america continues to debate common sense gun reform in the wake of the mass shooting in parkland, florida. but like always, the nra opposes any new restrictions on gun sales, even when gun retailers themselves impose them. and deporting hundreds of thousands of dreamers, young immigrants contributing to our economy and the u.s. tax base. the cost to them will be life altering. the cost to the rest of the united states could also be massive. hey, everybody, i'm ali

velshi. >> i'm stephanie ruhle. president trump sent very mixed signals this week on whether he would embrace new gun regulations. but many american companies are taking their own initiatives, feeling an already contentious debate. meanwhile markets reacted badly to another presidential pronouncement, one that could set off a contentious trade war. president trump told steel executives often thursdn thursd will impose new steel tariffs next week. >> people have no idea how badly our country has been treated by other countries. they've destroyed the steel industry. they destroyed the aluminum industry and other industries, frankly. it will be 25% for steel, it will be 10% for aluminum. and it will be for a long period of time. >> now, the news of these impending tariffs set off a fire sale in the stock market, not just in steel and aluminum shares, across the board. the dow jones industrials fell almost 600 points during trading on thursday.

it's been swinging wildly back and forth since. ostensibly these tariffs are aimed at china which u.s. steel makers say depresses the prices of steel by dumping steel on the market, meaning selling it for less money than it even costs to produce it. these tariffs, though, would hit steel that comes to the u.s. from its allies like canada and mexico and south korea. as a result, investors fear, rightly, that it could spark a trade war that no one wants, no one except for maybe the president who says it's cool. >> president trump says "we like trade wars, they're easy, you can beat them." he's wrong. here's the thing. the president is kind of a man standing alone here. he's got wilbur ross, his commerce secretary, peter navarro, an economics guy who the treasury department didn't want, who the economic council didn't want, the only person working with wilbur. these two guys are pushing this. it's something the markets don't like, republicans don't like,

and democrats don't like. >> tons of republican senators are coming out saying this doesn't make any sense. >> ben sasse, or rin hatch. >> we've got mike lee from utah, jeff flake from arizona. president trump says this is about protecting american steel workers. there are about 140,000 steel workers who would benefit from this. there are millions of american employed by manufacturers who consume steel, steel that will, as a result, be more expensive. that's about a 45 to 1 ratio of those who are hurt to those who are going to benefit. but again, the president is getting advice from navarro who is a little bit outside of the mainstream, but by his commerce secretary, who i'm reminded, is the commerce secretary, he may be outside the main stream but he's a cabinet secretary for the u.s. government. >> but he's gone rogue from the rest of the administration. remember, the steel industry is

doing well. it's not just about steel. this is about undermining the trade system. when we saw this tit for tat trade war go on after the depression, it extended it. >> the bottom line is you can't just tell canada from whom you get 50% of your steel in the united states that we're going to impose this tariff, hurt your jobs and industries in canada and expect that they won't do something similar. again, the thing that we have to think about, like coal, which the president continues to try to protect, is that the thing that is affecting coal jobs in america like steel is automation, much more than it's trade. so again, this is a basic understanding of the economy that the president doesn't seem to have. now to another issue where the president has sent out pretty mixed messages. gun control. the horror in parkland, florida has turned to rage. and now political action on both sides of the gun debate. president trump surprised lawmakers and the nra this week when he urged them to consider some controls on guns, some.

and companies, they're the ones who are starting to challenge the nra on core issues. not lawmakers. dick's sporting goods pulled assault style weapons from shelves. walmart and krueger had stopped selling these weapons several years ago. but they both announced this week they will halt gun sales to customers under the age of 21. but delta, delta is the company that is the first to see real blowback from nra supporters. after the airline cancelled its discount program with the nra members, lawmakers in georgia voted to revoke delta's tax breaks in the state and that's worth 50 million bucks, that's real dollars. >> delta is a $6.5 billion a year company. it says it puts $43.5 billion of economic impact into the georgia area. it has 33,000 employees in georgia, the single biggest employer in atlanta. i'm not sure it's wise that nra supported legislature members do

this, because if delta were to decide it wants to go somewhere else, that would have a much bigger impact on georgia. that said, airlines don't just pick up and, you know, leave. >> let's talk about the consumer, because we talk all about the impact of boycotts. what about consumers who feel good about companies taking action when they learn that a walmart isn't going to even sell a toy anymore that looks like an assault style weapon, you might get moms to say, you know what, i'm going to be shopping there. >> dick's is a public company, but it's run by ed stack, the sun of the founder, dick stack. and that is what they're betting on, that mothers and some of these teens who are pushing this movement forward will say, hey, i believe in these companies that are taking action. rei is another company, while it didn't sell firearms, it has stopped selling products by companies that are associated with firearms makers. this is a movement that we haven't seen the likes of before. >> it's a movement, but not all companies are doing it. we're still seeing fedex keeping their discount for nra, apple,

google, roku tv, still going to be carrying nra tv. warren buffett hasn't said whether he's going to do anything, but as of now he's continuing business as usual. >> he says he doesn't want to get involved in these things, a lot of companies are saying we're giving up these discounts to not get involved, ed stack and rei and these companies have actually gone further to say we're getting involved in the debate and everybody should be. >> it's a big deal. >> companies and even gun retailers are pushing the envelope on common sense responses to gun violence. that speaks volumes. the nra's hold on washington and beyond is said to be absolute. but how the nra justifies its uncompromising stance on any gun laws at all is telling. listen to how the nra and its supporters sell this. >> the struggle up to this point has been that most of the proposals that have been offered would not have prevented not just yesterday's tragedy but any of those in recent history. >> i would not support a gun ban

as part of the package simply because gun bans don't work in prevention these types of crimes. >> they don't care if their laws work or not. they just want to get more laws to get more control over people. >> now, as they would have it, if gun legislation doesn't work, n then why pass any new laws? for fact's sake, here is why the gun lobby is wrong. pro gun politicians, especially those in the pocket of the nra, like to say that laws restricting gun sales just won't work. they're wrong. study after study arrive at the same conclusion. more guns equal more deaths. but that's not in the nra script. one law the gun lobby likes to slam is the federal assault weapons ban of 1994 which banned the kind of rifles used in aurora, las vegas, sutherland springs, and parkland, florida.

critics of the ban correctly point out it didn't do much to reduce overall gun violence. but here is what the ban did do. gun massacres, defined as gun violence that kills six or more people, fell during the decade the ban was in place. according to the university of massachusetts, not only did the total number of these shootings fall, the number of deaths fell too. once the ban expired in 2004, both the number of incidents and deaths shot up threefold in the decade after compared to the decade when the ban was in place. the assault rifle ban also imposed restrictions on high capacity magazines, yet another thing the nra says doesn't work. yet studies show high capacity magazines increase the casualty count of mass shootings, in one study by as much as 151%. certainly some gun laws do limit mass death. but what do they do for gun violence in general? again, it's not rocket science.

states that regulate access to guns with licenses, background checks, and other restrictions, generally have fewer gun deaths. in fact, a study by harvard school of public health takes that logic one step further. it found states that have higher levels of gun ownership also have higher rates of gun deaths. states that allow people to carry concealed handguns have violent crime rates up to 15% higher than states that do not. that's according to new analysis from stanford law professor john donahue. because there is no one solution that will eradicate all gun violence, the nra and its partners in congress say gun laws won't make a difference. but they obviously do make a difference. so shouldn't we be taking every reasonable opportunity to save lives? >> okay. well, here's some new research. a study out of boston university that says for every 1% increase in gun ownership, states see a 1% increase in gun-related deaths. >> these are facts. they are studies, we've gone

through them. you'll constantly see them refuted. this is important in this debate, to stick to this, because the nra attacks the debate by flooding the zone with semantic arguments. for instance, the one about how don't call these things assault weapons, they're called modern sporting rifles. okay. so if people call them something else, the point is still the same. they want things like ar-15s, which fire a bullet faster and do more damage, to not be in the hands of young people who can't make decisions or people who are otherwise prevented from owning a gun. nobody cares about the semantics debate but the nra will have you saying, they don't even know what we're talking about. >> semantics, schmenantics. they shouldn't be in schools. the president's son-in-law comes under the microscope, again, for mixing politics and business. >> we call that an unforced

error. who are the dreamers and what are the stakes for them and the rest of us, if president trump ends their daca status? i no wondering, "what if?" uncertainties of hep c. i let go of all those feelings. because i am cured with harvoni. harvoni is a revolutionary treatment for the most common type of chronic hepatitis c. it's been prescribed to more than a quarter million people. and is proven to cure up to 99% of patients who've have had no prior treatment with 12 weeks.

certain patients can be cured with just 8 weeks of harvoni. before starting harvoni, your doctor will test to see if you've ever had hepatitis b, which may flare up and cause serious liver problems during and after harvoni treatment. tell your doctor if you've ever had hepatitis b, a liver transplant, other liver or kidney problems, hiv or any other medical conditions and about all the medicines you take including herbal supplements. taking amiodarone with harvoni can cause a serious slowing of your heart rate. common side effects of harvoni include tiredness, headache and weakness. ready to let go of hep c? ask your hep c specialist about harvoni. cohigher!ad! higher! parents aren't perfect, but then they make us kraft mac & cheese and everything's good again. you wouldn't accept from any one else. why accept it from your allergy pills? flonase relieves your worst symptoms including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. flonase helps block 6 key inflammatory substances.

most pills only block one. flonase. i'm mark and i quit smoking with chantix. my friends and family never thought i'd be the one to quit smoking, i was such a heavy smoker. but i was able to do it with chantix. i did not know that chantix would reduce my urges so significantly. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix reduced my urge to smoke. when you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. some people had changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, or suicidal thoughts or actions with chantix. serious side effects may include seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking or allergic and skin reactions which can be life-threatening. stop chantix and get help right away if you have any of these. tell your healthcare provider if you've had depression or other mental health problems. decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. use caution when driving or operating machinery. the most common side effect is nausea. everybody had doubts, including me, but i did it. ask your doctor if chantix is right for you.

welcome back to "velshi & ruhle." this week the united states supreme court handed america's dreamers a victory of sorts. dreamers, as you know, are the hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who were brought illegally to this country by their families when they were still kids. >> last fall president trump ordered a march 5th important date deadline to end a federal program that gives dreamers the right to stay in the united states. but the president's order was halted temporarily by a federal court. this week, the supreme court then refused to overturn that temporary halt, giving more breathing room to dreamers awaiting their fate in this country. here is their story. >> hey, good afternoon. >> reporter: nicholas valencia is a manager at a home health care service in new york city. he left his native peru in 2001

when he was a child, then moved with his family to the united states in search of the american dream. >> my parents gave up completely everything. my mom left all her family behind for us to have a life here. i'm forever grateful for that. >> reporter: for years, nicholas and his family lived in the shadows because they lacked legal status to be in the u.s. that got in the way of opportunities that most americans take for granted like going to college and pursuing a career. that all began to change in 2012 when then-president obama signed an executive order creating deferred action for childhood arrivals for daca. the program offers immigrants who arrived in the u.s. as children legal waivers allowing them to stay and work in the country. daca recipients must undergo background checks, and are required to renew their waivers every two years. since its inception, roughly 700,000 applicants known as dreamers have been approved for the program, including nicholas and his two brothers. now that's in jeopardy, because

president trump signed his own executive order daca. >> without daca, i can't work, i can't walk the streets without thinking i can get deported. >> a federal appeals order has rendered the deadline meaningless. now the court decides whether the suspension can proceed. if it rules in favor of the administration, hundreds of thousands of dreamers could be subject to deportation. >> if you keep the daca recipients in the united states, you allow them to legally work and live here, not only is that going to be a boon for the economy, because they're going to earn more money and pay more taxes, but it's also going to grow the broader economy. >> ike brennan is a senior fellow at the cato institute, a liberal think tank in

washington. he wrote a report about what deporting daca recipients will do to the economy. >> if we allow them to remain in the united states, it will add $350 billion to the economy compared to excluding them from being able to work legally. and we also estimate that that would result in an additional $90 billion of tax revenue just for the federal government. >> nicholas' employer, cocoon home care, contacted an immigration attorney to see if it could protect him, if and when daca ends. the company was told there was nothing that could be done. cocoon said losing nicholas would be a huge loss, because he's good at connecting with patients. so as daca recipients await their fate, nicholas says he has no choice but to carry on. >> you have to be very resilient as an immigrant. in the midst of all this adversity, you have to stand tall and keep on fighting, because that's what we've been doing since we came to this country, we've got to fight and

continue to, you know, have dreams. >> have dreams. so now trump's daca order continues to go through the court system. while it may give these dreamers more time, they cannot plan their life if they're going to school, if they're going to start a family, get married, get a job, when you're kind of hanging in limbo. >> not only that, it's not just that you're in limbo. you go to apply for a new job, there are two candidates who are equally skilled, and one doesn't have any employment issues or is on some kind of permanent visa or is an american citizen and the other one is a dreamer, subconsciously, unconsciously, the employer may say, i don't need this risk, i don't know what's going on with this. it's a very hard way to live. >> without a doubt. coming up, the windfall from the trump tax plan is raking in the dough for american big businesses. are they investing that money into workers like the president promised? and mixing business and politics. a deadly cocktail. jared kushner, president's

senior adviser and of course souther son-in-law, is coming under fire again over more conflict of interest accusations. thanks man. imagine if the things you bought every day... earned you miles to get to the places you really want to go. with the united mileageplus explorer card, you'll get a free checked bag. two united club passes. priority boarding. and earn fifty thousand bonus miles after you spend three thousand dollars on purchases in the first three months from account opening plus, zero-dollar intro annual fee for the first year, then ninety-five dollars. learn more at theexplorercard.com

welcome back to "velshi & ruhle." jared kushner, president trump's son-in-law and senior adviser at the white house, he's always been a lightning rod of sorts for conflict of interest accusations. now "the new york times" is adding fuel to the fire. an adviser came to the white house and was said to be interested in joining the administration in some capacity. shortly after that meeting with kushner, he lent 184 million bucks to kushner's family business to finance a chicago

skyscraper. kushner also met with the ceo of citigroup, also inside the white house. coincidence or not, the kushner business then obtained a $325 million loan after that to finance a building in new york city. >> it's buildings and it's loans, right? >> it's buildings, and it's loans. listen, the kushner family were always going to continue their real estate business. jared kushner did not fully divest himself. he then took a position in the white house. and of all the things he wanted to have in his portfolio, he's the one who wanted to have an infrastructure council, a ceo council, a manufacturing council. he chose to do that. >> he could have been somewhere else, he could have not done those things. >> absolutely. he chose to have one-on-one meetings with guys like josh harris. >> that's to your point, that this is a yn unforced error. it doesn't make sense. we warned you to be wary of

promises that tax cuts would translate into raises for workers. we said there's a better chance that companies would use the tax windfalls to finance stock buybacks. if the last three months are any indicator, we told you so. a record amount of buybacks have occurred for a single quarter. more than 2 million american workers were receiving special bonuses because of the new tax law. but a lot fewer it actually seeing permanent pay raises. i think that's important for people to remember. bonuses are done for a particular reason, because companies don't want to increase that base pay. it's very hard to take base pay away from people. >> once you have it out there, you can't take it back. and here is what we ought to remember. the tax cut has to come from somewhere. the deficit has gone up significantly. you are seeing all different programs that are going to be cut because of it.

so you gave corporations this tax cut. they may or may not give their employees a bonus, a raise. and there's pain being felt all over the places. finally, you remember last year equifax experienced the biggest computer hack in history, compromising more than 140 million americans. this week the company announced an additional 2.4 million americans had their names and driver's license information stolen in that same hack, racking up a new total of 147.9 million people affected. >> it bears reminding that the new look consumer financial protection bureau led by mick mulvaney has scaled back its investigation into the blunder. equifax is not scot-free yet. the company said it's under investigation by every state attorney general in the country. >> hopefully they'll get something done if the federal government won't do it for you. that is it for "velshi & ruhle" this weekend. you can get us both together every weekday at 11:00 a.m. >> you can find me at 9:00 a.m.

monday through friday. >> and you can see me at 3:00 p.m. monday through friday. that's it for us. have a great rest of your weekend. >> adios. a few years ago, me and my wife was actually saving for a house. but one day we're sitting there and we decided that, something needed to be done about what was going on in our inner-city. instead of buying a house, we decided to form this youth league. these kids mean everything to me and i just want to make sure i give something positive to do. ♪ ♪ wow, that's amazing. that's a blessing right there. to know that someone out there cares and is passionate about what we're trying to do in our communities. you excited? yes. yeah, we're gonna to look good right? yup. awesome. alright come on, bring it in man. love these guys right here.

(gasp) (singsong) budget meeting! sweet. if you compare last quarter to this quarter... various: mmm. it's no wonder everything seems a little better with the creamy taste of philly, made with fresh milk and real cream. with the creamy taste of philly,

with its historical ance records...test ...you could learn you're from ireland... ...donegal, ireland... ...and your ancestor was a fisherman. with blue eyes. just like you. begin your journey at ancestry.com good day, everyone, i'm alex witt at msnbc world headquarters in new york. here's what's happening. big money, big trouble. why investigators are looking at whether jared kushner's business ties are shaping white house policy. tariff outcry. soaring fears that a trade war could actually kill american jobs. what are the chances that president trump reconsiders and pul pulls the plug on his tariffs? >> it's hard to see how he steps away from that without badly embarrassing himself. and what led to his tariff announcement might be even more stunning tha