rob: thursday, may 10th, this is "fox and friends first". a fox news alert. history made while you were sleeping, three americans arrive on us soil freed from their nightmare in north korea. donald trump welcoming them home on behalf of the entire nation at andrews air force base. >> an important thing to all of us is to be able to get these three great people out. >> this diplomatic victory setting the tone for the pres.'s groundbreaking summit with kim jong un. what a night and what a morning. thank you for joining us this

historic thursday. we have fox news team coverage from north korea. richardson is live at the state department and we begin with griff jenkins in washington dc where the president arrived home a short time ago with the incredible homecoming. >> a moment of history unfolding, all smiles, peace signs thrust into the areas commit to 15, kim hak-song, greeted by donald trump and first lady milania and mike pompeo appearing in good spirits, shaking hands, expressing appreciation, donald trump taking the opportunity to thank kim jong un for their

release. >> nobody thought we could be on this track. i'm very honored. these are great people who have been through a lot and it is a great honor. we have a victory in getting rid of nuclear weapons. >> the pres. making a strong point that he believes this shows kim jong un wants to reach an agreement on denuclearize in the north korean peninsula. >> i think he wants to disarm. i really think he wants to do something and bring the country into the real world. i really believe that and we will have a success. a very big success. it has never been taken this far, never been a relationship like this. i think a lot of progress has been made and we will see what

happens. i guess many of you will be with us, great things can happen. >> reporter: a powerful moment, the president noting the contrast from the return of auto warmbier, paying respect to his family. regretful he was unable to bring him home. >> an important thing for all of us to be able to get these three great people out and i must tell you, my warmest respects to the parents of auto warmbier, a great young man who really suffered. >> the three americans will be taken to walter reed medical center. the pres. back at the white house, presumably these americans will be reunited with family members. we did not see them on the tarmac but assume they will be

reunited. it would not -- a few signature moments. he told the press gathered their congratulations for the best ratings ever at 3:00 am. kim jong un 7 you knew he was going to get into the ratings but the past two hours, so much of happens, a beautiful moment welcoming those prisoners home. thanking god and their president, the three american hostages back on us soil after being held captive for more than a year. live in london, how they ended up in prison in the road nation. >> reporter: good morning. another rare instance of good news from north korea, maybe more to come. we have been watching the last couple hours these three korean americans held in captivity by the regime for 21/2 years. much of that we have learned under, quote, difficult

conditions. they are kim hak-song, kim hak-song, they worked at a university in pyongyang and a businessman arrested in october 2015 all said to be and looking this morning in good health, walking around, giving the peace sign, etc.. all three were accused of subversive acts against the regime, even spying. kim >> caller: was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor and noted that in brief comments a while ago, the actions of the trump administration include secretary of state mike pompeo in the meeting yesterday with kim jong un sealing the deal. from these three x hostages we received a statement of gratification and they say, quote, we would like to express

our deep appreciation to the united states government. and the people of the united states for bringing us home. not there of course but mentioned and remember auto warmbier, the university student held in captivity by north korea who died following the activity. he was remembered by donald trump and a lot of good times now, great american citizens back in the united states. todd: preparations in the final stage for the high-stakes summit, they expect to come face-to-face in singapore. and what is on the agenda for this historic meeting? >> mike pompeo returns with three american prisoners but

also returns with much more summit between donald trump and kim jong un plans. pompeo was in pyongyang for 13 hours, 90 minutes of which he met with kim jong un himself, the second meeting he had, the first was easter weekend, cia director pompeo, feeling out the summit between the pres. and the dictator and in the last hour donald trump said many of these details are now set. >> a meeting scheduled, we have the location set and we will see if we can do something that people did not think was going to happen for many years. >> reporter: the president gave a timeframe of a couple days before he would say when and where this would happen and a lot of the vetting is on singapore. the trip was designed to settle on a country and city even

specific venue to have these discussions with administration officials say north korea the us have agreed to a 1-day summit between the president and the dictator and agreed to an option for a second day. there are plenty of unknowns, how much north korea is willing to disarm and denuclearize and what allies will give in return for that. and a different leader than the one who took to north korean television on new year's day to say the arsenal was completed and planned on mass-producing nuclear weapons and vehicles to deliver those weapons. pompeo mentioned he had productive meetings in north korea. there are points of disagreement, when north korean officials had with mike pompeo when he was there, the north korean nuclear program is finished and it was time for north korea to turn to its economy is working on its economic growth and sanctions

had nothing to do with the decision in north korea made the decision on his own. the united states contends the international sanctions campaign known as the pressure campaign that finally brought kim jong un to the negotiating table. with mike pompeo back in the united states he will meet with south korean counterpart in the state department where they will discuss the strategy. >> it is absolutely huge, and amazing transformation of the world. donald trump adding a major foreign-policy, it comes after announcing us withdrawal from the obama era nuclear deal with iran. dr. sebastian gorka says donald

trump is getting more done in his first term than pres. obama did in two fool terms. >> the president and secretary pompeo with this one act have done more for america than obama and his whole cabinet did in eight years. and currency being shipped to our enemies, that is how you get things done. a new day for america and this is a message for all dictatorships and this is the model for how we deal with iran. no more appeasement and i'm telling the pres. and everybody in his circle we use the pyongyang model to deal with regimes like iran. todd: north korea conducted 33 missile tests. the release of three americans from a labor camp, goodwill gesture ahead of the historic

summit, what does kim jong un really went? gordon chang says it is all about a nuclear deal with the us. he is here live to breakdown where we go from here. ♪ 4 july ♪ uncle sam is your name ♪ on the top of his list ♪ and started shaking her fist ♪ the eagle will fly and be here ♪ when freedom starts ringing her bell ♪ it will feel like the whole wide world is raining down

todd: donald trump greeting newly freed american hostages back to the us after months of imprisonment in north korea. it has been a remarkable morning. here's asia analyst and author of nuclear showdown, gordon

chang. no one better to have onset this morning. how significant is what we just saw? >> it is extremely significant largely because this is going to be just weeks before our president sits down with kim jong un. the first time a sitting north korean leader and sitting american president have gotten together. the issues are consequential. you not only have the nukes but ballistic missiles, the japanese -- maybe there is a fourth americans there. all sorts of things we have got to talk about. todd: what does this portend for the nuclear discussion that will happen in singapore in june? >> it is a good sign because these three were in good health, able to walk on the plane by themselves, this is in contrast to auto warmbier who was released june of last year, in extremely poor condition, vegetative state, died shortly after returning to the us, the north koreans didn't like us. now the north koreans want to create goodwill so they kept

these guys in good condition. >> you understand what it -- what kim jong un is willing to give up? >> the only thing we are willing to accept his complete disarmament of north korea and that is critical. our allies depends on it, and it depends on disarming north korea. this is not a question of what kim one tos. short of use of force to disarm the north koreans, whether they were willing to do those things. and he thinks kim jong un wants to enter the real world. >> he wanted to enter the real

world with his nukes. we can tighten the sanctions on north korea, we can go after their major power backers, russia and china who are supporting north korea to varying degrees. you go back two month, china has markedly deteriorated. these are things we have to do. that doesn't matter if north korea gives up its nukes but if it doesn't we have to push the chinese around. >> a fourth detainee got lost in all the exciting news and of course the auto warmbier situation. tell us more about that. >> in 2004 in mysterious circumstances, the chinese police reports are obvious

fabrications, and he taught english to kim jong un. there is one report of david stedman being cited in north korea, we don't really know. but a confirmation from the north korea, and this is just like the japanese taken by north korea for language obstruction. >> does this gum up the works on the june summit? >> it is something we can forget. this is another american who may be in that tyrannical state. todd: and amazing perspective on a historic morning, thanks for being here. donald trump's pick to run the cia firing back at democrats as she is grilled about her past. >> i didn't want to sit bonus with bed. i was not on the sidelines. i was on the front lines in the

fight against al qaeda. heather: chance to be confirmed as bipartisan support roles in. ♪

todd: their nightmare is over. three americans held captive on their way to walter reed medical center returning to the us just hours ago, at joint base andrews giving the peace sign. donald trump leading them off the plane with secretary of state mike pompeo embracing

them. >> nobody thought we could be on this track. >> i'm very honored, crane people. todd: the diplomatic victory, for the pres.'s high-stakes met with kim jong un. this is a world leader is coming face-to-face in singapore early next month. >> my moral compass is strong. i would not allow the cia to undertake activity i thought was immoral even if it was technically legal. i would absolutely not permit it. todd: gina haspel tackling her senate confirmation hearing head on. jackie ibanez with the highlights. >> reporter: the highly anticipated testimony lasting just under 3 hours where she was grilled about her 3 decade undercover career with the cia,

refusing to back down confidently answering questions and democrats about her role in post 9/11 detention program. >> the pres. has asserted torture works. do you agree with that statement? >> i don't believe torture works, in the cia program, to enhance interrogation techniques. and many directors, valuable information, in senior al qaeda operatives, with another attack. >> is that he is? >> it is not a yes. we got valuable information from debriefing of al qaeda detainees. i don't think it is knowable whether interrogation techniques played a role in this. >> reporter: the hearing hitting snack when protesters got rowdy. [shouting]

>> 7 people were arrested. one of the former cia officer that stopped haspel from gaining surprise support. she faces opposition from some republicans, rand paul is likely a no vote and john mccain is coming in the senate to deny haspel as he recovers from brain cancer. she does have support from her old boss, secretary of state pompeo saying i had the chance to watch gina haspel testified looking forward to receiving intelligence from this amazing leader. donald trump voicing his support, tweeting gina haspel did a spectacular job, there was nobody even close to run the cia. we will closely follows that.

todd: i heard sen. bird give the opening statement and felt amazing pride for this woman who gave so much of her life to the country and wants to continue doing it, she's a true patriot and amazing so many people don't want her in that chair. 25 minutes after the hour. fox news alert, finally freedom for three americans held hostage in north korea. what does it mean for the historic summit coming up for donald trump and kim jong un? >> we have seen the charm offensive by north korea. i hope the pres. understands he needs to keep his eye on the ball. >> many wondering and warning the pres. not to let his guard down. live fox news team coverage. so, what's new? we just switched to geico and got more. more? they've been saving folks money for over 75 years.

a company you can trust. geico even helped us with homeowners insurance. more sounds great. gotta love more... right, honey? yeah! geico. expect great savings and a whole lot more. ♪ most people come to la with big dreams. ♪ we came with big appetites. with expedia, you could book a flight, hotel, car, and activity all in one place. ♪

todd: historic evening, remarkable morning, for three americans held captive more than a year in north korea stay home in america. donald trump welcoming them at joint base andrews come his diplomatic victory expected to set the tone for the pres.'s groundbreaking summit with patty: 1. kim jong un. good morning. >> pyromaniac, good to be with you. let me make this simple for the folks who are up early with us. you can point to a number of critical moments of this presidency. the successful confirmation of neil gorsuch, the stunning dismantling of isis. there will not be a single moment more remembered at this point of this administration than the moment last night, the welcome of three former us prisoners held captive in north korea landing overnight at joint base andrews. the pres. thanking the leader of

north korea, kim jong un, so that upbeat about the planned summit between the two which could take place in singapore in early june. >> we have a meeting scheduled in a short time, we have the location set, and see if we can do something we did not think was going to happen. >> reporter: this is happening after the bilateral overture, mike pompeo, outreach that could soon face diplomatic dividends. >> the capability, on the military side, we see there is reason for optimism. we said this is a diplomatically led effort by military force.

it will be fruitful. >> a sober assessment that i would know. and what studied between these countries. and a few others in his presidency and we are looking forward to a rally in indiana as the president makes his way to the hoosier state. rob: you have seen such amazing moment during your career. will this be one of those indelible moments like the fall of the berlin wall that we will look on the last 3 hours as one of those amazing moments from here to eternity? >> i would not say this particular moment but this could pave the way for that moment meaning let's say something

dramatic happens in singapore, looking at a seachange in the pacific rim. imagine this. if you grew up before there was just germany meaning east germany and west germany. the idea there is this germany now that is such a close ally to the united states is quite remarkable. you can see that in our lifetime only in korea. a unified korea could be in the future and that begins with what happened last night, perhaps in singapore. i don't want to put too much out there, we have to be skeptical what we have seen through the kim regime in north korea, but last night could be the first step, and impressive diplomatic roadside. todd: to the middle east, what is the thinking into ron this morning? >> i am sure they are unsettled, what the west and the power of the west could mean not just for

that region and in particular around the globe. stabilizing activities from the regime in tehran for so long but keep this also in mind, people will be heard in that part of the world, only a matter of time before we learn what they have to say. todd: we appreciate it. we have live footage of three detainees, back on american soil, if an outside shot, you are not convinced inside, such a situation, heavy police presence right there. getting checked out, they look very good to the cameras. and what has gone on. the last year during their detainment, they need to get checked out.

the pres. thanking you -- thanking kim jong un, signifying a change between our countries. jason riley, columnist with the wall street journal says the president does need to remain focused. >> we have been here before. promising piece before, we have seen recently the charm offensive by north korea and i hope the pres. understands that he needs to keep his eye on the ball. he repeatedly said i'm going to get a good deal or no deal at all and i think we have to remember north korea's leader has not suddenly turned into a statesman, and wants nothing to do with his path to pursue nuclear weapons. >> the return of 15 detainees in two years, less than 18 months since he took office.

gina haspel proving she won't be intimidated by democrats who use her first congressional hearing to show her as an advocate of enhanced interrogation. >> i don't believe torture works. many people, directors who sat in the chair before me, obtained from senior al qaeda operatives to prevent another attack. todd: they failed to mention 30 years in service and major issues facing the country. former cia station chief daniel hoffman joins us with his reaction. this will be the lead story but events in north korea, i want to ask, you are in the room, how did she do? >> as proud as i was, well thought out and some hard questions. i was disappointed in the

hearing which was for the american people there was a classified hearing afterwards but this was for our citizens and no one address the key issues of the day, terminating the iran nuclear deal or the upcoming summit with north korea, there was incredible focus on relitigating the enhanced interrogation and gina's involvement in the program over 15 years ago and trying to dissect her moral compass from that. and deputy director, they know what a moral compass is. she made many moral and ethical decisions every day on behalf, the hearing got focused on other things. democrats in particular focused on the russia investigation, there were no questions about russia.

that would be an issue of importance for them. todd: it boggles my mind that despite all the threats we face many on the left want to relitigate the iraqi war and the responses after our nation was attacked on september 11th. what else did we miss that the cameras didn't pick up? >> one thing that cia officers would have heard loud and clear is gina's opening statement, and the first operational act, the first thing i did operationally, talked about a cold turnover, what she was meeting beforehand, the agent had been meeting with a different case officer, she went and met him, paid him money, collected intelligence, that is a formative intelligence at the onset of her career. the core business, recruiting

spies and stealing secrets. >> doing dangerous and important work, why is gina haspel such a home run? >> he is an outstanding leader. my experience of having worked with her she strives for 360 ° rally with stakeholders. and senior leadership including this, to tell senior leadership what they need to know. and the highest level of intellectual honesty and integrity, her answers were right on, with great adherence to the truth, i was proud to be counted among former colleagues. todd: the pres. and first lady welcome three hostages home overnight, americans expressing

praise and showing pride. heartfelt messages are flooding social media, she is next. ♪

todd: back with a fox news alert, historic homecoming out you were sleeping, three american safely back on american soil being held captive in north korea for more than a year. the men arriving at walter reed medical center for a medical evaluation, all three appear to be in good health as they stepped off the plane at joint base andrews giving the peace sign. i love that shot. secretary of state mike pompeo was instrumental negotiating the return embracing them, donald trump hoping this is the start of a new relationship with north

korea. >> it has never been taken this far, never been a relationship like this. starting from here i think a lot of progress has been made. we will see what happens. todd: this sets the stage for the high-stakes summit with kim jong un expected to take place in singapore next month. donald trump securing the release of those three brave men from north korea. carly shimkus with serious xm 115 here with reaction pouring in online. >> one of the things i keep thinking about is how happy the families must've felt to see their loved ones for the first time on television standing next to the pres. what an amazing moment, that joy is being seen on social media as a flood of happy tweets for into twitter, let's get to that. lisa says i'm filled with an enormous amount of pride and gratitude as i watch this historic moment unfolds.

congratulations to our president and mr. pompeo. what an amazing moment, truly grateful. can says never doubted trump's ability to deliver as president, who would have thought was possible for trump's policy, congrats free men. natalia tweets what an amazing moment, welcome home. gail on twitter says what an american moment, proud to be an american, so happy for these free men, freedom is so precious, goes on to thank the pres. and vp, the first lady and second lady for all the hard work and representing the country. elijah tweets welcome home, we have a president who cares for his people, trump always finds a way to do what seems impossible. god bless america. barbara also relates to tears of pride and joy, so amazing, i am in a puddle of tears, thank you, donald trump, prayers for warmbier's family. those three american hostages reacting this morning.

one of them telling the media this whole thing feels like a dream. todd: one of those tweets stuck out to me from dale saying this is an american moment. in our highly polarized world, you are literally a republican or democrat and there's nothing else in the world this is one of those moments we come together. >> one of the detainees will be getting good news if he hasn't already. while he was in north korea he didn't know this but he is going to be a grandfather. welcome home to him, i'm sure those families will experience those. todd: three american hostages freed from north korea back home morning, foreign policy analyst says this could be donald trump's rating moment. look at history and where we go

from here next. ♪ you can dream or do or say what you want to do ♪ pack it up ♪ burn the flag ♪ raise the man ♪ the first survivor of alzheimer's disease is out there. and the alzheimer's association is going to make it happen. but we won't get there without you. visit alz.org to join the fight.

>> history made overnight as donald trump welcomes newly freed american hostages from north korea, foreign policy analyst skinner. and thanks for being here on a historic morning. walter reed medical center and in all likelihood, it will be debriefed. what do we expect to learn? >> an important asset. let me say is you will hear through the day, a historic moment for the united states and

the world, families of those held, freed americans and for them as well. with that said, incredible human intelligence assets for the united states as the white house prepares for the summit with kim jong un. we don't have the quality and quantity of on the ground intelligence in north korea that we have in other nations due to the fact a deeply isolated country over many decades. there is a lot we don't know. what these former hostages can tell us is their impression of the state of the political culture in north korea, what north koreans are saying, what they think about their government, how the government interacts in subtle ways we

can't perceive. that will be incredibly valuable information as the trump administration crafts its strategy going into disarmament talks. todd: you said this could be donald trump's reagan moment was what you mean? >> the final decade of the cold war was an incredibly tense. go, there were concerns nuclear war might happen, the us placed intermediate nuclear forces in europe at the end of 1983 but earlier that year the united states worked closely with the soviet union. reagan and the general secretary to get the release of two soviet pentecostal families who lived in the basement of the us embassy in moscow for almost 5 years and that was quietly done. it wasn't revealed until 1990

after the reagan administration. it prefigured disarmament talks that came later. without human rights intervention i don't think we would have had a end to the cold war. todd: pres. obama negotiated the release of bowe bergdahl, gave up a lot to get him back. we don't know the particulars of this release and this negotiation but doesn't seem donald trump gave up a lot, this was a barrier to entry for the talks in june. how do you respond? >> you have it right. i don't have any inside information about the discussions behind the scenes to secure their release but it does appear that this is something of a precondition for the larger talks that will take place but it really speaks to the essence of diplomacy. diplomacy happens through a series of moves and the political settlement is central

to getting a technology negotiation forward. the disarmament talks are about dismantling the technology problem of nuclear weapons and icbms in north korea but it is not the real problem with north korea. it is an isolated dictatorship that oppresses people and that is what trump is starting with, paving the way to have talks on a different matter. todd: the art of the deal, thanks for being with us this morning, we will be right back. ion-powered melatonin to deliver up to 7 hours of sleep support. number one sleep doctor recommended remfresh-your nightly sleep companion. available in the natural sleep section at walmart.

todd: fox news alert, three americans held captive for more than your north korea making their return to us oil overnight but just moments ago the men arriving at walter reed medical center for a medical evaluation. all three appear to be in good health as they stepped off the plane at joint base andrews giving the peace sign, welcomed by secretary of state mike pompeo and donald trump who says kim jong un is serious about striking a deal with the us. >> he did this because i really think he wants to do something and bring that country into the real world. i really believe that and i think we will have a success. todd: the victory setting the stage for the pres.'s

high-stakes summit with kim jong un. they will be face-to-face in singapore next month. three men return home in seemingly good health, we remember another american hostage, donald trump acknowledging the family of otto warmbier. >> deepest respect to the parents of otto warmbier, a great young man who really suffered. >> he died days after being released from north korea last year. the vice president tweeting he spoke to otto's family. in a statement, fred and cindy warmbier say we are happy for the hostages and their families. we miss otto. life seem coverage of this historic morning continues, "fox and friends first" continues right now. >> this is part of it.

it will be when we denuclearize that entire peninsula. jillian: breaking overnight three hostages just freed from a north korean nightmare stepping foot on american soil for the first time in over a year. todd: they nates greeted by donald trump and mike pence at joint base air force andrews. jillian: historic face-to-face meeting between donald trump and kim jong un. you are watching "fox and friends first". what a day it is. rob: in the last few hours donald trump welcoming those three hostages after months of imprisonment in north korea, their freedom secured by mike pompeo who made a second trip