invasion. and u.s. intelligence confirms there are russian troops with heavy weapons fighting in southern ukraine. ruls rigalso right now, mor of isis atrocities in syria, and fighting is heating up in northern iraq. all of these crises confronting president obama as he gets ready to meet with his national security team. and right now new information about the flight path of missing malaysia airlines flight 370. australian officials now say the plane may have turned south a lot earlier than they originally thought. we're going to talk about what this means for the search effort. hello, i'm wolf blitzer reporting today from new york. in just about an hour from now, the united nations security council is set to hold an emergency meeting on ukraine. the reason, today's escalation by russian troops. ukraine says they've been invaded. a u.s. official says as many as 1,000 russian troops have now moved in with heavy weapons to fight on the side of separatists

in southeastern ukraine. our diana magnay has more now from her spot right near the border. >> reporter: we are between the coastal city of mariupul and the russian border which is about 25 miles in that direction. and i've been speaking to a local -- or to a commander of one of the volunteer battalions down here who said that on wednesday, his unit was routed from the town very close to the russian border, pushed out by a combination of pro-russian rebels backed by russian troops and russian armor. he said it was noticeable the russian military vehicles, the tanks all have their number plates rubbed out, but he has absolutely no doubt that these are russian troops who have taken over that town. the u.s. ambassador to ukraine has said that russia is sending in its newest air defense systems including the sa-22, presumably to try and stop ukraine from sending in air support. and this commander did say that

he received no reinforcements at all to help his floundering battalion. there also seems to be intense fighting up near the crash site of mh17 between the border and donetsk, a secondary very intense fighting. nato says that it believes there are more than 1,000 russian troops now actively engaged in the conflict in eastern ukraine. and it has released satellite imagery of what it says a russian artillery position up in the luhansk region. the number of russian troops involved in this is actually far higher. >> translator: i will be even more frank. current military are also fighting with us. they prefer to spend their holiday not on the seaside but amongst us, amongst brothers who fight for their freedom. >> reporter: now, what are the rebels trying to achieve here? it looks very much as though they're trying to open up a new front down here in the south to

distract the ukrainian army in its mission to retake luhansk and donetsk. and certainly where i am now, this ukrainian checkpoint behind me is the last presence really between here and the russian border. the land beyond that open for the taking. diana magnay, cnn, ukraine. next week president obama heads to estonia for security talks. estonia, of course, another of the former soviet republics like ukraine. then he'll meet with nato leaders in wales. let's bring in our barbara starr over at the pentagon. what are you hearing over there, barbara, about this russian incursion? >> wolf, u.s. military intelligence began watching this very precisely over the last 24 hours. and they say indeed about 1,000 russian troops moved into this area in southern ukraine. this is something they've been worried about, something they were warning about. there are 18,000 to 20,000 russian troops on the border. they are so close it basically

is a very short drive overnight for them to go on into ukraine. the satellite imagery that nato is now showing is some different areas of russian forces in ukraine, but it underscores it. let's go back and take a look at one of these images. if you look very closely, you see that line of essentially what may appear to you to be black dots. that is a convoy of russian artillery inside ukraine in a separatist-held area. the u.s. says -- nato says it's convinced it's russian weapons because the ukraine military does not have access to this area of their own country. the u.s. ambassador to ukraine also tweeting about this a few hours ago, saying russian-supplied tanks, armored vehicles, artillery and multiple rocket launchers have been insufficient to defeat ukraine's armed forces, so now an increasing number of russian troops are intervening directly in the fighting on ukrainian

territory. call it in an invasion, call it an incursion, call it what you will. troops from moscow ordered in by the russian government are now inside ukraine fighting with russian weapons. wolf? >> it's a pretty alarming development when you think about it. is there any talk of the united states increasing materiel support for ukrainian government troops? >> well, not at this time. the ukrainians have asked -- they have a military that's just by all accounts exhausted by the fighting over the last several months. they have wanted u.s. help with weapons and other assistance. the u.s. not prepared to give the ukrainian military weapons, providing nonlethal aid, union forms, gears, tents. this, as you say, comes at a very difficult time for president obama. he goes next week to the nato summit in wales. the number one topic was already going to be russia in ukraine and what to do about it, and now the need is even more urgent to make a decision. wolf?

>> a lot of those eastern european, central european nato allies pretty nervous right now, especially estonia. and that's the president making a point of visiting estonia, one of the baltic states right before the nato summit. barbara, thanks very much. we're also getting word out of syria right now about soldiers -- syrian soldiers -- stripped of their uniforms and marched to their deaths. and the images are disturbing. terrorists fighters are isis claim to have executed at least 250 syrian soldiers at an air base in ragga. this individual knvideo shows m hands up. it was posted by a syrian activist that appears to show dead bodies, presumably the soldiers lined up on the ground. we should point out that the people standing next to the bodies do not appear to be isis fighters, and the images were most likely shot after isis had left the scene. the united nations now says

an armed group has detained 43 of its peacekeepers in the golan heights area. according to an israeli military official with knowledge of the situation, the u.n. peacekeepers were taken by a syrian rebel group with ties to al qaeda. as we reported, syrian rebels captured the only border crossing between syria and the golan heights yesterday. president obama is weighing military options to deal with the turmoil in syria and the campaign of terror by isis. the pentagon has given him a range of options that include taking the fight inside syria to isis targets. the president meets with his national security advisers in just a few hours in washington. our chief political analyst, gloria bormg ger, is joining us. you've got the national security team meeting this afternoon with the president. he has repeatedly said any involvement regarding isis would be limited, but the goals seem to be expanding. so how important would it be for the president to speak directly to the american people right now about the u.s. strategy in that part of the world?

>> i think it's very important for the president to speak to the american people, wolf, but he has to come up with a strategy before he can do that. and that's why he's meeting with his national security team, because, you know, originally, as you know very well, wolf, this mission was defined as humanitarian and also to protect american personnel. it is clearly broadened. you have the secretary of defense saying that isis is beyond anything we have ever seen. so if the president's going to go to the american people, if he's going to order more air strikes, he has to determine that it would be effective. he has to determine the scope of the mission. he has to determine the limits of the mission. and then he has to tell the american people what he wants to do, and there's also another question, of course, wolf, which is does he have to go to congress to get permission for what he wants to do? i would argue that in the end, he'll probably end up going to congress for that. >> as you remember and a lot of our viewers will remember a year ago the president was in a

similar position debating whether to intervene militarily in syria because of a chemical weapons attack. he decided not to do so at that time. here's the question. why is this situation potentially different today? >> well, i think the situation is different first of all because you had had an american journalist murdered. and you know, so secondly, also, i think the president has a case to make. and he might make it, we don't know, that this is now a threat to the national security of the united states. but what the president learned from the experience a year ago is that he's not going to draw red lines anymore. because when he did that and then he seemed to pull back, it made him look weak. and as a result, what they're doing right now is they're not rushing in to drawing any lines at this particular point because the president wants to get all the intelligence information before he makes decisions and

comes out to speak to the american people. i think what they learned from a year ago is that perhaps they got out over their skis, as the president himself might say. >> there's obviously this other big crisis that's unfolding involving ukraine and russia. russian troops moving into ukraine. he's about to head out, as we reported, to estonia, a former soviet republic, have a big nato summit in wales. how much pressure is he going to be under and the that it toe allies, for that matter, to deliver a forceful response to russia? >> yeah, i think in this particular case, the president will be forcing the nato allies. i mean, you already have angela merkel coming out talking about the possibility of more sanctions. i think the president in this particular case has actually led the european allies on strengthening sanctions. and i think you'll see him continue to do that. the question, as barbara pointed out earlier, is anybody willing to go beyond humanitarian

assistance in ukraine as far as arms goes? and i don't think they're at that position yet. but i do believe that particularly when the president travels to estonia, it's an opportunity for him to talk directly to putin in his own backyard. >> he's got a lot of international crises on his agenda right now. iraq, syria, israel, gaza. you've got ukraine, a real situation developing there. all right, gloria, thanks very, very much. we'll monitor the president's meeting later today. he'll be meeting with his national security team at the white house. up next, major u.s. banks hit by hackers. could russia be behind this attack? we're taking a closer look. and later, sexism and the senate. senator kirsten gillibrand of new york writes about being called chubby and fat by her male senate colleagues. two of my female colleagues will weigh in on the situation.

right now the fbi is investigating hacking attacks on several american financial institutions including jpmorgan chase. and it's possible that russian hackers could be responsible for the bank attacks. our justice reporter evan paris is joining us from washington right now. evan, tell us about this hacking attack, the investigation, what do we know? >> well, wolf, i'm told that investigators consider this one of the most serious hacking attacks against u.s. financial institutions that they've seen in a long, long time. we believe that up to seven banks might have been hit in this round of cyber attacks. jpmorgan is the one name we know right now that's acknowledging that this has happened. they were using malware to get into these secure, very highly secure systems including at

jpmorgan. and it appears they had the capability to do some damage, to steal data and so on about customer accounts. so the problem is is how bad the problem is, right? and that's one of the things that the investigators are working with the banks to try to determine, how much damage was done and how to fix it. >> what's the link to russian hackers? >> well, you know, whenever there are these types of attacks, the first place that the fbi and others look to is russia and eastern europe because frankly, that's where a lot of these criminal gangs that target financial institutions are based, wolf. and so right now they don't know exactly who did this, but that's the first place they're looking. and obviously, there's also the timing, the u.s. and western countries have brought sanctions against russia in recent months over the crisis in the ukraine. and so there is some view that they were expecting this, some kinds of attacks coming from these countries. >> so is the purpose to steal

sensitive information about people's accounts or corporate accounts or whatever or to actually drain accounts and steal money? >> well, these guys, you know, especially the criminal gangs, wolf, they specialize in stealing money. and so that's what they try to do. they're trying to get customer data to try to figure out how they can perhaps replicate credit cards and then auto us it to steal on a grand scale. they're very successful. they take millions and millions of dollars out of the u.s. economy every year. they're very good at this. and so this is just the beginning of this story, wolf. >> it's a worrisome development indeed. thanks very much, evan perez reporting for us. just ahead, we're also getting new details that have emerged just a little while ago that may help searchers locate malaysia flight 370, five months after it disappeared in midflight. there's new information coming in. we want to update on what we know right after this. you're driving along,

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if we can't offer faster speeds - or save you money - we'll give you $150. comcast business. built for business. let's check in to see how things are going on wall street. not a lot of movement on the big board. the dow right now down about 36 points. off of yesterday's close of 17,122. the loss of two passenger jets this year has cost malaysia airlines more than $1 million a day and left it in dire financial straits. passengers have been tweeting images of flying and mostly empty malaysia planes including this one of a recent flight from australia to malaysia. look at that. the company acknowledges it lost a lot of business after march when flight 370 disappeared on a routine flight to beijing. as it struggled to recover, flight 17 was shot down over ukraine in july. the airline's parent company is

now preparing a major restructuring that will likely involve thousands of layoffs. malaysia airlines was already struggling financially when mh370 disappeared. australian officials now think they have a better idea of the plane a flight path. new data suggests the plane turned south sooner than originally thought. >> some work is being done in endeavoring to map the position of the aircraft when a satellite telephone conversation was attempted between malaysian airlines on the ground and the aircraft. and that has suggested to us that the aircraft may have turned south a little earlier than we had previously expected. but the search area remains the same. >> cnn aviation correspondent renee marsh is covering all this for us. it's hard to believe that malaysia flight 370 has been missing now for five months. they still haven't found one single even tiny little piece of the plane. the australian officials suggest

they are narrowing the search, though. are they? >> well, the big news today is officials now believe that after the plane flew north through the straits of malacca, you just heard him say it, the plane turned south a little bit earlier than originally thought. but as we just heard, the search area remains the same. so what does that mean? they still believe that the plane is someplace along the so-called seventh arc, the final line you're looking at on that graph in the south indian ocean. but because of that failed satellite phone call they've been studying, when the search does resume, they are going to sharply focus further south on that arc. again, that's all based on this new refined data that they've been looking at, wolf. >> searchers have spent the past few months mapping the ocean floor. have they found anything at all? >> yeah, they've been mapping since may. because what we know about this

area, it's really unexplored. so it's really critical for them to understand what is down there on the ocean floor before the deepsea search begins. what you don't want is to put equipment down into the ocean and you have any of it either crash or perhaps it's lost because of the depth of the water. today we learned that they've discovered some very dramatic features under water including a couple of volcanos. they also said that there is an area within the water in which the depth is about 600 meters, and then just a short distance away, it drops down to a distance of 6,600 meters. so it just shows you how complicated it is. and this is critical information that they want to know before they start that search next month. wolf? >> so what's next? >> so next, we know that the search, the malaysian search vessel, will begin the underwater search in about three weeks. we also know that australia will

be sending a vessel to assist in the search. we know it will take about a year. it's going to cost roughly $48 million. but they made it very clear that they have to find debris. without debris, this investigation is essentially stalled. they need the black boxes. they need other parts of the plane to help unravel this mystery and tell the story of exactly what happened to this plane as well as the people on board, wolf. >> so the fact that the plane turned south a little bit earlier than they originally thought, but they're still looking in the general area, although they've tweaked it a little bit? is that basically the news we're getting? >> right. so in a nutshell, the search area has not changed, but their focus is going to be -- remember that arc that we talked about, it's a pretty long arc there. so now that we have this data, this refined data, they will be focusing on the southern part of that arc. i know you're looking at several white lines there. so we should be focusing on the

final white line that you're looking at on your screen. that was the last moment that the plane made a satellite connection. and the focus now, based on this new information from this failed phone call to the aircraft, they have now determined, they want to focus at the very south there. so the bottom of your screen of that final seventh arc. wolf? >> rene marsh reporting for us, thanks very much. still ahead, terrorists are using propaganda videos to get new recruits from around the world. we're going to tell you why minnesota is one of their major targets. that's coming up. where the reward was that what if tnew car smelledit card and the freedom of the open road? a card that gave you that "i'm 16 and just got my first car" feeling. presenting the buypower card from capital one. redeem earnings toward part or even all of a new chevrolet, buick, gmc or cadillac - with no limits. so every time you use it, you're not just shopping for goods.

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welcome back. i'm wolf blitzer reporting today from new york. the list of americans tig s fig and dying along islamist militants in the middle east is growing. one of those fighters, douglas mccain, the 33-year-old from minnesota who was killed last weekend fighting for isis inside syria. we're learning more now about him and getting new word about some new propaganda videos being used to recruit young people in the united states. ted rowlands is joining us from minneapolis. so what can you tell us about minnesota and its connection to islamist terrorists recruiting, ted? >> reporter: well, wolf, this is really, believe it or not, ground zero for islamic extremist recruiting. and it started back with al shabaab. they came to minnesota and

recruited young somalis. there's a very large somali population here in the twin cities. and for years, they've been recruiting fighters to come over and fight in somalia. now we're seeing isis taking a page out of the exact same playbook, and they have been successful in recruiting upwards of a dozen young men from this area to go fight in syria. and you mentioned the video. it is incredible, but they actually have a video out that is tailored specifically to the twin cities, saying come out and be a minnesota martyr and join us. take a listen to a little clip from that propaganda video. >> if you guys only knew how much fun we have over here, this is the real disneyland. you need to come here and join us. take pleasure in this fun. we walk amongst the lions. >> reporter: and wolf, of course, the big fear is that this will continue, and then you've got these extremist young men with american passports, and

there's real concern here with the fbi, not only in the minneapolis area but across the country that this will continue and potentially it could be very dangerous even here on u.s. soil if they get enough of these young men. >> douglas mccain, that 33-year-old guy who was fighting alongside isis who was killed over the weekend, he actually had a high school friend who was also recruited, also died on the battlefield, is that right? >> reporter: yeah. a young man by the name of troy castegar who was recruited in 2009 -- actually, he died in 2009. he was one of the ones that went to somalia and fought for al shabaab. and it's unclear -- we knew that they were friends in high school. they played basketball together. it's unclear if they stayed in contact over the years, but that high school which is in the suburb called new hope here in the minneapolis area, they're just absolutely floored by the fact that two of their students

in, of all places, suburban minneapolis, have died fighting for extremist groups. >> but neither one, correct me if i'm wrong, really somali-americans, right? >> reporter: correct. correct, they're not, but they were fighting -- the first was fighting in somalia, and the second one was fighting in syria. >> i guess the question is, are they trying to recruit just americans like douglas mccain, for whatever reason he converted from christianity to islam, or are they specifically trying to recruit somali-americans, you know, young men whose parents came from somalia, settled in the minneapolis-st. paul area in minnesota? who are they primarily going after? >> reporter: well, the short answer is both, wolf, but the primary focus is those somali young men that have come here or were born here. their parents have come here over the years.

they're the target. however, in the two cases you just pointed out, they're willing to take anybody. and that is a huge concern. >> ted rowlands in the twin cities for us. he's going to be working the story, getting more for us later today. thanks very much. still ahead, dozens of rebel groups in syria are trying to topple the bashar al assad regime and take on isis. we're going to speak to an expert, sort out the complicated battle scenarios that are unfolding right now. ♪ from safety, to fuel economy, to quality, today's chevrolet has it all. and it's a good time to see for yourself. this labor day, check out great lease offers on chevy's award-winning, fuel efficient lineup. just announced, get additional $500 bonus to lease this 2014 chevy malibu lt for around $189 per month. find new roads at your local chevy dealer.

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to topple the government. it's backed by al qaeda. then, of course, you have the moderate factions such as the free syrian army. they're apparently all joining forces to take on isis. all of this a very, very complicated picture. let's bring in william mccant of the brookings institution, a former senior adviser for countering violent extremism over at the state department. it's very, very complicated, but the relationship, the battle that is al nusra, the terrorists from al nusra and the state department regards them as a terrorist organization actually fighting isis which is also seen as a terrorist organization? >> that's right. they are fighting one another. that wasn't always the case. nusra was once a part of isis, before isis was kicked out by al qaeda central in pakistan. and now the two organizations are at odds with one another. there's some areas, some towns where they still collaborate, but for the most part, they're fighting against each other. but they're also -- isis is also fighting other parts of the

sunni rebel opposition to the assad regime. >> i spoke to a spokesman yesterday who represents the free syrian army, the so-called moderate syrian opposition who acknowledged that there were some brigades from their free syrian army in the south that cooperated with al nusra in destroying that syrian military checkpoint on the golan heights, and they now have control. how much cooperation is there between the so-called moderate syrian opposition, the free syrian army, and a terrorist group like al nusra? >> there's quite a bit of cooperation between the free syrian army and al qaeda's branch in syria called nusra. they cooperate in the south. they've also cooperated extensively in the north. and this cooperation has been going on since nusra declared its presence back in 2012. this isn't anything new in the syrian mix. what is new is the fight against isis, which has been going very badly as of late. isis has made a lot of advances, pushing to the west in syria,

and the rebels are being crushed between the assad regime and the islamic state. >> so why would the u.s. even consider arming, training, providing weapons to the free syrian army if there is this extensive cooperation with a terror group like al nusra? wouldn't be the u.s. be concerned that ep withes prowea wind up in the hands of al nusra? >> that's a very real concern and one of the reasons why the obama administration hasn't wanted to arm the free syrian army with serious weapons. but one could also make the opposite argument that because the united states hasn't been willing to provide those weapons to the sunni rebels in syria like the free syrian army, that they have been forced to collaborate with groups like nusra. you're not going to get any leverage over the free syrian army if you aren't willing to provide them with weapons and ammuniti

ammunition. >> is the bashar regime really in any serious danger of being removed from power in damascus? >> not wet. the sunni rebels fighting against him are in disarray. they were stronger last year than they are this year. isis continues to advance. and there's a tactical alignment between the islamic state and the assad regime. they may even be cooperating at some level, but certainly at a strategic level, their interests overline, and that is defeating the sunni rebels. >> how does isis differ from al qaeda? >> one of the main ways that they differ from al qaeda is isis wants to control territory. and that's why it declared itself an islamic state. al qaeda has always considered itself a vanguard organization. and a lot of the young men fighting in the global jihad today feel like it's time to re-establish the caliphate. and so they're much more attracted to isis than they are to al qaeda. and that's one reason why isis is doing so well at recruiting young men like mccain that you had in your previous section

because they are putting themselves out there as the new islamic caliphate. and they've got -- they're holding the territory that can prove it. and until that territory shrinks, it gives isis a great amount of legitimacy. >> one final question, will, before i let you go. i read in "the new york times" today, a fascinating piece suggesting that isis militarily in iraq has been so successful in part because so many of saddam hussein's top military officers, colonels and generals and others have been recruited. they know the territory. they know what to do. and they're part of the isis military operation. i assume you read that piece as well. >> i did read that piece. it was a fascinating piece of reporting. and the other bit of information that came out is almost all of the senior leaders in isis, these men, many of whom were attached to the saddam regime, were in u.s. custody along with the current so-called caliph that is running the islamic

state. zploo many of these former saddam hussein generals, they said they wanted to work with the current iraqi army, but they were rejected because of their past. so they went ahead and decided to work with isis now, and they're scoring major, major military victories, as we all know. will mccants, thanks very much. just ahead, a female senator writes about inappropriate comments made by some of her male senate colleagues. our gloria borger and dana bash, they're standing by. we'll discuss. let me get this straight... [ female voice ] yes? lactaid® is 100% real milk? right. real milk. but it won't cause me discomfort. exactly, because it's milk without the lactose. and it tastes? it's real milk! come on, would i lie about this? [ female announcer ] lactaid. 100% real milk. no discomfort.

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you've heard of "sex & the city." you might call this sex & the senate. kirsten gillibrand talks about some of the comments from male colleagues made about her weight. she says she was at the congressional gym when one older male colleague told her, and i'm quote, good thing you're working out because you wouldn't want to get porky. after she lost 50 pounds of baby weight from her second child. she says another senator squeezed her stomach and said don't lose too much weight now. i like my girls chubby. let's bring back our chief political analyst, gloria borger, and chief congressional correspondent, dana bash. so dandana, when you hear a senr writing about this, what's your reaction? what's your initial take >> reporter: you go, girl. honestly. kirsten gillibrand represents a new generation of female leaders

in both parties. she has counterparts in the republican side, too, who are doing things differently. and one of the things that she is doing very clearly, very openly with this book is -- and writing these things in these upcoming book is to say, you know, as many gains as democrats -- excuse me, as women have made, it's still, in some way, an old boys club. she does make clear that the people who make comments like this, it's a generational divide. they tend to be older men. but i'm not surprised by it. in fact, i've talked to her about it and gotten even more stories in private. and you know, it's kind of nice that she's talking about it in public. >> is it just a generational thing if these older senators, these men, were in their 60s to 80s, gloria? >> well, you know, it could be. and maybe the older men would be more likely to say it to her face whereas younger men might just say it behind her back, honestly. >> yeah. >> and think i what's sort of stunning about this is that these are politicians who are

trying to appeal to women voters, right? you know, women voters are the big prize these days in presidential elections, in congressional races. and here they are saying this kind of garbage to a star of the democratic party. so good for her for talking about it. i kind of want names, but she didn't supply them. but maybe we'll figure that out at some point. >> how does this square, dana, you cover the spot, with the decorum there up on capitol hill? >> reporter: it's not surprising. it really isn't. i mean, look, we have to say that the vast majority of people in congress are gentlemen and gentleladies and that this does tend to happen with, you know, i think i've got to be careful here, but it's generational and regional. people who just have a different way of interacting with women than other people from across the country or from a younger generation are used to. but look, i mean, i've

experienced similar -- not comments like that, but similar comments from maybe older members of congress that i would not -- i guarantee you they wouldn't say the kinds of things they say sometimes to a man, and you've just got to deal with it. i have to tell you, it also shows that congress may be a workplace like any other workplace. >> right. >> it is still out there. it is still out there. whether you have a senator in front of your name or whether you are answering phones, it is still happening. >> dana, gloria, one quick question. dana will know this off the top of her head. of the 100 u.s. senators, how many are women? >> 20. >> 20%. >> which that's a record? >> it is a record. the population of the united states is more than 50% female. it is still well below what's representative percentage, what it should be. >> i asked the question, gloria, because i certainly remember when the senate was 100% male. a few women, one, or two, or

three. now, there are 20. it is not necessarily the boys club as it used to be. >> a woman could barely find a place to go to the bathroom off the floor in the capital. now, it has changed and it is shifting. i bet if you asked other female members of congress particularly in the senate, you know, they would have similar stories. as dana points out, just like women everywhere have similar stories, so, you know, the fact that she wrote about this is a very good thing. she is making it public that it goes on in the united states senate and in the house as well as everywhere else in this country. it is an issue that needs to be addressed. it is not startling at all to either one of us. >> is there any difference between the senate, dana, and the house of representatives when it comes to this kind of issue. >> there are more women in the house of representatives, obviously. it is 435 people.

there are, i believe, well over 100 women. mostly democrats but there are about, i should say, fewer than 100. there are a lot more. it has changed the dynamic there. but she is giving these examples that you gave. some of it happened when she was in the house. so it does happen in both chambers. >> hillary clinton, by the way, another well-known female politician, has spoken about this. she has written about it in her book. she hasn't got that specific. she has talked about the way she was treated differently when she was a female candidate running for presidency the first time around. what jigillibrand did was set t table for that discussion. >> to put a point on this. in 1986 when barbara mikulski

came to the senate, she wasn't allowed to wear pants on the senate floor. we have come far but it just shows it is still not far enough perhaps. >> dana and gloria, thanks very much. when we come back, two major developments on the ebola threat. also, we are going to take you to ground zero in the battle against the worst ebola outbreak the world has ever seen. dust irritating your eye? (singing) ♪ visine® gives your eyes relief in seconds. visine®. get back to normal. can this decadent, fruit topped pastry... ...with indulgent streusel crumble, be from... fiber one.

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a human trial of an experimental ebola virus vaccine will be tried next week. ebola has killed more than 1500 people in west africa. the west point slum in monrovia is considered ground zero. we were allowed inside the quarantine zone. there is no way out for residents. >> reporter: on the drive in, you are met with barbed wire and barricaded shops. at the quarantine line, angry residents congregating to stare-down police. crossing the line, you are immediately swarmed, people desperate to be heard.

desperate to believe this isn't happening. there are over 70,000 people living in monrovia's slums. no sanitation, no running water. since the government designated it an ebola quarantine zone, no way out. this was after they were claiming the virus was a government hoax. were you here when the clinic was started? a nurse told us she arrived to her shift to find the center destroyed and not a patient to be found. this center is not extraordinarily well equipped, having to rewash their protective gear, a square of diluted bleach and a door ransacked and left for broken. this is it. the only place people have. >> the most that they can hope to get is to be made comfortable, while they wait to overcome the virus or not.

charming is a hairdresser like many here in west point, she has to travel out of the township to make a living. the only breadwinner for her two children. >> right now, my mother doesn't have anything. i was the one that provided for her. as time goes by, now, she is complaining the rice is finished. >> reporter: are you more scared of ebola or the hunger? >> both. that's what's worrying us, the hunger, the ebola, everything. i'm scared of everything. >> reporter: charming leaves us. she is going to see if her mother is right, if the food really has run out. as we walk back out on to the street, the crowd has grown large he. at the quarantine line, the standoff continues. desperate to at least be seen and heard, if not released, cnn,

monrovia, liberia. >> thanks for that report. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'll be back at 5:00 p.m. eastern in "the situation room." another two-hour special edition. in the meantime, "newsroom" with brooke baldwin starts right now. hi, there. i'm brooke baldwin. your watching cnn. thank you so much for joining me here on this thursday. from photo op to full-scale invasion. just two days after vladimir putin is seen shaking hands with the president of ukraine, here you go, russia is now according to intelligence attacking ukraine. a ukrainian deputy commander calls it a full-scale invasion. there is the map for you. this is what we have been watching. right now, i should also tell you here in new york, the united nations its holding an emergency meeting with the crisis which appears to have worsened since russia began to take over