johnny but dave wu better than johnny. but johnny wasn't different. and dave started something. >> thank you so much. you don't know how proud i feel now. >> and before david letterman's final two episodes please tune in for any cnn special report david letterman says goo night tonight at 9:00 eastern on condition. that's it for the lead. i'm jack tapper turning you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." long slog the white house admits the u.s. faces a tough ordeal in trying to save a city captured by isis. terror expansion, new details on how isis is extending its reach getting weapons and money from beyond the battlefields of syria and iraq. is this why the u.s. went after the terror group's chief financial officer? texas turf war, fears growing about more biker gang violence after a brawl leaves nine people dead.

police are worried that i may be the next target. and un-acceptable. kim jong-un is furious after he finds syria's shortcomings. and a group of women peace marchers tries to ease the tensions between north and south korea korea. i'm wolf blitzer. you here in "the situation room." >> isis is rushing to take advantage of its stunning capture of the city of ramadi as tens of thousands of people flee the city in panic. the terror group is right now pushing farther east attacking a town closer to baghdad. after the collapse of u.s. trained and iraqi troops the bomb ma administration says the fight against isis will be a long slog. this comes as we learn new details about the growing reach of isis now extending well beyond the battlefields. and there are growing fears

right now that the terror group could use a new foothold in north africa to infiltrate europe. i'll talk about that and more with senator james risch and our correspondents analysts and guests they're all standing by with full coverage. let's begin with our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr. the national security adviser to the president, susan rice says ra mady will be a long slog. calling it a setback. what's the latest you're hearing? >> that word setback. right now that is the administration talking point. but today the white house also got very defensive about it. have a listen to what the white house press secretary josh earnest had to say. >> are we going to light or hair or fire or take seriously our responsibility to evaluate the areas where we succeed and evaluate where steps are necessary to change our strategy

where we sustained setbacks. >> set backs. there are a fair number of people who might disagree with that. is this loss of ramadi a strategic loss. 70 miles from baghdad. extending isis' influence. and does it demonstrate that isis after all of this time can field a large offense force and the iraqis cannot fight back against it. >> as you know the u.s. formally released the real name of the isis commander killed in the weekend raid. how key was this terrorist? >> well look. they are saying again still, as they have since the weekend here in washington that this man was a top money man. he was involved in oil, gas and financing operations. his role in military affairs in isis in operations his contacts with top leaders had grown in the last six months. but when you come back to that key word, money operations. they are looking for

intelligence about his involvement, his wife's involvement in hostages and even potentially american hostages being held there. and the congressman who chairs the foreign affairs committee going a step further, mentioning the ceased at tajs, mule her foley and sotloff by name. no word from the military about the conditions or what happened to those three. >> getting back to ramadi the critically important town and city in iraq any word you're getting that the u.s. might maybe not necessarily send in boots on the ground but at least special operations force to try to help the iraqi military retake ramadi? >> what we're hearing so far is don't look for any change. air strikes will continue. that will be tough. it's an urban environment. how do you pick out the military isis target from any civilians

maybe left there. and always on the table is exactly what you just said. could you send in a small number of u.s. special force to help pick out the targets in that urban environment. we're hearing from the pentagon right now, there's absolutely no indication that recommendation would be made to the president. >> thank you. ie cities also exfending its reach far outside the war zones of syria and iraq. the terror group established outposts in north africa which is a source of recruits weapons and funding. brian todd has been digging into this story. >> we've been speaking with military officials who tonight are telling us of growing concern about icy's footprint in libya. the isis threat there is growing rapidly and if left unchecked, it could present the highest risks to u.s. interests in north africa. this comes on the heels of an isis victory that's causing fallout all the way to washington. with the relentless push isis

fighters route iraqi fighters and take the city of ramadi to. tonight, new information on isis's conquest. the terror group has an operational foothold in libya. u.s. officials selling cnn they're increaseingly using the area where they can plot attacks. >> they set up the first libyan affiliate of the islamic state here in the east. they later set up branchs in the east in benghazi down on the south and also in tripoli. >> one on the global terrorist list has obtained and shipped weapons from libya. believed to be an operational leader, he has a $3 million bounty on his head from the u.s. government. u.s. officials sell cnn the

chaotic civil war between groups fighting for libya hay lowed isis to sweep into the vacuum. they're establishing groups camps, recruiting networks spreading propaganda. and there's a new fear that libya could provide isis with a lethal pipeline to europe. >> the fear in europe is that isis will try to infiltrate through the smuggling networks insert intruders into the smuggling boats to conduct attacks. the fact that the coastline is not patrol and libya is only 325 miles away from the italian coast, this is a huge concern for europe. >> experts say isis is trying to cultivate a niche in tunisia and has its sights set on south asia. >> in the sphere actually the new story now is that they're positioning themselves as rival to the taliban. >> how is isis financing its

expansion? analysts say the bulk of the money comes from extortion and thievery not oil. >> racketeering taxation and just kind of crime sind cates that they are a bliet on every community that they touch. they go in there and they pillage, they take what they want. they tax people who are living under their control. >> and experts say isis captures tanks, heavy guns and other weapons from cities where they've routed conventional military forces. they've taken russian made armaments from the syrians. analysts say the only way to effectively stop isis from pillaging is to have boots on the ground standing in their way. they don't have that in ramadi and they might not have it elsewhere in iraq anytime -- >> what about oil sales, that the isis forces are trying to achieve? and anticties for that matter. they destroyed a lot of anticties but they also sell some. what are you told about these

potential revenue schemes. >> isis now smuggles out a million barrels of oil a day at over $50 a barrel, it brings them more than $50 million a day. at one point they were selling 3.2 million barrels a day. when they go into the sites, they don't smash up anticties. they steal them and sell them. there's a revenue stream for them as well. >> let's dig deeper right now. joining us with republican senator from idaho james risch, serves on the intelligence and foreign relations committees. thanks for being here. let's talk about the raid first of all in syria. we know the real name released by the u.s. what can you tell us about this guy? >> well first of all, he had several aliases. obviously when he was first gotten they've got his wife

also at the same time the position is a really critical position. and i think that that victory that we had this weekend was kind of overshadowed by the real setback in ramadi. but the way that this organization isis, isil, dash whatever you call it both from mow quickly they've been successful is because they know how to imagine finances. they bring in a lot of money. they get it from oil sales kidnapping extortion, theft. whatever. and this gentleman played a real key role in that. and that's the reason that the united states was willing to take a high risk operation. and this was a high risk operation. >> was he also directly involved in killing american hostages? >> i can't tell you that. i don't have that information at this point.

they're still vetting who he was because of the various aliases that he had. but he was a real player in the isis organization. and particularly because he was so good at had ling the money and being able to direct traffic as to how it would come in and where it would go. >> if he was the chief financial officer of isis he's dead now and somebody else could come in and replace him, right? >> that's true. one of the things that the organizations are short on is leadership. they don't have the same kind of leadership that you have in a first world country where when someone steps aside, someone can easily step in and take their place. that's not the way these guys operate. they're long on foot soldiers and really short on leadership. >> you've been briefed. based on everything you know right now, you don't know everything but a lot. a lot more than the rest of us. based on everything you know was the president right in making the decision to risk the lives of these delta force kman

dos, go in on the high risk submission into syria and kill this guy? >> first of all, they before going to try to capture him instead of kill him. but nonetheless, what i've been briefed on what i've seen and the actual technicalities of it i think there's no question that the president made the right call and indeed because of what was in place in other things it was -- >> he was the target, this guy, right? >> he was clearly the target. >> but the real target, there's speculation or rumors. >> this was the target along with his wife. women don't ordinarily play high role positions in this organization or for that matter the other organizations over there. but his wife actually played a much more strategic role than women generally play in these organizations. >> what was her role? >> well she was involved in

decision-making with him, from what we're able to tell. in addition to that there are at least claims that she was involved in the hostage situation. and as you know there was another woman that was taken that was supposedly has been called a slave. she was involved in those kind of operations. so he was much more pivotal. >> yazidi sex slave if you will. she's now being interrogated by the u.s. >> his wife is being interrogated by the u.s. >> any good information yet? >> they are getting information. >> is it good? >> they are getting information. when f you get information on these you never take it at face value. it's got to be vetted. >> but she's talking? >> they will get what they can get from her. >> she's talking? >> they're interrogating her and she has answered at least some questions. and how deep that goes i really

can't go into. >> don't go away. we have more to talk about including what's going on in ramadi because it doesn't look good. ugly picture. much more with senator risch right after this. ♪ when you set out to find new roads, you build the car of tomorrow, today. introducing the next generation chevrolet volt. ♪ new york state is reinventing how we do business by leading the way on tax cuts.

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much more with senator risch

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senator jam risch of idaho. the susan rice president's national security adviser, she says it's a long slog. that's what the kus can expect. the white house press secretary says it's a setback what happened in ramadi, the defeat of the iraqi military. isis takes over. would you call it a long slog a setback? how would you describe it? >> u think setback is an understatement. the fall of ramadi is a big deal. what you have here is really a key city in a key vie johnregion and occupied by sunni people. they have been in other parts of both syria and iraq. the sunnis have been sympathetic towards isis because they're also sunni. it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. there's going to be a huge battle. open sources today are reporting that the shiite malitia are converging on ramadi iranian

backed and non-iranian back. we watched what happened in tikrit. we saw the pictures. i think when they're done with ramadi the pictures are going to be very similar. >> it's a city that used to have a half a million people. at least 120,000 have fled refugees and more are trying to get out. but isis presumably not letting them leave. the shiite militias that are going in there to do the work of what the iraqi military should be doing, that's going to antagonize the iraqi sunnis in the area. they hate the shiites. >> you mentioned an important point, that is, we all thought that maybe the iraqi forces were going to step up. remember right at the beginning they turned tail and ran when isis showed up. >> in mosul, they abandoned mosul. but these are american trained, american financed american armed troops.

the u.s. spent a decade training the iraqi military and the first sign of a bunch of terrorists coming in they flee. what happens? >> i think what you have here is you have people that are not committed to the cause they're fighting for. people fight for a cause. when we first saw them turn tail and run, that's what went through my mind. you can train them all you want. if they don't stand and fight because they don't believe in the cause they're fighting for, the training doesn't make any deference difference. >> the u.s. wants to send in more weapons and spend for money to train more iraqi troops when they simply in recent experience they run away leave the weapons behind. the weapons wind up including ramadi, in the hands of isis. >> it isn't the training. it's what they're willing to fight for. and so far we just haven't seen it. >> what's the solution here? >> i don't know what the solution is there. in that treat it was call in the kurds. and unfortunately of course this

area is too far south for the kurds. probably to even be interested. but it's going to get, it's going to get ugly there as the shiites pour? >> i want to show you some video released by the iraqi defense minute tri. take a look at this. you see iraqi military helicopters flying over ramadi. these are iraqi soldiers desperately trying to escape ramadi right now because they're fearful of what the isis terrorists are going to do to them if they catch them. they run to the helicopter get out of there and leigh their weapons behind. the iraqi defense minister releases this voop. the minister himself is a sunni. it's a tense situation between the iraqi shia and the iraqi sunnis sunnis. why did they release the video which is real good propaganda for isis? >> it is good propaganda for isis. it's speculation as to why they would release something like

that. the other thing is that the reporting is pretty clear that isis didn't have nearly the numbers that the iraqis had. the iraqis outnumbered isis and still turned tail and ran. >> because the iraqi military, a lot of them were iraqi shia in a sunni area and they said you know what? this is not any territory, not my land. i'm getting out of here. not worth dying for. >> if they're not willing to fight for it training and weapons won't make a difference. >> should the u.s. continue to fund train and arm the iraqi military? >> obviously not if they're going to continue to act like they're acting. we were hopeful when we had other arab nations around get together and talk about that they were going to put boots on the ground. there's in appetite in congress or the american people to put boots on the ground. we do a lot of good things with air power. but sit going to take boots on the ground at some point in

time somewhere along the line. and right now the iraqis certainly aren't showing that they've got -- that they've got the fire -- >> the u.s. now has 3,000 troops in iraq supposedly training the iraqi military. lindsey graham was here yesterday. he said that number should go up to 10,000. do you agree with him? >> i'm going to leave that to lindsey for his estimate. he's closer to the military things than ament. the iraqi troops have got to do better than they're doing or it doesn't make any difference how many trains you put them. >> thank you for joining us. coming up, the nuclear submarines vulnerable to terrorists? there's shocking information. we're going to hear from the terror experts. and a manhunt for three bikers mistakenly released from a deadly brawl. nine people dead. does more violence lie ahead? stay with us. you're in "the situation room."

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we're learning new details about the isis leader killed in a u.s. raid inside syria. been linked to financial and hostage operations but was he the one that the u.s. command dos were looking for. let's discuss this with a former cia official cnn national security analyst peter bergman and retired lieutenant general mark hertling. you heard general risch say yes, this was the guy they were lacking for even though he wasn't well-known wasn't on the u.s. most wanted list there was

no bounty for him. what do you make? was it worth sending in delta command dos in a high risk mission like this to fly into syria to go after this guy? >> i can tell you this after having been involved in these kind of operations in the past it was worth it. they wouldn't do it if it wasn't worth it. you have design planning that goes along with any kind of strike by special operations command. so to go to our other question were there more? possibly. don't know. this was one of the targets. there's a feel for what's oing the ground and what you're going after. if they send the operators in it's worth it. >> we heard from senator risch, phil that the wife is talking. she's under u.s. interrogation right now. but what would she know presumably the way women are treated bycy sis, there's a limitation of how much involvement she really had, i would assume. >> that would be my question.

i don't care whether she's talking. she might be talking about what kind of a guy he was, what the sense was around the house. if i'm an intel guy, i want to know actionable information, that is who came in when did they come in what are their vulnerabilities. the likelihood that a woman living in a separate part of the house knows operational detail that could lead to another triek in my mind is low. i want to move on the information she provides and i doubt she's giving it. the information they found over there in the building where they went in and killed this guy. >> i would ooed add on the female if indeed these people were taking hostages including american she may know something about kayla mueller. you know isis would not allow men to handle her. so they would went a female. and that i'm sure fairly sure that is what they're talking to

her about. >> may have been involvement on that. mike morrell, the former deputy director of the cia says isis is bad but it's not the worst of the worst. there are other terror groups more threatening, more dangerous to the united states right now. he says its not the most significant threat to the homeland today. what other terror groups are greater threats to the u.s. homeland? >> al qaeda because they keep putting bombs on american bound planes. they haven't succeeded but they keep trying. and the group that's part of al qaeda that have link to al qaeda and yemen and ambitions to attack american aviation. >> so general hertling, they're dropping leaflets in raqqa, the capital of the isis control parts of syria and they're addressing isis the end is approaching, we're not going to stop, your destiny is to lose the war, the end is approaching, we can strike you inside your

allege ud area but you can do nothing about this. i remember during the first gulf war, the second war in iraq the u.s. started dropping these kinds of leaflets. how effective are they against the enemy? >> when you saw it in the first gulf war, it was probably called io information operations. it's now military support operations. same thing, didn't day. what i'd suggest to you is this is the basic stuff that they're doing. and there's probably -- no. i'll say this. there is a whole lot more going on than you know about. this is the stuff that's dropped on the surface. it gets to individual fighters plays with their minds. but it's reinforced with a lot of other things some of which are in the top secret category. this is a part of the battlefield battlefield. >> psychological operations. i assume the u.s. released all of the information into the raid in syria going after the chief financial officer, part of a

psychological against isis. >> we sit here and talk about the ineffectiveness. when we talk to terrorists they build us up as ten-feet tall as well. drone strikes are something they hate. if they think we're safe in syria, now special forces are coming after us as well. >> royal navy submariner a whizzing blower he said this. it's only a matter of time before he ear infiltrated by a psychopath or a terrorist and a royal navy nuclear submarine. it could become a nuclear disaster. here's the question. are nuclear submarines that vulnerable? >> i'm not an expert in that area but i'm very skeptical. these there the crown jewels of every country and there are a lot of safeguards. >> do you agree, phil? >> there's two questions here. did he raise things that the navy should look at.

they're looking at terrorists. the first thing they're thinking about is not how to infull trait a top secret environment. they're thinking about how to blow something up. this is the last thing on their agenda agenda. >> i've been on a submarine. everything the navy does on the submarine is checked and double checked. you're not going to do anything as an individual on a u.s. nuclear submarine. >> or a british submarine? >> i can't speak to that. >> guys, thanks to all of you for coming in. coming up prominent women from around the world, including gloria steinem, they are right now in north korea. will kim jong-un allow them to go ahead with a peace demonstration. up next breaking news from waco texas where they're hunting for several dangerous members of biker gangs. they were arrested after a shootout. get this. they were let go by mistake.

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we're following breaking news from waco texas with a manhunt is under way for three bike ares detained after a deadly brawl and shootout and then released by mistake. cnn national correspondent is in waco right now. what's the latest there? why were the three bikers released? >> reporter: we're just getting some developing news. there had been a statewide manhunt throughout the day and we're just learning from our

affiliate kewe news two of the three who were mistakenly released they've now surrendered to the police. this is something the police were hoping for. but they are still looking for one outstanding suspect. this suspect, the third one who is still out there, they were all mistakenly released. how did this happen? well this is an extraordinarily large crime scene for the city. there are still cars that are going through one by one. there's still just 30 minutes ago, our camera man shot long guns being pulled out of a vehicle, a bullet proof vest. when they arrested the 170 suspects three of them who were booked early on they had their bond set at 50,000 dollars and they were let go because they paid the 10%, the $5,000 and they walked out. so two of them now back into custody. one still being hunted for by the police. why $1 million bond? the sheriff of this county says

he's trying to send a message to the biker gangs. here's what he says. >> so many times it's like a resolving door. people commit a crime, they'll commit robbery, put a bond on them aenl call a bondsman and get out immediately. they're back on the street and we deal with them over and over. there's so many of the people that we have in custody now on these charges that it will be a way to keep them in jail or at least ensure that they will show up for court if they make that bond. >> reporter: so how are they going to ensure that the bond stays high? for the most serious offenses every single one of them are going to have to go before the judge to ask the judge to lower the bond. they're hoping to keep this as high as possible for as long as possible. >> what are authorities saying about more violence in the days and weeks ahead? what's their assessment? >> reporter: their assessment

now is that this was a very very real threat. in the first 24 hours, you could feel the tension here. the police presence was sproodly high. there were snipers on top of some of the buildings in this commercial shopping strip. in the first 24 hours it was very real. the police calling it a green light threat against officers in this state. well that has since abated in part because police are reaching out to the biker gangs, they're asking for calm. they're also asking for a truce among the biker gangs. they're hoping that the bloodshed will end. >> thank you very much. let's get some insight from tom fuentes, a former assistant director of the fbi. you know a lot about these biker gangs, don't you? they're pretty dangerous, aren't they? >> right. the fbi has taken them on for years, the atf is heavily involved in investigating them the dea. all of the operations have had

undercover operations assisting state and local police throughout the county. the ban detos are in every state, they have 93 chapters all over the state, 13 international chapters throughout europe. they're a big organization 2,000 to 2500 members. >> you were just in australia and they're very concerned. >> they have a similar incident in a restaurant in queensland and the result was not having nine people shot but they had a brawl. australia passed laws including not more than three of them can be together wearing the colors. they cannot congregate. belonging to the organization is illegal. they've taken this very seriously because of the high rate of murder drug trafficking and all of the activities. this is not a social club like this guy that was interviewed yesterday. these guys are organized crime

members. >> in australia and parts of europe they've got stricter laws right? >> they have stricter laws. basically try to use many of the tools that are similar to our rico rico statutes to address them. they're not even the number one. we raik hell's angels number bun in the u.s. >> what about the other group? >> they're less important. and it's thought that the purpose of the summit meeting that they were having at the restaurant was for the banditos. >> you think they might take revenge and target police in waco or other parts of the country? >> i actually don't think they'll do it in a big way. i think they may reis sort to ambush and sniping at police when police are venerable. police are always vulnerable in uniform and in police cars. i don't think they're going to

want to have a war with the police in this country which means all federal, state and local agencies. i don't think they're going to be that stupid. maybe for a couple of days. they talked about being angry on sunday. but i think cooler heads will prevail. and not to mention, a lot of the guys now, if they're on bikes, they're going to be on bicycles because the police impounded their motorcycles. >> so many of them are being charged with capital murder which in texas carries the death sentence. >> it does. that's going to be a long investigation. they're going to have to do the autopsies on all of the bodies pull the bullets to match to all of the firearms that were fired that day, look at all of the videos the witness statements. it sounds like the restaurant owners or employees have not been cooperative. they were telling the police originally there was no violence nothing wrong up side the restaurant the crime scene investigation is showing blood and violence in the restaurant as well as the parking lot. it's going to be a very long difficult investigation. >> we're told the police in waco are going to have a news

conference in the coming minutes. we're going to monitor that. don't go too far pay way. also other news we're following, north korea's dictator has found a new reason to become angry. it's because of a shortage get this of lobsters. we'll have details.

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breaking news. we're standing by for more information from police in waco texas. we're seeing reports that two of the three biker gang members who were released by mistake have now surrendered. they're in jail. we're going to stay on top of this story and update you as we

get more information. other news we're following, including the progress of a peace demonstration, peace demonstrators arriving in north korea. but its state-run media is paying attention to a much different story today. it released pictures of an angry kim jong un making an inspection visit to an aquatic farm and pointing out what he calls serious shortcomings in its production of turtles and lobsters. the peace demonstrators from around the world, including gloria steinem from here in the united states. they're in pyongyang right now. they're preparing for their march across the demilitarized zone separating north and south korea. cnn's will ripley is joining us now from tokyo. will you're monitoring what is going on with these demonstrators, these peace marchers. explain what these 30 women from the u.s. and around the world, some nobel laureates, what they're trying to achieve. >> well they've received permission from both north and

south korea, wolf to cross the demilitarized zone which we visited recently during our trip. you have soldiers from both sides that are staring each other down constantly with loaded weapons. yet here you have several dozen women, including gloria steinem, a prominent peace activist, a feminist from the '60s and '70s who will be essentially walking across both sets of soldiers. critics have accused them of being propaganda pawns for the north korean government because of course their goal is nork's goal which is to end the isolation, as they put it. but these women insist they're not prioritizing the interest of the north or the south, simply trying to call attention. >> i know there are a lot of land mines separating north and south korea. you've been there. i've been there as well. i assume there is an area that is cleared. if the north koreans have approved the march, the south koreans have approved, there is a pathway where they can go

through safely, right? >> yeah you've seen it during your visit to north korea, wolf. the dmz is very heavily built up there. are struck choernstures on both sides. last year there was a motorcade that went across there have been motorcycles that have driven across. but they all use one specific road. and in these cases, these activists are insisting on crossing a peace village. north korea has given permission for that but the south hasn't. so there is a potential for confrontation when they get to that stop if they're not allowed to cross. >> it's one of the most dangerous if not the most dangerous spot on earth. a million north korean troops 30,000 american troops along the dmz as well. how is this whole peace march being received in south korea? >> well anything that happens in north korea is greeted with

skepticism in south korea. often the reports are not favorable towards the north. again, these women have been accused by some critics of playing into the north's propaganda. they in pyongyang they're taking tours of some of the best government projects that kim jong un has to offer. but of course we know, wolf that's not the reality of life for millions of people in that the country. >> you were just in north korea the other day. we'll stay in close touch with you. we hopefully will be able to speak with some of the women in the coming days as well. will ripley reporting from tokyo. coming up, the white house calls the fall of a major iraqi city a setback, and says a long slog lies ahead in the war against isis. are iraqi forces up to the task? and faulty air bags movementer than 30 million cars may have them here in the united states. your car affected by a safety record recall?

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happening now, bloody purge as isis push beyond a newly captured city. some are airlifted to safety while tens of thousands of civilians are stranded or slaughtered. why is the u.s. standing by? it's a strategy. record recall. more than 30 million cars on u.s. roads now are at risk of having faulty air bags. are you in danger from what is becoming the largest auto recall in history? breaking her silence. hillary clinton answers questions she has avoided for nearly a month. did she ease controversies dogging her campaign or pour fuel on them? and signing off. after more than three decades of

late night laughs we'll take a look at david letterman's biggest moments, and one of his most enthusiastic guests. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >> this is anyone breaking news. >> breaking news. a massive auto recall doubles in size making it the largest in history. up to 34 million cars may have faulty air bags made by the japanese company takata. that's nearly one out of every seven vehicles on the road in the united states right now. stand by. you're going to find out if your car is at risk. also breaking isis fighters are pushing beyond the captured iraqi city of ramadi expanding their power and widening their trail of blood and terror. the white house now admitting that the loss of ramadi is clearly a setback. i'll ask the top democrat in the house intelligent committee about that. congressman adam schiff is standing by live, along with our correspondents and analysts. they're covering all the news

breaking right now. first, let's go to our pentagon correspondent barbara starr for the very latest. barbara? >> wolf, tonight the white house sticking to the talking point. the pentagon sticking to the talking point. it's just a setback. but military reality on the ground may be very different. tens of thousands of iraqis on the run, fleeing ramadi from isis' brutal takeover. now many sick and stranded in the desert. the obama administration defensive about what has happened. >> are we going to light our hair on fire every time there is a setback in the campaign against isil? >> reporter: hundreds may have already been killed. >> one of the most horrific aspects of this as the isis fighters went through the town that. >> massacred children wives of the townspeople. >> reporter: less than 70 miles from baghdad, ramadi extends isis' influence. >> to lose a city to isis the

new incarnation of al qaeda in iraq is a huge blow. and it's one that we should not sugarcoat and say it's it just doesn't matter. because it does matter and it matters a great deal. >> reporter: some iraqi troops had to be airlifted out of the city. >> atlantis are abandoning position one area after another. >> reporter: in the end, there was no help from the central government in baghdad. >> the iraqi army didn't have a good sense of what was happening in the city. clearly, the islamic state had been making inroads over the preceding weeks and months. and ramadi was a foundation rotting from within. >> reporter: shia militiamen are gathering outside of ramadi for a possible counterattack. sunni tribes are asking for arms. u.s. air strikes will continue. cnn has learned u.s. military commanders have for now ruled out special forces on the ground to help pick out targets inside ramadi.

but after the successful raid in syria that killed an isis leader and captured his wife more ground missions could happen as the u.s. targets leaders who have specific intelligence. >> do you run hostage operations of the situation faced by kayla mueller, along with two of our journalist there's satloff and fulley. the fact those three were killed and this commander in isis presumably had a hand in it since he ran hostage operations is another reason why eliminating him from the battlefield is important. >> and, wolf no word yet on what intelligence may have been gained about those americans and the conditions in which they were held by isis. wolf? >> all right, barbara, thank you. the u.s.-led coalition says it's launched 21 new air strikes on isis targets in syria and iraq including ramadi. but the terror group's reach is spreading well beyond those two

countries. brian todd is here with more on the expansion of isis. what are you learning brian? >> wolf some chilling information from u.s. intelligence officials. they tell us isis is moving beyond its center of gravity in iraq and syria, that it's increasingly using libya as a safe haven, a foothold for logistics for joint training with its regional allies a place where the group could possibly plot attacks against u.s. interests or against allies' interests in europe. top operatives have been sent to libya for recruiting to establish weapons pipelines back to isis units in iraq and syria. they're establishing camps, cells and using libya as a hub for propaganda, like the recent images of ethiopian christians on a libyan beach being behead. officials tell us the chaotic civil war in libya has enabled isis to gain a foothold there, but its ambitions do not end in libya. analysts say isis is lending support to allies on egypt's

sinai peninsula. making inroads in tunisia and with boko haram. and it wants to position itself to a rival to the taliban in afghanistan and pakistan wolf. >> there is really frightening concern among european officials about the isis presence in libya in north africa on the mediterranean, not far from italy. >> wolf that is a huge concern tonight among european officials. and here is what they're telling us. that it's a major concern that isis might try to sneak its fighters on to those migrant boats heading north from libya across the mediterranean to infiltrate europe. when you see how far they have to go you can see why european officials are so worried about this. it's only 325 miles from libya to sicily. and just 189 miles from libya to the italian island of lampedusa. also this italian coastline is not patrolled at all. they have free rein. >> libya is a failed state, so dangerous the u.s. embassy was shut down last year and

evacuated. no u.s. military or diplomatic personnel in libya right now. brian, thanks very much. let's get some more on what is going on. joining us, the ranking democrat on the house intelligence committee adam schiff of california. congressman, thanks very much for joining us. so now the u.s. has released the real name of abu sayyaf the so-called chief financial officer of isis that was killed in the daring u.s. delta force raid. his real name el tunisi the tunisian. what role did he really play? how important of a guy was this? >> he was a very important guy in terms of the financing of isis. and by some entertainments they derive up to a million and a half dollars a day just from their oil sales. they also have kidnapping operations. they levee fees and fines on people. so he is a key figure in their financing. now, he is not the very top leadership of isis itself. but nonetheless, he is viewed as having critical insights on how their finances are structured,

who is responsible for the smuggling of oil and revenues back and forth, a lot of it over the turkish border. a lot of potential intelligence insights can be gained now from his wife as well as the asdidi captive and the electronic materials seeds. >> did they find a lot of documents and electronic material in that building? >> there was a substantial amount that was seized. we don't know yet what has been found in terms of exploiting that. my guess is that began immediately because there is the potential for fallen operations. but at this point, we're looking forward to briefing later in the week on what we've been able to ascertain. >> we heard from james risch, a member of the senate intelligence that um sayyaf, the wife of this guy is talking. what is she saying? >> that i don't know. >> do you believe she has useful information? >> i think that she does. that's certainly the understanding and expectation that she had a role beyond that of being the spouse, that she may have had her own

responsibilities. or certainly be knowledgeable of her husband's responsibilities. so we absolutely hope to gain insights from her. >> do we know if this husband and wife were directly responsible for the killing of any of those american hostages? >> one of the things we're going look at is what role they may have had in any hostages or what they may know about the financing of their operations by hostage-taking. so without commenting on a particular case we're certainly going to want to find out any information they have on hostage taking. >> where is she being interrogated? >> well i can't comment on that. i think we are working in conjunction with iraqi authorities. she is an iraqi citizen, as i understand, and ultimately the decision will be made jointly about where she ought to be brought for disposition or prosecution. >> because what happens after they're done interrogating her, and they've gotten whatever useful information they might have what happens? they leave her in iraq? bring her to the united states put her in a prison here? do you know what they do with

her? >> probably depends on what the evidence is against her. if she did have an operational role in the organization or if she had any role at all in terms of hostages then i think there is a much higher probability that she'll be brought to the united states for prosecution. otherwise, she may very well be provided to the iraqi authorities. but i don't know what the disposition would be. >> have you ever heard of this abu sayyaf before this raid? >> i had heard the name. i frankly didn't know much about him. i certainly know a fair amount about the financing of isis. but in terms of the particular personalities, there is not a lot i could have told you about him before the operation. >> based on what you know right now, and obviously there is still more information you need to know. but based on what you know right now, was it worth the risk to the delta force commandos to do this raid go in with these helicopters, these ospreys go, in there, risk their lives to capture this guy? >> wolf i think it's a very close call and a gutsy call by the commander in chief. i'm going wait to see not only what we find because then that's just the advantage of hindsight, but what we expect to be able to gain from the

intelligence. because i am very concerned about the risks. had one of our people been killed or worse captured and then killed you can imagine the reaction of the public and the momentum for further escalation in terms of our role and our boots on the ground. so that has to be weighed very carefully. and i don't want to see us rush into a lot more of these operations without thinking about the real consequence if one of them goes bad. because these are unpredictable. and you saw just by the estimates of the number of security people that were killed by our forces this wasn't easy by any means. >> was it smart to release this information, to tell the world what the u.s. tried to do? >> i think it is. i think we're still behind in the propaganda warfare with isis. and letting the world know letting isis know letting people who are watching isis around the world know that we can go after these people, that we do it very well that in fact has been released a used civilians as human shields in

these operation, hid behind women. i think it is use to feel get that information out. >> congressman, i want you to stand by. we have more to talk about, including the major setback as some are calling it in ramadi. what happened? where were those iraqi troops when the iraqi people needed them? we'll have much more with congressman adam schiff and the intelligence committee right after that. that's going to go right in your glove. ohhh. oh. see that? great job. ok, now let's get ready for the ball... here it comes... here you go. good catch. perfect! alright now for the best part. let's see your pour. ohhh...let's get those in the bowl. these are way too good to waste, right? oh, yea. let's go for it... around the bowl and... [ male announcer ] share what you love... with who you love. mmmmm. kellogg's frosted flakes... they're g-r-r-reat! good catch dad. [ laughs ] why do we do it? why do we spend every waking moment, thinking about people? why are we so committed to keeping you connected? why combine performance with a conscience?

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we're getting some breaking news. cnn has now confirmed that a cruise ship has run aground near bermuda. the ship the norwegian dawn it ran into a reef about 50 minutes ago in bermuda's north channel there. 2,675 people on board, we're told. we're told the ship is not, repeat not taking in any water

there are no reports of pollution or injuries for that matter. we'll stay on top of this story update you. but the norwegian dawn has run aground near bermuda. let's get back to the other breaking story we're following right now, the u.s. strategy against isis. we're back with the top democrat on the house intelligence committee, congressman adam schiff of california. susan rice, the president's national security adviser says as a result of what happened in ramadi over the past few days, the iraqi military collapsing fleeing. the city is now fully under the control of isis. she says this is going to be a long slog the war against isis in iraq right now. this looks like pretty much of a disaster what happened in ramadi. >> it's a serious setback. and there is no sugarcoating it. it means i think we really have to redouble our efforts to get the baghdad government to incorporate the sunnis more fully in the military, to help better arm the sunni tribes and give them more encouragement to rise up and challenge isis. i don't think the answer is more

iranian-backed shia militias. and i don't think the answer is american boots on the ground but rather addressing some of the sectarian problems that have yet to peel the sunni tribes away from isis. >> the sectarian problems as you know you've studied iraq they've been around in that part of the world for hundreds of years, the riff, the battles between shia and sunni. the only reason they were contained was saddam hussein during his rule he was such a butcher, such a tyrant he could control it. sort of like tito did in the former yugoslavia. now they're back to this kind of sectarian fighting that is going on. what makes you or any other analyst think that the u.s. or anyone else can stop it? >> well we're not going to solve that rift which as you say guess on for practically a millennia. but i think we also have to look at how isis has exploded this because it wasn't just saddam who kept a lid on this. it's also the fact that isis purposely went out and tried to stir up these sectarian

instincts and frictions and divisions by blowing up shia mosques, by antagonizing and killing the shia. and that i think has contributed to this escalation this orgy of violence. so we're not going to be able to fully resolve that. and i don't think we should try. but i think we can and have to insist that the iraqi government to the best it can tamp down these tensions. if iraq wants to stay one country, it's going to have to find a way to be inclusive of sunnis, kurds, and shia. and i don't think that these political problems that the iraqi government has is there yet their unwillingness out to compel us to put our boots on the ground instead. >> mosul fell to isis last year a city of nearly two million people. hundreds of thousands of people fled. isis remains in control. now ramadi, a city of half a million people, the capital of the anbar province falls to isis. 120,000 people have fled there. who know what's the isis trips are doing.

in both of these cities, the iraqi military collapse they ran away and left tons of u.s. military hardware sophisticated military equipment, tanks, armored personnel carriers artillery behind. do you support giving the iraqi military any more u.s. military equipment that they could potentially abandon and hand over to isis? >> well i certainly don't support them putting those kind of armaments in position. do. >> you have any confidence in the iraqi military right now? >> you know unfortunately we have to deal with iraqi military that they have. and we have to try to build its capacity. and there are going to be setbacks -- >> setbacks sounds like a modest word. james risch, a republican member of the senate intelligence committee, he was just here in the last hour. he says this is a lot worse than just a setback. >> well i think it's a very serious setback. anyway you call it it's harmful to the cause, and it's something we're going have to overcome. and it's part of the seesaw nature of this conflict. i think as master irish points out, this is going to be a long

slog. when you look at it overall we have shrunk the amount of territory in iraq that isis controls. that's positive. but yet at the same time we're way far away from any kind of a retaking of mosul. and now we've got to retake ramadi. and the challenges are extraordinary. but i don't think that means we can back away from a commitment to the iraqi government and helping to arm these sunni tribes to combat the scourge. >> do you think this prime minister real slay good guy, the haider abadi that took over for nuri al maliki? >> i think abadi. the question is whether he has the capability, the political ability to bring the sunnis in to overcome some of the shia opposition to overcome frankly, the scourge of nuri al maliki who is still waiting in the wings, aggravating the sectarian divisions and wanting to make a comeback. >> let's see what happens, congressman. thanks very much for coming in. >> thanks wolf. >> adam schiff is a ranking member of the house intelligence committee. up next we'll dig deeper in

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the isis commander killed in

a u.s. raid in syria is now being identified is el tunisi, who is in charge of oil and gas financing for isis. the u.s. defense secretary ashton carter called his death a significant blow to the terror group. let's get some analysis on what is going on. joining us our cnn national security analyst fran townsend. the former u.s. delta force commander, our cnn global affairs lieutenant colonel james reece. and intelligence and security analyst bob baer. we learned the real name of this isis commander today. i never heard of him, but i'm not an expert. had you ever heard of this guy before? >> wolf never heard of him. i think he is a middling official dealing in stolen oil is pretty widespread that part of the world. he may have a lot of information on his computers would could be very interesting. but the real people they would like to go after are the ones that know the plans and intentions of isis.

the officers who led that attack on ramadi a lot of them are former iraqi officers. those are the kinds of people you want but they're out of range. and you sort of take what you can get at the beginning of a war. >> colonel reece for the president of the united states to authorize an operation like this and you're a former delta force commander, it's a high risk operation you. don't want these delta force commandos, their helicopters, the ospreys to be blown up if you will. you got to think there is really some high value there, right? >> well wolf any time you put helicopters in the air with any type of force, it becomes a higher risk operation. but with this type of force, the joint special operation command in the unit going out to do this type of operation, you can't leave a ferrari in the garage and expect it to continue to run. these guys have been doing this for almost 14 years now, and very successful. this is what the american taxpayer pays to have these type of soldiers to do these type of

operation. but here is something else. don't get caught in the aspect of high value target. this isis network is a high value network. and there have been times where because we don't have the home field advantage like we used to have in iraq we could walk the streets. we are a out there now. we have to find a slot and a chance to get in. so we find that intel. we grab that guy grab the other intel, it starts to implode the rest of the network. >> but fran you worked at the white house for president bush you. were the homeland security adviser for the president of the united states to approve a raid like this with all the dangers involved obviously to the delta force commandos, you got to think that there is something really huge at the end. >> that's right, wolf. look i don't -- colonel reese is right. if you've got a target of opportunity and the special forces are very experienced now this many years into a war. but let's remember. this is an operation that was incredibly risky. one's got to believe that they thought there was more than this sort of, as bob baer said mid

level guy who by the way there are less oil revenues because there has been air operations to disrupt the oil fields. so whether or not this guy was involved in an american hostage holding or killing, whether or not he had access or they believed there was a more senior level individual in or about that compound those are the things that the administration and the intelligence community aren't talking about. but you got to believe there is more than just this mid level guy there. >> yeah you got to believe that for a t president to authorize a risky mission like this. there has to be something else there. bob baer let's talk about the collapse of the iraqi military in ramadi, the capital of the anbar province. they fled. they left a lot of equipment behind. you think -- do you have confidence that the iraqi military can regroup and retake ramadi? >> no. there is no way, wolf that the military can do it. it's just not there. not been enough time for training equipping. it doesn't have the morale.

i think the shia militias could probably take ramadi with the concerted effort with our help, the help of the iranians as well. but problem is at what price would you have to flatten that city? and that's pretty much what happened in tikrit. it was flattened. and it sent a message to the sunnis they're in trouble. and what happens when they're in trouble is they tend to allay with the islamic state, which is exactly what we don't want of course. >> colonel reese, you were just there in iraq and you've been there many times. what is your analysis about the iraqi military right now? because you know a lot of us we have lost so much confidence in their capability despite the decade of training, financing, arming them by the united states? >> at the soldier level, wolf they've got a great special forces that we've trained. one of their great problems is in leadership at the more company command, battalion command brigade level and the logistics to help them command.

but bob is right. with the iraqi security forces al amar'e, a former member of parliament and now is the badder commander, he has 3,000 of the bader corps. so it's going to take a combination of all the elements of national power that iraq has to get ramadi back. >> fran quickly, you have confidence in the iraqi military? >> look we've had too much experience to have confidence that they can do it alone. i agree with colonel reese and bob baer. i really think what you've got to do is have all elements not only iraqi power, be uyou to have american support. real american support could have helped to prevent the isis taking of ramadi and we failed the iraqis. not only were the iraqis weak themselves. >> fran townsend bob baer reese, thanks very much. the largest automobile recall in american history. millions of cars on u.s. roads may have a fatal flaw. hillary clinton breaking her

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some more breaking news. exploding air bags blamed for at least five deaths. they're prompting the largest auto recall in american history. millions of vehicles, including some of the most popular cars on american roads right now cnn's

tom foreman is here in "the situation room." he's got details. tell our viewers what they need to know about this recall. >> wolf, this is really stunning and alarming. you're talking about an unprecedented recall involving 34 million vehicles, almost a dozen car companies, and a truly lethal defect. exploding air bags that can fire bits of metal at passengers with so much force, police say some victims look as if they've been shot or stabbed. u.s. transportation secretary anthony fox said today the recall will save lives. >> the air bag inflaters we suspected did not work correctly. and we believe that they have been responsible for at least five deaths in the united states. >> reporter: serious injuries too. cory burdick was in an accident in florida. his lawyer says the air bag should have protected him. >> instead, the air bag explode and sent a 3 1/2 inch piece of steel into his face taking out

one of his eyes. now he is horribly disfigured unfortunately. >> reporter: the air bag manufacturer is the japanese company takata, one of the biggest in the world. and for months takata has tried to limit the recall saying the accidents occur only in areas with very high humidity. the government unsatisfied with such claims, pounded takata with more than a million dollars in fines. >> up until now, takata has refused to acknowledge that their air bags are defective. that changes today. >> reporter: the most serious accident so far have involved hondas. but the recall also involves fords, chrysler mazdas bmws, in all, 11 manufacturers and part suppliers so far. and the recall process could be a long one. >> the big question is how long is this going to take? nobody knows that yet there is no question, it could be some years. >> reporter: the manufacturer issued a statement saying it remains committed to consumer safety but like the government it does not yet know why the air bags are exploding.

although takata has devoted tremendous resources to these efforts with some of the leading researchers in this field worldwide, it is clear that this is a complex issue which takes time to fully evaluate. so if you don't know if your car is on this recall list officials urge you to go to the website safercar.gov and find out. and if your car is there, or if you already know it's on the list they say you should immediately contact your local dealership and arrange for the necessary repairs. wolf we were really never seen anything quite like this in the automotive business in this country. >> 30 million cars. >> unbelievable number. and a lot of people out there in danger. >> safercar all one word. >> dot gov. >> thank you very much very much. hillary clinton is breaking her news media silence, talking to reporters today for the first time in four weeks. the democratic presidential candidate faced a volatile of questions, five specifically

about some of the controversies dogging her campaign. our senior washington correspondent is traveling, covering her campaign in iowa right now. she was talking about small businesses. but jeff, that's not what reporters wanted to question her about, was it? >> wolf hillary clinton knows better than most that presidential candidates must take questions from voters and occasionally from reporters. but this criticism was threatening to overtake her message. that's why she relented today in cedar falls. >> hey, are you all ready? tell me something i don't know. >> reporter: for the first time in 28 days, hillary clinton answered reporters' questions. >> well hello, everyone. >> reporter: about the long wait to see her state department e-mails. >> i have said repeatedly i want those e-mails out. nobody has a bigger interest in getting them released than i do. >> reporter: the release of more than 50,000 pages of e-mails could take until january of 2016. but a federal judge said today

they should come sooner in small batches every two months. clinton said she agreed never mind that her decision to use a private e-mail server started the whole controversy. >> i'm repeating it here in front of all of you today. i want them out as soon as they can get out. >> how you? >> reporter: the criticism for not taking questions as other candidates do overshadowed her campaign swing through iowa. she defended her relationships with some controversial clinton allies. >> have i many, many old friends. and i always think that it's important when you get into politics to have friends you had before you were in politics. and to understand what is on their minds. >> reporter: she downplayed the influence of her friend sydney blumenthal who sent her private e-mails on libya, which she then passed around the government. she did not say whether she knew he had business at stake. >> i'm going to keep talking to my old friends, whoever they

are. >> reporter: she also defended the clinton foundation and its foreign donations. >> i'm so proud of the foundation. i'm proud of the work that it has done and that it is doing. i'll let the american people make their own judgments. >> reporter: on the iraq war, an issue tripping up republicans, she made her regret clear. >> look i know that there have been a lot of questions about iraq posed to candidates over the last weeks. i've made it very clear that i made a mistake, plain and simple. >> reporter: now, she avoided all of the missteps of some of her republican rivals on the iraq war. of course she experienced some of those of her own during her first campaign eight years ago. but wolf she is going through iowa and new hampshire, early early states trying to she is a different and more experienced candidate the second time around. wolf? >> all right jeff, stand by. i want to bring in our chief congressional correspondent dana bash and our chief political analyst gloria borger. if the e-mails start coming out on a rolling basis, gloria between now and january, how is that going to play out?

how is that going to impact the campaign? >> i spoke with the senior adviser to the clinton campaign today. they said to me, look one thing you have to understand is these are decisions being made by government bureaucrats and not by politicians. because if it were up to any political candidate, you would never want a kind of rolling coverage about a story that is really not good for you. but they have absolutely no control over this. and they just have to kind of live with it. and they figure the e-mail story is going to dog them one way or another. but this does stretch it out. >> she would rather get them all out now and not have to worry about it as we get closer to iowa and new hampshire than a general election. >> exactly. i think the most candid part of that press conference was her pleading with the state department to work as fast as they can to get these e-mails out. it's not because she is dying for them to become public. it's because she wants them to become public now or at least not two weeks before the iowa caucuses. >> what are her aides, jeff saying about why she finally decided to take a few questions from reporters today?

>> wolf i think it's quite simply just her message was being overtaken by all this criticism from republican of course, who are having a field day saying she is not answering questions. and even some democrats had started to join in saying she needs to make her position sort of more explicit on some things. it was clear that today seeing the day that she was going to answer a couple of questions. but let's be honest about this. she took five questions. she was in good hume. >> and she wasn't defensive. but this is far from the end. this is just the beginning. >> it is going to put her republican critics, dana, to rest? >> no. nothing she ever does will ever put republican critics to rest. let's be clear about that. but to jeff's point, five questions is better than zero, but it is only a start. and it's not just from reporters who are traveling with her who like to be able to have some contact, just as those of us who are covering republicans like to

have contact with all 675,000 republicans who are running for president. but look, it's not just that. it's also genuine interaction with voters. yes, she is having them behind the scenes but it would be nice to be able to witness those for the cameras. >> you know she doesn't need to get her name recognition up. everybody knows who hillary clinton is. a lot of these republican candidates want to get rell known, and they want to do all this free media. so they can get out there. hillary clinton has a very different problem. she's got reintroduce herself to a public that has been watching her for decades, and she has to seem relatable. and you can't seem relatable if people never see you relate on camera. and so i think she was sort of starting to do that a little bit. because we're not covering every event on camera that she does with a small group of people in iowa and putting it directly on the air. so you know she has to strike a balance. >> how did she do on answering the question about the $30

million she and bill clinton took in $25 million for speaking fees $5 million for her book. how did she do dealing with that question? >> in my experience covering politics and i don't know if you agree, but it's never easy for wealthy people to talk about their wealth you know. jack kennedy, whom i did not cover, could joke about it. but mitt romney had trouble talking about his wealth. and so i think what hillary did was good an answer as you could possibly give which is we're blessed. we were able to earn this money. but i have never forgotten where i came from. >> let me get jeff. jeff, you're out in iowa. how did it play out there, at least the initial reaction to her answering some questions? >> wolf i agree with gloria. it's always difficult to talk about this. but boy, she didn't step in it like she did the year ago. and said we were dead broke leaving the white house. a much different answer from her today. so it's showing that she has been practicing and thinking about this. i thought her answer was pretty good. i'm not sure that any voter i

have ever talked to here in iowa new hampshire, any state be begrudges anyone for their wealth. the challenge for secretary clinton is showing that she is empathetic towards voters. i think when we see her in these small segments, that's what she is trying to do here. across the board she was not nearly as defensive as she was in that first press conference that i was at the united nations a couple of months ago. she was much more relaxed. so i think this was the beginning of sort of popping that balloon. and look, i remember eight years ago, she was urging the media to ask questions about all the candidates. she said it's the job to put these candidates through their paces. i think she knows that she'll be facing the same thing. >> gloria on a totally unrelated matter the vice president on beau biden. what are you learning? that. >> beau biden is at walter reed which was first reported by abc news that this has been a struggle for the family since august 2013 when he was first

diagnosed with a brain lesion and treated at a cancer center in houston, and underwent surgery. i've been told this is a serious situation. the vice president is spending an awful lot of time with his son, as you might expect. >> we all know beau biden is a wonderful man. let's wish him only the best and the entire biden family. thanks very much guys. just ahead, a very different story. we're following david letterman's legacy as he prepares to leave the world of late night television. stay with us. 40% of the streetlights in detroit, at one point, did not work. you had some blocks and you had major thoroughfares and corridors that were just totally pitch black. those things had to change. we wanted to restore our lighting system in the city. you can have the greatest dreams in the world, but unless you can finance those dreams, it doesn't happen. at the time that the bankruptcy filing was done, the public lighting authority had a hard time of finding a bank. citi did not run away from the table like some other bankers did.

citi had the strength to help us go to the credit markets and raise the money. it's a brighter day in detroit. people can see better when they're out doing their tasks, young people are moving back in town the kids are feeling safer while they walk to school. and folks are making investments and the community is moving forward. 40% of the lights were out, but they're not out for long.they're coming back.

with xfinity from comcast you can manage your account anytime, anywhere on any device. just sign into my account to pay bills manage service appointments and find answers to your questions. you can even check your connection status on your phone. now it's easier than ever to manage your account. get started at xfinity.com/myaccount david letterman fans are bracing for the big good-bye. tomorrow night, he hosts his

final late show on cbs, wrapping up a three decade career on late night tv. like all of us we have all enjoyed watching letterman over all of these years at home. i also enjoyed a peering on his show. i was a target of a few of his jokes. i got to deliver a top ten line at least once or twice. i even had a dramatic cameo involving band leader paul schaefer and his cape. watch this. >> wolf blitzer! wolf blitzer! wolf blitzer! >> beautiful, wolf. >> it was very funny. cnn will look back at letterman's career and his

impact on late night tv. my friend and colleague jake tapper is here. he's anchoring a special report later tonight. and i know jake you take a look at some of the funniest moments on the late show let's watch this. watch this for a moment. >> can i speak to you a second? >> will you people leave me alone? this is an experiment. the stuff on the right side is tingling. it's working. that's what that means. >> david letterman could seemingly find humor anywhere. >> there you go. >> oh, gosh. >> look who's there. >> by the late '80s, all the cool kids wanted to hang with dave including jay leno who had come up with letterman doing stand-up in the '70s. >> i'm not the kind of guy to brag. >> leno was a dream guest. whatever else was going on we would say, we got leno next thursday. >> so all right, jake what kind of legacy will david

letterman leave behind? >> i think he leaves behind a tremendous legacy when it comes to first of all, he was one of the first broadcasters to really show behind the scenes to show the scenes of the broadcast, the mistakes being made the cue cards, the guys in the control room. he let the viewer into that world. it's not fairly commonplace, even on news shows, you do that. much less late night, but he was really an innovator of that. and also i think his kind of dry wit really was the zeitgeist for the '80s and '90s, and he had tremendous influence in this documentary, we talk to seth meyers jimmy kimmel conan o'brien, all talking about the kind of huge influence he leaves behind him. >> you worked hard on this documentary. jake you traveled all over the country. you interviewed all these people. take us a little bit behind the scenes, and you learned more about david letterman in the course of this reporting, didn't you? >> i learned a lot more.

i have been such a big fan of his since i was -- when i was a kid in the '80s and '90s. and one of the things that was so interesting to me is the fact that he was so -- he had such self-loathing in that era. there was such misery and he was hard on his writer but very very hard on himself. he talk about not just the fun times, although the documentary is full of hilarious clips. but also the complex person who caused controversy and obviously had a scandal or two. and then of course the big drama of his showdown with jay leno over the "tonight show." there's a lot of human drama in addition to a lot of hilarity. >> talk a little bit about that self-loathing. >> well i mean he's just a guy who, this is not that uncommon with comedians, but a lot of his humor comes from a very dark place. and even though he's a very crisp and clean broadcaster and

somebody for whom word play is enjoyable, and he always presented a very confident image, he is somebody who has been racked with self doubt and in fact one of the writers, steve o'donnell, who you saw in the clip talked about how letterman during breaks would be writing on a pad of paper, i hate myself i hate myself. he would underline it over and over. i do think that thankfully for dave and his family he has found some serenity some comfort in the last few years through ssris. he takes medication through meditation 33through therapy. perhaps most importantly, since he became a father he has an 11-year-old son harry who he talks about, and that's the most potent elixir in terms of him bekfling a much happier person. >> you also know stephen colbert is going to be replacing david letterman in the fall. he will no longer play the character, stephen colbert, who

we got familiar with in the past few years. you think this is going to work? >> it's funny. i was actually with him alt the white house correspondents dinner years ago when colbert got up left came back and told me i just signed a deal to do my own show. my reaction like a jerk are you going to do that character for the whole half hour because at the time he would do it in two or three-minute sputs. i was wereorryied for my friend, would he boo able to do the character for the whole half hour. he was successful at doing the stephen colbert character. now i can say with complete confidence the actual stephen colbert who is a charming and hilarious person i have no worries about that. the concerns i had were a decade ago about the character he's leaving behind. >> we're going to be anxious to see the show later tonight. jake thanks very much. and to our viewers, please join jake for a cnn special report david letterman says good night. that airs tonight, 9:00 p.m. eastern, only here on cnn.

>> remember you can always follow us on twitter. tweet me @wolfblitzer. join us once again tomorrow on "the situation room." dvr the show so you won't miss a moment. "erin burnett outfront" starts now. olt ott next breaking news the white house tonight under fire over its strategy to defeat isis. the president and his national security team met today. my guest, former cia director general michael hayden plus 170 men charged in the deadly biker gang shootout in texas. police say they're not cooperating. we have new details about the massacre. "outfront" tonight, the former leader of hel's angels. and one man's hunt for the endangered black rhino. we went on the hunt and saw that kill. let's go "outfront."