wednesday. i'm brooke wald bald wn. right now, we're are told the president is ordering his lawyers to fix the biggest outrage in america right now. military death benefits for the families of fallen soldiers. this on day nine of the government shutdown and eight days until america defaults on its debt if congress can't get its act together. i don't want to foexs right now on the school yard bickering, the relentless park and forth. today i want to focus on the people caught in the middle. the families of the men and women who lost their lives fighting for this country. the americans who died believing

their loved ones would be taken care of back here at home. and today they're not. their families have been told those instant benefits to cover funeral costs, travel expenses to say good-bye, sorry. you will have to wait. this is what they're told. and that includes the families of these four soldiers and one marine killed last weekend in afghanistan. four of them brought home for burial just hours ago. we'll pause and take a moment to show you the video of the poignant ceremony for one of them at dover air force base. uninterrupted in just a moment, but first, if there is any sound worth hearing from either chamber of congress today, it is this, and it's not from a lawmaker. >> lord, when our federal shutdown delays payments of death benefits to the families of children dying on far away

battlefields, it's time for our lawmakers to say enough is enough. cover our shame. with the robe of your righteousness. forgive us, reform us. and make us whole. >> right now, the house is voting on a bill which would start the reversal of this unthinkable decision to not provide immediate death benefits to these military families. meanwhile, probably worth mentioning here, back in washington, congressman and women are still able to collect their paychecks so lucky for them, the gym on the hill, the pool, the sauna. they're still up and running. the gym paid for by you, the taxpayer.

>> some of the most fanatic about inflicting unnecessary pain on the american public are regulars. enjoying our house gym while the staff gym is closed. mr. speaker, if you and the house republicans are serious and not cynical about the shutdown, then shut down the house gym until this madness ends. >> a gym, we're talking about a gym. on a day like today, time is being spent talking about this gym. i want to talk to kelly henry. she's the sister of a navy pilot who was killed in a navy helicopter crash back in 1997. kelly, welcome to you, and of course all these years later, we're so grateful for your brother's service. obviously, we have you on today. let me just say, you know, death benefits and government shutdown aside, i just have to ask, take me back to 1997 and just describe the sadness, the devastation your family faced

when your brother passed away. >> it was unthinkable. it was something none of us anticipated. a terrific pilot, always the number one pilot in his squad n squadron, and he died in an accidental crash at sea taken along with three other members of his crew. he left behind a young widow and five young daughterses. and when i think about what the families today are experiencing, where they're not getting the support from the country the way my family got support back in 1997, when we weren't even at war, it's shameful to me. our leaders can do better, and they must do better. these families should not be suffering this way. >> can you even put it into words? you describe this unthinkable devastation of losing a loved one and you add this whole other layer of this, you know, bickering back and forth, and you know with the u.s. government, men and women are being sent overseas to fight for this government that's saying essentially to their loved ones when they're not coming home, sorry, we're not paying for your

funeral. can you put that into words for families today? >> not words that can be broadcast on national television, no. >> i appreciate your honesty. >> one of my flarb neighbors is on his way to afghanistan right now. i can't imagine the worry his family is experiencing, not knowing that if something awful happens to him, if the unthinkable happens that we all plan for when we send our loved ones overseas, what they will do. every family puts together a funeral plan. we know hot the service member's funeral services will be, where their will is located. we have to think through that, but our expectation when we do that planning is that if that awful, awful thing happens, that the government is going to be there to support us in the way we have been told they will be, that the death benefit will be paid, that we will get travel to dover, that the funeral cost will be covered, that the survivor benefit plan will kick in right away. when families are facing this

awful, awful loss, financial worries should be something that doesn't cross their mind. they should rest easy knowing they're going to be taken care of, and our service members should be able to focus on the job at hand and not worry whether or not their families will be cared for. >> i agree with you 100%. kelly, stay with me because i want to bring in jason. he joins me to talk about the awful things that happened to so many men and women. you served in iraq. we thank you for your service. explain to us, when we talk about the death benefits and we know kelly's brother and his widow, the wife he left behind, the five children, they received the death benefits. how much money are we talking and what is this money used for? >> we're talking about actually $100,000 which is paid within three days of the death. and this money can be used for anything, but typically, it's used for travel expenses as you mentioned to, you know, find that closure. it's going to be paying for

funeral expenses, paying for all the things that come up within that first, you know, couple days that you lose a loved one in afghanistan. >> so kelly, back to you, i want to end with your words. and you know, if you can, just look at the camera and speaking to these, you know, widows and daughters and sons and brothers and sisters who are left here, and you know, the president intimated through the white house spokesperson, jay carney, this will be fixed and fixed today, but in the meantime, what's your message to them right now? >> my heart is with them. i know that the grief they're experiencing is like none they have ever experienced in their life. and i am ashamed that our country is not supporting them in their time of need. >> okay. kelly, thank you very much. kelly henry joining me here, and quickly, jason, back to you. fine elquestion as we think about the last time the government shut down, it was not at a time of war. and if you can, just how impactful this government shutdown has been, specifically

when it comes to our service men and women and these loved ones left behind, not receiving this money. it's a different story this time around, isn't it? >> you're absolutely right. it's a very different story this time around, and this especially, on the death benefits, is shameful. i work in iraq and afghanistan veterans who are americans. we're getting called hourly from veterans who are very, very concerned about how this is affecting not just themselves but the people they know who are serving in afghanistan. i think these death benefits are just the latest incident of how our veterans today are being affected by the shutdown and being affected every day. >> hopefully those calls stop. hopefully this gets fixed today. jason, thank you so much for joining me. >> thanks for having me on. >> this disgraceful holdup of military death benefits has not gone unnoticed. today, jay carney, as i mentioned a moment ago, he had this message from the president. >> the president was very disturbed to learn of this

problem. and he districted the department of defense to work with the office of management and budget and his lawyers to develop a possible solution. and he expects this -- he expects, rather, the president expects this to be fixed today. >> dana bash, our chief congressional correspondent. we mentioned the house is voting on having the benefits restored right now. still needs to go to the senate. do you think today is the day? will it pass? >> well, we're waiting to see if it passes the house. we certainly assume it will happen. my understanding and the understanding from our congressional producer, ted barrett, is what senate democratic leaders are trying to do is trying to get the pentagon to fix it without the senate having to act. why is that? because certainly, they feel the pressure in the senate to act for obvious reasons, but they also know that going down that road is a slippery slope. we know that the senate majority leader harry reid and other democratic leaders have said over and over again that they

don't want to just fund a specific part of the government because you can't take one and not do the other. remember the exchange that harry reid and i had last week about nih? they're not taking up that bill. so they understand the politics of this. they understand the slippery slope, but they also understand if the pentagon can't find a way to do it without the senate legislator, they're going to have to do it, but i think it's pretty clear that democrats and republicans realize that this is something that is unsustainable, that they have to help these families. >> dana bash, thank you so much in washington. and we promise we would show you the moment one of these soldiers returned home today. his name, private first class cody patterson. just 24 years old. from oregon. killed on his second tour of duty in afghanistan. ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪

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get 50% off new brake pads and shoes. beaten and bloodied by his group of bikers, left sprawling on the streets of new york city. now, an undercover officer is under arrest and will be in court today. police say they had the video actually showing this officer kicking the suv and then smashing the car's rear window moments before this beating happened. so we have shown you this video. this video surfaced last month online. it shows the group attacking this driver of this black suv, who ran over some of these bikers. thus far, it has led to five arrests and even more shocking than the video is the news that not one but two new york detectives were present during this altercation. susan candiotti has more.

>> as we learn of even more arrests, online video like this painful to watch. a biker seen kicking suv driver alexian leen, lying motionless and bloodies on the ground before trying to get up. an off-duty undercover detective now under arrest. 32-year-old who was riding with other bikers shown in the video gone viral. the camera showing an suv driver running over bikers after his tires were slashed. the off-duty cop is charged with two felonies, criminal mischief and being involved in a riot. in part accused of pounding on that suv. >> the internal affairs bureau is looking at this and they'll continue to do so. >> another biker also charged with gang assault and criminal mischief. a law enforcement source says police have video of the detective not yet made public, proving he took part. that same source says the

veteran detective waited three days before reporting the incident. afraid of blowing his cover. cnn legal analyst and former prosecutor paul callan said the detective could also lose his job even if he's not convicted. >> as police officers, they have an obligation under nypd regulations to break their cover if they're undercover, and to come to the assistance of any civilian who's in danger. having look added at this video, clearly, the civilians in that car look like they're in danger. >> police also released photos of four other bikers in connection with the attack. the still frames were isolated from that video showing lien getting stomped on. as for the biker wearing the helmet cam, he's now revealing why he pressed the record button. he says he saw lien throw a water bottle out of the sun roof, hitting a biker. the suv started swerving and the biker smelled trouble.

he's not expected to be charged. as of now, we have no comment from either that undercover detective or his lawyer. both are expected in court some time this afternoon. and we know of at least one other police officer who was also being investigated but brooke for now authorities are really trying to find out people they believe were playing an active role in that beating of mr. alexian lien. >> thank you very much. coming up, a bizarre news conference from the father of the 9-year-old who somehow hopped on a plane without a ticket. at one point, this dad breaks down in tears saying he tried to get help for his son. he's all covered up, dozen want to show his face. we'll play it for you next. [ sneezes, coughs ]

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pictures of the superior court. left-hand side of the screen, former new england patriots aaron hernandez who is sitting in this courtroom as i speak. this is the first time he's been in a court since his arraignment. this is a pretrial hearing today. he has been charged with murder and also weapons charges as it

all relates to the killing of his friend, odin lloyd, back in june of this year. we should mention that four other people also face charges as it relates to this case, but this is what is happening right now in fall river, massachusetts, and aaron hernandez. and now to this story. the father of that 9-year-old boy who hopped a plane from minneapolis to las vegas says he tried to get help for his son, and we've heard bits and pieces of this child's history, arrested for allegedly stealing a truck and crashing into a police car. blending in with a family to sneak into a water park without paying. so today, this boy's father appeared at a news conference in minneapolis just a few hours ago. the dad is on the left-hand side of the screen in the black hooded sweatshirt. he did not reveal his name. you can see his face was covered by a hoodie. he admits his son is no angel, but he says he tried to get help

dealing with the boy. >> i don't know how my 9-year-old son's brain acts. i've been asking for help. no one stepped up to help. wasn't listening, doing what he wants to do. it's so much. and we asked for help. that's all we need, help. we need the resources. i'm tired of people saying he's a minor. there's nothing we can do. there's something somebody can do. i don't want to see my son hurt. i miss my son, i want him home. >> the boy's father also described what happened after the incident with the truck. >> i asked the officer, please, sir, can you go upstairs with me? watch me whoop his butt? the officer told me if i see you hit your son, we're going to

have to lock you up. i said, sir, what can i do? i've been asking for help, no one's helping me. i'm in what you call double jeopardy. if i whoop my son, i get locked up. if i let my son keep doing what he's doing, i get in trouble. somebody please help me. please. >> the father clearly getting emotional there today. but he also questioned how so many adults could have let his 9-year-old son slip onto that plane undetected. >> how would you let a 9-year-old child go through security check without stopping him and questioning him? how can that be? he's not a terrorist. he's a 9-year-old child. he went through screening. he boarded the plane. how is that possible? >> according to this father, the

boy was not in school the day he hopped the flight because he had been suspended for fighting. the 9-year-old is expected to be returned to minneapolis from las vegas on friday. >> as we talk debt ceiling, most experts say raising it would be a disaster. one economist says raising it is a fool's journey. he says republicans might be the country's last hope. >> and also, new exclusive video evidence in the death of kendrick johnson, found inside a high school gym mat. his parents are convinced he was murdered and they're raising a lot of eyebrows. exclusive reporting coming up. jackie: there are plenty of things i prefer to do on my own. but when it comes to investing, i just think it's better to work with someone. someone you feel you can really partner with. unfortunately, i've found that some brokerage firms don't always encourage that kind of relationship.

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sgroo breaking news, we have been talking and reporting about the government shutdown. day nine, and the house has passed the death benefits for military families, take a look here at the final tally of

votes. the yeas and nays. let me go to you with what you're learning, dana. >> first of all, i should tell you that it looks as though this is not surprisingly passing with overwhelming support. i'm looking at the screen right now, 424 yeses. to give the families -- give the pentagon authority for the death benefits. i have with me the chairman of the armed services committee in the house. and i just want to ask you, i was just told that your committee was informed recently by the pentagon that they think they can handle this without the legislation that you just passed by contracting out to the fisher house, which is an outside group which is giving them help, but making it a more formal relationship. is that accurate? can you tell me what you have been told? >> i'm just hearing that just now. i did see in the paper today that fisher house had said "we'll pay these families." and they weren't expecting anything from the government. they just realized it's an important thing to help these

families. that's what kind of their whole mission is, helping wounded warriors, the families. so i was happy to hear that they stepped up. you know, before there was talk of a possible shutdown, we passed a bill that said if we can't get our work down and there is a shutdown, at least the military will be paid. we think in that bill, that original bill, we shouldn't have had the furlough, all of the employees who were furloughed, 400,000. >> at the pentagon? >> at the pentagon. they have brought them bac to work. the pentagon isn't totally autonomous. they have to deal with the justice department. i think the justice department attorneys were interpreting it differently. i think that's probably the ones that muddied this up. >> would you be comfortable if that is in fact the solution here for the pentagon to contract out to the fisher house to make sure that these death benefits are paid without this

legislation going to the senate? you know what's going on. senate democrats would prefer not to do this. they would prefer the pentagon handle it on its own because it's a slippery slope for senate democrats. >> you know, when we passed the pay the troops act, the senate took care of it. we voted just like this one, unanimously, sent it to the senate, and they passed it. if they don't want to deal with it, if they don't want to take care of the survivors of those who pay the ultimate price, shame on them. i think they should take it up this afternoon, have it on the president's desk tomorrow. and not have any hijinx. we shouldn't be treating our military like this. >> but with contracting out to the fisher house be considered hijinx or do you consider if that's a solution you would be comfortable with that as chairman of the armed services committee with oversight of the pentagon? >> it's not normally the way we do things. >> but there's nothing normal around here. >> but this should be.

we passed the bill, as you said. it's unanimous. every single republican and democrat on the floor voted for it. the senate should do the same thing. and then they should get it to the president. if we can't do things as simple as this, as meaningful as this, how could we expect to do anything else? i think harry reid should be right here right now saying, great, you did it. we'll pick it up, we'll do it and then we'll move forward. >> let me ask you one final question. obviously, this country, understandably, holds people who pay the ultimate sacrifice in battle at the highest level, but -- >> and so should harry reid. >> the question is, if there's a mother out there who can't get their kid into headstart, who can't get food stamps to pay for their food for kids. if there's a kid or adult who can't get clinical trials for health care -- >> i'm glad you mentioned those because we passed head start yesterday, the funding for it.

all they have to do is take that up in the senate and send it to the president and it can get done. most of these functions we have been passing and they would get done. and the senate just says no, we don't want to deal with this stuff. well, what are they doing over there? you know? we're here working. we're passing bills. we're trying to get the government open. let them do it. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate you coming over with this breaking news. brooke, back to you. >> thank you. we just heard what the chairman had to say. pretty strong words for the senate majority leader, harry reid. pass this and let's get going. barbara starr at the pentagon. barbara, what does the pentagon have to say about all this? >> brooke, i can now confirm to you within the next few minute, the penlt gone will be issuing a public statement that they are indeed entering a contract with an organization very well known to the military called the fisher house. this is an amazing organization that has helped the wounded for

years. now, stepping in to help the families of the fallen. what is happening is the pentagon is entering into a contract, a business contract, with the fisher house. the fisher house has stepped forward and said it will pay the funeral expenses, the $100,000 death gratuity benefit, anything the families of the fallen are not getting due to the shutdown. the fisher house will pay under this contract, and the pentagon, the department of defense, once the government opens up, will reimburse them. this is the fix that the white house press secretary jay carney was talking about. what i am also told by a senior official is that now the pentagon feels it's got the fix. it no longer is interested, they say, in having any congressional language to fix the problem. so this is absolutely extraordinary. a number of organizations have come forward. fisher house is one that the military tedeals with all the

time. let me add one more thing. >> sure. >> what i'm also told is defense secretary chuck hagel had brought up with senior white house officials the issue of death benefits not being payable, if you will, in the view of the department once it became apparent a few weeks ago that the government shutdown was imminent. officials tell me here, they don't know when the president was made aware of all of this, but that hagel -- they insist that hagel had told the white house, you know, this is a problem. it's going to be a problem. we are now at something over 20 military families who have lost their loved ones since october 1st, and this appears to be the solution. but how extraordinary that the government is going to have to enter into a business contract to pay the families of the fallen what that final sacrifice has meant to them. >> thank goodness for the fisher house. the fisher house, helping these families and then the government

paying them back once this thing hopefully gets fixed. barbara starr, thank you so much for that reporting. we'll be awaiting that officially from the pentagon. meantime, i'm hearing lots of folks saying that defaulting on the nation's debt could bring about such a disaster that coolcool er heads in washington won't let it happen. democrats and republicans will reach some sort of agreement to stave this off by the 17th of this month or shortly thereafter. let me show you a sobering quote. this is from the respected financial adviser. he says, no, he does not expect a default, but he says, and i'm quoting him, but we recognize some lunatics are driving the nation's policy decisions and some of them are willing to experience a default. lunatics. you see the word he uses, so says financial adviser david kotok, are willing to see the u.s. default. i want to go for a different perspective. peter has the bow tie on. you may see him on many a

commercial. he's a prosfeser at the school of business in maryland. nice to see you back on here again. you are an economist, and from what i gather, you are not quite as concerned as some of your colleagues are, other economists, when it comes to the prospect of a default by the u.s. treasury. tell me why not. >> well, we'll only have a default if the president wills it. each month, the federal government takes in $250 billion. the interest on the debt is $23 billion. we clearly can make the payments if the congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling. other stuff will go unpaid and we'll have to set priorities, but that can be done. we don't want to go on that way forever, but the debt does not have to be defaulted. >> peter, here are some folks talking about default, pretty intelligent minds. take a listen if you would. >> america would not be able to meet all of our financial obligations for the first time in 225 years. >> let me just read to you from

what president reagan said when he faced this, and i quote, the full kwaunsquenconsequences of or even the serious prospect of a default are impossible to predict and awesome to contemplate. >> warren buffett likened default to a nuclear bomb. >> we've always been smart enough as a country not to go there, but economists believe you would have symptoms similar to the financial crisis we have just been through, and it could potentially lead us right back into recession. >> every american could see their 401(k)s and home favalues fall. borrowing costs for mortgages and student loans rise, and there would be a significant risk of a very deep recession. >> so peter, when you see some of the sound bites, you read quotes from the likes of barack obama, ronald reagan, warren buffett, jack lew, tell me why they're all wrong. >> well, if we default, if we didn't make the interest payments. then those terrible and bad things would happen. however, just because congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling

does not mean we need to default. the government will have plenty of money to pay the interest on the dent. it just won't have money of money to pay for everything it likes. it will have about three quarters of the cash it needs to do business. the treasury secretary says he can't set priorities. he's the nation's chief financial officer. i know i could set the priorities and any good financial person can and it's his job to do that. if he doesn't have the financial acumen to deal with that, he needs to move over for someone who can. >> when you talk about dollars and cents, this math is done by my colleague, christine romans, this is her bread and butter. in a given month, we take in $257 billion in tax receipts and get $450 million. the mangt doesn't work. when we start defaulting on bills and passing out ious, i think i know the answer, but i'm

going to ask the question. what does it do to confidence when it comes to the u.s. economy. >> the confidence in the economy would be shaken, no two ways about it. be clear, we would pay the interest on the debt, we would not default on the debt. there's a difference between not defaulting on the debt and paying for everything you want to pay for. think of it as a 20% pay cut. i have nigh members, christine has hers. i get mine from the joint economic committee. it's about 20%. think of the state of california. it went through a very similar period where it issued script. i'm not advocating that. i think if we look longer term, the baypert zn or nonpartisan budget office indicates if we stay on the path we are on of raising the debt ceilings without modifying the entitlement programs we'll be in serious financial trouble by the end of the term of the next president. very, very serious. so it may be that this is what is necessary to get the two

sides to sit down and negotiate. mr. obama is going to have to be less ambitious ability health care. i'm not an advocate of junking his program. the republicans are going to have to get more realistic about health care and recognize we don't have the most marvelous system on the planet and it needs reforming and that includes reforming how the government spends money. and we're going to have to talk about something mr. obama doesn't like to talk about. if we don't raise the retirement age, social security becomes insolvent along with the country next decade. >> i appreciate your perspective. thank you. exclusive new details about the death of a georgia teenager found dead inside, wrapped up, this high school gym mat. investigators say kendrick johnson's death was an accident, but his parents say he was murdered and they can prove it. shocking details today in this investigative report. you have to see that next. i coug but chantix helped me do it. i told my doctor i think i'm... i'm ready.

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case we have covered extensively here for you at cnn. it involves this teenager, kendrick johnson, and whether his death at his high school gym was an accident or murter. as victor blackwell reported, his parents are convinced his death was not at all an accident, as investigators have been saying, but rather than someone killed him and the truth is being hidden. to prove that, they recently had

his body exhumed for an independent autopsy that concluded he died of blunt force trauma, not accidental suffocation. and now victor blackwell has disturbing new evident that only raises more question. before you see this, some of the video you're about to see is graphic and very difficult to watch. here now is victor blackwell's exclusive report. >> it's the only video shot inside the lowndes high school gym the day 17-year-old kendrick johnson was found dead, and with his parents' approval, we're showing it for the first time. lowndes county investigators say his death was an accident, he climbed on the rolled gym mats to reach for his shoe at the center of one mat, slipped, got stuck upside down, and died. county officials say the blood in this video stopped after his heart stopped pumping hours after he died, but his parents say the video shows something

else. >> there's enough evidence to show kendrick was murdered. >> cnn has exclusively received the 15-minute video and pictures taken of the scene. for the first time, centric's parents are ready to look at them, including this pictures of orange and black gym shoes investigators found just yards from kendrick's body. >> did these shoes belong to kendrick? >> no. >> when you look at these shoes that were at the scene, what stands out to you? >> the blood on the shoe. >> but investigators say tests show the stains are something other than blood. so the shoes were not collected as potential evidence. >> i don't understand why -- >> cnn took the photos to a private investigative and former fbi investigator harold copus. >> if you were on the scene, would this be something you would have left? >> no, bag and tag. >> there's no indication investigators even looked for the owner of the shoes or this

hooded sweatshirt found feet from his body. >> if you look close, there's something on this particular cuff. then the question is, was it blood? did you test it? >> according to the crime lab report, no. >> they know something happened in that gym, and they don't want it to come out. >> for the johnsons, there's no stronger indicator than this photo. it's of what appears to be blood dripping down the wall. this is what stryde jones said. >> we tested it and it was blood. we did dna testing, it was not the blood of kendrick johnson. >> who's blood was it? >> did you ever find out whose it was or any involvement? >> as of now, no. it doesn't appear to be related to our crime in any way. >> what do you think of the decision not to test it further? >> you can't explain it. if you're running the crime scene, you're going to say, that potential evidence.

obviously, we're going to check it out and find out who it belongs to. >> this is an athletic gym, where they conduct various athletic classes and instructions at. >> a kid couldn't have scraped a knee or arm and gotten that much blood on a wall. >> there's one, two, three, four, five, six. six impacts. >> the opinion of our crime scene personnel, after looking at it closely, the blood appeared as it had been there for an extended period of time. it didn't appear to be very fresh. >> school gym. there is no way that they would allow whoever was supposed to clean this gym to leave that blood on that wall. >> and there's the question, why was there no blood when they expected to see lots of blood? remember the photo of that shoe investigators say was inches below kendrick's head? look at it again. >> if he was inside the mats, reaching for that shoe, inside this tube.

reaching for that shoe, and the shoe is beneath him, why isn't that shoe covered with blood? >> and what do you think about the shoe not being covered with blood? >> it was placed there. >> hi, victor blackwell, cnn. >> the sheriff's department has denied a cover-up, but we took the johnson's concerns to sheriff chris pryne. >> i have questions about the kendrick johnson case. >> i'm not going to discuss that with you. >> why not, sir? >> because the case is closed. >> the family is concerned about why some things were not taken into evidence. >> i will not discuss the case with you. >> why is that sdm. >> because i don't want to. >> then, less than a minute after he invited us in -- >> what did you not understand about what i said? >> he ushered us out. thank you, sheriff prooin. >> i think this young man met with foul play. >> the justice department is reviewing the pictures and video

to desite if it will launch a formal investigation into his death, but for kendrick's father, the evidence is clear. >> someone murdered him. they should be in jail. they are covering it up. they should be in jail. >> victor blackwell joins me in studio. on the other side of the break, we're going to talk about the photo that has yet to be seen on cnn until now that victor is sharing with us that could really change the central piece of the case. what's the photo, what does it entail? we'll share that next.

back now to our exclusive report and the big question, how did georgia teenager kendrick johnson die? his body was found upside down in this rolled up wrestling mat at a school gym. this was back in january. in the beginning, investigators had ruled his death as an accident. but our victor blackwell has stayed on the story and has just now reported on the new evidence suggesting the circumstances around his death do not add up. you have a couple photographs. the first being one that has yet to air on cnn until now. you have a quick warning. >> i want to warn you this is a picture of centric's hand, he's still in the mat. it's a bit graphic. his fingers are purplish because he had been dead for several hours. let's put this photograph up.

again, the first time airing on c nr cnn. this is his hand. his nails are cut so low that the fingertips are almost purple. his parents say kendrick always wore his nails long. his father's nails are about a half inch to an inch below the finger. this is not normal, and the parents ask, did someone cut his nails there at the scene to hide potential evidence under his nails? because they say kendrick anecdotally said clipping your nails like that is for girls. his nails were always long. and because they're so low, to the point they're bruised, they wonder if someone did it there at the scene. >> wow, so this is one photo. the parents, as long as you have been in touch with them, have a lot of questions about the nature surrounding his death. photo number two, inside this big gym where he was found inside this rolled up wrestling mat were two notebooks. >> a yellow one and a blue one. we see in the surveillance video or stills from the video, when he walked in, he had them under

his arm. there's one in this position. about 20 to 30 feet away is another one. harold copus asks if he's running in to grab somebody quickly, doesn't he drop both in one space and climb to the top of the mat? why is one in one space and the other 20 to 30 feet away? is that evidence of a struggle? now, he's asking the question. and what he's trying to get to is that someone else should ask these questions. the u.s. attorney has been reviewing this case for several months now. and he's saying there are enough questions here, enough unanswered questions that someone should try to get an official answer. and he believes that the u.s. attorney should open this investigation. >> this is the beginning of several pieces that you're unveiling tonight. we'll be watching for piece number two tonight on ac 360. 8:00 eastern. victor blackwell, we'll watching for you. >> coming up in a couple minutes, president obama will be nominated janet yellen to become federal chairman, chairwoman, taking over for ben bernanke.

special coverage with wolf blitzer out of washington starts right after this.

>> i'm wolf blitzer here in washington. we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. special coverage coming up. this is the white house state dining room where in a few minutes, president obama will announce his selection to become the next head of the nation's central bank. the president is set to nominate janet yellen as the chair of the federal reserve board of governors. she would succeed ben bernanke whose term expired in january. she's currently the vice chair, number two spot behind bernanke. if she's confirmed, she'll bekim the first woman to lead the federal reserve in its 100-year history. what kind of fed chief would she be? let's bring in christine romans. she's been digging into her background. she knows a lot about this woman. this is an historic moment we're about to sigh, but tell us about

janet yellen. >> he's got an ivy league pedigree, from new york, and she's bernanke's right-hand man. some say chose rr the most qualifying to have this job. one called by a colleague a small lady with a large iq, janet yellen has 40 years of economics research under her build, after a ph.d. from yale, she went to harvard then berkeley, then to the federal reserve where she spent more than a decade. she garners huge respect from her colleagues and has helped steer fed reserve from the worst of policies. she's seen as a steady land, likely continuing the policy of pumping billions into the economy each month. if confirmed by the senate as expected, her biggest challenge will be to wind down that stimulus and allow the american economy to stand on its own. she was one of the few who saw the housing crisis coming,

warning in 2007, quote, in terms of risk to the outlook for growth, i still feel the presence of a 600-pound gorille in the room, and that's the housing sector. hundreds of economists pushed for her selection, but she does have critics. bob corker tweeting this, quote, i voted against vire chairman yellen's nomination to the fed in 2010 because of her dovish views on the policy. we'll closely examine her record, but i'm not aware of anything that demonstrates her views have changed. corker wanted to know how she would taper down the stimulus. he's not alone. her nomination comes at a delicate time and stakes are high. she would be the first woman joining the pantheon of fed chiefs, paul volker, alan greenspan, and ben bernanke. the confirmation could take months, weeks at least, but she has key senate democrats on her side. over the summer, several wrote to president obama urging her

nomination, but there are senate republicans on the banking committee worried the fed stimulus will stoke new bubbles in the economy. they're likely to push back against yellen. at this point, wolf, the odds are it looks as though confirmation will happen for her. >> she's reassuring to the markets, right. >> >> absolutely. they like to see the steady hand next to ben bernanke for two years and her long history working in government and working at the fed and working in academics as an economist, they think that's something wall street will like to see. >> stand by. we'll continue this conversation. we're waiting for president obama to introduce janet yellen as his choice to be the chair of the federal reserve. we have all angles of this important historic moment covered from the nomination to how it could affect the markets and more. let's go to the white house. our senior white house correspondent jim acosta is standing by. i assume, jim, the president will also use this moment to speak out about the government shutdown, the need to raise the debt ceiling. are you getting any advance word on what he's going to say?

>> no advance word on what the president is going to say. only that it's going to be about ten minutes of remarks from the president. so you can go by that, wolf. i think that's an indication that perhaps the president will be talking about what the nation is going through right now, the government shutdown, and what this white house has been warning about for days and days and days. this debt ceiling deadline comi coming up on october 17th. to bounce off what christine romans was talking about. i think janet yellen works for this white house, works for this administration right now. and that is because they could not afford with everything that is happening right now, with are the concern about the fiscal crises, another contentious battle on capitol hill, that would have been the result had larry summers been tapped for the position. instead, it's janet yellen who could easily be confirmed and also someone who will continue the policies, as christine mentioned, of ben bernanke.

if the economy needs more cash pumped into it, the assumption is she would be supportive of that to a moderate extent. that's why janet yellen, i think, is being nominated today. because she checked the boxes for the white house. >> stand by, jim acosta at the white house. not everybody is thrilled with the prospect of janet yellen heading the federal reserve. bob corker tweets he voted against her 2010 nomination to the fed because of her dovish views on economic policy. let's bring in dana bash. as you and the viewers know, the senate will have to confirm her nomination to head the federal reserve. the first woman to be the federal reserve chair. what are the prospects as we're looking at live pictures. you see jack lew, the treasury secretary, now in the dining room at the white house. >> you know, obviously, the senate is run by democrats, and so right off the bat, her prospects look pretty good. but i actually just wanted to

tell you that better to be lucky than good sometimes, and the chairman of the house ways and means committee was walking by and i asked him to come on. as you said, it's the senate who confirms, not house, but you as your role as very powerful chairman, you have an important opinion on somebody who is the person who would head the federal reserve. what do you think of janet yellen? >> it's really important this nomination is finally made because we had uncertainty who the successor to bernanke was going to be, and now we know. she's going to have to establish her credentials and what her views on monetary policy will be as she goes through her hearings, but clearly, she's been at the fed. she's an insider's choice in some ways there. and is not going to have to learn the ropes because she knows that already. >> if you were in the senate and had a vote, would you confirm her? >> i would want to have an opportunity to have her be confirmed before she makes the comment. she has an opportunity to make

the case. >> wolf read a quote from bob korber who said she might be too dovish about economic policy. is that a concern of your snz. >> i have expressed those concerns and obviously being an insider, it seems as though she may continue those policies, but again, until she has her hearings and has a chance to testify, we don't really know. >> i can't let you go without asking you one question about the crisis we're in and about to be in. would you go for what would effectively be a clean debt ceiling increase if it's temporary and a promise of negotiations dealing with the debt deficit and so forth? >> i think we need to have a negotiated settlement and resolution to all of this. if we could get to that, i think there are a lot of options that could be on the table. the house is trying to signal that the options are on the bab table by signaling the government to open parts of the government, but we need to get this well under way before we reach the debt limit, which is

coming soon. >> cannot let the u.s. default, that's what you're saying. you won't let it happen? >> no, and that date is fast approaching. >> thank you, mr. chairman. goes to show that maybe you shouldn't give tours to people past live cameras. we'll catch you every time, but thank you for agreeing to come on. >> dana, not only are you lucky, but good as well. dana bash up on capitol hill, thanks very much. richard quest is here in washington. gloria borger is here as well. how is the world? you're here for the imf meetings, the international monetary fund meetings in washington. how is the world going to see janet yellen if she's confirmed? >> excellent choice. they'll regard her first and foremost as a safe pair of hands. she has to negotiate the exit strategy, and the crucial question is not when to begin tapering but when to end tapering. how to get out of this vast store of debt that the government has built up, their fed has built up. she's very experienced so they'll regard it as an

excellent choice. >> and to all those who were criticizing the president, gloria, for not bringing enough women into his inner circle, this is an historic moment. >> sure, because she could conceivably become one of the most powerful women in the world. one would argue, right. >> she is. she is. in the financial world. >> i should also point out it's clear to those of us who cover politics in washington, she was not, actually, the president's first choice. she herself did not think she was the president's first choice. that went to larry summers who had been one of his chief economic advisers and when the left wing of the president's own party said, no, no, we don't like larry summers. they see him too much as tied to wall street and summers withdrew, she then rose to the top. it wasn't a clear pathway for her to this job. >> i think what is particularly encouraging about the way the decision process took place is that once summers was out, the

president and the white house didn't go on a shopping expedition to see who else might be there. it became very quickly a case that she was the number two choice. and therefore, she moved into the top spot. >> let me bring rana into the conversation as well as we await the president. rana is our cnn global economic analyst. give us some thoughts. you know this woman, you have studied her over the year, and she, as christine says, she's going to be very, very reassuring to not only the markets but to the international community. >> i think the international community and the markets are looking for two things. one, continuity. she's been with the program of asset buying the fed has been on for several years. she was one of the chief architects of this. ben bernanke's right hand woman, so markets are going to feel good about the sense of continuity. getting ourselves out of this major buying spree without having some sort of a crash or a

bubble bursting is going to be a major challenge. she's confirmed, that will be her first priority, to try to figure out when to do that. i think also markets in general are happy about a dovish fed chief because frankly the program of quantitative easing has kept the markets up. wall street likes that. at the same time, everybody knows at some point we're going to have to ease back. the music is still playing and people are still dancing. >> all right, rana, thanks very much. let's bring back in richard quest and gloria borger as we await the moment the president will walk out, janet yellen will walk out. the president will make a statement. i assume he'll also talk, gloria, about the partial government shutdown, the ramifications of that, the ramifications of the need to raise the debt ceiling. he's going to use this as an opportunity as he's been doing every day on other occasions to make his points. >> you know, in many ways, janet yellen becomes the first responder in a financial crisis. >> no question. >> you know, she is our first

responder. so he's got a nice segue there because obviously, if we do not raise the debt ceiling, we will be in a full-fledged financial crisis. and she'll be a real leading the response team on that. so he can take this opportunity to say, we don't want to go there, i don't want to go there. they should pass these clean bills. there's no way we should default on our debt. we'll hear from the president, i p presume, what we have heard every day for many days. >> we'll listen closely because maybe there will be a nuance, a little bit of wiggle room. >> wasn't yesterday. >> wasn't yesterday, but that's our job, to listen very, very closely. >> the fascinating part about today's nomination is that the chairman of the fed is a unique position. think about it. there's not been that many, less than a dozen. volker, greenspan, bernanke, have seen the u.s. economy through some of the toughest times. this position isn't just like a treasury secretary or a chief

economic adviser. this person now has the enormous power in the u.s. economy and the global economy, and since the crisis of 2008, they have the ability to exercise it. >> and that's a significant moment. a lot of people don't necessarily understand, richard, give us a little fed chair 101 explainer. why is this job so important? >> because they run the money supply of the united states. and thereby, the rest of the world. the fed chair effectively runs the fomc, the open markets committee that sets interest rates, sets monetary policy, and crucially, wolf, they also are the chief regulator of many aspects of the economy. it's a vast array of powers. they pull the levers of the economy when political gridlock means nothing is getting done. >> that was denis mcdonough, the white house chief of staff. he's in the room now. a lot of other folks are in the room. what's going to happen later after this event, the president has invited, gloria, all 200 members, democrats, in the house

of representatives, to come over to another room at the white house and have a little powwow. >> yeah, you know, he canceled his international meeting in asia. now he's having nonstop meetings here with democrats. he's also invited the republican caucus, although not the entire republican caucus is going to come. i think the president's objective here is to stay in the public eye, making his case, wolf, as much as he can. and making the same points. as we heard at the press conference yesterday over and over and over again, for over an hour, making the same points about how he's not going to be held hostage. it's -- this whole controversy, by the way, has really let him off the hook on the question of all of the glitches of his health care reform plan. >> we saw an aide brings the president's statement there. he's going to read it shortly. let me go quickly to dana bash. are you getting more information on what we have been reporting? this possible short-term proposal to resolve this crisis?

>> well, more discussions with senior house republican sources, one of whom said that they think it is likely that they could actually pass a short-term increase in the debt ceiling with democratic help. something they have not been willing to do to reopen the government. not been willing to do to fund the government because as the source told me, the debt ceiling scares people. they realize that this is something that could have very catastrophic implications when it comes to the global economy. and what that would mean, this source said to me they understand, is passing what would effectively be a short-term clean increase in the debt ceiling, what the president is demanding, but, and here is the but, what they would have to do to get at least some republicans onboard in the house, especially, is to have very specific parameters of negotiations that would start immediately on what republicans have been demanding. discussions about things that would go towards reducing the

long-term debt and deficit, as you heard john boehner say over and over again, make sure that this cycle doesn't continue. we don't have to keep raising the debt ceiling to pay our bills. all or not that is possible or doable, we don't know because as several senior house republican sources have emphasized to me, it's hard to discuss what's doable with their members if there's no discussions with the white house. >> here's the president. >> good afternoon. over the past five years, america has fought its way back from the worst recession since the great depression. we've passed historic reforms to prevent another crisis, and to protect consumers. over the past three and a half years, our businesses have created 7.5 million new jobs. our housing market is rebounding. manufacturing is growing. the auto industry has come roaring back. and since i took office, we've

cut the deficit in half. now, i think everybody understands we still have a lot of work to do to rebuild the middle class, but we've made progress. and we shouldn't do anything to threaten that progress. for these hard won gains have made a difference to millions of americans and in part, we can thank the extraordinary grit and resilience of the american people. in part, we can thank the dynamism of our businesses. but a lot of it also has to do with the choices we had as a nation to create more jobs and more growth. one of the most important contributors to this whole process has been the federal reserve. under the strong leadership of ben bernanke. for nearly eight years, ben has led the fed through some of the most daunting economic challenges of our lifetime. for some time now, he's made it clear that he intends to finish his service as chairman at the end of his term, which is this january.

so today, i just want to take a minute to pay tribute to ben for his extraordinary service. but i also want to announce my choice for the next chair of the federal reserve. one of the nation's foremost economists and policymakers, current vice chairman janet yellen. you know, after i became president, i was proud to nominate ben for a second term. and while the fed is and must always be independent, i want you to know, ben, i'm personally very grateful to you for being such a strong partner in helping america recover from recession. perhaps it's no surprise as the son of a pharmacist and a school teacher that ben bernanke is the epitome of calm, and he's been a voice of wisdom and a steady hand. at the same time, when faced with potential global economic meltdown, he has displayed tremendous courage and

creativity. he took bold action needed to avertanother depression, helping us stop the freefall, shore up our banks, get credit flowing again. and all this has made a profound difference in the lives of millions of americans. a lot of people aren't necessarily sure what the chairman of the federal reserve does, but thanks to this man to the left of me, more families are able to afford their own home, more small businesses are able to get loans, to expand and hire workers. more folks can pay their mortgages and their car loans. it's meant more growth and more jobs. and i would add that with his commitment to greater transparency and clarity, he's also allowed us to better understand the work of the fed. you know, ben has led a new era of fed speak, and been a little more clear about how the system works. and that is good for our democracy. and i have to tell you as i

travel around the world, the job of the fed chair is not just, you know, our top monetary policymaker. the world looks to the american fed chair for leadership and guidance. and the degree to which ben is admired and respected and the degree to which, you know, central bankers all across the world look to him for sound advice and smart policy making is remarkable. he has truly been a stabilizing force not just for our country but for the entire world. and i could not be more grateful for his extraordinary service. so ben, to you and your wife anna, and your children joel and melissa, i want to thank you for your outstanding service. thank you so much.

>> now, as i've said, the decision on who will suck cease ben is one of the most important economic decisions i'lltrokemake as president, one of the most important appointments any president can make because the chairman of the fed is one of the most important policymakers in the world. and they'll help to guide the economy after i have left office. i have considered a lot of factors. foremost is an understanding of the fed's dual mandate. sound monetary policy to keep inflation in check, and also increasing employment and creating jobs which remains our most important economic challenge right now. and i've found these qualities in janet yellen. she's a proven leader and she's tough. not just because she's from brooklyn. janet is exceptionally well qualified for this role.

she's served in leadership positions at the fed for more than a decade. as vice chair for the past three years, she's been exemplary and a driving force of policies to help boost our economic recovery. she's renowned for her good government. she sounded the alarm early about the housing bubble, about excesses in the private sector. she doesn't have a crystal ball, but what she does have is a keen understanding of how the markets and the economy work, not just in theory but also in the real world, and she calls it like she sees it. she also knows how to build consensus. she listens to competing views and brings people together around a common goal. and as one of her admirers says, she's the kind of person who makes everybody around her better. not surprisingly, she's held in high aseem by colleagues across the country and the world who look to the united states, as i said, and the fed for leadership. janet is committed to both sides of the fed's dual mandate and

she understands the necessity of a stable financial system where we move ahead with the reforms we've begun, to protect consumers, to insure that no institution is too big to fail. and to make sure that taxpayers are never left holding the bag because of the mistakes of the reckless few. and at the same time, she's committed to increasing employment, and she understands the human costs when americans can't find a job. she said before, these are not just statistics to me. the toll is simply terrible on the mental and physical health of workers, their marriages, their children. so janet understands this, and america's workers and families will have a champion in janet yellen. so janet, i thank you for taking on this new assignment. and giving the urgent economic challenge facing the nation, i urge the senate to confirm her without delay. i'm confident she will be an exceptional chair of the federal reserve. i should add that she'll be the

first woman to lead the fed in its 100-year history. and i know a lot of americans, men and women, thank you for not only your example and your excellence, but also being a role model for a lot of folks out there. so it's been said that janet found love at the federal reserve, literally. this is where she -- this is where she met her husband, george. a celebrated economist in his own right. and their son robert is an economist as well. you can imagine the conversation around the dinner table might be a little different than ours. in fact, i've been told their idea of a great family vacation is the beach with a suitcase full of economics books. this is a family affair. we thank george and robert for their support as janet begins this journey. i want to thank ben bar nanky for the outstandic work he's done and he'll continue to help keep our economy moving forward during the remainder of his

tenure here. so we'll probably have occasion for additional good-byes, and i know that janet is very much counting on him to give some good advice to her as she moves into the chairman spot. but with this, i would like to give janet a chance to say a few words. >> thank you, mr. president. i'm honored and humbled by the faith that you've placed in me. if confirmed by the senate, i pledge to do my utmost to keep that trust and meet the great responsibilities that congress has entrusted to the federal reserve. to promote maximum employment, stable prices, and a strong and

stable financial system. i'd also like to thank my spouse, george, and my son, robert. i couldn't imagine taking on this new challenge without their love and support. the past six years have been tumultuous for the economy. and challenging for many americans. while i think we all agree, mr. president, that more needs to be done to strengthen the recovery, particularly for those hardest hit by the great recession, we have made progress. the economy is stronger, and the financial system sounder. as you said, mr. president, considerable credit for that goes to chairman bernanke for his wise, courageous, and skillful leadership. it has been my privilege to serve with him and learn from

him. while we have made progress, we have farther to go. the mandate of the federal reserve is to serve all the american people. and too many americans still can't find a job and worry how they'll pay their bills and provide for their families. the federal reserve can help if it does its job effectively. we can help insure that everyone has the opportunity to work hard and build a better life. we can insure that inflation remains in check and doesn't undermine the benefits of a growing economy. we can and must safeguard the financial system. the fed has powerful tools to influence the economy and the financial system. but i believe its greatest strength rests in its capacity

to approach important decisions with expertise and objectivity. to vigorously debate diverse views and then to unite behind its response. the fed's effectiveness depends on the commitment, ingenuity, and integrity of the fed staff and my fellow policymakers. they serve america with great dedication. mr. president, thank you for giving me this opportunity to continue serving the federal reserve and carrying out its important work on behalf of the american people. [ applause ] >> so there goes the president of the united states, and janet

yellen, who is now nominated to become the next chair of the federal reserve, ben ber nnanke the current chair. we'll presumably hear from him down the road. he's still going to be chair for a few months. his term expires in january. yellen has to be confirmed by the senate and in the she would bekim the first woman head of the federal reserve in its 100-year history. let's go to jim acosta. we didn't hear the president say much, if anything, about the two crises under way in washington, the need to get the government fully operational and the need to raise the debt ceiling. >> that's right, wolf, but there was an implicit message. that's don't mess with what's going on right now. don't mess with the recovery as it stands now. you heard the president say the country has fought its way back from the great recession. that ben bernanke, the current head of the federal reserve, has

led the fed through some of the most daunting challenges of a lifetime. the message there, i think, if it wasn't explicit, it was implicit, that janet yellen can keep the federal reserve moving in the direction bernanke did, but at the same time, we don't want to go back to where we were in 2008. you heard it today from the white house press secretary jay carney, and i think we'll hear that message as the days move forward. >> let's see how it's playing on capitol hill. dana bash has been watching and listening. unless there's something none of us knows, there may be some criticism of janet yellen, but presumab presumably, she's going to be pretty speedily confirmed by the senate, wouldn't you expect that, dana? >> likely, unclear how fast things will move given the state of play things are in right now. the atmosphere that we're in right now, but certainly, we're going to see a very important, very lively confirmation hearing for janet yellen, but

ultimately, unless something dramatic changes, it's going to be hard to see how she does not get confirmed. for lots of reasons. one of which we have to remember back several months now when she was somebody whose name was floated for fed chair along with larry summers who of course took his name out just a few weeks ago. the female senators, 20 of them, sent a letter to the white house demanding -- not demanding, but asking that she be nominated for lots of reasons, obviously, because of the ground' breaking move that is, as the president mentioned she would be the first female head of the federal reserve and also because of her credentials. that gives you maybe one clue to the ability she has to get confirmed, and the white house, i think, knows from their dealing with larry summers and floating that idea, if they put her up, the fact they got her this far, they didn't do that without having a lot of confidence she's going to get

nominated -- confirmed, rather. >> very confident that eventually she'll get confirmed unless there's something we don't know right now. christine romans, it looks like the markets are up about 60 points as we speak right now, in contrast to yesterday and the day before. if you take a look, i think the markets, as you have been pointing out, they're pretty receptive to janet yellen. >> yeah, and this rally -- if you can call it a rally, has been ascribed to yellen, and just the fact now there's no uncertainty about who will be next at the helm of the federal reserve. again, assuming that there is a speedy and easy confirmation process for her. you know, this is someone who is on the record, wolf, concerned about high unemployment in the country and wanting to make sure that the fed's policies are supporting more people getting to work. that's why she will be, many assume, very careful in how the fed tapers back all of the stimulus going into the economy. she doesn't want to hurt the job situation. it's interesting because the job situation is what wi used to

talk about before we talked about government shutdowns and the process and back and forth with washington, it's only the fed, really, that has been enacting policy, fiscal policy in the country right now, and she's been next to ben bernanke for some time now. she knows exactly how the stimulus works and exactly what needs to be done to take it off the table, and again, a steady hand at the tiller. that's what wall street sees in her. >> yeah, and the markets are reflecting that to be sure. although this is no great surprise. we have known for several, at least a week or two, that the president had made up his mind. today, he makes it official. gloria borger is here, richard quest is here. gloria, i remember when janet yellen worked in the clinton white house, chairman for the counsel of budget advisers, and there were surpluses. >> jack lew, who is now treasury secretary, was there as a budget

director. those were the good old days. >> budget surpluses are good. we haven't seen those in a long time, but she knows how to do that, and she was giving then-president bill clinton good economic advice. >> don't forget, what they did when bill clinton was president is they cut the budget, and there was a lot of controversy within the democratic party at that time about whether the president was in fact turning into a republican because he was cutting the budget so much. and the controversy around her, i mean, oddly enough, is that she's too liberal, too much in favor of easy money and stimulus and you heard her talk today about the mandate that she has to say, to serve all of the american people and specifically saying, too many americans cannot find a job. this wasn't about wall street. >> the jewel mandate, price stability versus maximum employment. i'm not a mind reader, but it's not on accident that the two

occasions she talked about it, jobs came before prices. maximum employment first, then stable prices. and again, more needs to be done. for all americans. so she -- this is what the republican critics will fear. that they're getting somebody who is too much of a liberal, who is too dovish. to some extent, she's re-enforced that in her early comments. she didn't seem to be a hawk on inflation, but there is an inflation so why would she be. >> under 2%. and you have to give ben bernanke a lot of credit for the job he's done. he was inherited, if you will, by the president, because he was named by the former president, but he's really done an amazing job. >> i love the phrase that the president used just then to describe ben bernanke's work. he's done his job with courage and creativity. two words you would not think to put to a central bank head, courage and creativity. >> i would have liked to have heard a little bit from ben bernanke. he didn't speak, but he'll have

other opportunities. >> i'm going to go out on a bit of a limb. i think she'll get through easily but she's going to get a rough ride on the other side of the jewel agreement. >> of all the fights the republicans want to pick, and they're in the middle of a really big fight, the polls are showing popularity have dropped by 10 points in the last month. this is the first woman nominee to the fed. they may disagree with her on stimulus and all the rest, but i don't -- >> they'll make a lot of noise. >> yes. >> a lot of smoke and mirrors. i think it's a dansler. >> if you want to be the most powerful woman in the world, and you say this job would make her -- >> how do you do senao you do y? >> you have to go through a tough confirmation process. >> particularly if you're a woman. >> stand by, guys. up next, there's also developments here in washington. it's an issue that many

americans find outrageous. the government shutdown means death benefits for military families put on hold. the pentagon, though, may have come up with a fix. we'll tell you what we're learning. also, we're talking to a mother who lost her son in iraq and knows just how important these benefits are.

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today, the president ordered an immediate fix. it looks like he may have it. the pentagon entering into a contract with an organization called fisher house foundation. fisher house says it will pay the funeral expenses, the $100,000 death gratuity, anything the government is not paying due to the bickering going on in congress with the administration right now. the fisher house saying they'll keep playing the families of fallen troops until the partialtiatedown of the government ends. that still has to go to the senate, so now let's put a face on what is going on. christopher zimmerman, a marine staff sergeant who died in iraq in 2006. his mother faith zimmerman is joining us now. faith, my deepest condolences, all of our deepest condolences. first of all, tell us a little bit about your son and how he died. >> my son was a marine. he was in iraq.

on september of '06, they were on the last mission they were going to do before they came home. they came under fire. he was killed, basically, in small armed battle. he was able to locate the source of the fire and was able to save his men by directing them where to return fire. and they came home safe. and he came home before they did. >> so sad. how important was the financial help in the days, the months immediately following your son's death? >> oh, it was immeasurable. the gratuity came in so handy because we have a large family. we needed to transport family in for the funeral. we needed to transport family out to the memorial service. i took time off from work, his dad took time off from work. we could not have financially survived without the gratuity. it's immeasurable.

>> how would you have felt, and this is a hypothetical, faith, but how would you have felt if you were one of the five families today whose loved ones are coming back from war and the government is saying, well, we're sorry, we're not going to be able to pay for the funeral expenses, help you get to dover to see the coffins coming back. what would you have thought if that were the case? >> i would just think, where has the heart and soul of our government gone? you know, these young men and women sign up as volunteers. they're not made to do this. they go freely. they know the risk. when they paid that ultimate sacrifice, it's not -- it's the families that hurt. itsther families that suffer. it's the communities and the nation. so i would just wonder where the heart and soul of our government is if they don't reinstate that benefit. >> they have to fix that, and they have to fix it immediately. faith zimmerman, thanks so much

for coming in and once again, our deepest, deepest condolences. thanks to your and your entire family. >> thank you for having me. now to one of those four soldiers whose remains returned to the united states today. his name, private first class cody patterson. only 24 years old. from oregon, killed on his second tour of duty in afghanistan.

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jake tapper is getting ready for his show that begins at the top of the hour, "the lead." there are some out there who suggest, you know what? if the congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling by october 17th, you know what, there are ways the country can live with that. some call these people the default deniers. other terms out there. i know you're taking a closer look at this debate that's going on. >> that's right. another term i have heard for it is debt truthers. the argument is, basically, that the united states still takes in enough tax money, about $200 billion, that it can bay off the interest on the debt. ov, that is an explanation to say there shouldn't be a crisis, that the united states would not have an immediate crisis, but it doesn't really answer the crisis, what do you do when other bills become new, social security, medicare, paying the military? we'll talk to a senator from

pennsylvania, pat toomey, a republican, who has taken this argument. take a listen. >> there's zero chance that the u.s. government is going to default on its debt. it's unfortunate that people have conflated this idea of not raising the debt ceiling immediately on october 17th with somehow defaulting on our debt. you know, we bring in in tax revenue about 12 times as much money as it takes to pay our interest on our debt. >> wolf, a lot of republicans that i have had on the show this week say that might be technically true, but we shouldn't be playing this game. we shouldn't be taking this risk. so we'll be talking to senator toomey, also senator dick durbin, democrat from illinois, and much more coming up on "the lead." >> we'll be watching at the top of the hour. >> it's been a rallying cry for republicans during this whole shutdown, defund obama care program. now, a new message from congressman paul ryan. it doesn't make one specific mention of obama care.

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obama care, that's the drumbeat that the republicans have been beating. to. but today there are hints of a possible new strategy by the gop. here's part of what republican congressman paul ryan wrote in "wall street journal" -- the president is giving congress the silent treatment. he's refusing to talk, even though the federal government is about to hit the debt ceiling. we need to pay or bills today and make sure we can pay our bills tomorrow. so let's negotiate an agreement to make modest reforms to entitlement programs and the tack code. the op-ed failed to include one word -- obama care. now listen to what john boehner said in his message to the president of the house floor just a few hours ago. >> reopen our government and provide fairness to all americans under the president's health care law. the law had a big roll-out this week, but it's been called, quote, an inexcusable mess, a

rolling calamity. consumers face dramatically higher rates. many remain locked out. they're surprised the premiums went up. instead of making it easier to get health insurance, it's going to be a lot tougher. what a train wreck. let's bring in gloria borger. paul ryan, very carefully scripted op-ed, but the speaker -- are they on the same page? itches i think they're trying to cover all bases. i think it's clear to republicans that they were stepping on their own message. they're on very firm ground when they talk about raising the debt ceiling to budget cutbacks, the buck actually, when you look at the polling, the public things you should do that. they may be on firmer ground talking about the roll-out of obama care than they were when they were talking about tying -- closing the government to defunding obama care. so they have stepped on their own message, seen public opinion polls go down like ten points

for republicans in the last month or so, wolf. >> the president think's job approval numbers are low, too. >> you're right, nobody is benefiting, but the republican are the ones being hurt most of all. i think what they're trying to do is kind of retool and get a little more nuance d so john boehner can stay, look how they shall the roll-out has been, because at the president's press conference yesterday, did anybody ask a question about obama care? so what was it all about? it was about the shutdown and not about the thing that they were promising to defund. also, i think there's a real realization they were promising something they just couldn't deliver, wolf. they were never going to be able to kill the president's signature legislative achievement on a resolution to keep the government running. it just wasn't going to happen. we have more on this in "the situation room" later, in about an hour or so.

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cnn has learned that washington now has tacit approval from lickia to conduct operations against suspects linked to the deadly attack on the u.s. consulate on benghazi. four people were killed back on september 11th, 2012, including the u.s. ambassador christopher stevens, a senior u.s. official tells cnn that u.s. forces could enter libya to pursue the suspects without the libyan government knowing the exact location or timing of any such operation. more on that coming up. take a look at the dow jones industrial average. up 29 points right now. 30 points right now, a lot better than yesterday when it was down more than 100. we'll see what happens in the

days to come. i'll be back in one hour in "the situation room." more news. among my guests, john mccain talking about the government shutdo shutdown, the need to raise the debt ceiling. in the meantime, the news continues right now with "the lead" with jake tapper. congress' approval rating drops to -- reay for this -- 5%. 5%. which begs the question -- who exactly is this 5%? i'm jake tapper this is "the lead." the national lead, everyone agrees the families of our fallen troops deserves their death benefits now. to we hit it in eight day. what's the truth? add the pop culture lead, the government is