♪ a very warm welcome to our

viewers watching from all around the world. i'm paula newton. ahead on "cnn newsroom," u.s. lawmakers insist default is not an option, but there's no deal yet to raise the debt limit. ahead, what this could mean for the global economy. plus new reporting from "the washington post." employees of former president trump allegedly moved boxes of papers at mar-a-lago a day before the justice department showed up to collect classified documents. memorial day weekend is just the start of what's going to be a very busy summer travel season that we're expecting. >> yes, it is the unofficial start of summer and people are packing up and heading out of town for the long weekend. just ahead, we have your travel and weather forecast. we do begin in washington where marathon talks to avoid the first-ever u.s. government

debt default appear to be making progress. sources tell cnn the white house and congressional republicans are getting closer to a deal to raise the debt limit and cap federal spending for two years. now, any cuts or caps on defense or veteran spending are reportedly off the table. the chief negotiator for house speaker kevin mccarthy is staying in washington over memorial day weekend to keep talking with the white house. >> we've been talking to the white house all day. we're going back and forth. and it's not easy. we want to make sure this is an agreement worthy of the american people. >> our efforts actually put in jeopardy those very benefits to senior citizens, like medicare and social security, because they're reserve fusing to negotiate a work requirement. so think about this for a minute. you're actually prioritizing paying people taxpayer funds to not work. >> i made clear time and again, defaulting on our national debt is not an option. the american people deserve to

know that their social security payments will be there, the veteran hospitals will remain open, and the economic progress will be made and continue to be made. default puts all that at risk. congressional leaders understand that, and they've all agreed there will be no default. and it's time for congress to act now. >> cnn's jeremy diamond has more now on the sticking points for negotiators and the potential fallout from a default. >> reporter: just one week out from the earliest possible date when the u.s. could default on its debt, president biden said that the ongoing negotiation between white house officials and house republicans are productive. but at the same time, also very clear that there are still huge gaps between these two sides. and that much was evident even in listening to the president himself. president biden talked about the need for bringing back a revenue raiser like closing tax loopholes, for example, back into the negotiations. now, that's something that the speaker of the house, kevin

mccarthy, has made very clear that he is not going to consider. and it's also clear that the white house and house republicans still have yet to agree on that topline spending number. house republicans still pushing for spending cuts while the white house says that they will accept a freeze on spending at this current year's levels for the next two years. but what we are also starting to see is that the financial markets are taking note of the potential, the increased potential, for the first-ever default in u.s. government history. i spoke on thursday with the deputy treasury skraer and here's what he said when i asked whether americans should be worried about the potential for default. >> i think we should all be worried that congress is not taking the action they need to do, which is raising is debt limit. not doing so would be a catastrophe for the economy that would have an impact across not only the united states but across the global economy. >> reporter: the stock market certainly hasn't reacted to this current debt ceiling standoff the way it did during the 2011

standoff. back then, the s&p 500 plunged 17%. but we are starting to see some early jitters in the stock market and adeyamo made clear he's watching the market of treasury securities, bonds, where the u.s. is already seeing its cost of borrowing go up as a result of the concerns around a potential default. and adeyamo said it's not just the cost of borrowing for the federal government going up but that's a cost that's passed on to the american public the longer this goes on. in particular, should a default come to passn an outcome he and other treasury department and administration officials have made clear is unacceptable, he said that the consequences of a potential default would be catastrophic. according to the "washington post," donald trump's staff was moving boxes around mar-a-lago last just a day before they knew the fbi was coming to look for

classified documents. the newspaper reports that trump also allegedly held a so-called dress rehearsal for moving sensitive papers before they were subpoenaed about a year ago. john causesy of the "washington post" spoke to cnn about his report. >> what we're learning is that one day before federal aut authorities came to mar-a-lago last june to pick up classified documents in return for a subpoena, that video camera footage shows two trump employees, two employees of the former president, mar-a-lago employees, moving boxes back into the storm room. as you remember, when the feds arrived at mar-a-lago, trump's team said, come with us to the storm room, that's where the documents are, you can do a search. they would not let them in the boxes. what we've reported is the boxes were previously moved after they arrived, and the night before

federal officials came to mar-a-lago, they were put back into the storage room. >> investigators reportedly view the timing as a potential sign of obstruction. more than two years after the deadly attack on the u.s. capitol, two convicted ring leaders of the insurrection were handed stiff prison sentences thursday. the judge had harsh words for oath keepers founder stewart rhodes as he sentenced him to 18 years in federal prison, the longest sentence handed down so far. rhodes, who played a central role on january 6th, was unrep unrepentant, deplayering himself a political prisoner. the judge sternly scolded rhodes saying, "you pose an ongoing peril and threat to our democracy and the fabric of this country. i dare say we all now hold our collective breaths when the election is approaching." by contrast, kelly megs, who led the group's florida chapter, was contrite and said he regretted his actions on january 6th. he was given a 12-year sentence.

so far, 22 oath keepers have been convicted or pleaded guilty to various federal cripes. eight, including rhodes and megs, were convicted of seditious conspiracy. after a glitchy online newest candidate in the republican race for the white house has reportedly raked in more than $8 million in the first 24 hours of his campaign. now ron desantis is sharpening his tack on the republican front-runner. cnn's steve contorno has our story. >> reporter: a day after technical glitches marred the campaign launch of governor ron desantis's presidential ambitions, he returned to the more friendly confines of conservative media. in more than a dozen interviews, desantis directly went after president trump in a way he has never done so before. in those interviews he presented a stark contrast between himself and the way he has governed in florida and trump's four years in office. he suggested trump was ineffective, that he ran the

deficit up, that he risked the lives and livelihoods of people with his covid policies, and he said that if he were elected president, he would be a far more ruthless user of government power in the white house. desantis also in one of those appearances challenged donald trump to actually show up to the presidential debates. this is what he said. >> do you plan on participating in all the debates, and would you have a word of counsel for any candidates that were maybe equivocating on whether or not to participate in all the debates? >> i think we should debate. i think the people want to hear it. you know, i grew up blue collar, working minimum wage jobs, and learned nobody's entitled to anything in this world. you've got to earn it. i think all of us have to go out and earn it. that's exactly what i intend to do, and i think the debates are a big part of the process. >> reporter: next week, governor desantis would return to the campaign trail with stops in iowa, new hampshire, and south carolina, where he will attempt to win over some of those republican voters who will

decide who will represent the party in 2024. americans are on the move in a big way for the memorial day holiday weekend. the transportation security administration says it's planning to screen about 10 million airline passengers between thursday and monday with about 300,000 a day at the world's busiest airport here in atlanta. delta airlines says holiday weekend ticket sales are up 17% from last year. the airlines insist they are staffed up for the increase, but they're worried the federal government could cause delays because about 2 in 10 air traffic controller jobs are vacant. for some passengers, the price of a ticket is their biggest worry. >> way more expensive domestically. way more expensive. i looked at flight enters nationally, actually cheaper to fly internationally. to stay at a hotel internationally than domestically. definitely, definitely a lot pricier than i expected. >> extreme weather could dampen some holiday plans this weekend.

parts of west texas and the rockies could see storms. the forecast includes damaging winds and large hail. meantime, the south could also see some gusty winds and dangerous surf along the coast. heavy rain is expected in the carolinas and mid-atlantic, but as you get further north, you will start to see those sunny skies. an american woman has reportedly lost her leg in a shark attack in the caribbean. according to police, it happened on wednesday when the 22-year-old connecticut woman and a friend were snorkeling at a resort in turks and caicos. police say the woman is in hospital in serious condition. an excursion company in the area says a caribbean reef shark probably attacked the woman in what is known in diving circles as a case of mistaken identity. >> in my opinion, in this situation, based on what i've read and what i've heard, you know, they're swimming in clear water, they're offshore. there was a reference of it could potentially an caribbean reef shark. but from what i'm hearing about

the loss of limb, it could have been a tiger shark, a bull shark. i would put my money on either of those two species. you know, at the end of the day, they are predators, we are protein. so it's a risk you take. >> experts also say shark attacks are rare, but individual that hitting the shark on the nose can temporarily stop an attack. iranian military drones keep coming to russia despite international sanctions on moscow. still ahead, cnn investigates the murky web that provides iranian weapons to moscow and largely goes undetected. harrowing moments on board this passenger plane as the door opens during the flight. details in a live report ahead.

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jill and i are a team. if she tells me to do something, i usually jump on board. golo was doable, it's realistic, and it's something we can do the rest of our lives. belarus confirms russia has started transferring tactical

nuclear weapons to belarusian territory. they've been moscow's closest ally since the war began last february. russia has repeatedly used belarus as a staging ground for incursions into ukraine. russian and belarusian defense ministers signed the agreement to deploy the tactical nuclear weapons thursday. the u.s. government and opposition leaders in belarus denounce them. >> we strongly condemn the arrangement. it's the latest example of irresponsible behavior that we have seen from russia since its full-scale invasion of ukraine over a year ago. as we have made clear, the use of chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons in this conflict would be met with severe consequences. but in response to this report, i will just add we have seen no reason to adjust our strategic nuclear posture or any indications that russia's preparing to use a nuclear weapon. >> ukraine says russia has launched a barrage of drone and missile strikes that lasted for seven hours overnight.

it says the attacks involved dozens of drones and missiles going after targets across the country including the capital, kyiv, as well as the city of dnipro and the kharkiv region. one person was wounded in dnipro, while a number of homes and businesses were also damaged. meantime, russian-installed officials are blaming ukraine for a missile strike in the occupied city of bergiansk. there's been no word on casualties. the officials suggested without evidence that ukraine may have used the long-range storm shadow missile recently supplied by britain. that happened after u.s. intelligence assessed that a ukrainian group may be behind a drone attack on the kremlin earlier this month, and after a cross-border raid by russians opposed to the kremlin who said the use of u.s. military vehicles. they allege they did not receive those vehicles from ukraine, but the u.s. says there's a line it needs to draw for kyiv.

listen. >> we've made it clear to the ukrainians that we don't want to see u.s.-made, u.s.-supplied equipment used on russian soil to attack russia. what we are providing is a lot of equipment, tools, training, capabilities, including weapons systems, to be used to defend ukrainian soil. we have been very clear that we want ukraine to be able to defend its own soil, its own territory. they have been attacked, they have been invaded, they have a right to defend themselves. >> ukraine has shared dramatic video of an apparent attack on a russian warship in the black sea. ukraine's defense minister says this footage was taken from an unmanned vessel that hit a russian reconnaissance ship. the video cuts out just before impact. the cnn analysis shows the russian ship was likely the "ivan kurz," but moscow claims the ukrainian attack was foiled. it's still unclear how much damage, if any, the warship has

taken. ukraine says russia has used about 1,200 iranian drones since the war began, but just how are those weapons finding their way to russia? salma abdulaziz says some ships and planes have a way of making deliveries, largely unnoticed. >> reporter: these calm waters are home to a secret russia doesn't want you to know. experts say iran is quietly sending weapons on ships like this one across the caspian sea to replenish arms for moscow's war on ukraine. concealing movement at sea is considered nefarious and potentially a violation of international law. but in the caspian sea, there's a growing number of gaps in vessels tracking data known as ais. with a more than 50% increase in ships heating their movement between august and september of 2022, according to maritime trafficking data. most of the vessels going dark are iranian or russian-flagged

tankers. the timing is suspicious, too. this practice picking up last summer, just as white house officials revealed that russia had purchased hundreds of drones from iran. so why would these ships want to hide their movements? maritime security analyst martin kelly tells us it is likely because of what these vessels are carrying. >> there's a correlation between russia requesting drones from iran, ports in the caspian sea, and increasing in dark and nefarious activity. that's a key indicator, these aspects beyond, that something was going on probably the export of iranian drones to russia. >> reporter: this heat map shows where most of those gaps in ais are concentrated. mostly near iran's port and russia's port where ships appear to be turning off their data on approach and going dark for extended periods of time.

using data like this and expert analysis, cnn was able to identify eight vessels that exhibited suspicious behavior in the caspian sea. this is one such vessel. it's a russian-flagged tanker seen in early january leaving iran's port, making its way across the caspian sea to russia's port. we cannot independently verify what this tanker was carrying, but experts tell us the shipment was likely linked to the arms trade. and there are signs that tehran could be air mailing arms, too. the u.s. and ukraine both accuse tehran of sending supplies to russia by plane. cnn analyzed the tracking data of four iranian cargo planes flagged by the u.s. commerce department for potentially carrying drone shipments. collectively, the aircraft made

at least 85 trips to moscow airports between may 2022 and march 2023. iran admitted it sold a small number of drones to russia, but it says the sale was a few months prior to the war in ukraine. cnn has reached out to iran and russia for comment but has yet to receive a response. but given the much larger volume cargo ships can carry, the caspian sea corridor is likely the primary conduit, and experts say it is the new frontier for weapons trade between moscow and tehran, tucked away from western interference. it provides an easy avenue for sanctions evasion, experts tabrisi says. >> i think the perception in moscow is iran can teach a lot to moscow about how to go and how to still have a significant economy even when sanctions are imposed.

>> reporter: and there is very little the u.s. and its allies can do to stop it. and more could be on the way. intelligence officials warned in november iran plans to send ballistic missiles, ammunition, and more sophisticated drones to moscow. a bustling corridor potentially providing a much-needed arsenal critical to russia's land grab in ukraine. >> salma abdelaziz joins us now. a really interesting report there. the question is, what can be done about it, if anything? >> reporter: well, experts tell us there's actually very little that can be done about it. when you talk about the caspian sea, when you look at the map, you look at the neighbors that border the caspian sea, the u.s., nato, have very little influence there. one of the countries we did notice seem to attract the attention of the united states recently was turkmenistan, which of course sits on the caspian sea. and u.s. navy officials had made recent visits there but said it

was about maritime security and would not provide further details. you have to assume these drones are landing in ukraine, causing death, causing damage, that nato and the united states are absolutely scrambling to figure out, how are they getting there, how can they stop it? we see the impact even today. you mentioned the attacks overnight in dnipro, kyiv, kharkiv. that was a wave of 17 cruise missiles and 31 attack drones, according to the ukrainian air force. all iranian made. >> fascinating report. you see from that what the ukrainian military and air defenses are up against. salma from london, appreciate it. there's word of a possible compromise on the u.s. debt ceiling where the white house and republicans in congress are reportedly finding common ground. that's up next on "cnn newsroom." this is not what you want to experience during a flight, to say the least. wind rushing into the cabin through an open door.

can you imagine? a live report on what happened next.

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♪ welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and around the worlded. i'm paula newton and you are watching "cnn newsroom. the white house and congressional republicans are moving closer to a deal to avoid a u.s. government default. negotiators are discussing a potential compromise to raise the debt ceiling and cap federal spending levels for at least two years. funding for veterans and the pentagon would be spared. talks are expected to thankfully continue right through the

weekend. we go to los angeles now. ryan fidel, senior fellow at clairmont university, good to see you. no deal yet. we wait, we worry. the treasury department is biding its time, trying to figure out the shell game, where to move their money around. officials warn that america's too close to a default and that americans will pay the price for this. we saw fitch ratings downgrade or warn they might have to downgrade fannie mae and freddie mac because they're government-backed mortgage giants. what is your takeaway? >> well, you said the word thankful. i'm thankful that they're talking. i'm thankful that i believe that they're going to get a deal done. but as you know, there's so many variables. things have been going sideways with the flip of a switch. should that switch occur, there is this detrimental effect to

the economy where you think about the significant knock effects on domestic economy. a loss of investor confidence should that occur. increase in borrowing costs. devalue the u.s. dollar. because of volatility, consumers are going to have to prepare that things are going to get more expensive. we're talking about the debt ceiling. those in the hous have debt, they would have to look at how to knock that down because things would be more expensive. yes, consumers would be paying for this because it does have an effect on them. they would see it very shortly. it's not something -- it's different from the government shutdown versus a default. >> yeah, and that is very different, which is a good point to make. if we want to get defensive here, what should people be doing, either on your own or with a financial adviser? >> yeah, i think there's a couple of things. it's easy to say to diversify, but to really understand, if you have a financial adviser, asking them the short-term goals and long-term goals for your

portfolio to understand that cash is there. if you're personally looking at it yourselves to see what stocks and bonds that you're in, if you need the money short-term, you may just want to pull out the cash. there's also the flip side of this too, paul what. should there be a dip and -- i'm not saying you do this, but should there be a dip and you're in a long-term stock, opportunities may arise. but playing the short-term game is not something i would highly recommend because of the so many other financial pressures on the economy. it's not just one thing. there's a lot of the different things that can play in, other earnings and other things that are there. it's really hard to determine, but if you're in it for the long-term, seeing those assets that you feel like are important to you and safer, there could be some opportunities at the same time. >> that makes sense. certainly anybody who took advantage when the pandemic happened is certainly better off right now. let's hope we're close to a deal, right? if we're not, what are the most vulnerable parts of the economy here? >> well, it's interesting.

i think it's obviously the credit. i also think it's a couple of things. when you think about the conversation for the consumer, because the consumer spending and cpi has been going so great this could trigger -- again, to say the "r" word -- recession with inflation. could be the perfect storm for that to really kind of go sideways. because people haven't really built their emergency fund over the last couple of months. we've seen layoffs. going into the summer, it's a little bit different from covid. we had a higher savings per average. i would say consumer spending would be something i would immediately look at to see if that hit the pocket. i think that would be a place that would determine where the economy's going. >> yeah, and obviously a lot of businesses have already been taking hits. even if the economy is still growing. that's quite worrying. even if there's a deal, where are we in the american economy, and more broadly, in the global economy in terms of actually having the resilience to absorb -- let's not even say

they're going to default, but even to absorb the chaos in the prelude to this? >> yeah, i think we're flat. what i mean flat, i mean gd -- the u.s. is so used to growing a handful of a percentage of gdp year over year. we're going into the year thinking 1 or 2 percentage points. with inflation it's pretty much flat. this doesn't help the standing of the u.s. to get their feet underneath them or quickly recover. there's also this long-term fiscal sustainability issue too, paula, that yes, this debt ceiling debate is done, but two years from now, we're going to have the same conversation? how are we solving those kind of problems? are they cutting -- whatever deal they cut, is it the right programs that they decide to cut that actually is going to help the economy moving forward? there's a geopolitical consequence we're not talking about. i know because it's the u.s. and this is a big -- the biggest player in town. but this is -- can be annoying for those who hold debt, like

china, japan, if this continues to occur. there could be repercussions in the future. not to say credibility of the u.s. is not there, but if it was any other country, paula, the credibility would have taken a hit when you kind of mess with the economy, especially not being able to pay your debt. >> yeah. as you point out, the world economy, the american economy, already fragile at this point. nobody needs a shock like this or even to come close to a shock like this. wian batelle in los angeles, thanks so much. terrifying moments during a commercial flight after a door was opened prior to landing. and we're hearing a passenger may be responsible. cnn's paula hancocks is live in seoul. thanks for jumping on the story. i cannot believe this happened. are they saying more about how anyone could even have opened this door? >> reporter: that's the key

question, paula. we've spoken to an aviation expert who said it shouldn't be possible to be able to open an emergency door while you are still in flight. now, this is the information we have from asianana, the flight from went from jeju, the island off south korea, to the mainland. it's an hour and 45 minutes flight, landing safely at 12:45 p.m. according to asianiana, a man in his 30s sitting at the emergency seat opened the door. he, according to police, has been arrested at the airport. they said it was about two or three minutes from landing, so not too high. it was about 700 feet above ground. that's just over 200 meters. now, there were 200 people on board at this point. you can see from the video just how terrifying that would have been for those sitting in that area. now, there weren't any significant injuries, we're

being told. they say there were 12 people who suffered from hyperventilation. they say nine of those were taken to hospital, but they were all with minor injuries. so a very lucky escape, given what had happened, that an aviation expert said shouldn't have technically been possible. >> paula hancocks, thanks so much, appreciate it. coming up on "cnn newsroom,"," a ra wan dan refugee has been living the good life for decades now. now is in custody. a report on his capture and his alleged crimes against humanity in the rwanda genocide.

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a man wanted for allegedly killing thousands of people during the rwandan genocide is to appear in a south off can court today. he was arrested thursday almost 30 years after allegedly being a mastermind of and taking part in the killings in rwanda. a spokesperson for the u.n. secretary-general said the arrest sends a powerful message to those who try to evade justice that they will eventually be held accountable. cnn's david mckenzie has more from johannesburg. >> reporter: the fugitive didn't look like a man on the run. south african police say they found him living the good life in wine country near capetown. but for more than 20 years, his mugshot was plastered on top of the list of the most wanted perpetrators of the rwandan genocide. and even among the names that define pure evil, prosecutors say kayshema stands out.

>> he was the police of chief. his responsibility was to protect civilians, and he did exactly the opposite. >> reporter: for more than 90 days nearly 30 years ago, more than 800,000 tutsis and moderate hutu rwandans were murdered during the genocide. investigators say he was not just a mastermind but was also a participant. herding fleeing tutsies, women, children, and the elderly into a catholic church. at first they used machetes. >> when these killings were not advancing quickly enough, they brought petrol and put the church on fire and came with this heavy machinery to have the roof of the church collapsing over more than 2,000 women and children. must be worse than having an evil character to go over days and days continuing those massive killings. >> reporter: when the rwandan patriotic front put a stop to

the orgy of killing, investigators say he melted in with the thousands of refugees fleeing rwanda to the democratic republic of condo. he used fake papers, assumed names, and fellow fugitives to get refugee status and asylum in mozambique and south africa. >> kashima is indicted for the murders of over 2,000 men, women, elderly, and refugees. >> reporter: the chief prosecutor repeatedly blamed south africa for a lack of cooperation. that all changed a year ago, he says, when president ramaphosa ordered a task force be formed and investigators began closing the net. >> what message does this arrest give to those who still remain at large in rwanda and in other possible crimes of humanity? >> persons who are powerful today are not powerful any more tomorrow. sometimes you have to wait months, sometimes years, but the

message is very clear. there's no limitations for those war crimes. even if it takes years, we will, at the end of the day, get those guys. >> reporter: he was one of the handful of those most wanted for the genocide. rwandan prosecutors are still looking for more than 1,200 fugitives. the hunt is far from over. three other individuals are wanted by the u.n. for alleged war crimes committed in rwanda and remain at large. the u.s. state department is offering rewards of up to $5 million for information that leads to their arrest or conviction in any country. nbati was the mayor of gusuvu, accused of directing police to hunt down individuals who fled into the nearby hills, leading to the deaths of tens of thousands of people. charles sigwabu was a mayor in the kibuyu prefecture accused of

instigating massacres at places of worship. diande kiyu was a restaurant manager who is accused of instigating a massacre at the church of mobugu and directing others to take part in these killings. voters in turkey are preparing for the second round the presidential elections there this sunday. neither the incumbent, recep erdogan, or his challenger, kamal kishidariu, received more than 50% of the vote in the first round, forcing the runoff. be sure to watch cnn's special coverage of turkish elections hosted by becky anderson on sunday, 8:00 p.m. ankara time on cnn. honoring u.s. veterans is not a partisan issue. lawmakers from both sides of the aisle led an effort to clean the vietnam veterans memorial heading into memorial day weekend.

their emotional experienences next.

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sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com. less than a mile from capitol hill on thursday, there was a rare and refreshing moment of bipartisanship. a group of lawmakers, including veterans, came together to honor americans who lost their lives fighting in the vietnam war. the lawmakers picked up hoses, buckets, scrub brushes and cleaned the vietnam veterans memorial wall by hand. cnn easiest jake tapper was there. >> reporter: etched into these enormous pieces of black granite which emerge from the national mall like a wound are the names of 58,318 servicemen and servicewomen who lost their lives fighting in one of

america's longest wars, the vietnam war. in a town so often divided, today members of congress from both parties were united and came together to wash this wall by hand ahead of memorial day. republican congressman mike waltz from florida is a green beret who did tours in afghanistan, the middle east, and africa. he organized this event several years ago with fellow lawmakers who also served. >> it's a reminder of the sacrifices made for this country. it's a reminder to us, members of the congress, both sides of the aisle, at the end of the day, we're all americans, we're all veterans who were willing to die together just a few years ago. we can come together, roll up our sleeves, and move the country forward. >> reporter: retired lieutenant general and michigan republican congressman jack bergman is wonderful only three vietnam veterans left serving in the house. >> i normally come here alone.

once i get here, i'm never alone because i know who i'm visiting. >> reporter: a wall full of the names of friends and americans who did not come home. >> i have friends whose names are on that wall. people, kids that i grew up with. and people that i served with. and from that perspective, it was powerful. >> the opportunity for he and i to be here is just i think very important. and it really pays tribute to what we're here for. >> reporter: republican congressman jim baird from indiana and democratic congressman mike thompson from california both served in vietnam but only just realized all they have in common. >> we're both at fort ben in georgia, both married to nurses, both wounded in vietnam. and as jim pointed out, we're here to work together for the american people, and maybe that will help us get there. >> reporter: for republican congressman john james of michigan and democratic congressman pat ryan of new york, congress is a college reunion. you guys were in the same class at west point? >> yeah.

f-1, go firehouse. >> we lived across the hall from each other. >> our class, class of 2004, was the first class to take our oath of affirmation after the twin towers fell. that means we are all committed to our service after we knew we'd be going to war. we suffered the most casualties of any west point class since the vietnam war. >> i wear this bracelet that has our west point classmates' names everyoned on it. and the interconnection between our generation and iraq and afghanistan and the vietnam generation. >> reporter: and maybe, just maybe, the camaraderie will thaw some of the partisanship division we see just down the road. >> the long gray line is neither blue nor red. it's more red, white and blue. it links every generation. those who understand that we need to continue to sacrifice to make this nation prosperous and free. >> reporter: jake tapper, cnn, washington. >> nice to see that. i'm paula newton. i want to thank you for your company. "cnn newsroom" continues after

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