remembrance. thanks, everybody, for joining us today. you think the economy is in its best shape of its life? >> i think it's in the best shape of its life if you look at pmi, gdp growth. maria: dagen mcdowell, don pebbles. stuart: good morning, maria, good morning, everyone. we take care of money and politics but today with lead with fires that are threatening los angeles and threatening they are, the santa ana winds are forecast to come on strong today making a bad situation worse. mansions are blazing, high waives closed, thousands evacuated, there are people fleeing for their lives to backdrop of flames, look at that. high winds will fan those flames today and we will take you there throughout today's program. all right, now let's get to your money. bitcoin, that's the headline today. how about that? two stories for you, number one, it crossed 15,000 bucks earlier

today, number two, $60 million worth of bitcoins were stole from a bitcoin wallet. bitcoin is not immune to hackers and once they are gone, you can't get them back, think about that. politics, senator franken will make a statement on the senate floor today, lost support of most fellow democrats, will he resign, don't know. will he respond to sexual harassment charges against him, we don't know that either. when he speaks, you will see and hear it. veterany&company is about to -- varney&company is about to begin. note ♪ ♪ stuart: let's get right to it. story of the day, southern california wild fires, ashley, what do we have? >> brutal santa ana winds which would fan the flames from fires,

now the national weather say not quite as bad, gusty but not 80 miles an hour. they had to shut down with 101 freeway. that's the ventura freeway, they cut it down, essentially cutting off northbound traffic from heading to santa. barbara:a from ventura. you can see northwest of downtown los angeles, four major fires burning. as you saw from the video earlier, stu, 405 freeway shut down for a period yesterday but at least 200 homes have now been destroyed. that number is expected to grow, this is a very, very serious situation and the town of ohi, kind of a small town of 7,000 people, essentially cut off, they are trying to save it but all of those residents are out. stuart: that's the story, good news on the wind, i guess. fingers crossed. let's get to future's market. down is the operative word.

we will be down about 60 points. modest loss for s&p, look at the nasdaq, could be some of those tech stocks are beginning to come back. check out the big name tech stocks right now, all of them on the upside. they've had a decent recovery over the last couple of days, recovery continues this morning, apple, alphabet, microsoft, all of them slightly higher in the early going this market. that's premarket. how about this one? ge's power division will eliminate 12,000 jobs, cost-cutting begins, this is part of a billion dollars worth of structural costs that are coming next year. modest reaction on the market, though, gain of 4 cents for ge, still at $17 a share. another day of records for bitcoin, however, there was a big hack and $60 million worth of them were stolen. joining us brian brendberg, business and economic professor at the king's college in new

york city. right, so they are not immune to hacking, $60 million gone and ain't coming back. >> when it's gone it ain't coming back. that's the big thing. there's no recovery. this one not as big as mount dock problem. it can be hacked in ways you probably figured it out yet and when it is gone, it's gone. stuart: you're a business professor, is this a speculative bubble or long-term investment vehicle? >> great gambling right now in bitcoin. you have a core of people who understand the technology, they are bought into it ideologically, philosophically, a huge layer on top of it, people are say, i have to get on this thing. bitcoin can go way up, it's a long-term win but that's not what you're buying when you're buying bitcoin. stuart: if it did crash, came all the way down to virtually nothing, would that hurt the real economy?

hundreds of billions of dollars out? >> no, i don't think it would have a significant affect in economy, would change the landscape but not big affect on the real economy. stuart: i want to keep going on bitcoin. i want to talk about the chip maker because they make chip that makes the thing go? >> the chips and the graphics to basically mind and chase bitcoins say the math to handle bitcoins. this is a way for investors to invest in the future. they are also involved in electric cars from tesla, amazon's cloud, microsoft's cloud services. that's why this has been one hot stock to invest. micro devices is big in the space as we see other bitcoin competitors as well and the like. stuart: envidia has almost doubled? >> that's the year to date. irony of bitcoin is this was built in response to the money printing to deal with the financial crisis.

that's why bitcoin came up. [laughter] ashley: right. stuart: very good news. congressional chorus growing lower. joining us now nancy of concerned women for america, penny, the democrats probably going to get rid of al franken, they have gotten rid of mr. conyers -- ashley: conyers. stuart: my apologizes, do they now have a roy moore problem, the gop because he's probably going to get elected? >> he probably is, stuart, and i would say for two reasons, for one reason two words the supreme court, the people of alabama are having to decide between two candidates and frankly they're having to make a really hard decision, yeah, this is a big issue for republicans, you know, they still have blake still in office and i think that it's time for him to go and we are

also concerned for america asking congress to disclose which members have we been forced as taxpayer, been force today pay $17 million to settle their sexual harassment suits. stuart: trouble is if roy moore is elected to the united states senate, you can't get rid of him, you can't say you're out of here, you can't do that in the united states senate, that is a gop problem, he is around their necks on this issue, so to speak? >> well, and it's up to the people of alabama, right? stuart: no. i agree with you -- okay, voters in alabama who will pass judgment, but then he gets into the united states senate and the democrats will be all over him and all over the gop and that's a fact. >> and let's be honest, if it weren't for roy moore then al franken would be just fine right now. stuart: maybe. >> this is really what this is about. suddenly all the democrats are turning on him because they want to have an issue going forward, they want to have an issue in

2018 and 2020. this is very political, no doubt. and it's a difficult spot for the american people -- for voters and specifically for voters in alabama. stuart: yes, it is, penny, thanks for joining us. i'm sorry so short, i have a jam-packed day. >> god bless. stuart: yes, indeed. i can't get to grips with this. it's about wal-mart, they dropped the word stores from the name, now it's just wal-mart; is that right? wal-mart. why the devil do i care? >> you don't. [laughter] >> in american worldwide they don't, they want wal-mart to be where wal-mart started in 1962, low prices always. stuart: why did they change the name? >> they want to have everybody to think they are channel online and on land. this is a way as liz referenced in the break to potentially think wal-mart online.

ultimately it comes down for all of retail price water house cooper 63% of people are motivated primarily on low price that's what they want wal-mart to stand for, more than wal-mart stores, more than wal-mart, just low prices always what founder mr. sam put in place in '62. stuart: they are doing okay at the moment, wal-mart. >> will do very good next year for the foreseeable future. stuart: amazon has a new idea. it's not in place yet, they have a good idea. log onto amazon, you will buy something. on pops an ad, if you read that ad all the way through, you watch that thing, they'll give you a discount on what you're buying, how is that? >> smart today will be copied by everybody else tomorrow. first mover advantage till midnight tonight. [laughter] stuart: that's it. that's all you're getting. okay. i have to ask you about the royal wedding, the one in england because you told us last time that the royal wedding would make a difference to the retail business, that it would

give pop to retailer, that's another thing. i don't understand what you're talking about. it's a british royal wedding, it has nothing to do with america. >> stimulated fashion and beauty sales, meghan markle is very accomplished fashion beauty travel with the fit her blog and charles said people are tired of silicon valley, ceo's looking like slobs and sweat shirts, they want to be able to dress better and meghan markle, prince harry, the royal family will start to bring back what princess did in formal fashion and beauty and will help retail you and my favorite stores, retail of the year in london, three years in the a row, better for retail worldwide specially fashion which has been struggling for many years. stuart: wait a second, are you buying this, ashley: ash already she was wearing some canadian

designer clothing and their website crashed because so many people wanted to get it. liz: changed the name of the coat to her. >> took down the blog popular face and beauty, very accomplished woman. liz: so skeptical this morning. [laughter] stuart: invented retail ice age. i give the man kudos. >> 2018 wedding, we will watch together. stuart: we will. [laughter] stuart: thank you, sir, nikki haley, ambassador to the united nations raising concern over the safety of our athletes at the winter games in south korea. she says it's an open question as to whether or not athletes will evened attend the games. olympic swimmer dara torres coming up on that one. we were suppose today fly 2 big-1 bombers, big show of force but our military was only able to get one off the ground, couldn't get the second one

ready for the drill. question, does the military have a readiness problem? general jack keane is next. big day in history, today is the 76th anniversary of pearl harbor attack, more than 2400 americans were killed in that attack and we remember them today. [vo] when it comes to investing, looking from a fresh perspective can make all the difference. it can provide what we call an unlock: a realization that often reveals a better path forward. at wells fargo, it's our expertise in finding this kind of insight that has lead us to become one of the largest investment and wealth management firms in the country. discover how we can help find your unlock.

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stuart: lurks u lurks u lemon, remember them, see-through yoga pants. look at that. that stock is up 8%. not bad. 73 on lulu lemon. president trump declares jerusalem as the capital of israel and embassy will move there. you're a military guy, military significance to moving, recognizing the capital of jerusalem?

>> no, not really, geopolitical significance to it. it's always been the capital, everybody knows that. we have certainly endorsed that and we are going to put embassy in a place where it can do business effectively where the government is. stuart: seem today me that relationships are shifting in the middle east. saudi arabia actually might get kind of close to israel of all people, and, of course, everybody hates iran, does this move make difference in shifting relationship? >> the fact is this has been going on for a number of years, the truth is right now as we speak before this announcement, the relationship with israel and the sunny arabs has never been closer and that's a fact and i don't believe that this announcement made by the united states is going to be a wedge in that relationship. i think those relationships to israel and the sunni arabs will continue to grow. why are they closer, one reason, iran. iran aggression in the region is

touching everybody and they want to push back on it. they are not going to push back on it publicly together but they are working to push back on it. stuart: we don't really hear about but that relationship, israel, sunni, arab, much closer. >> very much so. stuart: i have to ask you about this fly-over in the south korean peninsula. we were one b-1 bomber short, do we have a readiness problem? jack: you know, stuart, we have a military readiness crisis, 50% of aircraft are down and not flying depending on what service we are talking about. 50% of the fleet, b-1 bomber fleet is down for maintenance. we are short thousand pilots, we are paying a huge price for 75 -- it's been 75 years the military has been this small. we have aging equipment and the

operational temple that we have, we are struggling keep up with it. that's why you see shipping bangs into each other and pilots having mishaps, we are supposed to fly 15 hours a month, we are doing 5 to 7. we are increasing their personal risk. stuart: this is very bad news from -- the north koreans look at this and they see we can't get two b-1 bombers in the air, we can only get one, that's a very bad message sending to north koreans, isn't it? >> it is, but the message is. >> strong. 230 bombers and fighters participating in this exercise and i'm confident most of all of those will get where they are supposed to go with the exception of this one. stuart: what could they be used to do, knock out missile sites? >> oh, yeah.

underground sites, launch missile sites, taking down artillery and also taking down regime target in pyongyang. stuart: you need all of those planes to say we can knock all of the targets in one single go? >> they are practicing with the south koreans. stuart: we never spell it in real terms, always in exercise. >> they are practicing for war. stuart: general jack keane always putting it in plain english. ford motor company stepping up production of autonomous car, they want to build them in america, jeff flock is actually being driven around in one right now. they'll you see it. he'll be on the show shortly. next, in fact. is this a phone?

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stuart: we have a time senator al franken will make announce at 11:45 p.m. eastern time from the united states senate. you will see it on the program today. next case we have the ford motor company, look at the stock for a moment. it's moving electric car production to méxico so it can focus on self-driving cars in michigan.

this is what an executive told us about that. >> significant change and business opportunity for our company. we are not going to get ahead of our skis, this is a really significant new technology and has to be fully developed, the technology, but if you're going make a business out of it, you also have to develop a business model. stuart: jeff flock is in michigan and he spoke to that gentleman at length. tell us more of what he said, please, jeff. jeff: he thinks they can make money on autonomous vehicles before they can make money on electric vehicles, he thinks that's the business model that needs to go forward. it's coming whether you like it or not and ford is showing the way it's testing vehicle. this looks like an autonomous vehicle, lights at the top, communicate what the vehicle is going to do, if you go inside the vehicle, you realize and we will do that, that this is not an autonomous vehicle, it's actually one that somebody is driving, this is a seat suit,

stuart, and put it in gear and take it away. testing people's reactions to autonomous vehicles but putting an actual person in it who can see people's reaction and maybe you see, hands down on the vehicle but when you're looking on the outside, looks like somebody is in the car and test real-time reactions, it's interesting, in about two hour's time in the broadcast, i'm going to be in the seat suit. i will show you how it works, this thing is flying whether we think we like autonomous or not, they're coming. stuart: that's fascinating, jeff, well done again, mr. flock. ashley: pretend autonomous vehicles? that's the cheap version, comes with a driver. stuart: let's bring you up to the date on the markets, down about 60 points, look at the

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stuart: here we go again. it is thursday morning. we've got 15 seconds to go before we start trading today. now the futures suggest that we

will open on the downside, 40 or 50 points. that's only a modest loss, of course, when you've got a dow over 24,000. we will pose the question, will it hit 25k by christmas? right now we are looking at opening of trading and we see a loss of 39 points. i think i see there 30 points, we are back at 24,116. dow 30 opened up, we have quite a few in the green. mostly in the red, however, and we are down 26 points as we speak. how about the s&p? broader indicater, that is down about just 1 point. not a big drop there. nasdaq, i'm interested here. home of the nasdaq home to technology companies, they've had a bad -- last week was a bad week, they've come back this week and the index, nasdaq is coming back as we speak. take a look at bitcoin again, it hit odd high, however, there's been a hack, look at that

$15,305 right now but there's been a hack, $60 million worth of bitcoin stolen. ashley: affected the price. [laughter] stuart: ashley webster, elizabeth mcdonald, brian brendberg and there he is charles payne back with us. i'm starting with bitcoin. how about that? this hack, $60 million worth stolen, new high, 15,000 bucks, would you touch it with a 10-foot pole? charles: i would touch it with a 3-foot pole. it's got the potential to go to 100,000, 200,000, 300,000 or zero. stuart: really? charles: yeah. it is speculative. i would not use any money that i could not afford to lose, instead of perhaps vacation somewhere, new suits, 5 or 10

grand in bitcoin. stuart: a couple new suits will cost you -- [laughter] stuart: real fast now, brendberg, would you buy bitcoin? >> no, i'm not buying bitcoin. i'm telling students to pay out debt and not buy bitcoin. stuart: ash? ashley: couldn't afford it. stuart: will you buy it? liz: no. stuart: tax reform, gop is considering bumping up corporate tax rate to 22%, they wanted 20, they are thinking of 22% and they would bring back some of the deduction you get for state and local taxes, that would be the deal. professor brendberg, if it were 22%, would that make much difference to corporations in america? >> you have to keep it into context. we are talking about coming down from 35 to 22, that's a big deal, that's a good deal as long as 22 stays permanent, no problem. stuart: does it keep us competitive with the rest of the

world? >> absolutely. 25% rate for most of the developed world. stuart: brings -- brits are lowering rate. >> we should take it as a win. charles: verizon pays 30%, wal-mart 28%, disney 34%, cvs39%, amazon 29%. 22 looks pretty good to those companies. stuart: quick check on big board, we are down but not as much as we were, we are down 18 points. charles, 25,000 by christmas? >> 95%. you get another job's report in the tax bill, a lot of momentum going into the end of the year. stuart: okay, we are glad you are on the show. [laughter] stuart: has been a rough couple of weeks for big tech names. premarket all of them were up,

after the markets open, microsoft down just a fraction. look at the list, please, charles. would you buy any of them, those prices today? charles: amazon for sure, apple for sure. i also like adobe. here is the thing, guys, the stocks are still up 40, 50% of the year, some of them pulled back 7%, you have to be careful. you can't wide the waves and highly-volatile stocks, you have to make a decision, my decision is to buy them -- stuart: look at them go. extraordinary stuff. now we are down, what, 12 points, narrowing the loss on the dow, four minutes into the trading session, looks like we are just about break-even point now. down 12. ge's power division will drops 2,000 jobs, this is all part of a billion dollar cost-cutting idea for next year, the market no reaction, down 1 cent, 17.65

on ge right now. dollar general, higher sales, hurricanes led to more traffic in the stores and higher spending at the stores as well. nice gain there, dollar general up 4%. more on that later in the program. lulu lemon, rosy forecast, up it goes, 7%. ups expecting delivery delays of what they call the unprecedented surge in online shopping. they didn't see it coming. [laughter] they are down again, think were down yesterday, 118 this morning. look at disney. robert iger likely to stay ceo beyond 2019 if the deal with 21st century fox is made. moving up again, disney at 105. tailored brands, that's the parent of men's warehouse upbeat forecast, stock is up 16% at $20 each. -- even. amazon, here is the story of a day, watch an ad, watch it all

the way through, you will get a discount on what you're buying, would you do do that brendberg? >> yeah, of course, if i can save -- coupon clipping in the 21st century. stuart: that's interesting. liz: streaming music pandora does, cheaper music charge with ads on the site, same kind of thing. stuart: amazon 11.57 per share, shy of 110 it reached about a week ago. volatile. charles: i'm not going to sell it. stuart: that's why you have $5,000. [laughter] charles: a couple to 5,000. stuart: no you didn't. charles: we have to check the tape. stuart: wal-mart, i'm trying to get the grips with this. wal-mart is taking stores out of its name. ashley: that's huge. stuart: why?

they want to be everything to everybody including the website, you're buying it, charles? charles: a little bit, wal-mart taking off stores, everybody wants to imply that they are everything to everybody these days. brian: charles is taking off payne. ashley: would be a symbol. stuart: three words that charles payne has never heard, attention, kmart shoppers. charles: growing up i did. layway. stuart: faces 20 billion-dollar hit from tax overhaul. who is saying that? liz: ceo of citigroup. here is what happened, the financial crisis happens, whopping huge loss in one year, 54 billion in one year, 40 billion is laying out on balance sheet citigroup is saying, we could have used that pot of money to lower tax bills

under big 35% rate, it's sweeter that pot of losses under higher rate, you cut corporate rate down, it's not as valued as much. you see what i mean? get refund checks. citigroup is saying it's a hit, 20 billion, in one time hit 20 billion if the cut rate goes through. they are still saying they will return 20 billion to invest over the next three years, though. stuart: i'm rooking at the dow, now up 2 points. i'm looking at the level 24,100, give or take a dozen points here and there. it occurs to me that we have seen not a serious pullback from the overall market and i don't know how long. charles: i've lost track. liz: brian ross. and brexit. charles: in terms of percentages. it's been a while since we've had 5% pullback overall in the the market. people are word about it. it's hard to tie the market and guess when it's going to happen.

>> we are all speculating that there would be selling on the news that the tax cut deal has been made. it looks like we are going to get a tax cut deal. i would like to know the numbers, when it was last time we saw a 5% pullback for the dow? liz: i think around brexit. stuart: 2015. 2017 and we haven't had in two years a 5% pullback. liz: it wasn't even quite 5. stuart: i've been around a long -- [laughter] stuart: it has been a while, hasn't it? charles: things have been fantastic. 40,000 manufacturing jobs created according to adp last month. that's a record from data screen. stuart: amazing. charles: 40,000. we will see what happens with the government number tomorrow. but in the most part, the economy, the engine that's driving this and what's driving corporate earnings. liz: high-paying jobs. stuart: another economic number this morning jobless claims only

236,000. liz: 1973-74 level. stuart: employers are not firing. they are hiring but they are not firing. charles: no, they are not firing and they are struggling find workers. across the board u small businesses, all the way up to big business and that's one area we need to focus on. stuart: 9:40 eastern time. that's when you get out of here. [laughter] articles charles it was fun. stuart: brian, thank you very much, appreciate it. we return positive momentarily, now down a point. for the radio listeners, i will tell you the level 24,139 -- no, 142 as we speak. we are going to see senator al franken's announcement on this program. 11:45 eastern time, we are told, he's going to do it from the senate floor, he is expected to resign, we will bring you his statement when it happens this mourning. back in a second. sorry, president trump, he's

making history. recognizing jerusalem as the capital of israel announcing plans to move our embassy there. britain's prim minister theresa may responds, she says it's unhelpful to the peace process, what peace prozmeses. [laughter] stuart: but we will be back. alerts -- wouldn't you like one from the market when it might be time to buy or sell? with fidelity's real-time analytics, you'll get clear, actionable alerts about potential investment opportunities in real time. fidelity. open an account today. [vo] progress is an unstoppable force. the season of audi sales event is here. audi will cover your first month's lease payment on select models during the season of audi sales event.

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stuart: yeah, we have turned positive, 3, 4, 5 points higher for the dow. 24,145. ford is recruiting alibaba to help break into china's electric vehicle market. tell me the full story, nicole. nicole: pretty amazing when you think of e-commerce and alibaba they are working on collaboration, smart cars, technology and ford's ability to expand in china. the two are working together to do exactly that, they are building on this vision for smart cars in particular to sell the ford cars on alibaba's

retail, they will also cooperate on other things on connectivity and cloud computing. stuart: i would take it, thank you, nicole. look at what britain's prime minister theresa may is saying about president trump's plan to move our embassy to jerusalem. here is the full quote, we disagree with the u.s.' decision to move embassy to jerusalem and recognize jerusalem as israeli capital before a final status agreement, we believe that it's unhelpful in terms of prospects for peace in the region. come on in steve hilton, the host of the next revolution on the fox news channel. number one, what peace process? >> exactly. look, stuart, just because i'm here with you onset in person and feeling i'm feeling very generous. this is a statement she barely even read it before it was put out, drafted for herby the bureaucrats in the british foreign office.

represents the same old group think, the status quo even though that status quo as you were just saying has transparently failed. option two, this is politics. she is really seen out in the uk as probably as one of the most useless prime ministers ever been, she messed up her election, she's messing up the brexit process. about one thing in the uk that's guaranty today get everyone agreed, that's attacking president trump. she did it last week over the muslim videos as we discussed, fair enough on that point. she's doing it again here. she's not going to get credit sized for attacking president trump in the uk. stuart: almost all european governments oppose what president trump did, i suspect they are worried about domestic muslim populations, am i right? >> i think that's a really big part of it. what you're seeing time after time, you saw wit the paris climate agreement is that when there's a challenge to the status quo, to the way things have been done by the establishment, the foreign

policy establishment for years, they've literally can't imagine that they could be any merit to it at all and that's what donald trump is doing time after time. he is challenging the way things have been done and he -- they don't like it. that's exactly right. finally you have someone who is elected and promises change and deliveries change and for one doing what he said, doing what was promised before the election, doing the same thing after the election and shaking things up. now, that's what he was elected to do. of course, they don't like it over there. i think he'll here be cheered on. stuart: i called my brother the other day who still lives in england and picked up the phone and heard my voice, stuart, what the devil are you doing to me here, are you in with trump, he quotes your name, i'm catching hell over here. why are they so oppose to him? i think they just don't like his personality, big, brash american

that talks tough, they don't like that, do they? >> that's exactly right. inconceivable that somebody like that could possibly emerge at the top and, of course, they all love the barack obama, they didn't pay any attention to whether he succeeded or failed or actually delivering anything, they made lovely speeches and the kind of thing they go for. stuart: you and i should stay in america actually. [laughter] >> i think that's probably right. stuart: are you citizen yet? >> i'm waiting my time in the process, a cosm of years. stuart: steve, i love your show because you're an original thinker, not many around these days. got it. the next revolution. >> yes. >> sundays 9:00 eastern on the fox news channel. [laughter] stuart: goodell gets contract extended? ashley: yes, he does.

5-year deal. 85 to 90% is incentive's financial goals, boosting revenue, stabilizing and raising ratings for the games which have been suffering because of the athletes' protests during national anthem. we don't know whether we have the life-long use of jet, whether he got health care for his family, whatever, we do know that this was not exactly cheered by some of the owners in particular jerry jones of the dallas cowboys who has been critical of roger goodell and said you've mishandled the protest situation and ratings are suffering and regardless apparently the compensation committee unanimously gave him this nice big fat salary. stuart: 20 seconds and i can't resist another question. [laughter] stuart: they don't play the national anthem nor wear the jacket? >> one of the things that i love about america shared patriotism. that's why it's so upsetting

about the whole nfl thing. that disappears, that's a tragedy. stuart: you see the cufflinks. [laughter] stuart: mr. hilton, thank you, sir. nice gain. 40 points up for dow industrials. a bit more green on the left-hand side of the screen, 24,182. there's this, headline in the wall street journal how dollar general became rural america's store of choice. open up a dollar general and becomes the center town, i have seen it and we will be right back. ♪

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stuart: we are up this thursday mourning. not much but we are up 37 points. 24,177. now look at dollar general. better sales in part because of the hurricanes, more foot traffic in those stores and the stock is up 2 bucks, 3% that is at 93. come on in, our next guest who says dollar general is now the go-to store in rural america. her name is sarah nasa with the wall street journal, no less. okay. welcome to the show. >> thanks for having me. stuart: why is dollar general

the go-to rural store? >> it's convenient. it's everywhere that people don't have other options. there's a dollar general on the store that we visited in evansfield, tennessee, it's in rural highway, it's busy all day, sales are up 17% this year and it's closer than the wal-mart 10 miles down the road. stuart: i don't know how many dollar generals there are -- >> 14,000. a lot. more than you would guess. stuart: 14,000 in the united states, are they going to expand? >> they are expanding today when they had earnings, they will add 900 stores, stick with 1200 store this is year so about a thousand stores a year. stuart: when i see the flame dollar general, i remember the old-fashion stores where everything was a dollar? >> feels sort of like that to some extent, one register often, small store, often the cashier is yelling out to people in the store to talk to them because they know each other so it can feel a little bit like that. stuart: is this a deliberate

plan of action on their part to become to go-store in rural america? >> now it is, original their founders were from central kentucky and natural thing to do and they realized that there's a need in communities and more so with the recent economy changes in those places, so they are there. stuart: who's their competition? >> dollar tree, wal-mart u grocery stores, but dollar tree has a lot more suburban locations, expertise is slightly different. stuart: dollar general lib rattily goes to rural america, that's their game plan? >> yeah. stuart: if -- >> they want to be everywhere. stuart: if i say get out in the sticks i will get some nasty emails. i know for a fact, i have a property in rural america, they opened a general store a couple of years, it's way away -- if i say away from civilization i get nasty emails, it's not exactly always full but taking the

business of the town and doing very well, indeed. do you think this will continue? >> i think so. i think so if the economy stays on the same track that it's going, there's going to be a need for low-priced goods and more convenient locations, we will see what happens. stuart: great story, we appreciate you being here. you'll be back if you're not careful you'll be back. thanks very much. a lot happening today, senator al franken will make announcement roughly 11:45 eastern time, we will take you there. we also have paul ryan taking on entitlements, that's a good story, he wants to cut programs on welfare, medicare, medicaid, the left is not going to like it but we will deal with it next.

. . . .

stuart: politics, whoa, it's clearly turned ugly. over the top language is now standard. nancy pelosi, tax cuts are arm ma get -- armageddon.

larry summers, 10,000 will die. you heard it all. just wait. the republicans are about to step on to the third rail of politics. they will propose reforms for health and anti-poverty programs. the left will say, you're starving children and seniors. they will say that. let the screaming begin. speaker paul ryan got the ball rolling wednesday at radio interview. health care entitlements he said, are the drivers of our debt. no question he's right. he said he held private conversations with president trump who now agrees that medicare needs to be reined in. that is a big deal. the republicans have their sites on the debt. the economy is growing and tax cuts look almost certain. now time to tackle the debt by spending cuts. they promised this. next year they say they will do it. listen to this from senate finance chair orrin hatch. we're spending ourselves into bankruptcy. we're in trouble. you don't help the poor by continually pushing more liberal

programs. right again, mr. senator. but that is very contentious stuff. the left is already apoplectic a, over the trump presidency, and b, tax cuts. what do you think they will do when medicare and medicaid face real change? we will be treated to a festival of demagoguery which will make the current acrimony look tame. it has to be done. there will be a debt crisis if we don't rein in spending. it will be a test of our financial responsibility. i tell you now, i don't want to be lectured by democrats who doubled our debt in the eight years of the obama era. the second hour of "varney & company" is about to begin. convening at this moment, but the real news happens in our next hour. senator al franken will address his future from the senate

floor. we're expecting 11:45 eastern time statement which you will see live on this program. latest read on mortgage rates. the number? please? ashley: 3.94% for 30-year fixed-rate. still historically low, up a tick from last week. still under 4%. what did we pay? i paid 17% in 1982. stuart: i paid 12 1/2% in 1978. liz: i say you should have waited. stuart: we hear that every week. liz: never gets old. stuart: welcome to the show. big tech stocks, what a run they have had. setback last week. bounce back this week. only microsoft is down today. yes, i do own some microsoft. ge power unit will cut 12,000 jobs. the cost-cutting is part of a billion dollar cost cutting effort. the market is not responding much, up 12 cents.

better sales at dollar general we've been telling you. hurricanes led to more traffic in the stores. the stock is up about 3%. disney, ceo bob iger, likely to stay on as ceo beyond 2019 if the deal with twenty-first century fox is indeed made. the market likes it. disney stock now at over $105 per share. back to my take, the editorial top of the hour, the gop about to step on the third rail of politics. spending cuts to entitlement programs coming up. raj shaw, white house principle deputy press secretary joins us now. i think they're stepping on third rail of politics. go do it, about but there is danger there. >> stuart, thank you for having me on. if u look at u.s. economy, we have lowest number of joblet

hless rates but number of people receiving jobless benefits is close to all-time highs. there are tens of millions of americans working age, able-bodied who are not simply able to work right now. us as republicans, and this president recognizes the best thing for american welfare for people to have good-paying jobs. stuart: raj, you're the deputy press secretary. are you prepared for the barrage of demagoguery that will be directed right at you in just a few months time when the democrats learn your plans? >> as opposed to the democrat demagoguery we get every single day, right? look, we really feel strongly that the best thing for welfare, for americans, is to have good-paying jobs. we believe if they're paying in the tax base, paying income taxes and payroll taxes, that is better for the u.s. budget and long-term deficits we face. we have $20 trillion in debt doubled during the last president. we need to confront these challenges and be honest about

getting americans off of welfare payrolls and on to the workforce. stuart: i want to ask you about the tax plan as details are being thrashed out in the house and senate. there is talk that the corporate tax rate could be 22%, moving it up a little bit. the maximum goes up a little bit, from 22%. so we could keep some of the deduction for state and local taxes. where do you stand on that? >> well, the president has said from the beginning that we want to see the lowest corporate tax rate possible and have it implemented as soon as possible. that's very important getting american businesses more competitive, bringing back jobs, and increasing number of, rather making a capital investments in the united states more attractive. we want to see a 20% rate. we want to see it as low as possible. remember the president started at 15% and compromised at 20%. with that said we'll allow congress, senate and house, now in conference negotiations to figure out some of these details. stuart: but not absolutely

insisting on 20% and no more? there is not sort of a red line so to speak? >> the red lines or the kind of non-negotiables president drawn based on middle class relief in the bill and ideas floated around as well as significantly lowering corporate tax rate. we want to see 20%. that is our position. we'll rely on the senate and house to work out some details earnings is the white house disappointed with the response to the president's move to make jerusalem capital of israel and move our embassy there? there were democrats that came on board with this, senator schumer in particular, but the rest, there is a lot of hostility, how is the white house taking that? >> we're taking it in stride. since 1995 it has been u.s. law to actually recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel. the president is just recognizing a reality. jerusalem has been the capital of israel since 1948.

it is the capital of the jewish state this is a recognition of reality. when we're trying to be honest brokers in the middle east, the first part of that is being honest and it is recognizing a reality that jerusalem is the capital. stuart: raj shaw, thank you very much for joining us. we hope you are back on the program to face the barrage of demagoguery that will come your way. we'll help you through it. okay? >> thanks. stuart: thank you very much. appreciate it. that's politics. now let's switch to money. i'm talking about it coin now. earlier today, in fact right now, it moved above $15,000 per coin. brian wesbury, first trust advisors chief economist there. brian i say this thing is speculative bubble, it will end in tears. what do you say? >> i'm going to agree with you stuart, with one caveat, that this could become a scrip, we've done them over history when people -- with money, the

government produces they create their own scrip. so far none of those have ever worked. but this one might. but i want you to think about it this way, your viewers to think about it this way. what a genius idea. i'm going to invent a computer program that will only allow 21 million bitcoin to be created. i will make it really easy for me to create the first five or 10%. then i let the rest of the 7 billion people on earth fight over the rest and give it value. i just created something out of whole cloth on a computer. and i own 10% or five or whatever that initial part of america. i can buy 10% of the whole country. and i just created it on a computer. in reality that is what this is. it will give bitcoin any value over time is only if you can use it to buy things.

stuart: yes, exactly. >> right now you can use it for some things but you can't -- stuart: okay. hold on a second, brian. >> therefore i think it is overvalued right now. stuart: sitting next to me is pete hegseth. "fox & friends weekend" co-host. >> right. stuart: pete, i believe you own a bitcoin? >> full disclaimer i'm a bitcoin owner for a while. stuart: you think this is speculative bubble? >> i think it will end with tears of joy for those that see upside. bankers, traditional financial types will not like this. it challenges current structure of the financial system. gets rid of a third payer. it is not efficient enough. stuart: hold on a second, brian. >> it could get there. more than investment vehicle. mine doubled in more than a month. over 16,000 this morning for one bitcoin. can it translate something into real currency. then it gets legs. stuart: hold on, brian, we have a bit kin owner.

>> that doesn't mean he knows what bitcoin is. >> i'm like typical millenial. i don't know a whole lot bit but i'm very passionate about it. >> people bought tulips and made 10,000 percent and thought they were doing. then they ended in tears. >> is this myspace or facebook. that is the big question. we don't know that yet but it could be facebook. stuart: we found out there was a hack of a bitcoin wallet as they are called. you're familiar with it. 60 million, $60 million worth of bitcoins are gone. they ain't coming back. >> they will be gone. if cash was stolen. stuart: you don't care. >> because it's a currency. like cash being stolen from your mattress. if it is gone, you can't find it, don't have bank account -- stuart: it was supposed to be unhackable. it is supposed to unhackable. >> that is wallet that is an app. i use a different wallet. i'm susceptible.

this is a risk you're taking. take money afford to lose. it is going to zero or going to the moon. right now it is going to the moon. liz: crashed more than 80% several times last three or four years. stuart: brian, would you ever buy one? >> i would not because i understand it is scrip, it is alternative currency. if it is ever globally accepted like dollar, pound, euro, yen it, will be a lot more valuable than it is today. i totally agree with that. i understand that but that's a big jump from where we are. and, so that, you're making a bet. by the way, 3com remembered palm pilot, remember that thing? if they turned that into the iphone they would have never gone to zero, but they crashed. this whole idea we invented a new money, that is going to last, that will stay here, it's a huge gamble. i personally wouldn't touch it with a is a 15-foot pole.

>> block chain is bitcoin the future or iteration of many? stuart: brian wesbury. i have to say good-bye. you're on remote. you will be back i promise. >> all right. stuart: check this out, please. last month, that portrait of christ by leonardo da vinci, went for $450 million. we told you the buyer was anonymous. we learned it was a saudi prince. as it happens he is close friend and associate of muhammad bin salman, saudi arabia's 32-year-old crowns prince. now you know. more than 100,000-acres burning in southern california. little containment thus far. it is the next 24 hours could pose the most danger from the santa ana wind. janice dean has that story, that part of the story coming up for us. russia, banned from the 2018

winter olympics, all about doping. five-time winner swimmer dara torres joins us next. ♪ zar: one of our investors was in his late 50s right in the heart of the financial crisis, and saw his portfolio drop by double digits. it really scared him out of the markets. his advisor ran the numbers and showed that he wouldn't be able to retire until he was 68. the client realized, "i need to get back into the markets- i need to get back on track with my plan." the financial advisor was able to work with this client. he's now on track to retire when he's 65. having someone coach you through it is really the value of a financial advisor.

stuart: we're up 43 points on dow industrials. closing back again at 24,200. look at sears, there is a swiss private equity firm. it is called momento. it is asking sears to consider going private. that is why the stock is up 7%. pete hegseth still with us i want to talk to you about senator al franken. he makes the announcement 11:45 eastern time. you're a minnesotan. >> now it is over 30.

he announced he would wait a day. he announced to wait a day to see how far the cascade went. it went all the way to chuck schumer. i find it hard to believe he goes to the senate floor and ultimately resign. stuart: why go to the senate floor. >> maybe a larger statement, critique, mea culpa. fellow home state senator amy klobuchar quick to condemn like this held back. if your colleague from your state tells you to resign. there are reports she told him to resign behind the scenes. we're probably looking at resignation. it won't change the structure of the senate. the governor is a democrat. he will appoint a democrat. stuart: the republicans have a roy moore problem? >> roy moore will win. they may have a problem with what he is done. he will be sighted in senate. stuart: democrats say look at them republicans, guilty as sin. they don't leave, our guys do. >> democrats said the tax plan said arm ma get done. everything is armageddon by

democrats against republicans. you look at hyperbole and laugh. let the voters decide. stuart: okay, bitcoin. >> i take that as a compliment. stuart: thanks. russia, as you know, banned from the winter olympics because of doping. dara torres, with us, five-time olympic swimmer. great to see you today. >> thanks for having me, stu. stuart: you've been angry about this for years. i think you probably had to compete against people using dope. am i right? >> yeah, you're absolutely right this is doping fraud. i'm so glad they are finally doing something about this. i swam against the east germans back in the '80s. we all thought something was going on. they looked most different than swimmers. i walked into locker room, hearing men's voices. i'm in the wrong locker room. i go out, says women. i'm in the right locker room. that is the east germans talking

with really deep voices. we knew something was going on but we couldn't say anything because we have proof. very happy this is happening. think about the athletes who worked their whole entire life to get on to the metal stand, hear the national anthem play to get medals around their neck, they're roned to that. that is very sad to see. i give motivational talkses to corporations and businesses and kids. when i talk to kids, i want to inspire them. i can't imagine these athletes knowing being a part of this doping regimen, going to, supposed to be role models for these athletes. how can you live with yourselves doing that? it boggles my mind. stuart: very good question. well-said. i want to raise this with you. from american ambassador to the united nations nikki haley. she is voicing concern about american athletes going to winter games in south korea. roll tape.

listen to this, dara. >> those are conversation west have to have. what have we always said? we don't ever fear anything. we live our lives. we use our freedom. we have that. that is certainly a perfect opportunity for all of them to do something they worked so hard for. what we will do is making sure we take every precaution possible to make sure that they're safe and to know everything that is going on around them. stuart: you think they will be safe in south korea? this has nothing to do with the doping issue, security situation vis-a-vis north korea? do you think they're safe? will they go? >> this takes it to a whole new level. i have never seen the olympics in the past ever boycotted because of safety. it has been boycotted for political reasons. this is new. i competed in the '88 olympics in seoul. they were talking about safety issues. when we left the village, a guard with a huge gone walked with us everywhere because they were so concerned about safety. i sure hope this doesn't happen. two sides of the coin where you have these kids who want to go and they have trained their whole life for this.

on other hand you want to keep them safe. it will be interesting to see what happens but i sure hope this doesn't happen. that they boycott because i know a lot of athletes went through that in the '80s. i was a little young for that. when they boycotted in the '80s they still can't believe it happened. it would be very sad if it happened to the athletes but yet they want to keep them safe. stuart: dara, you're inspiration to us all. thank you for being on the show today. >> thank you, stu. stuart: all right. dara torres. good stuff. ashley: yes. stuart: look at this. oh, santa ana wind driving fires still raging in southern california. the next 24 hours will be crucial. we'll head to the weather center for the wind forecast. check out the big board as we head to a break. we're up 56 points, at 24,200. yea, so, mom's got this cold

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stuart: the wildfires, how things turn out today, depends on a lot on those santa ana wind and how strong they blow. janice dean at the weather center. how bad will it be, janice. >> stuart, this will be the worst day unfortunately with hurricane-force wind not out of the question. those santa ana wind, we have high pressure anchored across the southwest. winds funnel through the canyons and valleys, they compress, dry out and warm up. we could see upwards of 50, 70, 80 mile-per-hour wind gusts. this could be the worst of the weather today. friday also looking at santa ana wind, but the weekend they start to relax. this is dangerous obviously for residents and first-responders. look at fire weather outlook, critical to extreme for millions of folks here. as we get into the evening and overnight hours, that is really where danger is going to be.

unfortunately the relative humidity is remaining low for much of these areas and we're not expecting measurable precipitation for seven to 10 days. very dry, low relative humidity. wind gusts excess of 70 miles per hour. that will be a dire situation unfortunately for southern california. stuart: janice dean, tell us how it is and you deed. >> okay. stuart: coming up, democrats coming out in droves saying senator al franken should resign. he will be speaking in the next hour. we'll take to you the senate floor when he speaks. president trump recognizing jerusalem as the capital of israel. france's premier macron says it was a regrettable decision. uk's theresa may says it is unhelpful. in a moment we'll get an israeli's perspective.

♪ stuart: i know, on top of my tongue. liz: hall & oates. stuart: have you ever seen darrell's house? brilliant stuff. love it. 50 points for the dow industrials. 24,190. big techs, where are they now? facebook up. microsoft up. alphabet google up, 11 bucks. not bad. apple up 63 cents at 169. blackberry will announce it is partnering with chip maker qualcomm on connected cars. 10 bucks a share. lululemon getting a series of upgrades. it gave a rosy forecast for the holidays, up 8% at 73. president trump recognizing jerusalem as the capital of israel and announcing plans to move the american embassy to

that city. in response protesters burned flags and pictures of our president. joining us michael orin. former israeli ambassador to the u.s. and diplomacy deputy to the prime minister's office. israel, i'm sure is happy at this, but presumably you do expect problems from the muslim, world, can i put it like that. >> you could put it like that. we've waited 70 years since israel's creation. we've been waiting 2,000 years, to have the our capital recognized by greatest power on earth. there are also protests. this was anticipated. our security services were on high alert. my hope is that the palestinians will see the glass half-full here and understand a president who stands by his word, who has credibility, is no less important for them than he is for us and that component would be very important if they ever

want to get back to the negotiating table. stuart: could it in some way help euphemistically call the peace process which i don't think exists but in the future, could this move actually help and encourage the two sides to get together with this off the table? >> it is not just off the table. the palestinians are realizing for first time if they bolt the negotiations and they bolted all the time, they have to pay a price. what is interesting, i have been working with the trump team and they're very different than anybody we've known before. they don't come into the world of diplomacy. they come from the world of business. one of the things they couldn't understand about the peace process you called it, how can somebody leave the peace process all the time not pay a price? in business if you leave the negotiate being table you have got to pay a price? palestinians learned the business approach. and i think hopefully they will internalize this. again everyone is interested in a strong president. stuart: mr. ambassador, you said something very interesting. your team, your diplomatic team,

you've never seen anything like our president, president trump. i think that is very true. i don't think america is used to our president yet. i don't think you're used to our president yet but, do you like it? do you like this approach? >> i like it. i find it refreshing. i'm tired -- he said in his speech last night, trying the same thing for decades. it is definition of madness to try the same thing over and over again, have it fail, then try it again hoping for a different outcome. it was einstein said that was the definition of madness. that is what the middle east peace process is. here the president tried something else entirely. he shook up, whatever. he hit the billiards and they all go flying. i think this is the opportunity to move forward and that, you know, the president established himself as a man of his word. that is extremely important. stuart: mr. ambassador, michael oren, thank you joining us on this important day. >> thank you. stuart: different subject. i think the gop, republicans

they may be about to step on the third rail of politics. they're talking spending cuts, entitlement reform next year. come in grover norquist, americans for tax reform president. i think this is the third rail of politics. i'm referring now to a radio interview that speaker ryan gave yesterday. he said, we'll aim next year to reduce spending on federal health care and anti-poverty problems. they're going after the debt. they're going after the deficit. but there will be enormous political response to that from the left, right? >> i think if you look what they're actually going to do, take on welfare again. they're not, social security and medicare, the two entitlement programs that people pay into, and then expect to get something out of those are off the table. stuart: hold on a second. sorry, grover, don't mean to interrupt you, but the speaker went on to say he had private conversations with president trump and convinced him, in

their private conversations, about the need to rein in medicare. i'm taking that as maybe medicare is on the table. >> look, long term, medicare is not sustainable. it has a great deal of debt but what my understanding, also from speaking to the speaker, and the house guys is that this year they're looking at the welfare programs like bill clinton did. tanf, which is regular welfare, food stamps, medicaid. these are welfare programs you get for showing up saying i'm poor. give me something. nothing that they contributed to or worked for. it is easier and federal government has not been allowed to go after fraud or to ask people whether they actually deserve these things. if you take this out to the 50 states, allow the states to come up with different rules, they will find ways to get rid of fraud, now it is their money being wasted, not the federal government money. as we found when bill clinton

signed welfare reform block granting to the states, a great deal of money was saved by the federal government, state government and people who truly need it, the support they got it. people who could be working went and got jobs. stuart: we're hearing about the in the discussions between the house and senate on tax reform. >> yeah. stuart: we're hearing that maybe corporate tax rate will be 22%, not 20%. that that money, that would make money available to maybe allow some deduction for state and local taxes. so you take it away from big corporations but you give a little on "salt." what do you say to that? >> i think it's a mistake to move away from 22%, for whatever reason. the argument there is george herbert walker bush, he inherit ed a top personal rate. he wanted to spend more money in 1990, not to reduce the deficit, they raised 28 up just a little.

once you raise it up we're at about 40% to 44%, started at 28. raised it just a tad. we broke the glass ceiling but, we dented it. it went up dramatically. once you move away from 20, there is nothing between 20 and going back to 35 that is stopping place. stuart: you have to be hardcore on these things. grover, thank you very much for joining us as always, sir. be back soon. >> good to be with you. stuart: dozens of democrats called for senator al franken's regular is nation after allegations of sexual harrassment. senator franken speaks at 11:45 eastern time today. if he does, if leaves the senate, that could lead the republicans with a roy moore problem. he is the republican candidate for senate in alabama. he might win. and roy moore, as you know has been accused of sexual misconduct in the past. joining us is attorney emily

campano. emily, i think the gop will have a roy moore problem if he is elected and if franken goes. >> you're right. there have been calls if he is elected for both senate expulsion and an ethics committee probe. stuart: yep. >> regarding the senate expulsion, this is unique because if he is elected, that is obviously after the allegations have come to light. so you can call that, that is electoral conduct pardon. the supreme court held the only way that a duly-elected official can be excluded from congress whether they don't meet the constitutional requirements of age, residence, et cetera. so that really doesn't apply here. in terms of the ethics committee probe, that deals with now conduct prior to his election and it is not dealing with a specific law that he has broken or alleged to have or senate rule. it is frankly under the conduct rubric, under the general, you know, representation of conduct they should not bring discredit to the institution.

now the committee has dismissed complaints that they have brought that been brought before them on allegations prior to election. so here is really brings honestly more questions than answers. stuart: he can't be kicked out. if he is elected senator from the state of alabama, very hard to kick the man out, in matter what the republicans think of him. he is there. >> exactly. stuart: which means, the republican does have a roy moore problem if he is elected. if al franken goes and other democrats leave, leave congress because of these allegations, the democrats can say, we are clean, we are pure. we took care of this problem. you guys didn't. that's a problem. >> you're right. even if he isn't elected they could still argue as talking point, given the gop and presidential support of him throughout this campaign, and, again, if he is elected the only, the only counter to that is the fact that clearly given 1million dollars slush fund we've seen, they haven't cleaned

house. there are a lot more rats to be cleaned. stuart: rats to be cleaned. emily, dear me. that is pretty bad, that's true. do you think we'll get the names of people who were bailed out by the taxpayer with these allegations? we'll we get those names? will we find out what they did, what they're alleged to have done, will we? >> i hope we do. given the bill proposed recently on the floor, that at a minimum will render the vote public. we will see who votes against the transparency. you can draw your own conclusions. stuart: emily, i know you live in seattle. i suggest you move to new york city. >> thank you. stuart: good stuff. airlines are looking to ban smart luggage. special suitcases with battery charges and gps trackers. what is that about? ashley: you can have themes smart luggage follow you around. you can ride on them. you can put u sb ports in them. they are poweredly lithium-ion

batteries according to airlines they are dangerous and could spark a fire. it hasn't happen and they are saying you can't check on any smart luggage with the batteries. if you take them out you can. not only overhead bin, or checking luggage in. this is bad news for smart luggage manufacturers. united and southwest expected to join the band going into february 15th. not in effect during the holiday period. stuart: keep that in mind. ashley: smart luggage. stuart: don't have any, thanks. we are monitoring fbi director christopher wray's testimony to the house judiciary committee. he was just asked why he was not, there was no prosecution of hillary clinton? huma abedin or cheryl mills in the email case. he deferred to the independent investigator who is now looking into that. way was asked is anyone on the the on committee set up for

personal business and wray said unequivocally, no. any other headlines, wee bring them to you. contempt for the president seems to have no bounds. i say they have gone overboard. it could be good for the gop. bernie goldberg is with us after this. ♪

♪ ashley: is bitcoin a bubble ready to burst? will the cryptocurrency hit a new high today, but business professor buy ben brenburg says if the bottom fails out it will not have any effect on economy. >> there is great gambling on bitcoin. a core of people understand the technology, they bought into fill solve i canally and know what they're doing. there are people that say i have to get in on that. that is the problem. bitcoin can go up. it can go way down. block chain technology is long term win. that is not what you're buying when buying bitcoin. stuart: if it crashed, i don't know whether it will, i have no clue, if it crashed, came all the way down to virtually nothing, would that hurt the real economy? could take hundreds of billions

of dollars out? >> i don't think it with have a significant effect on the real economy. it would get a lot of headlines, stuart t would change that landscape but not have an effect on the real economy.

stuart: modest gain, dow up 47. 24,000, 188. now this. nancy pelosi called the gop tax bill armageddon. larry summers said 10,000 people would die because of tax cuts. is the left contempt for tax cuts and president trump, could

that actually be a positive for the republicans? joining us now is bernie goldberg, fox news contributor. welcome back to the program, bernie. is that what you think, that the republicans will win on this one because of the hyperbole of the left? >> i think you're on to something. i don't think contempt plays well among moderate, reasonable americans, even if they don't like donald trump. contempt is not a trait they admire in people. take nancy pelosi's comment. reasonable people can disagree on the merits of the tax plan. that's fine. no problem there. but calling it armageddon, really? armageddon is the final battle on the planet earth between the forces of good and the forces of evil. this is armageddon? i think, i think the irony is that the donald trump's, and republicans fiercest critics may wind up helping them. that is what you were getting at. whether it's armageddon or tens of thousands of people will die,

or trump is hitler or trump has dementia or the current thing in vogue, trump should be impeached. i don't think this sits well with the american people. i don't think it resonates with the american people. and i think ultimately it may hurt the hard left more than it hurts donald trump. stuart: bernie, i find that absolutely fascinating. i want your take from something else. this is from president obama. he is taking credit for the strong economy which we have now. roll tape. >> as we took these actions, we saw the u.s. economy grow consistently. we saw the longest streak of job creation in american history by far. the streak that still continues by the way. thanks, obama. [applause] stuart: bernie, i know you don't follow economics that closely but why don't you pass judgment

on that? >> in fairness i think he deserves for some credit for the economy. he inherited a mess, recession of monumental proportions but, for eight years under his press den sy the economy limped along. three indisputable facts. since donald trump took office the stock market gained about 30% in value. the economy has grown over 3% in the last two quarters. unemployment hit a 17-year low since donald trump was elected. if you ask business people, they will tell you there are two major factors. one, the repeal under this president of regulations that were strangling business. and two, the prospect of a new tax plan that would cut corporate taxes. stuart: yeah. >> so obama, president obama does deserve some credit, but for this donald trump deserve as

lot of credit. even if he is not responsible for everything good going on, i thought we always blamed the person in the white house when there is recession, if he is a republican, but we give him credit when he is a democrat when things go well? things are going well. give donald trump some credit. stuart: yes, indeed. i just want to remind our viewers i was reading a newspaper way back in the 1980s, i think it was. i opened it up, there is a piece by bernie goldberg. you worked for cbs news at the time, if i recall. >> i know. stuart: you said hey, the mainstream media is biased. they swing left. i never heard that before. you were the first guy with it. and it is welcome back to the program, bernie goldberg. you were dead right, sir. >> thank you for saying that. i appreciate you remembering. stuart: come back soon. we will see you soon. that is a promise. thank you very much. we're less than an hour away from senator al franken.

he will make a statement on the floor of the united states. we're expecting him to resign but we don't know for sure. but you can watch it right here. "varney & company," watch it live. ♪ chaos out here! gale force winds, accumulations up to 8 inches... ...don't know if you can hear me, but [monica] what's he doing? [lance] can we get a shot of this cold front, right here. winter has arrived. whooo! hahaha [vo] progress is an unstoppable force. brace yourself for the season of audi sales event. audi will cover your first month's lease payment on select models during the season of audi sales event.

ashley: senator al franken set to speak from the senate floor within the next hour. let's bring in fox news's chad pergram. chad, we assume, by all accounts that he will resign. i guess the next question is, what happens next? >> well what you do when you resign, if that in fact what happens, you resign to the secretary of the senate. in this case the secretary for the minority as well, and you resign to the governor. the governor would have to declare this seat vacant. then minnesota, the governor would have to determine if there will be a special election or appoint someone. keep in mind how critical this is right now when they're trying to move this tax reform conference committee sometime before christmas. remember that vote is right on the edge when the senate approves that bill in the wee hours of saturday morning. the vote was 51-49. of course we have the special election in couple days in alabama. that could change the calculus as well. but the bottom line is right now nobody truly knows how this is going to go. several sources with whom i have

spoken says it appears that is the direction things will go but we don't really know. we had lawmakers under a cloud of scandal resign and do so conditionally. one i think about the most, david wu, former democratic congressman from oregon who had a bit of a sex scandal. in summer 2011 would resign until the deck ceiling vote and stepped aside a couple days later. ashley: we'll bring the announcement from al franken to you right around 11:45 we believe from the senate floor. chad, thank you very much. more "varney" coming up right after this. often reveals a better path forward.

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keypad, key fob, entry and motion sensors and for a limited time, get a camera included and installed at no additional cost. that's a $449.00 value, installed, for just $49.00. adt has over 140 years of security experience, with our commitment to customer service, and round-the- clock professional monitoring, you have the comfort of knowing that adt is helping to protect what matters most. call today, or visit adt.com to get your adt starter kit installed for just $49.00. adt. we help keep you safe, so you can feel secure. call 1-888-337-safe or visit adt.com and get your adt starter kit for just $49.00. stuart: no matter what president trump does, the left and the media, their media supporters, will say it's wrong, it's bad, it's terrible. the latest example is the

president's decision to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital and to move america's embassy to that city. shocking! it will interfere with the peace process, they say. what peace process? have we missed something? "the washington post" has an op-ed titled trump's actions could rip jerusalem apart. some democrats in congress warn of increased violence from angry palestinians. clearly, they are forgetting the 1995 congressional resolution backing jerusalem as israel's capital. that received overwhelming support in congress, and democrat president clinton declined to veto it. and they've forgotten president bush and president obama who proclaimed their support with virtually no opposition. ah, but this is president trump, and that makes all the difference. everything he does, without exception, will be portrayed as bad. they just plain hate him. truth is, the president is doing what he said he would do, and israel's parliament is in

jerusalem. so is the prime minister's residence. mr. trump called his decision a recognition of reality. precisely. the third hour of "varney & company" is about to begin. ♪ ♪ stuart: here's the breaking news, senator al franken is going to make an announcement on the senate floor later this hour. we think about 11:45 eastern. more than 30 democrat senators have called on franken to resign over sexual misconduct allegations. we will bring you his announcement live. two more breaking stories we're following this hour. president trump will meet with republican senators at the white house and on capitol hill alabama senator luther strange will deliver his farewell address to the senate. his speech could be interesting given all the controversy surrounding roy moore. any headlines, you'll get 'em first right here. check your money, the big

board shows a gain of 54 points for the dow industrials, plenty of green among the dow 30. 53 points higher, 24,195. i want to talk about bitcoin. it topped $15,000, actually, it topped $16,000 earlier on today. it's right now at 15,6. it comes as more than $60 million worth of bitcoins were stolen in a cyber heist. joining us now is scott martin, king's view asset management and a fox news contributor. are you onboard with bitcoin? would you buy one? would you put your clients into it? >> well, admittedly, institute, i do have some -- stuart, i do have some bitcoin. i sold some after a profit, lost a little bit, i'm back kind of in but for very little money. as you talk thed about with charles payne earlier in the show, this is totally risk capital. if you're sitting there wondering if you should bitcoin, the only reason is because you

have money you're willing to throw in the street because as charles said, this could be a very binary event. don't buzz me on that. it could be a very good result or a terrible one, and that's a toss-up, in my opinion. stuart: okay. so you do own some bitcoin, and you're treating it as gambling money, essentially, that's what you're doing. >> yeah. it's like putting money on the new york giants. it's a tough bet to make, i own the gbpc which is a bitcoin trust investment that's out there. stuart, look at something recently that happened, the federal reserve was talking about eyeing bitcoin, there's no telling what some of the governments will do with respect to their intervention in bitcoin. and if they lay on some sanctions or make some negative comments on bitcoin, that could turn into, dare i say, a biddy situation is. stuart: very funny. on a coin base, it did hit $16,000 earlier today. want to get back to one of the big tech companies, they are

coming back. right now we have a mixed picture, only microsoft is down. but, scott, i want to come down to this as i always do, is there buying opportunity in any of these five big tech stocks that you see right now? >> there definitely is and especially be you have that time horizon say, 6, 12, 18 months. i believe, stuart, on these pullbacks as we've seen all year and frankly even in 2016, these are buying opportunities. weakness in tech is typically the weak hands getting out, traders, if you will, that are just trying to make a couple bucks . if you're a long-term investor as i am and you look at the earnings power, the reliability that a lot of these companies have in your very own life, these are companies that are going to be around for a long time and companies you should own and that will move this market higher. stuart: we talk often on this program about the retail ice age. i want to talk about dollar general. they reported big profits today. the stock is doing very nicely.

it's climbed nearly 25% this year. and we had a "wall street journal" reporter on the show about an hour ago who said dollar general is the go-to store in rural america. look at that stock, it's at $93 a share. what do you think, dollar general, scott? >> they're not a bad stock to open here. now, we don't have any yet. i've looked at them in the past, they actually had a good benefit, if there is one, gosh, from the hurricanes that hit us a couple months ago in the u.s. that was some of what we saw in the recent news from dollar general. but, yes, i mean, from a concept standpoint, yes, they're a great store with respect to, like you said, rural america. but i still tend to be a little bit worried about retail from other than a trade. we talked about this i believe on monday. sears, jcpenney and the like, kohl's, macy's. retail going forward, to me, is amazon and walmart only. stuart: okay. we hear you, scott martin. thanks for joining us. see you again soon, thank you.

now this, house speaker paul ryan says the gop is going to tackle medicare and also social spending next year. they're talking about either reform or cuts to some social programs. herb london is here, he's the president of the london center for policy research. i say that the republicans, in doing this -- they've got to do it because they've got to fulfill campaign promises, and they've got to tackle the debt, but they're putting their foot right on the third rail in politics. >> at the same time, something has to be done, particularly welfare reform. i think ryan understands this better than most. you've got to change the culture from a culture where people are very much dependent on government services to a culture where you have work opportunities. and that has been done before. it was done by giuliani in new york, other places, there is no reason why it can't be done nationally. stuart: they'll be demagogued to death. >> of course. there'll be people undoubtedly

facing all kinds of privation. we've had welfare reform under clinton, and we will have it again. it strikes me that it's absolutely necessary to deal with the debt that we have in the united states. stuart: i wonder how far they'll go. will they touch medicare and medicaid -- >> well, that's a big one. medicaid, yes. medicare, probably not. stuart: we'll see. i've got to ask you about taxings. we have a report this morning that they might raise the top corporate tax rate to 22% from 20% and use the money which they save to maybe restore some of the state and local tax deduction. take from here, give to there. >> bad mistake. very bad mistake. look, i think what you want is you want to rely on this 20% number. this 20% number is a number that has been discussed time and again. it gives the corporate sector the kind of edge that it needs. if you are talking about 22, that's the thin edge of the wedge. then you could talk about 23, 24. there's precisely no end in

sight. so i think they've got to hold the line on this one. stuart: i've got a minute left, so i'm going to ask you about bitcoin. >> oh, absolutely. we've talked about this before. stuart: yeah. >> look, i think those people investing in bitcoin have no idea what they're doing. but within a circumscribed area -- that is, people who are in a given industry -- it can serve as a very useful twice for investment purposes -- device for investment purposes. stuart: but this' down the road. >> no, there's a lot going on at the moment, there's a lot of corporate activity in this area, and it strikes me that it represents a kind of interesting development for corporations that would undoubtedly provide a greater degree of transparency than we have at the moment. stuart: so down the road a ways we shouldn't dismiss -- >> i would not dismiss it at all. i know you've had people on this program who have done so. i think it's a mistake. stuart: i have. i dismissed it as a speculative bubble. and you did too last week. >> that's the individual investing. i don't think it makes much sense. stuart: all right, herb, hold on

a second. we showed you this protest video at the so much the hour, violence breaking out in cities across the west bank and in gaza, hamas promising a day of rage. that will be tomorrow. next, we brick you the former mayor of shiloh, israel, his name is david reuben. he'll be along shortly. and wild video coming from california. we're told the next 24 hours critical for those wildfires. yeah, we're on that story. look at that video. and this, big news. senator franken will speak this hour. he's expected to step down from -- he'll make the statement on the senate floor. we'll take you there when he speaks. and we'll also hear from paul ryan this hour. he could talk about entitlement reform. this is clearly a jam-packed hour. don't miss a bit of it. we'll be back. ♪ ♪

stuart: fbi director christopher wray answering questions about peter strzok, the agent who changed the language in the hillary clinton probe from grossly negligent to extremely careless. roll tape. >> it goes to the heart of whether or not the bureau is following its processes and the rules and the guidelines and adhering to the independence and objectivity and professionalism that we all come to expect and respect from the fbi. stuart: okay. he was also asked about politics within if fbi. listen to this. he said fbi agents are allowed to have political opinions, and they are allowed to share those opinions with their wives and/or mistresses. any other headlines from the fbi chief, and we will bring them to you. now this, customs and border protection have begun physically

testing border wall prototypes. this is san diego. six companies built eight sample walls, so to speak. four were concrete, four other materials. the physical testing will include trying to get over them, and officials will use high hydc tools to try to breach hem. they're testing now. and now this, protest the breaking out in cities across the west bank and gaza strip over president trump's recognition of jerusalem as israel's capital. hamas promising a day of rage tomorrow. joining us now is david rubin, the former mayor of shiloh, israel. would it be accurate to say this is a very popular decision from president trump? >> absolutely across the board, stuart. the israelis have been waiting for this for a long time and, actually, you and i have spoken about it quite a bit over the past year about this decision that was coming. we knew it was coming.

i just want to say that i think it's tremendous that president trump had the courage to follow through on his promise, and i think that sometimes you just have to do the right thing. stuart: okay. >> and not worry about what the other side is going to be doing. stuart: david, in the past you have often brought us up to speed on what is going on behind the scenes in the mideast and in israel. one of the things which we've been hearing is that the relationship between israel and sunni arabs is as good as it's been in a long, long time and that you are forging a relationship with saudi arabia. again, behind the scenes. all in an attempt to muster support against iran. is all of that accurate? >> it's definitely correct. and what -- yes, we've spoken about that in the past. but i think it's important to emphasize now that what you see happening on the ground where the head of hamas is calling out

for a new it fad da and emphasizing there's going to be a day of rage, and mahmoud abbas is calling for a day of rage and erdogan in turkey is threatening to break off ties with israel as if we have any ties of significance with turkey at in this point. -- at this point. i don't pay too much attention to what islamic radicals say. i think we need to understand that behind the scenes there is a lot going on. you will hear public pronouncements, you will hear public pronouncements from saudi arabia and from egypt as well. but the fact is that the more conservative islamic countries have trade ties with israel behind the scenes, have burgeoning security relationships with israel behind

the scenes, and you're going to see more and more of that as time goes on. you may not see it in the next few days when they're rioting in the streets, but it is going on, and it is happening. stuart: we like you to keep us informed with what's going on that we don't hear much of. and i realize we're losing ifb there, that's the earpiece that's not working very well, david rubin, thank you very much for joining us. now you can hear us. thank you, david -- >> i can hear you loud and clear. stuart: that's a big thank you from new york. see you soon. >>ing my pleasure. stuart: let's go to california. one lawmaker plans to introduce a bill that would ban all gas-powered vehicles in that state by 2040. the democrat lawmaker is phil ting, he says the bill ties in with california's goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80% between 1990 and 2050. california governor jerry brown has shown interest in banning

gas-powered vehicles. and countries like england, france, china, they have proposed somewhat similar long-term plans. get rid of the internal combustion engine that burns gasoline. i can barely say it. [laughter] ford stepping up production of its self-driving cars, and they want to build 'em in america. jeff flock is, he's being driven around in one of them right now. he'll join us in a moment. and ten minutes from now we'll hear from speaker ryan. he should make news on government spending. we'll also be hearing from senator franken very soon. that's going to be a very big news day. we'll bring it to you. first, though, "forbes," it's released its list of the highest paid musicians of the year. can you guess who is right at the temperature? here's a clue -- the top? here's a clue, it is not beyonce. we'll be back and we'll tell you. ♪ ♪

stuart: all right, we got it, the list f best paid musicians from "forbes." who's top of the list? rapper sean diddy combs. $130 million. he made most of his money from

his various business ventures. he's got a sponsorship deal with ciroq vodka. number two, beyonce, $105 million. number three, the rapper drake, $94 million. there is money in music. >> wow. >> certainly is. no taylor swift, interesting. stuart: not yet. now this, ford will build self-driving cars in michigan. and jeff flock is right there. he's very near ford's headquarters testing one out. what's your report, jeff? go. >> reporter: well, actually, this is a simulated self-driving car, stuart, so they can see -- cole, go ahead and bring it in. they've designed a vehicle with what they call a seat suit. and i am about to get in the seat suit which is normally worn by a ford engineer. the idea is to test the reactions of pedestrians to a self-driving vehicle. and the only way they can do

that -- oh, okay, it's a little tight in here, but here we go. the only way to do that is to make it look like a self-driving car but still have the engineer be able to see what the pedestrians' reaction is to it. on the front of the vehicle, they've actually got lights that are designed to try and communicate, because you can't -- if there's no driver in the car, you can't communicate with a pedestrian like you might otherwise. it looks like a self-driving car unless i pull my hands up, and then you see maybe it's not a seat, it's actually me or an engineer who's, you know, testing this whole thing out. the idea, stuart, is to find out how these things can operate without actually building the self-driving car and getting it wrong. and so, you know, this is part of push, as you report this morning, ford announcing a big push into autonomous vehicles. they think they're going to be more profitable going forward even than electric are vehicles. and so i'm looking at you

through this, you know -- stuart: i don't know whether you can hear me or not, but that's a really good idea because you have to figure out how will the public react to a car being driven down the street apparently with no driver in it? >> yes. stuart: why are we, the people, the pedestrians, what are we going to do? >> that's right. stuart: you've bot to find out. hey, jeff, that's very important stuff. thank you, my friend. we'll see you soon. >> reporter: thank you, sir. stuart: next, we're going to be joined by one of the six rabbis who did attend president trump's inauguration. we'll get his take on the embassy move to jerusalem. and we're getting closer to hearing from senator franken. about 15 minutes from now, he makes his statement on the senate floor. we're also waiting for speaker ryan. yeah, there's a lot going on today. let me show you the markets, a very modest gain, 34 points up for the dow. we've got a jam-packed show, and we'll be back. ♪ ♪

stuart: the news is breaking thick and t this half hour. senator franken will make a statement on the floor of the senate. he's expected to resign. you will see that statement when it happens. a couple of other things going

on, house speaker paul ryan holds his weekly news conference. we'll bring you any headlines. and and president trump meets with republican leaders -- senators, i'm sorry, republican senators at the white house. meanwhile, the market has modest gains, 64 points higher for the dow, we're close to 24,200. our next guest, very interesting piece in the journal today. the headline reads the death of self-restraint. dan henninger wrote it, he's deputy editor, wall street "wall street journal" editorial page. you're talking about sexual harassment here. is there any defense available to a man accused of sexual harassment? what may he say in public? can he say anything in his defense? >> if he thinks he has a defense, he can certainly say something. i mean, we could compare this, for instance, to what was going on on college campuses with the title ix guidelines during the obama administration when a

young woman would accuse a young man, and the young man would be under the burden of proving that he was not guilty. stuart: yep. >> and that had kind of a reverse due process. but in those cases, it was generally one woman accusing one man, a he said/she said. betsy devos has revisited those guidelines and has said the burden of proof has to be higher than that. most of these incidents that we've been hearing about the last since weeks or so have involved multiple women, separate women coming forth and making these accusations, and under those circumstances i think we're in a situation where it is very difficult unless an individual, a man, feels he is literally not guilty of these things and is going to file a counter-lawsuit against these women, it's difficult for him to make an effective defense. stuart: if he does defend himself and says some of these things didn't happen, he's accusing the women of lying, essentially. that's the end result in the court of public opinion, i think. >> yeah. and that's the difficulty. stuart: what about roy moore? where does that come into this

wuation? >> well, roy moore, it's interesting because we're going to see what al franken does in a few minutes, right? and i think the democrats, to me, are playing a game of high stakes political chess. on monday the president endorses roy moore, and on tuesday john conyers resigns under pressure from the party. i'm assuming and expecting that al franken is probably going to resign too. he may not go quietly. but the democrats are taking their problems off the table. their stains, leaving the republicans out there with the endorsement of roy moore. the optics of that are very, very bad no matter what the details of it. so i think they're just going to hang the republicans and president trump out to dry with roy moore. and if he comes to washington, they're going to hang judge moore around the republicans' neck every day. that's the brutality of politics. stuart: politics told. you're right, dan. that's the way it is. now we have several outlets are reporting -- what did you say, justin? that he will resign?

yeah, okay. we've got some outlets, cnn, nbc reporting that al franken will resign. he takes to the senate floor in about 15 minutes. i've got this one for you, dan. president obama, he's taking credit for the economy, the strong economy that we are in right now. roll tape. >> we changed the way that we consume energy from the cars and trucks that we drive to the homes and businesses where we live and and where we work. and we met resistance at every step of the way. and there were skeptics who said that these actions would kill jobs and depress growth, and instead -- as we took these actions, we saw the u.s. economy grow consistently, we saw the longest streak of job creation this american history by far -- in american history by far. a streak that still continues, by the way. thanks, obama. [laughter]

[applause] stuart: now, lizzie is desperate to take that to pieces fact which wily -- factually. >> he's living in an alternative universe. there was not strong growth during his presidency. donald trump came into office and reversed exactly what he was talking about, the limitations on energy, and i would say if you went out and talked to individuals in the energy sector, brought them on the show, they would tell you we finally got released from these federal burdens, and now that's allowing the economy to grow. stuart: dan, would you stay there please, i want your commentary as we hear from senator franken. there's another huge story developing, and that's the wildfires in southern california. the next 24 hours expected to be truly critical for the state of these fires and how far they extend. the winds still blowing strong. jonathan hunt live in ventura county with the latest. what have you got? >> reporter: stuart, we're standing -- in ventura county here and what firefighters are

doing is trying to prevent -- [inaudible conversations] dust and smoke. you can see up here the flames just disappeared behind this bank, but that is the smoke from one of fires. and then as we swing back across to the ocean side of the 101, you see a group of about two dozen homes there. just a short time ago walls of flames about 20-30 feet high were leaping there, but all the firefighters that you can see have managed to knock down those flames. but it is a dangerous situation with these santa ana winds across so many parts of southern california. during the middle of the night, we had a rare opportunity to get on the front lines of one of these fire fights. take a look here. we're in the hills bo santa paula -- above santa paula, and firefighters are trying to prevent the flames that are burning here from jumping these roads. so they've been setting backfires. the intensity of the flame,

quite extraordinary at this point. you can see the fire fighters all backing off now away from it. this is an intense fire fight, it is likely to go on for at least another 24 hours. and the big danger today, stuart, is the santa ana winds. they are predicted to get worse and worse with gusts possibly reaching up to 80 miles an hour. that would give you a combination of hurricane-force winds with all of these fires it is a very dangerous 24 hours ahead for fire fighters across southern california. stuart? stuart: jonathan hunt right in the middle of it, as usual. thank you very much, jonathan. there is, indeed, a lot going on. we've got the al franken statement coming up shortly, paul ryan, the fires in california, and this: protests in the middle east following president trump's recognition of jerusalem as israel's capital. some on the left slammed the president for his decision. joining us now, rabbi marvin

hayer. why is there so much opposition from the left and the media when president trump does this but virtually no opposition when the same move was presented and suggested by presidents obama and bush? why the difference with president trump? >> well, first of all, i would say that there is no difference except that they don't want to see president trump take credit for a great achievement. he will go down in jewish history. there are two great achievements in modern jewish history; harry truman's recognition of the state of israel and now president donald trump's recognition of jerusalem being the eternal capital of the jewish people. and i think that all the opposition is really unfair. why should one country in the world be without a capital?

and which other country can claim jerusalem over jewish history? where did jeremiah, ezekiel, where did king solomon and david live? they lived in jerusalem. and everybody knows that. and we've been fooling around with it for 22 years, and finally president trump said, no more. he's not prejudging the negotiations. he's simply stating a fact. jerusalem is the capital of israel. get used to it, he's saying to the world. stuart: now, the criticism which we heard many times when this announcement was made yesterday is that it interferes with, it interrupts the peace process. i've been wondering what is the peace process? i wasn't aware there was anything going on. >> well, first of all, we've tried the peace process for 22 years, and, you know, it's very interesting that many world leaders called after president trump made his decision. where were those world leaders when hamas was blowing up

restaurants? when -- in order to call president abbas and say to him look what your palestinians are doing. they never called then. they call because president trump recognized jerusalem as the capital of israel. what a double standard that is. and one other point which people don't know. divided cities have never worked. many berlin -- in berlin, it was a disaster. berlin is 360 miles. vienna, when they divided it in post-world war ii, was a disaster. that's 140 miles. the old city is 2.5 miles. if you include abdi whereas, it's 25 miles. how the heck are we going to divide jerusalem when the world after the end of world war ii saw you couldn't divide much larger cities like berlin and vienna? stuart: rabbi, you make a lot of

sense, and you're right, we didn't know that. thank you very much, indeed, rabbi. always appreciate you on the program. thank you very much, sir. appreciate it. >> thank you. stuart: now this, fbi chief christopher wray testifying before the house judiciary committee. listen to what he said when asked about politics within the fbi. roll tape. >> is an fbi agent allowed to have a political opinion? >> yes. >> is an fbi agent allowed to communicate that political opinion to their wife or even their mistress? >> yes. stuart: joining us now is judge andrew napolitano. i know what you're going to say, yes, fbi agents are allowed to have their own personal political opinions. my response to what you are going to say -- [laughter] is that they have absolutely no right to bring their political opinions into the arena of legal jurisdiction. >> that's why fbi agents operate in pairs, and that's why everything that a pair of fbi agents does is reviewed by five others, and that's why every decision made by the five is

reviewed by federal prosecutors. it's nearly impossible to keep politics entirely out of this. so you have an fbi agent who lates the mob. -- hates the mob. should he not be pursuing mobsters? or an fbi agent that recognizes the moral depravity of terrorists, should he not be trying to keep them out of times square? i think it's naive to suggest that fbi agents should have no politics at all. i don't defend everything from from -- everything the fbi does. my column this morning suggests the interrogation of general flynn was a trap. but the time for which he pleaded guilty, stuart, is lying to the fbi, not lying to mother teresa. these are cops. you don't expect them to be absolutely perfect. you expect them to be good. stuart: okay. i could respond to that, but i'm so tight on time that i won't. [laughter] i'll leave it until i sit next to you probably monday morning. [laughter] i will proceed. al franken due to make a

statement on the floor of the senate moments from now. should be about five minutes from now. we expect him to resign. not sure of that, but i think that leaves the republicans with a roy moore problem, does it not, judge? >> i fully agree with the excellent analysis that danny gave you just a couple of minutes ago, and i am quite certain that the reason the democrats have jumped on this is so that they can say they are pure, but the republicans are not. we don't know what's going to happen on tuesday. if the democrat wins, the roy moore problem goes away. but if roy moore wins, you have more than half of the republicans who a month ago when the allegations first came out -- unproven but very credible -- said i'm not going to shake his hand, i'm not going to deal with him, and i don't think he should be seated. well, they have to seat him under the law, and there is simply no precedent for removing him, for expelling him for behavior no matter how horrific that took place before he became a senator. so they may have this albatross

around their necks, much to the delight of the democrats, for some time to come. stuart: judge, we'll be watching you on "special report" tonight because that's why you're in d.c. i'm pretty sure of that. >> yes, thank you, stuart. stuart: thank you very much, indeed. again, we are awaiting senator franken. he will make his statement on the floor of the senate just a few minutes from now. betsy mccoy is with us, a republican, are you not? >> i am. but i'm very concerned that in the midst of this perv purge we are losing any sense of i due process or fairness. you hear senator gillibrand and others saying, well, al franken is entitled to his ethics committee hearing, but he should step down right away. that's like saying the accused is entitled to a fair trial, but let's execute him first. stuart: this is a question i asked dan just a moment ago, is are there any defense available to a man who's accused of sexual harassment in the past? what can he say? >> well, let me point out in the

case of al franken because in each case there are not groups on trial in our society, it's one individual accused. four of his accusers are anonymous. most of the accusations are about what happened during a photo op. for example, accuser number eight saying he grabbed her waist and squeezed twice. that's a crime? you couldn't get any cop to make an arrest for that. the fact is a lot of -- this is just hooey. stuart: but when he stood up first and made that response to the allegations, they were all over him saying you're telling us that the women lied. therefore, that defense is bogus, and you're not allowed to make it. >> well, let's put this in context because these democrats, especially the women but all of them, this is cynicism masquerading as self-righteousness. they want to protect al franken's senate seat, so they want to finish him out now, get the democratic governor of the state to appoint a democrat who will run in 2020 as a squeaky clean incumbent.

this is politics, as dan pointed out. stuart: it's brutal politics, you're right. >> it is. stuart: betsy's right, you are right, it's brutal politics -- >> and guess who's guiltiest? nancy pelosi and chuck schumer and those other self-righteous politicians who voted for the congressional act in 1995 that set up that hush money slush fund. they all voted for it. they ought to be stepping down. it's legislative malpractice. stuart: now let's get to dan -- [laughter] >> wishful thinking. don't hold your breath on nancy pelosi stepping down, because she's never going to step down. stuart: that is true. >> don't look for moral fiber inside any of these politicians. they bend with the wind, and this is a hurricane, this sexual harassment is a hurricane that's just blowing over people in public and private life. stuart: it is. >> i worry a lot about people in private life. i mean, everyone losing their job so quickly, what happened to the idea of suspending people for a long period of time without pay?

but just to abruptly fire people without any evidence proposed -- >> to betsy's point. stuart: you see senator franken arriving in washington, d.c., stepping up into the senate. he'll make his statement moments from now. >> with his wife. al franken, to betsy's point, a lot of these allegations occurred before he was a senator. and so betsy again is right, minnesota democrat governor mark dayton will appoint a person to sit in that seat. it could be the lieutenant governor, that's the thinking. she will not likely run. tina smith doesn't want to run, so there could be a democrat primary for that seat next year in a state that donald trump lost by one percentage point. stuart: now, we -- there are various media outlets reporting that senator franken will, in fact, resign. we don't know that for sure, of course, because he's not yet made his statement. i'm interested in how he makes his statement. what else will he say? will he simply stand up and say for the good of the party, for the good of the country and for

my own whatever, i'm resigning? >> and will he attack republicans and roy moore? right. stuart: will he attempt to defend his actions in any way, shape or form, what will he say? we don't know, but he has just arrived at the senate building right there. any speculation, betsy? >> well, i feel very badly that the nation is watching one person after another, one man after another saying good-bye to his career, everything. i'm not a fan of al franken, but men have rights too. and people who have built their lives, built their careers ought to be treated with a little bit more due process and fairness. stuart: judge napolitano still with us, i'm sorry, i didn't realize you were still there, but you've been listening to all of this, judge. i raised the question is there any defense which a man can make when faced with these allegations? my conclusion is, no, there's virtually no defense allowed. you can't do that. you'd be saying that the women are lying. what say you to this?

>> well, roy moore's been making that defense. again, we don't know what the outcome is going to be, but there apparently is a substantial body of alabama voters that either believe the defense or are willing to overlook the allegations because they are so long ago and they haven't been proven. i'd like to add on something that betsy said, i fully agree with her with respect to the utter scurrilousness of paying money to keep people silent when the money is taxpayer dollars. that also violates the constitution which says no funds shall be paid from the federal treasury but those which are recorded in a public journal. we didn't know about this for 20 years, and we just found out about it last month. >> now, there's an impeachable offense. [laughter] stuart: one thing we can all agree on here, that we shouldn't be using taxpayer money to fend off allegations of sexual harassment and buy people off, buy their silence. that is, frankly, wrong.

>> talk about swamp behavior. stuart: yeah, that's it. i wonder if we'll ever get to the bottom of that. >> bottom of the swamp? stuart: [inaudible] when and for what reason. >> we should know, we're paying for it. stuart: there's the floor of the senate. you're looking at it. i think they're all waiting for senator franken. he has entered the building. we showed you moments ago, got out of an suv with his wife, walked up the steps, he's in the building. what are you saying, justin? i am told that in that senate room right now on the floor of the senate it is deathly quiet. it is dead silence. they're waiting for al franken. again, we don't know what he's going to say, and we are told by various media outlets, they say that he is going to resign. how he resigns, what else he says we absolutely do not know, but we're awaiting the arrival of mr. franken, senator franken right there. i've got another thing that's going on here, and that's the stock market. within the last half hour, we went straight up. not that much, okay, we're at

24,200, but now we're up 75 points. i'm not sure if there's a news event related to this. i'm not aware of anything cataclysmic that has happened on the outside. >> no. [laughter] stuart: nonetheless, we've got a rally. can you show me the big tech stocks whilst we're waiting for senator franken? they've made the running for the past couple of years. they were down last week, bounced back this week. i think most of them have gone back up again today. except for microsoft. the one that i own. franken is -- there he is. here we go. >> i felt that we had entered an important moment in the history of this country. we were finally beginning to listen to women about the ways in which men's actions affect them. the moment was long overdue. i was excited for that conversation and hopeful that it would result in real change that

made life better for women all across the country and in every part of our society. then the conversation turned to me. over the last few weeks, a number of women have come forward to talk about how they felt my actions had affected them. i was, i was shocked. i was upset. but in responding to their claims, i also wanted to be respectful of that broader conversation. because all women deserve to be heard, and their experiences taken seriously. i think that was the right thing to do. i also think it gave some people the false impression that i was admitting to doing things that, in fact, i haven't done. some of the allegations against me are simply not true.

others i remember very differently. i said at the outset that the ethics committee was the right venue for these allegations to be heard and investigated and evaluated on their merits. that i was prepared to cooperate fully and that i was confident in the outcome. you know, an important part of the conversation we've been having the last few months has been about how men abuse their power and privilege to hurt women. i am proud that during my time in the senate i have used my power to be a champion of women and that i have earned a reputation as someone who respects the women i work alongside every day.

i know there's been a very different picture of me painted over the last few weeks, but i know who i really am. serving in the united states senate has been the great honor of my life. i know in my heart that nothing i have done as a senator, nothing, has brought dishonor on this institution. and i am confident that the ethics committee would agree. nevertheless, today i am announcing that in the coming weeks i will be resigning as a member of the united states senate. i, of all people, am aware that there is some irony in the fact that i am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault

sits in the oval office, and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the senate with the full support of his party. but this decision is not about me. it's about the people of minnesota. it has become clear that i can't both pursue the ethics committee process and at the same time remain an effective senator for them. let me be clear, i may be resigned my seat, but i am not giving up my voice. i will continue to stand up for the things i believe in as a citizen and as an activist. minnesotans deserve a senator who can focus with all her energy on addressing the challenges they face every day.

this is a big part of me that will always regret having to walk away from this job with so much work left to be done. but i have faith that the work will continue because i have faith in the people who have helped me do it. i have faith in the dedicated, funny, selfless, brilliant young men and women on my staff. they have so much more to contribute to our country. and i hope that, as disappointed as they may feel today, everyone who has worked for me knows how much i admire and respect them. i have faith in my colleagues, especially my senior senator, amy klobuchar. i would not have been able to do

this job without her guidance and wisdom. and i have faith -- or at least hope -- that members of this senate will find the political courage necessary to keep asking the tough questions, hold this administration accountable and stand up for the truth. i have faith in the activists who organized and helped me win my first campaign and who have kept on organizing to help fight for the people who needed us; kids facing bullying, seniors worried about the price of prescription drugs, native americans who have been overlooked for far too long, working people who have been taking it on the chin for a generation, everyone in the middle class and everyone aspiring to join it. i have faith in the proud legacy

of progressive advocacy that i have had the privilege to be a part of. i think i've probably repeated these words 10,000 times over the years, paul wellstone's famous quote, the future belongs to those who are passionate and work hard. it's still true. it will always be true. and most of all, i have faith in minnesota. a big part of this job is going around the state and listening to what people need from washington. but more often than not, when i'm home, i am blown away by how much minnesota has to offer the entire country and the entire world. the people i've had the honor of representing are brilliant and creative and hard working, and

whoever holds this seat next will inherit the challenge i've enjoyed for the last eight and a half years, being as good as the people you serve. this has been a tough few weeks for me, but i am a very, very lucky man. i have a beautiful, healthy family that i love and that loves me very much. i'm going to be just fine. i'd just like to end with one last thing. i did not grow up wanting to be a politician. i came to this relatively late in life. i had to learn a lot on the fly. it wasn't easy, and it wasn't always fun, and i'm not just talking about today.

this is a hard thing to do with your life. there are a lot of long hours and late nights and hard lesson lessons, and there is no guarantee that all your work and sacrifice will ever pay off. i won my first election by 312 votes. could have easily gone the other way. and even when you win, progress is far from inevitable. paul wellstone spent his whole life working for mental health parity, and it didn't pass until six years after paul died. in this year a lot of people who didn't grow up imagining that they'd ever get involved in politics have done just that.

they've gone to their first protest march or made their first call to a member of put their names on a ballot for the first time. it can be such a rush to look around a room of full of people, ready to fight alongside you. feel that energy. imagine if better things are possible. but you too will experience setbacks and defeats an disappointments. therethere will be days you will wonder whether it's worth it. what i want you to know is that even today, even on the worst day of my