no deal and potentially no paycheck. while house republicans clash over a potential government shutdown, the financial future of federal employ crease, key programs, military members and their families, all of that and more is at stake. we'll take you live to capitol hill. also, menendez is facing the music, addressing the colleagues calling for his resignation right now. publicly he has been defiant. will he strike a different tone with his party behind closed doors? it's a short message and blunt

warning. president trump with an address about major threats to u.s. democracy. all of these are coming in right to "cnn news central." we are following several big stories this afternoon playing out on capitol hill. the one topping them all is the impending government shutdown. just three days left for lawmakers to prevent it. the outlook is not great. chambers are talking past each other. the senate is pushing a bipartisan deal, that the house speaker won't even put up for a vote. in the meantime, they're being to vote on a zero chance, and hanging in the balance, the livelihoods of close to 4 million federal workers, who, starting next week, won't -- let's take you live to capitol hill with lawrence flauren fox.

>> reporter: there's no shortage of effort, but there's no effort where the two chambers are right now working together. instead, what you have is the house of representatives and house republicans rushing to try to pass four individual spending bills, tonight none of which would prevent a government shutdown. it will only fund a fraction of the government. then house leadership telling membership today in a closed-door meeting that the expectation is tomorrow they will still try to vote on a spending bill to give them more time too negotiate on a longer spending bill down the line. neither of those proposals are expected to get support in the united states senate. on the senate side of the capitol, what you have right now is a frantic effort to try and push through a senate-negotiated plan that has democratic and republican support, but there's

a potential where they could be voting well into the weekend, because senator rand paul has warned he is going to slow-walk this process, because the bill inclusive ukraine aid funding. that's where things stand right now. there are other efforts to try to put a border patrol resolution, and there's growing concern from republicans and democrats that, at this point, a shutdown may be unavoid aable. >> lauren fox, thank you so much. >> happening right now, indicted democratic senator bob menendez

is phasing members of his own party. the majority are calling for him to resign over the new charges that he took bribes and risked national security. among the 21 who have not urged him to resign is senator chuck schumer. what are you hearing about this, manu? >> there's a lot of anticipation for this meeting. i've tried to ask bob menendez a question as he walked into the lunch. he refused to answer any question. he spoke a couple days ago saying he would not resign. so the question is, to the extent to which he detailed the allegations, what evidence does he give to the senators to ease their concerns. right now, 30 of his colleagues want him to step aside. others, including the new

chairman of the foreign relations committee. and there's some, like senator f fetterman, saying it's a distraction for his party. >> he's got to go. you know, the arrogance, where he's now saying i'm not going anywhere, my dude, you are going somewhere. it's either an election or conviction, or you have the opportunity for an honorable exit. the time for that to choose is really starting to go stop being a major distraction here. >> are you a challenger?

>> uh, sure, sure, absolutely. >> reporter: when does bob menendez decide to run for reelection. it's a seat that should be safe for the democrats, but he would not say when i asked him whether he would in fact run for his seat again. he declined, saying he's serving the people of new jersey, but the fear among democrats, if he does continue, he would jeopardize that seat, so how he deals with these questions will be one of the things that members already listening to, and whether they'll take any action to punish him further. those things have not been discussed, but if that changes after this meeting remains to be seen. >> manu, we'll be checking in. thank you so much. boris? >> also happen on capitol hill,

republicans are holding their impeachment inquiry to joe biden, as they try to tie him to his son's business dealings they have yesterday to provide concrete evidence, but they argue this impeachment inquiry will give them the power to find that evidence. listen. >> there is ten times joe biden lied to the american people that he never spoke to his family about their big dealings. he lied saying there was an absolute wall between his official government duties and his personal life. let's be clear, there was no wall. >> we're 62 hours away from shutting down the government of the united states of america, and republicans are launching an impeachment drive based on a long, debunked and discredited lie. no foreign enemy has ever shut down the united states, but maga republicans are about to do just

that. >> cnn has also learned that some inside the republican party are already showing frustration after today's hearing after some of their own witnesses undercut the efforts. joining us now is jimmy gomez of california. thank you so much for being with us this afternoon. i'd first like to get your thoughts. this is jonathan turley, he was talking about the lack of a direct evidence connecting joe biden to wrongdoing. let's listen. >> i do not believe the current evidence would support always of impeachment. that's something that an inquiry has to establish. i also do believe that the house has passed the threshold for an impeachment inquiry.

>> congressman, what do you make of this argument that they need this inquiry to gather evidence, and president biden shouldn't have to worry if there's no evidence of wrongdoing. what's your response? >> my responsible is if it's that simple, if they have the evidence, they should proceed with an actual impeachment, but an inquiry with help poison the public's mind that joe biden committed some type of crime, which he did not. they have zero evidence when it comes to joe biden committings in wrongdoing. here talking about hunter biden and his business dealings, about his gun possessions, but nothing has not ever connected joe biden to any wrongdoing, zero. they're going to throw out facts that are sort of related, and then say the biden family, in order to connect biden to some wrongdoing that he had nothing to do with. so i think this has been a sham.

they had a narrative from the very beginning in their minds when trump lost the election, and they're going to cherry pick facts to support that theory. when they don't have the facts, they'll just make them up. >> congressman, i want to explore that point with you. there were two wire transfers from chinese nationals to hunter biden, that as the beneficiary address had listed joe biden's home in delaware. republicans are pointing to that as a connection between the two. what do you make of it? >> first, that it was to hunter biden. he lived at his dad's house. i know a lot of kids who live at their parents' house, especially when they're having a tough time in life. that happens, but they showed no connection that the money was connected to anything that joe biden did. it also was never when he was -- during when joe biden has been president. so this is something that

they're trying to spin and connect where there's no connection. i could send a wire transfer to an individual, using a different address. the only thing that matters is if that account exists. that's it. i think they're trying to connect facts that don't say anything, and honestly, they're trying to poison the public's mind when there's zero evidence. >> what about the allegations in those 700 pails released yesterday that prosecutors put up road blocks to try to protect president biden. i see you laughing, but they're alleging, for example, that they took joe biden's name off a warrant. what do you make of all of that? >> first, i haven't seen that, but i know the information released by ways and means was refuted by one question of a particular reporter. the documents that they have i believe probably has nothing to do with joe biden.

i don't think it does. in the end, if there is clear evidence, let the doj investigate. let them follow the facts. here's the thing -- the facts don't lead to joe biden. they lead to hunter biden, and hunter biden is not an elected officials. >> we just want to point out for our viewers, we're looking at live images from the hearing right now. let's explore that point a bit further. there's pretty clear evidence that hunter biden tried to leverage his name for business deals. as you pointed out, he's not a government official, but is the ill illusion, selling the illusion of access to a vice president or president, is that appropriate in your eyes? is that ethical? >> i don't believe it is, but this is also one thing, hunter biden, what i was told, was

doing that during that time when joe biden wasn't even in office. so if you're no longer in office, do you have that kind of influence? yes, he was a former vice president, but you know what they say, being vice president isn't worth a warm bucket of spit so that was during a drift time. he has clear ethical lapses. he has indictments, and people should look at that. does that mean his dad committed any wrongdoing that reaches the level of high crimes and misdemeanors? no. >> in fact, officials in the obama administration raised concerns, because they were worried about the way it would l look ethically. >> if there was something that proved that joe biden did something wrong, the doj should look into it, but there was never was anything that clearly

impacted joe biden. i think that, you know, when it comes to hunter biden, that's a different story. if he did anything wrong, then he should be held accountable. >> congressman, do you think this inquiry would be happening now, were it not for president biden putting pressure on house republicans, and also the fact there's a government shutdown that's looming? >> no, i do not. i think this was always a goal of the republican majority. kevin mccarthy cut deals in order to get -- become speaker. remember, 15 rounds he cut all sorts of deals, and when donald trump speaks, the republicans listen. though he's no longer the president, he's the de facto head of the republican party. when he says shut down the government, that's what they're going to do. when he sis try to find

information to impeach joe biden, that's what they're going to do. this is all because donald trump lost the 2020 election and he was impeached twice, based on evidence that shows he did wrongdoing when it came to ukraine and when he incited an insurrection against the united states constitution and the house of representatives and congress itself. >> congressman, it strikes me that house speaker kevin mccarthy hasn't put this inquiry up for a vote on the house floor. would you encourage him to? >> yes, i would want to see where his members are. you know, democrats, we're going to vote no. i would love to see where his front line or moderate members, where they're at. where does mr. lawler falls? there's even some hard-core maga republicans, i want them -- tea party republicans that says there's no evidence to have an

impeachment vote no. i would love to see how it plays out. >> congressman jimmy gomez, i think i caught a dropping some spanglish words in your comments. thank you for your time. >> thank you. still to come, we're following breaking news. former president trump and his adult children could be called to stand in a new york civil fraud case. we have details ahead. plus it's not officially a rematch just yesterday, but president biden is sure acting like it. he's said to issue a blunt warning why donald trump is a threat to democracy. we're on it. the fda is slapping a new warning label on ozempic. we'll explain why, in just moments. stay with us.

donald trump, his two adult sons and closest business advisers could be cause called to testify in the civil fraud trial that's scheduled to begin next week, kara, what are you learning here? >> reporter: the witness lists are out. 28 witnesses in the prosecution case, including donald trump, donald trump, jr., ivanka trump and the former fixer. he said the trump family had inflated the value of their assets. that's exactly what she sued and what a judge earlier this week said what they did. the trump side says they plan to call 127 winces, including donald trump. he's already testified in a deposition. when it comes down to it, we'll see if he provides live

testimony. in a civil ways you cannot case and have that held against you, but sources say he's eager to take the stand. the trial is set to begin on monday. for now we're waiting for a an peals court ruling the issue going forward is going to be both one of damages as well as the individual culpability of some of these defendants, including former president trump. >> kara scannell, thank you for that report. of course, all of this unfolding as house republicans are holding their inquiry hearing. >> let's discuss 2024 with gloria borger and cnn presidential historian.

literally i'm being choked by my microphone cord that full off high back. >> oh, no. >> i have recovered, but first, your reaction to what we're seeing on capitol hill. >> this is the first time in u.s. history we're having an impeachment without a predicate. with nixon the first trump impeachant was the so-called perfect call. the second was because offian wear 6th. what is the evidence of bribery, treason or a high crime or misdemeanor by president biden? none so far. they have already started an inquire. it's unprecedented. >> gloria, it is curie his --

and he probably doesn't want to inch he's under pressure. he needs them, it's all related in this crazy world here. he needs to find ways to placate the right. however, the fact he launched an inquiry, particularly without a vote, means the democrats may be less willing to bail them out if he needs their votes on a continuing resolution to keep the government open. it's all a tangled web. this is just part of it, as tim was saying, they're starting this inquiry sort of backwards without any evidence to say that joe biden has benefited financially in any way from his

son's business dealings. what you see is a fishen expedition here, and no vote to have it proceed in the first place. >> they're seeking to justify that or basically say that's okay. we saw the investigation from jonathan turley. he says as much. so far, there is nothing here, but he's making the case that republicans want him to make, that the impeachment inquiry is necessary to see if there is something more. you know, to tim's point, gloria, it's sort of resetting the threshold for where you go with these things. i just wonder what the long-term effect is. >> well, you lower the bar. the impeachment becomes just another thing you can do to aggravate a sitting president. >> these are serious things, impeachments. people should not take them lightly.

politicians should not take them lightly. they could not occur just when people are angry at a president. i think what we are seeing is the lowering of that bar, and a committee bound to do it, and a house speaker that decided he couldn't stop them for other reasons, other political reasons. so, you know, i think it's just a moment in american political his tore when something that used to be very serious is now kind of just becoming run of the mill. you heard donald trump say, well, you know, they did it to me, they should do it to joe biden. well, those are two completely different things and different reasons, you know. >> from a cynical point of view, though, tim, part of the reasons donald trump wants an irquery of joe biden is because he felt it hurt him politically, and he's going into a tough reelection battle.

how much of this has to do with 2024? >> well, boris, i can't get inside his brain, but that makes perfect sense to me. it's distract to say, look, yeah, people attacked me, but they're also attacking biden. it's a way of creating a cloud so that people don't understand the real charges that have been directed at former president trump. americans are already cynical and doubtful about government. this just raises their disbelief in government. so people say, boy, they're all bad. that means that the choice that americans probably will face, it doesn't become as stark as i think the president is about to describe it being in his speech later in phoenix today. >> trump was not on the debate stage. >> he hovers.

>> he is so present over all of this. he has called for a shutdown. he certainly is in favor of an impeachment. it just speaks to how much of a hold he has on the party, even as he striextricates himself. you know, donald trump is a force here. there's no denying it. he has said to to kind of even the scales, right? it was done to me, it should be done to joe biden. i do think tim is right. this is a way to muddy the waters, and to say, okay, well, joe biden maybe wants an

impeachment inquiry, maybe trump does, too. i think it's political cynical, and i think president biden will say today it shouldn't be that way. we're in danger of losing a lot of things -- a lot of other things -- civility, for example, respect, and politics has become more and more craven. i think what we're seeing today is really exhibit a of that. >> we may have already lost civility and respect in many regards, right? >> that's right. >> a lot of republicans agreed with joe biden on those points about democracy. >> and a lot of republicans didn't want this inquiry. >> we'll be looking forward that. gloria and tim, that i am you so much for being with us. ahead, the u.s. army private

that willingly went into north korea is back on u.s. soil. what happens to travis king now. plus cnn is in mexico traveling with migrants. we're going to take a closer look at what their journey is like.

the u.s. army private what ran into north korea is back in the u.s. today. travis king was flown to san antonio, texas, overnight, cnn camera captures what appeared to be king escorting him off the plane. his return comes after what u.s. officials described as an intense diplomatic effort. oren liebermann is at the pentagon following this story. what are you learning? >> reporter: the question is, how is he doing and what happens next? according to official breefl, after travis king was in u.s. custody, he was in good spirits, and spoke with his family. since landing at san antonio earlier, he was taken tole medical center, where he will begin the recovery. that's where americans are taken after they have left detention so they can reacclimate to life

back in the united states. what happens next? there doesn't seem to be an answer right now. he was absent without leave, and willfully and intentionally ran into north korea, ran into an adversary state. that would certainly you would expect briggs with it administrative action. the question -- if and when the army will bring that forward. we don't have an answer to that yell. the army says that's down the road. right now we're focused on his recovery. he certainly went awol, and the military doesn't want to set a precedent. at the same time, he just spent in 70 days n north korean detention. >> oren, thank you. boris?

mexico's president says he's inviting the president of ten nations to discuss the rise of migrants. a significant number have been crossing not only into the united states, but also his own country through the border with guatemala. we want to give you a firsthand look of what it's like for a group of migrants crossing into mexico, one day of their journey. >> reporter: we're here in southern mexico, walking with a group of migrants. we actually met this group in guatemala. they have been making the trek for about 18 days. they're originally from venezuela, a couple families and some other stragglers who have come together, have gotten to know each other along the way. the reason we're walking with them, and some are trying to hurry up, is they're trying to go around a migration

checkpoint. they were picked up on the riverbank on the mexico side, taken in a van. of course, they had to pay, brought to just before the checkpoint. that's when they were all unloaded. that's where you can see these folks are walking behind high drats. they're finding their way to catch up with the same van, but on the other side of the checkpoint. we were able to go around it. we're here legally. they are not in mexico legally. in fact, they have not entered any countries legally since leaving venezuela. their hope, like much else is to get to the u.s. but this shows you what could be an hour's drive turns out to be a whole day for them. >> thank you for that report. in moments, more fireworks as house republicans are holding their first impeachment inquire into president biden. stay with "cnn news central."

this is what's going on. the far right called for the sham at the beginning of this year. this has going on, this is not the first hearing we've had in relation to this. on september 1st, kevin mccarthy says, no, we're not going to see that. we don't have the evidence, we don't have the votes for it to pat on the house floor, we're not going to do it. a good decision in my opinion. then, just 12 days later, 12 precious days later, something

happens. i'm not sure what, but something happens. then the speaker of the house kevin mccarthy says, yes, we will do an geechment inquiry. what happened between these 12 days? very simp. three threats from members of his own caucus at the direction of. er president donald trump changed his mind. number one, the threats of a force on impeachment which would lose on the house floor. number two, they would threaten to shut down the government, something that will happen in just two days. number three, and this is the one in a really got to him. they said, you will lose your job. we will remove you as speaker of the house. that scared him so much that kevin mccarthy, the speaker of the house of the united states of house of representatives

completely caved, due to the threats of people within his own ca caucus. this fake impeachment is based -- that was democratic congressman maxwell frost of florida, there just moments ago at the republican-led impeachment inquiry beginning there in the house of representatives. we are learning that this hearing might actually not be going as planned. with us gop member telling cnn this is an unmitigated disaster. why? let's go to melanie zinona. what are you seeing? >> reporter: you're exactly right. this hearing is not playing out the way republicans hoped it would they were they were really trying to justify why they thought the inquiry was warranted. to help build that case, they

brought in several witnesses, including a conservative lawyer, someone against both trump impeachments and some financial experts. during the testimony today, several testified while they believe there are some things worth investigating, so far they have not seen any evidence of crimes or misdemeanors or impeachment evidence. one of the them told me this is an unmitigated disaster, completely unavoidable. another one admitted they were a bit disappointed today. of course, overshadowing it all is the looming government shutdown. democrats made that point repeatedly. they even had a shutdown clock on the floor.

brianna? >> so why, mel, weren't there more memorable moments? surely they prepared for this. >> reporter: they went into this, like i said, with the expectations they would be rehashing evidence and trying to just put everything together in one package. they in the they would be able to convince the public and some of their own members they had a case here. a lot of the allegations on our web side that you can go read, but a lot of the allegations we have heard before. there was nothing there, no standout moment. they really have not been able to land many punches on president joe biden, but the hearing is ongoing. we'll keep watching. >> so far the facts are not on their side. melanie, thank you. up next, the fallout

continuals after claims that a baton rouge officers used a warehouse to detain people. more on that, next.

the fbi has joined a misconduct probe after two federal civil rights lawsuits claimed that some officers used this warehouse as a torture

chamber. plaintiffs claim that the street crimes unit where they took them into the warehouse known as the brave cave and physically and sexually abused them. cnn's ryan young joins us with the details. the baton rouge police chief announced that the city council meeting that three of the officers, including one of his highest ranking officers, has now been disciplined. >> that's right. community members can't believe what they are hearing. they are upset. a federal lawsuit has been filed. there are three current police investigations ongoing and an fbi investigation all into the baton rouge police department. this centers around aware house known as the brave cave. people there would say they would be arrested, beaten and assaulted. one officer has resigned. he's the son of the deputy chief. another three officers, including the deputy chief have been put on administrative duty. the brave cave has since been closed but community members, as you can understand, they're angry and some of the frustration boiled over

yesterday. >> the idea that a grandmother was sexually assaulted by people who get paid off my dollar is beyond offensive. >> boris, in one of these accounts, a grandmother said she was pulled over, accused of having drugs. she said they were prescription drugs. at some point she was strip searched and had a body cavity search. boris? >> yikes! since these federal lawsuits have been filed, have more victims come forward? >> more victims are coming forward. the police chief for his part saying they'll be transparent about this investigation. like we were talking about, the city council meeting yesterday got heated. there are some long-term issues in this community. listen to this exchange between the police chief and some city councilmembers yesterday. >> let's have these conversations today. i pray for y'all. even in my time when i'm leaving and there will be accountability, you're still

doing what you do. shame on you. >> if this is what de-escalation looks like, in a professional setting, i need the police chief to be immediately removed. >> you can feel the emotion in this. the administration and the police union have put out different statements. the police union says if the administration likes to use the word transparency for a touchstone for the way they choose to conduct themselves, they say if there was actual transparency in these cases, it would be made public. as you can understand in a small town there is a lot of focus on this police department. but there are a lot of allegations that have a lot of people in that community upset and concerned. >> really difficult to listen to some of the allegations, too. thanks so much for the update. there is still plenty more news to come on cnn. president biden set to deliver a scathing message to those he sees as a threat to the u.s. democracy. we'll bring you his remarks, live.