please join us tomorrow, 7:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. check out our show page at cnn.com/thelead for videos, blogs, extras. that's it for "the lead." i'm jake tapper. i turn you now over to wolf blitzer who's next door in "the situation room." happening now, 15 new isis attacks, even as the u.s. drops bombs and supplies in a besieged syrian town, isis launches a massive new offensive in iraq. i'll talk to a top national security adviser. ebola crisis, an urgent effort to keep the deadly disease from spreading as dozens who had contact from the first ebola patient are released from quarantine. police await test results on the remains found in the hannah graham search, the suspect is indicted in a separate sexual assault case dating back a decade. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room."

we're following two breaking stories right now. air strikes set off shattering blasts on isis targets in kobani today while u.s. planes were also dropping something else on the syrian border town, desperately needed arms and supplies for kurdish defenders. but the terror group has now struck back with some 15 simultaneous attacks on kurdish forces in northern iraq. that as authorities await for forensic results in the investigation case of hannah graham. president obama's deputy national security adviser ben rhodes is standing by along with our correspondents, our analysts and all of our newsmakers. kurdish forces backed by u.s. air strikes and now air drops of supplies blocking a brutal isis onslaught against the syrian border town of kobani.

suddenly isis has launched a massive new offensive in a two-pronged assault in iraq. kurdish officials report 15 nearly simultaneous attacks against their forces including an attempt to retake the critically important mosul dam. let's get the lati latest from pentagon correspondent, barbara starr. this isn't the only place the violence is ramping up. >> reporter: that's correct. the weather has been bad in iraq over the last few days. conflict erupting again. next on the to-do list for the iraqi forces with the u.s. and coalition help is to move north to the oil-rich town in iraq's oil-rich northern area. some iraqi forces already on the move from baghdad north to try to get to the town. this is an area where the u.s. has now begun air strikes again in and around baji. four in the last 24 hours. you are going to see a big push

by the iraqi forces to get up north and try to begin to retake territory. but don't feel too hopeful yet. this had been on the books about six weeks ago and iraqi forces unable to move, unable to make it happen. this is the first place iraqi forces are trying to retake territory. but we are also seeing, wolf, west of baghdad in anbar province, iraqi forces still holding on to a good bit of territory, still holding onto the all-important al assad air base west of baghdad. but what you are seeing is what is not happening yet. and that is really rolling back isis forces in a significant way and taking back significant territory in iraq. that still has to happen. wolf? >> certainly does. what about kobani? the air strikes now u.s. air drops of supplies, some are suggesting maybe this is mission creep, at least mission expansion. what are you hearing? >> reporter: yeah, whether you

want to call it mission creep, mission expansion or a different kind of mission, it is different. this is the first time the u.s. has made the decision to launch air drops of weapons, ammunition and medical supplies to assist the syrian kurds in this area of kobani. why is this so different? just several weeks ago, the news media was told, we're not bombing in kobani, it's just a spot on the map, it doesn't really matter. that's now changed. the u.s. says kobani is important and they say here at the pentagon, why is it important? because isis is trying to get it so it's important to try to keep them from taking this piece of territory along the turkish border. what has really happened is isis for some reason has decided to mass its forces in this region. it lets the u.s. and the coalition see them and it is launching counterattacks, air strikes against them. but at the moment, still the fundamental problem, isis is advancing, at this point very difficult to see that they are

losing significant amounts of territory on the ground. >> barbara starr at the pentagon, thanks very much. turning now to a cnn exclusive with isis on the move in iraq and syria, what about the problem of foreign fighters from this country? our justice reporter evan perez is here. you had an exclusive sitdown with the outgoing attorney general of the united states, eric holder. give us a few of the details. >> as barbara just mentioned, isis is having a lot of success. one of its successes is being able to recruit westerners. over a dozen americans are fighting with isis. here's some of what the attorney general had to say. can you give me your sense of where we are in trying to make sure that we can get an early read on american jihadists before they go and do something? >> our estimate now is that there are probably about 12 people or so who are in the syria/iraq area. we have dozens of investigations that are under way about other

people who have either gone or are planning to go. so this is something that is a priority for us at the justice department and at the fbi, working in conjunction with our u.s. attorneys where we're trying to engage in preventive activities as well. >> you're one of the longest-serving members of the obama administration, of the cabinet. there was some really strong criticism recently from leon panetta who led the cia and the pentagon. he called into question the president's ability to make decisions, especially on syria. you were in some of those meetings. did you see an indecisive president? how do you feel about the criticism that's been made? >> i have to really disagree with his characterization of the president. the president is a deliberate person in an appropriate way. but he's also resolute once he makes up his mind. so i think that what leon said in the book is unfortunate and frankly i don't think it's something that a former cabinet member should do while the president you served is still in office.

that's not something that i would even consider doing. >> so, evan, i take it he's not going to write a book in the next two years while this president is still in offense? he's obviously irritated with leon panetta. >> he's irritated and he feels very loyal to the president. he's one of the few in washington who's managed to break into president obama's chicago inner circle that he brought with him. he feels that leon panetta violated something with this book. >> and it wasn't just leon panetta but other cabinet members, bob gates, the former secretary of defense, hillary clinton to a certain degree, less so than the others, as the former secretary of state. there's been a lot of criticism of some of the key decisions that the president made or didn't make. >> right. i think what you hear there is they want to point out that the president made this very tough decision to go after osama bin laden and kill him and that took some tough decision-making. so that's their response to leon

panetta's criticism. >> evan, thanks very much. evan perez with that exclusive. evan will be back in our next hour with more of his exclusive interview with eric holder, the outgoing attorney general. hear what he has to say about the michael brown shooting in ferguson, missouri, and whether the officer involved should be indicted. more of the interview coming up in the next hour. meanwhile, as the u.s. steps up its military campaign against isis and isis steps up its own onslaught, let's go in depth right now. joining us from the white house, president obama's deputy national security adviser, ben rhodes. thanks very much for joining us. you want to weigh in, follow up on what the attorney general had to say about leon panetta? >> well, we've addressed this clearly. secretary panetta expressed his views in his book. what i would add is the president's shown he's willing to use military force, not just against osama bin laden but against terrorist targets in yemen and somalia and libya. he'll use force when it's necessary. but we make no apologies for

being deliberate about the use of force, particularly when it engages the united states in conflicts like over in the middle east. the american people want a president who's going to think hard before making those decisions, who's going to ask the hard questions and when he does pursue a strategy, he makes sure he draws on the lessons from iraq and afghanistan so we don't put our men and women in the same risks. >> what's the latest with isis? you see these 15 simultaneous attacks against various kurdish positions in northern iraq right now, the u.s. clearly stepping up its efforts to try to help the kurds in kobani along the syrian-turkish border. what's going on? >> well, wolf, when isil presents itself on the battlefield, that enables us to hit their targets. in kobani what we've seen is -- your correspondent, barbara starr, put it well. this has been important to them. they have surged resources to kobani. that means masses of fighters, heavy weapons. those are targets that we have

hit and we have been hitting. we added resupplies and medical supplies and food to the kurdish forces fight isil on the ground. they came from iraqi kurds who stepped up to the plate to assist those fighting isil in syria. that will allow them to carry on the fight in kobani. and we've resupplied the kurdish forces in northern iraq who are engaged in the fight with isil as well. >> the iraqi kurds, i want to be precise on this, have crossed the border into syria and they're helping their fellow kurds, the syrian kurds in kobani, is that what you're saying? >> what i'm saying, wolf, is they provided the arms, the medical supplies, the food that our air force was then able to fly and air drop into syria. so it's kurdish supplies from iraq and we use our unique capabilities from centcom, central command, to fly and air drop those supplies last night into syria so those kurds on the ground fighting against isil in syria are able to carry on the

fight. >> stand by, ben. we have a lot more to discuss. many more questions about what's happening in iraq and syria and the region. stand by. more with the president's deputy national security adviser as soon as we come back.

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back to breaking news, massive new isis assault that launched 15 nearly simultaneous attacks as the u.s. steps up its own military involvement in syria. we're back with president obama's deputy security adviser ben rhodes. this mosul dam that looks like the isis terrorists are making a major push towards the mosul dam, how worried are you that it could be lost? >> we're focused on that target.

we helped the kurdish forces retake the mosul dam. we provided air cover for their operations in the vicinity of the mosul dam. we'll continue to do that. what we've seen, of course, is isil over the last several months advance in different areas of syria and iraq. the difference now is when they seek to advance, they're met with u.s. air strikes, coalition air strikes, as well as forces on the ground who have our support with training, equipping intelligence and our air force providing those air strikes. >> is the iraqi military really doing anything? >> yes, wolf. what we've seen is in the northern, the kurdish forces regroup, go on offense. they've taken back some population centers from isil. the iraqi forces have consolidated their defense forces. in anbar province and baghdad, they're getting back into the fight. we have a joint operations center there helping them plan. we've launched air strikes in anbar, including in the last 24 to 48 hours. iraq has a new minister of defense. all that is going to allow us to

work with them to get back into that fight so that the iraqi security forces are taking the fight to isil in places like anbar province. >> how worried are you about baghdad, the capital, a city of 7 million people, especially that so-called green zone where the u.s. embassy complex and hundreds if not thousands of americans are based right now? how worried are you that that could be shelled, that could be in danger? >> first of all, wolf, top priority is always the security of the american personnel. we've reinforced the security at that embassy. we launched air strikes to create a bit of a perimeter around baghdad. so we feel good about the security precautions we have in place. in terms of baghdad itself, baghdad is not at risk of falling to isil. what we're concerned about is isil's presence in the environment around baghdad, places like anbar province. what we've seen for months now is they use their vicinity to baghdad to launch terrorist attacks, things like the car bomb attacks we've seen in recent days. again, not directed at our embassy but directed at certain neighborhoods in baghdad.

that's all the more reason to help the iraqi security forces go on offense in places like anbar province so we're pushing out that perimeter and beginning to push isil out of the areas where they've sought to consolidate gains. >> do you know if there are patriot air defense missiles in and around baghdad or the iron dome system the israelis used effectively during their war with hamas? are those located in baghdad right now? >> we don't have something along the lines of the iron dome, wolf. what we do have is a lot of experience with securing our embassy facility and personnel from rocket attacks. this was a constant factor as we had, again, american forces in iraq for so many years. so there are various perimeters and defensive measures we have in place around our embassy, around our facilities. it's different from the type of missile defense systems you see with iron dome. but we take precautions to make sure that our people are safe, just as we're also helping the iraqi security forces secure the

city and begin to push back against isil. >> you probably saw that report in "the daily beast" that some of the u.s. humanitarian aid that's being air dropped, some of the aid that's going in across the border, food, medical supplies, actually winding up in the hands of isis. what's your reaction to that? >> wolf, we feel very confident that when we air drop support as we did into kobani or mt. sinjar in iraq to help the yazidis, we've hit the target in terms of reaching the people we want to reach. we also have a significant humanitarian crisis in northern iraq with displaced people who need our humanitarian assistance. across this entire theater in syria and iraq, the u.s. has provided enormous amounts of ho humanitarian assistance over the last several years. isil may have come into places like mosul that had been recipients of u.s. aid in the past.

but what i can assure people is when we're delivering aid now, we focus it on the people we want to receive those assistance, we take precautions to make sure it's not falling into the wrong hands. >> the president spoke over the weekend with the turkish president erdogan. are the turks ready to allow launches of attacks from places like incirlik? >> it has not been strike missions into syria but rather supporting other components of our military effort inside of syria. we can use those facilities even as we're also using facilities in the gulf and aircraft carriers to launch other missions including strike missions inside of syria. another important announcement that the turkish government made today is they are working to

facilitate the resupply of kurds through their territory. we did the air drop last night that we discussed. what the turks are discussing is allowing come kurdish forces to come in through turkey and resupply the kurds who are fighting in kobani. we believe that would be another step forward in the fight against isil. >> but fighter jets are still not allowed to launch strikes from turkish bases, right? >> right. we're not launching strikes from turkey but we're confident we have the force posture in the region to carry out our missions in iraq and in syria without using bases in turkey at this point. >> they just have to fly a lot further away from the gulf. turkey is much closer. let me ask you one political question. tomorrow, two weeks, midterm elections, you're right there. you've been with the president since day one, ben. step back, how are the elections, the crucial senate election, shall we say, impacting the decision-making process as far as this war against isis is concerned? >> not at all, wolf.

again, when you come in to work and you're dealing with issues like the campaign against isil or you're dealing with the effort against ebola, these are issues that are walled off from politics. frankly we have to deal with them because they are national security issues for the safety and security and health of the american people. obviously it's a political season and the president has been engaged on the campaign trail the last couple of days. but he's also been monitoring these situations. when he's in the situation room here at the white house in the oval office, that's what he's focused on. not the politics but what can we do to get the job done? >> you're always welcome in our "situation room," ben rhodes. coming up, as dozens of people who had contact with the first u.s. ebola patient are released from quarantine, there's an urgent new effort to keep ebola from spreading in this country. as virginia police wait for test results on the remains found in the hannah graham

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comcast business. built for business. following new developments in the fight to keep ebola from spreading here in the united states. let's go to cnn's alina machado who has the latest for us in dallas. >> reporter: 43 people here in dallas county have reached the end of their monitoring period without any symptoms.

this as the cdc continues to work on new guidelines. the centers for disease control and prevention is setting new protocols for health care workers treating ebola patients. the new measures are meant to help protect health care workers from getting the virus. >> i'm not going into the details because we haven't finalized it yet except to say we're going to err very much more on the side of safety. >> reporter: dr. anthony fauci added that as was the case in dallas, guidelines can only do so much. >> but obviously there have been some missteps. and the first one was someone coming to an emergency room and saying, i'm from liberia and i have a fever and being let go. that's what i meant when i said inexcusable. that is not the cdc's fault. that's just human failing. >> reporter: texas health presbyterian hospital, where thomas eric duncan was treated for and later died from ebola, has issued an apology saying in part, as an institution we made

mistakes in handling this very difficult challenge. several nurses are rallying behind the hospital as two of their own, nina pham and amber vinson, continue to fight the deadly virus. vinson remains in atlanta's emory hospital. her condition is being kept private. but her family has hired a lawyer because they feel the cdc misrepresented her actions in the days following her care of duncan saying in part, suggestions that she ignored any of the physician and government-provided protocols recommended to her are patently untrue and hurtful. meanwhile, back in dallas, the 21-day monitoring period for the 43 of 48 who came in contact with america's first ebola patient is over. >> there's zero risk that any of those people who have been marked off the list have ebola.

they were in contact with a person who had ebola. and the time period for them to get ebola has lapsed. >> reporter: the group includes duncan's fiancee, louise, and several of her family members. >> they feel like this is a tremendous miracle that's happened, that they've not come down to be symptomatic, given the close exposure they had early on. and this is a lang-awaited day of celebration. >> reporter: there are still dozens of health care workers who had contact with duncan who will be monitored at least through october 29th. there's also another group of people who had contact with the nurses. their monitoring period will likely go through november. wolf? >> alina machado in dallas for us, thank you very much. let's dig deeper right now. joining us, a former cdc disease detective and now writes for "the dallas morning news." also joining us, gavin

macgregor-skinner. quarantine add ended for many who came in contact with mr. duncan. but is 21 days really enough? >> yes, it is, based on the information and the data we have -- we've known ebola virus since 1976. that's 38 years of experience we've had, 26 outbreaks. as we deal with these outbreaks, we develop risk assessments and we know that 21 days is very conservative when it comes to an incubation period. today is a today of celebration. not only are all these people in dallas now served that 21 days but also nigeria has been declared ebola-free by the w.h.o. >> doctor, you agree? >> i do agree. there's certainly a sense of relief here in dallas that these 43 individuals have been cleared and are now free to go on and live their lives. we have to say the burden of evidence shows in science that 21 days is sufficient, it's what

doctors without borders have been using for 38 years. many other organizations have found that people exposed to ebola become sick eight to ten days after exposure. >> the w.h.o. has declared nigeria and senegal ebola-free. why have they been apparently more successful in containing ebola than we have been in the united states, which is not yet ebola-free? >> it's very important, wolf. we look at nigeria. the nigerian government invited my team and paid for them to go to nigeria. when we got there, the nigerians has an operational and communication plan. these new cdc ebola guidelines are the guidelines that nigeria was using the day we arrived. in the operation gnat plan, they did a needs assessment, a risk assessment and identified who and what to protect and how to protect it. in the communication plan, they

took a community -- they mobilized everyone in the community through a 1-800-ebola help number, government facebook, government twitter, government website. and they used sms text messaging to push out text messages to everyone in nigeria to report early signs and symptoms for ebola throughout the country. and they identified two hospitals in a mega city and another to be the two regional centers for ebola for the whole country so that all the hospitals that were going to get ebola patients were sending ebola patients to just two hospitals and that was able to allow them to focus on their training. >> do you know if nigeria and senegal have imposed a travel ban preventing anyone from the three west africa countries from coming into nigeria or senegal? s. >> no, they haven't. what's unique about nigeria -- i just spoke to my nigerian government colleagues today. my team just had a cake with "well done nigeria" on top of the cake.

they're saying nigeria can become a base of training for all those international and african experts and consultants that need to go to the three countries in africa. we use that as a launchingpad to send people into guinea, liberia and sierra leone. >> do you know why some people get ebola, others don't get ebola, why some people survive from ebola and other people die? >> we're certainly learning that some people seem to be exposed to the virus that have some type of immunity that protects them from becoming infected. we need to learn more about this. in terms of why some succumb to the infection and others don't, it's like with so many other illnesses, there are many factors at play as to why one supplies and another doesn't. in the case of thomas eric duncan, his diagnosis was delayed and sometimes in ebola, that does play a part. quick diagnosis, quick isolation

and treatment can save lives. >> in his particular case, he came back to that house with a high temperature yet now we've learned all the people he was in contact with, they are free and clear, right? >> that's right. and that's so reassuring that his loved ones and those 43 other people are clear of the virus. we know, though, that the nurses and health care workers who care for ebola patients, they're really at most risk of becomein infecting, much more so than the average person on the street. health care workers are coming into contact with people who are very sick with ebola. they have a lot of the virus in their body. and they come in contact with them for many days. >> thank you both. we'll stay on top of this story. near charlottesville, virginia, we're now learning new details in the case of the missing university of virginia student, hannah graham, including new chargers against the suspect. we're going live to charlottesville when we come back.

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our breaking news as authorities await forensic tests on remains found in the hannah graham search, the suspect charged in that virginia student's abduction has just been indicted in connection with a sexual assault that took place a decade ago. let's go to cnn's brian todd. he's joining us live from charlottesville, virginia, right now with more. brian, what's the latest? >> reporter: wolf, tonight investigators are processing

evidence from where human remains were found over the weekend. and we have just learned that information from the hannah graham investigation helped prosecutors bring another case against suspect jesse matthew. virginia law enforcement agencies tonight are putting more pressure on jesse matthew, the suspect in hannah graham's abduction in charlottesville is now charged by a grand jury with sexual assault and attempted murder in a 2005 case in fairfax city, two hours north. >> the victim is grateful to the lead detective who stayed in touch with her regularly over the course of nine years and promised her he'd never give up and he never did. i wouldn't expect less from him. >> reporter: the indictment comes as law enforcement teams work the crime scene outside charlottesville where human remains were discovered over the weekend. the state medical examiner will soon determine if it's the body of hannah graham. a sergeant with the chesterfield county sheriff's department whose team made the discovery said it was a skull and bones

scattered across a creek boobed hair or skin. there was a pair of black pants found nearby. >> i don't know how else to explain it other than something inside me told me just continue to look. >> reporter: the remains were found about five miles southeast of where morgan harrington's remains were discovered in january of 2010 after she disappeared the previous fall. a law enforcement source wes dna in the harrington case provides a forensic link to jesse matthew. neighbors told us they didn't notice anything unusual the night hannah graham disappeared but described the abandoned property where the latest remains were found. >> three houses there are empty. nobody's lived in them for quite a while. and it's just a real small house. that's all i can tell you. it's a very small house and it's right on practically on the side of the road. >> it looks like a movie set for a horror movie.

when you drive by it, you just always look at it and go, oh. >> reporter: neighbors are trying to process the latest traumatic news in a case they've followed from the beginning. >> we're so taken absolutely by surprise that this can happen next door. >> reporter: we reached out to jesse matthew's attorney tonight. he would not comment on the latest indictment of matthew in fairfax city, virginia, or on the discovery of human remains near here. wolf? >> brian, thanks very much. let's dig deeper right now. joining us, our law enforcement analyst, tom fuentes, along with the investigative journalist coy barefoot who's been on top of this story from the very beginning. coy, let me start with you. jesse matthew, he's the suspect in the hannah graham disappearance. he's been indicted, you just heard from brian, for this alleged 2005 sexual assault on a college campus where he was a student. his indictment states he's being

charged with attempted capital murder, abduction, sex assault. what can you tell us? >> reporter: that case, that event took place on september 24th, 2005, in a neighborhood just off of germantown road in fairfax. this is just south of interstate 66 in fairfax, a suburb of washington, d.c. a 26-year-old woman was walking back from the giant grocery store, groceries in her hand. she was jumped. it's been reported that she was picked up and carried to the back of this neighborhood where there is a wooded lot and a playground, a kids' playground. and it was in the dark there in the woods where she was brutally raped and nearly beaten to death. a passerby scared off the perpetrator and she crawled to a house and banged on the door for help. the police have said today they believe the dna they found, the dna of the perpetrator that they found on this woman in 2005 is

the dna of jesse matthew who is in jail here in charlottesville, and is charged with the abduction of hannah graham. >> where does the morgan harrington case fit into all of this? >> reporter: that's a great question. let me explain that. the dna that was found on the woman in 2005 in that rape and attempted murder is the same dna that was later found on morgan harrington's shirt the night that she was abducted and murdered october 17th, 2009. now, from a lawyer's point of view, the fairfax case is a stronger case because the dna of the perpetrator was actually found on the victim. in morgan's case, that's tougher to prove because the dna was found on her shirt almost nine miles from where her remains were found. but that is the connection. we know for a fact that the dna in morgan's case is linked to the dna in fairfax. that case now with which jesse

matthew has been charged. >> tom fuentes, this is the fairfax county commonwealth attorney talking about the charges that were filed today against jesse matthew and asked if the hannah graham investigation played a role in what they discovered? >> i would say sort of indirectly that case was of value to this department in conducting its investigation. obviously law enforcement coordinates in situations like this and that was done here. but that's about all i could say about it. i couldn't be any more specific than that. >> he says indirectly. but sounds like a pretty direct connection there. hannah graham disappears. and then all of a sudden nine years later, they file these charges against jesse matthew. >> right. the reason for that is they collected the dna in 2005, they collected dna in 2009 in the harrington case or shortly --

2010 when her body was found -- but they had no one to compare it with. they look at the files of dna records. there's nobody on file with that dna. once jesse matthew became a suspect in the hannah graham case and they get samples of his dna and compare it to the earlier cases that were unsolved, that's where they get the match. >> we have a lot more to discuss. i want both of you to stand by. tom fuentes, coy barefoot. more questions, more answers right after this. eeeeeeeee financial noise financial noise financial noise financial noise

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charges link told a decade-old sex assault, as virginia authorities wait for test results on remains ground on the search. we're back with former fbi assistant director tom fuentes along with the investigative journalist coy barefoot, who is joining us from charlottesville. coy, jesse matthew, he grew up about four miles from where the human remains were found over the weekend in the search for hannah graham. what are you hearing about the remains that were located? >> reporter: so this area is a very remote, rural part of the county. the land where the remains were found is 11.5 miles south of charlottesville's downtown mall, the last location where anybody remembers seeing hannah graham on the early morning hours of september 13. this 2 1/2 acre parcel has two homes on it. one is a small, three-bedroom

house built in 1983. just across the grass from it is a small 600 square foot cabin. the remains were found in the woods behind these two structures, just inside the wood line in what's been described as a dry creek bed. and wolf, i can tell you the guys with whom i spoke who were out there, there's not one of them who doesn't believe that this is the -- that we are talking about the remains of hannah graham. the remains, of course, are going to the medical examine's office in richmond. a full autopsy and positive i.d. will have to be done there to be sure that this is hannah graham. police, of course, in the county and here in charlottesville believe that after the longest, most extensive, most complicated search for any missing human being in the history of virginia, they believe they have found hannah graham. >> how long, tom, does it usually take to make the dna

evidence conclusive result? >> the dna can take a couple of days. but the dental takes a few minutes. an investigator, the dentist with the records, with her teeth, will be able to make that determination very, very quickly. the problem for the delay right now, this takes a lot of time. they're going to be very meticulous in the examination of the remains. they're looking for the smallest piece of evidence which could have dna or could have some other indication to indicate what caused the death and again link jesse matthew to it. >> we know, coy, law enforcement called hannah's parents over the weekend and told them they found these remains. what are you hearing about that conversation, how it went and how the family is dealing with this? >> reporter: i have a source who told me, wolf, that he was out there when chief longo took john graham, hannah's father, out to the site. one can only imagine how gut

wrenching and horrifying a moment that must have been for john graham. i cannot confirm that sue graham, her mother was out there. but i can confirm that john went out to the site saturday morning. of course, the announcement came later that day. the whole town here, wolf, is just caught in this mix of relief and sadness and anger as well, to think that whoever did this just dropped hannah on the ground in the woods. it's just horrifying. it is absolutely horrifying. >> coy, thank you very much. coy barefoot on the scene in charlottesville. tom fuentes, thanks to you, as well. coming up in the next hour, major new details about the fatal police shooting of teenager michael brown and raising new questions about what happened that day in ferguson. ♪ music

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happening now. breaking news. [ explosions ] isis offensive. militants launch multiple coordinated attacks in a brand new push to expand their land grab. as u.s. forces help resupply kurdish fighters defending kobani. how much longer can they hold out against the terrorist forces? leaked information shedding new light on the confrontation between michael brown and the ferguson police officer who shot and killed him. cnn talks about it with the attorney general of the united states, eric holder, in an exclusive interview. new mission. monica lewinsky steps back into the spotlight, announcing the cause to which she says she's dedicating her life.

and what she's now saying about her notorious affair with president bill clinton. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer and you're in "the situation room." we're following breaking news. a coordinated offensive by isis terrorists launching 15 attacks within minutes of each other in northern iraq. that's where isis is making a renewed push to seize more kurdish controlled territory and continuing its assault on the city of kobani. but now kurdish forces defending kobani are getting some desperately needed supplies thanks to the united states. we're covering all the news this hour with our correspondents, our guests, including congress royce. jim sciutto is following the news. >> reporter: these attacks show now unique a threat isis is, a

combination of military assaults and suicide bombings. one of the targets, the mosul dam. this as there's been a renewed effort to keep the syrian city of kobani from falling to isis. this small syrian city has become central to the u.s.-led war on isis. with kurdish fighters struggling to defend kobani, today u.s. warplanes dropping not just bombs but ear dropping weapons, ammunition and medical supplies to kurdish rebels. the first such airlift in syria since the start of the campaign. the effort follows dozens of air strikes that have made kobani the number one target in syria or iraq, justifying the focus on a town the administration once dismissed as inconsequential.

u.s. officials say it is isis that's made kobani a priority. >> kobani matters to us because it matters to them, because they keep flowing in resources to take that town. >> reporter: secretary of state john kerry said it is also a humanitarian mission. >> it would be irresponsible of us, as well as morally very difficult to turn your back on a community fighting isil as hard as it is. >> reporter: the aid to kurdish rebels defending kobani is pitting nato allies turkey and the united states against each other. hours after president obama informed the turkish president of the air drop, the turkish president called arming the kurds there inappropriate. the turkish government considers the group terrorists. >> we made it very clear this is not a shift of policy by the

u.s. it is a crisis moment, an emergency. >> reporter: today, however, an opening as turkey's foreign minister announced his country would let kurdish militias from iraq to cross turnish territory in syria to reinforce those fighters in kobani. >> translator: we see the military aid to all groups defending kobani from that perspective. >> reporter: new satellite photos show just how powerful and punishing the u.s.-led air campaign has been around kobani. here you see some of the buildings destroyed by more than 140 air strikes so far. one of these here, it shows you just the power of one of the explosions, the effects spreading out a couple hundred yards in either direction. 140 air strikes here. the satellite images capturing

this, flying over kobani, this is a u.s. b-1-b bomber, flying at 900 miles an hour, captured amazingly in one of these satellite photos. this is something else that showed up. these are hundreds, perhaps a thousand cars. this is what happened when all the residents of kobani fled. they came up to the turkish border, dumped their cars and went on their way to the many refugee camps here. just a sign of the fear the many residents fell. just a few hundred have stayed behind as kurdish fighters try to keep isis from taking that city over. >> what are u.s. officials saying, these are massive u.s. air strikes and other air strikes coming in from other coalition partners. what are they saying about civilian casualties? because it looks like a lot of those targets have been in

heavily populated urban areas. >> reporter: they are. it's a good point, wolf. you look at how tightly packed the buildings are in that city. they're saying one, we do know and you saw from all those cars fleeing the city that the vast majority of the residents fled. tens of thousands fled, a few hundred stayed behind. we also know now that they're sharing intelligence with some of the kurdish fighters on the ground, which would give them better accuracy as to where the isis fighters were separate from, where civilians and the ypg, the syrian kurdish fighters. u.s. officials acknowledge that some civilians will likely be killed in this, but say as always they do their best to avoid it. >> jim sciutto, thank you very much. let's get more now on this new isis offensive in northern iraq under way. barbara starr has more details. what else are you picking up?

>> reporter: cnn learned that the northern town in iraq, that is the one the u.s. is trying to get the iraqi forces to retake the town. they have a massive oil refinery nearby, but they want iraqi forces to get moving and take that town back. in fact, some iraqi forces already on the march from baghdad north, and we have seen now in the last 24 hours the beginning of u.s. and coalition air strikes in baji to soften up the ground there, to clear out some of the isis positions as iraqi forces move in. but wolf, don't get too cheerful just yet. the move was supposed to happen weeks ago. but they couldn't get iraqi forces to really get it together to get moving and get up there. we are seeing the same story being told west of baghdad, of course, in anbar province. that is an area also getting a lot of attention by u.s.

advisers and iraqi forces. right now we're told the iraqis holding their own in most of the areas they already have in anbar. they are still holding on to the all-critical al assad air base there. but they need to get iraqi forces to roll back isis in a significant way across certain key areas of iraq, and as jim sciutto just pointed out, isis back on the attack near mosul dam, something the u.s. thought the iraqis had fully under their control. wolf? >> barbara, thank you very much. kurdish fighters backed up by u.s.-led air strikes managed to keep kobani, at least from now, from falling to isis. nick paton walsh is nearby along the border. what are you seeing and hearing, nick, from your vantage point? >> reporter: senior kurdish officials inside kobani are

clear they still see mortar attacks from isis. 200 they claimed in just three days. they say they hold about 70% of the city, that's a little less than a few days ago. clearly the fight not over. but we have been speaking to some of the younger people dragged into this conflict. a missing foot, blown off by a grenade, brings him into the traumatized crowd of kobani's injured. but two facts distinguish him. he's just 15 and already a fighter. i want to go and continue my life where i left off, he says. your homeland is precious to you. i want to go back to kobani as soon as possible. i'll be a soldier. i'll help people in need. arrested on a brief break from the fight in turkey, he was expelled back to syria. glad to fight again, he was, however, quickly injured. yes, i saw the firsthand

grenade, but it missed me. the last landed by my feet. he boasts that he didn't drop his gun. now he's injured, turkey will let him stay. his mother can only smile at his bravado. isis came all of a sudden, she says, obliged us to leave our houses. do they have the right to do this to our city? i don't know where they came from. they took off food, our water, our houses. they tortured our young people. at the border, a usair drop of medicine, guns and ammo near these new defenses to the west of kobani didn't some desperately trying to cross. they've always had to abandon their cars at the frontier, but these ones wouldn't. the army pursued them and then

moved to block the hole made in the fence. vital usair drops overnight followed by turkey saying it would left iraqi kurdish peshmerga in to help with the fight. but kobani still burns. potentially today, a seismic change in kobani, and perhaps generally in the war against isis. that move to arm the syrian kurds in kobani, despite turkey viewing them as terrorists, a very stark choice made there, followed by turkey recalibrating its position. still calling the kurds terrorists, but saying they'll allow peshmerga through their territory to assist the fight, that could open another front against isis. washington always saying they haven't got the ground forces to back up the air strikes.

if the peshmerga show up, that could change things. >> congressman ed royce joins us now. mr. chairman, thank you very much for joining us. you heard about these 15 simultaneous assaults by isis on various parts of northern iraq, kurdish territory. but they seem to be going after that mosul dam. here's the question -- could that be lost? >> well, i think the kurds will probably be able to hold along the line. but i think also the reason for the full-scale assault on the kurds in iraq is probably to try to pin them down so they can't come to the aid of the syrian kurdish forces up in kobani. now that announcement has been made, they know as well that the kurdish peshmerga are trying to come over the border, that turkey will now let them fight. and that could help prevent that town from falling to isis.

so i think that's going to be a firefight probably going all night long, along that line. we'll see if they can hold the dam or not. >> because you lose that dam, that's a huge, huge -- that would be a major gain for isis, right? >> downstream, it's a real problem. if you recall in the second world war, what happened with respect to flooding and so forth as a military tactic with the fall of dams in europe. if that dam falls, that's a big problem. >> and the power shortages would be enormous. what really worries me, there are thousands of americans in that so-called green zone in baghdad. how worried are you about the safety of the iraqi capital? >> i think they'll hold outside the capital. but part of the problem is some of the isis forces have snuck in and carrying out terrorist attacks, suicide bombing. so it's the suicide bombing

attacks in the immediate future that are the problem. clearly long-term what isis would like to do is cut off the town, surround it, sort of lay siege to it. but again, i think part of the solution here is finding the one really competent force, which is the kurdish peshmerga, giving them the weapons, because they're such a large force, 190,000. give them the armor and the artillery, give them the mortars they need in order to carry out this fight. and i think that could turn the tide on isis. >> i want you to stand by, mr. chairman. we have a lot more to discuss. i'm really worried, though, right now as of this moment, and i want you to explain it when we come back, the u.s. wants to supply weapons to the kurds, the peshmerga, but only through the central iraqi government in baghdad. the kurds say that is not good enough. much more with the chairman of the house foreign affairs committee when we come back. hello... i'm an idaho potato farmer and our big idaho potato truck is still missing.

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we're following the breaking news. a push by isis terrorists to grand more land in northern iraq. the new offensive including 15 near simultaneous attacks. we're back with the chairman of the house foreign affairs committee. congressman, turkey is a major nato ally. here's the question -- why won't they allow other turkish air bases to be used by u.s. warplanes to launch air strikes against isis targets from turkey? >> this has always been a frustration in dealing with the turkish government, the lack of cooperation. they claim they're a nato ally. but when push comes to shove, as

you notice, is very, very difficult to get them to take the steps that seem to be even in their own interest. so as a consequence, we're trying to work around this. and i would suggest at this point, that the administration has been far too cautious on the subject of not arming the kurds. i suspect one of the reasons they haven't done it is because turkey doesn't want us to see the peshmerga armed with the type of weaponry that would really help turn the tide of battle. the second point i would make in this regard is that whether turkey allows us to use those air bases or not, we have to preposition enough in the way of air power to truly do the types of air strikes that have not yet been done, for example, in anbar province. in other words, we've got to get up there with the support for, you know, those who are resisting isis. and we're awfully late in the game on that. the reason isis made as much

headway as they made is because we didn't have a policy of being proactive. so we're allowing others, whether it's baghdad or the government in turkey, to sort of dictate our decisions here. our decisions have to be driven by what steps will help defeat isis. that is arming the kurds and much more in the way of air power and calling in those air strikes across the board on isis. >> is it still a fact, you know more about this than i do, you're well briefed, mr. chairman, that the u.s. arming of the kurds in iraq, all of those weapons that are eventually supplied, still have to go through the central government in baghdad and then shipped to the kurds, there's no direct shipment from the u.s. to the kurds? >> and that's the mistake the administration is making on this. i think there's bipartisan support right now in congress, probably a majority of people h tell you, let's go forward and give them the equipment they need to defend themselves. you and i know if the kurding

had not stepped in, whether it's the syrian kurds or the iraqi kurds, for example, if they had not stepped in with the massacre of the yazidis, they would have never got off that mountain. and we know what happened to the women sold into slavery. the men were slaughtered. to end this jihadi advance, we need a much more robust assault here. it can be provided by these kurdish and other forces on the ground if we're willing to lead and arm them and give them the kind of air power they need. >> one final question, do you have confidence in this new iraqi government in baghdad? >> i am disappointed on many fronts that they still are blocking the weapons going into the kurdish fighters who are the ones lifting -- doing the heavy lift here.

they still haven't reconciled to the extent necessary with the sunni minority population. this has been a very, very disappointing time. again, i think it takes more leadership in terms of forcing baghdad to the what's at this point in its own interest, which is defeat isis. >> ed royce is the chairman of the house foreign affairs committee. mr. chairman, thanks for joining us. just ahead, sources are revealing new details of blood evidence in the shooting death of michael brown by a ferguson, missouri police officer. we'll talk about the explosive case in an exclusive interview with the attorney general of the united states, eric holder. tag: sooner or later, everyone needs a helping hand,

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major new details about the police shooting death of michael brown in ferguson, missouri. sources, including a u.s. law enforcement official, are now telling cnn that brown's blood was found on officer darren wilson's gun, on his squad car's interior and wilson's uniform, all raising new questions about the deadly confrontation. pamela brown is work thing story. what are you finding out? >> reporter: wolf, a source with firsthand knowledge of the investigation says one of the bullets that struck michael brown was at close range and is consistent with a struggle at officer wilson's car. new evidence, we're learning about his backing up that

narrative. >> the police shot this boy outside my apartment. >> reporter: cnn learned new forensic evidence shows michael brown's blood was found on officer wilson's gun, uniform and inside the interior door panel of the officer's car. >> if, in fact, there is significant blood evidence inside the car, or gunshot residue inside the car, that tends to undergird the officer's assertion that brown game in the car and there was a struggle for his gun inside the car. >> reporter: officer wilson told investigators he feared for his life after struggling in his police car. wilson said brown tried to grab his gun. but dorian johnson claims the officer was the aggressor. >> it was like the officer is trying to pull him inside the car. >> reporter: the family's attorney says what happened most -- matters most is what

happened in the street. >> michael died later after the officer got out of his car as michael was running away from him and the officer decided to shoot at him as he ran away. >> reporter: as anticipation mounts whether wilson should be tried for murder, questions remain why the information about the new forensic evidence first reported by "the new york times" was leaked in the first place. >> it could be really for in part a beneficial purpose to start leading those community leaders and those leading the protests to believe that there won't be an indictment, and maybe over time that will have a beneficial effect of no riots, no battles in the streets again. >> reporter: two months since wilson killed brown, an anger in missouri still simmers. joseph night, protesters and football fans brawled in the streets after the st. louis rams

game. it's uncheer when the grand jury will release its decision. wolf? >> let's bring in evan perez, joining us right now. you had a chance to sit down with the outgoing attorney general of the united states, eric holder, and spoke about what's going on in ferguson. >> wolf, yes. the attorney general wants to make sure that he manages some of the expectations that are on the street there is in ferguson. people are expecting an indictment and there's a real possibility that will not happen. here's more of what he had to say. >> my hope would be that people will understand that certainly with regards to the federal government, that we looked at the facts, looked at the law, had to deal with that high standard and came to an appropriate conclusion when we do that. >> if there isn't an indictment against this officer, would you feel that it was the right decision? >> i think what we'll have to do

is what we always do, is look at what the state has done. then make a determination as to whether or not the state investigation was adequate. >> he really has taken a significant interest, evan, in this whole ferguson case. >> yes, he was. he basically went down to ferguson to calm the tensions. the president asked him to do that. wolf, that was one of the best moments of eric holder's tenure here in washington. one of the things he's worried about is people will remember not that part of his tenure but perhaps what might happen on the streets later on. >> if there's no indictment, for example, he's clearly potentially worried about that, as well. >> exactly. and then the federal investigation, which is still ongoing. >> that could be going on for a while. evan, thank you very much. good work. let's get more on all of this. joining us now, the community activist, john gaskin, cnn anchor don lemon, who covered the violence in ferguson for us,

as well as cnn senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin and the former fbi assistant director tom fuentes. john, you're there. you're in missouri. for the first time we're hearing specific details of officer darren wilson's testimony before the grand jury, before the investigators and according to this report in "the new york times," officer wilson told investigators he was pinned in his vehicle in fear of his life as he and michael brown struggled over that gun. are you surprised what we're learning about this struggle? >> well, you know, so much has been kept under wraps throughout this entire thing. many people on the ground are even concerned how these details got out. since these types of proceedings are highly confidential. so the questions really are, you know, how did this information get leaked to the new york times? who is giving them this kind of

information? people on the ground are not necessarily surprised with officer darren wilson's alibi, because to be quite honest with you, many people figured he would say something along the lines of that. but the real question is, how is this officer going to justify shooting this unarmed teenager six times in the street? so those are a lot of questions that are still unanswered. >> as you know, tom fuentes, the forensic tests do show that michael brown's blood was in the vehicle, was in the car, on officer wilson's gun, as well as his uniform. so what does that say to you? >> it says to me, you know, we have to really take a close look at what brown was doing that far into the car. you know, it's hard to believe that a police officer is going to be on patrol and think i'm going to kill that guy, i'm going to have him climb in my car so i can do it. so the struggle that happens there, it's hard to believe that part of this event could be initiated by the officer.

then what happens, as john mentions, what happens afterward on the street is a separate part. but the first part has to do with the officer's mindset. has brown been aggressive to him and caused him to have a certain amount of fear on the street later. >> don lemon, you covered this from day one. seems like another one of these orchestrated leaks in this case, this new information, not just in "the new york times" but cnn has been getting very similar information, as well. what does it say to you? >> it says there are leaks, i'm not sure how orchestrated they are. but this information that is coming from the officer, you know, if is it true from "the new york times," is the same information we were going to report on last week before we had the breaking news about the ebola, the patient being transferred to the hospital. there was another witness, another witness who happens to be african-american, who gives almost word for word, the same account as officer darren wilson, this report in "the new york times." but all along, wolf, there have

been people who have had differing account, who have been corroborating the side of dorian johnson and there have been people all along corroborating the side of the officer, darren wilson. many of those people we don't hear about because they don't want media exposure. this has not been clear cut from the very beginning. as almost every single legal expert will tell you, when this first started, it is very hard to indict an officer under these circumstances, unless there is videotape of what happened. >> you know, jeffrey, there is some videotape of what happened shortly before the shooting of michael brown, that's when only minutes he was in that convenience store allegedly robbing some cigars with his friend over there. and then when the store clerk went over there and tried to stop him, asked him for the $30 or whatever it cost, he was sort of intimidated. he's a big guy, michael brown. just a legal question, that kind of video, is it relevant?

will it be shown to the grand jury? >> the grand jury has very wide definition of relevance. but the interesting legal question, if officer wilson is indicted, would it be used in his trial? and that's a much harder question, and it would turn, i think, at least in part, on whether officer wilson was aware or saw mike brown have this confrontation. if officer wilson was unaware of any confrontation over these cigars and didn't know about it, i don't see how it would be relevant in the trial. this is one of the many issues we don't know all the facts yet, so we can't make a judgment about whether that would be admissible in a trial. >> i want all of you to stand by. we have a lot more to discuss. much more on the ferguson developments as they're coming in. also ahead, monica lewinsky now says she was one of its first victims as she says she's

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we're following the developments of the police shooting death of michael brown in ferguson, missouri. we're back with our panel, john gaskin, don lemon, he covered the violence in ferguson for all of us. jeffrey toobin, and the former assistant fbi director, tom fuentes. tom, you believe that video from the store where michael brown was allegedly in there with his friend stealing some cigars, that could be significant? >> i think it is significant. we heard the narrative that michael brown was a gentle giant. he's not aggressive. he wouldn't hurt anybody. in the video, you see him take on the store clerk that's about half his size, after stealing

the cigars. he's confronted. he shoves the guy violently into the rack. starts to leave the store. that's not good enough. he turns around and comes back in menacingly toward the clerk and then leaves. that incident occurs about ten minutes before the encounter with officer wilson on the street. so he could have, in his own mind, thought that officer wilson was going to arrest him for the incident at the store. that would be a motive for being aggressive and wilson being caught by surprise. >> what do you make of that, don? >> i think it goes to state of mind. i think he's right, that's going to come up. when you're dealing with a grand jury, you're dealing with people listening and trying to be objective about it. so if you look at that, they'll say -- they'll want to know what precipitated this? what happened before? we have been saying there are two separate events. what happened at the car md then what happened once michael brown was shot and died. but that's also going to go to

state of mind, what happened inside of that car? if you look at it logically, if you look at it logically, anything is possible. but i don't think any police officer would want to pull a suspect in a car with him, because he's then trapped inside of the car. so the grand jury is going to look at that. they are going to say logically the officer would want to push the suspect off, get out of the car and fight him in an open place, not pull him into the car where the officer is trapped. >> john gaskin, there were protests over the weekend in front of the ferguson police department. rams fans clashed with michael brown protesters. what are you hearing from the community there? you're in close touch with the folks on the ground. >> right. many people are wanting answers, as mentioned. they are looking for an indictment and they want answers as to what happened. there are a lot of questions and

patience is running thin. and as many have said, we're really on borrowed time with this particular situation. the prosecutor said mid october, now they're saying mid november. so people want an indictment, and they want answers regarding this investigation and what actually took place. >> so jeffrey toobin, just quickly wrap this up for us. if all that video tape evidence, let's say that is evidence from that convenience store, the conflicting testimony we're hearing, it is possible when all is said and done they won't indict this cop. >> sure. it's possible. but remember how much evidence we still don't know. we have not seen all the forensic tests. we don't know how far away officer wilson was from mike brown. that's such a critical point. i don't care what his state of mind is. you can't shoot someone who is far away from you and not a

threat. so that is something to keep in mind and it's important to remember the facts about this case we don't know, because many of those facts are very important to determining whether a crime was committed here. >> well said, guys. thank you very much, to all of you. don will have later on this. two hours at 10:00 p.m. don will be watching as we do all of the time. just ahead, where president obama is posing a midterm dilemma for democrats as election day draws near two weeks from tomorrow. and monica lewinsky goes public. what she's now saying about the former president bill clinton. they take us to worlds full of heroes and titans. for respawn, building the best interactive entertainment begins with the cloud. this is "titanfall," the first multi-player game built and run on microsoft azure. empowering gamers around the world

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with just two weeks until election day in the united states and congress up for grabs, president obama cast his early vote today. can he get others to vote for democratic candidates? let's bring in our senior white house correspondent jim acosta. what's the latest? >> reporter: president obama is in chicago trying to motivate democrats for the mid terms. white house officials insist the president has a winning message but aides acknowledge there isn't much time. it is a mid material dilemma for democrats. what to do with an unpopular president? >> the way we win any election is making sure we turn out. >> reporter: cue president obama's home town of chicago where he reminded voters they aren't while about republicans either. >> it is not like they've change their tune. they're still peddling the same thing. >> reporter: in maryland the

president suggest gop candidates are exploiting americans' worries about terrorism and ebola. >> you deserve leaders who don't root for failure, don't try to refight the old battles, don't try to peddle fear. >> reporter: but his old party is also concerned. that's why with two weeks to go, the president is appearing mostly with candidates for governor and the more popular michelle obama is the campaigner of choice in close senate races. only two years since he was riding high after winning reelection, 2014 is a humbling experience. >> these policies are on the ballot. everyone of them. >> reporter: in states mr. obama won twice like florida, he is now a liability. >> i love barack obama. >> reporter: add to that the ebola scare -- >> i don't have a philosophical objection to a travel ban. >> reporter: and endangered democrats aren't just keeping their distance, they're breaking from him.

>> we need to have a temporary travel ban on nonu.s. citizens coming from the affected countries of west africa. >> reporter: leaving to it another president to calm fears. >> we need to do everything we can. >> reporter: all which of explains why top republicans are sounding confident. >> i think it is far more likely than not that we'll retake the senate and retire harry reid. >> the white house is trying to explain why some in the crowd were leaving as mr. obama was still speaking. they say those audience members were in an overflow room but our producer who was there saw people leaving from inside that rally. something democrats are not used to seeing. i remember back in 2008 when he had 70,000, 80,000 people on has not. they were not leaving early in those days. >> that was pretty amazing. let's dig deeper with gloria

boringer and jeffrey tubin. what do you make of that? it is pretty unusual. he goes to a blue state like maryland. speaks for the lieutenant governor, and all of a sudden, folks are leaving? >> yeah. it is hard to know why, as jim points out. it was unusual, although folks were in a democratic rally. you would preserve they would want to their president of the united states. i think the larger issue is just how democrats can run on the obama brand and turn out to base voters, the african-american voters that are so unpopular to them, important to them without running with president obama. because he is unpopular to some of those independent voters that they need. that's the challenge they face. so they can use the president for fundraising to turn out the base. but the problem they had is that republicans are being quite successful in nation alliesing

these mid material elections into obama. and he is so unpopular with so many states with important senate races. >> let me shift to another story that we're watching. monica lewinsky joined the twitter verse today. she is up on twitter. she has a lot of followers already. she was speaking at a summit, 30 under 30. one of her first public speaking engagements, at least in the past in a while. the former white house intern introducing herself to the crowd. let me play you a little clip of what she said. >> allow me to briefly recap my story. 16 years ago, fresh out of college, a 22-year-old intern in the white house. and more than average romantic, i fell in love with my boss. in a 22-year-old sort of way.

it happens. but my boss was the president of the united states. that probably happens less often. >> all right. you and i, we covered, and gloria, we covered the whole monica lewinsky affair with the president. why is this resurfacing right now? >> well, monica has had a rough time. she has not found a place in the world. and she just turned 40 years old which makes all of us feel old, i think. what i don't understand frankly is why she persists in doing things in public which are just, it is just going to attract unflattering attention. i wish nothing but good things for her but i think she would be better off working for her causes in private, rather than in public. >> if she's going to work to good causes, don't start rehashing all of that painful past. move on. >> i think it is a problem for her. why does anyone want to hear

from monica lewinsky in a speech? because they want to hear about her past. she has made bullying kind of an issue. >> which is a legitimate issue. >> and she sort of says, she was the pre social media person who experienced bullying as a result of what happened to her. i feel badly for monica lewinsky. i think she wants to rejoin the national conversation. so she has to find a way into it. i think this is her way into the conversation. to make what happened to her relevant to what's going on in the world today. and bullying is of course a big issue and a big problem. >> why shouldn't she be part of the national conversation? she is not an evil person. she made a mistake that a lot of young people make a long time ago. i don't understand why that entitles you or gives you any sort of special expertise that the public needs to know about. >> so she wants to make some good out of what happened to

her. she clearly wants to talk about bullying. someone wanted her to give a speech because she's monica lewinsky. she has to figure out how to get on with her life and this is who she is. i don't know how you escape it. >> let me shift gears dramatically. you got a major article in the new issue of the new yorker magazine about the kind of judicial legacy president obama wants to leave behind. give us a couple of the little nuggets. you spend a little time talking about this as well. >> i did. i think what a lot of people don't realize is what a big impact president obama has had. he has named one-third of all the federal judges who were sitting today. and, but he a very distinct judicial philosophy. and i asked him a question. he gave me one very surprising answer. i said what's your favorite supreme court decision of the past six years? and i thought he would say the affordable care act, or the decision striking down doma. no. he said i thought the best thing

the supreme court did was two weeks ago, staying out of same sex marriage. leaving it to the political branches of government. and i thought that was revealing in how he really thinks political change in this country comes from politics and legislators, not from judges. >> doma being the defense of marriage act which the supreme court ruled was unconstitutional. i don't know if you had a chance to read his article. the president, he spent a lot of time teaching constitutional law. >> he has. and republicans would accuse him of being a judicial activist. and here he's saying, let's leave this to the states because it is happening any way, and i'm glad the supreme court didn't decide to take it up. >> that was a major victory for same sex marriage. opened up the doors to a lot of states. 35 or 36 states plus the district of columbia. guys, thanks very much. a good article.

recommend it to our viewers. remember, you can tweet me at wolff blitzer or the show. please be sure to join us tomorrow on the situation room. you can always watch us live or dvr the show. erin burnett outfront starts right now. the cdc issuing new rule for health care workers treating ebola patients, this is the family hires a defense attorney blaming the cdc. a u.n. aide worker dead from ebola. the spouse now affected. officials warn new cases could reach 10,000 a week. tony blair out front. and breaking news, the suspect in the case of the missing student hannah graham indicted for rape in yet another case as human remains are found in virginia cox they be hannah graham? let's go "outfront."