wolf blitzer is going to take over after this break. you know what, he's going to give you the latest on iraq. we won't take a break. we'll go straight to wolf. secretary kerry having some very important meetings and the issue of the oil refineries and control are the headlines today. wolf will take it from here. right now, the power of persuasion. the secretary of state john kerry wrapping up his mission to iraq, saying words are cheap, as the u.s. waits for concrete action from iraq's government. a senator is fighting for his political life. it's election day. senator thad cochran facing a tough challenge from tea party favorite chris mcdonnell. the latest from that race. andelations uncovered by cnn that records may have been changed to hide how many veterans died, simply waiting for care.

hello, i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. we start in iraq, where the battle in iraq has now shifted back to the fight over iraq's oil. right now, isis insurgents are fighting iraqi forces for control over the country's largest oil refinery. this is a vital facility that's just 130 miles from baghdad. it produces about one-third of the country's entire oil output. our senior international correspondent nic robertson is joining us from baghdad. we're hearing conflicting reports on who's actually in control of this hugely important refinery. what do you know? >> well, without this refinery online, the country is getting short of cooking gas. the prices have gone up fivefold we're told in some cities. fuel for cars. there are lines three or four hours at some of the gas stations now. people just don't have the gas. because this refinery is continually being fought over.

just last night, we were being told by three independent sources that isis had, in fact, taken control of the refinery. this is a large facility. a 35-mile perimeter fence around it. four different refinery complexes within it. but today the government, the army spokesman said, once again, that the military was fighting for control of it. indeed, had control over parts of it. we're also hearing the same narrative about talafar, that important air base and town north of the country. again, not clear who controls it, fighting continuing there. the government also saying today it had taken control of a border crossing point into syria, and one goes into jordan, linked iraq to jordan. this, because isis militants have posted pictures online, indicating that they have taken control of it. again, impossible for us to get to these locations and determine exactly who's in control. it paints a very fluid picture

here, wolf. >> a very brutal picture. critically important, if iraq's to continue to export oil as well, it's a major oil exporting country. as you also know, nic, there was a statement from the iraqi military, insisting that all of the towns between baghdad and samarra, they are now under control of iraqi state forces. i guess the question is, a, does the iraqi military, the public statements they put out, do they have a whole lot of credibility? are they backed up by the facts? are you getting a sense if they are true that the iraqi military's beginning to step up and do -- flex their military muscle? >> you know, what they've said is they're doing these tactical withdrawals and then retrenching and refocussing on other areas. that area we're talking about, dialas province, just north of baghdad. south to samarra. this is essentially becoming a buffer zone for the military,

that they want to keep isis out of. the west of the city, it's a little different. isis forces are much closer to baghdad. but the hard bit, again, is for us to get independent information. we try to drive today to the western limits of baghdad. it's impossible for us to get there. it's impossible to get out, get that independent confirmation, wolf. >> nic robertson, be careful in baghdad, thanks very much. let's get to the political side. the secretary of state john kerry is now wrapped up talks with the iraqi government. he's trying to cobble together a compromise of sorts. he spoke with our own chief national security correspondent jim sciutto about the white house's message, the prospects of a new unity government in iraq. >> in your time here, have you seen any hard evidence of any of the parties involved willing to make compromises? what hard concessions have any of the sides offered to each other to bring about this

political compromise you and the administration say is necessary? >> well, it's the question. and i welcome it. because i think what i have found here is, first of all, the significant fact that 14 million iraqis went out and voted. very significant percentage of the population chose democracy. and there is a constitutional process. which we, in our strategic framework agreement, are pledged to be supportive of. and we are. that constitutional process is actually playing out right now. so while he says there's a new reality, the new reality is they're under attack from isil, and they've realized that they cannot continue with this sectarian division. so part of the new reality is yet to be fully defined as they form this new government. and so that's the critical thing now. that's the mention that's so key now. and, you know, i think we have

to let that organic process work out a little bit. words are cheap. >> jim also pressed secretary kerry on his comments about strategy and the american response. >> you said sustained and intense would be -- u.s. military action would be sustained and intense if the president decides to go forward. wonder for you could better define the time frame but also the measure of success of military action. is it isis destroyed, isis retreating? is it a partial retreat? >> that's precisely the strategy that needs to be defined as we go forward. what i said would be intense would be the support to the government of iraq and our efforts to try to help build the -- rebuild the military structure, as well as, hopefully, support a new unity government. >> we're going to have more of jim's conversation with secretary kerry later this hour. stand by for that. while the u.s. considers its political options, it's also considering some military

options. the white house saying it has not yet made a decision on whether to use air strikes but so far the u.s. military says its drones have not been part of any attacks anywhere inside iraq. barbara starr, our pentagon correspondent, has been following these developments. what are they saying so far about the possibility of air strikes, that air option going forward? >> still on the table, wolf, still the president making no decision, and many u.s. military officials saying that air strikes basically will not solve the political crisis inside of iraq. it is not going to destroy isis. it's not going to make the iraqi military any stronger. it's not really going to achieve much. so why is it still on the table? well, there's tree basic scenarios that would make air strikes come about at this point. first and foremost, if those u.s. military advisers going into iraq came under enemy fire, you can bet warplanes will roll in and protect them until they can be got be out of that.

the other two strategic issues, if isis were to make a run for baghdad, the u.s. is not going to stand by and let baghdad fall. and there are questions, no answers yet, about whether the iraqi military would be strong enough to defend all of baghdad, if that scenario were to happen. and then there is the jordanian isis within miles of the jordanian border, a lot of concern that they could try and cross into jordan. not likely that the u.s. or even israel is going to let that happen. so you see this scenario building, where there could be the potential for air strikes, if that decision was made, right now, today, there are seven u.s. navy warships in the persian gulf, about 1,000 marines, and also dozens and dozens of warplanes in the region. u.s. officials saying it's not no decision to do it, but openly acknowledging they are still

collecting of course that crucial targeting intelligence on isis and they will be ready if this were to come to that, wolf. >> when you speak with pentagon planners and you ask the question, what's the downside of launching air strikes, either from jet fighters or from drones, what do they say? >> well, it's a couple of things. first of all, it's really one of the crucial questions that you're pointing to right now. if the u.s. were to launch air strikes, it may be perceived in the region as being pro-shia, pro on the side of the maliki government, and drive the sunnis even closer into the isil camp. that's a big concern, that the u.s. would seem to be taking sectarian sides. fundamentally, this is a political dispute. the violence is brutal, but behind all of it is basically the u.s. feeling that the maliki government simply has not included the sunnis. they have been driven into essentially the isil camp

already. that's how isil is making so much progress in taking over territory. bombs don't solve that. it's never, in the last 13 years, basically brought an end to militant ideology. it is a political issue, not an issue for bombs on target, if you will. wolf. >> all right, barbara, thanks very much. barbara starr's other at the pentagon. it's a bitter race that sometimes waded into the mississippi mud. now it's time for voters to decide again. we'll profile the runoff between the tea party challenger and a six-term republican senator. plus, an archivist getting grilled up on capitol hill, saying the irs did not follow the law when they didn't come clean about losing thousands of missing e-mails tied to an ongoing investigation. ♪ touch down... every morning...

ten times! not just... now and then. once more on the rise... nuts to the flabby guys! go, you chicken fat, go away! go, you chicken fat, go! run, two, run (running) (like a tortoise) okay! (too far, and too slow.) now double up, ready! run two three four... (running) run two three four... (like a hare) run two three four... (now you are) run two three four... (getting there) run two three four... (go you) run two three four... (chicken fat,) everybody sing! (go away!) go, you chicken fat, go! go! go! go! dismissed! okinawans stay soeen active as they age.y...

but okinawans know one reason.... ...they eat well to be well. okinawa life has... ...isoflavone, a key ingredient of... ...the okinawa diet. a secret of vitality from people... ...who really know how to live. okinawa life. get your $5 coupon at okinawalife.com

a top white house lawyer and archivist from the national archives, they were grilled up on capitol hill today about the controversial missing irs e-mails. the second day of heated exchanges from representative darrell issa and his committee. demanding answers on how the tax agency could have lost thousands of e-mails on information that they had targeted certain groups like the tea party. the congressman asked if the irs broke the law by not reporting the alleged computer crash. >> is it fair to say the irs broke the federal records act? >> they're required -- any agency is required to notify us when they realize they have a problem that could be destruction or disposal, unauthorized -- >> but they didn't do that?

>> that's right. >> did they break the law? >> i'm not a lawyer. >> you administer the federal records act? >> i do. >> if they didn't follow it, can we safely assume they broke the law? >> they did not follow the law. >> strong words. let's bring in our senior political analyst ron brownstein who's joining us. that's a powerful statement from that witness testifying on behalf of the national archives. >> it is a big deal. democrats on the committee and in general in congress i think had made a lot of progress at sort of rebutting the initial charge that tea party groups were uniquely targeted by the irs as opposed to a broader look at groups that were politically active. now this entire question, response to the information request and what happened to the e-mails has given new life, really fuel on what had been a flickering fire. i think we're now guaranteed that this issue -- the committee

has enough grist to keep it going through the election. >> you've been in washington long enough to know there's oftentimes an alleged crime, but then the cover-up could become worse, certainly criminally. is that what we're seeing, an alleged cover-up that would be a disaster? >> the irs explanation is there was a computer crash. we don't have any evidence yet to the contrary. we have a lot of suspicious questions that are going to provide fuel to keep this story in the headlines at a time when it seemed to really have been pushed back and receded. if nothing else, what this is going to do is to provide a lot of kind of energy to mobilize the republican base through the election and i think that the investigation of the response will increasingly supplant, as you suggest, the investigation of the underlying allegation for the next several months. >> you can see the anger there. when he grill, like darrell issa

grilling the commissioner of the irs, basically accusing this guy, who's been around washington for a long time, in all sorts of positions, of lying, that's pretty powerful stuff. >> issa's had a very controversial relationship with the administration in general. this is really an indication, wolf, of why these kinds of investigations are such a wild card for politicians. because they often kind of evolve and even mutate very far from the original target. in this case, we're talking about, now, the response, rather than the underlying allegation. we were talking about governor christie, where an investigation into bridge closing lanes has now mutated into something very different. we saw that most famously with bill clinton and the monica lewinsky investigation, something completely unrelated. that is the real risk to the politicians. these are wild cards. no one can be sure where they're going to go or what you'll eventually find. >> especially if a special counsel is brought in. once that door opens, you never know where it's going to lead. >> that's absolutely right. i think these kind of open-ended

investigations were a real kind of part of our politics in the late '90s. the obama first term largely avoided them. here we are in the second term, we're seeing this kind of, you know, scandal de jure and the allegation of scandal becoming a systemic weapon. >> quickly, the second chris christie bridge investigation is now going forward. you read about it in "the new york times" today. big deal, little deal? >> i think on its own it would not be a big deal but against the backdrop of the other allegations it becomes a bigger deal. in the sense -- the question is whether it shows, as did the first charges, of closing lanes, by any means necessary attitude of kind of i'm going to get what i want, no matter what obstacle. people like an effective administrator. they don't like necessary someone who is skirting the law. i think on its own this would be a policy dispute. in the context of what's come before, it is problematic for them. >> thanks very much. still to company, we have an exclusive new report that you will see only on cnn. our investigation uncovered new

allegations that a va hospital may have changed or altered patient records to high just how many veterans died. simply waiting for care. but up next, the six-term u.s. senator facing a tough tea party challenge today. we'll take a closer look at the republican runoff in mississippi. we'll highlight some other races you need to watch today. ups is a global company, but most of our employees live in the same communities that we serve. people here know that our operations have an impact locally. we're using more natural gas vehicles than ever before. the trucks are reliable, that's good for business. but they also reduce emissions, and that's good for everyone. it makes me feel very good about the future of our company. ♪ humans. we are beautifully imperfect creatures

living in an imperfect world. that's why liberty mutual insurance has your back, offering exclusive products like optional better car replacement, where if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. call... and ask an insurance expert about all our benefits today, like our 24/7 support and service, because at liberty mutual insurance, we believe our customers do their best out there in the world, so we do everything we can to be there for them when they need us. plus, you could save hundreds when you switch, up to $423. call... today. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? ♪ ♪

♪ woooooah. ♪ [ male announcer ] you're not just looking for a house. you're looking for a place for your life to happen. zillow.

you're looking for a place for your life to happen. could help your business didavoid hours of delaynd test caused by slow internet from the phone company? that's enough time to record a memo. idea for sales giveaway. return a call. sign a contract. pick a tie. take a break with mr. duck. practice up for the business trip. fly to florida. win an award. close a deal. hire an intern. and still have time to spare. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business. built for business. two political veterans are fighting for survival on a busy primary day here in america. we're highlighting some of the marquee matchups that you should be watching. taking a closer look at what they mean for november. the midterms and, indeed, beyond. in mississippi, the six-term

republican senatored that cochran facing a tough tea party challenge, senate senator mcdonnell edged him out in the primary three weeks ago, but neither got the necessary 50% of the vote. the race has been bitter. it's nasty, it's expensivexpens. tons of cash coming into mississippi from outside groups. the other political veteran in the fight for his political life today is democratic congressman charlie rangel of new york. win or lose, rangel says this will be his last campaign. he's facing state senator espaiot who came within 1,100 votes of defeating rangel two years ago. the republican senate primary in oklahoma. the former state speaker t.w. shannon wins, he will be poised to become the second african-american republican senator. shannon represented james langford lead a field of seven candidates. voters are also going to the

polls in utah, maryland and south carolina. let's take a closer look at the runoff in mississippi, after the mudslinging and flood of campaign cash. it's time for voters to have their say. our chief congressional correspondent dana bash reports from jackson, mississippi, on the final push by the candidates. >> reporter: 36-year senate veteran flew in a famous establishment republican, john mccain, to help close the deal with mississippi voters. >> to send thad cochran, a good and decent and honorable servant, back to the senate. >> reporter: mcdaniel got more votes in the pry merck bimary, the 50% needed to win, sparking the runoff. tea party groups already invested in mcdaniel as their best hope of defeating a senate gop incumbent redoubled efforts. >> the resurgence for this country starts right here the in mississippi. >> reporter: nervous traditional republicans from around the

country, trying to beat back the tea party, are here too. the chamber of commerce, airing a hail mary tv ad, with former star quarterback and mississippi native brett favre. >> thad cochran always delivers, just like he did during katrina. >> reporter: a super pac supporting cochran is spending money courting democrats allowed to vote in the gop runoff. you're not a republican, are you? >> no, i'm not. >> reporter: especially african-americans, who want to help a republican helping them for years. jackie brand passed out 5,000 cochran flyers. >> traditionally, african-americans vote a certain party. and we -- >> reporter: democrat? >> democrat, right. and we wanted to raise the awareness to african-americans that we do have a stake in this runoff election. >> reporter: mcdaniel argues cochran reaching out to democrats will fire up conservatives against him even more. >> if senator cochran is going to court liberal democrats to save his seat, it is a clear indication that he has abandoned

conservatives in the state of mississippi. >> reporter: i just talked to chris mcdaniel who said the fact you're courting african-american democrats or democrats in general is proof you're a liberal, you're not a conservative. >> is that right? well, you know, my responsibility is the united states senator, has been to represent the people of the state of mississippi, not just one party or one race. >> dana's joining us from jackson, mississippi. also joining us, mark preston, cnn executive editor of politics. dana, politics may make strange bedfellows. how unusual is it for some democrats to actually be out there campaigning for this longtime republican senator? >> very unusual. look, this is -- mississippi is a red state, but it's also full of democrats would awho are muc more conservative than democrats in other parts of the country. let me give you an anecdotal update on what's going on with that effort. where i am right now, this is a polling station in a predominantly african-american

community in jackson, mississippi. last time around, on the actual primary day, june 3rd, 72 people voted here. already, we're only five hours in, and they're saying they've had upwards of 80 people coming in to vote. we talked to a lot of them. they're all coming out to say they're voting for thad cochran because, two reasons, one is they think he's done a good job in mississippi and, two, they simply are very nervous about the alternative and that is chris mcdaniel. >> it's clearly, mark, a race pitting a tea party challenger and a republican establishment six-term senator right now. so what's at stake for both sides? >> well, probably the future of the republican party, certainly in the short term. if we'd gone back about two months ago, wolf, the tea party seemed to be against the ropes. they weren't winning any of these primaries. they came up lucky two weeks ago when we saw eric cantor lose down in richmond, the house majority leader prp , in a race none of the tea party groups had anything to do with. they were pinning their hopes on winning tonight with mcdaniel. you have to say the current is

going in his direction, especially what happened to cantor a few weeks ago. the tea party has seen a little bit of a resurgence. >> that gave them a lot of momentum, if you will. dana, a lot money coming in from outside groups. how expensive has this contest been? >> we're not going to know that until, you know, all of the books are closed, so to speak, but tens of millions of dollars, easily. what i'm interested in is going to be how much money those republicans, the national republicans, establishment republicans, are spending to get out the democratic vote. they're doing so in a really overt way, spending money in democratic communities to get out a democratic voters. one thing that is really interesting, when you talk about national implications, mark is right, from on the ground here, they're clearly trying to expand the electorate, to get thad cochran to win, on the cochran side, but they're also really nervous about the fact that the

anti-establishment wave is really strong. but, i'll give you one but, wolf, if somehow the cochran people are successful at keeping him in his seat by expanding the base, on the national level, they're hoping that this might be a model for how to do that on a national level because, as you know, republicans in washington understand that this can't just be a party of white men. they've got to expand the party and maybe this is the way to try to do it. >> quickly, on charlie rangel, the long-term democratic congressman from new york city, from harlem. he's facing the political challenge of his life today. >> he is. look, just a few years ago, he was censored by the house, which is terrible for somebody to go through, you know, for misusing his office. look, the bottom line for charlie rangel right now is he barely won in 2012, less than 1,100 votes. he's facing that senate senator, you know, as we speak right now. polls close at 9:00 in new york. i don't think this is a race that will be called very quickly. what's interesting is who got

behind rangel, governor cuomo, who did not get behind anybody, president obama. >> we'll have extensive live coverage tonight here on cnn, all these key races. i'll be working late tonight, you'll be working, dana will be, gloria borger. so stay with cnn throughout the night for extensive coverage of all of these races. you'll learn about the results when we learn about the results. coming up, how to stem the tide of tens of thousands of young kids crossing the border into the united states alone. that's the question on capitol hill today. stay right here for a cnn exclusive. a whistleblower tells cnn in an effort to make their statistics look better the va has been covering up just how many veterans die while they're waiting for care. we are a collection of smalls. a home saved. a hero homebound for a new opportunity. a kitchen that kick starts careers

wells fargo invests in our communities a little differently. small measures that add up to make our whole even greater. little by little we can do a lot. because... small is huge. visit www.wellsfargo.com to see how big small can be.

welcome back. i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. this just coming in to cnn. safety investigators say the action by the pilots caused the deadly crash of aatio the aasia crash last summer. today saying the flight crew mismanaged the descent on approach to san francisco international airport. the boeing 777 fell short of its aprop, crashed on the runway. the ntsb also says a pilot accidentally deactivated the

automatic air speed control. says flight crews didn't monitor air speed closely enough and delayed aborting the landing. more startling revelation, uncovered by cnn pointing to another cover-up in the ongoing va scandal. learning the records of dead veterans may have been changed or physically altered to make dead patients look alive and to hide just how many patients died while waiting for care at a phoenix va hospital. our senior investigative correspondent drew griffin has broken the story for all of us. he has new details of the latest developments. drew, what are you learning? >> wolf, these allegations are coming from one of our original sources on this story. the actual keeper of that secret list, pauline dewinter is coming forward now because she believes a cover-up is continuing there. dewinter, a scheduling clerk at the phoenix va, is coming forward, because she believes she knows something that is,

frankly, unthinkable. she says someone now is trying to hide the number of u.s. veterans who died here waiting for care. in seven cases so far where she has determined a veteran on a witting list was, in fact, deceased, she says someone above her has changed the record back. the veteran suddenly listed as alive. somebody is going on that electronic wait list and where people are identified as being dead, somebody is changing that and saying, no, they're not dead. >> correct. >> to hide the fact people died on that list? >> that's my belief. >> what would be the -- any other purpose? >> there wouldn't be any other purpose. >> why? dewinters says the numbers of dead in this va wait list scandal may be even bigger than

first reported. and someone, she says, is trying to cover up the record. >> and that has been happening fairly recently? >> yes. >> that is a cover-up? >> yes. >> do you feel that the investigators are on to that? >> yes. >> because you told them? >> i have surrendered evidence, yes. >> if there ever was a doubt there was a secret waiting list that the phoenix va, dewinters says she's here to lay those doubts to rest. there simply were not enough doctors, not enough appointments to handle new patients, backlog patients and, yes, very sick patients. dewent, a scheduling clerk, was making life and death decisions. >> and that really overtook even the wait list, because now i have a consult or veterans are very sick. so i have to ease up on the wait list -- it sounds so wrong to

say. and work these schedule appointments so at least i felt the sickest of the sick were being treated. >> and you're making basically those triage decisions? >> yes. >> wolf, we asked the veterans administration directly to respond to the allegations made in this report. they only gave us a generic statement, saying they are working hard to reduce the wait list and try to fix the systemic problems at the va. but apparently this investigation could get very nasty out in phoenix as a cover-up may be continuing there. >> it's hard to believe, drew. just when you think you've heard it all. more comes out. i suspect we're just beginning to hear some of these huge, huge problems. you're staying on top of this story for our viewers. >> yes, absolutely. >> all right, drew, thanks very much. thank you for the important work you're doing. coming up, more from the secretary of state john kerry as he talks about whether the president is really prepared to

use military force in iraq. he spoke with our own jim sciutto. he's also trying to solve the humanitarian crisis. that's a separate story we're watching, about a flood of children crossing the u.s. border. lawmakers are hashing out the options. we'll have the details. when you run a business, you can't settle for slow.

that's why i always choose the fastest intern. the fastest printer. the fastest lunch. turkey club. the fastest pencil sharpener.

the fastest elevator. the fastest speed dial. the fastest office plant. so why wouldn't i choose the fastest wifi? i would. switch to comcast business internet and get the fastest wifi included. comcast business. built for business. now for this day in history. the beginning of the cold war. on this date, soviet forces blocked off west bero berlin fre rest of the world. the allies responded with the berlin airlift to keep isolated residents alive. 41 years later, the berlin wall fell, ending the most visible division between east and west germany. now the world is focused on calls for the unification of

iraq. where sunni isis forces are rampaging against shiites and kurds. the secretary of state, john kerry, has been pushing the unification message over the past few days in iraq, where he also sat down with our chief national correspondent jim sciutto, to talk about the next steps for the united states and iraq. >> june 12th, the president said he was appearing with the australian prime minister, that my team is working around the clock on options to respond. during that 12 days since, we calculated, isis has captured an additional 11 cities and towns. a key refinery. crucial roadways and border crossings. hasn't the delay in the administration's response here on the ground, military action, strengthened isis during that time? >> i think -- i think the real question, jim, is not sort of what happened in those days, the question is what can happen going forward, a strategy that's really going to work. the reason the president sent me

out here is that if he were to make the decision, i mean, he may have to, ultimately, but if he made the decision without trying to see whether or not you can have a government that can work or reconstitute the military, then you have a whole different set options. >> but you said yesterday the president was prepared to act before there was political compromise. >> he's always prepared to act, under any circumstance. he reserves the right to use force, if he has to, that's going to accomplish a goal. but the primary effort is to get the government to form so that you have something backing up what you're doing. so that you have a military here which can be reconstituted. so you have political leadership that can pull people together and they will feel invested in their government and prepared to push back. why did you have a whole, what, six divisions, fold in front of several thousand, you know, terrorist fighters come in? because they weren't invested.

because they cut their own deals. that's a failure of governance. and if you can reconstitute that government, then you have a strategy that you can begin to implement where a strike might be more successful, may be able to accomplish more. you can actually have a wholistic approach to the solution. i think the president is wise to be thoughtful about that, to measure it, but to reserve the right, if he needs to, to do something, which he does. >> i just wonder how you feel personally, because more than two years ago, you were advocating for more robust support for moderate rebel groups inside syria. when the president was considering military action in syria, some said you gave the speech of your life, advocating for that action, explaining for it. of course, it didn't happen. since then, the war and, again, we have to speak cross border, syria and iraq, has only deteriorated. i wonder if you're personally frustrated to watch that. >> let's be crystal clear, jim,

the reason that the decision to strike syria didn't happen was because we ultimately came up with a better solution after the president made his decision to strike. >> -- chemical weapons, but that doesn't help those on the ground -- >> the purpose of the strike was to send a message to assad, don't use chemical weapons. not a strike that was calculated to end the regime or to get involved in the war directly. it was to end the use of chemical weapons. >> secretary of state speaking with our jim sciutto in iraq today. more of the interview coming up throughout the day today here on cnn. meanwhile, calls growing louder for the obama administration to do something to curb the flow of tens of thousands of undocumented and unaccompanied children crossing the border into the united states. we're going to tell you if any progress was made at a congressional hearing today. when folks think about what they get from alaska, they think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america.

engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america. but we're not in the business of naming names. the volkswagen passat is heads above the competition, the fact is, it comes standard with an engine that's been called the benchmark of its class. really, guys, i thought... it also has more rear legroom than other midsize sedans. and the volkswagen passat has a lower starting price than... much better. vo: hurry in and lease the 2014 passat s for $199 a month. visit vwdealer.com today. say "hi" rudy. [ barks ] [ chuckles ] i'd do anything to keep this guy happy and healthy. that's why i'm so excited about these new milk-bone brushing chews.

whoa, i'm not the only one. it's a brilliant new way to take care of his teeth. clinically proven as effective as brushing. ok, here you go. have you ever seen a dog brush his own teeth? the twist and nub design cleans all the way down to the gum line, even reaching the back teeth. they taste like a treat, but they clean like a toothbrush. nothing says you care like a milk-bone brushing chew. [ barks ] nothing says you care like a milk-bone brushing chew. humans. even when we cross our "ts" and dot our "i's", we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness with our auto policies. if you qualify, your rates won't go up due to your first accident. because making mistakes is only human, and so are we. we also offer new car replacement, so if you total your new car, we'll give you the money for a new one. call liberty mutual insurance at... and ask us all about our auto features, like guaranteed repairs,

where if you get into an accident and use one of our certified repair shops, the repairs are guaranteed for life. so call... to talk with an insurance expert about everything that comes standard with our base auto policy. and if you switch, you could save up to $423. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy?

? lawmakers are trying to find a solution to what's being called a humanitarian crisis. a huge crisis indeed. this year alone, more than 52,000 unaccompanied children across the southwest border into the united states. now, what to do with them? that was the question on capital hill today. listen to this exchange between republican congressman mike rogers and the home land security jay johnson. why aren't we putting them on a bus like we normally do and send them back down to guatemala. >> because the law requires that

i turn it over to hhs. >> well, the law requires obamacare to be kicked in two years ago. this is a humanitarian crisis. >> let's discuss what's going on. paula sandoval is joining us. he monitored this hearing. it got pretty tense. it is a humanitarian crisis what's going on. there are separate rules for children who come across the border unaccompanied as opposed to adults. >> that was a huge talking point that was discussed and that was the process that the kids go through on a daily basis after they are apprehended. after they hit a certain age they fall under the the adult category. they are held as children for 72 hours as the law requires. this is released into several detention facility as cross the country and after that new reports about 85% of them are eventually turned to their parents likely in the united

states. >> in the united states if they are parents are there they can go live in baltimore or cleveland. separate rules as we've all come to learn for the kids as opposed to kids. the chairman of the house home land security committee he had new numbers. huge numbers anticipating what could happen in the coming years. >> the numbers are showing that it's expected to rise up to 90,000 kids by the end of this year. the chairman of the committee, he was very quick to point out that the numbers they are seeing. he was also making it clear that there needs to be a solution here. right now the states -- for example, texas which is perhaps the busiest now forking over some major money, $1.3 million on a regular basis for border authorities to try to tackle this issue. i thought the main datake away s the secretary jay johnson acknowledging that the numbers are growing. essentially a ticking time bomb about six months ago.

now the numbers have ballooned into a major issue that the administration is trying to especially deal with. i can tell you living along the reporter and reporting, this is nothing new. what is new know is the sheer numbers that are everyoverwhelming the system and costing major money to actually handle. >> heart breaking story indeed. these little kids some as yuoun as six, seven, eight years old. they are being sent across the border. they are saying don't run away. go up there when you see an agent. they will take care of you. that's huge influx of people coming in. it's a huge story for us. >> and last point, another take away that i noticed today was they also addressed the cartel issue. remember, a lot of these children -- not only the unaccompanied children but also the family units which is basically the adults with their children, they are using smuggling route that's are owned and operated by either the goul

cartel or zeta cartel each of these individuals that we see, as potentially a headache for the u.s. administration, those are big dollar signs for the cartel. so they addressed that as well. that's also a major concern is how do they keep these organizations from spreading. >> we will stay on top of the story. thanks very much. don't go away. another news we're following, members of the boko haram terror group attacks a remote vil naj ni village in nigeria. after setting the vil jlage on fire they took 60 captives. communications in the area have been sabotaged by those insurgents. we'll be right back.

so there i was again, explaining my moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis to another new stylist. it was a total embarrassment. and not the kind of attention i wanted. so i had a serious talk with my dermatologist about my treatment options. this time, she prescribed humira-adalimumab. humira helps to clear the surface of my skin by actually working inside my body. in clinical trials, most adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis saw 75% skin clearance. and the majority of people were clear or almost clear in just 4 months. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types o cancer ha. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b,

are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. make the most of every moment. ask your dermatologist about humira, today. clearer skin is possible.

huge excitement in brazil these days.

as our neighboring vick valenci. you don't have to go to south america to experience world cup hysteria. fans gathered to watch the knock out game of the day mexico versus koe acroatia. there's no question who this crowd wants to win. >> whose going to win the world cup? >> reporter: from the kids to the pets, everyone seems to have a dog in a fight. >> for instance they are definitely more excitemented about this world cup. >> reporter: white you might expect mexican fans to be this die hard about their club, the excitement for the 2014 world cup spreads far beyond the traditional fans especially here in the united states. a report $18.2 million viewers

watched the u.s. to tie port u l portugal. the heightened interest in the country could have something to do with the u.s. fielding a teamwork cheering for. the family of u.s. soccer captain clint dempsey not the only ones excited about the team's chances but they certainly have an added incentive. >> this whole world cup has inawesome because there's been a lot of upsets and surprises. i think they are getting an opportunity to surprise everyone so they are the underdogs but they are going to come out on top. >> some worried about not coming out on top, american employ ears who may worry about losing money because workers are watching the games played during business hours. those still unconvinced of their undying love for the sport still have plenty of time. three weeks to warm up to the

frenzy. you better hurry. this may turn out to be the best world cup of all time. nisk valence world cup of all time. nisk valencncivalencia. >> thanks very much. i'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in the situation room. newsroom with brooke baldwin starts right now. wolf blitzer. thank you so much. as always great to be with you on this tuesday. i'm brooke baldwin. we begin the hour with this battle between iraqi secure forces and jihadist militants happening here at the country's largest oil refinery. it's unclear exactly who has control of this strategic control. iraq's deputy oil minister says security forces have it. but several officials tell cnn that militants have seized it. all of this a back drop to u.s. secretary of state john kerry's mission to help the iraqi goveme