including postage and a digital scale. go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again. this is a fox news alert. welcome to washington. new details tonight about the man police say is behind the weekend bombings in new york and new jersey. a weekend of terror coming to an end with a shootout in a new jersey street. the suspect ahmad khan rahami was shot by police. a witness said he was sleeping in a hallway. two officers were wounded in the gunfire. after a day of not using the words, new york city's mayor says they now have every right to believe the attacks were and act of terror. we have fox team coverage tonight. kevin cork is at the white house

with thee administration's reaction. mike tobin is in minnesota where isis is taking responsibility for another stabbing attack being investigated as terror. we begin tonight with senior correspondent rick leventhal. good evening. >> reporter: good evening. we have been told that this block of 23rd street between 6th and 7th avenues will reopen. it had been closed since the explosion saturday night, littered with glass and debris. that's being cleaned up. while the fbi is finished collecting evidence, the investigation into the string of attacks and attempted attacks is only just beginning. terror suspect ahmad khan are a rahami, wounded, roughly after three hours after his picture was released. several officers were hurt in the exchange of fire. >> at around 10:45 this morning, two linden police officers

confronted rahami in linden on east elizabeth street. they encountered him outside a local bar. and there was an exchange of gunfire. he was then taken into custody. >> reporter: authorities believe he planted a series of explosive devices, the first detonating saturday morning in seaside park, new jersey, along the part of a 5k run. saturday night, on 23rd street in manhattan, a pressure cooker bomb blew up in or next to a dumpster, shattering windows and injuring 29 people. some by shrapnel, includining bl bearings. another pressure cooker bomb was found but it did not go off. authorities told fox news all three devices were connected to flip phones and likely built by the same man. >> no indication that there's a cell operating in the area or in the city. the investigation is ongoing.

as we develop more information, we continue to go. i have no indication that there's a cell operating here. >> reporter: sunday night, a backpack with more pipe bombs was found at a train station in new jersey, a half mile from rahami's home. a bomb squad robot detonated one of the devices. monday morning, authorities released his picture calling him a person of interest, concerned about the potential of another attack. >> we activated earlier today a messaging system used by our office of emergency management that allowed us to get information out to all new yorkers across the board. and it had an extraordinary affect. >> this is another example of what law enforcement does every day. they put themselves in harm's way to protect others, regardless of the risk. this all started on saturday. >> reporter: the commissioner officially sworn in today as head of america's largest police department. security was on heightened alert here in new york city because the general assembly started

today. president obama and hundreds of others dig knnitaries in town t week. questions about whether rahami acted alone. >> rick in new york. thank you. the fbi is investigating the weekend stabbing attack at a minnesota mall as an act of terrorism as well. an isis news agency calls the suspect who injured ten people on saturday a, quote, soldier of the islamic state. mike tobin has the latest on that investigation tonight from saint cloud, minnesota. >> reporter: an isis-related media outlet said the attacker was a soldier for the islamic state. he mentioned allah and asked if he was muslim before stabbing one victim. beyond that, they don't have evidence that links this to organized terrorism. >> we do not know whether the subject was in contact with, had connections with, was inspired

by a foreign terrorist organization. >> reporter: the family of 22-year-old dahir adan identified him as the attacker. he was born in kenya as a refugee. honors in high school. he attended a local college. the somali community is fearful that they will be stigmatized by the actions of one man. >> we're all shocked, just like you. we're all grieving, just like you. this is an act of an individual. >> reporter: the police chief warned his officers to be vigilant for the potential of reprisal attacks. >> it would be short sighted not to have that on my radar. i spoke with my staff about it this morning is that very thing. >> reporter: praise is being heaped on the police officer who shot the attacker to stop him. >> had the opportunity to witness the surveillance video. from what i saw -- to me it

looked like a training video for what police work is about. >> reporter: the president weighed in on the attack saying at this point, there did not appear to be a connection between what happened here at the mall and what happened in new york and new jersey. police have identified a tenth stabbing victim by reviewing security video. the individual told police he didn't report but he didn't think his injuries were too bad. >> mike, live in saint cloud. thank you. after a weekend that saw ten people stabbed at a mall and bombs at locations in new york and new jersey, the president spoke about the potential acts of terror, a response from an administration that has a this try of being slow to use the word terrorism and hardly ever radical islamic terrorism. tonight kevin cork reports from the white house. >> reporter: it seemed an almost instifshgi instinctive response. >> we see no connection between that and what happened here.

>> reporter: the president quick to suggest there was no apparent connection between the explosions in new york and new jersey and the stabbings in minnesota. while the investigation into any possible ties continues, the fact is, all were acts of terror. all were perpetrated by self-proclaimed muslims. in his first remarks since the attacks, the president cautioned against drawing conclusions based on what he called limited information. >> it does not help if false reports or incomplete information is out there. try to as much as possible stick to what our investigators say, because they actually know what they're talking about. >> reporter: what is clear is the white house's penchants to says they are lone wolf in nature, not part of a broader problem. from the president's description of the underwear bomber to the san bernardino killers. >> lone wolf actors. >> reporter: to the orlando massac massacre. >> lone wolf attacks. >> reporter: and chattanooga

shooting. >> this threat of lone wolves and small cells. >> reporter: experts believe the white house's unwillingness to tell the hard truth endangers americans. >> the president has never been willing to admit that we are facing a global ideological threat from radical islam. we saw this today when he wouldn't call the attacks in new jersey and new york terrorism. i think that's why this threat has been growing throughout mr. obama's presidency. >> what isil wants to do is project that they are an organization that is representing islam in a fight and a war against the west and a war against the united states. that is a bankrupt, false narrative. >> reporter: a narrative that nonetheless continues to resonate with terrorists who have known no hesitance in injuring innocent americans. when the white house says we are in a narrative fight against isis just days after terror attacks on u.s. soil we should be concerned. miller added that it's time for new leadership in the fight against radical islamic

terrorism. a description we have yet to hear from this white house. we learned tonight from new york officials that they have yet to draw a direct connection between rahami and any terror cells in the new york area. >> kevin cork, thank you. the fear of foreign terrorists living among us may be under scored with the arrest of rahami. and the terror investigation into the man who went on the stabbing rampage in minnesota. while the president announced plans to allow more than 100,000 refugees into the u.s. in 2017, and plans to push more countries to take in syrian refugees, this week at the u.n., a new homeland security inspector general report tonight states hundreds of individuals who were ordered deported were granted u.s. citizenship. james rosen reports. >> reporter: a new report by the inspector general at the department of homeland security

finds the u.s. citizenship and immigration services improperly granted citizenship to 1,028 foreigners, individuals who had had a final deportation order issued against them under another identity. in 858 of the cases, fingerprints for the individual, either at dhs or the fbi weren't available. >> this is a case where we had the data but the desire to grant citizenship trumped the core competent receive to make the data available in a timely way. >> reporter: it gets worse. the dls hs inspector found one the citizens has become a law enforcement official here. three of them have obtained some form of security two enjoy access to secure areas

in an airport. a dhs spokesperson said before the report was issued, the u.s. immigration and customs enforcement agency had digitized the majority of records which it identifies as having missing records. that did not complete the digitization process. addressing the weekend bombings in new york and new jersey, in which the lead suspect is an afghan native who attained naturalized citizenship, hillary clinton warned against painting with two broad a brush. >> there are millions and millions of naturalized citizens in america from all over the world. >> reporter: donald trump, who has called for tougher immigration measures, renewed that call after the weekend explosions. >> let me state very, very clearly, immigration security is national security.

>> reporter: at least two of the 1,000 ill leem egal immigrants being prosecuted by u.s. attorneys. two others with fingerprint records linked to terrorism have been referred to the joint terrorism task force. joining us with reaction is senator richard burn, chairman of the select committee on intelligence. >> good to be with you. >> since we're coming off the report, i will start there. it seems mind boggling that that is happening. that this is not a political report. this is the dhs inspector general saying that these people were slated for deportation and ended up getting citizenship. >> and it says why many members of congress have said, let's put a pause on this. let's figure out a system that we can feel confident, really recognize who we're allowing in and that the person they claim they are, they actually are.

for an average person going through citizenship, they go to their state capital to get fingerprinted every year. it's hard to believe they would go back and rely on original fingerprints from years ago. >> let's talk about what we know about new york, new jersey attacks and this guy rahami. do you believe he was working alone? >> complex attack. multiple devices. multiple locations. a tremendous amount of pre-plan hg pre-planing had to go into it. in all likelihood, could you park, could you pull a duffel bag down 23rd and 27th, probably unlikely. right now the evidence leads towards one individual. we're 48 hours into it. we have somebody in custody. that's phenomenal. we have devices that are intact. let the forensics happen. if there are more individuals, we will find evidence that leads us that way. there's a tremendous amount of

media for the fbi to go through. >> what about this lone wolf versus organized or inspired? we paint with these different words. it is all terrorism. >> it is terrorism. america was attacked multiple times. we were attacked in minnesota, new jersey and new york. whether it was inspired, whether it was directed, i can tell you this, that the pressure cookers look like they were matched out of "inspire" magazine, which was an al qaeda publication. i'm not sure about the pipe bombs, whether there is some unique nature to them. this has been influenced by terrorists around the world through that media. maybe we will find whether they are selectors that tell us they were talking to folks. >> authorities say that he traveled to afghanistan and pakistan numerous times. >> i would say this.

the fbi understands the reason that he was in the region. that was not something alarming to them. whether there were additional things while he was in the region that might have helped radicalize him in any way or directed him in any way, i'm sure that the fbi will look at that very intensely over the next few days. >> the boss tton bombers, we ha red flags when they traveled overseas and believed to be radicalized. >> he had ties in the region that made it legitimate for him to go there. let this investigation continue. what we should look at is the fact that the new york police department, the joint terrorism task force, new jersey police, local police and fbi have done a wonderful job in 48 hours. we have a tremendous amount of evidence to process. it will lead us, i think, to everywhere we need to go. >> the white house press secretary saying that actually we are just in a war of narratives against isis. your reaction to that.

>> that it shows you how out of touch this administration is with the terrorism that we see in new york, in new jersey, in minneapolis. more importantly, the threat list that i look at every morning as the chairman of the intelligence committee where i look at more threats globally around the world than anybody could ever imagine. to say this is a surprise, no, it's not. i've been on your show and said it's a matter of time. if it's not here, it's europe, it's asia. it's going to happen until we take this seriously. we eliminate the ability for either direction or facilitation by isil or al qaeda or any of the offshoots out there. >> what keeps you up at night? >> from everything that we know, what keeps me up is what i don't know. the reality is that technology allows a lot of communication that we can't see inside with or without a court order. it's that communication, some of

it we may find in the media of -- we will have to wait to see. >> there was a long piece about gitmo and who is leaving. suggesting there's some pretty bad terrorists that actually have been transferred to the uae and other places. are you concerned about that closing, that it seems like the administration wants and the press wa president wants that to happen? >> absolutely. we had no boy scouts there. it was the level of threat that they presented. what we're down to is the hard core people, individuals that really -- i question whether they can be rehabilitated. if given the avenue to get to a country where they can marry back up with a mission, they will do that. we have seen it happen. we will continue to see it happen with the hardest core that we let go. >> i would be remiss if i didn't

ask you about your re-election effort. north carolina, it seems like an interesting state this year. >> it's a battleground state. it may be the electoral state that decides the next president of the united states. i would love to be running unopposed. i'm not. i'm confident if people judge me on my record, that not only will i be back, will be back and have an administration that will have a different way forward as it relates to terrorism. >> thank you. >> thank you. up next, the presidential candidates' different responses to the terror attacks. fox 5 in new york on the trial over the scandal that paralyzed traffic three years ago in a new jersey town next to the george washington bridge for four days. a federal prosecutor told jurors today that a witness will testify that new jersey governor chris christie knew of a plan to close traffic lanes near the bridge as it was happening. the revelation came in opening statements at the trial of two

former allies of christie. christie, who serves as the head of the trump transition team, has always and continues to deny knowing of the plan. fox oklahoma city, local and federal investigators are looking at dash cam video in the death of a black man shot by a white police officer responding it a stalled vehicle. tulsa's police chief said he had no weapon on him when he was shot by the officer friday. however, a police spokeswoman said he refused orders to put up his hands. a live look at atlanta from fox 5. the story there tonight, an executive order from the governor to prevent price gouging at the gas pump. he signed the order after an increase in gas prices due to a leak in an alabama fuel pipeline. crews are working around the clock to repair that pipeline. that's tonight's look outside the beltway. we'll be right back.

looking at the numbers tonight. the electoral college, that's what it comes down to. 270, the magic number. right now, our calculations have hillary clinton with 217, donald trump with 164. these are the states that are locked in. if you look at these gray states, these are the tossups. they can go either way depending on where the polls are now. we will make guesses here how it comes out. it could change. florida, trump seems to be getting momentum there. he is up one or two. let's give florida to donald trump. geor georgia, give that to donald trump. south carolina, you see nine electoral votes there. north carolina, a little closer,

democrats think they have a chance. give that to the republicans as well. hillary clinton could pull off virginia. it's tightening there. pennsylvania seems like it's hillary clinton territory. as well as you see michigan there is blue. wisconsin heading hillary clinton's way. when you go to the state of ohio, we will give that to donald trump, who is trending that way as well as iowa. arizona traditionally republican. nevada is a tie right now. we will give it the change candidate, the republicans. colorado comes down at nine votes for the democrats. now, here we are. 269 to 265. one state remains unmarked on this map. that is the state of new hampshire. four electoral votes there. hillary clinton is leading right now. but it's pretty tight.

if you give that state to hillary clinton, it puts her over the top, 273 to 265. again, all the these numbers could change. two or three points could swing the entire map. the magic number, 270. we have team fox could haverage the campaign trail. jennifer griffith is in new york. we have begin with john roberts with more on how trump took credit for predicting terror attacks on u.s. soil. good evening, john. >> reporter: good evening to you. donald trump talked about the need to take drastic steps to combat terrorism in the united states repeating his call from months ago to include profiling as a part of the arsenal. he told a huge crowd here in florida today that he is the candidate best equipped to keep the united states safe. the crowd in the arena outside ft. myers was standing room

only. the message from donald trump, uncompromising. >> we cannot let this evil continue. we will defeat radical islamic terrorism. just as we have defeated every threat we have faced in every age before. >> reporter: trump pledged under his administration there would be no quarter for teterrorists. he lashed out at hillary clinton. >> the kind of rhetoric and language that mr. trump has used is giving aid and comfort to our adversaries. >> her weakness, her ineffectiveness caused the problem. now she wants to be president. i don't think so. >> reporter: our latest poll shows neither candidate has a clear advantage on who voters trust to fight terrorism. trump is hoping to work to his advantage news today that the obama administration sees the war against isis as a battle to control the narrative and

awarded citizenship to 858 citizens slated for deportation. >> these are people that were supposed to be deported and they were given full citizenship. they made a mistake. >> reporter: as trump continues to close the gap with hillary clinton, a new "new york times" poll shows the race a dead heat in florida. cl clinton supporters are becoming more shrill. the hollywood elite ripped trump up one side and down the other. >> he is a dangerous monster. any moment that have i to cai h trump out for being an inheriter to hitler. >> things we think of pale in comparison. >> who is to blame for donald trump? that guy. >> reporter: terrorism will be front and center when donald trump meets with egypt's president in new york city.

donald trump is talking glowing terms about him and says if he becomes president, he will deepen ties between the united states and egypt. >> thank you. hillary clinton responded to the terror attacks today but remained focus on campaign as she fights to win over supporters who backed her former rival. jennifer griffin reports tonight from new york. >> reporter: making the case that she would make a better commander in chief, hillary clinton responded to the new york area bombing. >> we will defend our country and we will defeat the evil, twisted ideology of the terrorists. i'm the only candidate in this race who has been part of the hard decisions to take terrorists off the battlefield. >> reporter: with tightening battleground polls forcer her campaign to redouble efforts to appeal to the obama coalition. she took her message to temple university in philadelphia,

addressing millennials who have not shifted their support from bernie sanders. >> i worked with bernie sanders. we came up with a plan that makes public college tuition free for working families. >> reporter: clinton acknowledged millennials' doubts. >> i know that even if you are totally opposed to donald trump you may still have questions about me. i get that. and i want to do my best to answer those questions. i will never be the showman my opponent is. you know what? that's okay with me. >> reporter: president obama made the case for clinton to the congressional black caucus gala. >> i will consider it a personal insult, an insult to my legacy if this community lets down its guard and fails to activate itself in this election. >> reporter: mr. obama left some of his most searing criticism of donald trump to remarks during a democratic fund-raiser. he accused him of having no interest in, quote, gaining the

rude m knowledge to make presidential decisions, adding trump's campaign is an infomercial. bill clinton was asked why his wife can't seem to connect with voters. >> they are responding to the fact that this e-mail thing was treated like the most important event since the end of world war ii. the way donald trump and his supporters have treated her, i wonder if there's a man in america that could have taken what she has been through in the last year and a half. >> reporter: clinton, like trump, plans to meet with the egyptian president later tonight here in manhattan to talk about global terrorism. she will not, however, be attending the global clinton initiative fund-raising forum attached to the u.n. general assembly. the first time she hasn't attended the event in 12 years. >> jennifer griffin live with the clinton campaign. an afghan official says two u.s. air strikes in afghanistan

killed eight of his country's police officers sunday. the official says the first air strike killed one police officer outside the capital before a second in the same area killed seven others. a u.s. brigadier general says it was a response to militants firing. syria's military says a cease-fire agreement between the u.s. and russia is over. secretary of state john kerry disagrees. conn conn connor powell reports as fighting continues, so does the blame game. >> reporter: syria's military announced what this weekend's fighting declared, the u.s. and russian brokered cease-fire is over. the fragile truce had significantly reduced violence with only sporadic fighting during the first few days of the deal.

humanitarian aide did make it to some syrians. a convoy was bombed by pro-assad forces. the truce was supposed to usher in an era of u.s. and russian cooperation. this collaboration suffered a major setback on saturday after american-led coalition jets mistakenly struck a syrian military outpost killing 62 syrian troops. pentagon officials said coalition jets meant to target isis fighters. moscow rejected the american excuse. >> it was quite significant. frankly, suspicious. >> reporter: accused the u.s. of supporting isis. >> really? american citizens have been beheaded by this group. we are leading a 67-country coalition to destroy this group. this is serious for us. it is not a game. >> reporter: secretary of state john kerry remained optimistic monday saying it was too early to declare the cease-fire finished.

>> i think as i said yesterday, it's time to end the grand standing and time to do the real work of delivering on the humanitarian goods. >> reporter: republican senators are demanding answers from secretary kerry about whether russia violated the terms of the iranian nuclear deal when it it launched air strikes. despite the apparent breakdown of the cease-fire, u.s. and russian officials signalled monday the agreement could be salvaged but neither offered any indication on how that might happen. even if it's salvaged, one thing is clear. the joint military cooperation between the u.s. and russia seems to have been postponed indefinitely. >> thank u. the food and drug administration granted tentative approval today to the first drug for muscular dystrophy. it's the first fda approved drug

for the use in the treatment of the muscular dystrophy, a degenerative condition that causes muscle weakness, loss of movement and eventually death. it was cleared under the agency's accelerate ed d approv program reserved for drugs that show early promising drugs that haven't been confirmed. the dow lost. the s&p dropped a fraction. the nasdaq was down. terrorism is one of the biggest concerns for voters this november. did hillary clinton and donald trump's responses to the latest terror attack help or harm their campaigns? our panel weighs in next.

the president of the united states or my opponent and both won't even say the words radical islamic terror. in fact, hillary clinton talks

tougher about my supporters than she does about islamic terrorists. >> i am prepared to, ready to actually take on those challenges. not engage in a lot of irresponsible, reckless rhetoric. we have to smash isis' stro strongholds with an air campaign. more support for arab and kurdish forces on the ground. and intense diplomatic efforts in syria, iraq and across the region. >> hillary clinton today with a different tone and delivery about reacting to the terrorist attacks over the past couple of days, new york, new jersey and minnesota. you saw donald trump today. this as the white house went out and the vice-presidential nominee responded to the narrative. >> in some ways this is a war of narratives. we want to make sure we're getting out our counter narrative against isis. >> i'm not hthat hillary clinto and barak obama know we are at war. did you hear a white house

spokesman told went on national television and said that we were in a, quote, narrative fight, a quote, narrative battle? well, that would be news to the men and women in uniform in iraq who are taking the fight to the enemy every day. >> the latest fox news poll on the issue of terrorism has it tied. 47/46 within the margin of error. you see it has come from since may, last august and now. let's bring in our panel. jillian turner, charles lane, and charles kranek. responses and how they have changed. >> the response you heard from the presidential spokesman on narrative was clearly a mistake and something that can be exploited by the other side and should be.

it reflects the president's idea which he has had since the beginning of his terms which is that diplomacy and all this is what international relations is all about. this is a subset of that. in other words, the war on terror is a war of narratives, it's a war of idea, hearts and minds. yes, however, hearts and minds are swayed by what's going on on the ground. it's what bin laden talked about when he said people will go for the strong horse. the fact that there is less recreatemer recruitment to isis today is a reflection of the fact it's losing on the ground slowly, very gradually. nonetheless, if you are going to give your life to the jihad, you are not going to do it if you think the jihad is not going to succeed. that i think is what this administration simply never understands. everything is soft. everything is ideological. nothing matters on the ground. everything hinges on what happens on the ground.

>> there is something about the emotion of delivery and internalizing what people at home feel about the terrorist threat. you saw a difference, i think, in how hillary clinton said we don't -- we don't lawyhear her we're going to smash isis, perhaps in reaction to donald trump's -- >> you know, in watching this entire campaign, you really start to form the impression that these two candidates are addressing two different -- almost with every other issue, two different audiences who see the world through two very difference lens. on the republican side, there's an exiffif a -- the emphasis on force and this hard power side of the story. over on the democratic side the emphasis is don't overreact, don't go too far, don't reach for the hammer. these are two different world views in competition now over how best to fight terrorism.

i think it's interesting in that regard. they had a poll today that shows that among republicans -- republicans are three times more likely to say then democrats that they fear being directly hit by terrorism. i don't know why that would necessarily be the case. but that's -- these two candidates are dealing with different emotional experiences depending on party now. >> good point. you work for both administrations, different world views. you buy that description? >> completely. i would say that on saturday in the middle of these unfolding incidents, trump did a really great job of connecting emotionally with people. hillary clinton did not. but she bounced back today in her comments. that was because she had some real substance to fall back on. by which i mean, i really commend the fact that she of the two has put forward a comprehensive plan to defeat isis that american voters can look at, can evaluate, can decide for themselves whether

they think it's viable or not. i think that donald trump has really shot himself in the foot at this point by still refusing to put forward a plan. i think it's downright disrespectful to the voters at this time. i mean, we're 50 days out. i was hoping we were going to have something six months ago. he is standing by his decision not do it. >> and yet, when he talks about going after isis, when he links this all together and says that his opponent is weak, just as barak obama is, it's suggesting this is a third term candidacy. >> and i think it really is a third term candidacy. it always is at the end of a two-term presidency, whether it's a former vice-president or secretary of state. it's particularly true in this case because she was involved in the decisions. yes, according to the memoirs, she was more hawkish than obama on syria, libya it's not a

talking point and other places. but nonetheless, she's tied to the hip to obama and the policies. and even when you hear the presidential spokesman today speaking about narratives, it washes over on her. there's no escaping that. >> chuck, this dhs inspector general report, the summary here, they granted u.s. citizenship to 858 individuals ordered deported or removed under another identity when during the naturalization process the digital fingerprint records were not available. the u.s. immigration and customs enforcement has identified about 148,000 older fingerprint records that have not been digitized. aliens with final deportation orders or fugitives or criminals. they point out they come from what are called select countries that are a particular concern on national security. >> surprise. our immigration bureaucracy is a mess.

it has been for years. everybody knows that. there's a lot of disagreement about immigration policy. but everybody ought to be able to agree that people who are not entitled to citizenship should not get it through bureaucratic error. >> when donald trump says that 110,000 refugees coming in and we don't have the screaming procepr screening process -- >> he can point to this. it's a great talking point for him. >> at the same time -- this story is indefensible in my opinion. but the broader narrative that i think it's only fair we point to is that dhs on the whole -- i'm not talking about the political elite. i'm talking about the guys on the ground, agents, do a fantastic job of protecting the homeland every day. it's the kind of job where they really only get recognition when there is a screwup. so on the hole, since 9/11, they have done a fantastic job. not a single attack perpetrated, executed by a foreign terrorist

organization on u.s. soil. they have to get credit. >> isis-inspired, you can go to orlando and others. you can go to ft. hood that was called a workplace violence. >> i think the real inside story is a typo. they read this as these people as being merely deportable. the deplorabldeplorables. stepped on my own line. instead, they were, of course, deportable. >> it's one we're going to follow. it does fit with the story today as you are dealing with a naturalized citizen from afghanistan who is believed to be behind all of these bombings in new york and new jersey. the obama administration's response or lack of one over u.s. terror threats over the months.

this incident, like several that have preceded it, demonstrates that an alert and courageous citizenry are far more resilient than an isolated extreme glis we don't know yet all the details. we know that what appears to be a lone gunman carried out these attacks. >> it is possible that this was terrorist-related. but we don't know. it's also possible that this was work place related. >> if you have lone wolf attacks like this, we're going to have to take different kinds of steps in order to prevent something like this from happening. >> we are not prepared to rule in or rule out that these events are acts of terrorism. >> well, president obama, his administration, going

back to the christmas day underwear bomber. there has been this evolution. we're back with the panel. charles, this reluctance has sometimes gotten under people's skin to call terrorism terrorism or to be slow to get there or to say it's something else. and it seems like there is a frustration about that, that perhaps donald trump is tapping into. >> well, i mean it is absolutely clear that the duratio --administration's relue and denial between the inexplicable and delusional. this is time after time as you showed there is always an attempt to say anything other than what these things are. the way not to use the word terrorist. the way that fort hood shooter was called work place violence for months. and the way even in this instance, which is obviously a terror attack, there is a reluctance to use the term. and they are still pondering

now about the guy who stabbed the people in the mall in minnesota. he, according to eyewitnesses, he went around and asked people if they were muslim, and he invoked allah. what more do you need? and then the idea that somehow if it's a lone wolf it's of a lesser category as if in the absence of an absolute letter of instruction handwritten in raqqa by the leader of isis it counts for less. it counts for the same. and it's only. the only explanation is a president who wants to deny what's going on and to pretend it is not the threat it is. and that gives the fuel to republicans in general and to trump, in particular. >> joanne, i heard a pundit on another network say this is likely a lone wolf who maybe got together with other lone wolfs. i mean, is that a wolf pack of terrorists? i guess there is this question about at what point does the semantics really

matter? >> i think that when it comes to these kinds of incidents, the semantics matters from a response perspective. it matters a great deal to policymakers, for example. because as an example, if you have an attack like the one we saw this past weekend in new york city, and you keep the option of it being a terrorist attack on the table, which is something i feel is very important, it's not semantics. what it means is that you can bring a much greater sort of pan employee of pan in a plea. wring in special fbi investigative units like we also saw. again, it's a problem of when you take options off the table, you unnecessarily limit yourself and your government's response. same thing we have done with isis in iraq and syria. >> so the question is, does the administration try extra hard not to have this perception that terrorists are attacking us? >> look, i don't think

looking back on this 8 years, i don't think it's like a hidden secret how barack obama feels about this. he has been fairly open about it. he feels that in the bush administration response to 9/11, there was so much hype and exaggeration about terrorism it led us terribly aastray into iraq. and frankly i think a lot of americans think he has a point about that. if you summarize his thinking about all of this. i would argue it is don't overreact because it could lead you into things that are also damning and dangerous. having said that where i think he falls down is in the sort of leadership style aspect of that was people are not going to be receptive to that calm down and don't overreact message unless you assure them upfront, before that, that you understand their fears. and that's a very difficult balance for him to strike as a leader. a final point about this lone wolf issue, the guy in new jersey strikes me as a separate case. the minnesota thing, there seems to be a clear indication of islamic state

inspiration. the new jersey thing does seem to grow out of sort of a long-running feud he had. you know, in his local community. >> originally at intern and orlando. >> there is a lot of evidence here he had a lawsuit. he felt he was being harassed by the government. we'll see how much -- there does seem to be a distinction between these two cases. >> quickly, lock, even if you concede that what bush did was an overreaction, after seven years, shouldn't the president understand that what he has done is a radical and tragic under reaction that revived isis, that revived al qaeda in iraq and abandoned our allies and stoked all these wars? it's as if he can only understand one kind of reaction and he has been driven by this in the face of the relates and empirical evidence. that in and of itself is a tragedy. >> we're going to look at some other reaction from my twitter account next.

constipated? trust number one doctor recommended dulcolax use dulcolax tablets for gentle overnight relief suppositories for relief in minutes and stool softeners for comfortable relief of hard stools. dulcolax, designed for dependable relief always interesting from billy bumper: thanks for watching while you have. i think i read that like you meant it.

i'm pretty sure charles will stay on this panel. i was feeling sunshiny today. finally in from ziploc. thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. that's it for this "special report," fair, balanced and >> it is tuesday september 20th. the man accused of terrorizing new jersey and new york with bombs facing terror charges.

>> 20-year-old ahmad rahami naturalized citizen born in afghanistan was captured after a massive manhunt ended in a dramatic shoot out with police. (gunfire) >> good morning. you are watching "fox & friends first" on this tuesday morning. i am clayton morris. >> i am heather childers. thank you for starting your day with us as always. the fbi begins building their case. we are learning a lot more about the suspected bomber's past including a note he left near an unexploded bomb. >> we have fox news team coverage for you. we begin with leland vittert wi with the latest on that. >> good morning clayton to you. ahmad rahami held on $2 million

bond. he had his booking note toe t--o taken at the hospital. a shoot out jed and charges on the bombings whether it be in manhattan that injured 30 people the bombings on sea side park new jersey down on the jersey shore and also the five bombs in elizabeth new jersey his home town those will be coming from the federal officials sometime later. what do we know about rahami's background learning more about if he is putting the puzzle together about why he is doing this. he took a trip to his native afghanistan. people reported he came back from the trips a changed person. exactly how changed we don't know. his high school sweetheart describing him as a dead beat dad who had a dislike of america. although she said she didn't think it would ever come to this. he also said he