heading out west at least to ces. we'll see him later in the week. joining us from palo alto, roger macnamee. it's great to have you once again. let's start with the markets rsh relatively stable session. especially in light of yesterday. that day after all the major averages fell by more than 1.5%. the worst start of the year for the dow since 2008. the worst start for the nasdaq and s&p since 2001. roger, we know you've been, i would argue, net cautious for at least the back half of 2015. how are you entering 2016? >> well, i think the market did us a huge favor, yesterday, right? it was a wake-up call. just, hey, make sure we're paying attention. i mean, to me the u.s. economy still looks like the strongest of all the developed economies around the world, but we have this headwind and the slowing down of china, the fact that our interest rates are now going to be rising as opposed to being steady at zero. the fact that many emerging markets tsh and i'm speaking

here of countries like brazil -- and some of the euro zone countries are still really teetering and so i think there's a lot of potential sources of chaos. i think that just suggests to me that as equity investors we should not be expecting big returns this year. this is where you will want to pick your spots. if you have something you like, you're going to own it. if you don't have something you like, i think it's really important to just keep a low profile because it's going to be a tough year. >> but when we think about, roger, the fact that it's the worst start to the year for the dow since 2008, s&p since 2001, 2008 and 2001 we know what happened in those years. if you are not going to be comfortable playing in equities this year, where do you go? i can see the scenario where the u.s. market does provide a

modest positive return. what i don't see is the backdrop for a great equity year across the board. dow think you'll have to pick your spots. there are sect orzors of the economy, the technology sector that i cover would be one of them. there are players that are going to do well. even in the environment we face right now. it will be hard for the largest parts of our economy. i'm talking here about autos and banks and i'm talking about pharmaceuticals. those industries are not going to be putting up monster growth years against the back drop of what i expect economically in 2016. >> roger, we just had dick fisher on, former fed president, and a pretty candid interview, we thought. his argument was and i'm quoting here, "at the fed during his time at the fet "we front loaded a tremendous market rally of very digestive period that's likely to take place now. do you see that?

as the cause for this period enter entering in your view? >> i way i look at it is we had this tremendous dividend from lower oil prices, and i don't see any reason why oil prices should go up. for that reason i think it's going to be a tough year. much as 2015 was. you know, there are things that could go wrong. when i have no idea. >> guess what, that kifr stuff happens. it happened in 2015. i think it will still happen in

2016. you know, i happen to like facebook. i happen to like apple. >> you have been directionally correct as we like to say, at least lately, roblger. ford plans to triple its fleet of autonomous cars up to about 30. ford says it will work with amazon giving people access to connected home devices like the amazon echo right from their cars. we talk to mark fields this morning on "squawk on the street." here's what he said. >> we see a huge opportunity in growing our business and emerging mobility services market, and for us whether we do that in some cases on our own or whether we do it with partners, we're going to do it in a way that satisfies consumers, that provides value. value for the company and enhances our brand. >> in light of the gm lift news yesterday, the big three waking

up? >> well, i think so. >> when you were 16 you got a driver's license. yet, many people are avoiding that later and later in life. instead of 80% or 0 pirz of people having a driver's license at 19, we're under 70% now. that is a huge headwind for the car industry. in the presence of lyft and uber and the other ride sharing services complicates their life because the world doesn't need as many cars if a meaningful percentage of the rides were taken through ride sharing services. i think this is an incredibly smart move by the major car companies to get involved in autonomous vehicles, but i don't think it's going to be a silver bullet. i do think unit volume will be a

harder thing for them going forward, and that industry is going to change a lot. it's not at all obvious to me whether you want to be the manufacturer of the cars or whether you want to be uber and lyft, the guys that own the cars. i think that it's going to be really interesting to watch that play out. i'm not sitting here diving into car companies. that for me seems like something you might do in the future, but i'm not going to do today. >> roger, it does beg the question of whether detroit is conceding that perhaps sell convalley can do the software side of autos better than it can right now. >> that said, let's remember the first thing that happened, you know, with the google self-driving cars. when they made a mistake, it was that they had their cars follow the rule of the letter of the law rather than behave as humans behave. my guess is the folks in detroit have a lot more experience about how humans behave and interact in cars. i don't think they're totally

out of the game. they obviously -- these are not software companies. >> finally, another black eye for yahoo. the company confirm it shut down its video site, yahoo screen last week. it was home to a lot of content, including the new season of "community." reruns of "snl" the recent streaming of the nfl and game overseas and it follows a $42 million write-down on some original content back in october. shares are trading a little higher this morning. some have tried to portrait it as a bit of a white flag here, roger. what do you think? >> well, i look at the -- in a very, very simple way, which is the mega trend is that video is going mobile. that is a monster, monster trend with huge implications. unfortunately, in a change like that, not everybody wins. it's pretty obvious that yahoo is one of those not winning.

i don't know what they do from here. i think that everything seems to be too little too late. honestly, i have so moved on from this company, it just isn't one of the ones that i worry about anymore. it's not because they weren't great or have a lot of great stuff. they do in both cases. i just -- life it too short, and there are a lot of companies out there, and i just -- i don't see a scenario for yahoo is a must own stock for me. >> i think that is precisely the problem. we'll just have to watch and see what they do, but honestly, i'm going to watch from the bleachers, want from the front row. there are a lot of really compelling things going on in silicon valley right now, and i just don't see yahoo doing any

of them. in terms of content and delivery, what names are interesting right now? >> look what's going on around us. to me it's really amaze, first, what netflix --s and now am sdwlon doing a similar strategy, doing very, very well. i watch what they've done with hbo. you watch what apple is doing. there are a lot of really big very smart companies with strategies that have been gaining at a minimum mind share, and in most cases also revenue dollars. so, you know, i don't know how this plays out exactly, but, you kno know. >> dwoent lack for distribution alternatives today, and, you know, let's just face it.

i mean, for yahoo, it might well have worked, but it didn't, and so time to move on. >> is there still an opportunity for yahoo to partner with one of the names that you just mentioned to try and make another run at video? >> of course. i wonder what it will do. yahoo has a lot of great assets. they have a lot of great people. to me whatever it is they do they could do without pulling a lot of mind share from me just because i don't see it moving the needle that much. >> some good candor today from you as well, roger. >> some things just don't matter, right? some things don't matter, and i think this is one of them. >> it's always good to see you, man. thank you so much, roger. >> my pleasure. take care. happy new year. >> same to you. joining us from out west.

when we come back, stocks mix this morning with investors still worried about that slowdown in china. we're going to look at some tech names most exposed to the action overseas. plus, connected tech company harmon. a new partnership with under armor. harman ceo will join with us a closer look. here's a live shot of the east room of the white house. the president is set to announce new executive actions around 11:40 eastern time. we'll take you there live when he starts to speak. back in a moment.

>> this just about 120 minutes time president obama is expected to announce new executive actions on gun control. john harwood is live at the white house with what we should expect, john. >> hi, kayla. aloha, carl. i just -- we've got a president who in his last year in office is determined to do everything he can to move his priorities forward. this is an example of that. we all remember he was thwarted two years ago or three years ago after newtown when he tried to get expanded background checks enacted into law. congress did not go along, including some democrats who opposed him. what he is announcing today are executive actions that expand the number of gun purchases that will be subject to background checks. in particular, some of the gun shows and on-line dealers who did not fall under the background check provisions of the law. he has decided he has the executive authority to expand

the definition of who -- to which purchases background checks it applies. other steps to expand hours of the day in which background checks take place. all these are attempts to buy the president to make some difference. no one is arguing, including the president, that that's are going to make it possible. some of the mass shootings -- or all of the mass shootings that we've seen. he is determined to do whatever he can to -- >> there are ten separate provision that is are expected to be a part of this announcement. do you expect that all of them will be able to be put into affect by the president by the white house, or do you expect there to be some give with congress? >> i expect the give is going to come into play in the courts. republicans have indicated they believe that these actions are unconstitutional. you can bet that there will be legal action to block what the president is trying to do.

>> without theability to get much through congress, he is trying to use the power that he has and the courts will decide how much power that is. >> he said he returned from his vacation reinvigorated. we are seeing some of the first steps of that reinvigoration for 2016. now we'll take you to that announcement live in just a few minutes time. thanks, john. we'll see you soon. up next, crude oil is falling today despite continued tensions between iran and saudi arabia and a new war of words in the middle east. we'll take a closer look. crude down 1.5%. plus, the ceo of connected tech company harman will join us to talk about its new partnership

with under armor. squawk alley will be back in a moment. i asked my dentist if an electric toothbrush

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>> this year's consumer electronics show. all of you making a major announcement. company nounksing a partnership with under armor on wireless heart ray rate measuring headphones and microsoft's office 365 into the car. dinesh is the ceo of harman, and he joins us from ces in las vegas. good morning to you. it's good to have you. >> good morning. good to be on your show. >> when we think of harman, a lot of people think automatically of cars, but it sounds like you're going to try to make sports, fitness, and wearables the next big thing. >> we are looking for a seamless connected lifestyle, whether it's sports or musician or working office. whether you are in the car or

going around. that's what we are all doing. it's actually part of -- it's totally connected. we don't want any streaming wires. it's a wireless smart headphone. the partner of under armour, we couldn't have asked for a better company. fast growing and extremely innovative, and driven to excellence. we are bringing the heart rate monday stores and the headphones. also, a lot happening. you saw the announcement of cyber security company. security is becoming extremely important, whether in home or in the car. particularly connected car you cannot have an autonomous connected car or whether you have a cyber security. people always say that the car is another device on the wheels. well, when your smart headphone has a bug, it's a headache. when your car is at 65 miles an hour, it's more than that. we are so thrilled that now we

have complete solution. >> for holland to bring your technology to work in some of these cars that maybe don't have it already. >> it's a great question. you see all the research is pointing to all the -- >> the only thing which has been keeping up these rates office technology apart is simplicity and keeping them up-to-date. last year we bought a company

which solved the problem of wrupting and keeping the software and hardware current in the car and now we watch the security company so consumers like you and i are feeling good that i can have productivity in the car. i can feel personalization of all the devices around me, and i'm protected. that's the rates going up. we feel very good we're behind the pole position of nine of the large companies. we're deeply involved with, and we also announced a big partnership with microsoft this morning where we are bringing the entire suite of microsoft office 365 with a prompt of the voice saying connect me to the voice, or skype. >> it's shown here for the first time. i'm excited about what's happening and how fast paced penetration of technology without sacrificing the secur y

security. >> 57le is also a very good partner for us. so is going and so is microsoft and many others. nothing exlose anything. i think where i'm focused and so are 29,000 people will really push the envelope on the technology and take our industry forwa

forward. >> iraq's president saying saudi arabia cannot cover up its crime of executing a leading shiite cleric by severing diplomatic relations with the republic. his comments came as he met with the danish foreign minister today. the other news, kuwait is the latest company to side with saudi arabia. the country announced it has recalled its ambassador to iran over the attacks of saudi diplomatic missions in iran over the weekend. speaking of those attacks, we now have fresh video of the events on saturday. this is moments after iran wran protesters attacked the saudi embassy in tehran to protest the execution of that shiite cleric. the protesters raided the building and then set fire to it. that's what led saudi arabia to cut diplomatic ties with iran and ask all iranian diplomats to leave within 48 hours. that proxy war in yemen between the two countries, it's heating up again after weeks of relative lulls. saudi-led air strikes targeted military positions linked to rebels backed by iran.

this is a 9-month-old war, and residents telling the wires that there has been an intensification in the attacks in the last 24 hours. we just have the december production numbers from opec. just remind everyone saudis are still the biggest producers by far. more than ten million barrels per day. iran limited, of course, still by economic sanctions producing just under two million barrels per day. carl, they're hoping to get that up to four. back to you. >> all right. michelle, thank you very much. michelle caruso cab rare wra. >> when we come back, stocks once again on a bit of a roller coaster in and out of negative territory. currently down about 48 points on the dow. the next catalyst for today's action, i don't feel, will be europe's close. we'll get that in just under four minutes.

stwloo good morning. i'm sue herrera. here is your cnbc news update at this hour. nbc news citing a senior defense official says one american soldier was killed and two others wounded in the helmand province in southern afghanistan. the incident occurred during a special forses counterterrorism operation. a u.s. helicopter was sent into the scene to evacuate casualties, but it did not take off because it came under mortar fire. the occupation of a federal wildlife refuge in oregon by armed anti-government protesters now in its fourth day. the group calls themselves citizens for constitutional freedom. they believe the federal government has too much control

over western land. israeli security forces shot and killed a palestinian who stabbed an israeli soldier in the west bank. the soldier was slightly hurt with stab wounds to his face. this comes after the surge in violence in the region enters its fourth month. and ben baldanza led the industry push for more and more airline fees is out as ceo of spirit airlines. it transformed spirit from a money losing operation into an ultra low cost carrier that charged for extra basic amenities, including seats that didn't recline. that's the cnbc news update this hour. back to "squawk alley." to you, carl. >> thank you very much, sue her air wra. europe managed to avert another down close. we've got some green arrows, simon. >> i'm actually just eroding into the finish line. there was a disappointment coming coming through on inflation for the euro zone. it didn't rise from 0.2%.

>> have you orange making an offer for weed. this is draghi's play here. taking the number of -- in fact, weed rejected the offer previously. you see the french telecoms are relatively active overall. the other stop that's doing well is altice. it's better because it's the vehicle through which buying cable television operations here in the wraits. >> it's whether this alternative

dial might face some difficulty. it's a much smaller deal that draghi is attempting. a sixth or seventh as big. the cost savings are huge. $900 million. who that get rejected? it's translated to about an honor stock that is otherwise relatively depressed. meantime, voerlgs is in negative territory. equinet came through and put effectively a sell rating on volkswagen overnight. this after the do somewhere yesterday announced its suit. its law action against them for, of course, their cheating on emissions. $90 billion is the ask on that. nobody thinks they're going to get $90 billion. however, it has some loirss suggesting that actually it's anyone's guess as to what they'll actually aim end up tea from vw. what is clear is that the u.s. is determined to make use of vw's misconduct and to further weaken vw's position in the u.s. that is a controversial statement clearly.

our own auto reporter phil lebeau has suggested within the last hour of the program that vw doesn't have much of a position here in the united states, selling under its own brand roughly 300,000 cars last year in a market of 40 million or 50 million. vw's coo and the head of brand are on their way here to talk at cs, to talk in detroit, and to lobby politicians over the next few days. back to you. >> we'll be watching for that. simon, thanks. shares of alibaba, meanwhile, reversing course. seeing some is gains earlier today. right now the stock is up more than 1%. that, of course, follows yesterday's 7% slide. stocks in asia, however, they have been pretty volatile in the session. opening lower. now you can see they closed about a quarter of a percent lower in shanghai.

>> when you see them pumping -- it's really hard to tell the difference. what would you tell us now? >> well, i think -- look, i think you have to look at china's economy and stock market. i think the word for the stock market that's going to be consistent throughout the year is volatility. this is the first time, first open market exchange to try and stem the flow and trying to moderate the stock market fluctuations, and it's having sometimes proper affects and negative affects. i think it will take some time to really figure out how to make sure the market is smooth in china. in terms of the economy in chooirn, i think you have to look at the economy in china as a giant escalator. it's been growing and going up

quite rapidly. 15 plus percent depending on where you are, and even segments, whether it's the first year cd's or tech companies that have been growing faster, a lot of companies that are slow, inefficient, will have a hard time with the escalator slowing down. i think many inefficient businesses in many of the inefficient companies in china are struggling right now with the slowdown in the moderating of growth in chinese growth. there are a number of segment that is are very efficient markets, efficient with labor and capital, efficient with technology that are doing quite well, and they're able to exploit the weaknesses of the smaller lessee efficient players and grow at a much faster rate. running up the escalator, if you will. alibaba and many of the tech economy in china are doing that. they're going and taking share away from the slower, lessee efficient players in the marketplace. >> alibaba and others depend on the chinese consumer's desire to spend. that's sometimes intertwined with confidence and how that

consumer reviews the health of the overall economy. would you say that that is still impact going into this year? >> i think the risk -- first of all, there's plenty of head room in terms of consumption patterns for the chinese consumer. they come half of what the u.s. consumer consumes on an average year based on the gdp. there's plenty of head room for the consumers in china to extend and grow their consumption, and we haven't even talked about consumer credit yet. doesn't exist in china. i think there will be some movement there as well. i think the thing you touched on is that contagion from the slower lessee efficient businesses, job growth, inflation, how that is going to hurt the chinese consumer that's the one rescue. what's the contagion from the slower parts of the economy to the faster growing tech economies. >> certainly, haney, the yuan is

tied to every part of the economy. it's dropped as much in the last six weeks as it did in august when we were talking about this crisis of confidence. on one hand, it makes exports cheaper rsh on the other hand, it moves cash from the country. how does that play out, and is it helping china as much as people here in the u.s. say it's hurting our exports? >> well, i can't comment directly, and i'm not an economist, but i do believe that the devaluation of the rnb will hurt the chinese economy longer term and will force the slowdown even further. right now we're talking about 5.5%, 6.5% growth. it may go lower than that. i mean, the positive side of people moving money out of the country is obviously you're seeing asset prices in places like the u.s., western u.s., and even parts of europe going up as chinese consumers buy hard assets. i think they've got to figure out a way to keep the confidence in the rnb intact in china. >> certainly not the last of the conversations we're going to be having about the yuan.

we appreciate your time this morning. >> han where i nada from ggb capital. >> any moment, the president is expected to announce these new executive actions on gun control. we will go live to the white house as soon as he begins speaking. the dow down about 33 points. we're back in just a moment.

>> are you looking at a live shot of the white house. any moment now the president expected to announce some new

executive actions on gun control. gun violence, one of the more frustrating elements of his tenure, the president has said. john harwood is live outside the white house with more. john, a lot of this is aimed at making it easier for the fbi to do background checks. i saw some statistics this morning about the number of checks they did last year. the most in the agency's history. >> that's right. you think there should be more. he wants money for more agents. he wants to keep the background check facility within the government open 24-7. that's not the case currently. so he is doing what he can, and we're right on a moment ago when you said this was an especially frustrating thing for him. i think he believes this is the most frustrating issue that he has dealt with as president. remember, he has said on more than one occasion that the day of the newtown massacre was the low point of his presidency since then he tried legislatively very hard in early 2013 to push congress to expand the number of back ground

checks. he could not get that done. especially from more rural gun-friendly states. the president has been watching a continuing succession of mass shootings trying to figure out what can i do? he announced yesterday with loretta limplg, his attorney general, that they spend some time research and concluding that he had the authority to redefine what it means to be a gun dealer to bring more purchases in under the background check provisions. republicans say that's unconstitutional. they're going to challenge him mritly and legally and we'll see whether he can stand his position. >> that is the managing director at sandy hook promise who lost his son in the sandy hook shooting that john was just referencing. you might keep your eye on the gun manufacturer stocks. smith and wesson going all the

way back to the ipo in 2001, and, john, that is a cycle that has become a little familiar as the administration makes moves in this arena. the manufacturers see a bounce. here is the president approaching the mike. >> thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you, everybody. please, have a seat. thank you. thank you, everyone. thank you. thank you, everybody. please, please, have a seat. thank you so much. mark, i want to thank you for your introduction.

i still remember the first time we met and the time we spent together and the conversation we had. that changed me that day. my hope is that it would change the country. five years ago this week the sitting member of congress and 18 others were shot at at a supermarket in tucson, arizona. it wasn't the first time i had to talk to the nation in response to a mass shooting. nor would it be the last. fort hood, binghamton, aurora, oak creek, newtown, the navy

ya yard, santa barbara, charleston, san bernardino. too many. thanks to a great medical team and the love of her husband, mark, my dear friend and colleague, gabby giffords, survived. she's here with us today with her wonderful mom. [ applause ] >> thanks to a great medical team, her wonderful husband, mark who, by the way, the last time i met with mark -- this is just a small aside. you may know mark's twin brother is in outer space.

he came to the office and i said how often are you talking to him? he said usually every day, but the meeting was the day of the call, and i may have not answered the call. that made me feel kind of bad. >> i told him if his brother scott is calling today, he should take it. turn the ringer on. i was there with gabby when she was still in the hospital with & we didn't think necessarily at that point that she was going to survive.

that visit right before memorial about an hour later gabby first opened her eyes. i remember talking to mom about that. i know the pain that she is her family have endured these past five years. and the rehabilitation and the work and the effort to recover from shattering injuries, and then i think of all the americans who aren't as fortunate. every single year more than 30,000 americans hundreds of

thousands have buried their own children. many have had to learn to live with a disability or learn to live without the love of their life. a number of those people are here today. they can tell you some stories. in this room right here there are a lot of stories. there's a lot of heartache. there's a lot of resilience. there's a lot of strength, but there's also a lot of pain.

this is just a small sample. the united states of america is not the only country on evert with violent or dangerous people. we are not inharptly more prone to violence. but we are the only advanced country on earth that sees this kind of mass violence erupt with this kind of frequency. it doesn't happen in other advanced countries. it's not even close. as i've said before, somehow we become numb to it and we start thinking that this is normal.

and instead of thinking about how to solve the problem, this has become one of our most polarized partisan debates. that's why on thursday i'm fwog hold a town hall meeting on thursday morning on gun violence because my goal here is to bring good people on both sides of this issue together for an open discussion. i'm not on the ballot again. i'm not looking to score some points. i think we can disagree without impugning other people's motives or without being disagreeable. we don't need to be talking past one another, but we do have to feel a sense of urgency about it. in dr. king's words, we need to

fear the fierce urgency of now. because people are dying. and the constant excuse for inaction no longer do. no longer suffice. that's why we're here today. not to debate the last mass shooting, but to do something to try to prevent the next one. [ applause ] to prove that the vast majority of americans, even if our voices aren't always the loudest or most extreme, care enough about

a little boy like daniel to come together and take commonsense steps to save lives and protect more of our children. i want to be clear at the start. i've said this over and over again. there's a ritual about what i have to do. i believe in the second amendment. it's there written on the paper. it guarantees a right to bear arms. no matter how many times people try to twist my words around, i taught constitutional law. i know a bit about this.

i get it. but i also believe we can find ways to reduce gun violence consistent with the second amendment. i mean, think about it. we all believe in the first amendment, the guarantee in free speech we accept that you can't yell fire in a theater. we accept there are some constraints on our freedom in order to protect innocent people. we cherish our right to privacy. we accept you have to go through metal detectors before being allowed to board a plane. it's not because people like doing that. but we understand that's part of the price of living in a civilized society. what's often ignored in this

debate is that majority of gun owners actually agree. a majority of gun owners agree that we can respect the second amendment while keeping an irresponsible law-breaking few from inflicting harm on a massive scale. today background checks are required at gun stores. if a father wants to teach his daughter how to hunt, he can walk into a gun store, get a background check, purchase his weapon safely and responsibly. this is not seen as an infringement on the second amendment. this hasn't been the first step in some slippery slope to mass confiscation. contrary to claims of some

presidential candidates apparently before this meeting, this is not a plot to take away everybody's guns. you pass a background check, you purchase a firearm. the problem is some gun sellers have been operating under a different set of rules. a violent felon can buy the exact same weapon over the internet with no background check. no questions asked. a recent study found that about one in 30 people looking to buy guns on one website had criminal records. one out of 30 had criminal a criminal record. we're talking about individuals convicted of serious crimes. aggravated assault, domestic violence, robbery, illegal gun possession. people with length where i criminal histories buying deadly women's all too easily. this was just one website within the span of a few months.

we've created a system in which dangerous people are allowed play by a different set of rules than a responsible gun owner who buys his or her gun the right way and subjects themselves to a background check. that doesn't make sense. everybody should have to abide by the same rules. most americans and gun owners agree. heats what we tried to change after 26 americans, including 20 children, were murdered at sandy hook elementary. two united states senators, joe manchin, and pat toomey, both gun owners, both strong defenders of our second amendment rights, both with a grades from the nra.

that's hard to get. worked together in good faith consulting with folks like our vice president who has been a champion on this for a long time to write a commonsense compromise bill that would have required virtually everyone who buys a gun to get a background check. that was it. three commonsense. how did this become such a partisan issue? republican president george bush swrub once said i believe in background checks at gun shows or anywhere to make sure guns don't get into the hands of people that shouldn't have them. senator john mccain, introduced a bipartisan measure to address

the gun show loophole, saying we need this amendment because criminals and terrorists have exploited and are exploiting this very obvious loophole in our gun safety laws. even the nra used to support expanded background checks. by the way, most of its members still do. most republican voters still do. how do we get here? how did we get to the place where people think requiring a comprehensive background check means taking away people's guns? each time this comes up, we are fed the excuse that commonsense reforms like background checks might not have stopped the last massacre or the one before that or the one before that.

why bother trying? i reject that thinking. we know we can't stop every act of violence, every act of evil in the world. maybe we could try to stop one act of evil, one act of violence. some of you may recall that at the same time that sandy hook happened, a disturbed person in china took a knife and tried to kill with a knife a bunch of children in china. most of them survived. he didn't have access to a

powerful weapon. we maybe can't save everybody, but we could save some. just as we don't prevent all traffic accidents, but we take steps to try to reduce traffic accidents. as ronald reagan once said, if mandatory background checks could save some lives, it would be well worth making it the law of the land. the bill before congress years ago met that test. unfortunately, too many senators failed theirs. in fact, we know that background checks make a difference. after connecticut passed a law requiring background checks and gun safety courses, gun deaths decreased by