oh, god! >> going to be loud! >> happening now, engineers are scrambling to try to figure out what went wrong on this rocket launch disaster last night. as they do, another launch is planned for this hour. we're going to bring it to you live. also, beefing up security to prevent an attack on u.s. soil. more than 9,000, almost 10,000 federal buildings are now part of this security concern. we're going to get more from a former homeland security inspector general. and the ebola concern heating up. kaci hickox, the nurse held in new jersey over ebola fears says she has no plans to stay locked

up in her home. and now state officials in maine are trying to figure out what to do. hello. i'm wolf blitzer. it's 1:00 p.m. here in washington. 7:00 p.m. in jerusalem. 8:00 p.m. in damascus. wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us. the countdown is now under way for a rocket launch this hour. and the investigation is under way into the cause of a spectacular rocket explosion late yesterday. the explosion was captured by nasa cameras and by amateur photographers. >> yeah! >> oh, god! oh, god! >> it's going to be loud! it's going to be loud!

>> oh, my god! >> oh, my god! >> geez! >> the rocket was from a private company under contract with nasa. it was carrying supplies, equipment and experiments to the international space station. right now, take a look at these live pictures and the atlas v rocket is poised and ready at cape canaveral air station. there they are right now. this is the rocket. it will carry an air force gps satellite into orbit. the launch is set for about 20 minutes from now. we'll bring you that launch live. there you see live pictures coming in from the cape canaveral air force base. we'll have live coverage of this rocket launch coming up in about 20 minutes, 15 to 20 minutes or so from now. but first, the new action being taken today to prevent a terror attack on american soil. security is being beefed up at more than 9,000, almost 10,000

federal government buildings here in the washington, d.c. area as well as other major cities across the united states. the homeland security secretary jeh johnson is calling it, quote, a precautionary move following last week's terror attacks in canada. johnson isn't giving details about the enhanced security but he is saying operations will vary and shift from location to location and will constantly be re-evaluated. a homeland security official tells cnn there's, quote, no new intelligence suggesting u.s. government buildings are being targeted. but the increased security is going forward. let's discuss what's going on. joining us now, clark kent ervin, former inspector general of the office of homeland security. thanks for coming in. >> thank you, wolf. >> jeh johnson, as you and i know -- we've known him for a long time. he's a serious guy. he would not be ordering enhanced security at 9,500 federal buildings across the united states unless he was concerned something was going

on. you agree? >> that's exactly right. he's a very sober, reflective guy. he approaches things very analytically. my sense is while there's no specific intelligence indicating an attack in a precise way on a precise building on a precise day, chatter is probably up among terrorists -- >> the intercept of communications or dialogue, they're hearing stuff that makes them worried about this. this is a major decision because once you elevate security at these federal buildings, it's hard to tone it down. >> it is hard to tone it down. on the other hand, it serves as a deterrent effect. the fact we're doing this can deter terrorists that might be contemplating doing this. >> what they're really concerned about, correct me if i'm wrong, the sort of individuals who are inspired whether by isis, al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, khorasan, any of these various al qaeda spin-off groups, they're worried about that inspired lone wolf, if you will. >> that's right.

that's the hardest to prevent. it's difficult to prevent catastrophic attacks like 9/11. but there are lots of opportunities to disrupt them. if one guy wants to do something in a particular building, particular place, it's almost impossible to stop that. >> since 9/11, i've always been concerned about what they call the soft targets. there are a lot of soft targets not only in the united states but all over the world, if these terrorists want to do something, they could do it. >> that's exactly right. on the other hand, what we're talking about is relatively speaking hard targets. and that's worrisome. >> federal office buildings. >> yes. the white house was breached a few weeks ago, not by a terrorist. but the very fact that the white house apparently is vulnerable suggests these federal buildings and the security guards at the white house, the secret service, the security guards we're talking about are contract guards are typically much less effective. >> people visit these federal buildings all over the country all the time. it's going to be more difficult to enter these buildings, i assume? >> yes. 1.4 million people every day

around the country. the security will vary from building to building. so that's not going to be the case at every building in every city. but it will vary. and that's important. i think it makes sense for there to be shifting tactics depending upon shifting intelligence and to throw terrorists off the scent. >> i assume the highest level of security would be right here in the nation's capital. >> that makes sense because there's no question but that washington, d.c. and new york for obvious reasons are at the top of the target list. >> clark, thanks for joining us. style ahead, a large group of peshmerga fighters on the way to kobani along the border between syria and turkey. will they help turn the tide in the battle against isis? plus, the day after a nasa rocket explodes off the coast of virginia, all eyes right now are on this rocket. we're only minutes away from the launch. take a look at these live pictures. we'll have special live coverage coming up shortly. we'll see how this rocket is launched. stay with us. take a deeeeep breath in. . . and . . . exhale. . . aflac!

and a gentle wavelike motion... ahhh- ahhhhhh. liberate your spine... ahhh-ahhhhhh......aflac! and reach, toes blossoming... not that great at yoga. yeah, but when i slipped a disk he paid my claim in just four days. ahh! four days? yep. see why speed matters at aflac.com. [sfx] duck snoring painstakingly engineered without compromise. to be more powerful... and, miraculously, unleash 46 mpg highway. an extravagance reserved for the privileged few. until now. hey josh! new jetta? yeah. introducing lots of new. the new volkswagen jetta tdi clean diesel. isn't it time for german engineering?

a hi.ty? i'm new ensure active clear protein drink. clear huh? my nutritional standards are high. i'm not juice or fancy water. i've got 8 grams of protein. twist my lid! that's three times more than me. 17 vitamins and minerals. and zero fat! hmmmm. you bring a lot to the party! yay! new ensure active clear protein. 8 grams protein. zero fat. 17 vitamins and minerals. in delicious blueberry pomegranate and mixed fruit. the pain felt like my feet were on fire.e pain.

i had these very burning, needle-like sensations. i knew i needed to see a doctor. my doctor said, "let's try lyrica." lyrica has helped relieve my pain. it's known that diabetes damages nerves lyrica is fda-approved to treat diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is not for everyone. it may cause serious allergic reactions, or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, changes in eyesight including blurry vision, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or skin sores from diabetes. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. having less pain... it's a great feeling. ask your doctor about lyrica today. it's specific treatment for diabetic nerve pain.

take a look at this, live pictures. this is the cape canaveral air force station in florida. we're only a few minutes away from the launch of an at llas v rocket. it's got gps satellites on board. we're going to see how it goes and we're all hoping it goes a lot better than that rocket launch yesterday in virginia which exploded literally a few seconds after takeoff. we'll have live coverage of this atlas v rocket launch coming up in a few minutes. in the meantime, kurdish fighters are trying to hold off isis in a key syrian border towns and those kurdish fighters are getting serious help right now. dozens of syrian rebels armed

with mortars, heavy machine guns entered the besieged city of kobani earlier this morning. there are reports of intense clashes under way right now. even more reinforcements are on the way. iraqi peshmerga fighters, the kurds, are closing in on the city as well. they're coming in through turkey by land and by air. our senior international correspondent nick paton walsh is at the turkish-syrian border overlooking kobani. he filed this report just a short time ago. >> reporter: nightfall has begun to fall here. we have seen a b-1 bomber making circling runs over kobani. the turkish military filling up down on the access roads towards the official crossing from turkey into syria into kobani. we know that the iraqi kurdish peshmerga, 30-plus vehicles, 150-plus individuals with heavy weapons on them are hours away. they may cross in tonight. they may wait till dawn. but a surprise this morning was

the first reinforcements to arrive were syrian rebels, possibly 30 to 50, according to those inside. the man leading those syrian rebels claimed he had 200 with him. once they entered in small groups, heavy clashes heard behind me. a surprise, frankly, for those syrian kurds in the city. this was turkey's idea sending troops in from turkey. that will probably happen tonight. there's been heavy fighting. the peshmerga most likely will change some of the balance on the battlefield down there. a lot of people are standing around expecting that entry, great anticipation. wolf? >> nick paton walsh right at the border with syria in turkey. thanks very much. just ahead, a rocket explodes into a fireball just after launch. only a few seconds after launch. so what does the catastrophe mean for the u.s. space program, the future of relying on private companies? we'll talk with two former u.s. astronauts.

and the countdown clock is ticking right now. look at these live pictures. another rocket launch only minutes away from cape canaveral, the air force station there. we'll have live coverage of this launch. that's coming up. if yand you're talking toevere rheumyour rheumatologiste me, about a biologic... this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain and protect my joints from further damage. this is humira giving me new perspective. doctors have been prescribing humira for ten years.

humira works for many adults. it targets and helps to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. talk to your doctor and visit humira.com this is humira at work

it was what they describe as a catastrophic failure. the question now is what caused a rocket under contract by nasa to explode off the coast of virginia? and now right now in florida the countdown is under way for another rocket launch, this one from cape canaveral. there you see live pictures. we're only a few minutes away from this launch. it looks like it's a go, all system a go right now.

we'll have live coverage. first, a look at the explosion of that unmanned antares rocket yesterday. nasa cameras and amateur video captured the launch as the mood turned from celebration to shock. >> and we have liftoff of the antares. on its third mission to the iss. main engine is at 108%. >> oh, god! >> going to be loud! it's going to be loud! >> [ bleep ]. holy [ bleep ]. >> oh, my god! >> geez! >> stay at your consoles, everyone maintain your positions in your consoles, maintain positions at your console.

>> [ bleep ]. >> oh, god! >> right now, we're only three minutes away from the launching of another rocket. an atlas v rocket from cape canaveral, the air force base there. joining us to discuss what's going on, captain mark kelly, the former nasa astronaut, retired combat veteran, as well as senator bill nelson of florida, a former shuttle astronaut himself. to both of you, thanks very much for joining us. maybe less than three minutes away from the launch of this atlas v rocket. senator, do you have any idea what happened yesterday? why that rocket exploded? >> it looks like it was failure in the main engine first stage. they're doing the investigation now and they'll let us know just as soon as they pinpoint it.

>> what does it look like, mark kelly? we're only 2:15 away from the launching of this rocket in florida. mark kelly, what does it look like to you? what could have happened? >> well, they're not going to know for some time. when i watch the video, i watched it last night a number of times. you can see that there appears to be a loss of thrust. so that might indicate that there was an engine problem. there could also be a problem with the pressure vessel that supplies the fuel to the engine. so they're going to have to look at the debris field, they'll have to gather all the pieces. it's going to take some time for them to figure out what the cause of the mishap was. probably not going to be days or weeks. more like months before they figure this out. >> we're about a minute or so away from the launch of this atlas v rocket from the cape canaveral air force base in florida. people are going to watch all of these rocket launches a lot nor closely based on what happened

in virginia last night. >> well, you can expect setbacks. but people are going to get more and more excited about our space flight as we start now testing the hardware that we will have humans ride back in to space. there's a launch this december, for example, of the capsule we're creating for long-duration space flight out beyond earth's orbit called orion. that's going to be tested this year. >> the weather looks good down in florida. right now, all systems go. this is the point, we're only a few seconds away, mark kelly. they're getting a little nervous right now, right? >> well, folks in the control room certainly are. but they're all at their consoles doing their job. these things are well-managed, safety is always the number one priority. when you can see with the antares, as that rocket failed,

they sent the signal to destruct it to make sure that nobody on the ground was going to be injured. but i think the nerves are a little -- >> 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 -- we have ignition -- 2 and liftoff of the united launch alliance atlas v rocket carrying the gps satellite for the united states air force. gps provides worldwide positioning, navigation and timing services for the military and civilian users. you're hearing the voice of rob gannon. let's listen in for mission progress. >> everything looking good. 0.7 miles in altitude. 0.2 miles down range. traveling at 1,000 miles per hour.

continues to operate as expected. flight control looks good. engine is steady at 100% rate of thrust. everything is looking good. everything looking good. continuing right down the center of the range of track. and the vehicle is now supersonic continuing to fly down the range of track. everything looks good. engine is still operating as expected at 100% rated thrust. flight control distributions are good. we have entered our second throttle phase. operating the engine at 95 rated thrust as expected.

and we are ten miles in altitude. 5.9 miles down range traveling at nearly 2,000 miles per hour. parameters look good. vehicle is stable. normal control on booster p.u. and the vehicle is continuing to fly as expected. and we are now at 50% of our liftoff rate. everything is looking good. >> that's very encouraging. he says everything is looking good right now. looks like a perfect launch of this atlas v carrying gps satellites to serve u.s. military personnel in what they describe as navigational assistance for military operations on land, at sea and in the air. it's also carrying some gps satellites that will help civilian users, they say, around

the world who will rely on this gps equipment for highly accurate time location velocity information. that's the official word. senator nelson, it looks like a perfect launch fortunately right there. you saw any problems at all? >> no, sir. wolf, when i hear those engines roar, i get excited. and the flashback -- since mark was the commander of the next to the last mission of the space shuttle, i was right there at the cape screaming to the top of my lungs as that baby lifted off. and this rocket, atlas v, they've had 50 straight successful launches of this atlas v. so, again, looks like a perfect launch. >> mark kelly, your brother is on that international space station right now, isn't he? >> no, he isn't, wolf. he actually launches on march

29th of next year. >> so he's going there. >> he's going to spend a year in orbit. he'll be making his second long-duration flight here starting in march. >> so this gets very personal for you as well. who's going to launch him to go up there since the u.s. dropped that shuttle? >> yeah. since we retired the space shuttle, since the space shuttle program was retired, we now launch on the russian soyuz rocket up to the international space station. that's how american crew members get there. so he'll be launching on a russian soyuz. but hopefully by 2016 with spacex and maybe 2017 with boeing, we'll see american astronauts launching on american rockets up to the space station, clld be great. >> you think that's going to happen in this time of budget cutting, senator? >> amen. they are well under way, as i

mentioned. even the big monster rocket for nasa for exploration in the heavens is going to have its first test flight which is a ballistic reentry coming up in just a couple of months. but these two companies that mark mentioned, boeing and space spacex, are putting in the design of redundancies, the escape systems on their spacecraft so that we can launch humans successfully. >> senator nelson, thanks very much. mark kelly, thanks to you. wish your brother our best wishes as he undertakes this mission in march. we're going to continue to watch this atlas v rocket as it heads into space carrying this gps equipment. we'll try obviously to learn a lot more about what happened last night in virginia with that explosion of that other rocket, a contract rocket contracted by nasa. guys, thanks very much.

more news coming up, including the mystery of the missing north korean leader. apparently he's back. we'll find out why kim jong-un was out of the spotlight at least for a month. plus, the defense secretary of the united states announces a new policy for u.s. military personnel returning from west africa. we'll have details in a live report coming in from the pentagon.

welcome back to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. a nurse who was quarantined against her will is vowing to fight the latest attempt to isolate her. kaci hickox returned to maine on monday after being held in new jersey. but she says she won't comply with maine's efforts to try to quarantine her. this is what she said on abc's "good morning america."

>> i remain really concerned by these mandatory quarantine policies from aid workers. i think we're just only adding to a stigmatization that's not based on science. if these restrictions are not removed from me, from the state of maine by tomorrow morning, thursday morning, i will go to court to obtain my freedom. >> representative tim murphy is the chairman of the house oversight and investigations committee. mr. chairman, thanks very much for joining us. what do you think of this nurse's refusal to comply with that quarantine order in the state of maine? >> i know there's a lot of different, confusing things coming out from governors, from the military, from the cdc and others about just what to do with ebola. i still believe for the best of public health it is good to have restrictions on those who have had direct contact with ebola patients. there's a lot we still don't know about the disease. i think it gets to be a problem

if we have too much assumptions with regard to this. and it is still in the best interest of public health to say for 21 days, there should be a lot of these restrictions in place. >> the defense department certainly agrees. the secretary of defense chuck hagel today announcing that all u.s. military personnel returning from that so-called ebola hot zone in west africa, those three countries where ebola is spreading right now, all of them once they leave will have to go through a 21-day period of quarantine before they can get out and see their families and go back to their regular lives. so there's one standard for the military. there's another standard for civilians who are leaving there. and that's generating some confusion. what's going on here? >> sure it is. i think the military has a right -- even though our sailors are not going to be directly involved with ebola patient care, they still want to have a strong perimeter of defense. and out of an abundance of caution, not knowing where else

those sailors or soldiers might have been while they were in africa. further, i've been contacting a number of hospitals throughout my district and asking them, what will their policies be if people returning from west africa who have been treating patients? they say such persons will not be treating patients at their hospitals. they're going to ask them to stay away for a few weeks. they'll have work for them to do, other things. but they believe that those workers, as great as they are, as selfless as they are, that selflessness needs to continue and make sure they're not putting anybody at risk. there's still -- when you talk to so of the people who have caught ebola who have been workers, in many cases, they're not exactly sure how they caught it. even though they may be wearing all the protective gear, it makes a lot of sense that we have this high perimeter of defense and walk back from there. a lot of this confusion you refer to is because it's been

said, let's not start with any standards and then go where we need to. it would have been better to start with the strong perimeter and then create exceptions where we are clear in that. hopefully this ambiguity is going to end soon but i think the military has it right. >> the cdc, the guidelines that they issued the other day were certainly not consistent with the order now signed by the secretary of defense, the recommendation of the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, that all military personnel, about 4,000 u.s. troops, are either already -- 1,000 are there and another 3,000 could be headed. doesn't make a difference what they were doing in liberia or guinea or sierra leone. they're all going to be quarantined for 21 days. once they leave before they can get back to their regular lives. that's very different from the cdc guidelines issued the other day. once again, i think various forms of the government, the military as opposed to the

civilian branch, are sending out conflicting signals, generating more confusion. >> well, i think that's what we should be doing here with regard to -- is having the higher standards for public health. my investigation, our subcommittee, it's ongoing. we want to continue to review from the standards are, how they make exceptions, the cdc guidelines saying, unless you've been pricked by a needle or put in a high-risk category, you don't need to have these same sort of isolation restrictions. but i don't agree with that. if you have been around ebola patients, you should have an abundance of caution. i also don't think this is something that will detract people from wanting to volunteer. when i've also talked with some of these volunteer organizations, particularly samaritan's purse, they already have it in your policies you're supposed to be somewhat isolated for 21 days. you're not in a cage or a box. but they don't want you on public transit or farther than an hour from one of these

hospitals. many of these other groups have it as well. so this is not new to have these sort of restrictions in place. but when someone says there's disagreement on that, that's some of the confusion between these. but look at what hospitals are doing and what these organizations are doing. they all say, let's be overly cautious rather than permissive and have to walk this back. >> tim murphy is the congressman. thanks very much. republican congressman from pennsylvania. appreciate it very much. >> thank you, wolf. we have other breaking news to share with you. the man who led the department of homeland security's internal investigation here into the united states into the u.s. secret service's prostitution scandal back in colombia in 2012 has now resigned. david neyland resigned it have he was implicated in a prostitution scandal. deputies were conducting an anti-prostitution operation back in may.

they stopped neyland after he was seen entering and leaving a location they were monitoring for prostitution activity. united nations wants to hold north korea accountable for human rights abuses. we'll find out what's at stake coming up. and why are tensions increasing right now between two staunch allies? we're going to explore what's going on in the relationship between the united states and israel. when heartburn comes creeping up on you... fight back with relief so smooth... ...it's fast. tums smoothies starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue ...and neutralizes stomach acid at the source. ♪ tum, tum tum tum... smoothies! only from tums. physical freedom of the car, with the virtual freedom of wi-fi. chevrolet, the first and only car company to bring built-in 4g lte wi-fi to cars,

trucks and crossovers. hi mom. you made it! it's the new independence. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 even on the go. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 open a schwab account, and you could earn tdd# 1-800-345-2550 300 commission-free online trades. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 so if you get a trade idea, schwab can help you take it on. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 we're getting a lot of questions tdd# 1-800-345-2550 about organic food stocks. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 [ male announcer ] sharpen your instincts tdd# 1-800-345-2550 with in-depth analysis by schwab experts. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and if you want to run your idea tdd# 1-800-345-2550 by a schwab trading specialist, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 our expertise is just a tap away. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 what's on your mind, lisa? tdd# 1-800-345-2550 i'd like to talk about a trade idea. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 let's hear it. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 [ male announcer ] see how schwab can help tdd# 1-800-345-2550 light a way forward. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 so you can make your move, wherever you are, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and start working on your next big idea. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 ♪ tdd# 1-800-345-2550 open a schwab account and you could earn tdd# 1-800-345-2550 300 commission-free online trades. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 call 1-877-566-0292. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 or visit schwab.com/trading.

tdd# 1-800-345-2550 schwab trading services. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 your go-to for trading know-how. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 ♪

remark, personal remark about the prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu.

the white house has been concerned over israel's role in the middle east peace process. and israel expansion of settlements in the west bank and east jerusalem. let's bring in our global affairs correspondent, elise labott, who's been working the story for us. you wrote a major the piece on cnn.com about it. what's going on in the u.s./israeli relationship right now? >> there's always been a lot of tension in the relationship between the u.s. and israel. the two leaders of the countries, president obama and prime minister netanyahu. but over the last few months, there's been increased tension because of comments made by defense minister alan about secretary kerry, about the u.s. role in its negotiations with iran, really insulting to the u.s. and last week when the defense minister came to washington, he was snubbed. he couldn't get a meeting with vipt biden, national security adviser rice or secretary rice. and that became a war of words between the u.s. and israel. >> he did meet with his counterpart, chuck hagel. they gave him the traditional welcome ceremony.

but you're right. he didn't meet with these other officials, which is normally a defense minister, the former defense minister, when he would come, he would meet with everybody. here's the statement the white house put out in reaction to this "atlantic" article that jeffrey goldberg wrote. "we do not believe there is a crisis in the relationship. the relationship remains as strong as ever and the ties between our nations are unshakable. however, there are times when we disagree with actions of the israeli government and we must raise our concerns such as our concerns about israel's settlement policy. we raise these as a partner who is deeply concerned about israel's future and wants to see israel living side by side in peace and security with its neighbors." no one thinks there's going to be any serious deterioration in the military-to-military relationship or the intelligence cooperation. but there could be some diplomatic fallout. >> that's right. listen, the security relationship between the u.s. and israel, sacrosanct. and the u.s. officials say, no matter what's going on, we're

going to fund that iron dome anti-missile system for the israelis and make sure their security is taken care of. and iran, very important security issue. that's going to stay the same. but the u.s. is very frustrated with the israelis, not only about these comments that are continuing. they say, we gave -- the u.s. gives israel $1.3 billion in aid. how could you be talking about your close friend? they say, while we're going to maintain that security relationship, my sources are telling me that unequivocal political support, whether calling up the europeans and asking them not to support president abbas going to the u.n. to create a palestinian state or trying to get the europeans not to boycott israeli settlement products, the combination of the israeli talking smack, if you will, about the united states and also the settlement construction are various sore spots in the relationship. >> the house speaker john

boehner issued a lengthy statement condemning the obama administration about these remarks over israel. boehner saying, i have watched the administration insult ally after ally. i'm tired of the administration's policy. we'll see where this goes. this story, by no means resolved right now. thanks for joining us. the economy could also be a critical factor in the upcoming midterm elections. just six days away. we'll show you what that could mean for democrats fighting to hollande onto the senate. and north korea may be facing a trial for human rights abuses. stay right here with us. we'll have that story and a lot more. how much money do you have in your pocket right now? i have $40, $21. could something that small make an impact on something as big as your retirement? i don't think so. well if you start putting that towards your retirement every week and let it grow over time, for twenty to thirty years, that retirement challenge might not seem so big after all.

♪ not to be focusing, again, on my moderate my goal was to finally get in shape. to severe chronic plaque psoriasis. so i finally made a decision to talk to my dermatologist about humira. humira works inside my body to target and help block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to my symptoms. in clinical trials, most adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis saw 75% skin clearance on humira. and the majority of people were clear or almost clear in just 4 months. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure.

before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. set a new goal today. ask your dermatologist about humira. because with humira clearer skin is possible. the mystery of what happened to the north korean leader kim jong-un may have been solved. he was seen limping in september. now south korean lawmaker tells cnn he had a cyst removed from his right ankle. kim is back in the public eye as a top u.n. official is calling for north korea to face the international criminal court on charges of crimes against humanity. this as the country's been trying to soften its image. our paula hancocks has this report from seoul. >> reporter: pyongyang's recent charm offensive is showing no signs of slowing down.

the u.n. representative says they may be willing to invite human rights investigators into the country. he said he welcomed the signs of increased engagement by north korea but attention mustn't be diverted from holding those who commit humans rights abuses accountable. the u.n. submitted a commission of inquiry in march accusing pyongyang of murder, torture, slavery, sexual violence and mass starvation. the report says some abuses, including those committed in prison camps amount to crimes against humanity. north korea's ambassador to the u.n. rejected the report's findings saying there are no such violations in the country. pyongyang has been sending officials all over the world recently trying to soften its image and mitigate the impact of this report. but it should still be referred to the security council and the

country referred to the international criminal court. meanwhile, south korea's intelligence agency has said they believe kim jong-un had a cyst removed from his left ankle recently, explaining why he disappeared for five weeks and why he reappeared with a cane. the agency says it also believes that there's an ongoing political purge in pyongyang and that ten party members have recently being executed by firing squad. the agency believes that their crimes ranged from corruption to women's issues to something as seemingly as innocuous as watching south korea soap operas. paula hancocks, cnn, seoul. some 50 homes are threatened today by a river of lava on hawaii's big island. the flames are creeping toward the town of pahoa. in some places, the lava is chest-high. some people evacuated today. others are staying put. lava from the kilauea volcano is about 2,000 degrees and there's no way to stop it. the national guard is patrolling the streets but so far no

mandatory evacuations are in place. hundreds of people are missing in vir lan ser sri lank. 140 homes were destroyed. emergency crews are trying to reach areas buried by mud and rock looking for people who may have trapped. a horrific discovery in mexico. 43 college students disappeared more than a month ago. human remains have been found buried in a mass grave not far from where the students disappeared. forensic experts have been examining the remains. so far none of the students has been identified. the students went missing last month after clashing with police who are suspected of handing them over to a drug dang. critical midterm elections less than a week away here in the united states. we're going to tell you what is at stake and what issue could be a deciding factor in the battle for the u.s. senate.

ameriprise asked people a simple question: in retirement, will you outlive your money? uhhh. no, that can't happen. that's the thing, you don't know how long it has to last. everyone has retirement questions. so ameriprise created the exclusive.. confident retirement approach. now you and your ameripise advisor can get the real answers you need. well, knowing gives you confidence. start building your confident retirement today. feet...tiptoeing. better things than the pain, stiffness, and joint damage of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. before you and your rheumatologist decide on a biologic, ask if xeljanz is right for you. xeljanz (tofacitinib) is a small pill, not an injection or infusion, for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz can relieve ra symptoms, and help stop further joint damage. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections,

including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers have happened in patients taking xeljanz. don't start xeljanz if you have any infection, unless ok with your doctor. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz and routinely check certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you have been to a region where fungal infections are common, and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take. one pill, twice daily, xeljanz can reduce ra pain and help stop further joint damage, even without methotrexate. ask about xeljanz.

democrats are, as we've talked about before, going to have a bad election day. no matter how you slice it. >> the former white house press

secretary, the cnn commentator jay carney predicting one week from yesterday, democratic candidates will be licking their wounds from some painful election day results. the balance of power in the u.s. congress is at stake in these midterm elections. republicans certainly have a real shot at taking control of the house of representatives but could take control of the u.s. senate as well. just a handful of extremely tight races will be the deciding factor in these contests. president obama has been virtually on the campaign trail for a lot of democratic candidates who were in rough races. many of the democrats keep their distance from a president unpopular in their home districts or states. that wasn't necessarily the case last night. the president was campaigning in wisconsin for the democratic gubernatorial candidate and he zeroed in on a critical issue for voters. >> over the past 4 1/2 years,

america's businesses have created more than 10 million new jobs. here's the only problem. wisconsin lags the rest of the country when it comes to job growth. so the country as a whole is doing better. wisconsin's not doing so good. over the next week, you have a chance to change that. >> our chief political analyst gloria borger is here. the people have to get rid of scott. >> he's speaking to the liberal democratic base in a place like madison, wisconsin, which is very important if you're going to beat scott walker. don't forget, this was just his third public campaign rally this

year. he can't step foot into the red states where democrats are worried about getting re-elected. he's walking a fine line because he's trying to tout his accomplishments but they are saying, stay away from us while at the same time they are trying to bring out the base that he attracts. so they have to bring out president obama's base without president obama. he's gotten himself in trouble when he has said his agenda is on the ballot this fall. that candidates who are on the ballot voted with him. he can't be saying that stuff in those red states. so this is a president who has been confined to the rose garden and it's very difficult when he does get out there. >> he went to wisconsin and also maryland to endorse the work for democratic gubernatorial candidates. but when it comes to the senate, some of those democratic senators, whether in north carolina and alaska, colorado,

louisiana where these battlegrounds are taking shape and it's really, really tight, new hampshire and i was just there last week, they don't want them to -- >> they don't have first names. obama is their first name now and that's what they are being portrayed as because he's unpopular in all of these states. the approval can be in the low 30% range. they are being tied to the president in a bad way so they'd like him to leave them alone. >> right now, only 38% think economic conditions are good. it was 42% in september. but last october, if you go down, only 29% thought economic conditions are good. a lot of people are still worried about the economy. >> that's because of low wages when people do get jobs they very often have to take pay cuts. 68% of the folks in this country believe it's headed down the wrong track.

so they are not really optimistic about their current conditions. looking way down the road, if you look at the polls, people think things will begin to improve but not by next tuesday and that is a real problem as people tie their economic situations. again, you'd blame the person in the white house. >> and pollsters look at the right track and wrong track. our new poll shows nearly 7 in 10 in angry at the direction of the country. >> 68%. >> 60% are either very or somewhat scared about the way that the country is moving right now. and that doesn't bode well for a lot of these democratic candidates. >> it doesn't. i'll give you some other numbers about that. 68% are angry or somewhat angry. 60% are scared or very scared. and the president last night made an interesting point when he was speaking. he said, don't buy into the

anger and the fear. don't be cynical. don't let the cynics take over. we are making progress. we are creating jobs. but this campaign, wolf, has been about fear. fear of the unknown, fear of ebola, fear of isis, mistrust of government. put all those things together and it's really a toxic brew for democrats who are trying to run for re-election. >> and what's so frustrating, because i've had conversations with white house officials, is that six years when the president took office, the country economically was a disaster at that point. unemployment was a disaster, the dow jones was at 7,000. it's now at 17,000. millions of jobs have been created. and the president gets very little credit for turning the economy around. >> very little credit and people don't trust their government anymore.

so they are not giving anybody credit for anything. >> more on this in the days to come. >> more news is coming up. "newsroom" with brooke baldwin starts right now. wolf blitzer, thank you very much. this afternoon, president obama will do and what many people in america are afraid to do, stand side by side with health care workers back from treating ebola patients. they have returned from the hot zone in west african countries the president will be making a statement. we'll take that live for you in the next hour. the president did just speak against automatic quarantines