's the newest approach to containing the spread of this virus here in the U.S.
The CEO of the parent company responsible for the Zika-killing mosquitoes joins us next. And changes in Trump's campaign staff could be leading to changes in the Republican nominee's policies.
More from the campaign trail straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SMITH: Good morning. I'm Sandra Smith. It's Monday, August 22nd, and here are your top stories at 8:30 AM Eastern. Things are heating up in the race for the White House, the Clinton campaign on the attack, campaign manager, Robby Mook, slamming the GOP's continued investigation into the e- mail scandal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBBY MOOK, HILLARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN MANAGER: The right wing and Republicans in congress are not satisfied with the answer that the career professionals at the FBI and the justice department gave. They said there was no case here. This is just another example of a right wing group just trying to keep this -- the questions coming and keep this issue alive. The American people have all the information. The e-mails have been released. They have enough to make a judgment at this point. We at the campaign just couldn't move on to talk about the issues that people actually care about in this election like jobs, college affordability and health care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: OK. We will be talking to Kellyanne Conway about that in just a moment. But first, more on the CDC expanding its travel warning in Florida, warning the company is that it's actually using mosquitoes to fight the spread of the disease that spreads by mosquitoes in the U.S. Is it time to buy Facebook, the new report that those shares could jump 20 percent in the next year. L Brand standing tall on the runway, once again, the key upgrade for Victoria's Secret parent company. Plus, the flame goes out in Rio, what's next for Brazil now that games have ended.
