it's 1:00 here in washington and wherever you are watching for around the world, thanks very much for joining us. we begin with breaking news out of pakistan where an american woman and canadian husband and all three of their children have been freed from the taliban. moments ago, we just learned that the husband is refusing at least for now to leave pakistan. our pent gon correspondent is here and barbara, tell us why the husband joshua boyle is refusing to board an american plane. >> well, this has been going on for several hours now according to a number of officials. we are talking to them and they were basically rescued, if you

will, by pakistani authorities when the u.s. spotted cars on the move and believed it was the family being moved from one location to another. the pakastanis called the u.s. and said we are good. we have them. all five. the american woman and the husband, canadian joshua boyle and three small children born in captivity. it developed that the husband declined to board an american military c-130 aircraft that had flown in to take them out of there. we are getting some indications that the husband may want to be returned to canada. he is nervous about coming back to the united states, that he has a reason to think he could face u.s. law enforcement. this is a man that was previously married to a woman who was part of a canadian

family that did have ties to terrorism. we are not saying that woman did, but it is a family well-known to canadian and u.s. law enforcement. we do not know to be absolutely clear if that is the precise reason that he has declined to board this plane to the united states. where we are now is several hours after this at this hour. the understanding is all five family members remain in pakistan. wolf? >> tell us about the operation that resulted in their freedom. >> well, let me start by saying that the first hint of this came actually last night when president trump was speaking and hinted that there would be very good news that a country in his words that disrespected the united states had phoned up and said they had good news to report. today the president once again thanked pakistan for carrying

this mission out. let's listen to what the president had to say. >> i want to thank the pakistani government. thank pakistan. they worked very hard on this. i believe they are starting to respect the united states again. it's very important. i think a lot of countries are starting to respect the united states of america once again. >> let's be clear. the trump administration is pressuring them to take more personality for maintaining security and going after the terror networks. i will tell you a lot of u.s. officials say show me. they want to see more evidence that pakistan is committed to this. this mission is very unique. they noticed something. intelligence had monitoring and surveillance in this border region between afghanistan and

pakistan. they noticed cars and vehicles on the move and called up the pakastanis. the u.s. by all accounts was thinking about how to mount a rescue operation of its own, believing at that time that this was the family they had been looking for for five years. by the time that passed and they were talking about it, the pakastanis said we have them. all five of them. not clear at this hour when the pakastanis moved into this mobile target. not a house or a compound. not clear what the pakastanis did or said to those who were holding them, but they did get all five back. >> it's important that they are now freed and on the ground in pakistan. the five people. the american wife and canadian husband and three kids born in captivity. you have been doing reporting on this as well. do we know if the hakani network

or the taliban received anything in exchange for the release of the five individuals. >> there is no evidence of that. they have been looking for the release of a senior member of the family who was in custody in afghanistan and that was a demand they made. the government was not going to do that. this looks like purely a rescue operation. >> sophisticated rescue by the pakistani military with the assistance of intelligence? >> from the pakistani official i have spoken to, they were pakistani intelligence agencies. we don't know what it looked like, but it being looks like vehicles because they were transferring from one place to another. pakistani military on the perimeter is the way they described it. honor that we don't know. clearly a pakistani operation. >> a strong statement from the president welcoming this

development. rex tillerson issuing a strong statement and thank the government of pakistan. a surprising twist now. the canadian husband, joshua boyle refusing to board the c-130 american plane. >> his family spent five years in custody and have three children in captivity. they had no idea this was going to happen. i can't speak to his state of mind. i can only observe if anybody spent five years in taliban custody, they are going to have strange reactions. >> that's totally understandable. five years in custody will have an impact. the president said this is happening now because of what he is doing. that was happening in the previous administration. they try to get it out of pakistan and didn't work out. what do you make of the assertion that there is greater respect by the pakastanis for the united states. >> it's hard to measure that.

a lot of people have been working 24 hours a day for this out come. there is a hostage fusion cell and other officials work on this thing all the time. doesn't matter who the president is. obviously this is a great out come. sunday president trump put pressure on pakistan to and american intelligence has been, wooing on this for a long time. >> they are out of captivity right now. the american woman and canadian husband and three little kids are free. they are in pakistan and will see what happens over the next few hours if they stay and board a plane to the united states or canada.

thank you very much. other important news we are following here in washington. president trump signed an executive order to dismantle major parts of obamacare. it has failed attempts to repeal and replace through legislation. the goal is to increase competition and lower health care for americans. the order could destable the entire existing law. sarah murray has more. complain what this will do. the president tried to overhaul obamacare multiple times and he is trying to do it as executive order. they study how to make it easier and maybe even individuals to buy their own health care and potentially across state lines. he wants to make it possible for people to buy shorter term

plans, plans that would be cheaper, but wouldn't include many of the obamacare protections for preexisting conditions that have been popular with much of the public. last but not least, he wants to make it easier for employers to offer workers money to purchase their own policies from the trump administration's perspective. they are trying to offer more flexibility and different sizes to individuals and get different kinds of plans and they hope draw more insurers into the markets they pulled out of. >> critics say the new plans released will appeal to younger and healthier individuals and people with serious conditions will pay a lot more. how does the white house respond to that some. >> the concern is that the people you end up having left this these exchanges are older and sicker and the premiums will skyrocket. the trump administration's belief is that it will increase competition and drive down

prices. this is not an administration that is concerned about setting obamacare even further off kilter. the president hinted at a number of occasions that he is willing to let it go down in flames to prompt congress to make a fix. this could be a component of that. >> an important day at the white house reporting for us. puerto rico now still very much suffering nearly three weeks after being slammed by hurricane maria, the majority of the island still has no power or drinkable water. the death toll is rising. on top of this, president trump is threatening to take away federal assistance and a series of tweets today. the president said the island's electric and all of the infrastructure was a disaster even before the hurricane. congress decided how much to spend and the government's emergency responders said they can't stay there forever. one of the cabinet members struck a different tone in a

hearing up on capitol hill a while ago. >> first of all as i was saying, puerto rico is important. >> i know it's important, but i want to know whether or not you agree with the president who is threatening to abandon puerto rico recovery efforts. >> i think i just said i have no intention of a landoning puerto rico. >> so you don't agree with the president? he tweeted it was a disaster before the hurricanes. he sought to shame the territory for their own plight. do you share that opinion? >> i think that our job is to make sure that we take care of the disaster that has occurred. >> so you don't agree it should be abandoned? >> of course it should not be abandoned. >> a lawmaker hit ben carson on the president's tweets.

listen. >> those tweets are unpresidential. the most basic fundamental responsibility of the president of the united states, the president of the most powerful country in the world is to show up and make and provide the rethat american citizens need. they don't need this insult. to kick fellow citizens when they are down is shameful. >> let me read the tweets that the president posted earlier this morning. puerto rico survived the hurricanes and now a financial crisis looms largely of their own making. a total lack of accountability. electric and all infrastructure was disaster before hurricanes

and to decide how much to spend. here's the major part. we cannot keep fema, the military and first responder who is have been amazing under the most difficult circumstances in puerto rico forever. let's go to cnn's layla santiago from san juan. the mayor clearly very outspoken about the federal response and the president's response. how is the mayor of san juan responding to the latest trump tweets? >> reporter: within minutes of trump's tweets, we were on the phone with the mayor of san juan, the capital hereof puerto rico. she was angry, wolf. she quickly said she was offended and she said the president was not fit to be president, to be the leader of u.s. citizens including those on this island. i want to read part of the statement. she said your tweets and comments show desperation and

underscore the inadequacy of your government's response to the crisis. it is not that you do not get it. it is that you are incapable of empathy and cannot get the job done. she has been very critical of the federal government's response. in the last hour, we are hearing from the governor and he said he reached out to the white house trying to get clarification from the tweets and trying to understand what did he mean when he said fema aid cannot stay in puerto rico forever. >> we have been out and about outside the area where president trump visited when he came. we are seeing that much 888 is not getting to the homes of

those most vulnerable in areas still cutoff not just by communication, but by access. communities that have people who don't have the medicine they need. who don't have the water. a third of this island without water right now. more than 80% without power right now. the reports and doctors with patient who is have had to be evacuated because the generator failed and told us they don't have what they need to care for patients on this island. this island of 3.5 u.s. citizens and the president threatening to cutoff aid. >> 3.5 million u.s. citizens and it's unclear why the president decided to issue the three tweets earlier this morning. we are working the sources trying to get an explanation of

why he decided to say at this moment less than three weeks after the hurricane devastated. we cannot keep fema and the first responder who is have been amazing under difficult circumstances forever. we hopefully will -- doing an amazing job for us in puerto rico. thank you very much. would the president's cabinet try to oust him by invoking the 25th amendment to the constitution? a former adviser said there is a good chance of that happening. we will discuss. a republican senator, not a democrat now questioning the president's commitment to his oath of office after his attacks on the first amend am. and two major events only moments away from now. getting ready to hold a news conference. that should be interesting. the white house getting ready to

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>> nebraska senator ben sass tweeted this. mr. president, are you recanting the oath you took on january 20th to preserve, protect, and defend the first amendment to the constitution? he is not alone in raising questions about the trump presidency. the source told "vanity fair" that former chief strategist steve bannon thinks the president has a 30% chance of completing his first full term. according to "vanity fair," bannon told trump the risk was not impeachment, but the 25th amendment, the provision by which the cabinet can vote to remove the president. when bannon mentioned the 25th amendment, trump said what's

that? with more on the amendment. >> tell us what that does. >> for might stem from the section four amend mendment. it lays out the path for the president in the inability. here's what would happen to set it in motion. it starts with the vice president and a majority of the 24 cabinet members that have to submit a written declaration to the leaders in the house and the senate that the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. that's the first step. if that were to happen, the vice president would immediately assume the presidency. the president then could object in writing that no inability exists. he would have to submit that to

the lead ers of the house and senate. unless the vice president and majority of the cabinet persist. they have to resubmit their declaration within days that the president is still unable to perform his duties. then the final step is it's up to congress to decide by two thirds vote within 21 days if the president is unable to continue in office. if that two thirds vote that the president is unfit, that's when the vice president would welcome acting president. as you can see from all of this, this is a long and arduous process with implications. what it comes down to is the majority of republicans would have to openly reject the president and begin a movement to oust him. while we have seen a couple of republicans speak out publicly about their concerns, it is a

long way from all of these political forces joining together to remove the president in the long process. something that has never happened. >> jessica schneideschneider, l perspective. this is the senior congressional correspondent. what's the likelihood is remote of that becoming the implementation of the 25th amendment of the constitution. >> we are pretty far from that and as jessica mentioned it's arduous and long process, but the president is increasingly

frustrated and increasingly feeling imbittered and his agenda is not getting across. we are starting to hear more republicans say things like he said and say things like he did about not just the question is whether he is fit or that is adding to the frustration he is feeling in the white house. >> he's a serious guy. he could take the country on the path to world war 3 and that sparked the bitter exchange. there is a love of chaos going on in the white house. >> first of all, i think we have

tond that invoking the 25th amendment can do damage. when you short circuit a term, you will have a sizable amount of american voters that feel like they were mistreated and things are not fair and not right. we need to understand that even though trump's rhetoric is a little bit out there at times to say the least, there is a difference between his rhetoric and the provocations that he seems to engage in. the administration is engaged and he has not tried to undo any of the institutions. s finally what i would say is

that the president seems to go through ebbs and flows where minute for about a week or so he appears to do presidential things and acts normally and then he has a big blow up and is unhappy for weeks and everybody is speculating about how long he can stand this and then things go back to normal. we will see this as a part of his presidency. we saw it in his campaign. a lot of rhetoric and not followed through with scary policy. >> steve bannon is a very controversial guy and very smart. in this article he is suggesting according to sources there is a 30% chance of the president not making it through his first four years citing the 25th amendment

and not impeachment. >> those are the odds that some gave him to winning the presidency. they said there was a 30% chance he would become president. trump is to defy odds and at the same time anything is possible. i know some people speculated he won't run for reelection. i don't buy into that yet. i think he is someone who is not a quitter who will go down fighting until the end. that's what we saw from him through that bir campaign. i'm in the camp of another years of the trump presidency. >> i'm sure a lot of these questions will be raised in the briefing expected to begin momentarily. we will have live coverage of that. let's take a quick break and get ready for the white house briefing after this. how much money do you think you'll need in retirement? then we found out how many years that money would last them.

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we are standing by for the white house press briefing momentarily. reporters are gathered and we expect the press secretary to show up with a statement to answer questions and there are lots of questions including why on this day the president of the united states decided to bring up the issue of puerto rico. i will ask you. the president in that tweet said we cannot keep fema and the first responder who is have been amazing under the most difficult circumstances in puerto rico forever. why all of a sudden is he saying that in the midst of -- it's not even three weeks. there is a crisis unfolding. a lot of people don't have power or drinking water or medical attention. there is a serious crisis and he is saying that the u.s. is not going to stay there forever even though this is part of the united states. 3.5 million u.s. citizens. >> absolutely. i think partially this is a level of frustration that

president trump feels that he believes he is not getting the credit he is due for their response to all of these storms, particularly in puerto rico. also he is looking ahead to a very costly federal bill that will fund the federal response to this and he is angry that he feels like this is a bottomless pit of spending. he is not showing any of the ecmpathy or the emotional reaching out that you would expect in a situation where people are lacking power and lacking water. 75 to 80% of the island don't have those things. he is not talking about that. he is saying the first responders and fema are doing a great job, but in terms of the people facing these horrible times, he is not saying anything except harkening back to the earlier tweets that they are ungrateful and can't expect to have the government around forever which is contrary in the

wake of the storms in florida and texas. >> in san juan, they said the governor of puerto rico who had a close relationship and said nice things about the president and was friendly when the president was down in puerto rico, the governor now asked for clarification. what does he mean by this? >>. >> the president is always brand first. no matter what he is doing and how important the situation is, if he is facing a personal attack, it's like a switch. he didn't let any attack or criticism of his performance or point of view stand. he always fights back. the problem here is that prej is facing a delicate and artuous recovery period. so much infrastructure and coach needs to be rebuild. bond holders are about to get the shaft. that will scare the private sector and make it harder for puerto rico to drum up the funds

they will need for investment. especially concerned about the debt and the comments about bankruptcy and what the island might do. the government there has been cavalier and only acted to sort of inflame the situation and make the recovery more difficult. i think the administration has to get its hands on what the strategy is and what it intends to do and let the government of puerto rico and the people know what's coming and what's not. they plan and prepare. >> i understand what the president is suggesting. i don't understand the tiling. all of a sudden the president starts tweeting about the military and fema and personnel can't stay there forever. >> why go into this again when you had what -- he was arguing that he had a successful visit and relations were good with the

governor. it doesn't make sense. like a number of things we have talked about over the nine months. on another level it doesn't make sense is let's talk about the politics if are a minute here. there is expectations for a mass migration of puerto ricans to the u.s. as u.s. citizens, they can do that. many have friends and family in florida. what happens politically if you have a mass migration of puerto ricans to florida in 2018 and 2020. it makes no sense politically and empathetically as a human being and as a president who is trying to show compassion to people. miami and the whole area to begin with. much more we are following. hours after an american mother and her canadian husband and three kids were freed from the taliban. the husband refusing to board an american plane.

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today she said this. >> things happened that should not have happened. especially and troubling foreign interference in a democratic election. we can do everything we can to prevent this abuse. >> our senior correspondent has been following them in the election and drew is joining us. >> drawing the most attention in washington here today, people cannot believe that facebook didn't know a lot of what we now know that the research agencies were buying ads trying to infiltrate and inflict the way upon the election. facebook even though they were getting paid didn't know. they failed to disclose how

facebook didn't know or when they found that out or the details. the other big question is the collusion that congress is trying to get to the bottom of. did facebook find any evidence of collusion, coordination or coincidental coordination between the trump campaign and what the russians were doing? she was vague on those answers and asked three times. here is one of the attempts at trying to get to the bottom of that answer. >> but the trump campaign and russian accounts, you don't know or won't tell me. >> when the ads get released, we will release the targeting for the ads. >> she is not saying. i know that's not sitting well with reporters and not sitting well with congressional investigators, but she is meeting on capitol hill with members of congress. there is a promise now from congress to release the ad so the people can see what they were up to and when the ads are

released, she said that facebook will release the coordinating targeted information. in other words, what the russian ads were being targeted to based on the researches being made. >> whether they were targeting wisconsin or michigan or battle ground states that the president won, but clearly won those ads. they will be released around november 1st. >> we understand that not only facebook, but twitter and google will be attending the hearings. this was not just facebook, but an effort by and in the open system to infalt rate and try to get get this and learn that

russia was playing both sides versus act vivs and lgbt and trying to discord in the u.s. electoral process that really, really is what we should be focusing on. focusing on that for the next elections and what russia is up to now. >> learning the lessons to make sure it doesn't happen again. >> good reportering. drew griffin reporting as we await the start of the briefing. they said the russia investigation is a hoax and a waste of time. you covered the white house. what are they saying behind the scenes? >> they understand that behind the scenes, this is a real investigation and whether or not they believe which many do not that russia had influence on the out come of the election, they tried to interfere ask they understand that the investigations and council is

serious business. the degree to which they need to respond and whether to have the president sit down with bob mueller and talk with him. there are real legal questions they are grappling with and the president as he saids it on the level of this is a hoax and this is all fake. this is something that is a real target for investigators. more information like we are getting on the ads and they continue to feed the investigation. >> robert mueller has a team of experienced prosecutors and lawyers looking at aspects. i'm sure that one of the issues that will come up at the white house briefing which is expected to start momentarily will be the president's attacks on the news organizations. he tweeted the fake news is going all out to demean and denigrate the hatred following the tweet yesterday that network

news has been so parse san that licenses must be challenge and revoked. not fair to public. he is getting criticized for questioning the first amendment right it a free press in this country. that will be a subject in the white house briefing. >> i'm sure that sarah huckabee sanders will blow it off as valid points and the media writing things that are not true. >> the larger implications because the courts and institutions would not allow the president to violate the first amendment if he tried. he never tried, but the rhetoric has been troubling. the implications are foreign policy and what autocrats take away could be troubling. the president has been critical for returning rough start over democracy and treating it like his own personal business.

the president said that he might play sanctions on venezuela. he can look at the things trump said and said i'm doing what the president of the united states has said. >> hold on for a moment buzz sarah huckabee sanders is starting the briefing. >> today at 5:45 p.m., the white house will hold a background briefing for reporters on the iran strategy. at 12:45 tomorrow the president will announce the strategy to the country. further details on both of those will be forth coming. until then, i know you guys have lots of questions and although i really enjoy answering them every single day, especially your more serious policy-focused questions we tend to ask in here, i thought it would be nice since we are at the white house and have the option of calling in the marines, we might call in one of our favorites, general kelly. with that, i'm going to turn it

over to the chief of staff and let him make opening comments and answer your questions and after he concludes, our team will be great to be here, a couple comments i guess and then open it up to q and a. coming into the job as chief of staff i have decided not to do too much with the press until i get my feet on the ground and figure out what base i was on on any given day. prior to this, interacting with the press a great deal, but coming into this job, i needed to get to know the lay of the land. i have done, i think, three off the records, the first of course was violated, but thank you for all of those that didn't violate the trust from those off the

record periods. i would just offer to you that although i read it all of the time pretty consistently, i'm not quitting today. i don't believe, and i just talked to the president, i don't think i'm being fired today. and i'm not so frustrated in this job that i'm thinking of leaving. i would tell you this is the hardest job i have ever had. this is, in my view the most important job i have ever had. i would offer though it is not the best job i ever had. the best job i ever had as i said is when i was an enlisted marine sergeant infantryman. so unless things change, i'm not quitting, i'm not getting fired, and i don't think they'll fire anyone tomorrow. >> you said you're not so frustrated that you're thinking

of leaving, but are you frustrated in. >> no, this is really, really hard work. running the united states of america. i don't run it, but i'm working for someone who is dedicated to serving the country in the way he talked about for a number of years. there are incredible challenges, economic challenges, health care challenges, international challenges that have to be dealt with. i don't mean any criticism to mr. trump's predecessors, but there is a lot of things that were, in my view, kicked down the road that have come home to roost right now that have to be dealt with. this is hard, hard work, john. my only frustration with all due respect to everyone in the room is when i come to work in the morning and read about things i allegedly said or things that mr. trump allegedly said, or people who are going to be fired

or whatever. it's just not true. that's my frustration, and i mean no disrespect to you. >> thank you, we hope to see you more often. let's go to one of the hard things facing you right now, the situation in puerto rico. since hear here to speak with the president, let's talk about his tweet this morning, does he believe that people in puerto rico are american citizens that deserve the same access to federal aide? >> i think he said the military and fema can't be there forever. the minute you go anywhere as a first responder, and this applies certainly to military, you're trying and working very hard to work yourself out of a job. there will be a period in which

we hope, sooner rather than later, to which the u.s. military and fema generally speaking can withdraw and then the government and the people of puerto rico are starting the process of rebuilding. i just got off of the phone with the governor of puerto rico. a great relationship. the president deals with him periodically. we saw him when we were down there last week. so you know, this country, our country, will stand with those american citizens in puerto rico until the job is done. but the tweet about fema and d.o.d. is exactly accurate. they will not be there forever, and the whole point is to start to work yourself out of a job and transition to the rebuilding process. >> christian newspaper association and in light of the president in support of pulling out of unesco, what is his

opinion on the u.n. funding -- the particular violence against the jews and the tax dollars going towards that, do you have anything about that? >> maybe not as much as i should be, but i offer that the responsible way to look at any program, and certainly when i went to dhs and did this in iraq and other places, when we're spending u.s. taxpayer money, we should look at every program and decide if it is being successful. if it is not being successful, then change it so it can be successful or sometimes you just say it is not going to work. >> a follow up to that would be the prime minister just came out today, there is a release for the government press office in israel. i met with the prime minister in may, he is very concerned, he made a statement in the

jerusalem post not too long ago. >> i would have to get more familiar, i'm sorry. >> general kelly? margaret brennan. thank you for coming out and doing this. you focus a lot on process and establishing processes here at the white house. can you explain -- >> is this the iron hand i brought to the staff? >> no, but is that how you see it? >> no, just some organization to it. but you guys with the cameras always catch me when i'm thinking hard and it looks like i'm frustrated and mad. >> what is your frustrated face? can you explain what the process was with the focus, what the president's involvement was? the pakistan raid to release these americans, kaitlyn coleman and her family? the level of the president's

involvement and awareness and -- >> i think we have roughly 20, in fact, about with four of them, the three children being u.s. citizens and the mother, we have now reduced, and i'm not making a joke here, the number of hostages by almost a third, but that's not the take away from all of the unfortunate people still being held hostage. you know, our i will use the term partners in pakistan, we have been watching for the family. what can i say? i'm not making up a lie, just staying in the classification. the pakistanis are great par er in -- partners in this regard. and i hope there will be a change, but the good news is the pakistani officials got custody

of the american citizens, three children, one adult female, and the husband is a canadian citizen. took them into custody, held them. we had arrangements to transport them back to the united states or canada, either way they want today go, medical treatment along the way. they have been essentially living in a hole for five years and that's the kind of people that we're dealing with over there. thankfully the packistapakistan officials, they are being caring for now as we speak. the events, events, events that

keep you veterans and await at night in terms of global affairs? >> the nuclear threat from north korea. the possible nuclear threat in time by the iranians. probably the biggest concern is not an immediate concern. if it continues in north korea, if other countries become nuclear powers. we have some already out there, of course. there is a real impetus for a lot of countries to develop or buy nuclear weapons. you know i would tell you this. in spite of what someone reported the other day, about the president, and i don't think he would mend me sharing this. what he said to me many, many times and to the group often times, i hear him most say about

nuclear weapons, wouldn't it be great if we could get rid of them all as opposed to needing ten times more. even more than when he references the maintenances of nuclear weapons and modernization, that doesn't mean increase in numbers. he thinks wouldn't it be great, how could we get rid of nuclear weapons. we have a great state department. doing the diplomacy thing night and days a jim mattis and i have said. if we don't fund the state department more effectively, out in the world you have the state department doing what it does every day, the americans working those issues, the u.s. military, the greatest on the planet, we don't like to think in terms of military, but the great thing is that is