would cause it to die anyway. >> paul thank you for the insight. we'll need to watch it and see if those charged are updated. thanks for watching everyone. stay tuned now because my colleague, wolf, takes over the baton. hello and welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. we start with the breaking news. the horrific suicide attacks in yemen's embattled capital city of sanaa where suicide bombers targeted mosques during friday prayers. the toll at least, at least 120 people dead more than 300 people injured. now, just as they did with the tunisian museum attack on tuesday, isis is claiming responsibility for this attack in yemen. moments ago we heard this from the white house spokesman, josh earnest, talking about that isis claim. >> we are still investigating to

determine whether or not there are actually command and control structures in place that may provide some evidence to substantiate the claim that isil was involved in these attacks. at this point there is no indication that there is an operational link but that is still being investigated by our national security professionals. but there is no doubt that the kind of extremism that is a part of isil is endemic in other places in the country -- in the region. what we are seeing at least in this case we are seeing extremists try to capitalize on the chaos and instability inside yemen to carry out these acts of violence. >> we're covering all the angles of the breaking story. nick patton walsh is standing by in beirut. paul crook shank is in new york.

rick francona joining us from california. here with me in washington our counterterrorism analyst phil mudd. he sits on the national intelligence council and the board of the national terrorism center. nick let me get the latest information from you, the targets, the victims, what happened? >> reporter: over 120 dead over 300 injured. hospitals in the yemeni capital are crying out for blood donors to try and assist in treating that wave of wounded. it was during the busiest time of friday during friday prayer when two key shia mosques in the capital of sanaa were attacked chillingly similar to al qaeda, other extremists in the past. a suicide bomber went into the crowds of worshippers in both mosques and then as many rushed in to help another device a suicide bomber and a car bomb tore into those crowds of people trying to rescue the injured. now many deeply concerned this could be the beginning of a new

chapter of sectarian violence in yemen. there has been great instability as the shia group, the houthis who were targeted today have swept across the country, taking hold of the capital, ousting an internationally recognized government but they face sunni tribes who oppose them. many concerned that sunni extremists allied with them targeted these mosques today. >> stand by for a moment. paul crookshank is this just another in a series of wars if you will between shiites and sunnis? >> it looks very much like this. i think there's a real risk this could plunge yemen into a full bore civil war. there's a lot of similarity to the bombing of the mosque in 2006. when the founder of isis launched that attack in iraq his plan was to provoke the shia into a big retaliation against

the sunni and drive the sunni into the arms of isis and al qaeda. i think whoever was responsible in yemen today, whether it was isis or whether it was al qaeda in yemen, i think it's the same strategy provoke more sectarian bloodshed, provoke a civil war, get more sunnis than even already to go into the al qaeda or isis side in yemen. >> the houthi shiites who took control of a big chunk of yemen, as you know phil they got backing from iran. it looks like yemen potentially could be shaping up as another horrible situation, a civil war like in syria. >> i think we've got to look at this in a broader context. we've got to look at what's happened in pakistan afghanistan, iraq every place where you have sunni extremists rise and you have a significant shia population. we view these in terms of the western lands. is it a threat to washington new york chicago. from a regional perspective you've got to look at this as a

sunni/shia fight. every one of those circumstances, the sunnis on the rise groups like al qaeda and isis are saying, hey, those shia we're going after them. we want them out. >> rick francona as you know the u.s. embassy was evacuated, all americans got out of yemen several weeks ago. they quickly got out of there. but al qaeda of the arabian peninsula which represents according to u.s. terrorism analysts a major threat to the u.s. homeland they're trying to bomb planes if you will they still have their headquarters there in yemen. what, if anything, is the u.s. able to do in a situation like this now? >> well our capabilities have been severely degraded by losing the embassy there, losing our forward presence. the administration claims that they still have contacts with some people working in yemen, but it is really really hurt. and the aqap is a threat. they have the intent and the capability to do damage here. remember they put things on

airplanes. the printer explosive devices. so they represent a real threat. and i agree with what phil and paul have said this could be a much broader confrontation between sunni and shia and if you believe that iran is behind what's going on in sanaa with the houthis and if you're a gulf arab state, you've got to be very concerned about what you see happening. you've got the sunni crescent beirut damascus baghdad, now sanaa sort of falling into this influence of iran. >> yeah this is a real real awful situation, what's happening in yemen right now. we'll have much more coming up. there's another story we're watching in northern india where at least 30 people are dead after a train derailment 50 others injured when the engine and two passenger cars jumped the tracks after the train missed a stop. onlookers crowded the scene as rescue workers continued to pull survivors from rail car

wreckage. the cause of the crash still under investigation right now. up next the latest in tunisia. the government there talking about possible terrorist sleeper cells. we'll go there live. later, prime targets for terror. why militant groups are taking direct aim at international tourists. stay with us. with new angie's list app, you can get projects done in a snap. take a photo of your project or just tell us what you need done and angie's list will find a top rated provider to do the job. start your project for free today.

let's go to tunisia right now, a very different celebration. it's the country's independence day but observances there are overshadowed by this week's tragic massacre of tourists. at least 21 of them were killed. the majority of those victims traveled there aboard two cruise ships which docked today in

spain. some talked about narrowly escaping the tragedy. >> you don't realize what happened. you don't know. we got on the ship. you turn the television on. oh tunisia! then you realize that you escaped from it but the other people are not lucky. >> our phil black is joining us live from tunis right now. most of the victims were europeans, a few asians. tell us about the departure of the survivors and the status of the victims right now, those who survived but remain in hospitals. >> reporter: wolf we've been inside some of the hospitals here in tunis and seen how hard how frantically medical and administrative staff are working to treat the wounded. they were initially inundated. they're working through them treating them and getting them

out the door as fast as they can and working with local diplomatic stuff to to get them on flights back to their homeland as quickly as possible. that process is going and largely depends on how well a lot of these patients are. the other process that are under way are the bodies those that didn't survive the attack. in the morgue earlier today we were told there are still some 15 bodies being held there some of which still haven't been identified. and again, it is a matter of the medical staff at these hospitals, at the morgue working with local diplomatic missions to identify them and get them home on specially organized flights. they hope to have all of this done in the next few days. it's a big job, but it has been somewhat slow going in these initial days after the attack wolf. >> the tunisian government as you know phil said the killers trained next door in libya. a government official even mentioned what was described as sleeper cells inside tunisia. are there fears now that this was potentially just a start of a larger campaign against

tunisia's democratically elected government? >> reporter: very much so. the existence of jihadi cells here in tunisia, well that is a known element, a known threat. it has been identified for some time. what this is is a combination potentially of that threat with the ongoing instability next door in libya. the government says the two gunmen crossed into libya, were trained in a camp near benghazi. the concern here is isis because that's territory that isis is known to have camps. the idea that elements from isis could continue to threaten the political stability of this country in an ongoing way is very much a concern, wolf. >> phil black, stay safe over there. up next targeting tourists. we'll take a closer look at past attacks. why museums and monuments have become terror targets. stay with us.

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the attack in tunisia highlights the vulnerability of tourists. they're a high-profile target in this war between terror western values including democracy. the tunisia museum attack it was a massacre is not the first and likely won't be the last. >> reporter: the targeting of tunisia's most prominent museum a sharp reminder for tourists without warning they could find themselves on the front lines of violent extremist war against westerners. november 26 2008 mumbai india. ten fieltghters launched a series

of grenade and automatic weapon attacks against high-profile locations over a four-day period. 164 people were killed. october 12th 2002 bali indonesia, where tens of thousands of american tourists travel every year. an al qaeda affiliate detonated three bombs. the first bomb near the u.s. consulate caused no injuries. the second bomb just after 11:00 p.m. a suicide bomber inside paddy's pub as the injured and frightened ran into the street a third larger car bomb exploded. 202 people including seven americans, were killed. november 17th 1997 luxor, egypt. an islamic group fired automatic weapons into a tour bus, stabbed and killed some 68 mostly swiss and japanese tourists at one of egypt's top tourist destinations.

isis al qaeda and al shabab have all expressed their desire to hit western targets. a recent bid of isis propaganda promises just that. soon in your city will be the battle. the groups have already specified targets they had like to hit. in rome 500 police have been added to protect landmark tourist destinations like the vatican and coliseum. recently though no islamic group is known to have targeted a heavily guarded tourist destination. but still, it has threatened places like the white house, london's big ben, the eiffel tower in paris and even minnesota's mall of america. >> threats like those may be behind the new numbers in our cnn/orc poll. we asked whether isis poses a serious threat to the united states. you see the breakdown. 56% say very serious, 24% say fairly serious. that's 80% total. 80% who say it's a pretty serious threat. as you can see, that number has

been steadily growing since september. let's bring back our panel. paul cruckshank retired lieutenant colonel rick francona and cnn counterterrorism analyst phil mudd. why are these tourist attractions so important to these isis and other al qaeda-related terror organizations? >> this isn't about tourists or museums, it's about money. you go back to earlier what we were talking about, mid-'90s, one of the predecessors to al qaeda attacks luxor, egypt, the location of major tourist attractions and a major turn for radicals in egypt. 20 years later the successors to al qaeda go after tourists in tunisia. the reason is because the money they bring in underpins the government. there is one downside. that is not just money that affects the government's ability to keep operating, it is money that gives jobs to local people. if isis wants to recruit tunisians tunisians, it's not a great method in my view to undertake

operations that limit their ability to make money off tourists. >> paul if isis did in fact undertake this massacre at the museum in tunis this week and killed all these europeans and a few asians touring that museum over there, do they really think that's going to strengthen them propagandawise get more recruits if innocent people are slaughtered like this? >> i think phil is absolutely right, there is a potential backlash here that could happen in somewhere like tunisia. we actually saw that in egypt after the luxor massacre in '97. that led to the defeat of jihadist groups in egypt pretty much at the time. the egyptian people really turned against them. we saw similar backlash in indonesia following the bali bombings. of course isis is playing to a hard line energized base which love these kind of attacks which target westerners which target

sort of the secular cultural preislamic heritage as well. up to 15% of people in tunisia employment link the tourism sector so as phil was saying this could really undermine the economy and lead to more economic problems lead to more grievances and more radicalization. all of that plays in isis' hands. >> do you think, rick francona that international tourist attractions should beef up security right now, wherever they are? >> well they have to because tourist sites represent a really lucrative target for isis because they're usually not well defended. they are frequented by westerners and that tends to be the target of these groups. you know tourism is a fragile industry. any bad publicity immediately you can go elsewhere. there are a lot of places to visit, so if there's danger in tunisia, you'll go somewhere else. egypt has not recovered from the violence it experienced in the '90s and the early part of the 2000s, so their tour industry is

really in bad shape now. what's going to happen the tunisian tour industry. we've already seen cruise lines going for alternate locations. the stock market took a hit. it's going to be a real problem economically for the tunisians and that's one of the effects that isis al qaeda, these groups want to have. and i think paul and phil are both exactly right, this does drive recruitment. we thought that the emulation of that jordanian pilot was going to somehow affect their recruitment and it had the opposite effect. it really pumped up their numbers. so these targets are very effective for them. >> it's hard to believe that phil that these kinds of activities do pump up numbers. more people volunteer to go fight with people in the aftermath of a horrific slaughter like this or the burning of that jordanian pilot that rick just spoke about. >> that's right. you've got to remember in the view of the adversary, that is in the view of isis or its

predecessors al qaeda, this is viewed as a bumper sticker. this is an advertisement to say if you're on the extreme fringe of islam in this battle for the soul of islam, there's only one place to join. it's not al qaeda or some other fringe group, it's the guys who operate in yemen, syria, et cetera. the problem is they can't manage to transition from the fringes to the heart of the islamic world and that is why this attack at the heart of the tunisian economy is so significant. i think they'll have a hard time persuading tunisian people beyond the fringe to say, hey, this is a good idea. i've just lost my job but let me go join the people who forced me to lose that job. >> and it's not just tourists international tourists who are being targeted not just christians or jews it's fellow muslims. look what happened today at those mosques in sanaa, yemen, where several -- dozens and dozens of fellow muslims, albeit sunni muslims as opposed to shiite muslims, but they're still fellow muslims and most of the victims of these terror groups are in fact muslim.

>> that's absolutely right. the majority of victims in terrorist attacks over the last couple of decades have definitely been muslims. of course from isis and al qaeda's point of view they don't think the shia are muslims. they think they're heretics that need to be killed so they're deliberately going after the shia. this is a very deliberate calculated attack in yemen to try to plunge the country into civil war. but i think, you know the vast majority of muslims around the world find this absolutely horrific. the trouble is this radical fringe. inside tunisia, they're up to 40,000 followers, for example, of a pro-jihadi movement. that's a very large number. it's still the fringe very large minority but you see those people going to syria and iraq to libya to get training going over to algeria to join up with terror groups. so that's the problem. the small radical fringe with

tens of thousands across the arab world. >> all right, paul rick phil thanks very much. one final note the australian prime minister was one of the first customers for the reopening of the cafe in sydney that was the target of a gunman in december who took 17 people hostage. they remained there for 16 hours until police stormed the building. three people including the gunman were killed. plaques honoring the two victims now hang on the walls of the cafe. we just received a letter sent to hillary clinton's attorney about her private e-mails. we'll have that a lot more news coming up next. missi of providing a free world-class education for anyone anywhere. if you look at a khan academy video, they can cover everything from basic arithmetic to calculus, trigonometry, finance. you can really just get what you need at your own pace. and so, bank of america came and reached out to us and said 'we are really interested in making sure that everyone really understands personal finance.'

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to start thinking about how you want things to be. [ male announcer ] go long™. welcome back to our viewers in the united states and around the world, i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. we have some news that we're ready to break here on cnn regarding the controversy over hillary clinton's use of private e -- private e-mail server. the house committee has issued an official request to the former secretary. chris, you've got the news to report. what have you learned? >> what we've learned is that trey gow kchltdy has sent hillary clinton's lawyer asking that that server be turned over to the independent inspector general for the state department. i have the letter and he says i'm asking secretary clinton to relinquish her server to a neutral, detached and

independent third party such as the inspector general for the state department for review and an independent accounting of any records contained on the server. so what they're trying to do here wolf is make sure that what hillary clinton has turned over to the state department remember she's turned over about 55,000 pages of e-mails to the state department they want somebody to look at that e-mail server where she did her official business and determine whether or not she's turned over everything that is official or whether she's held things back. >> she's suggested during those four years on that server 62,000 e-mails, half of them about 31,000 have been handed over to the state department. that translates into 55,000 actual pages, copies of what she says was official government-related business. the other half she suggests she deleted all of that it may not be on the server any longer. >> she has suggested that but what the republicans want to see, they want to see what

exactly is on that server. if she was doing government business on that server somebody other than hillary clinton should be able to have a look at it. they have given her until april 3rd to respond to this request. of course republicans like chairman gowdy have said for a week or so that she should do it. now they're formally asking her to do it and indicating if she doesn't do it the full house of representatives might take up this issue and that could include the house voting to subpoena that server. remember chairman gowdy can't as a committee chair subpoena the server only get e-mails regarding benghazi so this could become a bigger issue, depending on how secretary clinton responds to the request. >> i don't think he should hold his breath waiting for that server because she had that server will be private, it's not going to be made public. thanks for breaking the news. he invited the israeli prime minister to washington. now house speaker john boehner is planning a trip to jerusalem. will his visit deepen the

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the nuclear talks with iran went into recess today, but the clock is ticking toward a crucial end of the month deadline. the secretary of state john kerry says they'll return to the negotiating table next week. meanwhile president obama and iran's foreign minister took to social media to push for progress. the foreign minister tweeted, and i'm quoting, it's high time for the u.s. and its allies to choose pressure or agreement. and president obama released a youtube message to the iranian people. >> the days and weeks ahead will be critical. our negotiations have made progress but gaps remain. and there are people in both our

countries and beyond who oppose a diplomatic resolution. my message to you, the people of iran is that together we have to speak up for the future we seek. >> joining us now for some perspective on these talks, dean of the school of advanced international studies here in washington at johns hopkins university. thanks very much for coming in. a video like this directly addressing the people of iran by the president of the united states he can post it on youtube, they can put it out, but will people in iran actually be able to see this? >> i think a segment of them will and some of them will find a way to download it and share it as a file on cell phones and smartphones and the like. i think people will see it and read reports of it by people who have seen it. >> let's say a lot of people in iran actually get to hear the president of the united states say accept the deal a good deal forget about your nuclear weapons program. iran can really gain economically socially internationally, if it makes a good deal.

>> i think it does help. public diplomacy is important. the fact that he's sending this message on iran's new year which is today, is important. but also there's always been a question as to how much is he engaged in this. how much does this have his support. i think this will convey to the iranian people that the president wants this deal a deal that's beneficial to the iranian people and that will put some pressure on the iranian leaders. >> if the president says it it has a lot more clout in iran. >> i think because the iranian leaders have said all along it's not clear whether the president will fully back this deal. and if, say, with the pressure that we saw from prime minister netanyahu and congress and sort of the pressure that exists on this deal is he willing to stand up and defend it. so something like this message today gives them the sense that yes, he's willing to come in support of this deal. >> so there's a pause right now, but i assume in the coming days

everyone will get back the foreign minister secretary of state kerry will go back to switzerland and resume negotiations. they have a march 31st deadline for at least a framework. deal or no deal? >> i think they're very close. i think the biggest part of the disagreement is over iran's insistence that the majority of sanctions should be lifted something that's not easy to do. i think also both sides know that they have a tough job dealing with the hard liners or critiques or conservatives and on this side republicans at home. therefore, they're trying to get the best -- the best deal on the table that would make selling it at home easier. and that makes it very tricky. >> the dean of the school of international studies the johns hopkins university. full disclosure i'm a graduate of that school. will the reversal help repair the rift serious rift with the obama administration? and claims from the u.s. senate floor that racism is

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that was actually planned, they say, before the israeli election. let's bring in our cnn correspondent, oren lieberman. here in washington is a former adviser to six secretaries of state on the arab-israeli peace process. what do they say in jerusalem about this visit by the house speaker? >> reporter: well we're hearing that it will be sometime in the next two weeks, probably later in the next two weeks. speaker of the house john boehner will come here, and it's very much benjamin netanyahu saying his strongest allies in congress are republicans behind speaker of the house john boehner. perhaps it's even one more shot between the back and forth we've seen between president barack obama and benjamin netanyahu which effectively started when boehner invited netanyahu to speak before congress. >> the relationship you've studied this for a long time it's about as strained as i've ever seen it but give me your analysis. >> there's no question both in personality and policies this

is the worst. it's been a nauponstop soap opera for at least five years. >> how do they fix it? >> i'm not sure they can fix it. the truth is i don't know where it goes. the administration can talk tough but what are they going to do sanction the israelis? support the palestinian at the international criminal court? they may be less solicitous of defending israeli positions abroad in an international forum, i can see them go but they weren't moving on the israeli-palestinian issue. they'll have to figure out how to work with the israelis as hard as that's going to be. >> what are they saying over there about the flip-flop from the prime minister. the day before the election he says there won't be a palestinian state on his watch. that was seen as a are you pudrepudiation of the two-state solution. but yesterday he says he never supported a one-state solution he supports a two-state solution. what's the reaction over there

to this apparent about-face? >> reporter: well, his critics here have said that he's playing politics politics. he needed support from right-wing supporters. we saw him clearly move in that direction in the days before the election and the culmination was him saying there bill be no two-state solution there will be no palestinian state if benjamin netanyahu is the prime minister. then just after he wins a pretty resounding victory he does an about-face and said i never said i don't support a two-state solution. so his critics have said he's playing politics. meanwhile the palestinians have said and we spoke with the chief palestinian negotiator he believes the preelection comments that netanyahu never supported a two-state solution and as such they'll keep pushing on the international forum for international recognition instead of through negotiations. >> it seems like white house officials agree with the chief palestinian negotiator aaron, because the white house is saying publicly as a result of what the prime minister said just before the election the

u.s. is now going to reassess its entire relationship not only with israel the peace process and everything else. the word "reassess" is a strong word. >> you remember the last time that happened wolf in 1975. kissinger summoned all our ambassadors back and called for a reassessment. kissinger admitted later it was political theater, but the truth is it worked. here i'm not so sure it's going to work because there's no agreement right now. they're not close. and the truth is you know as well as i there are productive fights with the israelis that can actually accomplish things and unproductive ones. i'm afraid right now we are in the middle of an unproductive fight. >> you think the u.s. the obama administration is really going to for example, allow anti-israeli resolutions to be passed by the u.n. security council, that that traditional u.s. veto won't happen? >> if they abstained on a u.n. resolution on settlements, would it stun me and shock me? no. would they vote to recognize a state of palestine? no. would they support the palestinian bid at the icc on

war crimes? no. but what they might do is support the u.n. security council resolution to lay out the elements of what constitutes a solution to the israeli-palestinian conflict if they can't get one on the ground in 20 months. and let's be clear, they're not going to get one in the next 20 months. >> you think they would also potentially be a reduction in u.s. economic and military assistance. israel a slowdown in military hardware stuff like that? >> in my judgment almost inconceivable. this administration has a tendency to talk tough, very tough rhetoric but when it comes to imposing actual cost and consequences they're not very tough. >> and one final question oren to you over there in jerusalem. do israelis in general, and you've been there for a while, do they understand how strained the u.s./israeli relationship has become over these past several weeks? >> reporter: i think many of them do. those that are critical of that relationship and critical of netanyahu's decisions generally fall on the left. those who have faith that

netanyahu is strong enough to keep that relationship as it neetds needs to be they support netanyahu in what he's done over the past few weeks, regardless of how strained it has gotten. >> we'll see if the prime minister and the president, if they can get their act together and try to fix it. we'll see what happens, if that's possible. thanks very much guys appreciate it. still ahead, several lawmakers here in washington are injecting race into the conversation as they wait for the confirmation vote on the attorney general nominee, loretta lynch. y to y on its own. so let's do something about it. premarin vaginal cream can help it provides estrogens to help rebuild vaginal tissue and make intercourse more comfortable. premarin vaginal cream treats vaginal changes due to menopause and moderate-to-severe painful intercourse caused by these changes. don't use it if you've had unusual bleeding breast or uterine cancer blood clots, liver problems,

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aaron schock who use downton abbey for his office decor is under investigation. sources in washington familiar with the matter say fbi and professional prosecutors in illinois are investigating whether schock broke the law in accounting for campaign expenses. he announced he would resign after allegations he had improperly accounted for travel and other contributions from donors. several are declaring racism in the delayed approval of loretta lynch. she would become the first african-american woman to serve as attorney general of the united states. she made it through committee but her vote to come up for full confirmation by the entire

senate has been delayed after a senate vote. republicans say they want it delayed until after a senate vote on human sex trafficking. democrats are holding up that vote after a provision was included limiting abortion funding but on the senate floor wednesday, senator dick durbin of illinois implied the vote delay was racially motivated. comments echoed by several other democrats. >> loretta lynch, the first african-american woman nominated to be attorney general is asked to sit in the back of the bus when it comes to the senate calendar. that's unfair. it's unjust. it's beneath the decorum and dignity of the united states senate. >> republican senator john mccain quickly took to the senate flooring aningly angrily firing back at the comments.

>> i would say to the senator of the illinois for him to come to this floor and use that imagery and suggest that racist tactics are being employed to delay ms. lynch's confirmation vote. such inflammatory rhetoric has no place in this body and serves no purpose other than to further divide us. >> with us to discuss what's going on gloria borger and athena jones. did he reply to that? >> he did reply. he didn't apologize, which is what senator mccain wanted. i can tell you this race talk is not new. you have folks who for years even before the lynch nomination before the president nominated lynch who believed on the hill and off the hill that race has something to do with the way that the other party, the republican party, has

treated president obama, treated eric holder and is now treating loretta lynch. this isn't new but certainly it hasn't so far been helpful in moving the ball forward. all it's done is really ramp up the heat. i think this is a case of political tactics that have gone wrong and that are creating a real mess. >> it is a real mess. this woman has been waiting a long time for confirmation after a distinguished career as the u.s. attorney in new york. >> she's had a distinguished career. she got approved on the senate judiciary committee on a bipartisan vote. there were three republicans. athena was there. who voted for her. she's widely well regarded. today rudy giuliani who is no fan of president obama as you know accused obama of not loving his country came out and said today that loretta lynch is not only an acceptable appointment but i find her to be an extraordinary appointment. if they get this to the floor i think the odds are it would be close, right, that she would be

confirmed. >> she would be confirmed but rudy giuliani and others want the senate to have a big vote confirming her. that doesn't look likely. she's not even scheduled for a vote. >> a lot of republicans say they'll vote against her because she supported president obama's unilateral executive actions on immigration reform. >> it's shocking that somebody who was nominated by the president of the united states would actually support the president. what did they expect she was going to do? go before the senate judiciary committee and say actually i think what the president did was illegal? i doubt it. they had to know that was what she was going to say. i think this parliamentary maneuvering is what the american public hates about the congress. if you want to vote and oppose loretta lynch, go to the floor and tell the american public why you are opposing her whether it's because of immigration or something else. go to the floor and have a debate.

push a button. vote. let the american people decide whether they think you did the right thing or the wrong thing. >> most republicans believe the president is in violation of the constitution with that executive order. they say they don't want -- they have backing now of federal judge in texas. it's now gone before a federal appeals court. it's being adjudicated even as we speak. they say this is a matter of principle. they believe the president is breaking the law by imposing these kinds of actions and if she supports that there's no way they can vote to confirm her. >> she would win confirmation if they went ahead and held the vote today. there are three republicans who voted for her out of the senate judiciary committee. there's another republican who said that she is a supporter. there will be enough support to get her nomination through under the new rules where they just need a basic majority. immigration issue is an issue that's been brought up of course. you have even rudy giuliani saying of course the president is going to pick someone that's going to agree with him. you had the former fbi director who was also on the call today

saying that the senate can walk and chew gum at the same time. they can do two things at once. consider legislation on human trafficking bill that's part of the holdup and vote on her confirmation. >> it's ridiculous that you have to hold up one because of something else. these are games. it's games. this is the attorney general of the united states. you want to have one or not? >> she needs 50 votes to be confirmed because the vice president, joe biden, would then break a tie. he's the democrat. there are 46 democrats all of whom who will vote for her. she needs four republicans. three of whom voted in the senate. susan collins would be the 50th. the question is will there be a vote? thank you very much for all of that. finally, it's not something you see often in washington republicans and democrats in the house and senate actually agreeing on something and in this case they agreed on a deal to fix the reimbursement rate for doctors who treat medicare patients. the deal was struck by john boehner and nancy pelosi.

a little bipartisan cooperation. that's it for me. i'll be back at 5:00 eastern in "the situation room." for our international viewers, "news center" is next. for our american viewers, nous "newsroom" with brooke baldwin starts right now. >> thank you for watching cnn on this friday. i have to begin this hour with the deadly news of a terror attack. first in tunisia we've been talking about the last couple days and now i need to tell you about suicide bombings in yemen and for the second time this week isis is claiming responsibility. while we cannot confirm the group's claim, just the shear brutality of today's attacks bear the hallmarks of isis. this happened in sanaa. turbulent capital of yemen. suicide bombers carrying out coordinated attacks on not just one but two shiite