Memorial Day weekend travel tips

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Memorial Day weekend travel tips

Lee Abbamonte says to arrive early to the airport and have patience.

This is a rush transcript from "Your World," May 24, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: Thank you, Trace.

And we are off. Across the country, Americans are hitting the roads, planes and trains for the Memorial Day weekend, as we kick off the unofficial start of the summer travel season.

In case you're counting, a record 43 million of us will be making some sort of a trip. So, just how jammed will those roads and airports be? We thought we'd help you out before you get out.

Welcome, everyone. I'm Neil Cavuto. And this is "Your World."

And we are all over it, no matter where you're going, with FBN's Jackie DeAngelis on the big getaway, Jeff Flock in Chicago on the big traffic headaches, and meteorologist Rick Reichmuth on some big storms that could be on the way.

We begin with Jackie in New York City on how this big travel day and weekend is shaping up -- Jackie.

JACKIE DEANGELIS, FOX BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Neil.

That's right. AAA is the authority on this. And they are saying that nearly 43 million people, as you said, are going to travel in some way for the long holiday weekend. So, the big question is, how are they going to do it?

Well, 37.6 million of them are going to hit the road. And that is up about 3.5 percent from last year. AAA says watch out what time you're going to travel, because peak times are going to be difficult. So try to go off- peak, if you can.

Three-and-a-quarter million people, they're going to hit this skies. That is up almost 5 percent from last year. And bus, train, ships, almost two million passengers, up about 4 percent.

I'm guessing a few of these folks are going to attend a barbecue, maybe they're going to host a barbecue. If they are, they're going to have to brace for rising food prices. Let's go through that, because hamburgers are up a little more than 1 percent. If you're serving hot dogs, a little bit less than 5 percent of an increase from last year.

The buns, you're going to get a break there, three-tenths of a percent of an increase. Chicken prices are actually down. That might be your best met. And if you're planning to use lettuce in your meal, look for a whopping 34 percent increase on lettuce prices.

Now, the hot dog prices are up because of the African swine flu epidemic. That's got pork prices going up. And that sharp increase in lettuce is actually due to the E. coli outbreak last year that we saw with romaine. So, iceberg shot up. And this is sort of the residual leftover impact of that, Neil.

CAVUTO: All right, Jackie, have a good weekend yourself. We appreciate it.

DEANGELIS: Thank you.

CAVUTO: Now, let's go to Jeff Flock, who is getting a bird's-eye view of holiday traffic in Chicago, because he's in the middle of it.

Hey, Jeff.

JEFF FLOCK, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK CORRESPONDENT: And just like they said, Neil, you know, 2:30, 3:00 local time here in Chicago, it was going to get bad. And, sure enough, by golly, it's starting to get bad.

Not just Chicago. As you report, about 37 million people on the roads of that 43 million total, that is an increase of about 4 percent compared to last year, and the second busiest day on the roads, Memorial Day weekend, since 2005.

National gas prices, though, kind of cooperating. We have had a run-up, as you know, most recently for it -- I think it's -- what is the number, $2.88, I think, right now. We were $2.23, as low as $2.23, as recently as January. That was the lows, but up about 30 percent since then.

But if you look at the one-year -- and that's going to give you a little more cheer -- if you look at the one-year, you see that, one year ago, Memorial Day weekend, we were actually cheaper than we are right now. So that's a positive.

As I said, as we started, the guys at AAA said 3:00 local time, which it is right here in the Midwest right now on Interstate 294. It's going to start getting crowded. In fact, it is. According to AAA, today, the worst places to drive at this hour, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles.

I leave you on a positive note, which is, Neil, if it wasn't for this booming economy, everybody with jobs and money in their pocket, by golly, we wouldn't have such a crowded road, would we? There's your positive.

CAVUTO: I love you to death. I want you to look at the road, though, just to be safe.

(LAUGHTER)

FLOCK: How can I not look at you, if I have the option?

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: There you go. Jeff, thank you very, very much.

I love that guy.

All right, meanwhile, we got storm clouds on the horizon for a lot of travelers. It's certainly going to affect them in the Midwest and the Northeast.

Rick Reichmuth following it all from the Fox Weather Center.

What are we looking at, Rick?

RICK REICHMUTH, CHIEF METEOROLOGIST: It makes me nervous every time watching Jeff do that.

CAVUTO: Right? Oh, my gosh.

REICHMUTH: Oh, I don't like it. All right, but it's pretty cool.

Here you go, big storms again today and tomorrow, Sunday, Monday. We still continue to have it. Three different areas that we're watching for tornadoes today, one across Illinois, another one down here from Kansas down across parts of West Texas.

One tornado warning right now outside of that watch box just north of the Big Bend. We have had a lot of tornadoes over the last week. And, in fact, some of those tornadoes have caused major problems, obviously, that we have seen those problems.

But you get an idea of exactly where that is from parts of West Texas, then a lot of wind reports here across parts of the Great Lakes, and then another tornado yesterday across areas just to the north of D.C.

That exact pattern is not going to change. This high pressure is really strong, and it's not letting anything kind of budge out of here. It's also keeping things really hot across the Southeast. Feels like mid-July, and it has for days. It's going to continue all weekend long, unfortunately.

Then, back behind this, that kind of storm track just continues to bring round and round of rain there with the severe weather. And that goes all the way through Monday and into Tuesday.

Today, we have this severe threat, everywhere you see that yellow. Tomorrow, even a bigger chance. This is tonight's tornado threat, I should say, and then, tomorrow, a bigger chance of severe weather, especially across the West, Western Kansas, and back again across the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma.

Along with that severe weather, we continue to get the rain. This picture here, especially across Arkansas -- excuse me -- Oklahoma, and Kansas, and Missouri has been incredible, these rainfall totals. That's why we have seen all of those flooding pictures.

But take a look at how extensive this is. We still have flooding going on across rivers way up to the North and across the Dakotas and Minnesota. All that water has to funnel down in towards the Mississippi eventually that we saw crest about a month ago. We're seeing more crests of that again, and kind of top five to top two range.

And then take a look at this, through Monday, more rain, the exact same spot throughout the much better part of the next week. More here across the South again. So we have a major problem for our farmers, Neil. I'm very concerned about this with the planting season and the fields being so wet, and then obviously the flooding that's going on, causing major problems for so many folks.

CAVUTO: Yes, you think about what they're dealing with separately, the trade issue, and now Mother Nature.

REICHMUTH: Yes, exactly.

CAVUTO: All right, Rick, thank you very, very much, my friend. Have a good weekend yourself, Rick Reichmuth.

All right, so what do you need before you go?

One of the calmest travel advisers and experts I know is with us, Lee Abbamonte. I'm not just saying that because he's of Italian descent, but he knows of what he speaks.

Lee, good to see you.

LEE ABBAMONTE, TRAVEL EXPERT: Good to see you, man.

CAVUTO: Let's get right to it.

I guess it's a given that you just allow time for delays and hurry up and wait. Right?

ABBAMONTE: Yes.

I mean, on -- always, but especially on holiday weekends, get to the airport early.

CAVUTO: What is early these days?

ABBAMONTE: I mean, they say an hour, right, for a domestic flight. But on a holiday weekend, I would get there at least two hours early.

I'm flying tomorrow. I will be getting there at least two hours early, for sure. And wear your patience pants, because the airports are going to be a mess. You just know that's going to be the case.

So be patient. Go in with an open mind. Get there early. And you should be OK. And just remember that airlines are made up of people. And people don't react well to getting yelled at. So just be cool.

CAVUTO: Yes, and with TSA, people poking and prodding you. There is that.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Now, so get to the airport early. And this patient thing, I think, which is a good piece of advice, people forget that. We're all kind of in the same boat or airplane, right?

ABBAMONTE: Yes.

I mean, we tend to think the airlines are like this big monstrosity of a thing. But it's really just made up of people. And whether you're on the plane or at the airport, you just be patient and just act like you would with your friends. Be polite. That's all.

CAVUTO: All right.

Now, one of the ideas -- and I know you have talked about this in the past -- consider the driving option. Now, it depends on how far you originally intend to go. If you're in New York, and you want to go to Los Angeles, that might be tough. But what's the rule of thumb on that?

ABBAMONTE: For me, if it's within 500 miles, I would consider driving.

CAVUTO: Really?

ABBAMONTE: Because, especially if you're traveling with a family, I mean, you can save some money, obviously. You don't have to deal with the airport.

You might have to deal with traffic. But if you are going to drive, leave early. I mean, get up early. Leave at 6:00 in the morning. If you're going to wake up tomorrow...

CAVUTO: I can't get my kids up before noon. That's not an option.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: All right, but, no, that's actually a very good idea.

Also, you say consider going a day or even coming back a day later, so you're not fixed in that time period. Right?

ABBAMONTE: Correct.

Like, if you're going to leave today after work or early tomorrow morning, that might not be the best idea. I'm flying tomorrow at about 4:00 just to hopefully avoid as much as I possibly can of the holiday traffic. And then, instead...

CAVUTO: But, by the same token, you miss a chunk of the holidays.

ABBAMONTE: Correct.

CAVUTO: Does that bug you?

ABBAMONTE: But instead of coming back Monday, maybe come back Tuesday or Wednesday.

CAVUTO: Oh, I got it. I got it.

ABBAMONTE: So, go a day earlier or later or come back a day earlier or later.

CAVUTO: Very good.

You know one thing that is very good advice? You have talked about this before too. We think of the nearest airport or the biggest airport, but there are alternative airports, sometimes people don't know right in their neighborhood.

ABBAMONTE: Exactly.

CAVUTO: Or nearby or that have less -- a lot less traffic.

ABBAMONTE: Exactly.

If you're here in New York, I mean, consider -- obviously, you have Newark and Kennedy and La Guardia. But then there's also Westchester. And if you're in Long Island, there's Islip or even Newburgh further away.

CAVUTO: Right.

ABBAMONTE: Or if you're in L.A., instead of LAX, think of Burbank or even Ontario or Orange County. There's always another option.

CAVUTO: Chicago's Midway.

(CROSSTALK)

ABBAMONTE: Oakland and San Francisco.

So if you're in a major airport, sometimes, it's worth it just to avoid the hassle.

CAVUTO: Now, a lot of people don't like that, because they say, yes, but it takes me longer to get to the airport.

The flip side is, yes, but it takes me longer once I'm there. Right?

ABBAMONTE: Exactly. I mean, I would rather be in my car listening to the radio, even if I'm in a little bit of traffic or it takes longer, than be sitting in a line at the airport, just wanting to just shoot myself, you know?

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: All right, thank you very, very much, or drive just looking at the camera and not, let's say, at the road in front of you, like our Jeff Flock.

ABBAMONTE: Exactly. Exactly.

CAVUTO: What is he thinking, right?

Thank you very much, my friend. Have safe travels this weekend. All practical and good advice.

And maybe time for some practical, good advice to President Trump, Speaker Nancy Pelosi? This relationship is frayed, my friends. And we want to get it back. Help us get them back -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT: When you say a personal attack, did you hear what she said about me long before I went after her? Did you hear? She made horrible statements. She knows they're not true. She made -- she said terrible things. So I just responded in kind.

Look, you think Nancy is the same as she was? She's not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: Well, enough of the bickering, and let's just get to work. The parties are sniping at each other. It's always been a problem, especially when it's under different control, right, I mean, the White House under one, and the House, let's say in this case, under another.

But there was a time when at least they were able to let bygones be bygones and try to get things done. I know it's a lot easier said than done these days.

Democratic strategist Nathan Rubin. We got Republican strategist Ash Wright and The Washington Examiner's Susan Ferrechio.

Susan, people may hearken come back to Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill, started out as a bit of an acrimonious relationship. A couple of years in, they were pals trying to deal with each other. Maybe the same will happen here between the president and Nancy Pelosi, but there's been a lot of scorched earth.

How do you un-scorch that?

SUSAN FERRECHIO, THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER: I don't know that you can. And it's not because of what happened last week.

It's because of what's going to continue to happen. And that's Democrats are going to keep pushing for these investigations, the subpoenas, court fights over Trump's tax records and financial documents. And it's going to lead to more calls for impeachment.

And I think it's going to keep Pelosi kind of elevated in this criticism of the president and making these remarks about him being -- engaging in a cover-up and perhaps covering up a crime.

I just don't see it going away. She's under a lot of pressure to put forward that message. And I think that that's not going to end. And that's probably -- more than what happened last week, that's probably why things are not going to get resolved between her and the president anytime soon.

CAVUTO: Well, I wonder if there should, Ash Wright, I mean, maybe the Reagan example, working with Tip O'Neill.

Again, it started out dicey. But they learned to find common ground and work with each other. But there was a sense Ronald Reagan had, I want to - - he was getting a lot of his way. But he would always advise his people, don't shove it in the other guy's face.

And it can be the same of the part of the speaker. I want to help him out because we have mutual interests here that could benefit Democrats, as well as Republicans. He was particularly that way when Democrats picked up a lot of seats in the midterm election of Ronald Reagan's first term. So he figured out, look, I have got to got to do something, so that we can both be productive here.

Do you sense any of that happening now?

ASH WRIGHT, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I mean, I think we would hope so. But, no, there's very different leadership styles today, when compared to Ronald Reagan.

And one of the things that's mainly different is, they're having this fight, these personal arguments in front of the entire country and in front of the entire world. When we look back in time and in history, they were able to actually do that and have these arguments in backrooms, and it was kind of more of a gentleman's game than it is today.

It's unfortunate, but it's the world that we live in. And I think Susan to -- is correct. Both bases are as divided as Nancy Pelosi and Donald Trump are. I mean, if you look at Trump's base, they sent him to Washington, D.C., to deliver on promises, like economic growth, on border security, and not let liberals push him around.

And he's doing that exact same thing. And Nancy's base is asking the exact same thing from her against the president. And then so that's where we're at today. I don't see any end to it, unfortunately, anytime soon.

CAVUTO: Well, something has changed. I don't know what it is. And I'm not casting aspersions on either side. I know how this goes.

But, Nathan, Nancy Pelosi came out of that meeting with Democrats different. I don't how to -- whether chastened or reminded that many of them, many more than maybe she suspected, want the president impeached, and maybe that is where she got the thought about him covering things up.

But saying that, and knowing full well you have a meeting with the president hours later, she had to recognize that would change the tone. And do you think something in that meeting or something she heard from those members, that this rage against the president, and pushing impeachment, despite her warnings not to go far, something changed?

NATHAN RUBIN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I think, to your point earlier, the sniping back and forth certainly is not unprecedented.

What is unprecedented is an executive who says, you can legislate or you can investigate, but you cannot.

And, Neil, you know as well as I do that Article 1 of the Constitution, our founders and framers created the legislative branch first. And it says right in there that their job is to write and pass laws and conduct oversight over this executive branch.

CAVUTO: No, no, indeed, you're right.

But it does not say about presuming something ahead of even getting those investigations going. Would you acknowledge at least she jumped the shark by already making it, oh, it's a clear cover-up, he's been covering things up, accepting it as fact?

RUBIN: If she had said that prior to the Mueller report's release, I would have said she jumped the shark.

But we can all read that 400-page report for ourselves. There are 10 instances of obstruction of justice alleged against this president. And we need more people to put country over party. And, right now, Nancy Pelosi is advocating her responsibility, as well as...

CAVUTO: That's very different than saying someone is -- a cover-up, right?

You know that, by saying -- whatever you feel about that, and then to kind of feign surprise when the president says this meeting would be kind of unproductive, right?

RUBIN: Well, it's hard to -- it's hard to say that he's not covering it up, when he's obstructing any investigation into...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: What if I trashed you before this segment?

You're a very honorable and wonderful guy.

RUBIN: Thank you.

CAVUTO: And if I trashed you and framed it that way, or did it either to your colleagues there, you would wonder, what the hell am I doing on with this dude?

RUBIN: Well, if you look back to Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton, yes, they had an acrimonious relationship, but they were able to pass legislation and get stuff done in a divided Congress.

This executive simply doesn't have the thick skin.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: I don't see it.

No, no, no, you can't put it all on him.

Susan, I don't see that happening. I don't.

FERRECHIO: I agree.

I think it's going to be tough going forward. It's true about Gingrich and Clinton. Now, a lot of it was pre-impeachment, though. So...

CAVUTO: All right, guys, I wish we had more time. But we don't. Besides, I trashed all of you already. So why bother?

No, seriously, great guests. Safe weekend, all.

RUBIN: Thanks, Neil.

CAVUTO: Well, if you think things are a mess here, you should see what's going on in the United Kingdom, where no sooner does Theresa May announce that she's leaving than others are signing up to take her job.

Cruel world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I will shortly leave the job that it has been the honor of my life to hold, the second female prime minister, but certainly not the last.

I do so with no ill will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude, to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love.

TRUMP: Theresa, I like her very much. She's a good woman. She worked very hard. She's very strong. She decided to do something that some people were surprised at, some people weren't. It's for the good of her country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: All right, I want to go to John Browne right now, the former U.K. member of Parliament.

And, John, what happens now is finding a new prime minister. I guess she will be there for Donald Trump when he visits her majesty's kingdom, but then, a few days later, she's out of there.

JOHN BROWNE, FORMER BRITISH PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Yes.

CAVUTO: Who's taking her place, you think?

BROWNE: I don't know.

Of course, to start with her, the first time the Conservative backbenchers wanted to get rid of her, nobody dared stand, because things were increasingly chaotic.

CAVUTO: Right. Right.

BROWNE: But now they're so chaotic that they couldn't get any worse.

And, also, there's a way out. I think the next leader, whoever it is going to be, whether it's going to be Johnson, Boris Johnson, or Hunt, or any of these people, Gove, they have got a way out, in my view.

And that is, when they get in at the end of July, straight into the holiday, the summer holidays, and then straight into the party conference season. So it's not until October that Parliament's really sitting seriously again.

And at the 31st of October, England leaves by default, because Article 50 clicks in, and we're out. And so the new prime minister has a wonderful way, if he can't manage to get the House together to sort the thing out, of just letting things lie, play the ball into the long grass, and wait until the end of play, which will be the 31st of October. And we will be out by the 4th.

CAVUTO: Well, what happened? John, what happened with this?

I mean, this thing was voted on. The British people decided. It might have been close, but they surprised the world when they said, we want out. We want out of this European club. And here we are nearly three years later, and they're still not out.

Now, there are many conservatives who say, all right, get out without a deal. Where's that one stand?

BROWNE: Well, the basic problem that has occurred is that Prime Minister May was a remainer.

And I was sitting in the House of Commons in the...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: That's right. She didn't want to do this.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWNE: ... former members. And she -- when I was in the House of Commons, she said very forcefully she would deliver Brexit.

And I spoke to Boris Johnson and other former friends of mine, and then we were all convinced she was really going to do it. But what she has done -- and this is what most of the media and people overlook -- she produced in her withdrawal agreement, strangely enough, when President Trump was last in England officially, and gave a fake Brexit.

So what she's now calling Brexit was no Brexit at all.

CAVUTO: All right.

BROWNE: It left us within the customs union. It left our laws subject to European laws.

CAVUTO: And so it didn't do anything.

BROWNE: With no vote.

CAVUTO: All right, John, what a mess.

BROWNE: And that...

CAVUTO: Go ahead. Finish that thought. I'm sorry.

BROWNE: That's the essence of it, is she told a fake.

And because it wasn't getting out of the European, it got the Brexiteers upset. Because we were worse off, in other words, we no longer had a vote in the European Union and had to pay a $50 billion fine, it got the remainders upset.

CAVUTO: All right.

BROWNE: So she lost the total House in record votes against the government.

CAVUTO: Indeed. What a mess.

All right, John, we will see how it sorts out, my friend. Be well, safely ensconced in Florida, where he doesn't have to soil himself with these details.

In the meantime,, call it a low five, the Dow down five weeks in a row. It's the longest losing streak we have seen in about eight years.

Let's go to FOX Business Network's Deirdre Bolton on what happened -- Deirdre.

DEIRDRE BOLTON, FOX BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, green on the screens for today, Neil, but, for the week, as you just said, the Dow down, a fifth consecutive weekly decline, so longest since 2011.

If you look at the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, logging their third straight weeks of losses, longest since December '18, so a little closer, if you like, then the Dow's performance.

Now, the tone on Friday turned a little more positive. President Trump saying the ongoing trade war could be over quickly, but the week's pattern shows that investors long term are worried about the U.S.-China trade were hurting economic growth.

So, tech, the largest sector, as we know, by weight on the S&P 500, it 2.5 percent during the past five days, one of the worst-performing sectors for this week.

Chip stocks really under pressure. Qualcomm, Broadcom, they were among the worst performers. Apple also down this week 5 percent, several analysts raising concern over the company's exposure to China.

Worries about the U.S.-China trade war, its length, its consequences hitting the retail sector as well this week, Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot, Kohl's, Macy's, it's a long list, others as well, saying that the tariffs have forced them to either alter their financial outlooks, remodel their supply chains, and ones which, by the way, were pretty well thought out, or consider raising prices for consumers.

So a lot of that hitting those stocks, Neil, for the week, not a pretty picture -- back to you.

CAVUTO: All right, I don't know. Have a good weekend, my friend.

BOLTON: Thank you.

CAVUTO: All right. So that's the week that was there.

All right, President Trump wants Attorney General William Barr to get to the bottom of what started the whole Russia probe. And he's given him vast powers to do so and declassified almost every document he needs to make sure he can -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right. They're calling Ben Carson all sorts of names.

And we started wondering. This is the same guy who was a brilliant surgeon, separated conjoined twins. And, all of a sudden, he doesn't measure up?

After this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I declassified everything, everything they want. I put it under the auspices of the attorney general. He's going to be a judge of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: All right, the president giving his attorney general vast, sweeping power to get to the bottom of how the Russia probe started in the first place.

Democrats coming out and just saying, he won't let go. This is a waste of time.

Former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky on all of this.

Andrew, good to have you back.

ANDREW CHERKASKY, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Could to be here.

CAVUTO: So what happens now? I mean, when you -- when you declassify a lot of documents, where is this going? In other words, what is likely being declassified? Where is the attorney general or the lawyer looking into this going to go?

CHERKASKY: Well, how can anybody complain about transparency?

What the president is doing is absolutely his legal right, as the classification authority, the top authority. Where there isn't a national security interest, he's trying to give that visibility to prosecutors and ultimately the public to understand what happened.

It has to be investigated. I mean, we have an internal government agency investigating a political opponent. The question of how that happened and how a court approved the subpoenas to do so, I think that's a valid question to ask.

And Mr. Trump wants to put that into the public's eye.

CAVUTO: Well, you are right to bring up the double standard here.

I mean, Democrats were demanding the entire Mueller report when it came out, and all in the name of transparency, not so when it comes to this. So it's a valid point.

One of the things that has come up, though, Andrew, in this whole pursuit is, what do we find out if this was more than a report based on a now disputed and pretty much trashed dossier, that there might have been other stuff that we didn't know? Would Republicans regret that, that other stuff came to light?

CHERKASKY: You always have to be careful what you -- what you ask for.

Once you start turning over rocks, you may get something that you don't want to actually find. But what we have here is something we see quite often in criminal justice. We see investigators start an investigation based on shoddy information or information that wasn't reliable originally.

What we're doing in this case is really taking a deep dive to see if it went too far, if it should have stopped, and if there should have been somebody who stopped that process.

CAVUTO: When we look about where this ultimately goes, is it your sense that anything will change? In other words, all right, we find out more that it was based on specious grounds. Democrats will just say that it really wasn't. Republicans say, so there.

What in the end does this all mean?

CHERKASKY: Neil, I think that, at the end of the day, what's really going on here may be some hurt feelings on the part of the president, because what I see, as an insider in the federal justice system, is that investigations take place all of the time based on really shoddy information.

And unless we're going to do a total overhaul of how we work with our justice system to essentially start an investigation, I think that this is going to be a lot of a political battle and not something from a legal perspective.

CAVUTO: Do you think there are people who are genuinely afraid of what might come out?

CHERKASKY: I think that there are perhaps some people, especially anyone who took efforts to turn a blind eye, so to speak.

I have seen some investigators over the years. Now, the top people that we have at the FBI and the DOJ, they typically are not those sorts of folks. They are not often driven by those sort of politics.

CAVUTO: All right.

Andrew, well put. Good seeing you, Andrew Cherkasky, joining us out of California.

Well, you know, it is rare if you see Ben Carson getting upset. In my brief exchange with him, I think I saw it -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JENNIFER WEXTON, D-VA: And can you assure this committee that you will not make any -- that HUD doesn't have any current or future plans to eliminate the equal access rule during -- in rule-making?

BEN CARSON, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY: I'm not going to say what we will do in the future about anything. We don't know what we're going to do in the future.

WEXTON: Are you currently anticipating doing that?

CARSON: I'm not currently anticipating changing the rule.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: Well, something happened after that exchange between the Democratic congresswoman, Jennifer Wexton, and the HUD secretary, Ben Carson, because, the very next day, HUD did indeed propose a rule that would change protections for transgender homeless women in federally funded shelters.

Now the congresswoman is calling for him to resign, saying he lied.

Secretary Carson joining me earlier today on FBN, "Coast to Coast," to respond to that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAVUTO: She says you lied, Secretary. What do you say?

CARSON: I don't think so.

The rule from 2012 is not in any way being altered. The rule for 2016 has had some additions made to it. But it appeared to me that she was asking whether we were going to eliminate the prohibitions against discrimination against the LGBTQ community.

And we would never do that. I wonder what she would say if she knew how much I have had to resist people who wanted the rule taken down altogether.

CAVUTO: So what -- maybe you can just -- it went sidetracked, in a relatively arcane area too many who follow HUD policies on areas, that this was deemed to be anti-LGBT. Can you just answer that? How do you describe it?

CARSON: The rule is to prevent discrimination against LGBTQ.

And, of course, we would never take that down, or I wouldn't, not during the time that I'm here, even though there is a lot of pressure to do so.

I think we have to be fair to everybody. But being fair to everybody means exactly that. It doesn't mean that you take one group and let their rights supersede other groups.

So, we try to be extraordinarily fair. And that's why we're opening things up to public comment. We're looking at having a forum at HUD where we invite the various stakeholders in, LGBTQ community, as well as shelter providers, as well as people who take advantage of the shelters and a whole group of others.

And I want all of them to be able to express to each other what their concerns are, before we make any definitive rule alterations.

CAVUTO: You know, you had described, sir, as having difficulty hearing during the back and forth with some congressional members.

At one point in this hearing, the word Oreo, which when I believe one of the congresspeople questioning was saying it was the acronym REO, REO, which stands for Real Estate Owned. And you said you just misheard her.

She's not buying it, says that you were ill-prepared for it. And that -- this is Jennifer Wexton saying that: "The secretary lied to me and to Congress, lied again when he called me to clarify his testimony. He's proven himself to be deceitful and inept as HUD secretary. He should resign."

What did you think of that?

CARSON: I think we have reached a very sad point in our country, where a hearing that is supposed to be about what the policies are becomes just attack, attack, attack, not really being very interested in what the answers are.

And I hope we can move beyond that and really deal with the issues.

As far as REO, is concerned, REO, it used to be a very common thing. We used to have over 65,000 properties 10 years ago. We're down to 6,500. I can honestly say no one has ever used that term since I have been at HUD.

But I know what they are just from having grown up in Detroit. And there were a lot of properties.

CAVUTO: Was she -- do you think, was she trying to trap you? Is that what you're saying?

CARSON: I'm not sure what she was trying to do. But if she wanted an answer in terms of why the rates are somewhat higher for FHA properties than they are with the GSEs, that's because they take on higher risk customers.

CAVUTO: So, let me get your -- when you took on this job, there was a sentiment -- obviously, you're a world-renowned surgeon, people who don't know your past, and impeccable credentials. You have done unprecedented surgeries, separating conjoined twins that have put you in the history books.

And when your basic intelligence is being questioned, at some level, that's got to tick you off.

CARSON: Well, it probably would.

But, for me, it's really not about me. It's about what we're called to do. I want to change this agency from one that just harbors people to one that puts people on a trajectory to success, recognizing that our people are our most valuable resource.

And if we don't develop them appropriately, we will not be able to compete in the world in the future. So I know that I'm going to be attacked a lot just because I'm in this administration and I'm with Trump.

And I know people won't look back over your life and the things that you have done. They just want to destroy. But that's OK. I expected that. I fully expected that, knew that was coming.

I probably should be a little more prepared in these hearings for just hostility and attacks. My general modus operandi is, you be nice and respectful to them, they will be nice and respectful to you.

That obviously doesn't work in this particular setting. Maybe some adjustments need to be made. But we will always continue to try to do what is right for the people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAVUTO: All right, Ben Carson.

When we come back: Whitney Houston is long gone. But would you go to a Whitney Houston concert that featured her hologram? And would you pay a lot for the privilege?

After this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, well, don't laugh. Now you will be able to dance with Whitney Houston.

The late singer's estate is announcing a forthcoming hologram tour of the singer. So would you go?

"Your World" audio technician and author of "Blood in the Streets" Dion Baia. We have got entrepreneur Michael Parrish DuDell, and last, but not least, social media strategist Kris Ruby.

Kris, would you go?

KRIS RUBY, RUBY MEDIA GROUP: Would I go?

No, I wouldn't go to this. It's not...

CAVUTO: You're not a fan of her music, or...

RUBY: No, I think it's interesting.

Listen, I think, in terms of the hologram, we have seen this happen before, but nothing's really accelerated with it. So I think there's a lot of interesting opportunities for hologram type experiences, from a B2B marketing perspective.

But to watch a concert for this? I'm not so into it.

DION BAIA, CORRESPONDENT: I do feel like it's a niche thing, but I think it's - - it could be fun. It could be like, instead of seeing a Sinatra impersonator singing like strangers in the night, like, you're going to have him...

(CROSSTALK)

MICHAEL PARRISH DUDELL, ENTREPRENEUR: It's impersonator of the century.

BAIA: It's kind of like going to Disney and seeing the presidents, animatronic presidents. It's the newer kind of a concept where they did it with Michael Jackson.

(CROSSTALK)

RUBY: It's kind of bold. They tried this with Tupac. The last time it happened really was with Tupac, right?

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: But then how do you keep a whole concert going? It's not just a single song, right?

(CROSSTALK)

BAIA: You have to go -- and how do you make it a traveling show, to go like a Vaudeville act from town to town?

CAVUTO: Yes.

DUDELL: There's no doubt that experience is something that millennial consumers, younger consumers, are dying for. It's not just about going to a movie or going to a concert.

They want it to feel like a bigger thing. And this has some cachet to it.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: I agree with you, because I remember when they did this with the Michael Jackson, a song. And it was at Radio City Musical Hall, and it was a hologram.

(CROSSTALK)

BAIA: I think one of the presidential candidates is doing this. He showed -- he danced.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: But that was so stunningly real. And it was a new song.

(CROSSTALK)

RUBY: It's not only millennial consumers, though, right?

I think there's a big opportunity. This could be very disruptive even in the hospitality industry as well. We have seen different hotel concierge services now using the hologram.

DUDELL: Yes.

I mean, I think if there's a market for it, if people love the star, they love the music, they love the catalog, they're going to go.

Am I going to go watch a hologram dance around, even if I like them? Probably not.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: It's permanent jobs security, that I kick off, a hologram does the broadcast. Probably gets better ratings.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: You know what I mean?

(CROSSTALK)

DUDELL: It's your legacy forever

CAVUTO: My legacy forever. People would watch it. All right.

In the meantime, the trailer for "Terminator: Dark Fate" is out. Many fans, i.e., Dion, are complaining over the special effects.

Now, this one, they ran right by me. Dion did. And he just said, just tell him it's a great idea.

Dion, why is this a big deal?

BAIA: I'm just making the observation. I'm not necessarily complaining.

What happened is, "Terminator," the franchise, set the rMDNM_bar.

CAVUTO: Right.

BAIA: "Terminator 2" came out, 1991. It showed that CGI could be used to propel a story, not just be a niche thing. Without "Terminator 2," you wouldn't have had "Jurassic Park," movies like "Titanic."

CAVUTO: Understood.

BAIA: Nowadays, it seems like we have hit a wall, where none of this is really progressing.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: So, what was wrong with the promo for the sequel?

BAIA: It just doesn't -- it looks like the same thing we're seeing in all these other kind of -- it doesn't seem like it's breaking any new ground.

CAVUTO: You guys agree?

DUDELL: It just looks like I'm watching a video game.

All I hear is like, dun, dun.

(CROSSTALK)

RUBY: I feel like they're way more into this than I am. Like, we have talked about this one.

DUDELL: I'm neutral.

(CROSSTALK)

RUBY: I'm not lining up to see "The Terminator."

CAVUTO: You guys weren't even alive in 1991.

(CROSSTALK)

BAIA: Well, you take a movie like John Carpenter's "The Thing" from 1982. It still holds up because it was all practical effects, stuff done on set, where a lot of these...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: So, now you're not going to see this?

BAIA: Well, they're forgettable. In 30 years...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: All right, but you're not going to see this?

BAIA: That's the thing. The other argument there is the paradox. They don't care if it's a good movie. It'll make the money.

(CROSSTALK)

DUDELL: Dion is passionate about it.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: You know what? I was wrong. I was wrong.

(CROSSTALK)

BAIA: Next question.

CAVUTO: All right, now, Amazon is reportedly working on a voice-activated wearable device that can read your emotions, your emotional state.

DUDELL: First of all, creepy, creepy, creepy.

CAVUTO: Very creepy.

(CROSSTALK)

DUDELL: I know you have a strong opinion about this.

RUBY: OK.

DUDELL: The thing about this is, is that -- why I don't like it is that they are marketing it as a health and wellness product, when we all know what it really is, is an aid for them to get better and better at understanding the consumer and selling to...

(CROSSTALK)

BAIA: That is true.

(CROSSTALK)

RUBY: If you better understand the consumer, you can also better advertise and market to that consumer, right?

DUDELL: I don't think that is necessarily a good thing.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: But it's Alexa now doing more than we ever wanted Alexa to do.

RUBY: True, but let me tell you why I think this is great.

I think, from a mental health perspective, if you have something like this that they're coming out with that can help people moderate their emotions, if you have a mood disorder, if you have any issues at all, this can help with...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: But how can a device like this monitor it?

BAIA: But it's so pervasive, because, as you're saying, they're going to underhandedly take all this, gather -- it's going to go toward making a new HAL-9000, where you're talking to your...

(CROSSTALK)

RUBY: What about all these apps where it's like a therapist on demand through an app? They're taking your data too.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: I think it's very intrusive, very intrusive.

DUDELL: It is.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: We know how Dion feels when he sees a movie promo. We don't need advice.

(CROSSTALK)

RUBY: What if this could calm you down? This could really...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: By the way, what happens? Does the device say, you have got to calm down?

DUDELL: Yes. You have got to relax. Probably.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Did you guys know, when it says you haven't done your 10,000 steps, it says you have to do them in a day?

I thought you had a week.

BAIA: Yes. Yes.

DUDELL: Well, I saw that there was a device -- I think this was in China. You can put it in -- your phone in the device, and it goes dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun.

CAVUTO: Really?

DUDELL: It makes your step counts up, because you get lower insurance.

CAVUTO: No, my phone just says, do you want to die?

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

DUDELL: You're ready to go. This is the time.

BAIA: It is weird, because it is propelling in 30 years what is...

CAVUTO: OK.

BAIA: Just be quiet. I get it. I know your cues.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

BAIA: OK. We got to go.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: All right, the president is on his way to Japan as we speak.

See, it's already lecturing me.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: After this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, President Trump is on his way to Japan. It's going to be a four-day visit. Then he goes back at the end of next month for the G20 summit. He's going to be a busy global traveler.

Kevin Corke live at the White House with more -- Kevin.

KEVIN CORKE, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Time for me to pick up some miles, my brother.

You're right. This is the first trip over the next several weeks. The president's going to be going to Japan and making his way to Europe as well. No doubt, each trip will likely move the market.

Let me tell you what he said about it on Twitter, Neil, not terribly long ago, the president talking about this new trip to Japan.

By the way, he will go back there just about a month from now. He said: "Departed the White House, am now on Air Force One with the first lady heading to Japan and looking forward to honoring on behalf of the U.S. His Majesty, the emperor of Japan. We will also be discussing trade and military with my friend Prime Minister Shinzo Abe."

Also a bit of golf in for the two leaders in the offing. Now, before leaving for Tokyo, Mr. Trump was eager to talk about his decision to declassify material related to the Russia probe, tasking the A.G., Bill Barr, with the job of doling out to the public that which he sees fit.

Now, you no doubt saw the memo late last night, Neil. It said, among other things, from Sarah Sanders: "Today's action will help ensure that all Americans learn the truth about the events that occurred and the actions that were taken during the last presidential election."

That, of course, in line with what the president has been saying for quite some time. He's called it a hoax. And we will find out why as we look at all that material which will be coming out, Neil, in the days, months, and weeks ahead -- in the meantime, back to you.

Have a great weekend, my friend.

CAVUTO: All right, thank you very, very much, my friend, Kevin Corke in Washington.

Let not forget, in the middle of the barbecues and all the celebrations, what this weekend is for, to remember those who put their lives on the line for us.

Because of them, I'm able to read a prompter, and some of us can just have fun, many of them long gone.

"The Five" is now.

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