Special Report with Bret Baier (formerly Special Report with Brit Hume) is an American television news and political commentary program appearing on Fox News Channel, currently hosted by Bret Baier. It airs live each Monday through Friday at 6:00pm ET. The show focuses on both reporting and analysis of the day's events, with a primary focus on national political news. The show has been a part of the Fox News program lineup since 1996 and is the number one cable news broadcast in its time slot.

Brit Hume hosted the show from its debut in 1996 until his retirement in December 2008. He has since appeared on the program as a panelist commentator.

The show originated in 1996 and was originally hosted by Brit Hume, who was, at the time, Washington, D.C. managing editor for the network. Hume hosted the program through December 23, 2008, when he hosted his final show before officially stepping down as anchor. The last fifteen minutes of Hume's final program served as a tribute to Hume, including kind words from former President George H.W. Bush, then-President George W. Bush, then-Vice President Dick Cheney, and then-ABC News anchor Charles Gibson, as well as several Fox News reporters, and allowed him some final thoughts. Hume announced Bret Baier, who substituted for Hume on Fridays beginning in fall 2007, would become the full-time host after the holidays, while Hume moved to a new role as senior political analyst for the network. Chris Wallace and Shannon Bream are occasional substitute anchors.

Bret Baier (born August 4, 1970 in Rumson, New Jersey) is an American journalist and the host of Special Report with Bret Baier on Fox News Channel. He previously worked as the network's Chief White House Correspondent and Pentagon correspondent.

Baier began his television career with WRAL-TV, the CBS affiliate in Raleigh, North Carolina. He sent an audition tape to Fox News in 1998, and was hired as the network's Atlanta bureau chief. On September 11, 2001, he drove from Georgia to Arlington, Virginia to cover the attack on the Pentagon. He never returned to the Atlanta bureau and was instead tapped as the network's Pentagon correspondent, remaining at the post for five years and taking 11 trips to Afghanistan and 13 trips to Iraq. He became Fox News's White House correspondent in 2007, covering the administration of George W. Bush. In the fall of 2007, he began substituting for Brit Hume, then the anchor of Special Report, on Fridays.

On December 23, 2008, Brit Hume anchored his final show and announced Baier would replace him as anchor of Special Report. He hosted his first show as permanent anchor on January 5, 2009.

Breaking news, also known as a special report or news bulletin, is a current event that broadcasters feel warrants the interruption of scheduled programming and/or current news in order to report its details. Many times, breaking news is used after the news network has already reported on this story. When a story has not been reported on previously, the graphic and phrase Just In is sometimes used instead. Its use is often loosely assigned to the most significant story of the moment or a story that is being covered live. It could be a story that is simply of wide interest to viewers and has little impact otherwise.

The format of a special report or breaking news event on television commonly consists of a reverse countdown from 5 or 10 seconds to allow any affiliated stations to switch to the network news feed. Then, there is an opening graphic, featuring music (such as NBC's "The Pulse of Events", composed by John Williams) which adds an emphasis on the importance of the event. This is usually followed with the introduction of a news anchor, who welcomes the viewer to the broadcast and introduces the story at hand. Lower thirds and other graphics may also be coloured differently than normal to convey a sense of urgency.

Eric Ivan Cantor (pronounced /ˈkæntɚ/; born June 6, 1963) is the U.S. Representative for Virginia's 7th congressional district, serving since 2001. A member of the Republican Party, he became House Majority Leader when the 112th Congress convened on January 3, 2011. He previously served as House Minority Whip from 2009 to 2011.

His district includes most of the northern and western sections of Richmond, along with most of Richmond's western suburbs and portions of the Shenandoah Valley. Cantor is the only Jewish Republican currently serving in the U.S. Congress, and the highest-ranking Jewish member of Congress in its history.

Cantor, the second of three children, was born in Richmond, Virginia, the son of Mary Lee (née Hudes), a schoolteacher, and Eddie Cantor, who owned a real estate firm. His paternal family immigrated from Eastern Europe in the early 1900s and his maternal grandfather was born in Romania. His father was the state treasurer for Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign. Cantor was raised in Conservative Judaism. He graduated from the Collegiate School in 1981. He enrolled at George Washington University (GW) in 1981, and as a freshman he worked as an intern for House Republican Tom Bliley of Virginia and was Bliley's driver in the 1982 campaign. Cantor was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity while at GW and received his Bachelor of Arts in 1985 He earned a Juris Doctor degree from William & Mary Law School in 1988, and received a Master of Science in Real Estate Development from Columbia University in 1989.

Stephanie Cutter (born October 22, 1968) is a Democratic Party operative. She serves as deputy campaign manager for President Barack Obama's 2012 reelection campaign.

Cutter was born in Taunton, Massachusetts and raised in nearby Raynham, Massachusetts. She graduated from Smith College and Georgetown Law School.

She worked for Bill Clinton as Deputy Communications Director at the White House during his administration and as Associate Administrator for Communications at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She also served as Communications Director for Senator Edward M. Kennedy and in July 2003 was named Communications Director for the Democratic National Committee. In November 2003, she was named communications director for the John Kerry campaign.

In June 2008 she was appointed as chief of staff to Michelle Obama for the 2008 Presidential general election campaign. She served as the Chief Spokesperson for the Obama-Biden Transition Project. She served as Timothy Geithner's counselor. In May 2009, she was appointed to serve as adviser to President Obama in the Supreme Court nominations. Later that year, GQ Magazine named Cutter one of the 50 most powerful people in Washington.