>> bob simon was married to his lovely wife. they had a daughter together. bob was 73 years old and is universally missed not just by you, the audience but all his colleagues throughout this business. thanks for watching so much everybody. wolf is next. hello. i'm wolf blitzer. it's 1:00 p.m. here in washington. 8:00 p.m. in kiev. wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us. we're following breaking news just into cnn. officials say islamic state insurgents took control of most of the western iraky town of al baghdadi. this isn't the only area of concern. in northern iraq the kurdish fielters they're trying to hold onto a key junction between mosul

mosul. has isis launched a number of major attacks in the area where you are today, because that's what we're hearing? >> reporter: yeah, wolf, it's been a very active day for isis in the western country as you mentioned, but also here in the north. five of the positions came under attack by isis today. some of those attacks involved suicide bombers. the kurds believe this is all part of the new tactic being used by isis in this region. launching various attacks to divert the kurdish attention from the main game which is circling and choking off the isis stronghold in the city of mosul. we visited a key position to the west of mosul where the kurds are doing just that. it was clear isis wants that position back. these kurdish fighters are holding onto very important ground. they say isis attacks them every day. sometimes by driving huge truck

bombs into their defenses. this is probably the most contested piece of territory in all of northern iraq at the moment. from this position they have cut off isis and being resupplied across the border in syria. an isis outpost is just 800 yards away. for the kurds, taking and holding this cross road is a key objective in their strategy of surrounding and choking off mosul. the isis stronghold in northern iraq. and it's another sign of the huge progress the kurds have made in rolling back territory isis initially conquered so easily. >> so we have to drive them out of this entire region. >> the head of the kurdish security council says they have taken back almost all the ground they can until the new retrained iraqi army is ready to take the field. >> there are some limitations of how far we can go because we don't want to create any political sensitivities with the

arabs. and for the rest of the region, we need cooperation and the iraqi army to participate. >> much of the territory reclaimed has been scarred dramatically by war. homes flattened. villages wiped out. isis blew up some of these homes as they retreated. others they rigged with explosives to detonate when people returned. they say four people were killed here when they opened the front door. across this recent battle field, people have started returning to what's left of their homes, even as the war against isis still rages, only a short distance away. so far, the kurds believe they have cleared isis from some 5,000 square miles in northern iraq. much of it between mosul and the syrian border. as you heard there, they don't think they can do much more on

their own. the remaining key areas, these are dominant arab areas and because of the ethnic sensitivities in this country, they do not believe it is advisable for them to progress without the iraqi army. it is unclear just when that national military force will be ready to launch that sort of major operation. wolf? >> we know that u.s. marines are trying to train the iraqi army. so far, even though this is all arack, this army remains missing in action. they are basically fighting on their own against isis. thanks very very much. france's most wanted woman may have linked up with isis. hayat boumeddiene. she is believed to have crossed into syria before last month's deadly assault. now the isis french language magazine claims she has safely reached the islamic state, as they call it in syria. it contains a purported

interview in which she said reaching isis territory was easy and she's happy to be on isis soil but she does not talk about her role in the paris attacks. they also offer no proof to authenticate any of these claims. let's bring in bob bear and cnn terrorism analyst paul. you led cnn's reporting on this purported interview. if isis claims are true, why not include any photos some proof that boumeddiene is linked up with the terror group in syria? >> well, absolutely wolf and they haven't done that yet, obviously for religious reasons, they wouldn't show her in a photo without the full veil they could put out a photo showing her eyes. they've not done that yet. french terror experts think that this claim is credible. it was in this french language magazine from isis yesterday. also in their english language magazine today claiming she's now on isis soil, that she's

joined this caliphate. >> you also have some new information, paul about that belgium isis plot from last month, right? >> that's right, wolf. and the suspected ring leader in that plot isis are now claiming that he's back in syria, that he's evaded this international man hunt to get him. and they actually include what they claim is an interview with him in syria. they also include pictures of him and the two dead gunmen in that raid that belgian security forces conducted in eastern belgium last month. i've spoken to a senior official who says they were actually the two gunmen killed in that raid. so there's a picture of him with these two gunmen he took before he left syria. he's then thought to traveled to greece. isis is now saying he's back

safely in syria. so another potential propaganda coup from this terrorist group. >> the new issue of this isis magazine is entitled quoting now, may a la curse france. the cover is of the eiffel tower. what's the message? >> well, they consider france a combatant trying to destroy the islamic state and that just about any frenchmen are enemy combatants. same with britain and of course the united states. i think the important thing is what paul got onto, the islamic state is it still on the move. they're on the move in yemen and north africa and libya. for boumeddiene to go over to the islamic state and take refuge with them makes sense. it's the only game in town. i think we're seeing you know, this staying power. the islamic state is going

longer than i expected and it's going to take quite a bit to turn this back. >> in iraq we heard phil black report the kurdish fighters, they're trying to do the best they can against these isis forces in the area northern iraq around mosul and elsewhere. but there's still no sign the iraqi military has shown up to help out at all. they have a huge military but they're mia. >> exactly. even now until today, the iraqi state is starving the kurds of ammunition and guns. they're simply not delivering stuff meant for them. and the province was taken back not by the iraqi army but by an iranian trade brigade. you still see baghdad identified with iran more than a cohesive state. it's not a good sign. i understand why the kurds wouldn't want to move into mosul

because then it becomes a war kurds against arabs. >> nearly 2 million people in mosul still under the control of isis. coming up we're moving onto another major story following in the united states. a day of grief in north carolina. families and friends say final good-bye to three wonderful muslim students gunned down execution style. we're going to bring you the latest on the investigation. also ukraine and russia they agree to a peace deal but does it have any real collapse of lasting? we're going live to minsk and live to the front lines in ukraine. alright, so this tylenol arthritis lasts 8 hours but aleve can last 12 hours. and aleve is proven to work better on pain than tylenol arthritis. so why am i still thinking about this? how are ya? good. aleve. proven better on pain. okay, listen up! i'm re-workin' the menu. mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer

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right now, family and friends, they're paying their final respects to three muslim college students gunned down in their apartment on tuesday. funeral services are being held on the campus of the university. last night, a candle light vigil paid tribute to the vicks as police try to unravel whether this was a hate crime. we're on the scene and have more. >> i want everyone to remember them please. >> heart break and outrage over the murder of three muslim - students in north carolina. >> three shots in an apartment. >> friends and family deeming their execution style killing a

hate crime. >> it's basically incomprehensible to me that you can murder three people over a parking spot. >> according to a preliminary investigation, police say 46-year-old neighbor craig hicks may have shot them in the head over an on going parking dispute at their apartment. hicks' wife says her husband was frustrated with the parking issue. >> i can say with absolute belief that this incident had nothing to do with religion or victims' faith. >> we're in shock. >> but the family says there had been issues of disrespect and harassment. >> my daughter honest to god, told us on more than two occasions this this man came knocking at the door. she told us, daddy, i think he hates us for who we are. >> hicks who claims he is an atheist allegedly posted an anti-religious statement on his

facebook page quote, if your religion kept its big mouth shut so would i. cnn cannot confirm the authenticity of this post. >> we love you. we will never forget you. >> overnight, thousands gathered on university of north carolina's campus. >> i'm embarking on a trip to turkey to help syrian refugees. >> mourning the loss of three scholars dedicated to serving their community. >> and i was able to confirm with the chief medical examiner's office that there were three autopsies done on these victims yesterday. we also know the investigation continues now to determine in fact if this was a hate crime, if it was motivated by a bias against muslims. the fbi is here assisting local law enforcement and we're learning a little bit more about 46-year-old craig -- craig hicks, the defendant in this case. he is a full-time student at the do you remember ham technical

community college about to get his degree in law. he is set to get his pairralegal degree in may. he is behind bars right now facing three counts of first-degree murder. >> the allegation is he took a gun and shot all three of these wonderful young students right in the head in that apartment, is that right? >> that's right. and residents are saying that he had a a side to him that he was so upset constantly about parking places and who would park where and if he saw a car he didn't recognize and that he was always getting on people. now we're hearing that maybe it wasn't motivated by hate but just a paranoia in regard to people and cars and parking. that doesn't mean he can't be convicted of first-degree murder. here in north carolina it's day for day. life in prison or death. >> thanks very much. we're going to dig deeper into this story. jeffrey toobin is standing by.

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university of north carolina chapel hill north carolina state university the communities there all mourning the loss of three wonderful muslim students at this hour. a funeral service at the islamic center? raleigh is being held right now. you're looking at live pictures coming in. the sister of the sixty spoke last night with anderson cooper

about the three young lives that were lost. >> you say you know there had been some interactions. do you think they had anything to do with your brother's religion with how he was perceived by this person? >> having heard secondhand from what a very close friend of his had said that basically he had said because of the way you look and not comfortable with the way you look and -- i'm really sorry. >> it's okay. >> this is really hard. >> i know. >> i go from being in denial to being really numb to being really angry. i came here today in hopes of shining light on his legacy and the others' and for the three of

them that has been dedication to service. and i want to make sure that they are recognized for that and that the world realizes what we have lost in the loss of these three incredibly brilliant, bright, beautiful, accomplished successful respectful loved three young people. >> what a horrible, horrible story. take a look at this. live pictures coming in. this is a prayer service being held at the islamic center of raleigh for these three wonderful young kids. let's listen in briefly a little bit to the prayer.

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erful young students who were brutally killed brutally killed chapel hill north carolina. you see the father there, the middle of the screen of the two young women who were killed, shot in the head allegedly by this neighbor of theirs 46-year-old craig stephen hicks. he turned himself in. this memorial service is continuing right now. i want to discuss what's going on. we'll take a quick break, right after this.

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plans. sixty-five may get all the attention, but now is a good time to start thinking about how you want things to be. [ male announcer ] go long™. funeral services underway right now in raleigh, north carolina at the islamic center in memory of three wonderful young muslim students. one was 23 years old, you sar mohammed 21 and 19 years old. three wonderful students gunned down the other night in their apartment in chapel hill for apparently no reason. supposedly maybe a parking dispute. it doesn't make any sense. let's discuss what's going on with our senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin and bobby go. she's written extensively on

islams in america. you look at what's going on. give us your thoughts on what has happened here. >> well, it's a -- it's a terrible, terrible tragedy. what you can see here is sort of three young people full of promise, full of hope and not just from those pictures but also from descriptions from family and friends. very positive minded, very determined to contribute to their community. couldn't be more american frankly, than these three young people being gunned down. we're being told that the precipitating cause had something to do with a parking dispute dispute. as a journalist i'm trained to believe that nothing is impossible. but as a human being, that does stretch it a little bit. it seems impossible that that could be the only reason why these three young people are no longer with us. >> and jeffrey the argument that you hear from family members and others, maybe this guy, the alleged shooter, was

upset about the parking or whatever was going on and he had a history of confrontations over parking. but he had no criminal record had not shot anyone else before. all of a sudden he allegedly goes into their apartment, takingtakes out his weapon and shoots these three young kids in the head. >> to call it byizarre and horrific is an understatement. i think it's important that we call it a hate crime because we want to learn the country we live in but as a legal matter mate may not matter. he is going to be eligible for the death penalty in north carolina regardless of the motive. the hate crimes law really only applies as i understand it to estimate misdemeanors to felonies and the federal government's hate crimes law, they usually only step in if

there's a failure at the state level. so i think it's unlikely to matter as a legal matter, but obviously, it is something we're all going to want to know why someone could do something so awful. >> what's so disturbing, bobby, these two young women, they were wearing the traditional head scarves. we hope it doesn't put a chill out there for other young muslim women if they want to walk around wearing a head scarf, that is their absolute right to do so they shouldn't be afraid to do so because potentially they could be targeted as muslims, right? >> we've seen eng co-s of that pretty much since 9/11. that people perceived to be muslim and often head gear is the indicator, face more and more hostility. in this case this man lived in the same building, he was their neighbor. even if they didn't wear a head scarf, he would have been aware that they were muslim.

but you go on social media now and you're hearing from muslim americans saying exactly that, that you know we now more vulnerable because we -- because of our head scarves, because of our beards because of the way we look. the otherness that is being defined here is something that sends a chill through the millions of muslim americans. >> it certainly does. and once again our deepest, deepest condolences in the families of these three wonderful young americans who needlessly needlessly were murdered. and there's no excuse. there's no explanation. what can you say? it's just a horrible, horrible thing. we'll take a quick break. much more right after this.

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it took an overnight negotiating session in minsk to get the deal done in the end. they agreed to withdrawal of heavy weapons of artillery beyond surveillance center and more a ton my for areas of eastern ukraine. nick robertson is joining us from minsk. the cease-fire is set to take effect on sunday. moments ago, we heard from the ukrainian president, petro poroshenko talking about that delay until sunday. listen to what he said. >> we demand immediate cease-fire without any precondition. unfortunately, they demanded we have at least almost 70 hours before the cease-fire was launched. immediately after the deal was signed by the group, the russian

terrorists stop the offensive operation. >> he makes a fair point, nick. why not an immediate cease-fire? >> reporter: it certainly seems that there was pressure on him from vladimir putin. not to do that. there was a moment in the talks here 17 hours of talks, a couple hours before they concluded, petro poroshenko said there just wasn't enough on the table pr him, the separatists saying the same thing. really looked like any kind of a deal wasn't going to be concluded. it's not just this delay getting to the cease-fire. everything is sequenced after that. it's all about building trust. you get the cease-fire if that's successful, pull back the heavy weapons. if that's successful you have this demilitarized zone. what was really telling at the talks here the only person who

came out and spoke after the talks was vladimir putin. normally when you have a successful agreement, all parties to that come out and speak together and that didn't happen. it's very telling of who perhaps felt they got the most out of this. >> we all remember the other cease-fire back in september. that didn't exactly work out well. why do people think this one might be any better? >> reporter: there are some elements to it sort of details that we are not privy to yet of the level of autonomy the separatists will get. the ukrainian government was very adamant was it being able to control the border. if everything sequences kwekt correctly, then the kraip january government will get control of its border again. there's a lot of ifs. but it's built into those ifs,

if they work then that's the principle through which people hope that enough trust is built that this can stick and maintain on the ground. but i think everyone's looking at this right now and seeing those as very big ifs, very big concerns, that the farm la isn't right and not there fully. we heard that from the german foreign minister earlier today saying that they didn't get agreement on everything. so there are holes in it and there are concerns because of those holes, wolf. >> we'll stay on top of it. let's hope this one works out. the peace deal calls for amnesty for the separatist fighters. president poroshenko was asked if that included those responsible for shooting down malaysia airlines flight 17 over ukraine. here's his response. >> no pardon law will excuse the terrorist who organized the attack of the innocent victim of

mh-17. we never, ever pardon them. >> 298 people died when mh-17 crashed in july. it's believed it was brought down by a surface to air missile. >> just ahead, battle lines are forming over a request to wage war. reaction to president obama's request to fight isis. some say it goes too far. others, not far enough. mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals antioxidants and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure®. nutrition in charge™. i'm only in my 60's. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses.

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battle lines are forming over president obama's formal request to use military force in the war against isis. it limits the authority to the military campaign to three years. it does not authorize what's called enduring offensive ground

combat operations but it disallow for ground combat operations in limited circumstances, including rescue and special forces missions. some republicans say the proposal ties the hands too much. some democrats say it's way too vague. but the debate is not entirely along party lines. joining us democratic congressman of maryland. he's a key member of these committees considering this issue. are you going to vote in favor of what the president has put forward or you got serious concerns? >> wolf i do have serious concerns and i'm going to work to change the language that was submitted. and i'm someone who supports the current ongoing operations that we're conducting in iraq and syria against isil. i support the targeting of isil in both those countries. i support our efforts to provide air power to the iraqi and kurdish forces. i support a limited number of american forces on the ground to

provide training and equipment. what concerns me is two things. one, the grant of authority with respect to deploying american ground combat forces is way too broad. and secondly, this leaves on the books indefinitely forever, the 2001 aumf which is essentially a blank check to any executive in the future. in fact, the president himself raised concerns about the 2001 aumf two years ago and said that we should revise and ultimately repeal it. that's the direction we need to move? >> he wants to keep the 2001 military authorization to go after al qaeda around the world but he wants to eliminate the 2002 authorization that led to the u.s. war, the invasion of iraq the removal of saddam hussein. you want him to not only repudiate the 2001 authorization but the 2002 authorization, but

the 2001 authorization as well, but from what i'm hearing from white house officials, he doesn't want to do that. >> not repudiate it, but essentially, the expiration date for this targeted authority, fresh authority to go after isil should dove tail with an expiration date or revision of the 2001 aumf. otherwise, you're spending an awful lot of time trying to design the framework for the isil effort, sort of trying to arrange the front door while you're leaving the back door wide open. i mean any future executive could put american ground forces into combat virtually anywhere in the world where they find there are al qaeda, you know presence or affiliated al qaeda presence. again, the president himself said two years ago, he wanted to revise and ultimately repeal it. so that's what we're calling for. >> the president doesn't even

believe he needs this formal new authority from congress to go ahead and wage this war against isis. and a few guys democrats or republicans, liberals or conservatives resist too much he's going to basically say you know what he's got the authority already. he says he has the authority. he's going to fight this war the way he wants without members of congress tieing his hands. what's going to be your reaction if that goes down there's no legislation that's passed? >> well, the president kateindicated in his letter that he sent to congress along with the proposed legislation that he as he stated two years ago in his speech at national defense university wanted to address the 2001 aumf. i hope he would pursue that. but you're absolutely right, wolf the president is suggesting and saying that he has the authority under the 2001 aumf to do what he's doing. as i said at the beginning i support the current mission against isil.

i would support an aumf designed and takeilored to support that current mission. what i have huge concerns about is opening the door to dragging the united states into another ground war in the middle east. that has not brought about the results that we wanted. it has had lots of negative repercussions. we need the kind of military force we're using today, but we need to focus on a political solution that makes sure the kurds and the iraqis come together are able to provide the ground forces necessary to take the fight to isil. >> what i hear you saying is when the president said in his televised remarks that he doesn't want another ground war that occurred in iraq or afghanistan, he doesn't have anything along those lines in mind. what you're saying is trust but verify. you >> right. there are two things wolf.

number one, members of congress cannot vote on good intentions. we're voting on what's written on the page of the law. and if that law provides for much broader authority for u.s. combat forces you know we have to take that into account. secondly the fresh authority, the fresh authority for the introduction of combat forces will extend beyond president obama's term. and so that remains a big issue. as i said as long as the 2001 afu is in place, it would allow the u.s. president to put u.s. combat forces a lot of places in the world. we should do what president obama said two years ago, we should begin to reframe that authority as well. >> thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. thank you, wolf. still to come reporting from the front lines of vietnam, the gulf war, a career which

spans five decades. we'll have a look at the life and times of correspondent bob simon.

the united states' top law enforcement officer weighs into the central issue of racial tensions between citizens and police. the fbi concerned that there is

a disconnect between police and people of color as seen in ferguson missouri and new york city as well. he used a pop culture reference to confront the serious issue of prejudice in america. >> i am reminded of the song from the broadway hit "avenue q," everyone is a little bit racist a part of which goes like this. look around and you will find no one is really color blind. maybe it's a fact we all should face. everyone makes judgments based on race. you should be grateful i did not try to sing that. but if we can't help our latent biases we can help our behavior in response to those instinct active reactions. >> let's bring in our justice reporter evan perez. a little bit of comment there, but this is a serious issue the fbi director is addressing today. >> that's right, wolf. it's not even very common the

fbi weighs into this issue. they tend to stay away from this. it is something he felt he needed to do to address the big conversation people have been having since ferguson. one of the things he's talking about is officers often work in very difficult neighborhoods where a lot of the crime is carried out by men of color. and what do they do after seeing this year after year? and here's a little bit of what he had to say. >> police officers on patrol in our nation's cities often work in environments where a hugely disproportionate percentage of street crime is committed by young men of color. something happens to people of good will working in that environment. after years of police work officers often can't help but be influenced by the cynicism they feel. a mental shortcut becomes almost ir irresistible.

two black men look like so many on one side of the street that he's locked up. two white men, maybe even in the same clothes, do not. >> he says the same things happen in some of these minority communities who will make assumptions about the police officers who are there to protect them often in very dangerous circumstances. >> he's also going to say he believes the fbi needs to do a better job tracking this? >> well yes. there's not much the fbi can do to enforce police departments, but he says he's going to use his bully pulpit to use police to report when they have shootings. right now he doesn't know how many people have been shot by police. you can see how many were booked but you can't tell how many were shot by cops. >> that's a helpful statistic evan evan, thanks. two journalists have been released after spending more than a year in jail in egypt, but they're due back in court in 11 days for a retrial. they're accused of supporting the brotherhood but are

maintaining their innocence. one in prison with them deported to his country of australia. he said he worked for them when he was there, he's a terrific terrific guy. he and his colleague do not belong in prison in egypt. i hope they are both completely vindicated and cleared and allowed to go home. on a very very personal note i was really shaken last night when i heard that bob simon of cbs news had been killed in a car crash in new york city. bob simon was certainly an old friend a wonderful colleague, a truly amazing journalist. over the years we often covered many of the same stories, and he could not have been more cooperative and wonderful when i was just starting out as a young reporter. he was already a major cbs news television correspondent. he could not have been nicer to me. he was always extremely helpful, always offering some very very

strong and important advice. that's something, as all of us certainly appreciate something a young reporter will always remember. i also remember when he was taken prisoner by saddam hussein's forces during the first gulf war in 1991. like so many of his colleagues around the world, i was deeply shaken. at that time i was cnn's correspondent. i was so worried about his fate. i worked all my sources to try to find out what was going on to do everything i could to help. there wasn't much i could do but fortunately after 40 days he was freed, and all of us were simply thrilled. he was never afraid to cover wars or other dangerous stories, and like millions of others i always looked forward to his "60 minutes" reports. we were always a bit smarter after watching bob simon report. in short, he was among the very very best in our business. my deepest condolences to his

wife francois and his daughter tonya. bob simon, may he rest in peace. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'll be back at 5:00 p.m. in the situation room. our news review with brook bau man starts right now. hi there, i'm brooke baldwin. thank you so much for being with me today. you're watching cnn and right now i wanted to share some live pictures with you. incredibly solemn moments here in raleigh, north carolina as this prayer service is under way for the three muslim students murdered in north carolina. despite what police are saying the family and friends of these three young victims insist they were killed because of their faith, and it's now faith, the father says that is the only thing easing his grief over the loss of his two daughters. >>