the darden company is cooking up management changes. darden, which owns popular chain restaurants olive garden, red lobster and longhorn steakhouse, just named 3 executives to top positions. darden had a bout of bad pr last year after admitting it was testing a system to cut worker hours to offset the cost of the affordable care act. the company relented following public push- back. mcdonald's is hoping italians will show the golden arches some love. mcdonald's is opening 100 locations in the european country. calling the euro crisis "temporary," mcdonald's' italian chief executive said the plan will create 3,000 jobs. along with its business in brazil, russia, china, and other countries, mcdonald's predicts its business in italy will grow over the next decade. a record number of people will be able to afford homes this year. that latest piece of encouraging news about the housing market comes from the national assocation of realtors. the group's index of housing affordability hit a record 194 in 2012. a reading of 100 indicates people

i never seen company came out, darden did this, clarence otis, ceo of darden, great friend of the obama administration. this was not split at at all. for company say, media, deliberately drove down other business because we made a business decision, think about that for a minute, bill. of course you will go deep in a bunker, and try as best as possible not to talk about these things. if you're demonized for making a business decision foisted upon you by the federal government. >> what about employees too? employees talk around the watercooler. you know what, we may not have health care. then what happens? you stop working hard, getting a little lazy, that ends up hurting business even more. a lot of backlash and he negativity. bill: we'll rely on you to see how the changes are implemented and how it affects jobs in america. >> we'll all be learning. bill: thank you, matt. heather, what is next? heather: coming up al gore's current tv, it just sold for a bucketload of money. it is the buyer that has people raising eyebrows. we'll tell you who picked it up. bill: big night in the supersto

you should stay away from darden. we need to see a couple quarters of turn. you think about southern. >> i think southern is a great company. and so, like the stock. "mad money" back after the break. >>> time >>> time to unwind one of the biggest trades i have seen in some time. the buy the big banks and sell the small ones trade. for the longest time, the large mutual funds have been buying bank of americas and citigroups and selling the smaller regionals, the bbts, first horizons, c-corp. the thought? the big banks are extremely undervalued versus where they have traded in the past and the regionals are hostage to the mortgage markets and interest rates are so low, they can't make much money lend for homes. i think we're seeing the big unwinding of that trade. first today we got some real ho hummers,back of america and citigroup. bank of america, still after all of that, litigating all over the place. had to laugh today when the third bullet point in the bank of america release, total litigation expense, 0.9 billion, 5 cents a share. holy cow. that's a real

it's also worth noting the darden earned a profit of a half billion dollars last year and its c.e.o.raked in a not too shabby eight and a half million presumably he gets paid time off when he's sick by the way once again profits and executive paychecks outweigh the public good corporate america isn't going to suddenly find it in their hearts to treat their workers better which is why we need to pass federal laws guaranteeing basic paid sick leave to all american workers. but until then maybe we can push him in the right direction by taking action with our wallets and pocket it's free go out to a restaurant we're going to go out this weekend or whatever before you go out call the restaurant just ask a simple question you guys get paid sick leave to your workers i mean you know whether it's your server or somebody making the food in the back you want them sneeze on your food just ask if they don't then during a flu season like this it's more than likely someone at that restaurant is trying to cover up an illness which you may well carry home so both for moral and for very practical hea

darden is not well run right now.d not worrying about the dividend would be too risky. i think you should stay away from darden. we need a couple quarters of turn and we haven't seen it at all. this next tweet comes from @karen. do you think dump some company s.o. and find another good dividend but more upside action? >> i think southern is a great company. and so, like the stock. "mad money" back after the break. i played a round of golf.id in the last five hours? then i read a book while teaching myself how to play guitar; ran ten miles while knitting myself a sweater; jumped out of a plane. finally, i became a ping pong master while recording my debut album. how you ask? with 5-hour energy. i get hours of energy now -- no crash later. wait to see the next five hours. try these. new cepacol sensations cools instantly, and has an active ingredient that stays with you long after the lozenge is gone. not just a sensation, sensational relief. i'm up next, but now i'm singing the heartburn blues. hold on, prilosec isn't

darden is not well run right now.ing about the dividend would be too risky. i think you should stay away from darden. we need a couple quarters of turn and we haven't seen it at all. this next tweet comes from @karen. do you think dump some company s s.o. and find another good dividend but more upside action? >> i think southern is a great company. and so, like the stock. "mad money" back after the break. at 1:45, the aflac duck was brought in with multiple lacerations to the wing and a fractured beak. surgery was successful, but he will be in a cast until it is fully healed, possibly several months. so, if the duck isn't able to work, how will he pay for his living expenses? aflac. like his rent and car payments? aflac. what about gas and groceries? aflac. cell phone? aflac, but i doubt he'll be using his phone for quite a while cause like i said, he has a fractured beak. [ male announcer ] send the aflac duck a get-well card at getwellduck.com. >>> time to unwind one of the biggest trades i have seen in some time. t

darden 9 through half moon bay. is to say, it is going to be cold 20's and '30's for the morning lows. as for goal for the morning hours a bit of relief but we are going to wake up to frosty and temperatures in your neighborhood, coming up >> freezing temperatures are creating a high demand for portable heaters. in fact, some stores are running out and may not get anymore until after this cold snap. our team coverage continues. kron 4's reggie kumar tells us which retailers still have supplies in stock. >> reporter: beatrice davis just purchased one of the last portable heaters at walmart in san leandro. >> where is the rest going to go? >> where ever relying going to be. that's aheater. that's certainly not the case at ace hardware in el cerrito. there are shelves and two rooms full of portable heaters. even though. sales have doubled compared to this same time last year. store manager jeffery pryde says purchasing extra heaters is always a gamble for them.but, this year it may payoff. some customers are shocked at

also by the way, olive garden, this is one owned by darden restaurants.s but on a higher pay scale. you're talking about they're offering two meals for $25. you're seeing the same thing with chile's. they're offering two meals for $20. we're seeing a lot of this out there, but liz and dave, bottom line, one long time industry analyst malcolm knapp, said the best hope restaurants have for 2013 is improving job market. even though we have a smaller paychecks if we're getting more paychecks into the hands of folks and more people are working it won't be such a problem for the restaurant chains. but for the time-being they're threaten ad bit. back to you. liz: as long as you offer a great product, turtle cheesecake at the cheesecake factory i will get it. carmel nut chocolate. david: that was charlie gasparino lurking around. he was making fun of you hand signals. >> it is friday. you can't stop him. david: you can never stop charlie. liz: thanks, sandra. ever wonder how high power lines get repairs. high flying workers. we have more on that, when we take it

john schneider and the executives at darden restaurants or what about the banks through. goldman sachs and knowingly evaded laws who knowingly sold investors crappy deals or who knowingly scammed entire cities in a bankruptcy who knowingly illegally foreclosed on thousands of americans through fraudulent robo signing they did this all in the name of short term profits and all in the name of pervert preserving their monopolistic too big to fail status either way evading laws meant to protect the public in order to pad your own pockets has become the name of the game in corporate america today wallace went on to write the american fascists are most easily recognized by their deliberate perversion of truth and fact their newspapers and propaganda carefully cultivate every fisher of disunity every crack in the common front against fascism. can anyone say fox news for the rest of the conservative media complex or those on the right who divide working people and turn them against each other makers versus takers or workers vs private sector workers white people versus brown peop

the bill was introduced by democratic state representative steven darden.passed, it would revert the 20-year-old decisi by state lawmakers they're to keep such information confidential. meanwhile, conservative commentator and coulter has come up a bit provocative argument on the issue wondering motherless of american citizens should be made publi. >> why are we getting names of recently paroled criminals? people with gun permits by definition do not have criminal records. why can we get a record of women who have had abortions? they give money from planned parenthood, money from medicare, medicaid. much of this, tax subsidies. mothers might want to know what other women on their street have -- might be willing to murdered child. lou: if liberals weren't paying attention before, my guess is they're beginning to now. thank you, ann coulter. officials in putnam county new york fighting back after a newspaper published on-line maps detailing names and addresses of gun permit holders into neighboring counties. tnam county officials are refusing to and -- hand ov

proven to be beneficial for businesses to act in the interest of their workers i mean when you sold darden papa johns and all these restaurants come out and say they're going to cut their employees hours so that they don't have to give them health care you saw their sales go down i mean there's there's definitely incentive to offering these benefits i'm going on both sides i'm not sure that was that was a concert i think that was a more political consequence than actual direct we can see an economic consequence here there was no he was i was blowback yeah exactly but i mean that kind of ties into into what you're saying that some businesses they might have to raise their prices but i don't know how they raise their prices if they're in a competitive marketplace and then you know that you you may end up with the c.e.o. of taking home fourteen million dollars a year and so we shouldn't use the waves to this idea of how businesses are going to react to a new regulation we should worry about the public good in the public health of not spreading flu around you know the community that's that's t

. >> former state lawmaker and prosecutor, cook county sheriff tom darden says if they want to make ain gun crime, prosecute more of them. >> the criminals know the penalty. you talk to them, and we do, they know absolutely if you are going federal on this case, we have problems. if it's a state case, we'll figure that out. a year or two. >> now, getting new gup control legislation passed even in a blue state like illinois can be tough. last week the jep assembly met in special session and couldn't find the vote for its own assault weapons ban even with democrats in control of both chambers. >> bret: steve brown live in chicago. thank you. military suicide hit a tragic record last year. the "associated press" reports there were 349 compared to 295 combat deaths in afghanistan. that is up from 301 suicide the year before. army had the most. 182. navy had 60. air force, 59. marines 48. but that was up by 50%, the larmest increase of all the services. good news now, former president germ h.w. burb is back home after extented hospital stay there. bush has be receiving treatment for respir

one big example is darden restaurants famously saying it's precisely going to do that. as a pilot program. there was such a reaction that what we're going to watch is not companies failing to do that, but they're not going to be darden dumb and-- >> announce it. >> and announce it. they're going to carry out these and in fact, we know a number of these companies are. >> megyn: and we're going to hear stories the next 12 months what employers are deciding to do. >> at that point it's going to be a fait accompli. and jobs are scarce, despite the nonsense and political theater in washington, we still have 23 million americans not working. underemployed in this country, and god knows how many who have just decided, i'm not even going to apply. i've given up on jobs. and then we have the, you know, the arrogance and the incompetence of these two political parties exposed during the course of this so-called fiscal cliff. it's a very troubling time. because they couldn't even come together and make sense out of it, something they called obamacare and have it actually work. des

who says darden, dri, worthy of more homework for dividend portfolio or don't waste the time? they have to grow, they are not putting up numbers that would make me feel comfortable saying this is good dividend play. flip ncf, thanks for the tip, up 28%, you still liking the stock? a great company. and vaccines too. this company is terrific. we know when we have the ceo on, he's dynamite. let's take another tweet. this is from ben at stcil. he says that it's an excellent avy, which is short with av tar with you and pop. that's my dad. couldn't agree more. the new avatar, that's my pop and another loss. he is wearing the deshaun jersey, and mine is a signed jaws jersey, number 7. let's take another tweet. this one is from a beer nat 54. this says sweet avatar. anything thought on groupon? bought at $256. i like zinga more than groupon. ring the register and let the rest run. you're playing with the house's money. that's how this business works. here's another tweet. this is from draztech. this follower says what's going with apple and china mobile deal? i'm thinking an announce

who says darden, dri, worthy of more homework for dividend portfolio or don't waste the time? to grow, they are not putting up numbers that would make me feel comfortable saying this is good dividend play. flip ncf, thanks for the tip, up 28%, you still liking the stock? a great company. and vaccines too. this company is terrific. we know when we have the ceo on, he's dine nahhia might. this tweet from been at stcil. excellent avy with you and pop. that's my dad. nothing more important than family. couldn't agree more. new avatar, me and pop, at an eagles game, another loss. my jersey, number seven, not vic, but jaws from the 1980 team. let's take another tweet from beernut 54. sweet avatar, any thoughts on groupon. should i sell or hold? i like zinga better than groupon. play with the house's money. that's how the business works. here is another tweet from draztech. what's going on with apple and china mobile deal? i'm thinking an announcement over the weekend. stock play for apple. inexpensive stock, until we don't see the quarter, probably doesn't do anything but jump up an

to the story we published today, there was a huge negative reaction, actually i talked with steve darden, good night who introduced the bill, he says in 30 years of politics he never had a day like this, he had 60 phone calls on his home phone message and that whatever happens, it's going to be after a real pitch battle. one of the arguments that the gun owners one of their group called handgun rights group, said that, you know, yes, there are permits for 170,000 handguns, but in connecticut you don't need a permit for rifles. so, what they say is, you know, there are probably more rifles than handguns. so publishing the list of handgun owners wouldn't tell-- wouldn't serve the purpose that's intended anyway because you're not going to know who else owns guns. >> greta: john, thank you very much. i've got to go. thank you, john. and today, former representative gabby giffords visiting newtown, connecticut. she and her former astronaut-- or former astronaut husband, mark kelly, meeting with the families of the school victims. three weeks ago today gunman adam lanza viciously opened fire i

darden seems to be missing the execution. people aren't going to olive garden as much as they used to, red lobster. very uneven what's going on. >> yeah. on the brinker call they talked about disconcerting trends of people not going out as much. it seems like it's -- >> overall, jim, you make the point, people want to chase the dips. the ten-year is up above 18. vix at a five-year low. i think people are being worried to being led to slaughter. you don't think that's happening yet. >> coach is bad, no two ways about it. coach is terrible. so coors goes down. i think at the end of the day, people say michael coors is winning. because nordstroms didn't report a bad number. tiffany's. there is other jewelry that's good. execution is playing a big role. the execution for coach is horrendous. it's horrendous. i don't really know what happened. lou frankfurt is a good manager. i just can't grasp it. >> it's been going on for a while. >> it was an $80 stock in april. >> right. >> now it's a $50 stock. >> obviously taking a hit in th

you've already had olive garden, darden restaurants.ome denny's have threatened to put prices up because of this increased cost. everybody is trying to get around it, pushing people out of the health care system into medicaid. >>brian: varney has more of this at 9:20 eastern time. the only one with a promo with a full torso shot. we're going to look into that. >> it's an old shot. >>brian: it looks good. you should see your abdominals. straight ahead, a lotto winner poisoned with cyanide. police missed it for months. is it the perfect murder? dr. michael baden knows how it works and he's next. >>brian: the guy so wasted on a flight had to be duct taped. wait until you see the video of that plane wreck. hot mess. hey! did you know that honey nut cheerios has oats that can help lower cholesterol? and it tastes good? sure does! wow. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy. >>steve: quick headlines for you. all u.s. troops may be out of afghanistan by december 2014. t

economic letter to accumulate assets they can use to pass on to their kids and grandkids to buy a home, dardenusiness, get an education -- start a business, get an education. let me give you a perfect example. one of the best slogan that came out of his last campaign was "you built that perko -- you built that." and it was in response to the barack obama comment, "you did not build that, and that was one of the slogans of the last campaign that was aimed at the 53%. it was aimed at business owners. it was aimed at those that have already gotten there. our message was you can build a that because what barack obama was saying to everyone struggling to climb the economic ladder, you can not build that. i do not really care who built the corporate giants and titans of today. one of the biggest lies of politics is that republicans are the party of big business. big business loves big government. big business is happy to get in bed with big government to hire an army of lobbyists and tax attorneys and to entrench their power. we should be the party of small businesses, entrepreneurs, the next person