expensive, doesn't pay a dividend. great lakes pix. >> quick thoughts, ben? >> ages, excellent bottom vision play. near its bottom for the year. i like it. >> whoa! >> who let the dogs out! >> my man, ben. >> there you go. david asman continues now on fox. i'm sympathetic that sony as a private company was worried about liabilities. i would have told them, do not get into -- a pattern in which you're intimidated by these kinds of criminal attacks. >> what the heck. some folks giving sony heck for not releasing the movie "the interview." they pulled the plug on it after north korean hackers thro erers 9/11-style attacks if they did. did sony have a choice? some say yes, some no. welcome, everybody. "in focus" to find out.

steve forbes, john tamny, and the others. is sony doing the right thing? >> no. doing the wrong thing, and in brand defeating fashion. lest we forget we are talking about a light comedic film comedy, and so if hackers can shut down at movie theaters, this encourages every two-bit hacker around the world to figure out ways to shut down commerce. this sets a bad precedent and it's an uncourageous move by sony. >> bruce, an enemy of the united states. we're still technically at war with them, to dictate what we can and cannot do on our soil. george clooney for one in hollywood is furious. he said, "we have allowed north korea to dictate content, and that is just insane." what do you think? >> well, i don't know if i should disagree with george clooney with my wife watching, but i'm going to disagree and going to say that here's the deal. you know, this is uncharted

territory we're entering here. where they needed to maybe protect their shareholders, and protect their employees and their customers, because they really didn't know what's going on. we don't know necessarily what's going on inside sony, and what if there's a copycat crime at a theater, say, in denver or some place like that? and they end up getting sued and more monday morning quarterbacking. it's unfortunate. >> steve, what we do know, let me run this from a letter that george clooney tried to get folks in hollywood to sign. what we do know is he couldn't get one person in hollywood to sign the following -- just a part of it. we know that to give in to these criminals now will open the door for any group that woe threaten freedom of expression prisvacy and personal liberty. we hope the hackers are brought to justice, but until they are, we will not stand in fear. we will stand together. steve, george clooney with all of his good reputation could not get one person in hollywood to sign that. >> this is a whole act of

cravenous. sony floundering around since this crisis began. so it's not real surprise that they caved in. homeland security said there's no credible threat. in terms of unchartered water, stand tall. back to basic principles. it's about free speech and you know what's coming next. chinese weigh in, russians weigh in, anyone with a grievance weighs in. terrible precedent and the sony led the parade in cowardous. >> and before team america, perfect example, right? >> came out in 2004 under the bush administration. kind of makes you wonder if the blame should be placed on washington, not sony. sony didn't have a choice, really. the movie theaters decided not to distribute it. their hands were tied. let's not forget sony is an entertainment and video game company dealing way regime that spends billions on defense. do we think sony can combat this? >> of course in 2004, emac,

perhaps the hackers weren't quite at sophisticated as today. may have done the same back then if they had the chance. >> i love how nobody signed clooney's petition in hollywood. they make -- >> not one. >> they make a weather vane look like the rock of gibraltar. waiting for hollywood to step up and do a movie, people cutting -- jerks cutting off the heads of men, women and children in the middle east. where's that movie? you know, but here's the deal with sony, though. that malware could still be in its systems. that's an issue. behind the scenes a scramble. the u.s. is not set up for a major cyber attack on infracenter. wire senator mccain is about to launch a committee. tell you something, next year, time and again, seen north korea do dry runs. practice runs. could be a practice one for an even bigger hit down the road to the u.s. >> should have seen it coming. rick a charter member of the hollywood elite. having worked, presided over a division of marvel entertainment. >> yes.

>> what? you may not be a charter member after this, but do you think? >> absolutely awful. amazing day paper glees with conservatives on the panel and heard my friend bruce andcare-o something in? insane. good for george clooney. ashamed nobody in hollywood signed the letter and ashamed sony did not stand up for the most important point here which is creative expression. and i'm sorry that another studio has already cancelled a film that's supposed to be about north korea starring steve carell, that is a drama. this is not okay. i don't care how much money sony loses. sometimes there are bigger issues. >> and then john, clooney saw it coming. said now it's a satire eventually -- clooney says i do serious films. eventually this may be tried on a serious film as well. it's going to spread. it's not just one off. is it? >> absolutely. again, this is a comedy. what happens when they make a

serious film that's critical of north korea? does it mean they won't release it anymore? does it mean if george will writes something critical about north korea maybe the "washington post" and other newspapers that syndicate him will refuse to run it for fear of terrorist attacks? such a bad precedent because it encourages every two-bit hacker around the world, frame themselves as terrorists can deter commerce and free expression. it's a shame. >> there is a price for freedom. in fact, this block is called "the cost of freedom". even civilians at some point have to stand up and pay that price. do they not? a price clearly sony doesn't seem to have paid or be willing to pay at this point? >> back to the unchartered waters here. i think perhaps people will learn from this and maybe if this was to happen in another movie would have a better distribution plan and could push a button and get it out a different way rather than having to go to a theater. there's a lot of lessons learned

here. >> to carrie's point, is the owner, should the onus be on the government or should the private sector step up? >> it's both. tos passive, this country has never been passive waiting for government to do something. we see a problem, an opportunity, deal with it. sony should have set a good example. maybe shame the government into finally doing something. >> emac? >> listen, sony banks its money on free speech and freedom of expression. we saw how brave hollywood was during the mccarthy hearings. we don't -- we're not in sony's shoes. by the way, both private and public sector had to step up after 9/11, and face this coming down the road. >> carrie, that's what happened. we all realize that since we were all tarts, not just soldiers in the battlefields, but civilians, we have to stand up as citizens and defend our rights. defend them personally. >> that's true. i actually used to work in the world trade center, after the attacks. it's important that civilians do show we are not going to stand for this. that said, if sewn hi gone and

pushed through with this and there had been some attack, we would all say putting profits ahead of safety. frankly, i do -- >> i don't think they'd say that. >> no. i think -- >> go on, steve. >> an act of war, which this is already and finally deal with north korea the way it should be democrat, starting by putting them on the terrorist list. >> a chance to start over and -- >> okay. hold on a second. rick, again, being a member of the hollywood elite, it's very hard to stick a backbone in a sflal. can can snail. can't do it. is it possible clooney's message will spread in hollywood and somehow hollywood might find a -- >> have you ever tried to do that? i think hollywood, i know, just going to be sitting there waiting for this to disappear from the public consciousness as soon as possible. >> it ain't disappearing. >> it's not going away. >> stand up to them. >> stand up to them. we all agree. >> obama needs to stand up. coming up, gas prices keep

diving. great for your wallet. right? maybe not. why it could be backfiring on our economy as we speak. we report. you decide. military families are uniquely thankful for many things, the legacy of usaa auto insurance could be one of them. if you're a current or former military member or their family, get an auto insurance quote and see why 92% of our members plan to stay for life.

live from america's news headquarters, i'm eric shawn. the state department issues a warning to americans traveling abroad. the world wide alert advising people traveling outside the u.s. to be extra cautious over the holidays. the state department says thes highlights the need to be vigilant. in that attack a radical islamic gunman took 17 people hostage at that cafe in sydney. the 16-hour siege left two hostages dead. the iranian-born attacker also dead. north korea, denying its responsible for the apparent terror cyber hacking attack on sony entertainment. the rogue nation proposing to hold a joint investigation with the united states, but that offer comes with a threat. jong-un saying the u.s. will

face grave consequences if 2 does not agree to work together and continue to blame them for the hacking. now back to -- how low can it go? gas prices dropping, below $2.50, average, first time in five years. while that's helping a lot of americans keep nor cash in their wallets during a critical shopping season, signs it could be backfires on the economy in big ways. steve, just had a report from jpmorgan chase, analysts there reporting the "wall street journal," quote the analyst, weigh the evidence. texas at the least will have a rough 2015 ahead, and is at risk of slipping into a regional recession, and they blame the low oil prices for that. are they right? >> well, we've seen this movie before, david, in the 1980s. oil crashed almost 75%. the u.s. economy did roaringly well in the 1980s but texas went

into recession. agriculture went into recession. so it's not uniform, and the key thing is, though, in this case, while it's good that oil prices are falling, good overall for the u.s. and global economy, this was not a desire by the federal reserve. they played a mismake their minds. you don't know what they'll do next. enjoy it while you can, because it may not last. >> all right. carrie, 50 states in the united states of america. a couple of them may suffer, but the majority may do pretty well? >> i think it's not just the states. we also have to look globally. china slowing down. brazil slowing down. there is more supply with the shale, but also slowdown in demand. so i actually think this is, two sides to every coin. >> there are, but, john, the one side that consumers see, which is very happy is bass gregas pr continually going down, past several months. >> brilliant for the economy and evidence steve points out not just the 1980s but 1990s,

because what lower oil prices signal, just as they did in the '80s and '90s is a stronger dollar. a stronger dollar lures investment into real ideas. the dirty little secret, when oil price was high, senate signal of a weak global economy. >> on the other hand, bruce, still recovering from the recession. some people feel we're in a recession. when you have jobs lost in texas, jobs lost in north dakota. i think even montana had shale oil that may be hurt as a result of this? right? >> a lot of states out there, a lot of ancillary jobs. i talked to banker this week who's worried. it's very expensive to extract oil owl shale in north dakota and so forth. engineering firms, small businesses that took out loans to explore out there, and so when the price is going down like this, they don't -- that oil is more expensive to extracted and a lot of jobs out in the rural area that could be

harmed. >> just as we're getting back on our feet, rick, this may pull us back down? >> let's hope not. i actual i agree with steve, probably not last as long as some think. i want to address the two sides to every coin. i think carrie is right. my question, if you'll forgive me for asking it. all those weeks cloggering me of president obama being responsible for prices going down. i didn't blame him for prices going up. >> two factors we haven't talked about yet. one is, a little country called saudi arabia, pumping a lot of oil. that's how push prices way down even when there's an excess of it and the federal reserve pumping the dollar. right? >> one of the things that happened was that because the fed kept interest rates so low for such a long period of time, david, is that bond investors poured money into buying bonds people involved in fracking because higher yield.

most importants not what low oil priceless do to the economy, what they're telling us about the future of the economy. that is, the overall economic growth could be much lower in 2015 than people think. in fact, i think gdp on a nominal basis could be lowered globally next year than in 2014. >> steve, one thing that's lower, at the end of the week they got a boost with the market, but energy stocks are way down over the past year. >> well, they are. and this decline in oil was coupled as it was in the 1980s with tax cuts and other positive things that reagan put in, we could see this economy overall doing very well, but mike is right. the global economy and an dollar basis will becline because of the other dumb things these governments are doing. not oil. >> and are you convinced? >> i still say two sides to every coin and agree with mike. this is a signal of a global slowdown. europe is incredibly sluggish. great quarters but a contraction

the first quarter. >> i see john shaking his head, no. why? >> if you believe the fictional number that is gdp which is very much a canian number. a technical recession in the earl '80s, the stronger dollar reoriented investment back into the economy of the mind, what are hero describes in the economy mind, warren brooks. great for the economy. oil is yesterday's work. this is going to reorient investment sbook future work. >> mike, a lot of people are working in oil today? >> you ghknow what? the big problem, russia is tanking. china's slowing a great deal. >> i'm not crying over that. >> and japan is doing the opposite of what john tamny likes. debasing their currency on a daily basis. so -- those countries are doing a lot of bad things economically. >> rick? >> don't you love it which john tamny gets money in the weeds? it is cool. i don't know if he's right or wrong. >> leave it at that, gang. meanwhile, rallies erupting for and against the u.s. making

amends with caommunist cuba. will opening free markets back to cuba only help the castros? at the bottom of the hour. i hate the democrats. a public college professor professing it. you okay having someone like that teaching your kids? thanks. ♪ [ male announcer ] fedex® has solutions to enable global commerce that can help your company grow steadily and quickly. great job. (mandarin) ♪ cut it out. >>see you tomorrow. ♪ ♪ ah, ♪ h it. ♪ push it. ♪ p...push it real good!

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another biased outburst from academia. university of michigan professor university of michigan professor writing a gop bashing

hey what are you doing? university of michigan professor writing a gop bashing i was thinking about taking this speed test from comcast business. oh yeah? if they can't give us faster internet or save us money, they'll give us 150 bucks. sounds like a win win. guys! faster internet? i have never been on the internet and i am doing pretty well. does he even work here? don't listen to the naysayer. take the comcast business speed test. get faster speeds or more savings, or we'll give you $150. comcast business. built for business. an uproar over a public college professor penning an article "i hate republicans" in of the university of michigan teacher blaming the gop over the divisive politics in the united states. emac, is this actually what

we're paying public college professors to preach? >> i get it, a place for free speech, but the children come first, not the free speech expressions of our line professors who do set up a culture of intimidation in the classroom. i went through it in college all the tile. a lot of students go through it all the time. i get it parents can send their students elsewhere but flis is endemic throughout the university system in america. >> mike, by the way, not in a classroom where she said this. in an article she wrote, but got to think in her classroom a lot of this stuff bled through. right? >> david, and i'm a republican, you know. we're taking this way too seriously. i don't want the speech police going after every person who writes something bad about something and saying, oh, my goodness. are they getting any public money in any way? i didn't like it when they went after the boy scouts years ago for things they were doing. the other side, i don't like this. i think let her write what she wants to write. >> john, on the other hand it is a public university, taxpayer

money involved. don't taxpayer get a say at all? >> should, but a local say. mike's right. professors don't give up their right to free speech. the university of michigan case if this offends donors it will lead to reduced donations. let michigan figure it out. not something for taxpayers to think about. >> what if this was a republican saying, i hate democrats? wouldn't it be hate speech? >> labeled hate speech. that professor out in a heartbeat. this is horrible taste. she's a department chair. she is a professor of communications studies. is this the type of communication we want to spend our federal tax money to support students to learn from her? >> steve what should be done? >> pointing out the utter hypocrisy of it. the fact of the matter, she was uncouth than her colleagues. a few drinks or a few smokes of pot, they'd say the same thing. i'd love to find a republican hoon could say anything on those campuses. they don't exist.

>> steve, stick with you. they try to give speeches, they're booed out, can't say anything. >> run often the campus. academic freedom, yeah, all one-sided. >> teachers arebullies, too, and do it all the time. >> stand up, students, if you disagree. thank you, folks. we'll be right back.

before we go i want to share very sad news with you about a form 0er colleague and dear friend annie goodman. she was part of our fox family for nearly a decade, in the last three years, annie worked her heart out as a producer of this show. actually annie worked her heart out on everything she did including her extraordinarily brave and dignified fight with cancer which ended this week with her passing. now, you think you know someone until you see how they behave in a life and death struggle. well, annie did so with more grace than anyone i have ever seen always with dignity, even with humor. >> this is only been in my life two years. sometimes it's hard to remember what my life was like before

cancer. because sometimes it's hard to remember what were the trivial things i complained about before cancer. it was like, can't catch a cab. this city sucks. stupid things like that, and -- you know. you remember what's important. you want to experience as much as you can. that's a big thing. stuff no longer matters. it's not about having, you know, things. it's about spending time with your family. it is about having experiences that i've always wanted to do and cram in as many things as possible, because you just -- you just don't know. >> annie was blessed way great support group including her family, friends, even members of her beloved new york yankees. but the main thing about annie's struggle is that even when she was bravely staring death in the face, she always focused on living. never letting anything negative distract her from her love of life. and while we are devastated over her death over how someone so young, she was only 33, and so vital, could be taken from us,

her focus on living life with joy, dignity and hope even through the worst of times is a message far more powerful than wondering why people so great can die so young. [ chanting ] after 54 years of sanctions, president obama declaring the cold war with communist cuba over. in havana, celebrating. some here protesting the historic decision. we dive into the good, the bad and potential price for making nice with the castros. plus, the young hopeless, one in five millennials are now living in poverty. that's the most on record. another f for obamanomices. is the lesson for millennials stop voting for big government. then, another faux story. first rollingstone's phony college rape case. now "new york"