live this morning. and we are also going to take you live to italy. take a look at this live picture. that is the costa concordia. overnight they were finally able to right this massive ship. the images just stunning. what is next? we'll get that coming up. but first, let's get straight back to chris in washington. chris? >> thank you, kate. as i was saying, there is new leading to new questions about the man police say is responsible for the deadly shooting here at the navy yard. two big questions we're tracking at this hour, how this man got clearance and the ability to smuggle at least one weapon into a security facility and then, of course, the biggest question of all. what motivated this attack. the suspect does not as yet fit the description of past mass shooters. there have been seven mass shootings, killing ten or more

people in the past decade. here we can't say yet that there was a stated agenda, grudge or illness driving his actions. here's what we do know. the shooter had been arrested more than once in the past for incidents involving guns. he was discharged from the navy reserves in 2011 due to a pattern of misconduct. all this raises red flags about how the shooter got clearance to enter the facility as a military subcontractor. we've learned no military personnel were killed in the attack. authorities say the 12 people who lost their lives were all civilians or contractors. like the shooter. so far they've identified seven of the 12 killed at the navy yard, their ages range between 46 and 73 years old. they were mothers, fathers, grandparents and all of them were taken too soon. monday morning, chaos and fear in the nation's capital after a

gunman opens fire at the heavily secured washington navy yard. less than three miles from the white house. two miles from the capital. >> multiple shots fired, multiple people down. >> reporter: the death toll rising by the hour, at least 13 killed, 8 more injured. the rampage now appearing to be the work of a lone gunman whom the fbi identified as 34-year-old aaron alexis. an i.t. contractor and former navy reservist. alexis dies in a gun battle with police inside the complex. the frightening events unfolding minute by minute. 8:20 a.m., frantic calls begin pouring into 911 moments after shots fired. >> we were just standing here maybe three feet away having a conversation. we heard two more gunshots. >> reporter: the gunman entered building 197 of the navy yard with an active military contractor i.d. and security clearance. alexis begins firing from a

fourth floor balcony on to office workers in the atrium below. >> we have a third individual who just arrive who had had a gunshot wound to the head and hand. >> reporter: within minutes, metropolitan police, u.s. capital police and the fbi swarmed the area. >> we have an officer down. >> reporter: by 9:3033 a.m., ambulances and helicopters descend upon the scene, rushing victims to local hospitals. schools near the navy yard locked down. .senate side of the capital closed. and air traffic at reagan national airport grounded so it would not interfere with law enforcement choppers. >> everyone said, this is no drill. go, go, go, emergency exits now. go, go, go. >> reporter: just before 10:00 a.m., president obama is briefed in the oval office. three hours after the shooting spree begins, law enforcement officials confirm the gunman shot and killed. president obama lamenting yet another mass shooting. >> these are men and women who were going to work, doing their job, protecting all of us.

>> reporter: the president orders flags belowered to half-staff to honor the victims. monday's rampage at the navy yard is the deadliest shooting on a military installation in the u.s. since ft. hood in 2009. one by one, thoughs of employees are allowed to leave their offices on base, many spending hours hiding and waiting for the carnage to end, then cleared by police. the stories of the fear of the unknown that these people dealt with coming out, we were hearing them all night. it was just horrible. of course, there's never been a good reason for one of these attacks, but knowing why they occur is an important part to preventing more in the future. and here, a picture is only starting to develop that reveals this gunman has a troubled man. a violent past, history of emotional problems, in part, stemming from an attachment to the horror of 9/11. cnn's pamela brown is following

all that for us. >> reporter: chris, we do know, we've learned from officials that he suffered mental health issues and even though a picture is emerging we don't know exactly why yet. what the motive could be. we have learned cnn has learned that he was an employee of a company called the experts, a subcontractor of hewlett-pack d hewlett-packard, that refreshed equipment for the navy corps. his friends and family we've spoken to say they are shocked by this, that he could carry out such an attack. but we still have a lot of unanswered questions. >> reporter: law enforcement officials say 34-year-old i.t. subcontractor aaron alexis entered navy yard building 197 legally with a valid military-issued i.d. and an inten to kill. armed with an ar-15, a semiautomatic glock and a rifle. >> we are doing everything we can to learn about his recent

movements, his contacts and associates. >> reporter: a picture is emerging of a complicated man, at times quiet and polite who spoke several languages and worshipped at this buddhist temple. >> he was a very good natured guy. it seemed like he wanted to get more out of life. >> reporter: other times he could be explosively angry. >> he might be angry sometimes but i don't believe that he's going to kill others. >> reporter: alexis was born in queens, norg, joined the navy as a reservist in may 2007. according to pentagon officials he was discharged in 2011, following a, quote, pattern of misconduct. while it's unclear what that misconduct was, he did have several run ri-ins with the law. his father said his son was suffering ptsd after helping post-9/11 rescue efforts at ground zero.

in 2008, cited and briefly jailed for disturbing peace in georgia and arrested again in 2010 for discharging a begun in public in ft. worth, texas, where he lived until recently. alexis had been staying at this hotel, not far from the navy yard since last week and the law enforcement source tells cnn alexis recently purchased one of the guns used in the shooting at a gun store in virginia. he also passed two security clearances last september and this past july before starting work at the navy yard. his violent rampage has left his family devastated. >> it's very hurtful. the hearts are going out more to the victims, the people that got hurt. more lives lost. we don't need that right now. >> obviously the attention is on the victims but we are trying to understand more about why this happened. it's a very fluid investigation. there's curiosity about the weapons involved. what's the latest? the information has been changing. >> officials are investigating what weapons he brought in with

him and what weapons he may have acquired on the scene. there's questions about whether he was armed with an ar-15. officials do believe he came in with at least a shotgun. still, a lot of, you know, officials are still trying to chase down and figure out exactly what weapons he had on him. right now evidence recovery teams are on the scenes processing the information. we should learn more soon. >> it's important because it gives focus to what he was doing leading in the days up to this. also how he got in, what he was able to carry in with him and there are questions and suggestions about what was going on in his head and heart in the days and weeks preceding this. >> that's right. officials i spoke with said they are looking at his mental health history. we know from his father, he suffered from ptsd after 9/11. there are indications that he could have suffered other mental health issues. we're still trying to gather facts about that. >> he himself reportedly told police that he had emotional

problems because of 9/11. >> that's right. >> a lot of questions to track down. i know you've been working all night, i've been watching you do it. thank you. we'll get more as we get it throughout the morning. pamela, appreciate it. obviously these questions are unhatting investigators, most of all as they look for a motive. they're asking for anyone with information to come forward. they're talking to people who knew the shooter best, friends who worked closely with him in a ft. worth, texas restaurant have come forward. joining us is one of those friends, christy, can you hear me? >> yes, sir, i can. can you hear me? >> all right. thank you. i can. thank you for joining us this morning. i can hear you. >> you're welcome. >> let's start with the obvious here. this situation obviously does not square with your understanding of this shooter. tell us about the man you knew. >> first of all, i just want to say prayers are going out to the

victims and the families and everyone affected. i'm so sorry that that happened. aaron was a very polite, friendly man. i got to know him two years ago when he first started helping out at the restaurant. he had an excitement for life, learning thai, getting involved with the community, the buddhist temple down the road. first we got to know him as a waiter. it wasn't until i started dating my husband, the owner of the restaurant, in spring of 2012 that i got to know aaron more. one of the things he talked about was 9/11 and how he was there and he saw the towers come down from where he was working. i don't know at the time where he was. but he just cannot believe, he and his co-workers at the time were just in shock and disbelief like all americans, that the twin towers were there. he had an anger towards the

terrorists who did that and took innocent people. i'm just really sad that first of all aaron's gone but the 12 people that he took down 12 people, too, with him. and because -- i mean he was a buddhist. buddhists, apparently it's a peaceful religion. on top of that, he expressed the anger and hurt like all americans at why terrorists would take down innocent people. it was very confusing. i got to know him more over the past year, because i ended up moving in with a family, and they came with us. everything was great, we got along really well. i had come home and gone to sleep and my husband later said at the time he said did you hear that? i was like, what? you didn't hear the gun go off this morning? apparently aaron was in his run cleaning his gun and the gun

went off and aaron was freaking out. he came out of his room as did my husband. and aaron was just like terrified, mortified that the gun went off. and was afraid that someone might have gotten hurt or something. and thankful that no one got hurt. but i had no problems up until then. that was one separated incident. my husband and my husband's family knew him for -- >> christy -- >> like two 1/2 years. >> yes, sir. >> as we get closer to the events that unfolded yesterday, in your mind, do you have any recollection of anything that seemed to change in him, anything that he was struggling with, anything that might help explain how he would arrive at the decision to do something so horrible? >> what i can tell you, he went to japan. he was sent on the contractor's job to japan for a month.

that was from november to december. and he got back and he felt very slighted about his benefits at the time, financial issues, he wasn't getting paid on time. he wasn't getting paid what he was supposed to be getting paid. his point of contact wasn't able to clearly explain to him what was going on and why his benefits were so messed up at the time. i know he expressed a lot of frustration and a lot towards that. that's when i first started hearing statements about how he wanted to move out of america. he was frustrated with the government and how as a veteran he didn't feel like he wassette gooding treated right or fairly. i know he also talked about just wanting to change a different job and -- but then he couldn't because his car was in the shop. that was another issue. it was in the shop the whole

time he was in japan. then it took another two or three months, then it still didn't get fixed. then we had another incident at the house with fleas and the pets. who doesn't. he started taking food that was mine. i would address him at certain times about this and he'd be like, oh, that was yours? i'm sorry. it wasn't a lot of food, one or two items here and there. i told him anyway -- he had actually -- sorry. go ahead. i just started to notice the change in personality with him there. >> i get it. christy, i'm sorry, there's been a delay with the communication system here but i appreciate you so much giving us insight. >> i have one more event to tell you about real quick. >> what is it, please? >> back when he moved out in

july, right before that happened, for july 4th we left our brand new car in the garage. the garage was closed. he's the only one that has access to it. and we noticed the next day that our car wouldn't work. we had to get it towed. apparently honda said someone had put sugar in the gas tank. there was only one person that had access to our garage that was still living with us. we had a fence that was locked. we had to file a report that we think he did that, that he put the sugar in the tank. he's the only one that could have done that. i didn't understand why. i still wanted to give him the -- i just was in denial that he would have done that because he was so polite. up until recently he started having issues with us and me nagging him about him owing me money still. it was still such a shock to us this morning that he would have done something of this magnitude. >> christy? >> yes, sir. >> it has to be and i'm sorry

for you to experience it this way, thank you for shedding light on who this man was and what may have been going wrong inside of him. we appreciate it very much. thank you. obviously there's a lot of fascination with who this shooter was and most importantly how he was able to do this. the real focus here is on the victims. so far, seven of the 12 killed at the navy yard have been identified. cnn's renee marsh is joining us with that. we want to make sure we give dignity and respect to the people who lost their lives. >> reporter: chris, it's really surreal when you step back and look at this big picture here. these 12 victims left home on a monday morning headed for work. they had no way of knowing this was going to be their last day alive. their families had no way of knowing they would never see them again. just late last night, we got 7 of the 12 victims names. michael arnold, 59 years old.

sylvia frasier, 53 years old. kathy gaarde, 62. kenneth bernard proctor, 46. john roger johnson, 73. frank kohler, 50. vishnu pandit, 61. "the washington post" reporting this morning, arthur daniels, 51 years old. the youngest, 46, the oldest 73. we know at this point at least one of them lived right here in washington, d.c. last night as of last night they were still in the process of notifying families. it won't be until those other five families are notified that we get the other five names. but aside from the people who passed away, you also have the eight people who were injured, chris. >> a lot of that is developing. there's so many people there, numbers of who were injured and how, still unclear. obviously we're trying to give the families their space to heal and deal with this most terrible information because these were

fathers, mothers, people who had loved ones and children. we'll learn more in the coming days. >> they will be honored today. defense secretary chuck hagel will be laying a wreath at the u.s. naval memorial in their honor. >> what's most important to remember, the lives that were taken. we'll have more with talking to people who survived as we piece together the clues that were coming out, about the man who did this shooting, how he was able to get in with a weapon and why he thought this was a way to end his own life. back to you. >> thank you so much, chris. so many questions still unanswered, of course. we get right back to washington. there's a lot of news developing at this very hour. michaela. let's take a look at the headlines making news within hours of that shooting at the washington navy yard. loud pops which initially sounded like gunshots sent people scrambling from the north lawn of the white house. it turns out the man allegedly

threw fireworks over the north lawn fence. he was arrested. no one was injured. overwhelming and indisputable evidence that sarin nerve gas was used in syria. ban ki-moon not speculating on who launched the attack. tensions escalating between syria and turkey. turkey saying it shot down a syrian helicopter monday. the hull of the "costa concordia" now sitting completely upright in italy. look at these incredible pictures showing the damage to that ship. it took 19 hours to raise the ship from its side where it capsized in january of last year, killing 32 people. the bodies of 2 people were never recovered and are believed to be in or near the wreckage.

some spectacular video to show you overnight. raging flames in texas after several salt water disposal tanks caught fire. cnn affiliate kwes says lightning struck when stormy weather rolled through the region. it took fire crews about three hours to put those flames out. finally, emotions certainly running high during the season premiere of "dancing with the stars" because of this extraordinary lady, actress valerie harper who was diagnosed with terminal cancer received a standing ovation before she even danced. her debut performance was a fox trot. she's pretty light on her feet. afterward she said it's good to be alive and even better to be dancing. a tremendous inspiration. >> can sure use that infectious smile today. >> she looks absolutely beautiful. >> thanks.

coming up on "new day," a break in the weather helping rescuers in colorado getting to people completely cut off for days. is more relief on the way? we'll have the live details coming up. plus, much more on the deadly shooting rampage at the washington navy yard. we'll hear the dramatic stories of two survivors. >> after we came outside, people were climbing the walls trying to get out over the walls to get out of the spaces. it was just crazy. kathy gard.

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welcome back to "new day." eight people confirmed dead in

colorado, 648 remain missing or unaccounted for. finally, though, mother nature giving rescue workers a much-needed break, allowing them to search for people who have been stranded and cut off for days. cnn's george howell has the latest from colorado this morning. you've been following it from the beginning, george. how's it looking this morning? >> i'm sure you can see here, this river still rushing. just a few days ago from where i'm standing right now, i would have been under water. so fair to say the floodwaters are starting to recede. we're starting to see the number unaccounted for slowly go down. people are returning to their homes to see what's left. >> new images emerged overnight. choppers once again taking to the sky, evacuating at least 100 people. emergency response out in full force. searching homes, a desperate search for anyone still stranded in the mountains or unaccounted for. following colorado's deadly

flash floods. >> some areas in larimer county experienced a 100-year flood, others experienced a 1,000-year flood. >> reporter: this is what the region looked like from space, just days before, compared to this image taken after the massive flood that inundated northern and eastern colorado. returning to a devastated community. residents in longmont seeing their homes for the first time since thursday no longer habitable. >> it's ruined. the basement is gone and it stinks so bad in there, you can barely stand it. >> reporter: jeff larson's wife, nina watched as their suv was swept away by rushing water. >> i watched it being swept down the road. our basement immediately started flooding. >> reporter: evacuated nine hours later, they consider themselves lucky. thick mud and water moved through lyons, shifting entire

homes from their foundation. this woman unable to reach her home on the other side of the river. in utter disbelief it was picked up and moved several feet. >> today is our first day up here since we've been evacuated. and i feel like it's worse than i thought it would be. we lost absolutely everything we own. >> reporter: when you look at this entire story, the past five days that we've covered here on "new day," some 12,000 people were forced to evacuate because of the storm system. just in the last day we know of some 250 people who were rescued in boulder county. kate, those rescues continue. >> hundreds of people unaccounted for, hopefully with a break in the weather that number will drop dramatically today. george, thank you very much. we'll talk to you later in the show. let's get straight to indra petersons with the latest forecast and what they can expect in colorado. >> it's amazing the amount of

records they've broke. getting a breather today but it's not going to say that way. they broke the record for the most amount of rain in a day, for the month of september, also in a year. another cold front makes its way into the pacific northwest. wednesday night through thursday. we will be seeing dry air behind that. all this rain has to go somewhere. that's going to be the concern. we'll be looking at major flooding spreading into places like nebraska where they didn't see the rain. now they're worried about that debris blocking the river and that flooding heading their direction. >> still coming their way. >> unfortunately. >> we'll get back to that later today. also coming up next on "new day," it took 19 long hours to get the "costa concordia" fully upright. take a look at this time lapsed video. an operation 20 months in the making. the question now, how do they get the massive ship out of the

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welcome back to "new day." it's tuesday, september 17th. we are live in washington at the naval yard, the site of that deadly shooting ram page. there is new information but

questions remain, how did a man with a history of run-ins with the law get access to this military facility? how did he manage to get at least one weapon inside? we'll take you through all of that. take a look at these live pictures of the "costa concordia." we want to show these to you. they're just incredible. 20 months after the cruise ship hit rocks after of giglio, italy. we'll have a report but let's get back to chris. we are following developments in the aftermath of a deadly shooting rampage at washington's naval yard. 13 people killed, including the alleged gunman. now known as the man you see on your screen, 34 years old. eight other people were injured but this very fluid situation, numbers may still change. what we know is it was an absolute day of horror, a story we've heard too many times. we talked with two survivors who

worked in the building where the shooting took place and were hiding out for their lives. it's a scene that's become all too familiar. reports of gunfire, panicked people rushing out of a building. countless stories of survival. witnesses of monday's shooting spree at washington's historic navy yard say the obvious. this was a day they'll never forget. >> it's kind of sobering. i mean, i can't fathom what drives people or what makes them do things like this. >> reporter: steve sykora is an i.t. specialist who works in building 197. he says he crossed paths with the shooter monday morning while taking a break outside of the office, a walk he doesn't normally take. >> how fast he went around the corner, the way he was dressed. you notice how you walk real fast when you're intent on doing something? it just seemed that way.

>> reporter: moments later, aaron alexis opened fire inside the building. how did he get the weapons in? >> yes, that's anybody's guess. i mean, i don't know. i was outside. when i passed him he didn't appear to have anything. i didn't see anything on him. but just that he right in that door. >> reporter: the incident leaving those that work there wondering if they've seen alexis before. >> the shooter's name, his face, ever hear it before, see it before? >> he's been around. he's been around. when she showed his face on tv, yeah, i know that guy, i've seen him around. >> reporter: because he does the same kind of work, i.t. contracting? >> yes. >> do you have any recollection of him, any memory at all. >> i've seen him around but nothing, you know, sitting here talking like you and i are. it was nothing like that. i just saw him. >> alba gonzalez is another survivor. she and co-workers locked

themselves in an office. in a room next door, she says someone they didn't know barricaded himself inside. >> when we called the office and the individual picked up, we asked him to identify himself and he just asked us, well, who is this? we identified ourselves and then he just hung up. >> that was the last communication you had. >> that was the last communication we had. >> the common thread monday survivors, their concern for those they work with and their loved ones. >> i hope that, you know, my friends and people that i know aren't among the fatalities and i get to see them again. >> and so far, we know the names of seven of those who lost their lives but there's information still to come in our hearts and minds go out to the people and families affected. it's important to note that this was a very long night once this became a crime scene. as the night progressed, investigators were processing the scene and people there until just about midnight, going over

accounts to figure out just what happened. we're doing the same this morning. let's bring in chris voss. he is a former fbi lead international kidnapping negotiator, was a member of the new york city join the terrorism task force. thank you for joining us, as always. >> good morning. >> you heard one of the survivors say he was purposeful, he did not see a weapon on him. what does that mean to you? >> the shooter rehearsed this in his mind and probably walked through it a few times physically ahead of time. he thought about a lot of things and how this would go down. for example, the reports he didn't say to anybody. he probably anticipated what he would do if somebody spoke to him. he wanted to make sure he did this, didn't want to speak to anybody at all. he came in focused, made sure he wasn't distracted. >> rehearsal could be consistent with his having made two trips inside. it's still developing theory about how he got the weapon in, what his pattern of events was.

the witness says i did not see a weapon on him. could he have been casing, reviewing? >> more than likely he was. >> now, the man also said he believes he had seen him before. that is a little inconsistent with information coming out from investigators, because he wasn't scheduled to start work yet, though he did have clearance. he did have the ability to go inside and you're saying that may have been skin the with preparation? >> right, yes. he absolutely would have probably walked through this. he walked through it in his mind and physically to know that it would happen the way that he wanted it to happen. >> what we understand about the configuration of the building. a large atrium hallway, that the shooter reportedly found a high vantage point. you're saying that makes sense strategically? >> absolutely. he would have wanted to make sure he accomplished his mission which led him on what he would have felt was a killing journey. that was the objective of his

killing journey. >> why is that such a good position? what did it enable him to do? >> tactically it gives him the opportunity to attack as many people as possible, keep him focused. it's also a defensive position for him to keep doing it. >> the important ingredients we don't have yet, what was going on in his mind in the days preceding this attack and figuring out how he got to this dark place. >> exactly. >> chris voss, thank you very much. >> thanks for having me on this morning. >> we're focusing on what's happening in the nation's capital and also out in colorado. there's other news as well. let's get to michaela pereira with all the top stories. d.c. already on edge, an arrest outside a white house gate, loud pops which initially sounded like gunshots sent people scrambling from the north lawn of the white house monday evening. a man allegedly threw fireworks over the north lawn againfence.

floodwaters have stranded some 20 people who live in a small commune in the southwestern new mexico. they have no electricity. in mogollon. transportation officials say they help to get parts of the road cleaned up in the next few days. jerry sandusky's challenge goes before a state appeals court in pennsylvania today. he wants a new trial. among the issues they're expected to tackle, a prosecutor improperly referenced the fact that sandusky didn't testify. and whether jury instructions were mishandled. investigators say last week's fire that engulfed dozens of businesses and the boardwalk along the jersey shore was an accident. we're expecting more specifics today. but it is believed the cause was electrical. the fire started in an ice cream stand, then spread and quickly got out of control. crews had spent months

rebuilding after superstorm sandy rolled through last october. police in austin, texas were caught on dash cam video picking up an unusual -- oh, yes, that's the suspect right there. that's a pot belly pig, my friends. kxan reports that officers spotted this pig wandering the streets of south austin. they did what they had to, picked up the pig, transported it to an animal shelter until its owner could claim it. police say the pig is not in any legal trouble. he might be in a little bit of heat for the mess he left in the back of the patrol car. >> not a day on the job those police officers will forget. >> i don't think you get trained for that. >> no, this was not in my job description. coming up next on "new day," a remarkable site in italy, a salvage crew raising the "costa concordia." a live report, just ahead. plus, the deadly shooting at

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welcome back to "new day." we are live at the navy yard in washington, d.c. the scene, of course, of monday's horrific shooting. as we learn more about the shooter involved here, one of the big questions remains unanswered. how did a man with a history of military misconduct and run-ins with the law walk on to a military base with clearance and find a way to get firearms atto go along with him. joining us now is former u.s. navy commander kurt liphold.

commander, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you for having me on, chris. >> you know some of the people involved and it gives you confidence we'll learn as much as possible. is that true? >> yes, one of the investigators previously investigated the embassy bombings as well as 9/11. you are getting the best and brightest that the fbi has to work on this case to figure out how it happened. >> let me try to put your mind and experience to some of the big questions here. the first one is how did this guy get military clearance to go on to a base like this after all of his run-ins, a pattern of misconduct that got him discharged. the event where he was arrested for mistakedly, we believe, discharging a firearm. how does someone like that get clearance? i think what you have to look at when somebody applies for a clearance and they look at it, whoever is hired to do that investigation, ultimately the

navy makes that determination, is they have to go through all of that. we are a nation that safeguards an individual's privacy. an individual's privacy is taken into consideration. what was he charged with versus what was he found guilty of? when you look at it in total, the fact that he was given the clearance, given these number of incidents should have been a red flag that we should have delved deeper into this individual. >> so you're saying he wasn't really charged with anything in these events. you knew he was arrested but those things can get missed in this process? >> absolutely. i think we'll do a thorough investigation to find out. the pattern of misconduct more than anything else is what concerns me. you have a documented case for this individual who misbehaved, the navy knew it but still when he got out, he was allowed to

get a clearance. people have to be asking why? i'm one of those who say if you make those kinds of mistakes early in life, you and you alone are responsible for those actions and consequences should result from those. >> the idea of how he was able to get a weapon inside, we're told they are armed guards, you need to have a card swipe. how do you get a weapon into a facility like that? >> immediately to your left you have the security desk, the armed guard right there. ahead of you are a series of turnstiles where you have to be able to swipe your badge to gain access. while i don't know and the investigation will tell, i believe it was at that point or even prior to going into the building, he knew that he would have to shoot his way in. this wasn't just a walk-in, announce yourself and think you could walk up to the third floor and start shooting people into the atrium area in the middle. i think he fought his way in and was killing people on his way to the third floor.

>> you're saying they are excellent investigators. if they find out he didn't shoot his way in and on top of what we know about getting clearance, there will be big questions about how money is spent and policy applied to keep these facilities safe. >> absolutely. at this point so say the sequester may have had a role in this is premature. i would advice people to this point, don't make that jump to conclusion. let the true professionals, navy criminal investigative surface do a thorough investigation. then we're really going to understand how did it happen, why did it happen? we need to do that first and foremost for the families that lost loved ones that are going to want answers into how their loved ones came to die. >> all important in keeping us safe and trying to prevent one of these incidents in the future. >> absolutely. >> kate, back to you. >> thank you. we'll continue our coverage in washington but we have this, coming up next on "new day," raising the "costa concordia." the capsized cruise ship is once again upright, a massive engineering effort off the

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welcome back to "new day," everyone. that you're looking at is the "costa concordia" cruise ship upright for the first time in 20 months. italian officials called the effort to pull the ship completely upright a perfect salvage operation. look at that time-lapsed video. cnn's matthew chance is live in italy with more on this unprecedented effort. good morning, matthew. >> reporter: good morning, kate. absolutely extraordinary, isn't it, to see the ship upright

after a salvage effort that was fraught with dangers but appears to have gone off without a hitch. these are the very first images of the "costa concordia," now upright after an unprecedented operation to lift the crippled cruise liner from its side. salvage crews worked through the night to hoist the 114,000 ton vessel, 20 months after it ran aground off the italian coast, killing 32 people. the new images reveal the severe damage, half the ship is mangled, a huge bend where it slammed against the rocks. >> it was a perfect operation, i would say. >> reporter: the operation took 19 hours in total. a team of engineers monitored every move as the ship emerged from the sea inch by inch. onlookers could measure the progress made by the line of scum embedded in the water logged "concordia's" side.

the efforts took much longer than expected, first delayed when an electrical storm battered the island. under water, a major milestone, the ship was finally wrenched free from the granite sea bed and moved on to six underwater steel platforms. after ten hours, the crippled ship edged upward by only 13 degrees. despite the painstakingly slow removal procedure, the people of giglio waking up, relieved that the deteriorating vehicle will soon be taken away. >> for the whole team it's fantastic. it worked just like they said it would work. it's time for a beer. >> the salvage teams working to stabilize the structure in preparation to take it away to be broken up.

they'll be looking for the two bodies of the two still unaccounted for. >> hopefully this 20-month nightmare will soon be coming to an end for everyone involved. coming up next on "new day," the latest on the deadly shooting rampage at the washington navy yard. what we're learning about the 12 victims. that's coming up. also, police want to know what motivated the suspect to open fire on thosen in the people. washington, d.c. mayor vincent gray will be joining us live.

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this morning, the navy yard shooting, breaking new details.

>> he aimed his gun at us and fired two or three shots. >> 12 innocent victims killed, 8 people injured. the shooter, dead. for several terrifying hours, a city on edge, gripped by fear. >> people were yelling close the doors, look the doors. we heard a very loud gunshot, close by. >> we're learning much more about the lone gunman, his sketchy past and criminal record. what drove him to commit such an unthinkable act? and the victims, their names just released, family men and women, just doing their jobs. >> we lost friends, we lost family, we lost co-workers. we're live in our nation's capital with all angles covered. your "new day" starts right now. >> good morning and welcome back to a special edition of "new day." i am live in the nation's capital on this wednesday, september 17th. and it is a somber morning, following a shooting rampage here at the washington navy

yard. this is a live look at the flag at half-staff at the white house and the capitol building. of course, honoring the 12 victims. so many questions this morning, surrounding the event. most importantly, why did the shooter do it, how did he get access to this building? we'll take you through everything we know at this hour. kate? >> thanks, chris. we're following the devastation out west, the horrific floods in colorado. the death toll now rising to eight. rescue operations are back under way with a break in the rain helping crews reach the hundreds of people still stranded. but the disaster is far from over this morning. we also have for you a cnn exclusive. pastor rick warren and his wife opening up to the media for the first time since their son committed suicide. what they told our piers morgan about the moment they founded it out he was gone. more on that straight ahead. first, let's get back to chris. this morning, the capital and the whole country is suffering reality of yet another

mass shooting. less than 24 hours ago, the washington navy yard was the scene of absolute terror. a gunman opened fire, killing 12 people, civilians and contractors beginning their day at the massive military compound. seven of the victims have been identified. they were mothers, fathers, grandparents, all ranging in age from 46 to 73. the rampage ended only when police gunned down the shooter. after some concern that there were multiple shooters, authorities announced the 34-year-old killed at the scene acted alone. the bigger question, of course, this morning, is why and how did this man get security clearance? monday morning, chaos and fear in the nation's capital after a gunman opens fire at the heavily secured washington navy yard. less than three miles from the white house. two miles from the capital. >> multiple shots fired, multiple people down. >> reporter: the death toll rising by the hour, at least 13

killed, 8 more injured. the rampage now appearing to be the work of a lone gunman whom the fbi identified as 34-year-old aaron alexis. an i.t. contractor and former navy reservist. alexis dies in a gun battle with police inside the complex. the frightening events unfolding minute by minute. 8:20 a.m., frantic calls begin pouring into 911 moments after shots fired. >> we were just standing here maybe three feet away having a conversation. we heard two more gunshots. and he went down and that's when i ran. >> reporter: the gunman entered building 197 of the navy yard with an active military contractor i.d. and security clearance. the fbi says alexis begins firing from a fourth floor balcony on to office workers in an atrium below, using a semiautomatic rifle. >> we have a third individual who just arrived who had a gunshot wound to the head and to the hand.

>> reporter: within minutes, metropolitan police, u.s. capital police and the fbi swarmed the area. >> we have an officer down. >> reporter: by 9:33 a.m., ambulances and helicopters descend upon the scene, rushing victims to local hospitals. schools near the navy yard locked down. the senate side of the capital closed. and air traffic at reagan national airport grounded so it would not interfere with law enforcement choppers. >> everyone said, this is no drill. go, go, go, emergency exits now. go, go, go. >> reporter: just before 10:00 a.m., president obama is briefed in the oval office. three hours after the shooting spree begins, law enforcement officials confirm the gunman shot and killed. president obama lamenting yet another mass shooting. >> these are men and women who were going to work, doing their job, protecting all of us. >> reporter: the president ordered flags be lowered to half-staff to honor the victims. monday's rampage at the navy yard is the deadliest shooting on a military installation in the u.s. since ft. hood in 2009.

which killed 13 and injured 30 others. one by one, thousands of employees are allowed to leave their offices on base, many spending hours hiding and waiting for the carnage to end, then cleared by police. our thoughts and prayers, of course, go out to the 12 people who lost their lives and families and all the people affected in building 197 and the whole facility yesterday. we gave them respect and attention that is due. of course, we also ask a lot of questions about the shooter involved, not for point of glorification but to help understand why this happened to prevent more attacks. finding out why it happened and how we can prevent it is all important. there is a picture developing of the man suspected of this shooting here. we know he was in the navy. we know that he was discharged for a pattern of misconduct. we know he had problems with the law involving violence. cnn's pamela brown has been

developing this picture for us. and one of the big ingredients, pamela, in all of the shootings we covered is there usually is a component of mental distress, whether it was diagnosed or undiagnosed. there's a chance we may be seeing that here as well. right? >> it appears, chris, he's had a history of mental health issues. in fact, law enforcement sources i've been in touch with say that aaron alexis has been in contact with two v.a. hospitals recently, believed to be for psychological issues. authorities investigating the circumstances around that right now. also we have learned he has had violent incidents in his past. in light of this information, this raises questions about how aaron alexis was able to gain legitimate access into the military installation and why he carried out the attack. law enforcement officials say 34-year-old i.t. subcontractor aaron alexis entered navy yard building 197 legally. but the valid military issued

i.d. and intent to kill. his motive, unknown. >> we are looking to learn everything we can about his recent movements. his contacts and associates. >> reporter: a picture is emerging of a complicated man, at times quiet and polite who spoke several languages and worshipped at this buddhist temple. >> it's incredible this is all happening because he was a good natured guy. it seemed like he wanted to get more out of life. >> reporter: other times he could be explosively angry. >> he might be angry sometimes but i don't believe that he's going to kill others. >> reporter: alexis was born in queens, new york, joined the navy as a reservist in may 2007. according to pentagon officials he was discharged in january 2011 following a, quote, pattern of misconduct. while it's unclear what that misconduct was, he did have several run-ins with the law. he was arrested in seattle in 2004 for shooting out the tires of another man's vehicles, described in the police report as an anger-fueled blackout.

his father said his son was suffering ptsd after helping post-9/11 rescue efforts at ground zero. in 2008, cited and briefly jailed for disturbing peace in georgia and arrested again in 2010 for discharging a gun in public in ft. worth, texas, where he lived until recently. never charged in that case. alexis had been staying at this hotel, not far from the navy yard since last week and the law enforcement source tells cnn alexis recently purchased one of the guns used in the shooting at a gun store in virginia. he also passed two security clearances last september and this past july before starting work at the navy yard. his violent rampage has left his family devastated. >> it's very hurtful. the hearts are going out more to the victims, the people that got hurt. because, you know, more lives lost. we don't need that right now. >> the big question regarding weapons right now is how he got it into the facility.

information has been fluid about the weapons involved. what do we know now? >> reporter: at this moment, officials are still trying to piece together what weapons were used, how he acquired him. three weapons were recovered at the scene. initially law enforcement thought he was armed with an ar-15. now it's believed he was armed with a shotgun and two semiautomatic pistols. officials are looking into whether they do believe he brought in the shotgun at least one weapon, the shotgun, and whether he acquired the two pistols from guards at the building. but, again, right now they're looking at all the information, trying to piece this together. it is fluid. >> not an easy scene to process, obviously. >> no. >> thank you for the reporting. appreciate it. everything we're learning about the suspect, about how he was able to be in trouble so often and yet get clearance of this level of military sophistication is a very troubling question. we want to talk about that this morning. again, we know that before he ever entered the navy that he

was allowed to enter, the navy, he had trouble with the law involving a weapon where he allegedly shoot out the tires of a car, then a pattern of misconduct while he was in the navy, and another arrest after. there's a lot on the table to understand how this man got clearance. we want to bring people in to talk about this. we have security analyst fran townsend in new york and cnn's chief national correspondent john king standing right next to me. thank you to both of you here. what do we understand from a clearance perspective. >> you'll have a congressional investigation into addition to the police investigation. pam just went through this. you have an incident of a gun incident in seattle, a gun incident while in the military, that's part of his discharge. potential mental health issues. the question is when somebody like this is discharged, when one of the gun incidents was part of the discharge, how does that get reported? how does that person who clearly has some issues get not only a government contracting job but a past that gives him all access

to this military installation and any military installation. most were based on the reporting, he showed up yesterday, drove up like anybody else would drive up, showed his card, pulled up, walked into the building and was part of a massacre. part of the question is, is security on military installations correct? and the vetting of these government contractors in which here's a seattle police report here. the incident happens, the police take him in but the prosecutor never takes it to the finish line. does that mean he can get access to guns? that's the line. after all these big incidents, there's a lot of warning signs but nobody ever acted. >> here you have a record of arrests, at least two of them and, fran, the military's own records of what his pattern of misconduct was that led to discharge. the question i give over to you is, this is about failed policy, failed practice? how do we explain how somebody with this kind of past gets allowed into the armed services

and gets military clearance at this level? >> normally in these instances, you look back, you don't see this pattern. i must say to you, we ought to remind our viewers that having a clearance and access is a privilege, not a right. you don't have to take it to the finish line, frankly. this all comes up in the clearance and vetting process. most of those clearance are processed by private contractors who were doing this on behalf of the government. then it goes to a government official to look at this. it mystifies me, we ought to be angry that this guy was able to get through that process, get the clearance and get the access that john and pamela have described to you. there really are lessons to be learned here. it's an absolute sort of travesty that this guy with this sort of history could make it through the process. i think it's inexcusable. >> all right. first thing is, this is a legitimate point of criticism that we're making here, right? we always want to be very careful about that, not to

speculate in the negativeness. fran, in your estimation this should not have happened the way policy is practiced? >> that's exactly right. the fbi has looked at these active shooter cases. they analyzed 160 cases, 96% of these act alone. most of them are -- over 90% are males. they often, more than half the time they end up dead, mostly by suicide or by a law enforcement killing. so we've got a decade of history with these. the biggest ones are the ones you've talked about. it's the ft. hood shooter, the sandy hook shooter, the shooter, loughner, who shot gabby giffords, the repetitive. we know the big ones. these happen and we understand most of them are at workplace or academic institutions. we have a history we can look at. but rarely do you see this sort of defined pattern of violent activity and we do have to ask the question, why didn't this trigger, in somebody, either the

clearance process or the government when they grant the clearance somebody's concern? >> right. usually the question is, well, why didn't this mental health issue get more attention? why was this person allowed to stay in the general population? this is different. this person was given special access to a special situation that is earned vetting. >> that is a difficult line when someone is having emotional difficults, when do you say they might be a risk, report it to police? but in this instance, there's a public record, all involving anger. his father is quoted, we don't know the particulars of this, in this police report saying he had some 9/11 ptsd issues. >> he talked about that as well, allegedly, that the suspect mentioned it to police. >> this is a public record you can find, you assume a government contractor and the military have easier access to

these than we do. we can find these in minutes. it was not hard to find these records. at what point is there at least -- you're innocent until proven guilty in america. but at what point does this go into a separate file. once he gets that military i.d. he can walk on to that base. number two, they weren't searching bags. number three, there will be questions now and the gun control debate will be reignited. if you have a government issued military i.d., that's an easy pass to buying a weapon. the government vetted you. easy. >> there's more definable politics involving in issue. we've had people say this is the sequester. this is trying to do things on the cheap that shouldn't be on on the cheap. this is private contractors vetting, not the government vetting. how real will this be going forward in terms of a political fix? >> both on the vetting issue and because of spending priorities have they reduced security

levels at installations like this. we have a mix of military personnel, contractors. you'll see a lot of congressional attention and public attention on both of those issues. and then the bigger question of, access, can anybody now -- post-9/11 as the years have passed have we dropped the level of scrutiny when you walk in with a card or a bag. >> john king, fran townsend, thank you very much for the perspective. we'll be coming back to you. appreciate it. obviously we're talking about shooter here. the real attention, of course, is on the 12 innocent people who lost their lives. they were mothers, they were fathers and just people ready to begin a day of work. seven of them have been identified. as this information is starting to come out. renee marsh is following this for us, trying to get a better understanding of who these people were and how their lives ended. >> just look around. today is dramatically different than yesterday.

you don't hear normal things, or the police cruisers zipping by. 7 of the 12 victim's names were released. we'll read them one by one. the first one, michael arnold, 59 wreerz old. sill korea frasier, 53 years old. kathy gaarde, 62. kenneth bernard proctor, 46. john roger johnson, 73. frank kohler, 50. vishnu pandit, 61. and "the washington post" this morning reporting arthur daniels, 51 years old. of course, there are five other victims. we don't have their names as yet. they're waiting to notify the family members. once that is done we'll get those other additional names. no time line on when that will happen. again, focus on the victims. later on this morning, about

three hours from now, we know that defense secretary chuck hagel will be laying a wreath at the u.s. navy memorial. >> the flags are at half-staff at the capitol and the white house, we know they're at half mast on navy buildings. we're deeping our distance, let the families heal. of course, our thoughts go out to the first responders. they took injuries in there as well and certainly kept the situation from becoming worse. thank you very much for the reporting this morning. kate, over to you. thank you so much. let's go across the country where we are following the other big story this morning, air rescue efforts have resumed in colorado where the death toll from massive flooding now stands at eight. helicopters were back in the sky monday rescuing stranded residents in several counties. hundreds are still awaiting rescue as food and water runs low in areas that have been cut off, for some for days by the floods. cnn's george howell is live in

longmont, colorado with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: i'm sure you can see the river here flowing behind me. to put it in perspective, from where i'm standing right now, i would have been standing in the river just a few days ago. fair to say, the floodwaters are receding. we're also seeing the number of unaccount for, slowly but surely go down and for the first time, people are returning to their homes to see what's left. new images emerged overnight. choppers once again taking to the sky, evacuating at least 100 people. emergency response out in full force, searching homes, a desperate search for anyone still stranded in the mountains or unaccounted for, following colorado's deadly flash floods. >> some areas experienced a 100-year flood. others experienced a 1,000-year flood, something that would happen every thousand years. >> this is what the region looked like from space, days before, compared to this image

taken after the massive flood that inundated northern and eastern colorado. returning to a devastated community. residents in longmont, seeing their homes for the first time since thursday no longer habitable. >> it's ruined. the basement is gone and it stinks so bad in there, you can barely stand it. >> reporter: jeff larson's wife, nina, watched as their suv was swept away by rushing water. >> we watched it float down the road and our basement immediately started flooding at that time. i took my son and his friend, wyatt and cole, we went to the third level with the belly boats. >> reporter: evacuated nine hours later, they consider themselves lucky. thick mud and water moved through lyons, shifting entire homes from their foundation. this woman unable to reach her home on the other side of the river. in utter disbelief that it was picked up and moved several feet. >> today is our favorite day up here since we've been evacuated. and i feel like it's worse than

i thought it would be. we lost absolutely everything we own. >> reporter: just yesterday alone, in boulder county, we know some 250 people who were rescued and when you look at the entire event over the last five days, officials say some 12,000 people, kate, were forced to evacuate. >> the numbers are just tough to even believe. the overall flood zone covering 17 counties in the state, just remarkable. we'll be covering it all. >> impressive. >> it sure is. let's get straight to indra petersons with the latest on what they can be expecting in colorado today. >> unbelievable as we talk about the break they need. they set records for not only the day, the month and the year for the amount of rain they received in boulder, they need this break. they're see more dry air pushing into the area. we are going to be carefully monitoring a cold front currently specifically in the northwest that is expecting to drop down wednesday night in through thursday. another chance of rain by

tomorrow. behind that, at least the rest of the week does look good. regardless, the damage is done. the water is there. the question now, where is this water expected to go? down the south platte river. that's the concern here, a lot of debris coulding in the water flow. will that jam up the progress down the river and produce even more flooding down river? >> clearly there's a lot of news. let's go to michaela pereira for the headlines. charges are pending against a man police say threw fire crackers toward the white house causing a scare in the hours after the navy yard shooting. law enforcement worked to rule out a possible second suspect in those navy yard shootings. north carolina officer charged with shooting an unarmed former college football player is expected in court today. in the mean tame, civil rights leaders say they want crime scene video made public.

police say officer randall caric fired 12 times at him saturday, 10 bullets hit and killed him. ferrell reportedly ran towards him as they responded to a break-in and 911 call. a philadelphia woman is accused of getting physical with a flight attendant before takeoff. now she's facing charges. sasha anderson threw her cell phone at the attendant, slapped and scratched him. she was taken off the plane and charged with among other things, simple assault and disorderly conduct. britain's prince harry chilling out to prepare for a charity expedition to the south pole. the prince and teammates from the walking with the wounded challenge spent 24 hours in a freezing weather simulator track pitsing hikes and putting up tents in the face of 60 mile-an-hour wind. that expedition is to raise money for injured british

service men and women. it will take place in november. katy perry responding to peta. her new video "roar" features pety with animals. perry responded with some help from the humane association, which she apparently had representatives during the shoot of that video. >> with that many animals she had to see that one coming. >> she must have. >> i'm sure somebody in her camp said this could be an issue. >> be prepared. the united nations says the evidence is clear, the chemical attacks in syria is a war crime. what will happen now. and police are looking for answers. what motivated the navy yard

shooting suspect aaron alexis to open fire in washington, d.c. mayor vincent gray will join us live. bny mellon wealth management has the vision and experience to look beyond the obvious. we'll uncover opportunities, find hidden risk, and make success a reality. bny mellon wealth management.

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weapons report last month did not assign responsibility. because of that, russian officials are saying this morning that syrian rebels could still be to blame for that assault. that's one reason why the white house cannot say its diplomatic efforts are victories just yet. >> before i begin -- >> reporter: it's a deal that could give president obama a way to avoid air streaks in syria. on monday he sounded optimistic, the latest attempt at diplomacy may pay off. >> we took an important step in that direction towards moving syria's chemical weapons under international control so they can be destroyed. and we're not there yet but if properly implemented, this agreement could end the threat these weapons pose not only to the syrian people but to the world. >> reporter: hammered out over the weekend between the u.s. and syria's closest ally, russia, the plan demands bashar al assad hand over his chemical weapons to international control.

syria's president has just a week to list what weapons he has, where they are and how they're made. to keep the pressure on, president obama says he's keeping the u.s. military at the ready if assad doesn't comply. a long-awaited report from the united nations confirmed monday what many suspected, that sarin gas mounted on rockets was used to kill more than a thousand syrians in august. u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon says the people responsible for the gas attack committed a war crime and must face justice. >> those perpetrators who have used chemical weapons or any of the weapons of mass destruction in the future will have to be brought to justice. this is a firm principle of the united nations. >> reporter: as for the white house, national security adviser susan rice said the u.n. chemical weapons report only reinforces the administration's view that syria's government is responsible for last month's attack. meanwhile, the next big test for

this u.s. russia plan will come later on this week when the syrian government has to account for chemical weapons stockpiles that will have a big impact on president obama's planned trip to the u.n. general assembly scheduled for next week. kate? >> the first real concrete answer if syria is serious about the negotiations and this deal. >> absolutely. >> jim, thank you very much. coming up next on "new day," the country is coping with the reality of another mass shooting. we'll talk with vincent gray about how his city is handling this tragedy. pastor rick warren and his wife, opening up about their son's suicide. what they told our piers morgan about the moment they found out he had died, coming up. [ jackie ] it's just so frustrating...

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welcome back to "new day." we are live in d.c. this morning. tuesday, september 17th. in front of the washington navy shipyard, the site of yesterday's shooting. 12 people dead, 8 injured in what amounts to the single deadliest event in washington, d.c. since the plane crash in 1982. how is the see coping with this tragedy? what do we know about the first responders? for great insight we have washington d.c.'s mayor, mr. vincent gray. thank you very much. >> glad to be here. >> we know there's a lot that went on inside. one of the things we heard was that the response from d.c. metro police and the security inside made air big difference. what do you know, mr. mayor? >> i think our first responders did a phenomenal job. our metropolitan police department, our fire and emergency medical services and working in partnership with the other first responders in the area, like the park police, for

example. and the fbi was involved as well. there's no question in my mind that they helped to save lives yesterday. >> moving forward, what do you want to make sure things with the victim's families and how they're dealt with in the community. >> i want to make sure they understand how important they are to us. it took us a while even to identify who all the victims were. i want to personally be in touch with every one of them. i know we were in touch with the white house all day yesterday. i know they deeply care about the people who were killed yesterday. we're going to do everything we can to make sure that these families understand what a sacrifice, what a commitment these people made. >> obviously there's a lot of care and concern going in to identifying the families, making sure they know before the names are released. >> as of last night we had seven families that were identified. when you include the shooter, there were 13 victims. 7 of the families had been

identified and then, of course, the balance remained to be identified. we wanted to make sure there was a personal engagement with the families. and that no one found out in the wrong way and that was to hear it in the media or some other fashion. >> this happens in your city. you want to know why. >> absolutely. >> when you start hearing that the man involved, the alleged shooter, that he had violence in his past before he got in the navy, he had problems in the navy that got him discharged and has another problem he gets military clearance that allows him to walk into that place and do what he did, your thoughts? >> it's hard to believe that someone with a record as checkered as this man could get clearance, credentials, to get on the base. i just met with the commandant of the washington naval yard last week. we know this is one of the most security facilities in the nation. so how this could happen is beyond belief. >> what's your best explanation

at this point? is this about some private contractor not doing their job well, is this about policy, money, what do you think? this is not a random event where you think could his mental health be better? this is about a process where he got the access that he shouldn't have had. what's your best chance? >> it's hard to know, we'll continue with this investigation. but certainly as i look at, for example, sequestration which is about saving money in the federal government being spent, we somehow skimped on what would be available for projects like this and then we put people at risk. obviously 12 people have paid the ultimate price for whatever -- you know, whatever was done to have this man on the base. >> when you think about it, this is military, there's sensitive operations on there. on the city government level, if somebody had been discharged to are a pattern of misconduct for violence, what is the chance

they would have gotten near you? >> i think the chance is zero. the vetting that had been done. this man would not have been permitted into sensitive positions. >> mr. mayor, so sorry for what you're dealing with here in the city. thank you for coming on to give assurances about the community. appreciate it. >> thank you. >> michaela, let's get the top news back in new york. 39 minutes after the hour. police in washington arresting a man accused of throwing fire crackers over a white house fence. the loud pops sounded much like gunshots and caused a lockdown at the white house complex. officials still do not know why he did it but they say the suspect was not a threat. this incident happened in those tense hours after the deadly shootings at the d.c. navy yard. a race against the clock in colorado. chopper crews looking for people stranded by last week's flooding. they were given the all-clear to fly after days of bad weather with many roads still left unuseable. the death toll now up to eight, including an 83-year-old man who

was swept away. hundreds more are missing and unaccounted for. nearly 12,000 people have been evacuated. after 20 months on its side, the "costa concordia" is now upright. check this out. look, these are live pictures for you right now. celebrations were breaking out after a technical team successfully used massive pulleys, cables and steel tanks to move that 114,000 ton ship upright. a robotic submarine will survey the damage in order to begin the process of refloating that ship. it isn't expected to be towed away for dismantling until next summer. how about this for a new home? home of the late johnny versace is expected to be auctioned off today, starting at $25 million. the original asking was $125 million. versace bought that mansion back in 1992. he renovated and lived there

until his murder in 1997. the versace family sold the home which is now in bankruptcy because of lawsuits and lack of mortgage payments. incredibly opulent. it's now on the market. >> a beautiful home. >> a lot, too. i think a lot of high ceilings to dust. >> the high ceilings to dust. what a horrible history in that home. >> it would be hard to buy something knowing that that happened there. >> it was part of it. coming up next on "new day," pastor rick warren opening up about his son's suicide. he and his wife talk exclusively to our piers morgan about the moment they knew their son was gone. also ahead, piecing together what makes a mass killer snap. we're going to talk with a forensic psychiatrist about aaron alexis, where were signs missed? could someone have known? wantw if we can pick her up. yeah, we can make room. yeah. [ male announcer ] ...office space. yes, we're loving this communal seating. it's great. [ male announcer ] the best thing to share? a data plan. at&t mobile share for business.

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welcome back to "new day," everyone. we are continuing our coverage this morning of the naval yard shooting in washington, d.c. authorities still searching, of course, this morning for clues as to what motivated a 34-year-old military contractor to kill 12 people and injure another eight before he was fatally shot. we're just learning more about aaron alexis's troubled past. we are now learning in addition to his other arrests that he was arrested in 2008 in georgia on disorderly conduct. this on top of the arrests in ft. worth, texas and another arrest in a gun-related incident in seattle. mr. wellner is a forensic scientist and chairman of the forensic panel, here to walk us through what is happening. everyone will say, it's impossible to try to make sense of a senseless tragedy. that goes without saying. we have a lot more to learn to try to get a full picture of who this has want.

but from what you have heard so far, what are the point points investigators aric ing up to try to make sense of what maybe motivated this man. >> what driistinguishes a mass killing from other crimes, the perpetrator wants us to see it as legitimate. he felt entitled to kill anybody and to kill indiscriminately. i wouldn't be surprised if he's made it abundantly clear what inspired him to decide to be so destructive, again, in a way, the ghoshness, the obscenity of mass killing that is a person who does it is inspired by watching us talk about the last one. and give some legitimacy to say, hey, gee, this must be serious because it caused somebody to go out on a mass killing. no, it's not. it's an entitlement to be

destructive on a grand scale because he recognizes that he's going to go from somebody who had high self-esteem and didn't accomplish to somebody who's relevant to perpetuity. the most important thing we know about him so far is that his anger was such, so unbridled that even his family was detached from him. he could work around others but if the people who knew him best were removed from him, it tells you there's a history they couldn't count on anymore. >> that's part of the picture we're seeing, a contradictory, a complicated man. his friends saying he was quiet, that he was nice, that he was friendly, a good boy. but then there is also so many signs of aggressive behavior, arrest record that now spans three states and that -- he had a pattern of disorderly conduct in the navy. does that fit the profile for you? >> please understand for

everybody to understand, mass killing is not a crime about people snapping. it's a crime about somebody who has a fantasy and has a motivation and says at some point that the target of his grievance deserves to be punished and that ultimately, he deserves to be the person who's entitled to be destructive to them. i think one thing is anger, the other thing is the idea of an entitlement to destroy. folks who carry out mass killing are invariably quiet and unassuming. the most significant part of his quiet is nobody's targeted how irrational he is. and folks who kill on a mass scale are always paranoid to some degree. some are paranoid in a way they're resentful and suspicious of others. others are paranoid to the point where they have a psychotic condition. >> maybe signs of that paranoia. >> the more rational you hear in the reactions day to day, the more likely they are to be at one end of the gradient.

>> why would someone choose out to take this irrational anger or mental disturbance, take it out on people at work, possibly people that don't did the even know him, that he doesn't even know. he wasn't necessarily working at the naval yard very often or at all, really, to this point. >> the quest for fame and the quest of notoriety for the 24-hour news cycle has reached such a proportion that people recognize that the more outrageous they are, it's the equivalent of people's reaction to miley cyrus. i can be so obscene that everybody will talk about me. this is a violent adaptation. it immediately becomes relevant, you see a picture of him, he's handsome, put together. we don't see the failure that he saw himself as. >> these are many of the very questions investigators are looking into this morning. dr. michael wellner, great to

see you. coming up next on "new day," a cnn exclusive. pastor rick warren and his wife opening up about their son's mental illness and suicide. they gave morgan their truly heartbreaking account of what happened. stay with us.

welcome back to "new day." it's been five months since the death of the son of mega pastor rick warren. he and his wife, kay, sat down in an interview with piers

morgan in an interview that will air tonight. for the first time they talk about it. >> rick was very ill. i made him get out of bed and drive over to rick's house. typically, he would have said go away or come to the door, invite me in. he did nothing. that was not his pattern. i had a pretty good sense that perhaps something catastrophic had happened. >> what time was this? >> that was late on thursday, april 4th. and so i was pretty sure that something had happened. but he had also told us that if we called the police that he would take his life instantly. so a call to the police was an instant suicide. i was living with that horrible, horrible choice of do i call the police and perhaps intervene or do i take that risk if i call, then he instantly kills himself? so we just had to wait for a few hours. and so it was into the next day that i felt that he was not

responding. >> we didn't hear anything back from him. >> he didn't go to work. >> he didn't go to work. >> his workout, which he didn't miss. i pretty much knew. and finally when i sent the text saying, look, i'm calling the police if you don't -- just give me one word that tells me you're okay and i won't call the police and there was nothing. and so we went back to the house. his house looked exactly the same. same lights were on. we knew. by that time, we knew. >> you got back to the house in the morning, rick. you had this awful sense that he had probably taken his life. you couldn't get inside the house. >> right. >> you called the police and you were waiting. >> right. >> that moment for the both of you must have been beyond harrowing. >> we were sobbing. we were just sobbing. the day that i had feared might happen one day since he had been born and the day that i prayed would never happen happened. i remember as we stood in the driveway, just embracing each other and sobbing.

>> so painful. and their words still so powerful. you can watch the rest of piers' exclusive interview with the warrens tonight on "piers morgan live" tonight. chris? we'll press for answers of how this shooter got military clearance. wait until you hear what marks check his past. we're also learning new information about the people that lost their lives. 12 people gone. seven of them identified so far. we'll tell you what we're learning about them at the top of the hour. also, moments of hope. they're often lost in tragedy like this. we're going to talk to you about a situation where someone was fearing the worst and wound up learning the best. that's ahead. my customers can shop around-- see who does good work and compare costs. it doesn't usually work that way with health care. but with unitedhealthcare,

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this morning, the deadly navy yard shooting, day of heart-pounding terror. >> everyone said, this is no drill. go, go, go! >> breaking new details from inside the military facility where shots rang out. >> we could see him with the rifle and he raised and aimed at us and fired. >> who was aaron alexis? why he went on a horrifying rampage. new information this morning. >> a very good-natured guy that seemed like he wanted to get more out of life. >> plus what we now know about the 12 innocent people who lost their lives. and then, devastation in colorado. >> it's ruined. my basement's gone. worst day of my life, by far. >> intense rescue operations still under way. hundreds still stranded. with each day, the death toll

climbs and more homes are lost to the raging waters. we're live in washington and colorado this morning. your "new day" starts right now. good morning, welcome back to "new day." it is tuesday, september 17th. 8:00 in the east. we are back at the washington navy yard, the site of that horrifying shooting rampage yesterday. flags at half-staff, honoring the lives lost. the more we learn, the more the question arises, why did the suspected shooter get military clearance as facts about his violent past keep coming out. kate? >> also keeping an eye out west on the destruction in colorado this morning. towns still cut off by that enormous flooding. the death toll now at eight, and more than 600 people remain unaccounted for this morning.

is relief from the rain finally on the way? we also want to show you really amazing pictures. stunning, of the costa concordia, where crews were able to right the doomed cruise ship in a remarkable feat of engineering, the damage done to the ship 20 months ago. it's just incredible. so now what? we'll take you there live. first, let's get straight back to washington and chris. chris? >> all right, kate. to set the scene for you here, day-to-day operations at the washington navy yard were interrupted in the worst possible way. the installation is close tad to all but essential personnel. forensic teams are in there, looking for answers to monday's deadly rampage. 12 people, civilians and contractors, killed at the start of the workday at the compound. seven of them have been identified. they were mothers, fathers, grandparents, ranging in age from 46 to 73 years old. the rampage only came to an end

when police, first responders went in and took down the shooter. 34-year-old suspect, police say, acted alone. at first there were concerns there may be a second shooter. those concerns now out of the equation. the big question, of course, is why. why was this done? the motive. but also why was he allowed in, in the first place? four separate violent incidents that should have been flagged so this man never, ever got military clearance. monday morning, chaos and fear in the nation's capital after a gunman opens fire at the heavily secured washington navy yard. less than three miles from the white house. two miles from the capitol. >> multiple shots fired. multiple people down. >> the death toll rising by the hour at least 13 killed. eight more injured. the rampage now appearing to be the work of a lone gunman who the fbi identified as

34-year-old aaron alexis, i.t. contractor and former navy reservist. alexis dies in a gun battle with police inside the complex. the frightening events unfolding minute by minute. 8:20 am, frantic calls begin pouring in to 911 moments after shots fired. >> we were standing here, three feet away, having a conversation, and we heard two more gun shots and that's when i ran. >> with an active military contractor i.d. he entered the navy yard, and security clearance. he begins firing from a fourth floor balcony on to office workers in an atrium below. >> third individual who just arrived who had a gunshot wound to the head and to the hand. >> within minutes, metropolitan police, u.s. capitol police and the fbi swarm the area. >> we have an officer down. >> by 9:33 am, ambulances and helicopters descend upon the scene, rushing victims to local hospitals. schools near the navy yard locked down.

the senate side of the capitol, closed. air traffic at reagan national airport, grounded so it would not interfere with law enforcement choppers. >> everyone said, this is no drill. go, go, go! emergency exits now. go, go, go! >> just before 10:00 am, president obama is briefed in the oval office. three hours after the shooting spree begins, law enforcement officials confirm the gunman, shot and killed. president obama lamenting yet another mass shooting. >> these are men and women who were going to work, doing their job, protecting all of us. >> the president orders flags be lowered to half-staff, to honor the victims. monday's rampage at the navy yard is the deadliest shooting on the military installation in thes since the ft. hood massacre in 2009, which kill ed 14 and injured 40 others. allowed to leave their offices, many spending hours hiding and

waiting for the carnage to end, then cleared by police. >> the community here still very much rattled by what happened yesterday. things certainly are not back to normal and won't be for some time. some context here, there have been search shootings in the past decade where ten or more people are killed. often we're looking for a pattern to prevent them from going forward. there's something very different in this situation, though. the suspect had military clearance. he was supposed to be vetted. he had a past that we're going to tell you about now that makes it very questionable how he got that. there's also a similarity that we're starting to see develop. i want to bring in pamela brown here investment often in these shootings, the mental health of the individual becomes relevant. we're starting to see something now. it was slow, but we're starting to learn more about the shooter here. there are some issues that are coming up. what do we know? >> alexis, in fact, did have a history of mental health issues. i've been speaking to law enforcement officials and we

learned he recently made contact with two veterans affairs hospitals for psychological issues, it's believed. officials are still investigating the circumstances surrounding that. we also learned that alexis has had several run-ins with the law this past year. this raises questions, how did he pass two security clearances in the past year and what was his motive for carrying out the deadly shooting? law enforcement officials say 34-year-old i.t. subcontractor aaron alexis entered navy yard building 197 legally, with a valid military-issued i.d. and an intent to kill. his motive, unknown. >> we're looking to learn everything we can about his recent movements, his contacts and his associates. >> reporter: a picture is emerging of a complicated man. at times quiet and polite, who spoke several languages and worshipped at this buddhist temple. >> it's incredible this is all happening because he was a very good-natured guy. it seemed like he wanted to get more out of life.

>> reporter: other times he could be explosively raining. >> migangry. >> could be angry at times. >> reporter: alexis was born in queens, new york, joined the navy as a reservist. he was discharged in 2011, following a, quote, pattern of misconduct. while it's unclear what that misconduct was, he did have several run-ins with the law, arrested in seattle in 2004 for shooting out the tires of another man's vehicle. described in the police report as an anger-fueled blackout. his father said his son was suffering ptsd after helping post 9/11 rescue efforts at ground zero. disturbing the peace in georgia and in 2010 arrested again for discharging a gun in ft. hood, texas, where he lived until recently, never charged in that case. he had been staying at this hotel, not far from the navy yard, since last week.

law enforcement source tells cnn alexis recently purchased a gun. he also passed two security clearances last september and this past july before starting work at the navy yard. his violent rampage has left his family devastated. >> it's very hurtful. our hearts are going out more to the victims who got hurt. because there's more lives lost. we don't need that right now. >> the obvious question here is how this man with this past got military clearance. we're still waiting to learn if there's any agenda involved, understanding of why he did this, his motive. and, of course, the weapons. they're always a big topic of discussion in these shootings. what do we know about access here? it's been tough for them to figure out what happened in there. >> they're still trying to piece this all together. we know there were three weapons recovered at the scene, officials trying to figure out what those weapons were and how he acquired them.

it's believed he walked in with at least one weapon, a shotgun he purchased recently at a gun shop and now it's believed, chris, two pistols recovered at the scene might have perhaps been acquire friday guards there at the building. law enforcement source says alexis rented and then returned an ar-15. we believe perhaps at a gun range. but there's questions about whether he was actually armed with an ar-15. >> and, obviously, they're trying to figure this out, piece together his past as well as the crime scene. pamela brown, you've been working it all morning and overnight. thank you very much for that this morning. we have fascination about the shooter because we want to learn the motive and we want to understand what could have been done in this situation, what can be done going forward. but, of course, our real focus, our respect and our point of emphasis is on the victims. 12 people lost their lives for no good reason. the identities are coming out slowly. respect for the family.

processing of the scene, taking time. we now know seven of the identities involved. they were civilians, contractors, nonmilitary members. they ranged in age from their 40s to 73 years of age. we have cnn's renee marsh, joining us with the information of the people who lost their lives. the noise you're hearing behind us have nothing to do with the scene. >> i just got off the phone with someone who worked in that building where this all happened yesterday. and, you know, we're talking about the victims who lost their lives. then you also have the victims who survived this. now they're waking up this morning and they tell me it's all starting to sink in. seemed okay yesterday but this morning it's starting to sink in. the question he has this morning is how do you go back to work? how do you go back to a place where you saw blood on the

ground? how do you bring yourself to walk back into the doors? that's what those people are dealing with, who survived this. back to the people who, unfortunately, lost their lives. again, we have seven of the 12 names we're going to read to you seven of those names here. michael arnold, 59. si sylvia frazier, kathy guard, john roger johnson, 73. frank coller, 50. vishnu pandit, 61. >> you make a very important point that often gets lost here. we get caught in the numbers very often in these stories. the people who lost their lives are the most obvious victims. people who are injured -- we'll talk to a doctor in a moment who is tending, dealing with those who are still wounded. even if it doesn't show on the

outside, it can be very difficult. >> we're seeing the survivors dealing with the mental -- what they saw yesterday. people actually saw victims. people saw people lose their lives right in front of them. they're dealing with this. >> important point. thank you for staying on this. renee marsh, thank you very much. people lost their lives but they're also injured. we want to bring in dr. janice lorowski, chief of med star hospital here. can you hear us, dr. lorowski? >> i can. good morning. >> good morning. thank you for joining us. what do we know about those who are still in the hospital? >> well, i had the opportunity to visit the three victims who were brought to our hospital. and i'm very happy to say that they're doing well. their official status, the young woman who was shot in the head,

we would have her status as good. she actual ly was viewed throug the night, has no further injuries and is doing well. the other two who underwent surgery are considered in fair condition, recovering from their surgery and from their wounds and i would have to say both of them are very alert, very responsive, talking about their colleagues and i would say they're in fair and stable condition at this time. >> this woman was very fortunate in a way, right? >> unbelievable story. had a chance to talk to this young woman. and she said that she actually had gotten underneath her desk and the shooter came by. and she held her hand up and actually had the tip of her finger and the bullet actually went into her scalp, right behind her right ear.

thankfully, it sort of hit the bone and bounced off. she's an extremely lucky young lady. she's terrified, had a horrific incident in her life, but she's recovering and doing very well. i have to say she's also surrounded by a very loving family that's helping her. >> and, obviously, she's lucky in the land of the unlucky, obviously, who have ever been caught up with this at all. >> that's right. >> is your understanding the same as what we're hearing? the first responders, while it took a while to get the shooter down, the response was really quick on the medical side as well and that made a difference? >> i have to say, we received word from the scene. my impression was that they moved people very quickly. i also have to say that there's a story that the woman who was shot in the shoulder told me. she said after she was shot, two gentlemen helped her up to the roof and actually put pressure

on her wound and tried to dress her wound. not only first responders but victims who were part of the incident actually went to the aid of their colleagues in order to help out. so just a terrific response from those that were around them as well as the first responders. >> and, you know, doctor, as you know in your line of work and we see all the time in the worst situations, the best in people often come out. thank you for sharing the information. our hearts and minds go out to those families and hopefully they have a quick recovery. thank you for the information, dr. orlowski. >> thank you. thank you very much. kate, i want to go back to you in new york now. we'll keep pressing for answers, questions about how this man got clearance, what his motive was, and what we're learning about the victims and those who survived. we'll give you the information as we get it. >> as you always do and appropriately keeping the focus on the victims and their

families' lives that are forever change this had morning. floodwaters receding in some areas in colorado, but the death toll unfortunately seems to be rising. flooding is now blamed for eight deaths. now that it's finally stopped raining, rescue crews are searching for people who may still be strand by the floods. the sun is just beginning to come up. what are you seeing this morning, george? >> reporter: kate, absolutely. the sun coming up. it gives us another day to dry out in this part of the country. i'm sure you can see the river back there that's still rushing. to put it in perspective, a few days ago where i'm standing right now, i would have been in that river. fair to say the floodwaters are receding and the number unaccounted for is slowly, but surely going down. new images emerged overnight, choppers once again taking to the sky, evacuating at least 100 people. emergency response out in full

force, searching homes, a desperate search for anyone still stranded in the mountains or unaccounted for, following colorado's deadly flash floods. >> some areas in larimer county experienced a 100-year flood, others experienced a 1,000-year flood. something that happened only 1,000 years. >> this is what the region looked like from space, just days before, compared to this image taken after the massive flood that inundated northern and eastern colorado. returning to a devastating community. residents in longmont seeing their homes for the first time since thursday, no longer inhabitable. >> it's ruined. my basement's gone and it stinks so bad in there, you can barely stand it. >> reporter: jeff larson's wife, ni inform a, washed their suv being floated away down the river. >> i just took my son and his friend, wyatt and cole, and we

went to the third level with the belly boats. >> reporter: evacuated nine hours later, they consider themselves lucky. thick mud and water shift entire homes from their foundation. this woman unable to reach her home on the other side of the river, in utter dus belief it was picked up and moved several feet. >> today is our first day up here since we've been evacuated and i feel like it's worse than i thought it would be. we lost absolutely everything we own. >> reporter: keep this in mind. just the other day here in boulder county, some 250 people had to be rescued. but overall when you look at the entire situation here over the past five days, kate, some 12,000 people were forced to evacuate from this. so a big, big event out here. and now we see people starting to get to that recovery process. >> a long, long road to recovery when you see the damage that those floodwaters have caused.

george, thank you so much. let's get straight to the andrea peterson to see what colorado is facing today. >> boulder, colorado, broke rainfall amounts for one day and for the entire year. we're look at dry air pshing into the region today, dry air that they need, keeping in mind there is a storm behind it. we'll have another day of rain there. behind that, good news it will dry up behind it. problem is that they received so much rain. all that water needs to go somewhere. it looks like it's going through the south platte river, heading toward nebraska. as it does so, we'll start to see moderate and major flooding by the weekend pushing in through nebraska. all that buildup from the debris could potentially cause more flooding than just the water itself. that's something we'll be monitoring. >> thank you very much, indra. there is news developing this hour. let's get the update.

a man is now facing charges after police say he threw firecrackers toward the white house. he allegedly pulled this stunt near the north lawn, causing quite a scare, while law enforcements tried to work out if there was a possible second shooter at the navy yard. ellenwood, georgia, just outside atlanta, two suspects ran off with 14-year-old iviani hope perez. we have her pictured here, after demanding cash from a woman in the house and fatally shooting the family dog. iviani has brown eyes, black hair, 4'9", weighing 93 pounds. she was last seen wearing blue and gray star pajama bottoms. police say the suspects escaped in what they believe was a gray dodge. case of former penn state coach and convicted child molester jerry sandusky going

before an appeals court today. he is arguing he deserves a new trial because his defense team doesn't have time to prepare. sandusky is currently serving a sentence of at least 30 years. casey anthony set to answer questions about her tower's disappearance and death. attorneys plan to depose her next month in a civil defamation suit. she will have to answer their questions and cannot plead the fifth since she was been acquitted of killing her daughter. sasha anderson is accused of slapping and scratching a flight attendant, facing charges, including simple assault. that us airways flight did manage to make it to florida, but they were an hour and a half behind schedule. that's the kind of annoyance you don't want. air travel these days is already complex enough. >> sad when half an hour behind schedule doesn't sound like a lot. >> that's true. >> thank you.

>> no problem. coming up next on "new day" an exclusive talk with president clinton, defending president obama's approach to the civil war in syria. clinton sat down with fareed zakaria. fareed will join us to talk about their extensive conversation. how does get weapons into what is supposed to be a secure navy yard? we'll discuss this with our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr, coming up. i was made to work.

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welcome back to "new day." president obama calls him the secretary of explaining stuff. that's for sure. now president clinton is

explaining the obama administration's policy on syria. fareed zakaria sat down for an interview with him. they cover aid lot of topics even including paps hillary clinton in 2016. fareed, you really hit -- wide-ranging interview, exclusive interview with president clinton at a perfect time to get his take on president obama's approach toward syria. obviously, we want to get your take but let's at least listen to a little bit of what president clintden had to say. >> there are some who say, well, you know, this gives the initiative to putin. and who cares how it came up? john kerry got asked, well, what can we do to stop you from bombing? and he said make the problem go away. so putin says, okay, i'll do that. and so they say, well, this puts

russia in a position of leverage and it guarantees that assad is going to be in power for a while longer. that's a separate issue. but there is inherent and enduring benefit in taking a step that has the potential to rid the world of these chemical weapons. >> but it's sure proving to be a messy road, even with the news of the russian minister saying they can't agree to any agreement if the threat of force is on the table. what did you think of what clinton had to say? >> he very smartly separated the issues. he said there's the issue of assad's survival and what happens to assad. if you take that out and look at the chemical weapons issue, we're getting a lot. we're getting the international community mobilized, getting the russians agreed to pressure the syrians, got the syrians to admit that they had weapons, which they never admitted in the first place. if you ask yourself a few months ago, would you have been able to get all that done?

it's unlikely, even with strikes. because strikes don't actually destroy the chemical weapon sites. you don't bomb chemicals. the separate issue is what happens to assad. clinton recognized that's a more difficult challenge. in a strange way now you need assad to implement these accords and this cat and mouse game is just going to begin. but he did seem to think, clinton did, that we're in a better place today than we were a month ago. >> and a part of -- a big part of the debate in washington is the president's kind of surprise move, announcing he was going to seek congressional authority for the use of force. you even asked him about that. let's listen to that part of the interview. >> i think he believed that first there was partisan divisions in the democratic party and in the republican party. that is, he had strong support within the republicans for doing something. senator mccain, senator graham, some of the iraq war veterans in the republican house caucus and

he knew he would have some opposition in the democratic party. i think after he saw the debate in the uk, even though you might say -- well, that ought to frighten anybody off. mr. cameron had parliamentary party and couldn't deliver it. that made him think this is something the country ought to do together. we can't pretend that this is not important. >> can't pretend it's not important. but is it necessary? did he weigh in on that with an question? was it necessary for obama to get approval? >> it was very interesting. he dodged that a little bit. and it's interesting because, of course, bill clinton as president ordered what is the closest parallel we can think of, which is a four-day strike against iraq to try to, in short, to punish it on weapons of mass destruction and compliance. bill clinton did not ask congress for either authorization or approval. but i think he felt that the political circumstances were different for obama.

he put a fair amount of weight on the british issue, which was that prime minister cameron being rejected, repudiated by his own parliament. and the signal that it would have sentd in that context for obama not to have asked congress. you know, what i asked him which i thought was -- i was surprised by -- i said to him, let's play this movie again. two weeks later, the accord breaks down. the senate says yes, the house says no. should president obama use force? he said he certainly has the authority to. and he should -- you know, he should keep that option open. he has always been a pretty strong presidential power fwie, not surprisingly. it was interesting to hear him say that. >> we said at the top, the economy, state of the democratic party and the question of hillary clinton in 2016. he could be the first man. there you go. great interview. looking for much more of that. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> you can see fareed's full

interview with bill clinton on fareed zakaria gps this sunday at 10ek am eastern and 1:00 pm eastern. don't want to miss it. costa concordia is back above water, the first step in getting the ship away from the italian coast. it's a sight to be seen. the pictures are coming up.

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welcome back to "new day." it's tuesday, september 17th.

we're back at the washington navy yard, where 12 people were killed. at first glance, a mild-mannered man with an interest in buddhist meditation. on another level, a past littered with violence and red flags. someone who called the shooter a friend is christy. we spoke with her. >> i got to know him two years ago when he started helping out at restaurant. and he just had an excitement for life, just learning thai and getting involved with the buddhist temple down the road. one of the things he talked about was 9/11 and how he was there and how he saw the towers come down from where he was working. i don't know where he was at the time. he and his co-workers at the time were in shock and disbelief

like all americans that the twin towers were no longer there. and he had an anger toward the terrorists who did that and who took innocent people. and i'm just really sad that, first of all, aaron is gone but the 12 people he took down, 12 people, too, with him. >> in your mind shall do you have any recollection of anything that seemed to change in him? anything that he was struggling with? anything that might help explain the decision he arrived at to do something so horrible? >> he was sent on a contractor's job to japan for a month. that was from november to december. and he got back and he felt very slighted about his benefits at the time. financial issues, he wasn't getting paid on time. he wasn't getting paid what he was supposed to be getting paid. that's when i first started hearing statements about how he wanted to move out of america. he was very frustrated with the government and how as a veteran

he didn't feel like he was getting treated right or fairly. i started to notice some changes in him. nothing that would alarm me to something of this magnitude, but he started taking food that was mine. and i would address him at certain times, you know, about this. and he would be like, oerk that was yours? oh, i'm sorry. but then he would still take it. it wasn't a lot of food, but one or two items here or there. for july 4th we left our brand new car in the garage. he is the only one that has access to it. and we noticed the next day that our car wouldn't work. we had to get it towed and apparently honda said that someone put sugar in the gas tank. and there was only one person that had access to our garage that was still living with us. but i didn't understand why. and i still wanted to give him the -- you know i just was in denial that he would have done that, because he was so polite. >> and there were more troubling things as well. separate incidents in his past, involving guns and interactions

with the police more recently. reports that he sought help for psychological evaluations, hearing voices. so the more you look at this picture, the more questions are raised about how this man got military clearance. there are often random reasons we can't control. but this looks like something that we could. we'll be asking these questions now. we want to bring in cnn's barbara starr, following that part of the story for us. she is live this morning at the pentagon. barbara? >> good morning, chris. when you look at the issue of security clearances, that terrible question one more time. could something, should something have been done differently? heavily armed security personnel swarmed the washington navy yard within minutes of the first shot. it's the deadliest military workplace shooting since the 2009 mass shooting at ft. hood that killed 13. raising questions on how it could have happened yet again at a military installation in the u.s.

navy commander tim juris saw one worker shot. >> many people are wondering how safe their building is or how safe the office environment is. >> many security measures at the navy yard are similar to other bases. captain spelled out them for wolf blitzer. >> armed security guard who clears you on to the base. to get into building 197 there's armed security at the door of the building. >> contractors are also scrutinized. >> you go past armed security guards and your credentials are computer read. there's a kiosk you go through that gives you a green or red light. green light shows that your credentials are recognized as someone that is allowed in that building. >> did the suspect have wide-ranging access because he was an i.t. contractor? everyone, including visitors, are subject to random searches.

one security expert says just like ft. hood, however, security fundamentally is not likely to change. >> security is a balance between total safety and freedom, right? so you have to provide some level in the middle so that people can actually get to work. >> now physical security may not quickly change, but the question of contractor access, of contractors and people getting clearances to be on these facilities, a senior defense official tells me defense secretary chuck hagel undoubtedly will be ordering a review of all of this in the coming days. chris? >> barbara, the question of vetting -- i mean, specifically, how he got access to the facility and may have gotten weapons through but the macro, the larger question is, how did you let someone like this get security clearance? it's not like you missed a needle in a haystack. you missed the whole haystack.

thank you for your reporting, barbara starr. let's go back to new york for michaela for the five things you need to know for the day. >> thank you, chris. colorado, people still stranded by flooding. floods are being blamed for at least eight deaths. police are searching for a teenage girl abducted during a home invasion in ellenwood, georgia. 14-year-old ayvani perez. they escaped in a gray dodge. convicted child molester and former penn state coach says his defense didn't have enough time to prepare. leaders won't be there until next week. today the u.n. general assembly opens, situation in syria hanging over this meeting, 168th annual gathering of the u.n. prince harry preparing for an expedition to the south pole. he took part in a cold chamber

training exercise to acclimate to the extreme. i don't think we can underscore extreme. >> putting any fall chill into very good perspective. thanks, michaela. >> you're welcome. coming up next on "new day," crippled costa concordia that sat disable for the record month sincere now upright. what now? we're live in tuscany with the details. plus, after tragedy comes some good. a woman reunited with her husband hours after not knowing if he survived the tragedy at the washington navy yard. often for less. that's one smart board -- what else does it do, reverse gravity? [ laughs ] split atoms? [ flo chuckles ] [ whirring ] hey, how's that atom-splitting thing going? oh! a smarter way to shop around --

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it is quite a sight to see. costa concordia is hoisted back upright. it took quite a day to get the

ship off the sea bed, where it's been since it ran aground off italy's coast in 2012. matthew chance was there for the entire operation and has much more on what's ahead. >> reporter: these are the very first images of the costa concordia, now upright after an unprecedented operation to lift the crippled cruiseliner from its side. salvage crews worked through the night to hoist the 114,000 ton vessel 20 months after it ran aground off the italian coast, killing 32 people. the new images reveal the severe damage. half the ship is mangled, a huge bend where it slammed against the rocks. >> it was a perfect operation, i would say. >> reporter: the operation took 19 hours in total. team of engineers monitored every move as the ship emerged from the sea inch by inch. onlookers could measure the progress made by the line of

excuse me embedded in the water logged concordia's side. the operation effort took much longer than expected, first delayed when a violent electrical storm battered the island. by midday onlookers didn't see much progress. but under water, a major milestone, finally wrenched free from the granite seabed and moved on to six underwater sea platforms. after six hours, the crippled ship edged up ward by 13 degrees. in the wee hours, all moved swiftly, according to plan. despite the pains takingly slow removal procedure, the people here waking up, relieved that it will soon be taken away. >> a bit of a roller coaster. but, yeah, for the whole team it's fantastic that it worked just like they said it would work. >> i would say so. quite a remarkable sight. matthew chance, thank you for

that. fear turns to joy as a husband and wife are finally reunited after the washington navy yard shooting. details on that, ahead. la's known definitely for its traffic, congestion, for the smog. but there are a lot of people that do ride the bus. and now that the buses are running on natural gas, they don't throw out as much pollution into the air. so i feel good. i feel like i'm doing my part to help out the environment. you really love, what would you do?" ♪ [ woman ] i'd be a writer. [ man ] i'd be a baker. [ woman ] i wanna be a pie maker. [ man ] i wanna be a pilot. [ woman ] i'd be an architect. what if i told you someone could pay you and what if that person were you? ♪ when you think about it, isn't that what retirement should be, paying ourselves to do what we love?

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we're going to be focusing on the rest of the names of the victims, their families. those who managed to escape the

building doesn't mean they escaped unscathed. it will be difficult for people to move on in the coming days and the city of d.c. will honor those who lost their lives and help those who made it cope going forward. the big questions, however, remain. how this man, the suspected shooter got clearance. all the violence in his past. things that could have been flagged. the most recent stays that he had, reaching out to the va for help with psychological issues multiple times in different states, he did that. yet all of it missed, leading to the horrible things yesterday. now in the midst of all these terrible things that happened here there r those who made it through. there are those who survived even when everything seemed at their darkest. even then, there was still hope for people in the end. that's why there was even some good stuff with everything that happened here yesterday. here is one story. jacqueline allston spent hours

agonizing, not knowing whether her long-time love was dead or alive. >> right now i'm asking god to let me hear that voice. let me see that man. >> you haven't heard from him? >> i haven't heard from him. >> jacqueline's partner of 18 years, ernest, affectionately called buster, works as a janitor in 197 on the fourth floor. the moment she learned of the shooting, she rushed to lot b, garage crowded with family members and friends desperately seeking any information. to her dismay, no word. >> all i know is i'm told be patient, which i am trying to hold on, y'all, being patient and understanding and ask god, what created this problem. >> so she went home to wait. in the meantime, cnn tracked down ernest's employer, who confirmed he was on lockdown, but safe. we called jacqueline to give her the good news.

>> thank you. >> she quickly relayed it to family and friends. >> i'm on my way to get buster right now and bring buster home. >> on this day of tragedy, a joyful end for one lucky couple. >> i'm so glad that my man is okay. i know god answers prayers. just thank you. thank you for being my support unit. okay? god bless all of you. [ male announcer ] 1.21 gigawatts. today, that's easy. ge is revolutionizing power. supercharging turbines with advanced hardware and innovative software. using data predictively to help power entire cities. so the turbines of today... will power us all... into the future. ♪

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all right. for us down here in washington, d.c., that's it for "new day" right now. our coverage will continue on cnn. i'll give it over to carol

costello and john berman. guys? >> thank you, chris cuomo. "newsroom" starts now. good morning and welcome to this special edition of "newsroom" from the united states navy yard in washington, d.c., i'm carol costello. >> and i'm john berman. we'll walk you through what happened here, the latest details to emerge from the deadly rampage that happened, really, a few blocks behind where we're standing, and the questions that so many people want answered this morning. how did a man with a violent past get past security, have clearance into such a sensitive military site? but first, before we get to that, here is what we know this morning. aaron alexis was 34 years old. he was a former full-time navy reservist. a couple of years ago, he was discharged from the military. he was an honorable discharge. however, there had been a past

pattern of misconduct. we're told he also had an explosive temper. >> he certainly did and had at least two run-ins with police for violence. yet he managed to land a job as a contractor with the experts, that's what the company is called, gaining clearance to several government sites. he made his way to building 197 and opened fire. those who knew aaron alexis often say he was a contradiction, sweet and smiling most of the time but also prone to angry outbursts. he was often friendly but even friends say he could be overly aggressive, especially when dealing with female diners where he moonlighted for tips. digging into his background, she