i'm am lucky to have them both his colleagues and get more good work done in the next coming months. we have some other business to attend to. all of you who are here to celebrate our lucky enough to now have to sit through a little bit of a press conference with me. [laughter] president obama: make yourself comfortable. [laughter] president obama: i warned the kids ahead of time. i said "try not to look completely bored." i will take a couple of questions from the press, but first, a few additional pieces of business. that we'veearned created another 118,000 new jobs in september, which now means we've had 67 straight months of job creation. 13.2 million jobs in all. the unemployment rate has fallen from a high of 10% down to 5.1%.

these long-term trends are good news, particularly for every american waking up and heading off to a new job. but, we would be doing even better if we didn't have to keep on dealing with unnecessary crises in congress every few months. this is especially important right now. although the american economy has been chugging along at a steady pace, much of the global ed.nomy is soft and -- soften we've seen a decrease in our exports, which was a major driver in our recovery. our growth could slow if congress does not do away with some of the counterproductive austerity measures they have put and if congress does not avoid the kind of manufactured crises that shattered consumer confidence

and could disrupt an already skittish global economy. half ofsday, more than republicans voted to shut down the government for the second time in two years. the good news is that there was enough votes in both parties to pass a last-minute bill the keep the government open and operating for another 10 weeks before we can get a more long-term solution. keep in mind, that gimmick only sets up another potential manufactured crisis just two weeks before christmas. i have said this before, i want to repeat it, this is not the way the united states should be operating. often times i hear from folks on capitol hill the need for "american leadership." the need for america to be number one. well, you know what, around the globe, part of what makes us a leader is when we govern effectively.

we keep our own house in order. we passed budgets, and weakening gauge and long-term planning and invest in the things that are important for the future. that is u.s. leadership. when we fail to do that, we diminish u.s. leadership. it is not how we're supposed to operate. kicking down on the road without solving problems or doing any long-term planning for the future. domesticue for programs. the american people deserve better. we can grow faster and the economy can improve if congress acts with dispatch. it will get worse if they don't. that is why want to be very clear. und anotherf shortsighted spending bill like congress sent me this week.

we need to use these weeks effectively. keep in mind, both parties put in harmful, automatic cuts that make no difference between spending we don't need in spending we do. we can visit the history of how that happened. i have some rather grim memories of it. that even as we were bringing down the deficit, we would come up with a sustainable, smart, long-term approach to investing in the things that we need. that did not happen. now, these cuts that have been maintained have been keeping our economy from growing faster. it is time to undo them. if we don't, we will have to and nationalomic security priorities in 2016 at the same level that we did in 2006. understand, during that decade between 2006 and 2016, our

economy has grown by 12%. our population has grown by 8%. new threats have emerged. opportunities appeared. we cannot fund our country the way we did 10 years ago, because we have greater demand. we have an aging population, kids who need schools, roads that need to be fixed, a military on which we are facing it -- placing extrude extraordinary demands. tocannot cut our way prosperity. other countries have tried and have not worked. we have grown faster than they have because we did not pursue these blind, unthinking cuts. by the way, because we have grown faster than them, we brought our deficits down faster than they have.

i want to repeat this, because the public apparently never believes it. since i have took office, we have cut our deficits by two thirds. the deficit has not been going up, it has been coming down precipitously. we cut the deficit by two thirds. there are below the average deficits over the past 40 years. the bottom line is that congress has to do its job. it cannot flirt with another shut down. it should pass a serious budget. if they do and get rid of these mindless cuts, ieven as we are still prudent about maintaining the spending that we need, but not the spending we don't need and it is not working , their own nonpartisan budget office has to make a spirit we are going at it half million jobs to our economy next your loan. we could put half a million

people back to work if we have a more sensible budget. in these negotiations, nobody is going to get everybody -- everything they want. we have to work together, even if we disagree, in order to do people's business. at some point, we have to wants to govern and not just play politics or play to various political basis. bases. we need to pass bills so we can rebuild our roads, keep our military strong. that is congress's most basic job and what our government is supposed to do. serve the american people. so, with that, let me take some questions. i will start with julie pace of ap. hang in there, kids. [laughter] >> thank you, mr. president. there have been several of elements in syria that i have wanted to ask you about, concerning russia's involvement. you met with president putin

this week. i wonder if you think he was honest with you about his intentions in syria. if russia's targeting groups beyond the islamic state, including the u.s. aligned groups, does the was military have an obligation to protect them? on the situation in syria more probably, there is a failure in the u.s. train and equip program. you think that program can be fixed or you have to look at other options? would you be willing to reconsider a no-fly zone, which several presidential candidates including your former secretary of state are now calling for? president obama: well, first and foremost, let's understand what's happening in syria and how we got there. what started off as peaceful protests against the side -- president, evolved into a civil war because assad met those protests with unimaginable brutality.

conflicthis is not a between the united states and any party in syria. this is a conflict between the syrian people and a brutal, ruthless dictator. number two, the reason is still in power is because russia and iran have a supported him throughout this process. what russia is doing now is not particularly different than what they have been doing in the past, they are just more over at about it. they have been propping up a rejected by an overwhelming majority of the syrian population. they have seen that he is been willing to drop barrel bombs on children and villages indiscriminately. he is more concerned about clinging to power than the state of his country.

in my discussions with president was clear that the only way to solve the problem in syria is to have a political transition that is inclusive, that keeps the state intact, the military intact, that maintains cohesion but is inclusive. the only way to in cop wish that -- to accomplish that is for mr. assad to transition. this is not a judgment i am making, it is judgment that the overwhelming majority of syrians make. i said to mr. putin that i would be prepared to work with him if he is willing to broker with his ad and iran, aass political transition. we can bring the rest of the world community to a brokered solution. , anlitary solution alone

attempt by russia and iran to and pacify the population, is just going to get them stuck in a quagmire. and, it won't work. they will be there for a while. if, they don't take a different course. i also said to him, that it is true that the united states and russia and the entire world have a common interest in destroying isil. regardlessry clear of what mr. putin said is that he does not establish between the moderate sunni opposition that was to see mr. assad go. from their perspective, they are all terrorists. that's a recipe for disaster, and when i reject. is that we arew

having technical conversations so that wenfliction are not seeing u.s. and american firefights. beyond that, we are very clear in sticking to our beliefs and our policies that the problem here is assad and the brutalities inflicted on the syrian people. it has to stop. workt to stop, we have to with all parties concerned, but we are not going to cooperate campaign toan anybodyry to destroy who is disgusted and fed up with mr. assad's behavior.

keep in mind from a practical perspective that the moderate opposition in syria is one that, if we are ever going to have a political transition, we need. drivingian policy is underground, or creating a situation in which they are deacon pass attended and it is only strengthening isil. that is not good for anybody. ofterms of our support opposition groups inside of syria, i made very clear early states couldnited not impose a military solution on syria either. it was in our interest to make sure that we were engaged with moderate opposition inside of syria, because eventually, syria will fall. assad regime will fall.

we have to have somebody we are working with that will pick up the pieces and stitched back together a cohesive, coherent country. we will continue to support that. the training and equip program was a specific initiative by the defense department to see if we could get some of that moderate opposition to focus attention on isil in the eastern portion of the country. i am the first 20 would knowledge that it has not worked the way was supposed to do -- i am the first one to a knowledge that it has not worked the way it was supposed to do. when we try to get them to just focus on isil, the response we get back is, "how can we focus on isil when every single day we are having barrel bombs and attacks from the regime?" and so, it has been hard to get them to reprioritize looking east when they got bombs coming

at them from the west. traine are doing with the and equip is looking at where we have had success, for example, working with some of the kurdish community in the east that pushed isil out, saying if we can build on that. but, what we are also going to continue to do is to have contact with and work with opposition that rightly believes in the absence of changing government in syria that we are going to continue to see civil war. that is going to turbocharge iso-recruitment, jihadist recruitment, and we're going to continue to have problems. the last point i want to make about this, because sometimes the conversation in the beltway differs from the conversation mr. putin hady,

to go into syria, not out of strength, but out of weakness. his client, mr. assad, was crumbling, and it was inefficient to send them arms and money. now, he has got to put in his own flames. he put forward a plan and that somehow, the international community sees that as viable because there's a i can see that the 16 nation coalition that we have started lining up behind him. up mr.d makesod makeup putin's coalition at the moment. the rest of the world makes up

hours. i don't think people are full by the current strategy. it does not mean that we could not see mr. putin begin to recognize that it is in their interests to broker a political settlement. york, work with the russians and the iranians as well as our partners, who are part of the anti-isis coalition to come up with that transition. no is pretending it is going to be easy. i think it is still possible. we will maintain communication, but, we are not going to be a leak at those negotiations going if there is not a recognition be athere has got to changing government. we are not going to go back to the status quo. airstrikes against moderate opposition that

russia is engaging and is going to be counterproductive and is moving us further away from the ultimate solution the we also be looking for. >> which he be willing to consider-- [indiscernible] julie,nt obama: throughout this process, i think people have constantly looked easy, low-cost answer. it's we should have sent more rifles in early and somehow everything would have i had taken that shot, even after assad offered to give up his chemical weapons, then immediately things would regimelded, or the assad would have folded and we would have suddenly seen a peaceful syria.

hugely difficult, complex problem. i would have hoped that we would've learned that from of guns down and rock -- from afghanistan and iraq. we have given the afghan people a platformqi people for democracy, but it is still hard as we have seen this week in afghanistan. that is not by virtue of a lack of effort or lack of commitment. we still have 10,000 folks in afghanistan. we still spend billions of dollars supporting that government. it is still tough. the i make a decision about level of military involvement they we are prepared to engage in in syria, i have to make a

judgment based on once we start something we have got to finish it. we have got to do it well. do we, in fact, have the resources and the capacity to make a serious impact, understanding that we have still got to go after isisil in iraq? that their military training is weaker than we had previously perceived? that we still have business to do in afghanistan? i have pushed and consistently, over the last four or five years, cite out a wide range of opinions about steps that we can to move syrialy in a better direction. i am by no means in the dark

about what an incredible humanitarian catastrophe this is and the hardships of people traveling in dangerous circumstances, creating real political problems among our allies in europe and the heartbreaking images of children drowned, trying to escape war. the potential impact of such a destabilized country on her allies in the region. have learned over the last 10, 12, 13 years is that unless we can get parties on the ground to agree to live together in some fashion, then no amount of u.s. military engagement will solve the problem. either find ourselves doing just a little bit and not making a difference and losing credibility that way, or find ourselves drawn deeper and

deeper into the situation that we cannot sustain. hear people offering up half-baked ideas as if they are solutions, or trying to downplay the challenges whatved in this situation, i'd like to see people ask is specifically, precisely, what exactly would you do and how would you find it and how would , and typically what you get is a bunch of mumbo-jumbo. so, these are hard challenges. they are ones that we are going to continue to pursue. the topline message that i want

everybody to understand is we're going to continue to go after iso-. we are going to continue to reach out to a moderate opposition. thatject russia's theory everybody opposed to assad is a terrorist. self-defeatings and that it will get them into a quagmire and be used as a further recruitment tool for foreign fighters. will work with the international community and our coalition to relieve the humanitarian pressure on refugees. we are working with the turks and others to see what we can do along the border. we will making safer for people. people.things safer for findately, we will have to a way for political transition to solve syria. john carl? >> thank you. back in july, he said--

in the last 15 months of your you intendedo y too anything differentl get congress to react to the gun problem? theasked about crisis in oregon. he said, look, stuff happens. there is always the impulse to do something. it is not always the right thing to do." how would you react to governor bush? president obama: i don't think i have to react to that one. [laughter] president obama: i think the american people should hear that and react to the fact that every couple of months, we have a mass shooting. decides of -- they can

whether that is stuff happening. do, ims of what i can have asked my team as i have in what kinds ofrub authorities we have to enforce the laws that we have to keep gun violence out of the hands of criminals. are there additional actions we can take to prevent even a handful of these tragedies from taking place? but, as i have said last night, this will not change until the politics changes in the behavior of elected officials changes. the main thing i am going to do is talk about this. a regular basis. i will politicize it.

this in action is a political decision we are making. the reason that congress does gunsupport even the modest safety laws that we have proposed after sandy hook is not because the majority of the american people do not support it. normally, politicians are responsive to the views of the electorate. the majority of the american people think it is the right thing to do. background checks. that common sense steps would maybe save some lives. couldn't even get a full vote. why is that? it is because of politics. it is because of interest groups who fund campaigns, feed people , and in fairness, it is not

just in the republican party, tythough the republican par is uniformly opposed all guns safety laws. unless we change that local dynamic, we are not going to be a will to make a big dent in this problem. for example, you will hear people talk about how the problem is, "not guns, it is mental illness." if you talk to people who study this problem, it is true that the majority of the smash shooters are angry young man, but there are hundreds of millions of angry young men around the world. most of them don't shoot. it does not help us to just identify-- the majority of people who have mental illnesses are not shooters. we cannot identify ahead of time who might take action like this.

we need to make sure they cannot have an entire arsenal when something snaps in them. if we are going to do something about that, the politics has to change. the politics has to change. the people who are troubled by this have to be as intense and is organized and is adamant thet this issue as folks on other side, who are absolutists and think that any gun safety measures are somehow an assault on freedom or communistic, or a over.y me to take for forever orr something. they're all sorts of crackpot conspiracies that are floating around there that are ratified sometimes by officials in the other party on occasion.

we have got to change the politics of this. that requires people not just to feel deeply, but to do something. you have to make sure that anybody that you are voting for is on the right side of the position. sometimes, you have to be a single issue voter, because that's what's going on on the other side. they've been at this for a long time. they have perfect what they do. you have got to give them credit. they are very effective. they don't represent the majority of the american people.

they know how to stir up fear, their base, raise money, scare politicians. they know how to organize campaigns. the american people are going to have to match them and their sense of urgency if we're actually going to stop this. this isn't to say it is going to stop all violence. we will not stop all violence. violence is around the world, sadly. it is part of original sin. our homicide rates are higher than other places. you can't kill as many people and you don't have access to these kinds of weapons.

let's not forget, this is happening every single day in forgotten neighborhoods around the country. every single day. just running for their lives, trying to get to school. that in new orleans, i was sitting down with a group of young men when we were talking about katrina and i've got two , both of next to me them who had been shot multiple times. they were barely 20. so, we've got to make a decision . if we think that is normal, and we have to own it. i don't think it's normal. i think it is abnormal. i think we should change it. i cannot do it by myself. the main thing with got to do is talk about it.

that wehope, over time are changing enough minds, along with other leaders around the country that we start finally sinks in the action -- finally seeing some action. >> thank you. to go back to your opening remarks, you said that you won't fund another short-term cr. yesterday, secretary lu said that are borrowing authority would run out of bound november around november 5. does the speaker's race complicate these' negotiations? thatdent obama: i'm sure they complicate the negotiations. [laughter] that's a obama: rhetorical question. when it comes to the debt ceiling, we are not going back there.

maybe it has been a while, so let me refresh your but his memory. raising the debt ceiling does not authorize us to spend more. it simply authorizes us to pay the bills that we have already incurred. it is a way for the united states to maintain it's good credit rating. the full faith and credit of the united states. historically, we do not mess with it. if he gets messed with, it would have profound implications for the world economy. it could put our financial system and the tailspin that we saw back in 2007, 2008. it is a bad thing to do. we are not going to negotiate on that. it has to get done in the next five weeks. even though the continuing resolution to keep the government open will last for 10 weeks, we have to get the debt

ceiling raised in five. you got a shorter timetable to get that done. here's the bottom line. mitch mcconnell, john boehner, myself, nancy pelosi, harry reid , we have all spoken about trying to negotiate a budget agreement. yes, speaker boehner's decision to step down complicated. i still think there's a path for us to come up with a reasonable agreement that raises the spending caps above sequester to make sure we can properly finance both are defense and nondefense needs that maintains prudent control of our deficits.

the math is the math. we pushed through over the next several weeks and try to leave issues that may prevent us from getting a budget agreement. , that thereexample a members of the republican party who are concerned about planned parenthood. i disagree with them on that issue, and i think it is mischaracterized what planned parenthood does. i understand that they feel strongly about it, and i respect that. you cannot have an issue like that essentially wrecked the

entire u.s. economy. anymore than i should hold the entire budget hostage to my desire to do something about gun violence. i feel just as strongly about that. and i think i have got better evidence for it. but, the notion that i would threaten the republicans that unless they pass gun safety measures that would stop mass shootings, i'm been a shut down the government, that would be irresponsible of me. american people would reject that. the same is true for them. there are some fights that we and if theydually, want to defund planned parenthood, there is a way to do it. pass a law, overwrite my veto. override my veto.

that is true on a lot of issues they disagree with me on. but, you have to govern. i am hoping that the next speaker understands that the problem speaker boehner had or mitch mcconnell had it not dismantling obamacare or not eliminating the department of education -- [laughter] or notnt obama: deporting every immigrant in this country was not because mitch mcconnell or john boehner did not care about conservative principles. it had to do with the fact that they cannot do it in our system of government on the which requires compromise. just like i cannot do everything i want and pass an immigration bill or a gun safety bill.

that doesn't mean i then throw a tantrum and try to erect the economy and put hard-working americans who are just now able to dig themselves out of a massive recession into harms way. it's the wrong thing to do. peter alexander? peter: thank you mr. president. i want to talk to you about the gun issue. apart from congresses in action, apart from the desire for new laws, apart from the gun lobby's , you know that the pattern that these perpetrators are angry, aggrieved, often mentally ill young men. is there something that you can do with the bully pulpit, your moral authority, your remaining time in office, to help reach these individuals who believe the gun violence is the way out? president obama: no.

i think i continue to speak to the american people as a whole, and hopefully model for them basic social norms about rejecting violence and cooperation, and caring for other people. there are a lot of young men out there. having been one myself once, i , you know,u that being able to identify a pinpoint who might have problems it's extraordinarily difficult. i think we, as a culture, should about how wethink can nurture our kids, protect our kids, talk to them about conflict resolution, discourage

violence, and i think there are poor communities where, rather than mass shootings, you are interactionsormal the used to be settled by guns where intervention programs and mentorship can work. that's the kind of thing we're trying to encourage with, "my brother's keeper." when it comes to reaching every 99% ofcted young man, whom will hopefully grow out of it, i don't think there is a silver bullet. the way we are going to solve theyproblem is that when act out, when they are disturbed, when that particular individual has a problem, they weapons --access they cannot easily access weapons that can perpetrate mass

violence on other people. that is what other countries do. i want to emphasize this. there is no showing that somehow we are inherently more violent than any other advanced nation. or, that young men are more inherently violent in our nation than they are in other nations. are morey young men inherently violent than the rest of the population, but there is no question that this is something in the american character that this is creating this. levels of violence in american population and other populations are on par. what is different is the murder rates and the mass shooting rates. thes not the behavior or impulses as much as they have access to more powerful weapons.

julie edwards? julie: you just said that you reject president putin's approach to syria. he said it was a recipe for disaster. what are you willing to do to stop president putin and protect moderate opposition fighters? would you support a section structure? would you equip rebels with anti-aircraft weapons? sayy responded critics who putin is outsmarting you who ukraine.t to president obama: yeah, yeah, yeah, i have heard it all. [laughter] president obama: i'm always struck by the way that not just critics, but people by this narrative. when i came to office 7.5 years ago, america had precipitated

the worst financial crisis in history, driving the entire world into a massive recession. we were involved in two wars with almost no coalition support. the world opinion about the united states was at a nadir. we were just barely above russia at the time and slightly below china. shutting 800,000 jobs a month and so on and so forth. we are the strongest, largest advanced economy in the world. we are one of the bright spots in the world economy. our approval ratings have gone up. we are more active on more international issues and forged international responses to

everything from ebola to countering isil. comes intomr. putin office at this time in the economy had been growing and they were trying to have it to a more diversified economy, and as a consequence of these , their economyes has contracted for percent this year, they are isolated in the world community, so checked -- subject to sanctions not just by us but those who used to be their closest trading partners. their main allies in the middle east were libya and syria, mr. gaddafi and mr. assad. those countries are falling apart. in troops had to send

and aircraft in order to prop up this regime at the risk of alienating the entire sunni world. so, what was the question? [laughter] president obama: i think it is really interesting to understand -- is not stronger as a consequence of what they have been doing. .hey get attention the sanctions against ukraine are still in place. what i have consistently offered, from position of strength because the united states is not subject to sanctions, and we're not contracting 4% a year, what i've offered as a pathway

for they can get back on the path of growth and do right by their people. mr. putin's actions have been successful only in safar as it has boosted his poll ratings inside of russia, which may be why the beltway is so impressed. that tends to be the measure of success. of course, it is easier to do when you have a state-controlled media. not a smart, strategic move on russia's part. russia has now done is not only committed its own troops into a situation in which the overwhelming majority of the syrian population sees it now as an enemy, but the sunni population throughout the middle

as ais going to see it supporter, an endorser of those barrel bombs landing on kids. at a time when russia has a significant muslim population side of its own borders and that it needs to worry about. i want russia to be successful. a contest putting the united states and russia. -- between the united states and russia. active russia to be an member of the international stage they can share burdens with us, china, europe, japan. the problems we have our big. i am hopeful that mr. putin

recognizes that this is not going to be a good long-term strategy and that he works instead to bring about a political settlement, just as i hope that they can resolve issues with ukraine in a way that recognizes russian equities , but upholds the basic principle of sovereignty and independence that the ukrainian people should enjoy like everybody else. but, until that time, we're going to continue to have tensions. we are going to have differences. we're not going to make syria into a proxy war between the united states and russia. that would be bad strategy on our part. russia,a battle between iran, and assad against the majority of the syrian people. our battle is with isil.

our battle is with the entire toernational community resolve the conflict and end the bloodshed and the refugee crisis and allow the people to be at shelterrk, grow food, their children, send those kids to school. that is the side we are on. superpower some chessboard contest. anybody who frames it that way is not paying very close attention to what is happening on the chessboard. last question. mr. president, good to see you. president obama: good to see you. >> for your children, i will not take too long. president obama: i have been boring them to death, i guarantee you. [laughter] >> i wonder if you can tell the

country to what degree you have changed your mood by what you discussed impacted with pope francis and what his visit may have met for the country long-term and for democrats who may be wondering whether it is too late for joe biden to run for president, and lastly, just to clarify-- [laughter] >> to what degree did hillary of the's endorsement no-fly zone put her in a category of embracing eighth half-baked answer in syria that "borders on mumbo-jumbo?" president obama: on the latter issue, on the last question to you asked, hillary clinton is in approaching these problems. she was my secretary of state. i also think there's a difference between running for president and being present. that's presidents. the decisions that we are making become much more specific and

require a different kind of judgment. that is what i will continue to apply. as long as i'm here. if and when she is president, she will make those judgments. she has been there enough that she knows that these are tough calls, -- no, that is not what i said. that is what you said. we all want to try to relieve the suffering in syria. to make sure that whatever we do, we are doing it in a way that serves the national security interests of the american people, that does getting intos things that we cannot get out of or cannot do effectively.

as much as possible, that we are working with international partners. working withnue people and dealing with the humanitarian situation there and providing a space where we can , you about the kind of know, political transition that is going to be required to solve the problem. i think kelly clinton would be the first to say that when you are sitting in the seat that i'm sitting in in the situation room, things look little different. because she has been right there, next to me. i love joe biden. he's got his own decisions to make. i will leave it at that. he is doing ae, great job as vice president and has been helpful on a bunch of issues. pope francis, i love him.

man with a warm big moral a imagination. i think he had such an impact in his visit here and has had around the world, because he beliefs deeply about and expresses what i consider as a christian the essence of christianity. and, he has a good sense of humor. i cannot share all his jokes. they were all clean. [laughter] as i said inma: when heoduction

appeared at the white house on the south lawn, i think it is really useful that he makes us uncomfortable in his gentle way, that he is constantly prodding people's consciousness and asking everybody all across the political spectrum what more you can do to be kind, to be helpful , to love, to sacrifice, to serve. sense, i don't think he is somebody where we should be applying the typical ofrican political measures liberal and conservative and left and right. i think he is speaking to all of .ur consciousness we all have to search ourselves

to see the ways that we can do better. [indiscernible] president obama: i think that when i spend time with somebody and their other individuals, some of whom are famous and some of whom are not, but who are good people, and deeply moral, it makes me wonder -- want to be better. those people are great gifts to the world. sometimes, they are just a teacher in a classroom. sometimes, they are your neighbor. sometimes they are your mom. or, your wife. sometimes they are your kids. they can encourage you to be better.

that is what we are all trying to do. that is one of the wonderful things about pope francis. the humility that he brings to this. rejection of the absolutism that says, "i 100% right. you are 100% wrong." rather that we are all sinners, all children of god. that is a pretty good starting point for being better. all right. thank you for your patience. you can now go home. [laughter] president obama: thanks . [indiscernible]

>> coming up next, your calls and comments live on washington journal. then, a house hearing on the discovery of water on mars. after that, canadian party leaders take part in a pre-election debate. >> the c-span network features weekends full of politics, nonfiction books, and american history. his morning, at 10:00 a.m.

eastern, nasa's announcement of liquid water on mars, the science base and technology committee talks to the experts about the announcement and the possibility of life in space. sunday evening at 6:30, policymakers, industry leaders, discuss the national conversation at the washington ideas form. former speakers include mitt romney and valerie jarrett. book tv, tonight at 10:00 eastern, afterwards, an .nterview by max mclarty sunday at noon on in-depth, we are live with ashley syndicated talk show host thom hartmann, who is authored several books including the crash of 2016, and threshold. join us for a three-hour conversation as we take here calls, tweets, and e-mails. 2:00, his bookat

and the dead shall rise. author steve owning explores the and arrest3 murder of jewish factory owner leo frank. the 1975 energy administration documentary on the supply and demand of fossil feels in the u.s. and alternative energy sources. get the complete schedule on www.c-span.org. >> on washington journal, a of theion of the state economy and the actions of the federal reserve. in deception trust by volkswagen and fiat. lupton, founder of george washington university,,

talks about nasa's discovery of water on mars. we can take your calls and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. washington journal is next. ♪ good saturday morning to you. it is october the third. here are some of the top headlines in the news. the victims of the mass shooting at an oregon community college have been named. nine were killed and nine more were injured. in washington, arne duncan will step down after a seven-year tenure. president obama, for the first time yesterday, criticized airstrikes in syria. there is a lot to talk about this morning. we look at all of these topics, and more. first, we want to know your thoughts on the benghazi community, investigatan