Opposition wednesday to the plan as it now stands. During the panel this week, wall street journal columnist and dippy aerator dan henninger, kim strassel and kate. Use of his past the house. The thing that surprised me is how little drama there was in the center did not have to break peoples arms. They got only 13 defections. Is an we are seeing an entirely different story than we did on healthcare reform earlier this year. What do you think that is . One reason is because healthcare reform failed and so now republicans understand their very political lives depend on passing tax reform. I think were generally picking up the pace and i think the senate now has or really wants to get this done before the alabama special election when they might lose another republican seat and have a senate majority. But they defections, the 13 defections i think 12 of them were from high tax dates, california, new jersey, new york yoin particular. That is because the state and local Tax Deduction, right . Right. Basically they house did a carveout for property taxes up to a certain amount. And then eliminated state and local deduction which we know subsidizes blue states but has high tax rates. Theres a net will hurt my constituents. I will have to tell you kate, i never thought that they would pull this off. That is a huge Tax Deduction that they are eliminating i mean it is enormous reagan treaded in the 80s and cannot pull this off. Record it got taken of the 1986 at which was the last ctmajor reform. It is quite surprising that it looks like this deduction is heading for death row. In this in the senate bill as well. They do not even have an accommodation for property taxes. They just get rid of it. I think they will restore that when it goes to a conference assuming this passes. W is the day of reckoning for those three states. After all these years new york, california, new jersey have been raising taxes on the public and they have benefited the most from the deduction. It is extraordinary that it was virtually almost only house members from those states who voted against the tax bill. Everyone else actually supported this thing. I think if i were a congressman of one of the state i would say i voted against this, we tried to keep it in and i returned to the people in my state and say, weve got to lower taxes in the states because this is what, the whole country has turned against those states. Kim, i think that this is one price the democrats are paying for total opposition to the bill. And in contrast to the 86 at democrats decided to negotiate and they were able to get something they wanted. As part of a bipartisan reform. The here they are sitting it all out and republicans have little incentive to accommodate them in moorder to get votes. Absolute. And Chuck Schumer had stepped up to the negotiating plate, you can absently bed that this would have been an accommodation for new york and new jersey in california. You see all liof them curious over this issue personally democrats have decided that not being from your property taxes is a terrible idea. And they want to lower taxes. So jerry brown in california said you cant do this, you have to take care of it. All right. What you think ron johnson wants kim . In the senate . He announced this week, he is a progrowth guy. We know him, i do not think he wants to kill the bill. I do think he wants some concessions. What does he want . Johnson has been saying all along he is very concerned about smaller businesses that file on as passthroughs. We look at the bills are not given as good treatment as corporations. Corporations for instance, they come down to 20 percent rate, the passthrough, they get a deduction, then by the time they pay surcharges, its more like 35. So he wants better treatment for them and the question now is how can we do that and some of the ideas out there equalizing the treatment would in fact be good. Kate . You can lower the tax rate to 35 percent from 38. 5 in the senate bill which would make the deduction more valuable against a lower rate. That would be one way to solve it. I think Ron Johnson Eric is a little thin because corporations are double taxed on dividends as well. And much more disadvantaged under the current system. What d we see are these corporations wanted to become passthroughs. I think they will come to tan accommodation. Dan, how do you see this playing out in the senate . Give john mccain and other senators. You never know how they will go. Thats true but the mood here is so different than it was with the healthcare bill. Where we had this which indeed started in the house. Here, they have Republicans Holding together i think this really created an mood and momentum behind this bill. At that the fact that the republicans really need to get copy done. In addition to alabama, i would mention the virginia gubernatorial race. A huge setback. I think it really focused the republicans. Mccann, collins, i kind of unity to see think you will vote for this coming up because they got burned but i think momentum is behind this bill. As the Senate Scrambles for the votes needed to pass, what with the overall mean for Economic Growth and wages . Who asked former director in jellyfish. In clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve shortterm memory. Prevagen. The name to remember. You nervous . Tried to deepfat about fry their turkey. Ple 15 succeeded in setting their houses on fire. At christmas, there was a lot of driving over the river and through the woods and a little bit of skidding on the ice and taking out grandmas garage door. So while youre celebrating, allstate will be standing by. Trouble never takes a holiday. Neither should your insurance. Thats allstates stand. Are you in good hands . With the house passing his tax reform this weekend, the synods scrambling for the boats to peasants version after thanksgiving. K were back with a look at with the overhaul would mean for Economic Growth. Jobs and also wages in the us. Economist the president of the American Action form and former director of the congressional budget office. Doug, walking back to the program. Lets look at this bill. Look at the house and Senate Version in total. What do you think overall, is going to be the Economic Impact of something close to these bills passed . I think the important Common Elements are tax reform that gets the rate that is a 20 percent. We are well above the rest of the world. And again, this is just getting along with what makes us competitive. There are Good Investments of front expensing for the first five years, that is a message that says you should invest, innovate and do it in the United States. At that happens, then we get the accumulation and capital deepening that is typically associated with better growth. With productivity growth come higher wages and that is the missing part of the labor market. Getting a higher standard of living. Both bills have that in common. It is an important element. Over on the pastor side, more than half of business income is taxed. Theyre going to have to settle some differences in the bills. The same basic message, get rates down, get q etrelation incentives in place. It is something g they can accomplish. Those are the most important developments of the bills. You think that they would have a significant, and im asking, a progrowth impact on the American Economy . Yes. You have a built in test as well. Both have repatriation, there are trtrillions of dollars of u earnings parked offshore. In these bills, they will be deemed to have been repatriated, why Tax Liability on them, then comes the test. Do they really bring tony back . If theres a good report us corporations will say lets put that money in the us. Blue is a big impact right away. If they do not do a good job, we will know really quickly. Any concern on your part by the delay in the Senate Bill One year and get into the 20 percent rate . Expensing starts immediately in the senate thand house. The delay in the senate, some say, corporations are going to delay for one year. Taking profits and that will delay the investments. Do you agree . I dont. I think ill run the numbers and understand it is way better to deduct cost against a 35 percent rate. And have earnings taxed at the 20 percent rate. That one i think is a modest investment to frontload. I do not think that it will impact the long run implications of the bill and i am not entirely comfortable. I think it is not nearly as good in my view as the corporate side. It is kind of a hash. I think thats right. No cut in the top rate except a minor one in the senate. I think in your Economic Research you talk about rate cuts especially at the higher level. Really given the economic bang for the buck. There is very little of that here. Indeed, the inhouse one goes the wrong way. There is a phaseout at a 12 percent bracket. It gives a 45 percent marginal rate. That is going the wrong direction. The senate goes the right direction but not very far. The estate ttaxes a mismatch i both bills. I think the individual side turns out to be pretty much a wash at best. As i mentioned, the court elements are business tax reforms. Those get the us back into the 21st century. They can do better on the individual side. On the corporate side, growth impact, you have a wide range of views and how much would help the economy. I think the tax conditions as it would increase it, by 0. 3 percent a year. Larry lindsey says it could be 0. 9 percent. It would take us a year on average. That would take us about three percent for the next four years of Economic Growth. Where default in these . The real issue is, the speed at which the adjustment takes place. If it gets heavily frontloaded, if you get something that looks like a bomb the tissue above trend growth and a quick adjustment of trend growth, you get closer to Larry Lindsey his number i do not think you will get that high. If the adjustment takes a long time, you get something like. 2. 3. If that happens will flow through to wages . Because as you know, we are in a very tight labor market right now in much of the country. I have to assume if you get a big capital investment, some of it will go to productivity and a lot of it will flow through to wages. That is in the data. Historically, if you get productivity growth it flows through the wages, and as i mentioned before, it has not been happening in the us because you have not had the productivity growth. Right now we have a tight labor market to produce higher wages it will just get past. Neither productivity piece to make it better off. What about deficit concerns . According to the budget structuring it will as much as a trillion dollars to the deficit over 10 years. I assume a good portion of that will be made up with faster growth because the growth estimates out of congress are now so low at 1. 9 percent on average. Ask right. I dont think anyone should be happy at the prospect of another train and and a half of deficits. We are in a fiscal mess with the labor so the question is, what do you get for it . And if you focus on the elements, it will be worthwhile. If you just put out individual side and it would not be worth it. I think this is proof is in the pudding moments. Thank you doug, i appreciate you being here. Thank you. Will become back, Sexual Misconduct scandals in the senate as democrat, al franken, takes his allegations and roy moore will not exit the race. Maria is an incredible mom. 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I want to tell you who needs to step down. Mitch mcconnell. A defiant roy moore thursday refusing to bow out of the race. Even as accusations of Sexual Misconduct continue to mount. A fox news poll shows him losing support amid allegations. Now he tries Democrat Doug Jones 50 a42 percent. With nine percent undecided. We are back with dan henninger, emberley stossel, and jason riley. Tim, we heard roy moore. He seems to suggest that somehow Mitch Mcconnell gathered all of these women to come make arguments against him. Where does this stand in u alabama now . I guess what you think of these accusations . Well, we are now up to i think at least nine women that have come out and allege that some some of Sexual Misconduct against them. He also had some important local reporting that courted residents down in the area saying that wellknown, way back then that he had a predilection for young women. None of this has been proven. But it is out there. There is no escaping it at this point. You would think that if roy moore believed and the cause of republican senate. And he would understood he was step aside and let somebody else run. He is defiant that he is not doing that. He is defiant of these accusations being false and what hes doing is now turning this into a battle between roy moore, the upstart republican and the establishment in washington dc. Like a donald trump move. This is a deep red state. This race should not be anywhere near as close as it is. I dont think alabama has had a senator since the enearly 90s. In this party. That is why people are sticking to him to the extent they are. I think it has a lot to do with how the people feel they are perceiving things by the media and people that cling to their guns and religion as obama people. The deplorable is hillary described them as. And roy moore pushes back against them. The polls show that he is losing. Ol yes they show that he is down. Among women, has done 58 percent. You have a lot of right ends since october 18. Doug jones is a proabortion absolutist. I think it is a little hard to handicap what is going on down there. Look, if roy moore pulls out, the republicans will lose this race. This is a problem, there are two races going on. Doug moore and im sorry doug jones and roy moore and steve bannon versus Mitch Mcconnell. What about steve bannon that he is the former swhite house aide who wants to get rid of Mitch Mcconnell. He is running, says he will run all of these challenges to republican incumbents. Roy moore was his poster child. He got behind him here in this cycle. And yet, it turns out he looked like he could be a loser. What does this do to the whole steve bannon insurgency . I think that is why you see roy moore, public, based on advice from that wing of the party, trying to make this into a van in verse mcconnell race. And deflect from his allegations because they have a big stake in this now. The bannon crowd. He goes down as you said, the first big trial on this and honestly, this has never been an enormous wings of the party anyway. It anyway i think it would puncture that balloon if he were to lose. Yes, 15 is for losers i think would be the signature line. I think lets talk about al franken because certainly has complicated the bonfire of the Sexual Harassment allegations racing across the country. Now there is one against al franken including a photo of him attempting to growth a woman while she was asleep. He says it was a joke and there was no clubbing of all good looks pretty ugly. What do o you make, another bei ethics investigation and al franken says he will cooperate. But does this jeopardize the senate seat . Im not sure. I think al franken might try to fight this. And i think it is a little too early to tell. But it does demonstrate that this ssort of despicable behavior is not limited to one party or one ideology. This is a much more widespread problem and we have been focusing on Entertainment Industry a lot of late. But i think this is just Getting Started in the political world. I do not think we are anywhere near the end of this. Miracle of miracles, democrats saying way back when, bill clinton should have resigned. Kirsten gillibrand, from new york think clinton should have resigned. Very convenient so many years later. Presenting the broader point is that virtually all of this behavior we have been reading about is nonconsensual. The bottom line is some men are pigs with women. Men would be better the world would be better off without them. Is a delicate one for the democrats. Yeah, you can tell al franken himself was certainly worried that this is where it might go. He initially put out a short like nonapology then put out a very contrite statement. In which he fully apologized, and called himself for an ethics investigation. He is trying to do everything he can to make sure that he forestalls any calls for resignation. Do you think he should resign . I think theres a good case for it if we are going ,to hold everyone to the same accountable standard. All right kim, thank you. Still ahead, some fellow republicans in congress turning up the heat on attorney general, Jeff Sessions, to appoint a special counsel to investigate Hillary Clinton. But is this a good idea . Our panel weighs in, next. The candle feeds the flame topped steak twisted potatoes at applebees. Eatin good in the neighborhood. [and her new business i do, to jeanetgo. Jeanette was excellent at marrying people. But had trouble getting paid. Not a good time, jeanette. Even worse. Now im uncomfortable. But heres the good news, jeanette got quickbooks. Send that invoice, jeanette. Looks like they viewed it. And, tada paid twice as fast. Oh, shes an efficient officiant. Way to grow, jeanette. New. Get paid twice as fast for free. Visit quickbooksdotcom. What is it going to take to actually get a special counsel . It will take a factual basis. Let me ask it this way. Will use proper standards. That is the only thing i can tell you. I appreciate you can have your idea for some hazard to study the facts and evaluate if it meets the standard. If in fact republican congressman jim jordan professing attorney general Jeff Sessions to appoint a special counsel to investigate former secretary of state, in 2016 democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. The attorney general puts back in the hearing. He is reportedly considering the move and has directed senior federal prosecutor to look into a host of concerns raised by republicans. Including alleged wrongdoing by the Clinton Foundation and controversial sale of an Iranian Company to russia. Clinton said the appointment of a special prosecutor will constitute an abuse of power. This appears to be the politicization of the Justice Department and the justice system. This story has been debunked countless times. They with independent experts, the press, is nothing but a false charge. This is such an abuse of power and it goes right at the rule of law. Dan, a lot of our viewers would say she deserves a special council investigation. You wrote a column this week say not a good idea. Why we met. I caught the bonfire of the prosecutors. I tathink is a bad idea because fundamentally was going on is this is a political war train republicans and democrats. And democrats and donald trump. Even along the beltway press. Versus donald trump. And this is not primarily d illegal thing that you shall prosecutors pursuing. Because i think youre getting to a point where people are developing, they think Hillary Clinton will be put on fire and sent to prison. That is never going to happen. Why not . Why do you say that . Because i dont think that you will get people on the Campaign Just like George Papadopoulos pleaded over on the Trump Campaign. You will never i think at that point you run the danger here of putting in motion, inconsolable, unfeasible resentment with the public on the left and the right. You are putting incredible you see the attorney general trying to argue on behalf of the facts. Youre trying to defend the Justice Department. Those institutions like justice, the fbi and intelligence agencies are already on the bubble with the american people. I do not think we should push them through. One other element here, donald trump, the president , to whom . The Justice Department reports says publicly, why dont they have to investigate Hillary Clinton . It doesnt make life easier for Jeff Sessions. It doesnt. We have to remember they do not always control the Justice Department. What will happen when the next democrat gets in office, turns around and starts investigating the republican colleagues i think that is the problem going down this road. People here uranium, they think nuclear. This is much more about a correction story than a National Security story. This is whether the state department was used to help enrich the Clinton Foundation. And so, people also need to keep that in perspective of whats going on. Kim, i think some viewers would say wait a minute here. There are two sides for example to this person meddling in the election story. There is the Trump Campaign and robert mueller, there is also a question of what will the democrats play in hiring and paying fusion gps which them. Christopher steele, the former british agent to collect the nasty dossier. On donald trump and the russian people investigate that . Maybe we do need a special counsel for that. So im playing devils advocate here. Where should that investigated. Audition investigated allegations are very serious. This is the highest level of government. This is the problem here what is nontrust the Justice Department to do this . Why that calls for us special counsel . Because as danny limited to, you will have no faith in the Justice Department or the fbi anymore. They think, right they think that limited lunch meeting with clinton and then there is a place that this can get done. It is called congress. They actually have in fact, been doing a good job in terms of the legwork for investigations on this. The problem is in fact that the fbi and Justice Department will not submit to the oversight that under the constitution, they are bound by. Theyre not turning over documents, they are not making things available. And by the way, it is mueller getting in the way because they keep saying, we cannot interfere with his investigation. Thats where the deputy could really step in and force the corporation. Because we do not want prosecutions. You get a few people in jail, so what . Big deal. What the country needs is to know what happened. That is what i want to know. Exactly. And that is not the jumper prosecutors. They do not issue what happened they indict people. They need congress to pursue this details will happen. What about the political fallout there is a special counsel made . Paul, i think youre almost guaranteeing ntthe possibility the impeachment of donald trump if the democrats take control of the house in 2018. The impulse, the payback for the appointed of the special counsel would be overwhelming. Still ahead, the president takes a victory lap. Touting the success of his 12 day trip to asia. My fellow citizens, america is back. And the future has never looked brighter. Drip coffee drinkers, its time to wake up to keurig. Wakey wakey rise and shine oh my gosh how are you . Well watch this. I pop that in there. Press brew. Thats it. So rich. I love it. Thats why you should be a keurig man fullbodied. Are you sure youre describing the coffee and not me . Fullbodied. Booking a flight doesnt have to be expensive. Just go to priceline. 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That was President Trump wednesday in his first comments since returning from asia. Touting his 12 day trip to the region as a major Foreign Policy success. But critics are less enthused claiming that instead of voice during the United States status among our allies, he is actually ceding power in the pacific to china. The president of the foundation for defense of democracy, it is good to see a cliff. Lets see if you can find out some truth here between donald trump saying it is a tremendous success and the critics saying that is a catastrophe, a debacle. Where do you see it . I think we are seeing a pattern sort of concerning applies elsewhere in the world as well. The trump administration, the president himself, they are in articulating good solid policies. The implementation of those policies is at best, legging a lot. So while you have the chinese not only establishing facts on the ground but establishing new ground grading islands, notarizing them, essentially saying over time, we will change the South China Sea into a chinese lake. We will make International Waters into territorial waters. The present essay not china but elsewhere, that are not going to allow that to happen. But actual steps to prevent that are not being taken. Also we have other equities being involved here. One of the reasons china has found north korea to be an asset rather than a liability, is it distracts the us and gives china a bargaining chip. We can help you in north korea. But we want concessions in the South China Sea. We expect c will be the power asia and we expect you to accept that. I thought the president s words about the South China Sea and were pretty firm. He spoke up on behalf of freedom of navigation, half of the rights of territorial rights, these cannot be demanded and dictated by any single country. And the pattern of those, that the islands, that started under president obama. So you know it is good, i agree with you on the point of followthrough but in n terms o principle, setting principles and issuing a warning to china, i thought he did pretty well. Netting that is exactly right. Precisely, it is guarded good articulation. Many people in place that can implement policies and you are right to remind people that you have criticism coming from former obama people that they did nothing about chinas attempts to take over International Waterways and establish. There was nothing whatsoever about north koreas strategic nations doing nothing. Really, all the problems that have matured over the last eight years now President Trump inherits and it is a huge mass of problems difficult to solve. And to solve quickly. But we would like to see the people in place and articulation beginning to move. Any signs from this trip, progress against north korea . China, after the trip for example, sent an envoy to pyongyang. We do not know what will happen with that but any evidence that there is some Coalition Building to stop north korea . Maybe. I tend to believe it will require a lot more pressure not just on north korea but also on china. That will mean sanctions even on corporations and all the entities in china that continue to facilitate the survival of the regime. It has not to become clear to china that north korea is actually a liability and china really has to understand, this is your pit bull, your pet people. You have to do something to stop it from biting the neighbors. What about this deal that the president and rex tillerson, secretary of state, struck with Vladimir Putin about this , what you make of that . The same concern paul. In october the president articulating a very good policy and containing iran. Now you have the real risk that we will dispossess the Islamic State in syria and have the Islamic Republic of iran reap the benefits of that. That would be a huge problem. I ran strategy here, the goals are very clear. They want to take over the northern tier. They want to establish a corridor. And from alder to the mediterranean. They want to turn the neighbors, they want to have nuclear weapons, they want to be the new empire in the middle east. It is s important that we have the ability annotate determination and resources to prevent iran from achieving its aims. Otherwise that is not a good idea. As for russia, Vladimir Putin is not a communist but he is still very much a soviet. What tthat means is that what sees, the diminishment of power is the same arithmetic purity want to diminish the United States. You can negotiate with him but you have to understand that is who he is and what he wants. It seems to me this deal, more or less accommodates russian demands. Theyre making promises to help. Their same foreign actors need to leave. Then iran turns around and says you are leaving, we are not leaving. Russia says that is fine with us. Russia says yes, that is legitimate. Be careful because this is a good negotiator. He will get his way and he is not going to see something at this as a winwin proposition. He is still empowering iran, his still empowering the assad regime. I do not think we are in a good place right now. I think we are in a very risky place if the president articulates strong strategy, these are the iran in october and then falter in november that is not a good thing. Thank you. Oh come back, the left is on the attack as the president judicial nominees and charges that they are unqualified, cannot slow down the president s push to reshape the federal courts . If you have moderate to Severe Ulcerative Colitis or crohns, and your symptoms have left you with the same view, it may be time for a different perspective. 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As diminish the aconstitutional duty democratic senator Patrick Leahy this week is telling the qualifications of President Trump judicial nominees as confirmation hearings were held for six more of his pics. Left understandably frustrated with republican efforts to reshape the judiciary. And the rapid pace of confirmations as the president is up to eight conference. In the first 10 months in office compared to just three for president obama in the entire first year. Rebecca dan henninger, jason riley and kate one of the controversies, the American Bar Association has a Standing Committee that assesses judicial nominees and rates them then i think eytherefore s far not qualified. That is what he is referring to. Here is my question. Who elected the American Bar Association . Nobody, liberals, there is an activist group that pretends to rate them and all they are doing at the end of the day is giving the senate and inrepubli as an excuse to vote against the nominees. They hold conservatives to a different standard than liberals, they have been doing this in years. I think the Senate Republicans should completely ignore what they are saying. Did that just Clarence Thomas and he was up and sandbagged robert way back then calling him unqualified peer that was just a scandal because he was arguably the most qualified in the world in a senate full of lawyers, i dont think they need this sgroup to make this determination or to advise them. I think it is ridiculous. But the larger picture here is that the republicans are really confirming a lot of judges very fast. Yes, they are. In every discordant and even include a handful of district judges there moving through and donald trump is line them up like airplanes at ohare. There are two to jasons point, and how intensely ypersonal these attacks from them have become. We saw this week that basically all of this innuendo about the temperament and calling him apparently in an interview, you people. I do not know about that but that is not my preferred pronoun and asking where his children went to school. And the republican senator from nebraska hitting back very hard. Saying a look, this distorts his manner and temperament. And i think quite effectively, making the case on the floor. He will be confirmed. Right. And they all named their favorite legislator of the year. Aba can do that. Is one of the reasons president ial elections become so intense. Because you have these Court Appointments being contested not just the Supreme Court but break down through the District Court and republicans won so they are now following through on making these appointments and we should point out that a lot of them are being recognized which is not only the conservative leaning group but more or less, straighter than the normal conferences, they bring people from the liberal side, republican side, conservative side. Theyre pretty much displaced mns process. Are cementing the democrats would have a stronger case for comedy in the senate and for bipartisan advice and consent if they had not unilaterally changed the rules. Yes. My neighbor in the get rid of the filibuster rule for nominees. And for lower court judges, they did that to pack the d. C. Circuit. With obama nominees. And in fact now, the republicans are saying, we will take that but we will confirm that with 51 votes ourselves. Yes and confirm as many of them and as quickly as possible which they are allowed to do. Because if the democrats take control back next year there will be no more. Confirmations. You think they will shut that down . Im serious. I would not put it past them. I think that the gop should move now to limit debate further on nominees and get this process sped up. Quickly holding every 1 to 30 hours when even if they are noncontroversial. And Chuck Grassley almoved this week to move a policy called the blue slip against two nominees and move them which is again, something that democrats are responsible for themselves. We have to go. We need to take one more break. Why come etback hits and misses of the week. Uncertain. But you can feel confident in our investment experience around the world. Call us or your advisor. T. Rowe price. Invest with confidence. This holiday, the real gift isnt whats inside the box. Its whats inside the person who opens it. Give ancestrydna, the only dna test that can trace your origins to over 150 ethnic regions. And open up a world of possibilities. Save 20 for the holidays at ancestrydna. Com. Paul time now for hits and misses of week. Kim, start us off. Paul, we had another shooting this week out in rancho tehama, california, and another example of a shooter who had a long history with crime and with Mental Illness and who should never have had a firearm. So this is a hit to tehama District Attorney greg cohen who really put his finger on it. He said these shootings are never the result of one thing; but, rather, our culture has got a toxic mix of mental health, drugs, alcohol, poverty and firearms. Hes right, and thats the way we should be looking at this problem. Paul jason . Paul, this is a miss for the three College Basketball players fromth ucla who were caught shoplifting in china. They embarrassed themselves, their team and the country. And its a hit for President Trump who intervened on their behalf. He did so less than graciously, but it was the right thing to do. [laughter] paul are they going to thank me or not . Yeah. [laughter] kate . This is a hit for republicans inon congress who this week, without much fanfare, finished a Defense Authorization bill for about 700 billion thats heading to the president s desk. This includes a 2. 4 pay increase for Service Members that the Obama Administration sort of famously skimped on to save money. Now, i grant this is not the start of a major defense buildup, but it is at least something. Paul okay. And dan . Im giving a hit to Leonardo Da Vinci whose painting sold at auction this week for 450. 3 million. After 500 years, he has still got it. I mean, that is staying power. One more point though paul are you sure thats a leonardo . [laughter] the painting itself, savior of the world, most expensive painting ever, has to be of jesus. I think this is one of the better developments inel a long time. Paul and, you know, it does Say Something about the economy, that theres that much money floating around in the world. Paul to be able to buy a painting for that much money. Even a leonardo. And remember, be sure to tweet your hit or miss at jer on nfc. Thats it for this weeks show. Thanks for watching, we hope to see you right here next week. Eric well, the center of the Russian Investigation now speaking out in an exclusive interview. He says, quote, big shot russians were desperate to meet trump, but he claims he knows of no collusion. Thats what Rob Goldstone told londons sunday times. He denies being part of any possible russian plot to interfere with the election, saying its the most ridiculous thing he ever heard. He also says he doesnt know if there was such a scheme and doesnt follow politics. He says hes never voted. This comes as the white house is under new scrutiny with new questions from the