united's foul-up, delta, always ask passengers what price to give up the speech. they give away gift cards. not travel vouchers. american express gift cards a thousand dollars to get people give up their seats. thumb's up. maria: we were attributing to united earnings. thanks everybody, great show. here is stuart varney and "varney & company." stu? stuart: terrific, interview. maria. great stuff. a mood change. change in sentiment, call it what you like, on several fronts things are looking up. good morning, everyone. could it be a deal on health care soon? on fox business president trump tells maria he wants to do health care reform first. the chair of the freedom caucus says we are very close. a quick deal would be a shot in the arm for the president and would give fresh impetus to tax reform before the end of the year. in the world of politics and

money this is very important. political division has hurt the republicans and tax reform delay hurt the markets. there is renewed optimism this morning that the president's growth agenda can be put back on track. and there is certainly a shift in foreign policy. the president has reversed the retreat of the obama years. america is back on the world stage. president trump is confronting what he calls evil. he is not backing down. i will repeat it. things look to me, like they're looking up. "varney & company" is about to begin. ♪ >> we're going to have a phenomenal tax reform but i have to do health care first. i want to do it first to really do it right. >> but do you have to do health care before tax reform? >> yes. if you don't do that, you can't put any of the savings in the tax cuts and tax reform.

>> have you moved off of this soft deadline your team put in place of august to get this done? are you looking at later in the year? >> i don't want to put deadlines. health care is going to happen at some point. if it doesn't happen fast enough i will start taxes. but the tax reform and tax cuts are better if i can do health care first. stuart: great interview there with one-on-one with, maria on this program, on this network. he is saying look, health care before tax reform. byron york is with us, fox news contributor and "washington examiner," chief political correspondent. >> good morning stuart. stuart: good morning, byron. let me add to this. mark meadows, he is the a chair of the freedom caucus, he said on a radio interview late yesterday, we're very close to a deal on health care, very close. do you think we've got a shot at getting a deal on health care fairly soon after easter? >> no. i i don't think so. as a matter of fact i was a little surprised what the president told maria because as

you know he, first it was we got to do obamacare first and then taxes. when obamacare collapses i'm moving on to taxes. now it is back to we got to do obamacare first. mark meadows has been saying for white a while both sides are very close. there is a lot of animosity between factions in the house of representatives. has nothing to do with donald trump. they hated each other before trump showed up but they're having a lot of difficulty working together. stuart: haven't the republicans kind of learned a lesson here? because they failed to come to an agreement on health care before the easter recess. i think they caught a lot of flak as they went home for not performing. you don't think that is pushed them a little further towards do a deal? >> well i think it is possible that trump put the fear of god in some of them in the sense when they messed up on health care, trump said that's it. i'm moving on. they said wait a minute. we've been yelling about obamacare for seven years and now we're going to stop and move

on? we can't do that. so, i do think they realized after the failure of this first obamacare plan, they realized that they couldn't just move on. it is not something they could make such a big deal of so many years and then say, oh, well, that didn't work. so they have to do something. and besides, in the real world obamacare is failing. so they have got to do something. the question is, whether they can do it and then do tax reform. i don't know. stuart: i just hope it's done fairly soon and what mark meadows had to say is encouraging at least. let me talk to you about this one. the special election in kansas. the gop kept control of the house seat left by mike pompeo. i think margin of victory by the republican was seven points. >> yeah. stuart: i have to say that is a positive for the republican party, isn't it, and for the president too? >> it is. you're hearing a lot of press reports, it is a close call, a lot closer than mike pompeo's victories had been.

indeed it is, but my colleague at "washington examiner" michael barone, looked at it compared to sam brownback governor of kansas victory, didn't find a whole lot of difference. not unusual for a special election to be closer after a presidential election. i think for the republican this is has got to be good news. they saw trouble on the way and began to pour resources into that. president trump actually recorded a robocall in that election. ted cruz went there to campaign for estes. so republicans pulled that one out. stuart: got it. byron york, thanks for being with us this morning. >> thank you, stuart. stuart: political turmoil, geopolitical tension.nvestors to safe havens like gold and u.s. treasurys. look at the markets now. gold up again, 1277 per ounce. that is still a 5 or 6-month high. treasurys people buy into them.

the price goes up, that puts the yield down at 2.29%. that is a safe haven. as for the stock market, a muted open, looking at a loss maybe 15, 20 points at opening bell. 25 minutes from now. get back to the story. you united, the passenger dragged off the plane. he has hired a lawyer. the chicago tribune describes the lawy aa high-powered chicago personal injury lawyer. look who is here. judge napolitano. >> i'm only laughing because you have ranted and raved and railed against this type of lawyer, and now you find yourself in agreement with him, am i right. stuart: i'm not saying that. what is your contingency fee for joining us this morning? no, i won't get into that. he will win a fortune. no way around it. >> i think so. behavior of the airline and behavior of the police, at least two defendants here, probably some more, other governmental entities was not justified under the law. stuart: here is another point. some people have been looking

into the background of the man who was dragged off and there are some difficult personal things about this man that have come to the surface. >> the doctor, person that was dragged. stuart: is that fair? >> yes and no. i will explain it to you. if he gets on the witness stand and proclaims his virtues, they can challenge the virtues by tarnishing his behavior with his personal record. that is not commendable and professional record is not commentable. if he simply says, i sat there, tells the story, without talking about himself, what happened before he got on the plane years before, is irrelevant. stuart: but it won't come up because there probably won't be a trial? >> i don't think there will be a trial. united does not want to go through this again, just like it did the last two days. it will go over it again if a chicago jury hears this. the police don't want a trial. they want it to go away quiet with couple of checks. stuart: i imagine the amount paid will not be made public?

>> i don't know about that. i think it will be higher than the actual injuries because the department will pay dearly to keep the public from hearing this again. stuart: that's right. that is the way it works. >> look at the hit of stock. they don't want to drag this out. enough dragging it out. stuart: i didn't realize the words i used. you're so right, judge. you're so right. strong words from attorney general jeff sessions on immigration. roll that tape please. >> for those that continue to seek improper and illegal entry into this country, be forewarned, this is a new era. this is the trump era. the lawlessness, abdication of duty to enforce our laws and catch-and-release policies of the past are over. stuart: is that it, judge. that we were just simply now enforce the laws that are already on the books? that is the only change? >> what attorney general

sessions said should not be newsworthy that the government is going to enforce the law. stuart: true. >> it is newsworthy because of the administration that preceded this one in which the president put a personal, serious heavy-duty personal interpretation on the law and cost not to enforce them. and actually he reduced to writing the new way the law would be enforced which was invalidated by the courts. the government has too much leeway. the president has too much leeway when it comes to deciding what to enforce and what not to enforce. in fairness to general sessions much of what he said is outside of his bailiwick. department of homeland security decides catch-and-release, catch and lock-up. they can not avoid a hearing. they can't keep people forever. they send them back, because once they're here they have certain rights. that is supreme court case law. stuart: but catch-and-release is gone? >> yes. stuart: catch and keep -- >> then hold a hearing, to decide the circumstances under which they should be deported. stuart: that could break the system, couldn't it?

if you have tens of thousands of people, not locked up but kept in custody. >> yes, yes. stuart: they're all entitled to a lawyer an hearing that is unworkable system. >> yes. liz: stuart, more than half a million people waiting to hear about deportation cases. stuart: it is unworkable. liz: stare to interrupt. >> great statistic. most of these federal detention are federal jails. liz: there are private. >> they are owned by corporations that federal government hired to detain these people. they're not necessarily nicer places than federal jails. they are less oppressive. stuart: it will take a long time to work through 500 cases and everybody with a lawyer and hearing, it takes enormous amount of money. liz: congressional oversight for private detention sales. >> they get paid by the head. stuart: really? it is in their interest to keep

people. ashley: who pays for lawyers? >> taxpayers pay for everything. taxpayers pay for everything. stuart: judge i was saying things looking up at the beginning of the show. >> changing your mind? stuart: changing my mind. see you in a couple hours. thank you, sir. how about this one. didn't receive much publicity here. this is a big deal. terror in germany. three bombs set next to the bus of one of the country's leading soccer terms. you have no idea of impact in germany of bombing after germany soccer teams. it is like attacking the yankees here in america. president xi will help trump deal with north korea. xi wants a real solution. interesting, xi called trump. president trump calling syria es assad an animal. he says if putin keeps supporting him t will be very bad for russia. you will hear what the president said next. yes?

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>> frankly putin is backing a person that's truly an evil person, and i think it's very bad for russia. i think it's very bad for mankind. it is very bad for this world but when you drop gas or bombs or barrel bombs, they have these massive barrels with dynamite and drop them right in the middle of a group of people, in all fairness you see the same kids, no arms, no legs, no face, this is an animal. stuart: okay. this is an animal. that is what the president said in that great interview with maria on the fox business network. come on in, thomas mcinerney, general, i should say, fox news military analyst. i have not heard a president of the united states go after a foreign leader in such a personal way. i'm not used to that. that is something new in this presidency. >> none of us are, stuart, and it is the absolute right thing to do.

he is letting the world know that this is not, should not be tolerated by the world or russia, or anyone else. and the fact is, unless he does that, we're not going to move the russians. even though it will be very difficult but i do believe it will be the right thing to do. shame the russians into supporting a person like assad. stuart: but the president is also saying that we are not going into syria. no boots on the ground. it is a very, it is a limited, a clearly limited operation, punishment for a gas attack, that's it, right? >> that is correct. the fact with air power we can do a lot. we can level his palace and we can level every place he lives in. we can put pressure on him if he continues to act that way. stuart: general, that would be regime change. i get the impression is not going for regime change. he is going for punishment if

they ever do gas attacks again. >> the question what you define punishment and regime change, both are punisent. the fact putin must understand there is only so much that the wod will tolerate. we do not want boots on the ground, american boots in syria, even though there is a small number right now. we need the syrian people to resolve this issue. and it is too complicated to discuss in, but it does need to be fixeded, and assad is no longer part of the solution. stuart: got it. china's president xi called president trump. he said, he will help with north korea. he says he wants a peaceful solution to the north korean situation. do you think perhaps that the chinese he see the writing on the wall as a carrier battle group approaches? >> well, i hope he does. i think his meeting with president trump in florida was a very important meeting that they

both understand. president xi looks at trump and looks at him, number one, here is a leader. he is not an empty suit. he was dealing with an empty suit for eight years. he is dealing with somebody that means business as exemplified by the attacks that we used the day he was there. and, so i think he understands, he means business. we're at an inflection point with north korea. they're developing, they have detonated five nuclear weapons. they have weapons that are going towards icbms that can reach the united states. we can not wait until they get to that point. i think president trump told them, enough is enough. if you don't help us, we're going to do it. and that is why there are 150,000 chinese troops up on the border right now because he obviously impressed him that he means business. stuart: last one, general. as a military man, do you approve of president trump's use of the military? >> absolutely. you can not have a diplomatic mission or a, diplomatic

strategy unless you have military power to back it up. that you mean business. we do not want the korean peninsula to be atarut we can not wait until it's too late. stuart: real fast, do you think president trump should or would shoot down a north korean missile as it heads out into the ocean? >> i would. stuart: you would? okay. >> absolutely. stuart: tough stuff, general mack american nip. come back next we might have some results of carrier battle group steaming towards the korean peninsula. >> thank you, sir. stuart: yes, sir. where are we going to open this market wednesday morning? i will tell you it is pretty much flat. the trump rally appears to be on hold. we're down 10 points at opening bell. the latest on the united airlines dragging situation, outrage around the world especially china. some chinese travelers so angry at the video, they watched it

every 200 million times, they're tearing up their united mileage cards. more with that in a moment. are allergies holding you back?

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stuart: what is it, wednesday morning? we're still talking about the incident over the weekend? yes, the dragging incident.0 min

views of that video just in china. chinese people are accusing the airline of discriminating against chinese passengers. the man is ethnically chinese. look who is here to comment extraordinary, ongoing situation, charles payne. do you think this hurts united in long term? >> it doesn't hurt them in the long term. five airlines have 80% market share. there is not enough competition to hurt them long term. a lot of people pushed back with the airlines consolidating it, allows companies to have mismanagement. it comes from the top. it is sort of ivy tower deaf tone you get when only have handful of competitors. it is tough to start an airline overnight. there are no more sir freddy lakers. remember him? stuart: i remember him. oscar munoz, he is ceo. he appeared on "good morning america." he says he will not resign.

he says they will not use law epforcement to remove people from planes any longer. not exactly a huge kickback on this. >> his initial response was really tone deaf. he attacked the passenger. he called him belligerent and disruptive. you know, listen the guy was buckled up. some folks from the bronx you ant do that to. that would be a different video. this guy had a heart transplant not too long ago, ceo of united. stuart: last year. >> i would thoug he would be more in tune with humanity, more sympathetic to the average person and apply to people. maybe this is a tough lesson. stuart: delta gives gift cards from american express or bloomingdale's. bumped from the flight, you get 1000-dollar card. >> if these guys had gone up they would have gotten more than four people. stuart: we need you around. we'll open pretty much dead flat. we will open. and you will see it after this.

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♪ stuart: all right. the opening bell rings in 28 seconds. we're probably going to open fairly flat to slightly lower again this wednesday morning. in the news background we're still dealing with the dragging

incident, if i can put it like that. you will see united's stock this morning, warren buffett has a big stake in united. [opening bell rings] you will see a move to safe havens as in gold, as in united states treasurys. turmoil overseas, safe haven here. we're up, we're running. it is wednesday morning, we're down 13 points. that is the very first quote on the dow. i see some green. i see some red. it is a mixed bag of an opening. that is what we have got in the first 30 seconds. the price of gold? we're going up, still five month, almost a six-month high. 1277 on gold. that is are with we're now. look at this one, another safe haven. united states treasury bonds, the yield is down to 2.29%. remember please, money pours in, prices go up, yields come down. 2.29, that is a safe haven.

how about united's stock. where does that open? it has been a rough week for the chart that is the weekly chart. as of right now it is up 50 cents. that is a bit of a recovery from the 58-dollar quote yesterday. walmart are offering dispoints on a million items if you buy them online and pick them up at stores. that is a challenge to amazon. walmart unchanged. amazon, $901 a share. apple out as the number one laptop brand. it is in fifth place now. more on that in a few minutes. apple at 141. who is with us on wednesday? ashley webster, elizabeth mccdonald, charles payne and jack hough. i say we're seeing things beginning to look up. something positive in the background. we have news on that from liz. liz: fitch, ratings company,

credit ratings, said beginning of the year, trump would destablize the world economy, he is an international threat. they changed their minds two months later. they say he is no longer a threat. moody's an let ticks mark sandi said recession when trump won. those red flag warnings not on the screen. fitch does not see a trade war coming. stuart: they have turned a little more positive? liz: correct. stuart: charles payne, have you turned a little more positive after the president's interview with maria yesterday? no. >> i'm extraordinarily positive about things in the market. what they call soft data. i'm seeing good stuff. greenbrier, railcar manufacturer, orders through the roof. these things are boding well for the long-term economy. what people are concerned about, nfib, small business optimism. they have another survey they put out there, the uncertainty index. came in at second highest level, ever. that is what is needling this market right now.

it is all about execution. all about getting the trump agenda executed in a proper time frame. stuart: so, jack hough, you think the trump rally is stalled, not going anywhere now? >> needs to be justified by earnings growth. the good news for first-quarter earnings they're saying 9%. right now, this late in the game. that is the bar they set for themselves. they always set a low bar. >> that 9% is probably 12%. >> you will get neighborhood of 12%. that is the first double-digit earnings breath since 2011. earnings growth is picking up. stuart: you have to see the profit growth before you get another leg up? >> yes. stuart: big banks come out tomorrow? >> correct. stuart: that is the first off the block there. at this moment the nasdaq loses, you have a long list there, tractor supply, surprisingly, down 5%. i will get news on that. >> same-e sales are off the company blamed weather. watch the next quarter. they will rebound. stuart: got it. next up, i want to get back to

united and the stock price. we have the stock price up a little bit. it has had a rough week. emac, warren buffett took a big stake in united, not recently but in the past, right? liz: late last year. he bought more into the airlines. berkshire hathaway is now the biggest shareholder in united continental. boy, that holding took a big shot in the stomach yesterday, down significantly. he lost -- that is what the united is worth right now. lost anywhere from 24 million at the close intraday on an intraday basis, it was down 90 million. >> this is buying signal for these stocks, are you kidding me? you can literally punch a passenger in the face, it will not affect your stock price. why? there are four, five, six big players out there. that understates the case. at your local airport there is one or two. monopoly or duopoly market. profits through the roof. stuart: that is fair point. only four major airlines in the united states. ashley: they have you over a barrel.

stuart: not any competition. >> hope they not charging you $35 not to get punched in the face. ashley: you gave them the idea. stuart: would you buy united at$0 a share? --$0 a share? >> i would buy on the dip. if it were down more it would be a buy. >> buy delta. buy delta. >> delta post ad pretty big numbers. stuart: by the way they give gift cards as opposed to discounts on future flights. ashley: i could have used a lot of things. let's leave it right there. stuart: autonation, the ceo thereof, calling out tesla. he says that stock is way overvalued when it goes above $300 a share. what do you say about tesla. >> i don't get these folks opining on tesla's stock. you are either long or short the stock. sometimes they do a disservice to the stock.

how long might have sold it stock too early. all because some guy like michael jackson says it is overvalued. it is where it is right now. i think it's a dangerous game to play. we heard this at tesla, 50, 100, 200, 250, 300. we may hear it more. liz: there is media headline, if tesla is worth more than gm. are u.s. taxpayers subsidizing. they give tax subsidies to buy their cars and we subsidize their batteries. crony capitalism between those two companies, meaning tesla. stuart: that was very good, liz. got it. walmart will offer discounts on a million items. buy 'em on line, pick them up at the store, you get the discount. that is a challenge to amazon. jack, jack hough, that would be, who will win this? >> look what the stock market

telling you about walmart share now, zero. this is only card you can play. if you put order on amazon they send around a guy on scooter give you the box. walmart, you are the guy on the scooter. that is where they can get structurally lower costs you're doing the work. are you really going to drive out to walmart to pick up the grill? has to be tempting to amazon that thing to your home. stuart: you think amazon running away with the whole ball of wax? >> i really do. i think they're decimating entire industries to be honest with you. stuart: they control 38% of all online shopping. 38% goes through amazon. >> yeah. stuart: next biggest chunk is best buy. they have 3.7%. >> pay attention to all east ipo, snippy all these, wacky names for ipo. everyone says we're using amazon web services as backbone for our product. ashley: right. >> these things are basically -- like affiliates of amazon almost.

everyone of them -- liz: people will still go out to shop, people go out to shopping malls, right? it is an american sport. >> the mall near me is putting in upscale bowling alley. there have to be innovative stores. i went to a store two weeks ago, ollie and pop. it is a big candy store, packed to the gills. they have to really make it a destination. people will spend money for experience. strolling through the average mall is not a experience. liz: that is good point. >> how thrill something bowling still wearing renting shoes? >> the neon lights. i will give you a review. stuart: you people are so down on bowling. >> we need a league up here. i don't know. ashley: snip snip. stuart: dow jones industrial average is eight minutes into the trading session down merely 2points. the level, 20,600. we've been there a long time. i say the trump rally is on pause. how about the price of oil?

oh, interesting, $53.54 per barrel. saudis want to extend production cuts. they want to stop other opec nations from cheating. up goes the price of oil to $53 a barrel. delta air lines, charles reported they had a nice earnings report this morning. they're looking pretty good in this overbooking situation by the way. they're up 3 1/2%. 46 on delta. how about apple? its new social video editing app, called clips, wait for it, scored up to one million downloads in it is first four days. that, i take it is a big deal, right, hough? >> apple makes it easier to download the software. is it free? >> yes it is free. >> apple users typically download quickly because it is easy and free. stuart: easy and free. apple out as the number one laptop brand. it is not just out of first place. it dropped down to fifth.

ashley: "laptop" magazine, based on brand quality, quality of the product, innovation support, all of that stuff, apple coming in at number five. number one, lenovo, azus, hp, apple tied with acer. stuart: does anybody buy laptops? ashley: too small a screen. tough use bigger screen. liz: for your soccer games. [laughter] >> all my pictures are on the computer. new computers are not good you have in to buy one. the real story is microsoft. all the way at bottom of the list for hardware but software has gotten better. all the names you see climbing you have to use microsoft software. in the past you would do anything to stick with the apple software. suddenly the microsoft software is a little more palatable on laptops. stuart: you like microsoft, don't you? >> i love the direction they're going. stuart: you love microsoft. you're just dying for microsoft. ashley: you're shameless.

>> they reinvented themselves. liz: why you love it? stuart: i own it. ashley: we never would have guessed. stuart: alphabet as in google, refutes charges that there is no gender pay gap. are you buying that jack hough? >> there is no up side in me answering this. there is different ways that the statisticians at labor department and google what the is category. how broad or narrow the category. this is google's ends whether women are paid less than men or not. i don't know. i think they're making a fair effort at it. i haven't done a deep dive on their gender practice. not a reason to stay away from the stock. stuart: it's a look. a company politically correct, which prides itself on equal pay, egalitarianism, suddenly in the news and accused of a pay gap between the genders. that is not good. doesn't affect the stock. liz: really big black eye for silicon valley to underpay your federal -- to underpay your female workers and to be using

those hb 1 visas for outsourcing jobs. there is a dirty secret about their job force, the job force going on in silicon valley. stuart: does not affect the stock price. liz: that's true. >> i will google it after the show. stuart: thank you very much, indeed, charles, and jack, great stuff. thanks very much for being with us. thdow industrials pretty much flat, down 20 points at 20,631. can't make this up. united airlines ceo oscar munoz named pr week's communicate tore of the year. that was one month before the infamous dragging incident. the man who gave munoz that title, the man who called him the communicatetor of the year is with us next.

stuart: holding with a loss of 20 point, the trump rally appears to be on a pause. 20,600 where we are. vw just announcing they will build a new sport-utility

vehicle, and they will build it in tennessee. volkswagen at 29 this morning. >> uber is losing its head of communications. this is another piece of bad pr for uber. liz: i'll tell you, they have now so many distractions. i don't know how uber will defend that rich 68 billion-dollar implied valuation for the public when it goes public. lawsuits, top executives leaving the company. ceo fight with the driver. boycott of female workers suing for sexual harrassment. their top communications person hand little all of this, gone. uber, wow, a lot of distractions, have to defend that huge value. liz: that's right. stuart: i'm sure everybody has seen this. this is the dragging incident. i should give you a doing alert i guess. last month, however, united airlines chief oscar munoz was named communicator of

the year by pr week a magazine. since taking on ceo duties on september 15, munoz has transformed the fortunes of the beleaguered airline, galvanized staff, set the business on a smoother course in tremendously difficult time personally. steve barrett from pr week is here. are you the guy who described mr. munoz as communicator of the year? >> i certainly am, yeah. listen, 2020 hindsight is wonderful thing this was a month ago. we're not psychic. if you look at achievements over 18 months since he took charge, at very difficult time when the previous ceo left under a cloud. he re-engaged staff. got all the union deals done ahead of schedule which was unprecedented. customer service levels were up. they're on time levels were up. share price was up. and he really was galvanizing the company and had done a great job and big part of that was re-engaging the staff. stuart: how do you feel this morning or yesterday morning

when you see initially he blamed the passenger calling him abusive. that didn't go down very well. how do you feel now what you said a month ago? >> i think if we were awarding communicator of year now we wouldn't give it to oscar munoz. their response was not good. they finally came out yesterday with a proper apology that should have been out on monday. that was, that was a bit tone deaf there. their initial response was tone deaf. i see he was interviewed this morning, it was system failures. that is an important point. the way they approach overbooking, the way people are removed from planes, clearly, that was a horrific, horrific optics for the company. he had to do something more, faster and more, you know, in a much better style than they did. stuart: you run pr week. now, i would put it toou, that united airlines just suffered a pr catastrophe, not necessarily that they could see coming but they didn't do right. >> i think that phrase, pr catastrophe is used a lot but

let's look at the reasons behind this. the reasons behind this was the way they treat overbookings and way they get people off planes. systemic failure was exacerbated by bad communications. they should have come out and done what they did yesterday. i applaud them for doing that. stuart: when you go to very beginning when you overbook, keep upping price, upping value of discount coupon they give to people. they stopped at 1000. go to 2,000 or 3,000? >> really good point t will cost them more, to say the least. systemic failures are what is wrong here. he said that in his statement yesterday. he addressed it that they would look at it and review it. they would no longer have airport cops coming on board. the chicago aviation came out immediately. they handled this from a communications point of view a lot better than united. they put that officer on administrative leave. and they said it was unacceptable and not, not the right behavior.

stuart: you know, from the pr standpoint, i think delta did a lot better job last week dealing with overbooking. they gave gift certificates from american express and bloomingdale's and best buy i think. that is a better pr approach, isn't it? buy them out. >> it is not a pr approach. it placessal approach. you don't want these things being done on the plane, for one thing. that is not good environment. they need it at gate. we don't really know why were these four staff arriving so late in the day so you had to pull people off planes. for delta, all other airlines, there but for the grace of god go they. when united leggings incident, united w bit cheeky. we saw uber and pep. every company has to have a plan in place. be ready for something like this to happen. stuart: when everybody has a phone, everybody has a camera phone, everybody can show everybody in the world an unfortunate incident. >> absolutely.

stuart: which raises the value of pr people, does it not? >> absolutely. stuart: that's why you're on this program this morning. you're other wait in gold. >> you wonder with the pepsi ad people involved? did anybody from the pr department say, are you sure about this, guys? were they involved enough in the statement or were lawyers dictating this? stuart: that is why you're on this program? you came on because you want to boost the position of pr professionals. i don't blame you in the slightest. >> that is something really important and has a big many pack on company's value. you've seen that with the share price changes. stuart: you know what is invaluable, steve? a british accent. man, telling you can't beat it. >> i have to work with what i've got. great face for radio. stuart: do you? pr week, you're all right. thanks for joining us, sir. appreciate it. market down 30 points. market scan indicates that more than half of the dow 30 are in the red anddown.

three bombs, they went off right next to the tour bus with germany's top soccer team. two people injured and including one player. police say there are links to islamic terror. we're on this story and back with more in a moment. think your large cap equity fund

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stuart: here is a story that

didn't make much headline in america. a german soccer team's bus attacked with serious explosives. ashley. ashley: three explosives. one containing metal strips. shatter ad window on the team bus. one player was injured. had to have an operation for a broken bone in his wrist. who is behind this? they are now believing islamic ties. they have identified two suspects. they have raided the apartments of these individuals. one has been arrested. there was references to germany's role in the attacks on syria and isis. also a claim that they want to shut down the ramstein airbase, which is the u.s. air base in southern germany. so that is what they're going on right now. the game was postponed being played today. stuart: the stadium was full of people. ready to go. ashley: all of a sudden -- stuart: attacking the team bus of a huge american sports team. liz: not getting any media coverage. no media could having, right.

stuart: i have one for you. president obama going to meet with angela merkel. they will talk with democracy. what is this all about? liz: he was invited in may of last year. this will be his first international appearance. the theme of the panel, being involved in democracy. taking on responsibility locally and globally. coincides with president trump's tour of europe and nato summit in brussels. so, the questions are, will president obama field any questions about that red line disaster of a comment that he made about syria, about, that's the red line, chemical and gassing of people. stuart: interesting timing on visit to europe. we've got, i'm saying we have a shift in foreign policy. i'm saying the president reversed the obama years. i think america is back on the world stage. my take on that three minutes away.

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tree into president trump's election was make america great again. 82 days into his presidency has raised america's standing in the world to defend this by reversing president obama's retreat. instead of turning the other cheek and accommodating our enemies, this president has taken a stand. no retreat. less than a week ago, serial is punished by dropping poison gas on its own citizens. for obama did nothing, tomahawk missiles with a very clear message. not enough good and solid enough that they wanted to rusht. you really have to drop your syrian pal. with north korea, president trump rebounded to battle group to the area in his interview with maria talked about powerful submarine. i was a thinly disguised threat. submarines carry nukes. nothing like from president obama. our opponents have taken notice.

he told president trump he wants a peaceful solution with north korea. the left isn't quite sure what to make all of to make holiday spirit it's hard to oppose punishment for assad and retrieve a north korea threatens california with a nuclear tipped missile. as the wave of terror rolls on, we'll remember the failure of president obama to put a name on it. trump has no problem saying the islamic terror and that he will destroy isis. added up, president trump has confronted our enemies and put backbone and to our allies. aims to me america is back. the second hour of "varney & company" is about to begin. >> frankly, putin is backing a person that's truly enable

person and i think it's very bad for russia. i think it's very bad for mankind. it's very bad for this world. stuart: he said it player. president trump talking to maria again he called assad and animal. more on that a little later in the program. check the big board wednesday morning down 40 points. 20,600. take a look at united airlines. they were up 47 cents this morning and $71 a share. a little easier. that stock is up 30% since april of last year. it appears they are writing out without too much damage the dragons charm. volkswagen plans to build another new sport utility vehicle and no building in tennessee. we are going to get the latest read on the supply of oil, how much regarding storage in about 30 minutes. right now, oil is at $53 a

barrel. that price could change with the oil in storage numbers weird cold still up there 12.76. that is a safe haven when things are happening overseas. but it like that. president trump in a one-on-one interview with their own maria bartiromo says tax cuts will come, but health care has to be dealt with first. listen to this. >> we are going to have a phenomenal tax reform, but i have to do health care first-period i want to do it for us to it right. >> do you have to do health care before tax refund? >> if you don't do that come you can put in a tax saving thing. >> have you moved off of their soft deadline to get this done? are you looking at later in the year? >> out of one of the deadline. health care is going to happen at some point. if it doesn't happen fast enough also to taxes if the tax reform

and tax cuts are better if i can do health care first-period stuart: congratulations, maria. terrific interview in thank you for joining us on this wednesday morning. >> thank you so much, stuart appeared stuart: i got the impression listening to the entirety of the interview that the president is trying hard to put his legislative agenda back on track. i came away with a fairly positive feeling that is going to have success with that. how do you read it? >> i read at the same way. he is committed to cuts and tax reform. he would like to do tax reform and a broadway. there's a lot of different factions and they are going have a battle over a number of things up in the tax plan. even if he cannot lead to a broad tax or farm package, he will let the end of the day cut taxes. the problem is people do not like tax reform being held hostage by health care reform. we will see if the health care bill have success. mark meadows said they are

closed on the house side. maybe they will get health care done and you can quickly move on to tax reform. i have no doubt he'll cut taxes this year. i do not think it is a few the impact is felt in 2018. little by little expectations come down about anything restaurant to force 17. if the expectations come down, markets could be stable until we see evidence of this happening. tree into its stable until we see evidence of it happening. i don't want you to move the market down this morning, maria. you have the power. >> we'll watch this tax reform package. i said to him why should we expect tax reform get done what we know what just happened that the battle for health care. he says there's a lot of common ground. everybody wants to get this done. i live the interview, later on i get an e-mail from one of my sources on capitol hill has sent me an e-mail saying i just want to know i saw your interview and i cannot support any tax reform

that includes the property tax deduction in the state income tax deduction going away. i thought here and there in lies the problem. they all have their own issues and there are lobbyists around it. i do not think there is a border adjustment tax reform package. they will do an import tax, and maybe in the trade part of things, but i don't expect a border adjustment tax. stuart: seems to me listening to the entirety of the interview that wealth will probably get will be a cut in corporate tax rates. that's the easy one to do. bring some money back. insight that is the easiest way to go when the most likely way to go. >> i agree with you, but the question there is what is the rate? if they don't get the health care bill done with the utmost really dollars in savings, remember president obama for so many taxes and affordable character talking about $900 billion.

president trump means that once they overturn the tax increases so that can be part of the way to pay for the tax cut. so if they don't get that done is the battle over corporate tax rates. we know a presidential campaign on 15%. it's not 15%. paul ryan said 20%. if he doesn't get health care diagnostic creep up? that's was part of the battle. trade to 22% 23% corporate tax rate will not work. that's not a big enough cut to bring back the two or $3 trillion it got parked overseas. >> repatriation is an important part. a small tax on money coming overseas. if i do i save 2.5 trillion. it's 5 trillion we are going to get the money to come back because we are going incentivize business to do it. true to maria, come on back to new york. we miss you here and we'll see you soon. congratulations. secretary of state in russia as

the beat. the lines are drawn over syria. they are far, far apart. joining us now, don jensen and john his university school of international studies. welcome to the program. looks to me like was going to stand up with america a strong stand. what do you think comes next? >> first of all is clear that there's a new sheriff in town. he didn't expect it. he's got to do a better they are not happy about dealing with it. is not going to be very much obvious progress because the u.s. essentially asking putin to choose between better relations or assad. that's not going to do that publicly because it would be too embarrassing to pick the u.s. relationship but privately he prefers. stuart: president trump seems to make it very clear we are not going into syria. no boots on the ground, no army occupation, nothing like that.

he seems to be saying this is a punitive attack and you mess around with gas on your own citizens again and we will do it again. that is the extent of the arab >> i am like that in the u.s. has to come wi a straty that follows up upon this. the tightening of the u.s. response itself is a very, very important thing because putin was wandering around assuming he could do whatever he wants, including double crossing the last in the chemical weapons agreement three years ago. russians do about this. they just didn't do anything because nobody would call them to account. stuart: is it your position that the world needs america and its america to take a stand on the issues of today? >> absolutely my position. this is a complete reversal. it was instructive. they didn't expect this to happen. especially someone that cultivated for so long that trumpeted the right thing.

not the russians have to decide what is going on and this makes prudent but very, very weak. a lot of people commented on that. stuart: the chessboard looks different. >> sure does. stuart: thank you for joining us on the program. thank you, mr. chairman. david tao the man being dragged off the plane there has officially retained a high-powered lawyer after being forcibly removed from the airline. surely everyone has seen it by now, but it leaves us wondering, what are our rights as passengers? we are all over that story we've got an answer. president trump telling maria health care is the first priority before he tackles tax reform. we will dig into this strategy with former chief economic adviser president bush. the second hour of "varney & company" rolls on, does it not? ♪

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stuart: down 40 points in the dow. 20,600 holds. if you look at at the market scan cometh into the of the overall market, dominated by thaksin read. that means they are down. congresswoman mark meadows, later the freedom caucus says they are very close to a deal in health care. watch this. >> we are very close. the biggest thing for all of this as we want to not only make sure that we have repealed, but that we have a replacement to a replacement that drives down insurance premiums. if we don't drive down insurance premiums, we will have failed. stuart: come on in. for faster infirmary chief economic adviser to george w. bush. i'm sure you heard what mark

meadows had to say there. he said something similar before. do you think we are in fact capable of getting an agreement within the republican party to foreign health care after the easter recess? >> well, i sure hope so. it's extremely important we do this. we been here before. you mention i've been in the bush administration and the last thing that we learned then is he can't give up on this stuff. i don't know if you recall, is due her, but there is a vote on t.a.r.p. that failed them i went back to congress, when up to the hill, worked hard and eventually got back past. i believe there was an important part of moving us past the financial crisis. the point that you get out of that is you simply can't give up st because things stalled. this one is extremely important. you mentioned earlier in your discussion with maria and interview with the president and i thought that was very revealing and quite significant that it is important to get help

care past because it is not only implications for health care, but very significant implications for the budget and ability to tax reform down the road. it's absolutely essential. stuart: a lot of people wanted tax reform first and foremost. it appears obvious that that is not the schedule. it is health care reform first and foremost. you agree with that? >> i think the reason people want tax reform first is because the view anything correctly the tax reform will have the biggest effect on the economy in terms to growing that the most important thing we can do. reforming health care will be second to that. the problem is in order to get tax reform, it makes it much more difficult to do that in the absence of a health care reform. the reason is the obvious one. not just the deficit. the fact that right now the affordable care act increases are pending dramatically over

time and increases tax dramatically over time. both of those are problematic when you try to do tax reform. without removing the cynic's tax reform much for difficult. the more significant ones in terms of economic growth and we've got to get there. no doubt about it. stuart: i came away from the interview feeling a little more positive about the president's legislative agenda moving over whether rightly or wrongly. i think things are looking up generally speaking. so much money into the safe havens of gold and united states treasury securities. >> raid. that is certainly true. put this in perspective. if you look at treasury tes righw and compare them to where they were last year, it is true we seen a change that we've

gone down. if you compare them to where they were last year, we are still higher than last year. i would say that there's not a whole lot of danger. the danger i would say it again this is a minor danger, but which you always worry about is that the fed will be too aggressive, raise rates on invert the yield curve and make short-term borrowing costs higher which was sold on investment. i don't indict the major danger. i know jennie gallant quite well. i've known her my whole life you choose a cautious. i don't see anything like that happening. they would meet the level of interest rates right now. the rate -- the level of short-term rates relative to the rate of long-term rate. that is a longer -- again, an issue that we're worry about a year from now. stuart: and 20 seconds, tell me how they treat a conservative in

california like yourself. >> well, depends on the part of california. in the bay area we are pretty few in number. but you know, californians are respectful. they are thoughtful people and we have good -- i would say sometimes heated exchanges for serious intellectual discussions. stuart: the sun always shines. great having you come us there. come back again. i will call this a big win for the gop and president trump is tweeting about it this morning. great winning chances last night. easily winning the congressional race against the dems who spent heavily and predicted the trade. they spent a lot of money trying to win that seat. we will deal with the results in just a moment.

stuart: this special election in canberra state republicans got control of the house seat vacated by mike pompeo. he smoothed out to be the cia director. i think the margin of victory with seven points. >> it was closer than it. 53% to 46%. james thompson a big-time supporter bernie sanders in a very, very conservative congressional district in kansas. so you could argue it's perhaps closer than you'd expect. stuart: closer than one might have expected. what is your judgment?

>> to the one that republicans hold. this is a lesson and hillary clinton learned this lesson the hard way. republicans are taking us for granted because trump won by 27 points. pompeo was really good and they wereust kind of thinking this is going to happen. at the same time in the numbers at least looked at polls in really something is happening because the election in november wasn't about republicans. it is about change and being independent and getting things done. at the very last minute, both the vice president and the president at robocalls. trample is tweeting. they think that actually made a difference when it came to the attention and realize they have the problem of the least popular governor in the country and sam brownback of republicans have to address that because that is what attract out is that many people think.

stuart: republicans in a tight spot because of their poor performance and that failure health care. i thought that my cat. >> hope others are active. >> they have -- stuart: on the republican candidate side? ashley: yes, but they've been arguing with regard to taxes. stuart: they don't want the border adjustment. ashley: exactly. stuart: if you don't get the border adjustment tasks, you are not paying for the tax elsewhere. >> this is the other dynamic. what can things are seeing is a lack of unity. >> here's how you paid for it. stop the waste, fraud and abuse in medicare, medicaid and earned income tax credit. the viewer ever see in social media they are serious about that that's how you pay for it. stuart: president trump telling

two-parter realm of assad is an animal but said he does not plan to send troops to syria. we are all over that story. united airlines dragging incidents. worse pr ever. look for his allies to change their ever booking policy. back in a moment. ♪

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five, facebook, amazon, microsoft, apple. and all of them are really close to their all-time record highs. four of them are down today, not by much. one of them, facebook up just a little bit. now we're about to get the latest numbers how much oil we've got in storage. may seem a little arcane to you but this affects the price of crude oil which could therefore affect the price of gasoline and therefore the stock market as well. liz: down slightly. 2.2 million barrels. they were expecting a slight build. stuart: we have 2.2 million barrels less oil in storage? ashley: yep. stuart: would i expect to see the price firm, and it is, sort of. liz: saudi arabia saying they will extend cuts. stuart: that is a complicating factor. the saudist to eend production cuts. and -- ashley: now it has broken through 53 bucks. the next resistance area will be 55.

if it gets to 55 and goes on up, who knows. stuart: no major impact on the price of oil and stock market. we're still about 40 points down. we have this one for you, in a one-on-one with our own batter batter -- maria bartiromo, president trump calls president of syria an animal. he has taken almost a personal response to what assad did against children. >> most human beings are in fact responding that way. that is what we wanted to say. what is appealing not just the president but the family as well. we can relate what they're reacting to. the response was still professional, it was measured, it was dynamic, clearly a very fluid situation. we can relate to him personally and operate presidentially.

we see him baking choices getting the job done. stuart: he also comes back and says we're not going into syria, that is his words. no boots on the ground. making it clear that he has an emotional response to it, but not beating the drums of war and we'll invade with tanks and guns? >> this is very good. very different from when the administration started. they were not really explaining anything that they were doing. it harmed the travel order. harmed with the approach with the obamacare repeal. here he is in front and that is a significant difference when it comes to a major action that is important. he is being honest. he is doing twitter. they're doing interviews. they're making sure we'll not have boots on the ground. we know things can change. we also know that he is being honest, at the time when it comes to what he sees. i'm really impressed with the fact that they're in front of this, this could go south and yet he is controlling the narrative. that's new. stuart: i think the president lo good in a solid sense from that interview with maria? >> absolutely.

this is also his learning curve. he knows the media and he is realizing now the power of the presidency, the importance of it especially in life and death issues like war. this is one of the many elements reminded him about the power of the office but also nature of how it humbles you and kind of choices you have to make. very, very good. stuart: the circumstance with your words. >> yes. stuart: circumspect i should say. thank you very much indeed, tammy bruce. thank you very much for being here. let's get back to the dragging incident, shall we? we've seen this many, many times. the passenger who was dragged off of the plane has lawyered up. that is the news. an airline policy of overbooking is now very much in question. look who is here? brian kelley. he's the points guy, founder and ceo thereof. he follows the airline industry very, very closely, from the inside i believe, brian, right? >> we're proconsumer. stuart: right. i'm a consumer.

i'm sitting in my seat on the plane. >> yep. stuart: i bought that seat. i paid the ticket. i'm sitting there. and some guy comes along says you've been bumped you're off. what are my rights? >> now that actually does happen quite a bit because air marshals will sometimes have to be placed on a flight. this happens where the airlines can kick you off. in general, about 50,000 a people a year get bumped for overbooking situations. the airlines are allowed to oversell the flight, generally they handle that before you board the plane. unless a federal officer is bumping you from your seat, you should not be deboarded from a plane like what happened in chick he poe. stuart: if i'm sitting there peacefully, bought a ticket, paid whatever i paid, i'm peaceful, i'm not drunk and i'm not shouting and screaming to anybody, you have no right to take me off? >> it's a gray area. technically, united's plane they can argue their private property like asking someone to leave their house. this is different. i think it goes to court. united says we asked him to leave.

once he didn't comply we're allowed to kick you off. they have 25 set rules, like drunk passengers where they can kick you off. boarding their employees to take your seat isn't one of them. i think united stands to lose here. silver lining will be more protectis for consumers. stuart: i don't think they go to court. i think they settle way before they get to court. but in general terms when you're on a plane, you are subject to the authority of the pilot and the cabin crew,. >> correct. stuart: they have ultimate authority. >> they have ultimate say -- sometimes planes are overweight. sometimes you have to get off. my general advice, when police or captain asks you to get off, you probably should follow their instructions but you know, i think man is being seen as hero. i can see why. passengers have been treated like garbage. finally standing up for consumer right. i think you should follow crew instructions but you know, airlines are out of control how they treat their passengers. stuart: that is ashley webster right over there. he is trying to constrain himself because he was bumped on a flight on christmas eve in chicago. ashley: yeah.

stuart: to make way for a family which arrived very, very late. ashley: right. family of three. myself and my wife were there. they had three seats. they needed three seats. they kicked us off. our baggage was on the plane. pulled away from the gate. by the way they flew my luggage to the destination. so we were left in hotel with no luggage. >> you have no recourse. and they always call the police to help out. i think that is the -- ceo oscar munoz said they will stop using police to enforce their customer service which is great to hear from him. probably a little too late. stuart: may i make a suggestion? why don't airlines behave like delta? which i believe doesn't give you a discount coupon for future delta flight. >> yeah. stuart: they give you a gift card, american express or bloomingdale's? bout it. they give you american express gift card like cash. they want to maximize profits by overselling, if you want to get

a passenger off, start bumping it up. united lost hundred of millions of market cap. they could have gone up to 2,000 bucks. stuart: there is this movement, boycott united? >> in asia, claims of racism and united is huge in china. this is going viral in china. i don't think united will go down from this but i think they will learn a very, very hard lesson. they need to come out full-throated. oscar said there would be investigation. i would like to see united not just hope for this pass through the news cycle, come out with customer-friendly initiatives, look we'll not over book anymore. i don't know. stuart: wouldn't it help if there were 10 or 20 airlines as opposed to four? >> jetblue doesn't overbook. there are certain airlines, you don't have to over book to make a profit so. stuart: jetblue does not overbook? >> in very rare circumstances but -- stuart: i will remember that, ashley. brian kelley, you're all right. thanks for joining us.

>> thanks for having me. stuart: appreciate it. yesterday on this program a guest made a incorrect reference to the company involved in the dragging incident. united express flight 3411 was operated by skywest airlines. united dress flight 3411 was not a skywest operated flight. we apologize over the confusion over that particular issue. check this out, sports fans. "forbes" released a list of major league baseball's most valuable franchises. i have to believe the yankees are number one, ash? tells me that on the screen. ashley: very good. stuart: i can read. ashley: very good. 3.7 billion. liz: wow. stuart: do you have any idea how that stacks up against say, manchester united? ashley: manu and real madrid are more expensive overall. stuart: the executive producer is in my ear saying, you got to make it about soccer. [laughter] soccer is more valuable than the yankees. we're a news organization. ashley: we are. people want to know. stuart: thank you very much

indeed. ashley: you're welcome. stuart: former cowboys star quarterback, tone my romo as part of his retirement farewell, dressed as member of nba dallas mavericks. i don't know what this is all about. what is it? liz: he got a unique send-off at the mavs game. he long-time cowboys quarterback. suited up with the mavs. participated in prege festivities. he sat on the bench. wasn't expected to get into the game. he did and play for a little bit. stuart: i will interrupt you, our producers told us manchester united is worth 2.2 billion. yankees, 3.7 billion. check the source on that. come on. check the source. attorney general jeff sessions yesterday touring the border, that is with mexico, vowing to confront cartels and bring illegal immigrants to justice.

president of the border patrol union is next. what if technology

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these four staff arriving so late in the day so you had to pull people off planes? but for delta and all the other airlines there but for the grace of god go they. stuart: true. >> when united had leggings gate incident, delta was a bit cheeky having a bit of go. we awe uber. we saw pepsi last week. every company has to have a plan in place and need to be ready when something like this happens. but when family members forget, trust angie's list to help. [ barks ] visit angieslist.com today.

>> as we speak, i am issuing a document to all federal prosecutors that mandates the prioritization of these immigration enforcement. starting today, federal prosecutors are now required to consider for prosecution all of the following offenses often not prosecuted in the past. transportation and harboring of aliens. as you know too well this, is a booming business. no more. we're going to shut down and jail those who have been profiting from this lawlessness. stuart: you heard him there. that is the attorney general of the united states of america, jeff sessions, talking tough on the border. he says there is a new era. brandon judd is with us. an active border patrol agent

and has been elected border patrol union president. brandon, good to see you. >> good morning, stuart. it is a pleasure to be with you. stuart: has anything changed from your point of view on the ground right there at the border since president trump was inaugurated january the 20th? >> whether you lean left, right or in the middle you have to be a fan of what he has done for the border patrol, for border security. he has done more in the first 100 days than the last two administrations have done in 16 years? stuart: what has he done? >> jeff sessions was a good example. just the simple promise we're going to enforce the laws, the way the laws are written has caused illegal immigration on the border to drop exponentially. with jeff sessions going out and reinforcing attorney general sessions, going out and reinforcing exactlwhat president trump stands for, this is also going to cause illegal immigration to drop exponentially. so he has done a great job.

stuart: now were some border patrol agents with a, did president obama put the law on them, prosecute them for various things they were doing at the border, did he do that? >> no. he was not. he wasn't prosecuting any of the assaults on federal agents. stuart, it is funny -- stuart: brandon, that is exactly what i'm saying. there were assaults on boarder patrol agents and the people doing the assaulting, they were not brought to justice, that is correct i think? >> border patrol agents were assaulted more than any other law enforcement agency in the entire nation. president obama did not prosecute but a fraction of the assaults on federal agents. stuart: okay. now, we have report this morning that speaker paul ryan is suggesting that congress delay border wall funding until next year. what do you say about that? >> i disagree. we have to -- president trump

promised the american public he would secure the border. part of securing border putting in place proper technology and resources that allow us to be successful. a border wall in strategic locations is one of those things that we must get done. stuart: i just want to go back to a report we ran in the last couple days, border crossings, illegal crossings coming into america are at a 17-year low. would you confirm that, sir, and tell us that is exactly what you're seeing on the ground? >> in 20 years in the border patrol i have never seen such a quick drop. the 17-year low is in fact correct. again that is due strictly president trump's policies. stuart: if you catch someone combing across the border today do you catch-and-release? >> that the fst polic president trump changed, now,

again i stated many times the handcuffs are being taken off of the law enforcement agents and we're putting handcuffs back on the criminals. stuart: can you tell us in 20 seconds why you think that the previous administration had somewhat open policy on the border? >> i think that it was for political purposes. and again, if you're going to politicize the security of this nation, i think that is very sad. president trump has come in and he is not politicizing it. he said he will secure the border. he has done exactly what he said he was going to do. stuart: brandon judd, president of the border patrol agent union. come again soon. >> i appreciate it, thank you. stuart: first lady melania trump won her lawsuit against "the daily mail" for reporting false statements. details. liz: we don't know the dollar amount of the damages. this was a story "the daily mail" ran in august 20 of 2016. it questioned the nature of her work as a professional model.

it reported innuendo that she was offering services beyond modeling. the first lady denied it. the modeling company denied that story. they said it's wrong. they went ahead with it. they republished the innuendo. basically they also alleged that the first lady met donald trump three years prior to when they actually met. all these falsehoods were denied by the first lady. they went ahead and published it anyway. now "the daily mail" apologizes. they said the story was flat-out wrong on all counts and we will pay damages. stuart: we don't know how much. ashley: she asked for 150 million. i'm not sure -- stuart: we'll see. walmart, they will give you a discount. you order maybe a million items, order them online, if you pick them up at the store. that is a challenge to amazon. liz: it sure is. will people really drive to the store and pick it up?

amazon has free delivery. a million items discounted as you pick it up. walmart is the big gorilla in the room as far as retail sales. amazon moving fast on this space. stuart: everybody we'll be back in a moment. as of now the dow is down 50 points. we dropped a fraction below, repeat, 20,600. a few months ago who would have thought i would be talking about 20,000. but we are. we'll be back. yes? please repeat the objective. ♪ thrivent mutual funds. managed by humans, not robots. before investing, carefully read and consider fund objectives, risks, charges and expenses in the prospectus at thriventfunds.com.

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stuart: some of you are taking issue with my take yesterday about the man dragged off the united flight. i said at one point, it could have been any of us. well that is what i said here are some of your comments on my statement. first of all, from kevin. you're wrong on this one, mr. varney. you obey authority. then take it up with them after they have the facts, especially in a closed environment like an aircraft. not sure i disagree with that. tricia says, no, i would have followed the directive. i do have some dignity. i would be very upset and they would get an earful. i agree with that one too. last one from kathleen. they are both at fault. but if the man who respected authority and gotten off the plane as asked, then nothing would have happened. so, would you have respected --

this happened to you. liz: happened to ashley. stuart: tell us the story real fast.ckly on the plane, pulling away from the gate, a small regional out of chicago funny enough, my name was called off. my wife. they pulled us off a family showed up at the last minute. we were ones that got picked to get bumped. stuart: you give them a hard time. ashley: i did. i refused to move at first. no. i have to the my seat. i have my boarding pass. sir, we'll get the marshals if you don't move. stuart: if it happened again -- ashley: i watch that guy, part of me said i wish i had done that. but there again, listen i respected eventually. got off, gave them an earful at the counter. just talking about it gets my temperature going. i was so mad. stuart: even though many years ago. ashley: six, seven years ago. stuart: what do you say, liz? liz: i hear everything that the viewer is saying. i agree with them. i think there should be congressional hearings into this. why are airlines allowed to over book by 400,000 according to the

d.o.t. a year, overbooking. >> look into that. are they padding profits via overbooking? we know they want to fill seats but doing it at the inconvenience of their customers. stuart: i think airlines should follow the example of delta. when they overbook, they give gift cards, up to a value of $1350. get off this flight. take another one. here is an american express gift card. liz: federal limit or -- whatever the law says. stuart: they're exist cards, not a discount to flight. ashley: offered $400 to this guy. that is an outrage. all the an inconvenience and fact he bought his seat. stuart: if you're sitting in a seat on the plane you have to obey the authority. you just go to the. that is the way it is. interesting subject. we're still talking about it days afterwards. we'll be back.

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stuart: dare we say it? optimism making a come back, is it? the president and, yes, even the republican party are certainly more upbeat, let's put it like that. maria on fox business this morning, the president said will do health care, and he will do it first. then he'll do tax reform, and it will be done by the end of the year. that's a strong statement right from the top that his agenda is growth agenda will get back on track. now, mark meadows, chair of the freedom caucus says the republican party is very close to a deal on health care. this is positive stuff. and for the gop, so was the result of the election result in kansas last night. the republican won by seven points. all right. now lack overseas. president trump is doing a 180 on foreign policy. retreating. the countr largely approves

this who drop gas on children. retreat in the face of evil was the easy way out. it's not for president trump. add it up at home and abroad, the new trump administration may be coming out of its early period of mistakes and confusion. i think things are beginning to look up. the third hour of "varney & company" is about to begin. ♪ ♪ trump: we are going to have tax reform at some point very soon. i think we're doing very well on health care. it's been very much misreported that we failed with health care. we haven't failed. we're negotiating, and we will continue to negotiate. and perhaps save $900 billion. so we're going to have a phenomenal tax reform, but i have to do health care first. i have to do it first to really do it right. stuart: that was president trump in that very truly

excellent one-on-one interview with our own maria bartiromo. the president said health care must come before tax reform. there's no impact on the stock market this morning. still down 50 odd points. we just dropped below 20,600. that's a -- that was martha arrived on the set. >> welcome. stuart: she just about broke my set. >> sorry. it can be fixed. i promise. stuart: can you sit there for about 30 seconds. >> is that what a guest is supposed to do? . stuart: yeah, 30 seconds. >> iphone still intact, by the way. stuart: . stuart: how about the price of oil, slightly less oil in storage. didn't make a difference to the price. 53 on crude. but gold, still near that five-month high. up a bit more today. $4 higher at 1278.

gold is essentially a safe haven in times of trouble and so is this. the treasury bond market. you put money into treasuries, the price goes up, and t yield goes down. that yield at 2.29% is way below the 2.6 it was about a month ago. how about the health insurers? let's take a look at them. they're a mixed bag but since the election, they've gone straight up. eye got news on health care. mark meadows, he chairs the freedom caucus and the house, he says republicans are quote very close on a deal on reforming obamacare. now, he said that before, but he said it again. and now he says they are very close. fitzgerald joins us now. money map chief investment strategist. are you optimistic about the chances of getting a health care deal done quickly? >> well, i tell you, stuart, honestly, i used to be. now i'm more cautious because the more i hear about this is close to being done, and we're

working on it, and we're negotiating, that's government swamp speak for, hey, we haven't got a clue for what's happening. this is a show and tell market, i need to be shown no n. stuart: i did get the impression from the president's interview with maria that he did want to get that legislative schedule back on track, and he's pushing hard for that. does that not make you feel a little bit more optimistic? >> absolutely because, again, he is a businessman. he's used to these kinds of situations. he has to negotiate with board of directors. he has to make decisions, and i believe he's trying to make the best decision. the question is whether or not you're going to get the legislative branch of the government to play along. that's where the sticking point is. stuart: i guess you could say that the trump rally is on pause, and it's still on pause, despite what he said to maria. you'll agree with that one? yeah. okay. >> i think so because it's a global market. stuart: it is indeed. a couple of individual companies and issues i want to talk about. walmart. if you buy this -- there's a million items that you can buy online, and you'll get a discount if you buy them

online and pick them up at the store. i see that as a direct challenge, an early, small challenge to amazon. what say you? >> i agree with you, stuart. i ink it is a challenge. what they're trying to do is compensate for the last mile delivery cost. i don't think longer term that's going to work because amazon is coming hard, they're coming fast, and they're coming aggressively. walmart, this is a survival strategy. stuart: it's hard to see people beating amazon when they control 38% of all online shopping. very hard to see anybody overcoming that. >> agreed. 100%, stuart,. stuart: okay. i want to talk to you about auto nation. their ceo says that tesla is way overvalued. it crossed $300 a share. mr. jackson comes out from auto nation says it's way overvalued. what do you make of that? >> well, that's interesting because, you know, evidently the market disagrees with him, not to say anything disrespectful but the market has a very different opinion about what tesla's potential

is. i think tesla scares in and that's in part why he's making comments like that. stuart: would you buy it at $300 a share? >> i have no problem recommending tesla hero. but i don't look at it to be clear as a car company. i look at it as a electric supply company because that's really what tesla is all abou a. stuart: all right. how about united airlines? i have to get back to the dragging incident. a pr disaster. warren buffett has a big stake in united. i think he's got 24 million shares, actually. but do you think that it's going to have a negative impact on united stock over the long-term? >> very hard to say, and i'll tell you why. united here in the united states, the damage is already done, but they are huge in asia and in china, in particular. this news is already going viral in china. i think if anything, that's going to bite united hard. whether they recover from this, that's too early to tel t. stuart: i've got this just coming at me. the atkins diet, it's going public. first i heard of this. what's your reaction, keith?

>> really not a market item for me. you know, this is a small in each diet. there's lots of diets, they're a fad. you turn the page, all of you i knew one tomorrow. i don't see this one playing out. stuart: that's a clean, cut answer. thank you, sir. i want to get back to what i was saying at the top of the hour and bring in martha, previously injured for crashing her iphone on the set. >> well, you know. stuart: you know more about politics on the inside than i do. and we have the president saying we've got to get health care done. we have mark meadows saying we're very, very close. what's your reading of the closeness of a deal on health care? >> i think congress needs a win as much as the white house needs a win on this. they do need to prove that they can get something done. i think it's fascinating, actually, that the president sort of dropped it like a hot potato and then decided to come back to it. and that was a push from congress as well.

i think they may be getting closer on this than your previous guest suggested because really, the freedom caucus needs to approve that they're willing to play along, and you just look at what happened in kansas and the reaffirmation. i think those kinds of signals are important. this is a golden opportunity for the republican majority, and they really have to be careful with this. they can't blow it. they have to put stuff on the ledger. stuart: won the kansas election, he won by seven points. that's not a huge margin because it's a very conservative area. but you think that is supportive of the republican party becoming the republican party of government? >> i think it's -- if it had been a loss, it would have sent a dangerous message. i think the fact that it was a won is obviously a win of president trump who put his form on this in the name of a tweet. you had mike pence on the ground there, ted cruz on the ground there, so a lot of people putting themselves on the line on this because they

know it sends a signal going forward. now, estes got a little bit dinged for getting a little bit push back in the on own state where he's governor. but still, i think it's on that side of the ledger for the white house. stuart: you're almost up with 100 days, the first 100 days of the presidency. >> 83 days. stuart: 83 days. that's right. he hasn't got all that he wanted to do done in the 100 days, has he? >> no. he has not. i mean, i think it's interesting that you have heard zipo about extreme vetting in a while; right? that was one of the very first things out of the gate. haven't heard much things on the wall, either. but global events tend to take precedent when you're the leader of the free world, and i think there's been a renewed focus on those things with the china meeting. there was sort of a shift too that came from the white house as well. they said you know what? this is going to be an international week when you had the meetings with the jordan, and you have the meeting with china, which apparently went well as you listen to president trump

behind the scenes, he says we got along a lot better than anybody thought we could. so i think that that was desired to take the focus off some of this domestic stuff. but watch this nick mulvaney story and what he's doing with trying to streamline these government agencies. i find this to be one of the most fascinating stories that's actually going on out there right now. he's confronting all of these agencies and saying, look, start with a blank piece of paper. tell us what you need. there are 43 different agencies in the united states government that do worker training programs, and they have no one leader overseeing all of them. he says, look, from a business perspective, that's ridiculous. let's get one worker training agency here. so he's really talking about changing the base of bureaucracy in washington, and i think that's a fascinating drain the swamp story that they are moving on. stuart: that would be a very popular move. >> yeah. stuart: it is a very popular move. martha, thanks for joining us. >> thank you, stuart. sorry for the crashing in. [laughr] . stuart: 82 days. is it the 82nd day today?

>> today is 83. stuart: i miscounted. thank you. >> thank you for having me. stuart: president trump told our own maria bartiromo bashar al-assad is an animal. he used that word. an animal. next up the man behind brexit nigel farage, no connection to the animal word there. listen to this. >> this is an animal. and i really think that there's going to be a lot of pressure on russia to make sure that peace happens because frankly, if russia didn't go in and back this animal, you wouldn't have a problem right now. hi, i'm mindy kearns. it's great to finally meet you. nice to meet you too. your parents have been talking about you for years. sorry about that. they're all about me saving for a house, or starting a college fund for my son. actually, i want to know what you're thinking. have a seat. knowing that the most important goals are yours. multiplied by 14,000 financial advisors, it's a big deal.

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cme group can help you navigate risks and capture opportunities. we enable you to reach global markets and drive forward with broader possibilities. cme group: how the world advances. trump: this is an animal, and i really think that there's going to be a lot of pressure on russia to make sure that peace happens because frankly, if russia didn't go in and back this animal, you wouldn't

have a problem right now. he would have been overthrown. i thought he was gone. he had another week. he was finished. he had nothing. nothing. stuart: president trump can certainly be forceful, can he not? assad is an animal. i think he used that word twice in the interview with maria. and look who's here. nigel farage, the man behind brexit. we don't have a shrinking violate as the president of the united states, do we, and do you approve? >> i approve of much of the way that donald trump conducts himself. but i would just add to the point that, yes, a fad undoubtedly has done some pretty awful things against his people. amongst the array of people against him are organizations like isis whose behavior against people frankly at times is best. and i think it's a problem in the world trying to pick the good guys and the bad things because whams once assad is gone?

because you listen to secretary of state tillerson, you listen to johnson from our country and what's really clear is that the west is now calling the regime change. they're calling for assad to be gone. i've yet to remember one sensible explanation of who or what is going to replace him. stuart: i think president trump may be dialing that back. he's gone to great length to say we're not going into syria. maybe he's countering the calls from some people saying regime change. >> well, i think it's a great relief napoleon gave that interview last night made it clear that ground troops are not going in. i think a lot of voters would have been mightily relieved by that. but still, there are many people around the president and close to happen who are really been quite explicit in saying they want regime change. well, they did in iraq, we did this in libya, i just wonder what the alternative is. stuart: nigel, did you know that former president barack obama is going to visit

europe shortly, next month, i believe in may, he's going to visit angela merkel and precisely the moment that meeting takes place, president trump will be visiting europe as well. what's going on here? >> yeah. well, trump is going to brussels to go and meet nato, which i think is very important indeed because they need to get the message very clearly that america will not go on picking up the tab if the other members aren't paying 2% of their gdp membership fee. as for obama, well, the one country he wouldn't visit in europe of course is the united kingdom because he doesn't like us very much. he always saw germany as being america's best ally in europe, and i guess it will be a get together of the globalists. they can have a losing party for all the things that went wrong for them in 2016 and maybe happen to them in 2017. stuart: as i was saying no shrinking violate over there next to big ben. one more for you. will you put in perspective context,lease, thettack

three bombs on the soccer club bus yesterday. it's not been widely reported in the united states, but i believe it's had significant impact in europe. spell it out for us, will you, nigel. >> yes. i mean, this was a very prominent football team going off to play a champions league game against monaco, a very, very popular team with some big stars in them. there were three explosions that took place outside of the bus. one of the main windows was blown in. one of the players had an injury to his hand. at the moment, there are several groups who are claiming responsibility for the attack, so i can't yet confirm. but the context is this: that there are now so many attacks taking place across europe that it's almost become an everyday event. stuart: that's an extraordinary thing. nigel farage, as always. thanks for joining us.

i appreciate it. >> thank you. stuart: look at this stock price. this is volkswagen, dead stop. unchanged, actually. the company is planning to build another new sport utility vehicle, and it's going to build it in tennessee. we still have a 50-point loss for the dow industrials right at 20,600. back in a moment.

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. stuart: this is just coming into us from the kremlin. vladimir putin has met with secretary of state rex tillerson. we weren't expecting that meeting, in fact, putin said he wouldn't meet him but apparently they have met. now, prior to that meeting, putin went on tv and said -- liz: in russia that the relations between the u.s. and russia now worse than what they were under president barack obama. that the situation has deteriorated. they have not improved between the u.s. and russia and that there's ambiguous contradictory signals coming out of the trump administration toward russia. . stuart: do you think it's

possible that they held the meeting tillerson, putin, calmed things down? ashley: i think so. let's face it, the tension has been ramping up, it's easy to make statements back and forth. i think a face to face meeting is called for, and it can only help, to be honest with you. we'll never see eye to eye with the russians, but at least we can kind of calm down a little bit. stuart: totally different story. you know more about this than i do. forbesas a list of the major league baseball and whis the most valuable franchise? ashley: well, i can tell you that. new york yankees at $3.7 billion. they generate the most revenue. 526million. but you look at some of the others, the dodgers actually lost money last year, but they have one of the highest payrolls. i will tell you the average major league baseball team is worth $1.5 billion. that is up 19% from a year ago. so america's pastime is starting to pay off a little bit more for the baseball teams. by the way, nfl average for a team is 2.4 billion, so that's

well ahead of baseball teams but there you go. liz: there you go. how about soccer? . stuart: yeah. stop it. next up attorney general jeff sessions warning people who went to america illegally this is a new era, the trump era, and it's different. we'll play you the clip in a mot are allergies holding you back?

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. stuart: strong words indeed from attorney general jeff sessions on immigration. roll that tape. >> for those that continue to seek improper and illegal entry into this country. be forewarned, this is a new era. this is the trump era, the lawlessness, the advocation of beauty to enforce our laws and the catch and release policies of the past are over. . stuart: and judge napolitano is with us again. that is a 180 from president obama. >> and it should be uneventful and not newsworthy except that the previous administration that did the opposite. remember, president obama exercised what's called prosecutorial expression, he put it down in writing in a

series of 12 executive orders, which was challenged and ultimately invalidated by the urtsecause it was 180 degrees from what the law said. so attorney general sessions says i work for a guy, his name is donald trump, he's the new president, we're going to enforce the law. that's basically what he just said. now, not all of this is his. the catch and release so to speak is the department of homeland security. obviously general secretary kelly is onboard with this as well. but much of this is under his domain, the concept of hearings, of deportation hearings, of confinement, of decisions to deport. that's all in the justice department. stuart: but, you know, the mess created by president obama who let people in, caught them, and released them. cleaning up that mess is going to cost an arm and a leg. >> yes, it is. stuart: as liz told us an hour ago, there are 500,000 people in america illegally who were caught and released and awaited want to for one minute

hearings. >> i'm going to make you sick. stuart: go. >> the cost of a deportation beginning to end. arrest, trial, appeal, and then either vindication or deportation about $250,000 per deportation. ashley: a quarter of a million. >> paid for by the tax glares that is outrageous. there's no way around it because they have to have legal representation. >> including the prosecutors, the salary of the judges. everything is factored in. that's not my number. that's the government's number in the obama administration. stuart: well, can't you speed up the deportation process? speed up the hearings? >> i don't think that would change the cost. the problem is long lines. so somebody arrested today, they wouldn't even get to the head the line to see a judge in months. and the decision goes against them, and they file an appeal. they wouldn't see the appellate panel for years. stuart: but what we have now is catch and hold and a number of people held is going up and up and up. >> well, that's what liz talked about earlier.

who's paying for the hold? the taxpayer. the taxpayer is getting clobbered every which way. stuart: so i can see it coming that it's much cheaper and much quicker let them stay. can't you see it coming? >> i don't think this president would do that because his whole campaign started on illegal immigration. even though he's frugal and doesn't want to see taxpayer dollars wasted, i don't think he would be frugal he will. if he did that, under undercut his base but save a lot of money. ashley: billions and billions and billions. stuart: it's not government's money. taxpayer money. . stuart: but let's never forget, never, ever forget that, judge. >> i can't believe you just said that. it must be that catholic tie you're wearing. stuart: whatever. [laughter] thank you, judge. split my eardrum, nearly. i'm going to get to the markets. we're right at 20,600 on the

dow industrials. 20,610 down 49 points. got it. look at the health insurers for a second. this is since the election of november the 8th last year. those health insurers have gone up very nicely, thank you very much. chap wood investments ed is with us now. all right. there's talk that we're going to get a health care deal. mark meadows, freedom caucus, et cetera, et cetera says we are very, very close and president trump is pushing hard for a quick deal. if we got a quick deal, what happens to the health insurers? and what happens to the overall market? >> well, the overall market of health insurers, everybody does well if that happens. it depends on -- you know, the details, obviously. but at this point, we just want to get a deal so we can move on. a lot of this is already priced in. we know we do get a deal. we don't know what it's going to look ke. bue biwinner here is starting to address taxes. we just got to get past this health care bill at this poin p. stuart: okay. i want to talk to you about walmart. they're going to offer

discounts on more than a million items if you buy them online and pick them up at the store, you get a discount. now, that's a challenge to amazon. how series of challenge is it? >> i love it. i -- this is sort of like ali and frazier going at it because you have right now is ali call it walmart saying, hey, i'm coming after you because walmart can play the game of their brick and mortar and online. amazon? it's all online. so amazon, better wake up. they have. they're a great company but walmart is coming after them right now. stuart: really? you think it's a serious challenge? >> without any question. without any question. the economics of doing things online are so much better than doing them through the brick and mortar and what they have is the ability to go have you pick it up at the store versus the shipping. walmart is going to win this game as well. stuart: do you think -- would you buy walmart at $73 a share? >> yeah, i would. i would be a buyer. maybe not at this moment, but

i would buy walmart over amazon at this point without any question. stuart: how about tesla? the auto nation -- the ceo of auto nation, he says tesla's wildly overvalued at $300 a share. what do you make of that? >> yeah. he's correct. i mean, it is. tesla is priced for perfection. everything has to happen exactly the way, you know, it was laid out and even better. and nothing happens the way it's supposed to. so steals overpriced. it's going to come back at some point, and we're going to realize it was undervalued if they hit all of these numbers. but at this moment anybody who buys tesla has really got to have their head examined. it's just not worth what it's selling for. stuart: got to have your head examined? all right. strong stuff. how about united airlines? i don't want to rehash the dragging incident and united has just dropped below $70 a share. do you think it has -- the stock price has a long-term problem becae of this dragging incident?

>> yeah, no, obviously it's a terrible incident. this is not a major economic event. it's a terrible event. i hope they change the, you know, things that go on inside the airplane. they're going to start to see some expenses to try to bring people back and give people a happier feel. but economically let me tell you. if i had to get some place, and they had the cheapest price point, i'm on it. and i think most people are as well. stuart: exactly. that's right. that's what you're looking for. ed, thank you for joining us, sir. we'll see you again soon. thank you. >> great. thank you. stuart: this is just coming to us, and this is a big deal, in my opinion. vladimir putin is meeting with secretary of state rex tillerson. again, that was not supposed to happen. really wasn't on the schedule until very, very recently. joining us now is robert charles, former assistant secretary of state to colin pow h powell? what do you make of this? i can't imagine if it was the other way around. i can't imagine president trump meeting with sergey. but here we have putin meeting with tillerson.

what's this all about? >> well, i think you see secretary tillerson arriving on the ground with a lot of credibility, partly because of the strike in syria. you see him, he's a man of integrity, and he's got the president's support. so what normally happens is you just said that typically foreign ministers and secretaries of state meet without a head of state, but what they've done is already legend our word being good for a meeting with putin. and i think at the end of the day shows putin's respect for trump, hard to get below all the layers of the onion, but i think what you see here is a series of very shrewed statements and acts, and i'll start with syria because beyond the act itself of striking back, the fact that you end up in a situation where the secretary of state was able to lay down a pretty clear statement that this is a doomed administration, the assad administration, it reflects kind of a historic

flashback of reagan talking about the evil empire being doomed, and i think that's very deliberate. i think that sends a message to putin that no more games. everybody's going to be accountable on the world stage, and i'm here to sit down with you and figure out what the gradient is out of this mess in syria now. stuart: seems to me america's back on the world stage. no longer in retreat. that was in my position. but there's another thing here. chinese president says he will help with north korea. he says he wants a peaceful solution. that, again, puts america back on the world stage, no longer retreating. really going into a confrontation with north korea. is that how you read this? >> i read it a little differently in that i see this president through rex tillerson and general mattis and john kelly and the attorney general saying we are going to lift the bar worldwide. everybody will be accountable again. and when you have china with a very close relationship with

north korea and north korea's a rogue country and needs to be brought back in, you know, there needs to be an evolution there back towards civil behavior. what he's doing is raising the bar. and, you know, this is what the president said he would do when he ran. people didn't really believe it. but what now you're doing is you're saying there are very few red lines. obviously, nukes are one. but bottom line is you're in a position where you can put the world also on a gradient toward higher accountability and what that really means is if syria is a proxy for russia, they need to lean on syria and make an evolution at the top of that country so that they get back into a civilized world. and north korea, the same thing. china's got to lean in and start doing things. stuart: but, robert, it seems to me this is a 180 of a foreign policy of president obama. is it? >> yeah. you had a stop, stop policy. a hold back do nothing obama. stuart: do you approve of it? >> of this policy? . stuart: yes.

>> sure. i think it's giving credibility to the united states on the world stage. we are finally leading. we are finally engaged again, and our word is good. listen, if our word is good, the world begins to line up like shards of metal on a magnet if the world believes that our word is good and that our ideals are truly going to be stood for, everything changes. . stuart: all right. robert charles, thank you very much for joining us, sir. we'll see you again. >> pleasure. thank you. stuart: some perceive a renewed sense of optimism this morning that maybe the president's growth agenda can be put back on track. reportedly two sides in the -- well, in the health care reform business, they're reportedly very close to a deal. we'll talk about that in a moment.

>> i'm lauren simonetti on the floor of the new york stock exchange with your fox business brief. stocks at session lows, the dow down 76 points. leading losers are the investor stock today as you can see caterpillar and boeing, the losers on the dow, your consumer stocks. coca-cola and nike are your winners. check out shares of walmart. news for you. number one, more layoffs coming to the company. number two, they have a new program if you place an order online, you can get it -- you can pick it up at the store and therefore they'll be

lowering the prices for some items. shares a huge winner today, rallying double digits. qualcomm to pay them $115 million in a royalty settlement. that's the latest on the floor of the new york stock exchange. more varney after this you do all this research on a perfect car, then smash it into a tree. your insurance company raises your rates... maybe you should've done more research on them. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. liberty mutual insurance. due to your first accident. at angie's list, we believe there are certain things you can count on, like what goes down doesn't always come back up. [ toilet flushes ] so when you need a plumber, you can count on us to help you find the right person for the job. discover all the ways we can help at angie's list.

>> how do you know you're not going to have a similar battle on the tax debate? because you've got a border adjustment tax. the deductions. so whose to say it doesn't sell away the tacts bill? trump: i think tax reform is going to be tough. they have their own agendas and supporters of people in congress, they have their own agendas, they want certain things. tax reform is going to be tough, but it won't be as tough as health care. health care is very, very difficult. stuart: well, he says health care is going to be very, very difficult. okay. today or late yesterday, mark meadows, who is the chair of the freedom caucus, he turned around and said, well, the two sides on the health care reform debate are very, very close, implying that a deal is fairly near. come on in, chris, fox news politics editor. i've heard all of this before. we're very, very close.

we've got to do this. what do you make of all of this? are we close? >> remember, when failure is an option in congress, they usually will. and they can fail on this one. the trump administration has signaled that they are willing to keep paying subsidies under obamacare. even though the house is suing saying that these are illegal and unconstitutional, the administration says -- tells the new york times, yeah, we're going to keep going. we will do this. the real issue at the end is if they can't get a replacement for obamacare done, then basically towards the end of this year in september and so when they're going to have to run a bunch of other stuff, they're going to have to figure out a way to get $7 billion for some additional subsidies to true everything up, and they can kick the can on this. what i think trump's looking for and what i think house republicans are looking for is pass something. pass anything. just pass it. kick it over to the senate, and then if it dies later, at least they will be able to say

that they tried and at least they'll be able to blame democrats instead of it being a self-inflicted wound. stuart: and that would be a symbolic victory on the trump administration. the stock market would really like it. give me the odds here that they will pass something. i don't care about the details. will they pass something? >> it would be perfect for washington just pass something. i don't care about the details. you belong in congressional leadership. i mean that in the nicest possible way. the truth is that i think it will depend on what donald trump's approval generating is when they get back from their break, how do people perceive him? is he perceived as a threat to reelection, how do things go? there's a special election in georgia next week that's going to tell us an awful a lot about what republicans attitude is. so it will depend. if donald trump looks strong, if the president looks like he is in command of his administration and the arteries are good, yeah, i can

see the house passing something. if it looks like there's a problem and it's back in the '30s and people are at each other's throat, then, no. stuart: are you with me on this that i just can't believe the republican party will throw it all away and pass nothing on health care and delay tax reform probably until next -- i can't believe that they will do that. >> i think that if they can't get it through now, then i think you will see -- i think this truly is the last chance, and i do think that they'll move on to tax reform. the president keeps saying tax reform is tough. you know what's not tough? fiscally questionable dubious tax cuts. and i think the next thing this administration looking for a win and a would i to juice the economy. i think it's easily to say if you don't have a health care thing, i think you can see them saying let's just find a way to cut some taxes. stuart: and that would work for the stock market. i wonder if it will work for

voters. next week when they vote in georgia, that is a key vote, isn't it? because they're still in recess, aren't they? congress still in recess? >> they're still in recess and if they come back and the republicans -- so basically if the democrat running in that seat can get over 50% of the vote, he avoids a runoff, and it will terrify house republicans because there are probably 35 or 40 districts in the country that look like this, suburb more affluent underperform typical republican nominee where there's a lot of anxiety among these members in congress who often tend to be more moderate themselves. if the race goes that way for republicans, which i don't think it would, but it certainly could. if that happens, you will hear the sound of a fee retreat from paul ryan, from donald trump, from doing anything, and you will see them bunker in and try to save money and survive next year. stuart: what a situation. thanks for pointing it out to us. we appreciate it. we'll see you soon. >> happy wednesday.

stuart: i've got more details here on the story that we call the retail ice age. the struggling children's clothing retailer is going to file for bankruptcy. preparing to file for bankruptcy. ashley: yeah, more than a billion dollars in debt has a big payment due on debt. stuart: a billion? ashley: yeah, it has a big june 1st payment due. it's expected to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy, trying to reorganize and restructure that debt. but you're absolutely right. you see these stores in malls across the country, the gymboree store, they haven't made a profit in five years, stu. stuart: a lot of people just dial up amazon or get online and get it delivered to the door. hell of a story. excuse my language. the dow is down 87 points. that is the low of the day thus far. back with more in a moment yes?

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. stuart: apple's in the news today. why?

because it's out as the number one ptop brand. it's actually in fifth place now. ashley: as compiled by laptop magazine. i know you subscribe to that one, stuart. they base it on quality innovation, support, design value, and so on. apple number five. who's number one? lenovo. always gets good ratings. followed by asus, del, hp, and then tied for fifth, apple and aser. that's a bit of a below for apple. stuart: let me point this out. i think it's the low of the day at the moment. off 91 nearly 92 points firmly below 20,600. i've got a story on google. alphabet, that is. it's refuting charges. it says there is no gender pay gap, liz. liz: google saying it was taking back saying you have systematic gender pay problems in your company. they said wait a second at google google.

we looked at 52 job categories. we don't see the problem and how do you define similar jobs, u.s. government? you've got to tell us how you defined it? you, u.s. government, did not have access all of the data we had. so this fight is heating up. whether google discloses more of the information is an issue. they're being sued by the government. stuart: no impact on the stock price. liz: that's correct. stuart: maybe a social issue but not an impact on the stock. liz: correct. stuart: facebook added what is called group payments to its messaging app. this new feature will compete with paypal. again, this is not going to affect the price of the stock or the value of the stock very much at all. ashley: but they're all trying to come up with new services, new options for users to make sure they stick around and this payments, is it going to be a reason why more people are going to get on facebook? does it help to retain people? i'm not so sure. but this standing still isn't an option these days. stuart: no, it's not. you've got to keep moving. ashley: got to keep moving. stuart: the great companies,

the great technology companies keep moving forward. liz: that's correct. stuart: no matter what, google's like that, amazon's like that, to some degree apple is like that. although. ashley: not as much recently. stuart: kind of like this at the moment. the dow industrials the low of the day. 92 points lower. maybe there's some frustration but nothing is really getting done with president trump's legislative agenda. when they do something, we'll see a different market reaction. but right now, nothing done. we're down 90. back in a moment.

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stuart: want to thank one much our viewers, robin, who wrote into us to say manchester united, we quoted their value at $2.2 billion. we bottom it wrong. it is not $2.2 billion. no. it is 2.2 billion pounds. which translates into around $3.2 billion. ashley: closer to the yankees worth, 3.billion dollars.

if the pound was stronger we might about equal. it's a stretch. stuart: i can't believe manu is worth less than the yankees. apparently that is the case. robin, thank you very much indeed for mailing that in and trying to save my bacon. di quite work. i'm out of time. look, here is charles payne. >> thanks very much, stuart. welcome to "coast to coast." i'm charles payne in for neil caught view toe. breaking right now, secretary of state rex tillerson is meeting with russian prime minister vladmir putin. putin saying russia's relationship with the united states deteriorated under president trump as the administration gives russia stern warnings over skier i can't. secretary tillerson is set to hold a news conference. fox business exclusive. bombshell from the president how he may handle his economic policy going forward. >> i don't want to put deadlines. health care is going to happen at some point. now, i