is the one thing that they don't have. unfortunately we see why here. >> trace: we see it all the time. the first 72 hours are the most important in cases like this. nate foy. back to you as the news breaks. thank you that is "the story" of thursday, october 20th. as always, "the story" goes on. be sure to join me for fox news at night, 12:00 eastern, 9:00 pacific. "your world" right now. >> neil: well, that was quick. and liz we do not truss. two months in, the u.k. prime minister liz truss is out. from the country that brought up the beatles and monty python, not some not so good things that come be coming our way after britts revolted after planning to cut taxes for the rich over there. now protests that are cropping up everywhere. in france, folks are taking to the streets after soaring prices and demanding higher pay. in italy, families with shopping

carts are demanding action over the same rocketing prices. so could all of that, any of that, happen here? we're all over it with alex hogan in london on truss moving out. peter doocy on the white house still digging in. shannon bream on if any party in power needs to listen up. and why jeb bush says he's fed up, not with just soaring prices, but right now falling school grades for our kids. attention, class. it's not dismissed. welcome, everybody. i'm neil cavuto. happy to have you on a busy news day. let's first get the latest out of london where the shortest serving prime minister has just announced she's out of there. alex? >> hi, neil. a dramatic shakeup of u.k. government today. after just six weeks the prime minister announcing that she is resigning. liz truss walking out of downing street earlier today, announcing that she will resign. citing the war in ukraine and

the unstable economy as major problems coming in to this role. she had hoped to grow the economy with drastic tax cuts, which really only did the opposite. dropping her approval ratings to record lows. still, she says her time in office yielded some results. >> we delivered on energy bills, on cutting national insurance. we set out a vision for a low tax, high grade economy. >> regardless, it's a tremendous amount of political turmoil. londoners say they're happy to see her go, but the political climate is like whiplash. >> we've got to get rid of her. she's got to go. it's such a nightmare. >> can't keep up with up for one minute. >> it's just changing every day. >> more change to come. nominations for a new conservative party leader are open until monday at 2:00 p.m. if conservatives cannot agree on one candidate, they will have to

vote by next friday. candidates include rishi sunac who last the last raise against truss, former pm benny johnson. liz truss will remain the prime minister. that election will take place next friday. joe biden did comment on all of this news today saying that he thanked truss for her partnership and the u.s.' relationship with the u.k. will continue regard liz of what candidate takes over next week. neil? >> neil: thanks, alex. let's go to peter doocy at the white house on how they're digesting this news out after a leader out after 44 days in office. peter? >> president biden was speaking critically of prime minister truss' economic plans saturday. a few days ago. but today given this news, on his way out of the white house for a trip to pennsylvania, he

was speaking more fondly of her. >> look, she was a good partner on russia and ukraine. the british are going to solve their problems. she was a good partner. >> the president is elaborating on paper the united states and the united kingdom are strong allies and enduring friends that fact won't change. i thank prime minister liz truss on a range of partnerships enincluding holding russia accountable in the war against ukraine. we'll continue our cooperation with the u.k. government as we worked together to meet the global challenges our nation's face. the chief of staff here at the white house is outlining next steps. >> our countries always has had a special relationship with the united kingdom without regard to the partisan affiliation of our president or the politics of their prime minister.

that is going to continue no matter who the u.k. picks as their next prime minister. we're going to maintain that special relationship. >> truss and president biden never even met as heads of state. they had a few phone calls and some virtual meetings about ukraine but no face-to-face meeting. we do expect, however, that the next british prime minister will be in place to represent the u.k. at the upcoming g-20 for a meeting with president biden. that will happen in a few days after the november mid-terms. neil? >> neil: thanks, peter doocy at the white house. the fallout from this, if it could happen over there, could the same thing happen over here. in other words a revolted against parties in power regardless of which party is in power. shannon bream, a fox news anchor along with ashley webster, following the business side of this on fox business net wore, which if you don't get, you should demand and you'd be smart and ahead of the curve on this.

welcome to both of you. shannon, this didn't take long to happen. the irony was the markets and her own party turned on her, which you normally don't see in a conservative government at least this quickly. any messages you think there beyond just britain? >> i think you have to think that lawmakers are happy here. it doesn't work this way in the united states. when they campaign, they get into office and they don't deliver as what has happened to liz truss, they don't have the option of walking away. they could. but it's not as easy to get them out of power. i today was still getting an earful saying the last time i gave the republicans my vote and they told me they were going to repeal obamacare and they never did it. that's the kind of example that people here have to watch. people have long memories. we don't have the same system as the u.k. does. getting somebody out the door if they don't deliver. voters have long memories and they're skeptical about what republicans are promising to do if they take the house this time

around. >> neil: it's an interesting concept. think about it. the real problem of -- with liz truss' original tax cut plan is the markets rebelled because they said it wasn't paid for. normally markets love tax cuts. so they would not have responded that way. we live in an environment where tax cuts are deemed be stimulus and inflationary. the world hates that. so i'm just wondering for republicans if they were to take the house, some seem to think they have a good shot at the senate as well, could they be dealing with the same buzz saw reaction? >> they could. listen, it's all about timing. liz truss came up with a plan that won her the leadership in the first place. tax cuts. caps on energy prices. unfortunately, the markets, to your point, neil, said wait a minute. you don't have a way to pay for this. in a high inflationary environment, we're very concerned about this financial

stability. the bank of england ended up having to come in and save the pension funds. that was the beginning of the end for liz truss. could that happen here? the biden administration has been spending, spending, spending again in a very inflationary environment. that does nothing to help. so there's lessons to be learned here. to shannon's point, this is different. liz truss was never voted in by the voters in the country. she was voted in by her own party. that's why they were so quickly able to replace her until the next one is lined up probably next week. >> neil: i think in britain, everybody will get a turn at being prime minister if they're patient enough. shannon, curious enough. in france, it's a more liberal government. there's more protests, day after day on inflation that is running out of control. they want some help. there is sort of a bipartisan bashing feel to this. what do you think?

>> yeah, when people feel like their leaders are living a different life, not feeling the same pain, you see this push back. france has one of the lower inflation rates in all of europe and globally they're doing less bad, if that's a good way to put it, than other countries that have soared past them. there's a lot of unrest in france over a lot of things the last couple years. don't forget people are still ginned up about lockdowns and what they went through during covid. so a lot of people say it's been a painful couple years and now with the economy adding to what they suffered, they're not in the mood to stay home and sit down and shut up. you'll see more and more people in the streets in france and beyond. >> i'm wondering, too, and we've been looking into this, this feeling here that maybe the markets are doing a bipartisan turn on leaders. that if whatever they come up with, whether they're spending or cutting taxes, better be paid for because in this environment, where prices are running amuck all over the world, the last

thing they want to see, even though a good many want to see their taxes cut, is something that adds to the inflation and wipes out the gains that they get from the cuts. >> yeah, it's ironic, isn't it? fiscal responsibility is being shown by the markets. the politicians say spend, spend, spend, which the markets know is not the right idea. to your point, liz truss' political or economic plan, i should say, is very market friendly, this is not a market friendly environment, this is an inflationary environment. people are fed up. how inflation came around, we have the pandemic, the shut down, bounced back. the supply chain was broken. prices went up. all of those things. it's how the government handles it. unfortunately central banks, here and around the world, are having to raise rates that is maybeful. in europe, they're facing a massive energy crisis this winter which adds to the

discontent. >> neil: you know, shannon, we talk about the divisions within the torre party, the conservative party. plenty of divisions in the republican party here. i know you'll have a chance mike lee, utah senator, who has had his own battles trying to get mitt romney on board or support him or at least his forces to provide financing there. i know this weekend that issue of the schism in the party will come up. how bad is that? >> both the parties have been dealing with, this you think about speaker pelosi trying to wrangle the progressives, the squad, to get them to vote together on the democrat side. the gop house is already looking at a couple of schisms that they have to worry about. you're so right. the senate race with mike lee. his own co-colleague in utah also a sitting republican senator, will not endorse in this race. that's been very tricky. evan mcmullen is the independent

running against mike lee. senator lee will be with us. the invitation to evan mcmullen remains open as well. it's an unusual race that republicans shouldn't have to be worrying about defending but it does show there's some tension within the party on the senate side, too. >> neil: to put it mildly. look forward to that, shannon. ashley, looking forward to working with you every day. meantime here, a lot of big events monday. the first tryouts for those that want to be prime minister in britain. on this side of the pond, the first report card for our kids and how their great are looking. they're expected to be bad. in fact, expected to be awful. that's got former florida governor jeb bush worried. he devoted his life to education and he doesn't like what we're seeing right now. he's next. but my body was telling a different story. i felt all people saw were my uncontrolled movements.

some mental health meds can cause tardive dyskinesia, or td, and it's unlikely to improve without treatment. ingrezza is a prescription medicine to treat adults with td movements in the face and body. it's the only treatment for td that's one pill, once-daily, with or without food. ingrezza 80 mg is proven to reduce td movements in 7 out of 10 people. people taking ingrezza can stay on their current dose of most mental health meds. don't take ingrezza if you're allergic to any of its ingredients. ingrezza may cause serious side effects including sleepiness. don't drive, operate heavy machinery, or do other dangerous activities until you know how ingrezza affects you. other serious side effects include potential heart rhythm problems and abnormal movements. it's nice people focus more on me. ask your doctor about ingrezza, #1 prescribed for td. learn how you could pay as little as zero dollars at ingrezza.com. ♪ ♪ mercedes-benz is turning electric... completely on its head.

bringing legendary design... and state-of-the-art technology... to a fully-electric suv. the all-new, all-electric eqb from mercedes-benz. where there's a pet there's always...this. that's why we have innovations like the maytag pet pro laundry pair. so you and your favorite sweater can forget about all about those hairy situations. shop maytag and more exclusive out of the blue innovations at lowe's.com. it seems like things are falling apart lately. the economy. the market... everything. but upwork lets you strategically hire talent to weather all ups and downs your business might go through. look at all that talent. ♪

>> neil: all right. i don't know if this has ever happened to you when you were in school. you might have dreaded the release of your report card if you hadn't prepared your parents for the worst. we'll get a national record card monday when the latest is released on student math and english scores. that's why they call it the

national record card. a fellow watching it closely, jeb bush, the former florida governor. he oversees excellence in education and has made a life effort now to help states go ahead and put the focus and the attention on education, quality education at that. he's kind enough to join us now. governor, good to have you. >> thank you, neil. thanks for spotlighting a really important sub that doesn't get much attention with a month left in the election. education is not a top national policy issues, but it's hugely important for our long-term success as a country. it's likely that the nation's record card will show horrible, horrible situation of decreases in learning, particularly with low income students. years of efforts to try to improve rising students achievement, actually could be blown up.

we'll find that out monday morning. i think rather than do the typical thing in politics where people will blame the pandemic or say the dog ate my homework or all the things that go on in politics today, we need to focus, refocus on serious policy making and engagement with parents so that we can deal with these big learning losses. >> it's clear that covid and obviously the people doing classes remotely if they were lucky to do that did have a factor in this. you argue it's bigger than that. explain. >> teachers haven't been tight the science of reading, which is the consensus strategy that applied right will yield rising student achievement. there is an assessment in many states for kindergarten, first and second graders to deal with the deficiency early on. there's not the teaching -- there's not the mentors for

teachers that already exist. our schools of education are not good at teaching. parents are not aware of the deficiencies that exist. in fact, you know, the report card that they get is great. everybody is making as and bs but the nation's report card will show that the proficiency levels are less than half of fourth quarters will be reading at great level. that's a tragedy. developing strategies to make sure that there's a command focus by parents and by policy makers and teachers on reading and math has to happen. i would say parental choice, giving parents more customized solutions including allowing their kids to go to the school of their choice rather than one that the bureaucracy suggests as well. >> neil: when you were governor of florida, you led this opportunity for parents to explore charter schools, catholic schools, other schools.

other choices. you might argue that decades later, governor, governor youngkin in virginia has taken that further to say parents not only have a choice but have to fight back and set standards or woke education. it's a different fear, i grant you i'm but more parental involvement. what do you think of that? >> i totally agree. the first thing is to not say that parents don't have a say in their child's education. that's the reason why glenn youngkin got elected. he forcefully suggested otherwise. and these cultural issues are important. it's also kind of important that students learn how to read. if you don't -- if you're not capable of reading by the end of third grade, it's really hard to imagine how you'll to science and math and social studies starting in fourth. so there's a new approach. believe it or not, mississippi is one of the leaders in the country for a new strategy that

has emerged. taking some success from states like florida and building or it where teachers understand the science of reading. and there's a new effort by governors across the country, really focus on math as well and tools that parents can use like zurn and con academy so that they can play a struck -- constructive role. parents ought to be given the information where the students stand and they should be given the tools to rectify those. these learning losses are real and particularly real with low income families that don't have the resources that affluent families do. so to me, this is a national calling. it's not a national federal program for sure. it is a national calling. we should have mentors and tutors in all of these schools. we should be dealing with this

because these learning losses will create economic hardship and pathologies that will develop for the next generation that will be hard to overcome. >> neil: we might already be seeing in it college enrollments, governor. in the latest period, they're done about 2%. china occupying more of the top 1 100 secondary education models and fewer u.s. schools on the list. what do you think is going on? >> who is marching the streets for the fact that less than half of our kids are ready for college? who is fooling who? we have lowered standards, we've lowered expectations. we blame all sorts of reasons why students aren't learning rather than redoubling our efforts to make sure that they do. it is a danger. it's harming our competitive

posture. >> neil: but we're spending a lot of money. >> oh, my god. more than -- >> neil: so is that the answer or are we just putting it in the wrong areas? >> no. we're putting it in the wrong area. we're not focusing on customizing the learning experience. we spend more important accident than any other country in the world. with covid money still unspent, governors and policy makers, legislatures and school board members have a real chance now to develop meaningful strategies that will rectify this. what shouldn't happen and is likely to happen in some places to point fingers and say this is someone else's fault. it's not my job. that would be a tragedy. >> neil: let me ask you, the rap against republicans is they don't have the concern for teachers that democrats do. that's why teachers generally more identified with the teacher's union very powerful with democrats more than republicans.

now, you countered that a lot when you were governor in florida. you were able to forge partnerships. that is a rap that still exists. does that worry you? >> it is an issue for sure. i think the opposition to teacher unions is very different than holding up high the profession of teaching and doing things to necessarily to increase pay, to give better training. to improve the school's of education. there's a lot that conservatives can do to improve the teaching profession. if the economic interests of teachers is the only thing that matters because unions dictate that and stop the reforms that would make it possible for rising student achievement to take place, it's important to oppose that. hopefully that will happen more where people are not fearful of taking on these entrenched

interests across the country. the states that will do it like arizona just passed the first statewide esa education savings account where the money runs with the student. the parents be customize the learning experience for their kid. that kind of reform will improve all schools. more states are trying to embrace that kind of idea. >> neil: governor, i'd be remiss, there's other news developing right now. just last week donald trump had cited your father, your late father, george h.w. bush, the former president of the united states as someone who had papers he said took millions and millions of documents to a former bowling alley. they were pieced together with what was old and broken chinese restaurant. in order, they were stored in a place like that. i didn't quite understand the attack line, but i did want to give you the opportunity to respond to that.

>> sure. i mean, have you heard the southern express bless his heart? >> i have, indeed. >> it's bless his heart. this is a weird accusation. the national archives, when they're building these presidential libraries have to find a place to store all of the documents that are going to go into the archives at the these -- at the presidential libraries. this was an abandoned bowling alley that they fixed up, that they secured that had all the security necessary to make sure that national security matters were protected. they used that to build out the presidential library. just as every other president has done as well. you know, i think the added feature of the chinese restaurant makes it all easier -- >> neil: the chinese restaurant lost me. i do remember about a temporary storage facility as the library was being built.

i remember that. where did that come from? was he insinuating that your father had a link to china there? what did you think? >> i think that's what he's trying to do. it will a little too subtle for me to completely grab. the fact is that i think what he wants to say is everybody does it basically. everybody takes documents and stores them at their hotel or at a bowling alley and he didn't do anything wrong. whether he did or didn't, i don't know. the simply fact is that equating the national archives employees doing their duty in the proper way is a far cry from keeping national security papers in mar-a-largo. >> neil: is that a serious enough offense to you, governor, that he did have those documents there in mar-a-largo, that i warrants following action? >> it's really impossible to

tell. i have no clue. >> neil: but you do seem to be saying there's a big difference between that and the storage of your fathers ahead of the library? >> exactly. my did didn't go to the bowling alley and didn't go to the chinese restaurant to look at millions of papers and pick which ones he wanted. that is the process that every president once they leave office goes through. it's very different than taking documents that may or may not have been appropriate to take. i don't know. that's the part i don't know and storing them in an insecurity place like mar-a-largo. >> neil: do you have any horse in the race for the next presidential election? >> no. i'm focused on rising student achievement and how we can create a better america by solid policy at the state and local level. >> neil: so with a ron desantis, a popular governor, as were you, he's remored to be in the mix.

>> he will be a formidable candidate if he runs for lots of reasons. the reason why i'm a ron desantis fan, he's governed effectively in the state that i love. he's been a really good governor. >> neil: education should be more of a key issue bottom line, no matter who gets that nomination. >> yeah, it's not a federal government issue. it is a national priority to improve where we stand. >> neil: finally, you're assessment of where things stand. you know, the british prime minister is out after 44 days on the job. we talked about global impatiens with leaders right now. regardless of the power, is there a lesson or reminder here? >> yeah, i think there's a big lesson in that the institutions that we've relied on, the people that preside over those institutions are not working the way we want them to work. so people believe our democracy is imperilled maybe not for the same reasons that the pundits on

some of the television outlets talk about, but because they believe the system is not working for them. they believe the system is broken and there's too much corruption. so fixing that i think will alleviate some of this amazing amount of anxiety that people feel that is eroding the belief that the system is working. >> neil: finally, florida is a beacon important feel that want to escape high taxes. given the higher rates and correction, if you think the beacon has lost its allure? >> absolutely not. i think florida will continue to grow. the state legislature and the governor desantis have focused on the long-term things, protecting the everglades, building more infrastructure and doing the things necessary to keep our state functioning well. when you compare florida's roads, their schools, the systems, the water systems and

the like compared to places where people are migrating out of, it's a pretty easy sell. so i would expect to see -- hopefully we won't go to a recession. for a lot of working families that will be a disaster. but if we do, florida will fare better. >> thanks, governor. i notice a lot of new yorkers and new jerseyians are coming to your state and have done very little to help the driving in your state. does that worry you on that level alone, too many northerners are coming and they don't know how to drive? >> you know what? we have enough native born floridians that don't drive well for me to be too critical. >> neil: all right. slipped that one in there. governor jeb bush, a pleasure. thanks very much. >> thanks, neil. >> neil: more after this. vo: it's a new day. because now updated covid vaccines protect against both the original covid virus and omicron.

just in time to say, “oh, you bet i'll be there!” a whole lot more. and i'm going to tell you about exciting medicare advantage plans that can provide broad coverage and still may save you money on monthly premiums and prescription drugs. with original medicare you are covered for hospital stays and doctor office visits but you have to meet a deductible for each, and then you're still responsible for 20% of the cost. next, let's look at a medicare supplement plan. as you can see, they cover the same things as original medicare, and they also cover your medicare deductibles and coinsurance. but they often have higher monthly premiums and no prescription drug coverage. now, let's take a look at humana's medicare advantage plans. with a humana medicare advantage plan, hospitals stays, doctor office visits and your original

medicare deductibles are covered. and, of course, most humana medicare advantage plans include prescription drug coverage. with no copays or deductibles on tier 1 prescriptions, and zero dollars for routine vaccines, including shingles, at in-network retail pharmacies. in fact, in 2021, humana medicare advantage prescription drug plan members saved an estimated $9,600 on average on their prescription costs. most humana medicare advantage plans have coverage for vision and hearing. and dental coverage that includes two free cleanings a year, plus dentures, crowns, fillings and more! most humana medicare advantage plans include a silver sneakers fitness program at no extra cost. you get all of this for as low as a zero-dollar monthly plan premium in many areas; and your doctor and hospital may already be a part of humana's large network. there is no obligation, so call the number on your screen right now to see if your doctor is in our network; to find out if you could save on your prescriptions, and to get

our free decision guide. humana, a more human way to healthcare. ♪ biofreeze, the number one clinician recommended menthol topical pain relief brand. works fast. lasts long. cool the pain with biofreeze. medium latte, half-caff, no foam. quite the personalized order. i know what i like. i've been meaning to ask you, carl. does your firm offer personalized index investing? hmm? so i can remove a stock that doesn't align with my goals. i'm a broker, not a barista. what about managing gains and losses to be more tax efficient? not a wizard either. looks like schwab personalized indexing can. schwaaab! learn more about personalized indexing at schwab today. >> neil: president biden is in

pennsylvania right now. he's trying to help the democratic candidate become the next senator from that state. it's how he's going about it raising eyebrows not only among republicans, but democrats to. more after this. n't forget the fresh mozzarella. don't you forget who the real boss is around here. it's subway's biggest refresh yet. bipolar depression. it made me feel trapped in a fog. this is art inspired by real stories of bipolar depression. i just couldn't find my way out of it. the lows of bipolar depression can take you to a dark place. latuda could make a real difference in your symptoms. latuda was proven to significantly reduce bipolar depression symptoms. and in clinical studies, had no substantial impact on weight. this is where i want to be. call your doctor about sudden behavior changes or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children and young adults. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report fever, confusion, stiff or uncontrollable muscle movements, which may be life threatening or permanent. these aren't all the serious side effects.

now i'm back where i belong. ask your doctor if latuda is right for you. pay as little as zero dollars for your first prescription. >> neil: all right. president biden has arrived in pennsylvania. campaigning on behalf of the democratic senatorial candidate. that race is as tight as a tick as you might marge. bryan llenas has more from philadelphia with what is at stake. hi, bryan. >> good afternoon. breaking news. democratic lieutenant governor john fetterman wore a suit today. that is a rare event for the hoodie wearing politician that greeted the president in pittsburgh today as he attempts to bolster the candidate and talk about the economy. they even visited the famous sandwich shop. the president touted his infrastructure law and had this to say about fetterman and his

wife, the second lady of pennsylvania, gisele. >> john, thanks very much for running. i appreciate it. and gisele, you're going to be a great lady in the senate. the laws about more than rebuilding our infrastructure, it's about rebuilding the middle class. something john knows a lot about and talks a lot about. >> fetterman's lead has dwindled to two points over dr. oz. the president and democrats are trying to sell a positive economic story amid concerns on inflation and rising prices. the average price of a gallon of gas is $3.94 in the commonwealth. that's higher than the national average and up 42 cents from last year, this has brought renewed focus on fetterman's fracking stance. he called fracking a stain on pennsylvania. in 2018, he said he did not

support fracking. now he's campaign says he does. and always has supported it. here's fetterman then and now. >> yeah, fracking, yeah, i don't support fracking at all. i never have. i have signed a no fossil fuels money fledge. >> i believe that as pennsylvania i support our energy independence and we need to do it in a very strict environmental regulations. >> fetterman is attending a fund raiser here in philadelphia tonight alongside president biden. he will head to another fund raiser in d.c. tomorrow. i guess if you're going to ask for money, you should wear a suit. neil? >> neil: it does help says he the man who is dressed very, very hiply. i don't see the suit. bryan, thanks very much. bryan llenas. the backdrop for this is inflation. it's still quite the bug a boo.

republicans hound the issue but some have some democrats. look at this. >> the kind of inflation we have rarely returns to target levels of around 2% without some kind of recession. >> i think inflation is a problem. some of their steps contributed to inflation. >> we had a period of substantial stimulus. i think the other side of that is likely to be a downturn. >> all right. what both prominent democrat administration economic honchos seem to be saying is not exclusively on the administration, but even the federal reserve, that we could be facing a long problem where battling inflation could lead to a recession itself. austan goolsbee joins us. what do you think of what both men are saying? >> i think it's the context you added, which is the inflation is high, so the federal reserve is

raising rates pretty rapidly. if the past is any guide when the fed raises rates rapidly, a lot of times that causes a recession. so you cannot dismiss that. there's a lot of economists making a forecast that next year there would be a recession. the only silver lining, if you had a recession, a lot of them are forecasting it would be a mild one. but that doesn't make anybody feel better at this exact moment that when you have inflation and you're trying to rid the economy of that inflation, unless you get some relief on the supply shock front, the war improves in ukraine or we start getting more production of computer chips or the chinese stop with the zero covid lockdown policies interfering with supply chain. unless you get some improvements on that, you only have these

options about squeezing the economy to try to get the inflation out. >> neil: larry summers, the former treasury zac for bill clinton said the spending on the part of the administration didn't help inflation matters any. of course when we talk about the federal reserve as you know, austin, it complicates their job to sort of mop up all of the securities, treasuries out there right now. and complicate their effort. to you agree with that? that this spending while the president says it boosts economic activity, it also boosted prices? >> well, there's a big dispute about that. all i will say is rather than arguing about 2021 and whether the stimulus led to more inflation in 21 and how much, there was a subtlety in the clip you played there of larry

summers in which he said if we had stimulus, which pushed up inflation, but now the stimulus runs off and that is the thing that is dominating now. the fiscal withdrawal. so if you look at government spending, it's actually shrinking rapidly and that is cutting off the growth rate as opposed to the opposite. >> neil: in other words, the deficits are coming down. they were at very high levels with the covid and all that. i'm wondering whether you think that the president now tapping the strategic petroleum reserve is the answer or a political gimmick? what do you think? >> it's not a long run answer for sure. it was never intended -- the petroleum reserve was never intended to be a long-term answer. as i look at it, it's hard to argue that the strategic petroleum reserve was designed for something other than what

we're facing. the opec announcing that they're going to cut production and war in ukraine, that's the kind of thing that be spr was designed for. i don't think anybody should get in their head that that is an energy policy, that's not going to cure the geo political issues associated with oil. because it's just a few weeks kind of a thing. >> neil: watch it closely. austin, thanks for catching up. inflation is not the only big issue on voters minds. so is crime. especially the random nature of it including the story of a woman who was beaten up on a bus after this. >> next thing, i got bottles, juice bottles being thrown at me. liquid being thrown on me. they started physically assaulting me.

♪ ♪ have diabetes? know where your glucose is? with the freestyle libre 3 system, know your glucose and where it's heading. no fingersticks needed. now the world's smallest, thinnest sensor sends your glucose levels directly to your smartphone. manage your diabetes with more confidence and lower your a1c now you know freestyle libre 3. try it for free at freestylelibre.us.

>> neil: all right. it is a major problem, crime. especially when it's caught on someone's smart phone. it bears out the statistics that crime is up double digits. lucas tomlinson with the latest in washington.

lucas? >> neil, a 42-year-old woman assaulted on a d.c. bus. she said not one person stood up to help her. she said repeated calls to the bus driver to stop the bus. she asked a group of teens to stop using vulgar language. >> next thing you know, i got bottles, juice bottles being thrown at me, liquid being thrown on me. they started physically assaulting me. as i'm telling the bus driver, let me off, let me off, he made no attempts to stop. >> in this video, first obtained by our local affiliate, you can see the gains ganging up on her. she was assaulted at 4:00 p.m. not long after school was let out. she wants the bus driver punished for stopping and not helping her and d.c. metro held accountable. >> the amount of kids on that

bus, he would have been outnumbered as well. it's just like the mere fact, why didn't anybody else attempt to assist me? they probably felt the same, like they would have been assaulted as well. >> aggravated assault has spiked 25% aboard d.c. mass transit in the last month. larceny has jumped 50%. robberies up 7%. d.c.'s mayor was asked about the attack on miss thurston. mayor bowser said she has not side the video. >> i imagine it's traumatizing and shouldn't happen. that is not the type of crime we want to see in our city at any time. >> mrs. thurston credits her christian faith for getting her through this ordeal. she says she doesn't want the teens arrested. instead, she wants the parents held responsible. neil? >> neil: thanks, lucas. meantime, here the big debate in the big contests all across the

country. do they really move the needle? especially when so many candidates pass up the chance to debate at all after this. luxury exemplified. innovation electrified. with apple music seamlessly integrated. the all-new, all-electric eqs suv from mercedes-benz. all across the country, people are working hard to build a better future. so we're hard at work, helping them achieve financial freedom. we're providing greater access to investing, with low-cost options to help maximize savings. from the plains to the coasts, we help americans invest for their future. and help communities thrive.

back when i had a working circulatory system, you had to give your right arm to find great talent. but with upwork, there's highly skilled talent from all over the globe right at your fingertips. it's where businesses meet great remote talent and remote talent meets great opportunity. ♪ ♪ this is how we work now ♪ where there's a pet there's always...this. that's why we have innovations like the maytag pet pro laundry pair. so you and your favorite sweater can forget about all about those hairy situations. shop maytag and more exclusive out of the blue innovations at lowe's.com. in a recent clinical study, patients using salonpas patch reported reductions in pain severity, using less or a lot less oral pain medicines.

and improved quality of life. that's why we recommend salonpas. it's good medicine.

what makes every stearns & foster so incredibly comfortable? the attention to detail, that combines time honored craftsmanship... ...and luxurious materials... ...for a mattress that feels as good as it looks. now, enjoy king sized comfort for a queen sized price on select stearns & foster mattresses. >> neil: we saw the same when ronald reagan had a one and only debate with then president jimmy

carter that decided the contest for him as well. so why have debates or why does it seem debates have lost some of their luster? because something seems to be going on with a number of candidates on the local level and state level dismissing the chance to participate at all. mark meredith has more from washington. >> you're right. there's something going on here. until recently, facing your opponent was a rite of passage. lately we've seen candidates from both parties shrug off the idea of these one-on-one matchups. the issue of debates is front and center in arizona where democratic candidate katie hobbs is refusing to share the stage with republican kari lake. hobbs explained why in an interview with pbs this week. >> i think right now it's a distraction. i think i kari lake is so desperate for a debate. she's scared to sit down and have an in depth conversation. it will highlight her level of inexperience. >> i'm working for the people. this is where i have a problem

with my opponent. she won't debate. a debate is a job interview. she refuses to show up for the job interview. >> nearby in nevada where one of the most closely contested races is underway, the democratic and republican candidates have yet to debate. debate plans have been scrapped. brookings did a study on this. they had a record here in which they found a pattern that said the simplest explanation for this trend is that campaigns are more >> experts also argue withvoter, but maybe some good news here. some feel the standard debate may come back one day. >> will spring back at some point but it will be voter driven, constituent driven. that'll probably be the result of punishing people who don't. >> we have seen some debate organizers hold events anyway, one in georgia where the atlanta

press club left the podium empty for candidate herschel walker after he declined to participate. >> smart podium. great job as always mark. doug jones joins us, good political read. doug, these debates are may be different of the senate level, gubernatorial level versus the presidential level. but something's going on here were so many candidates pass up the chance or don't do as many. what you make of it? >> i think a couple of things. first come over so polarized as a nation there are fewer swing voters than there were before, fewer persuadable. it's more about getting your foot out than persuading. and because candidates really do not have the ability to agree on anything, they would just yell at each other, both sides and most debate see more downside as

you and mark meadows were suggesting then upside. >> let me ask you, doug, your take on where this stands that. right now some of these races are very close. it still seems with these power rankings we put out that republicans have a good chance of taking the house, odds are better than it they were a few weeks ago. senate appears to be a jump ball but some pollsters say republicans could pull that up as well, that herschel walker could be in a runoff election. your thoughts on all of the above? >> all the data i'm seeing suggests, is your comment underscored, the public opinion is moving to the republicans, the generic vote, the party preference has gone from a narrow democratic lead at the beginning of september 2 about a

three-point republican lead in virtually every poll out week. that'll translate into 25 or 30 seats or more for the republicans in the house. in the senate races, whether it be nevada, georgia, pennsylvania, are all moving very slowly. but clearly in the direction of the republicans. if we get, and it's a big "if" neil, if voters go against democrats it could be achieved for republicans. >> the way you can pick up steam it seems when jimmy carter and ronald reagan were tied going into the final weekend of 1980 but it ends up being a blowout. i don't know if it was the same degree and the midterms and 94

where the republicans were expected to pick up seats but not as many as they did. do you see anything like that? >> i do. it's a great point. i see the same thing i saw in 1980, and i've just started my career than, and in 1994. all the momentum is with the republicans and it's tough to make an argument now for my part of the democrats based on inflation being up, interest rates being up in the stock market being down. so people having a tough time paying for the gasoline, further food, and the abortion issue, which played initially to the democrats, advantages less and less important to voters it seems. so i wouldn't be surprised with the big move at the end to the republican party at all levels. >> doug, super quick, bill clinton changed after those

results. would biden do the same push mark >> i don't think so. i'm proud of what we did with crime, cutting spending, when i was with clinton and 94. i don't see any signs of binding the same. >> good seeing you again. ♪ ♪ >> hello, everyone. 5:00 in new york city and this is "the five." >> dana: america's crime crisis somehow getting even more disturbing, with the latest example happening in our nation's capital. an innocent woman savagely beaten by a group of teens on a bus. it's very hard to watch.