dennis: i like that. lot of people worry that there is an kutcher disconnect between the stock market going up and the economy perking along. doesn't that 246,000 new jobs that private companies hired last month, doesn't that say that there is not as much a disconnect as is here? >> may not as much as we thought, although it seems to be pretty clear that there still is that disconnect. several good things to be excited about. there are also things to be less excited about. long-term unemployment is up slightly. you had in terms of how long people were out of work, the average weeks were up slightly. there are things that are less encouraging, but overall, i think it's good. i'll take it. dennis: scott martin, at what point -- the good thing about the numbers today, not too hot, not too cold, but at what point of that job creation numbers come out and it's so good that stocks tumble because now we worry that the fed will tighten up? >> at what point does ben bernanke and companies say we're taking the foot

back to you, dennis. dennis: thanks very much, jamie.ght's star-studded release of samsung's latest phone, apple goes on the defensive. shibani joshi's going to be at the that event tonight. she joins us now. >> and the expectations are quite high, dennis. this is a neck and neck race that apple is running with samsung, and the proof is all in the numbers. if you look at the fourth quarter figures in terms of global smartphone shipments, samsung managed to take and sweep the lead over apple. shipping 63.7 units, that's a change of up 76%. that is better than apple's 47.8 billion units. one of the reasons that samsung has been able to best apple is, one, well, it has a wider variety of features, different price points on its phone, and the other thing it's been automobile to better than apples spend more money on advertising. take a look at this, these statistics from cantar media showing the ad spending samsung was able to throw out on marketing the portfolio products. in 2012 shelling out $401 million, that is better than apple's $333 m

dennis kim. dennis? dennis! what?!oming research? no, thanks. i'm going to the mall with emma. uh... the kid got a girl. unbelievable. did anyone see how he did it? don't worry, i've got this. ladies and gentlemen, honored daughters, while mr. kim, by virtue of his youth and naiveté, has fallen prey to the inexplicable need for human contact, let me step in and assure you that my research will go on uninterrupted and that social relationships will continue to baffle and repulse me. thank you. he's back. yeah mission accomplished. forget the mission. how did that little yutz get a girl on his own? i guess times have changed since we were young. smart is the new sexy. then why do we go home alone every night? we're still smart. maybe we're too smart. so smart it's off-putting. yeah, let's go with that. michael, tell us why you used priceline express deals to book this fabulous hotel? well you can see if the hotel is pet friendly before you book it, and i got a great deal without bidding. and where's your furry friend? oh

i'm dennis kneale., and the s&p's run in history whether stocks are where you want money right now, we're talking about it. >> the cyber threat, china; right? why russia may be the bigger threat facing america online. cheryl: and if we are not paying enough at the pumps, the imfments a global tax on gasoline. dennis: thanks for that. a public war inside nbc. leno and lar, who stays and goes? cheryl: good question. the first quarter coming to a close. it's been a wild ride for stocks. the dow shattering its all-time record just a short time ago. the s&p, and -- dennis: nicole at the new york stock exchange, nicole? >> hi, i'm looking at the year to date numbers here on the major averages as we wrap up here, the first quarter, january, february, march, the last trading day of march. on monday, april 1 #st when the markets reopen. you noted the s&p highs, the dow jones industrials hitting a new record all time intra-day high today. you see right now, up one-third of 1%. year to date, the dow up 1 1%, s&p u

cheryl and dennis coming up.asier but now there are more choices than ever. i want to know exactly what i am investing in. i want to know exactly how much i'm paying. i want to use the same stuff the big guys use. find out why nine out of ten large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal. l stations come over to mithis is for real this time. step seven point two one two. rify and lock. command is locked. five seconds. three, two, one. standing by for capture. the most innovive software on the planet... dragon is captured. is connecting today's leading companies to places beyond it. siemens. answers. dennis: hello, i am dennis kneale. cheryl: i am cheryl casone. the dow taking a bit of a breather. even as retail sales picked up the highest level in five mont months. coming of the president

the dennis: i am dennis kneale. lori: i am lori rothman. flipping ahead of the all important jobs report. dennis: spring cleaning at facebook. we are live at the social media giant headquarters has facebook unveils its new look. lori: president obama steps up. the hopes reuniting talks i installed budget deal. dennis: how to break out of the office grind. we have had some well researched tips on how to stay health happe job. lori: time to check in with nicole celebrating a major milestone with 25,000 hits today. nicole: up one third of 1%. all three major averages have hit, record highs for a certain extent, nasdaq and s&p multiyear highs, all-time record intraday highs. they felt their lowest level in more than a month in the week, so that is some good news. productivity and labor cost basically shows americans are working long hours, but extremely productive. take a look at names of the dow jones industrials actually hitting multiyear highs, names including pfizer, johnson & johnson, boeing, jpmorgan. the highest levels since before the r

dennis, back to you. dennis: thanks for the plug, peter barnes.87 days since s&p downgraded the u.s. what will that new treasury secretary do to get our aaa credit rating back. peter barnes will ask him at 4:15 eastern. don't miss it. melissa: my next guest think is it is important step to reducing the debt. he likens it to a 500 pound man to lose ten pounds. i love that. kevin brady is joint economic committee. he focused on other debt solutions. he joins me now exclusively. if you hear anything new, innovative or surprising in that hearing today? >> not necessarily surprising except across a very broad idealogical spectrum you've got consensus that when i asked the question, when does congress and the white house need to act to sustain, to make social security and medicare solvent over the long term, all of them is said now, this year. several said before june or july is the answer. the urgency of solving that is a consensus. second thing is, everyone is concerned about the growth gap. we know economy is getting better that is good news. huge gr

dennis. dennis: thank you very much, peter barnes.y on the cyprus situation. growth and financial stability in the euro zone are of importance to the u.s. it is radical to lay the foundation for a return to financial stability and growth cyprus. we will continue monitoring this closely as details are finalized and the agreement is implemented. nicole petallides is back from the floor of the new york stock exchange. nicole: my first thought is, of course, you want to boost the liquidity of the euro zone. at the same time, you are hearing language from washington where they make it seem a little bit more wonderful than it really is. how about all the people that have money that is more than that? if you were one of those people, you are pretty excited and frightened and pretty upset. the big picture is we are trying to save the euro zone. let's take a look at blackberry. it is getting a couple of analyst calls today. the new product launch was not what people were expecting. goldman sachs cutting the stock to a neutral probe a buy. it i

dennis: hello.: and the dow heading for another all-time high close as jobless claims unexpectedly fall but tomorrow's february jobs support could be the bump in the road for the markets. we have the numbers for you. dennis: and taking the time out of time warner. time warner shares hit multi year highs today as they plan to spin off their magazines. big tuna ahead has a buy on the stock. cheryl: the sector is up in the last six months with one stock up 183% in the same time period. we have the c.e.o., tom warner of sun power speaking to fox business exclusively during the threat. dennis: and house intelligence committee chairman, mike rogers, on new legislation making its way through congress but does it have teeth? and john on the threat to your facebook account. cheryl: we begin this hour with some breaking news out of washington. the president's schedule filling up with meetings with republican lawmakers. rich is in washington with the breaking details. rich? >> into the lion's den wednesday at

dennis: i'm dennis kneale and look who is back. cheryl: hello, everybody. god to be back.dow is lower as the shanghai market suffers the worst drop in 2 1/2 years. a guest says that bank stock, though, may be about to buy them. dennis: the budget cut is already being felt at the airport with long security lines but how can that be as furloughs haven't begun yet? ho cheryl: we're talking about internet espionage. dennis: i'll talk to the national security agency. he's ahead. cheryl: it is the top of the hour. right now stocks down. sandra smith is on the floor of the new york stock exchange and china kind of hurting our markets over here. what's going on, sandra? >> lots of worries about global growth and that's weighing on market but take note that things could change on a dime here. we're looking at the dow down about 14 points, nasdaq down just a small fraction of a percent and the s&p 500 pretty much flat on this session. this is after we saw a significantly bigger loss earlier in the trading session and remember, the dow closed at its third highest level ever on friday

answers. ♪ dennis: i'm dennis knearl.stocks on the fen, dow is up 16 points, and many bet this is the week for the s&p setting a new high. a bull says it's not if if s&p makes history, but one. dennis: president obama has a charm offensive after republican paul ryan releases a blue print to repeal obamacare and cut spending. we have one that the president will sell him out. cheryl: a fox business exclusive. did you know bobby flay used to be a clerk at the american stock excang in one on one with bobby and about the business of being bobby flay. dennis: nicole is on the floor of the new york stock exchange. we are turning green. >> we are. amazing; right? moving to the highs of the day. the vix to the downside, market upside, and dow up 18 points, testing highs hit last week, moving close to the levels here, up three weeks in a row, boeing is the best performer leading the way. one of the names hitting a multiyear high, boeing, united technology, and disney are hitting annual highs. important company is dell. watching it

dennis: i want to push the buttons.too many events, we are in a new era of technology. this is not what steve jobs did, this is the new way of doing things and it is big. dennis: thanks a lot. shibanishibani josie. cheryl: rolling the dice on gambling investments. you can tweet us your questions. we will get you answers later on in the show. dennis: speaking of questions, the jeopardy answer who is not lower. we will give you the question ahead in the media and it. cheryl: as our daylong focus of business of vice continues, we will head to liz claman at penthouse studios. liz: maybe if you get one of those new samsung's, what are you going to watch? perhaps, one of the sea and that they are shooting here at the studio. we will show you a scene along with an executive who make sure that these 3d films are turned out at a pace of 200 a year. they are building a pool, as we speak, for one of these scenes. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] this is karen and jeremiah. they don't know it yet, but they're gonna fall in love, get married,

dennis: thank you very much.for another major company, home is not worthy. work is. on the heels of yahoo c.e.o. myers' ban on employees working from home, best buy is now ending its flexible work program. the program let non store workers make their own flexible schedules if some of the retailers, 4,000 non store employees want to work from home, they must now get permission from a manager. if they want to do it. and jeffries hot on this retailer today putting up seven reasons jeffries is a new best buy bull, clear cost cutting opportunities examine they cut 24 from 13 and now big buys on the stock. up 46 cents right now. dennis: retailer, you can't afford to work from home. i'm sorry. you have to be there. cheryl: call center jobs but oh, well. dennis: snow quester. that's what they're calling it. peter barns ahead on the costs. cheryl: live shot of d.c. and not new york which is kind of nice. new trend in travel. hotels are getting tougher with their rewards programs but it could be good news for the stocks. w

dennis: the stock of video companies pop up.cks he just picked, with a pop? >> i think we are actually seeing them pop. out of the 30 names we cover, the best performing names, five out of the top seven are security. this is definitely in the minds of a lot of enterprises and a lot of vendors. obviously, they recognize this is a huge problem. dennis: thank you, everyone. all the guests that contribute to our series, thank you. coming up at 1:45 p.m. today, we will talk more about it. cheryl: star wars. indiana jones. pixar. just a few projects or to lucas has had his hand in. markets now will continue in a little bit. ♪ how could a luminous protein in jellyfish, impact life expectancy in the u.s., real estate in hong kong, and the optics industry in germany? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment infmation, ris

that is dennis rodman. and this is dennis rodman new friend. his name is kim. dennis is a pro basketball hall of famer. kim is not. he has other hobbies. he is a fan. when dennis, members of the globetrotters visited him last week. mr. kim and his crew showed their affection for the player and the game. dennis tweeted they love basketball here. honored to represent the united states of america here. here in this case is north korea. kim is the new dictator, kim jong-un. his other hobbies include testing nuclear weapons and threatening to use them on dennis's home and i'll let the spokesman finish my thought. >> in the upcoming action, a new phrase lasting century after century will target against the u.s., the sworn enemy of the korean people. >> not very friendly, is it? kim jong-un also maintains a whole network of concentration camps where tens of thousands of people are housed and die of starvation and disease and neglect and execution. kim jong-un is belligerent to the u.s. according to human rights watch, kim's rise to power has had, quote, no positive im

dennis: is high noon. i am dennis kneale. cheryl: hello. i am cheryl casone.ng to open. buyers who wear. dennis: the cyber threat. turning to the department of homeland security to bring in their paycheck. it is top of the hour. time now for stocks. nicole petallides is at the new york stock exchange. nicole: are down about 40 points on wall street. yesterday we gained over 100 points. we were really testing some all-time highs. the rally yesterday allowed the traders to be a little weak. today we are looking at a market with down arrows. you see names such as jpmorgan, boeing, 3m and home depot on the downside. the u.s. is now probing jpmorgan's action in the madoff ponzi scheme. the banks really must have known. now, the probe is continuing am looking into more closely into jpmorgan in particular. back to you. cheryl: new capital restrictions are going into place and cyprus. there will be no check cashing, limits on with drop. ashley webster is here to tell us how everything got to this point. >> this did not happen overnight. the writing was on the wall. in

dennis, back to you. dennis: hard to follow that. thank you very much. a.i.g.etting a big win in federal court yesterday. bottom line with elizabeth mcdonald. >> and we have breaking news right now. the lead attorney for store international that's suing the government on behalf of a.i.g. going to court again to ask it to represent a.i.g. again. the board rejected the move in january. here is david yesterday talking about the class action status. he's saying it's an important step to compensating a.i.g. shareholders for the confiscation of their property and use of their property for the bailout of other private companies and here is what he said a while ago. take a look to what david boies said. >> what the government did in the takeover of a.i. was to take private assets and use it for public purposes without compensating the owners. >> basically what he's saying is the government got an 80% -- nearly 80% stake in a.i.g. and then after that, not only did it get charged loan terms that all is ungrateful on the part of a.i.g. but he's saying that after that what

back to dennis and cheryl. dennis: thanks very much.n february had the best rise in over six years. up 8.1% over a year ago. and new home sales up this morning. they were better than expected. but how long can the good news last? in the last hour of "markets now" robert schillor said this to dagen. >> i think home prices might be loeter than they are now in a few years. that's not a forecast. that's a worry. dennis: he's always worried. vice president says buying a home is a bad investment and he joins me now. kevin, thanks for the buzz kill. home prices went up 8% in february. i think it was phoenix up 23% over a year ago. why are homes a bad investment right now? >> yeah. well, you know, i think professor schillor was a great intro. if you look at his data back to 1890 and look for a hundred years of home prices, home prices remained flat for 100 years at 0% increase every year. when you take out the effects of inflation. if you look at the time period between 1997 and 2007, it was a real aberration from the normal. it was a fad, if y

dennis, thanks for being here. >> thanks for having me. >> thanks, dennis.ose common threads that you found between spike lee, l.a. reid and the others you profiled. >> i found seven that's why the subtitle of the book is featuring the seven laws of wealth. over a seven-year period, i crisscrossed this country and used a full blown survey. i asked the millionaires, black millionaires, 118 questions. they completed it anonymously. i had six focus groups around the country. one in north carolina. one in washington, d.c. three in atlanta a small one ina and even a smaller one with black females out in las vegas. and then last but not least i had more than 60 face-to-face interviews and that's when i interviewed the likes of steve harvey, damon john, lisa price, carol's daughter, and three of black america's five billionaires. number one top of the hit list is knowledge. wealth begins in the mind and ends in the purse. blooim, blue line is we live in a capitalistic society. if you want to earn more, i suggest learn more. >> you're talking about black millionaire

and he knows who dennis rodman is. how many world leaders even know who dennis rodman is.e's also -- he loves movies, as did his father. his predecessor in this role. when one goes to north korea, even to this day, if you're even hoping for an interview, or get in the presence of the supreme leader, you're always advised, take along some really good new movies, and that will give you your best chance. >> dennis rodman's taking a lot of flack. i'm not defending him and i think he was very naive about the way it's played out. having said that, i think it is encouraging there is any dialogue with north korea. the more you know about this country, probably the better. >> i agree. >> the sequestration, which is probably something even north korea doesn't understand. i found the events of last week incredibly dispiriting. the fact that america, this great superpower, has this demeaning political system here. >> no one wants to say it, and some can accuse me of being harsh in the language. but we have been parachuted into the valley of the stupid. the united states -- this is dum

that's dennis rodman, and this is dennis rodman's new friend. mr. kim has other robbies, but he is a fan. when dennis in a production team from vice media visited kim last week, mr. kim and his crew really showed their affection for the player and the game. dennis tweeted, they love basketball here, honored to represent the united states of america. here in this case is north korea. kim is north korea's new dictator, kim jong-un. his other hobbies include building rockets to carry weapons in the world and use them on dennis' home -- i'll let the north korean spokesman finish that thought. >> a new phase of the anti-u.s. struggle that has lasted century after century, will target against the u.s. the sworn enemy of the korean people. >> not very friendly, is it. by the way, kim jong-un also maintains a whole network of concentration camps where tens of thousands of people are housed and die of starvation and disease and neglect and execution. kim jong-un is downright vicious to his own people. kim's rise to power since the death of his father, quote,

>> well, if you bring in dennis rad money. dennis rodman.odman, you could be right, a young, naive black man mostly known for smoking pot and leaving foreign policy, what could go wrong? >> and winning a know -- nobel peace prize. >> as much as we make fun of dennis rodman, his policy of having the north koreans talk with obama is not that far off from what hillary clinton has vowed and what barack obama himself wanted us to do. he wants to pick up the phone and talk to these guys. he just thinks i haven't made peace yet because we haven't met each other. just think, rodman is articulating the obama policy. >> rick, i wanted to ask you, venezuela's acting president since hugo chavez died. he credited chavez for the election of a south american pope. he said, quote, our commander ascended to the heights and is face-to-face with christ. something influenced the choice of a south american pope. something arrived at christ's side and said it is time for south america to come. >> if he is at chide's side how are they face-to-face? >> you just shu

now back to dennis.age bond visit the two giants, fannie mae and freddie mac, end up raising mortgage rates for you? >> it could and do you know what? the word on the street is half a percentage point at least is what the mortgage rates could go up. here's the plan right now. here is what the government at the market was saying about merging the bond units of fanny and freddie. we want to create something that could be sold and could be used as a foundation of the mortgage market of the future. so big plan underway at the bipartisan policy center. housing commission run by former senators george mitchell, martinez and former director. they want to wind up and break up fannie mae and freddie mac and turn them into a government bond insurer. this is a change in housing policy for the government and bankly the 30-year loan could go away. i mean, denmark is the only other country in the world that has a 30-year loan and here is why mortgage rates could go up. this is a five-year plan. it could happen in 10 y

dennis rodman played diplomat.trip to north korea, he's gushing about his newfound friendship with the brutal dictator of a country notorious for prison camps. >> the kid's only 28 years old. 28. he's not his dad. not his grampa. as a kid, very humble. very strong, as a man. very strong. but he don't want war. he's a great guy. just a great guy. if you sit down and talk to him, he want obama to do one thing -- call him. guess what, what i did, what i did, was history. >> yes, it was. rodman is said to be the only american to have met mr. kim. that's no laughing matter. but as for a phone call from the president, all right, that's not going to happen. white house press secretary jay carney would only say north korea is wasting its time and money. >> north korea ought to be focusing on its own citizens and opportunities to improve their lives. and the united states has channels of communications directly with them. those are the channels we choose to employ. >> is the basketball star making more headway with kim jong

it's dennis rodman.a fan of basketball for a long time, he's sort of been the most unpredictable of unpredictable folks operating on the national stage. he hadn't been operating on the national stage frankly until very recently. i mean, this story, if a week ago i told you that dennis that dennis rodman would go to north korea and be the basketball diplomat, there's no chance you would believe me. now, all of that said, i'd love to have that coat he had on. >> steven, meadowlark lemon said to be heading for hugo chavez. steven a., what is the real downside, if there is one, to all of this? >> well, there's no real downside outside of the sadness that gets attached to dennis rodman because you realize how pathetic he can be. the reality of the situation is he came over and incredibly misinformed, clearly insensitive to the plight of a lot of north koreans over there in prison. we're talking about the state department classifying the biggest violators of human rights. and here you are, a former basketball

dennis? what emotion do you see here?> i think he is contemplating why there is so much evil in a world where a god dog exists. >> you hit that. he has that look. that's amazing. next one, please. bill? >> is that you? >> consciously optimistic, but mildly am pitch -- ambivalent. >> i think he is saying why didn't i get a bigger hat. joe, this one? what do you think? >> i wish we had the ratings that that pluto character had. >> pluto is jetsons? >> disney. oh my gosh. >> they named a planet after him. >> you need a kid, greg. >> that is pluto. >> lori, what is he feeling? >> overly excited. >> how would you know? you can only see his head. >> oh pardon me. >> what is that? dennis? >> in the world in which we live, he might actually wish he was a dog. >> he is a dog. why hasn't he been on "red eye"? >> he got his hair extension on one time. >> not very talk tiff. last one for bill. >> that's a trick question because that's a lion, greg. >> what do you mean? >> that's a lion. >> how so? >> that is a lion. >> tell me why he

dennis: we are like that. dennis: dissing it out.sh network and the media minutes ahead. tracy: as we head out to break the dow is up 40 points. testiculate decimal the winners today on the nasdaq. intuitive surgical up almost 9%. we will be right back. ♪ we know a place where tossing and turning hawhere sleepless nightsng. yield to restful sleep. and lunesta®(eszopiclone) can help you get there. like it has for so many peoplbefore. when taking lunesta, don't drive or opere machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. lunesta should not be taken together with alcohol. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations, or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions such as tongue or throat swelling occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizzine

he said, if you can, dennis, i don't want to do war. he loves basketball.said, obama loves basketball. let's start there, let's start there. >> here's the white house's oh, so serious response to freelance diplomat dennis rodman's suggestion that the president call the dictator who starves the people of north korea. >> the united states has direct channels of communications with the dprk. instead of spending money on celebrity sporting events to entertain the elites of that country. the north koreans should focus on the well being of its own people who have been starved, imprisoned and denied human rights. the united states has channels of communications directly, and those are the channels we choose to employ. >> joining me now, brian shelter of the new york times and steve clemens, washington editor of the atlantic. brian, you got the story today from the new york times of exactly how dennis rodman got in the country. how did they do that? >> they fought like diplomats, the advice, the staff who wanted to get back in north korea, they thought, what would

democrats and republicans would have to be not to goat to this ball punch it's like dennis rodman in north korea. [ laughter ] [cheers and applause] yeah, or the hottest show in the country being about duck call manufacturing. by the way, even though coming up with the most basic of spending cut and tax revenue frameworks was beyond the skill level of this congress there was another way to completely avoid the arbitrary cuts. >> we will be amongst the first on the floor to nullify that provision. scong not bound by this. it's something we passed. we can reverse it. >> i think we'll bypass the trigger mechanism. we'll say time out it doesn't apply. >> jon: all they had to do was go -- i get i. passing a budget can be hard but time out (bleep) is easy. that's why the founders in their infinite wisdom gave congress three timeouts per legislative session and one not it. [ laughter ] but it still happened. because congress as always its infinite wisdomming forgot how (bleep) incompetent they are. it was like they tied a belt around the neck and looped it over the shower curtain in the hop

bret michaels and dennis rodman, our new ambassador to north korea, dennis who is back home safely after visiting the north korean dictator kim jong un. and apparently they hit it off. rodman called him a friend for life. but he said the same thing when he married carmen electra. and he said that kim jong un said he wants president obama to call him. a lot of people are criticizing rodman for getting friendly with a guy who said he wants to destroy the united states. i think we should crazy new dennis rodman to the washington monument and dare them to bomb us. rodman gave an interview to george stephanopoulos yesterday. some people had a hard time unctioning what he was saying. but i speak fluent rodman so we will break it down for you. >> one thing about that, i understand what he's doing. i don't condone that. i hate the fact he is doing that. but the fact of that, you know what, that's a human being. he let his guard done and did one thing to me as a friend. i didn't talk about that. i understand that. i understand that. >> i can't explain the jacket but i will try to explain what he

> i think dennis rodman is a pig and moron.he side if i was invited to go to the dennis rodman does north korea. to watch kim jong-un. it would be a great piece. >> north korea denounces and reacts the un security council resolution. by un rules, if you denounce it. the security council has to take time to reconsider. >> really? >> no. >> i would be reading that stuff. it is those stupid actualy comic books. >> but oh, that jugged had. >> chavez funeral. why lib liberals support dictators. from is a strain that knows what is best. they long for a dictator and they get caught. tom freedhan said he wished america could be a china. >> no, just longs for a firm hand. >> i don't at all. >> that is a good point. >> thank you. i thought you meant tucker. >> both of you making good points. >> yeah. >> that makes me nervous. >> nick you said seen pen was the greatest actor. don't appreciate the shot at nick cage. >> you know the middle name. should be put in one. >> i will let that sit. >> i thought it was monte. >> law professor has st

now, what ryan said to me was dennis had told him, so i can't really confirm it until i talk to dennis bring north korean and american relations closer or in a better way. so for us, we just couldn't believe that. so i mean, hopefully, obviously, look, there is a lot of problems. you have been there, you understand it is as diametrically opposed, to america. but if you go there and play some basketball. who doesn't love the harlem glo globetrotters, they put a smile on everybody's face. >> yes, they certainly do. for many who remember the u.s.-china relations, that was a bridge. so maybe this will do something. did you get clearance, did you ask the state department or the obama administration for a green light before you went? >> no, we did not. you know, we put it together ourselves. i had had some contacts from my trips over there. they then sent it here to the united nations. a delegation, and their team here, we worked a lot with them, they came up to our offices. we ran through the whole program with them. and -- and you know, we actually didn't really know, you know, if we were

it's dennis rodman.who has been a fan of basketball for a long time, he's sort of been the most unpredictable of unpredictable folks operating on the national stage. he hadn't been operating on the national stage, frankly, until very recently. i mean, this story, if a week ago i told you that dennis rodman would go to north korea and be the basketball diplomat on this week with george stephanopoulos, there is no chance you would believe me. all that said, i'd love to have that cody hat on. >> meadow lark lemon said to be headed for hugo chavez at some point soon. what is the downside? we love to deride this, show the video and so forth. steven, what is the downside if there is one to all this? >> there is no downside outside of the sadness that gets attached to dennis rodman, because you realize how pathetic he can be. the reality of the situation is he came over incredibly misinformed, clearly insensitive to the plight of a lot of north koreans over there in prison. some of the heinous things we've hear

and, later, dennis miller on colmes fiscal madness and dennis rodman in north korea. we are coming right back. [ lisa ] my name's lisa, and chantix helped me quit. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. it put me at ease that you could smoke on the first week. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history heart or blood vsel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms

he said, if you can, dennis, i don't want to do war. i don't want to do war. >> did you say why don't you pick up the phone and call president obama? >> it's a different story because guess what? the kid's only 20 years old. 28. >> by the way, we think kim jong-un is about 30 years old, but we'll give rodman some credit for getting close at least. john avlon and fran townsend join me now. you wrote a critical essay. a lot of people were joking about how funny the two look together. >> i'm sure it's a lot of fun, a great way to see north korea, watch a basketball game, get drunk with the dictator's enter rajai, but 3.5 million people have starved to death. he didn't experience the north korea the vast majority of the citizens. there is a moral koens quens that comes with that kind of a decision. >> apparently, a part of a big feast. all right, fran, dennis rodman actually dismisses the charges of mass starvation and nuclear war and things like that. he says that was kim jong-un's father talking. let's listen. >> i didn't look at all the