>> what do you have in your hand? >> we have an alligator snapping turtle. the tongue is fishing. the red part on the tongue there? >> if i put my head in that it would be no problem? >> i'd lose it. >> bill: thank you, guys, got some breaking news to start this morning. the trump administration saying the assad regime may be preparing to launch another chemical weapons attack on its own people. warning if that happens they'll pay a heavy price as we say good morning from washington today. split broadcast for "america's newsroom." shannon, good morning to you. >> shannon: good morning. i'm in new york today. more on syria in just a moment. first back at home another battle brewing in congress. republicans now facing new roadblocks in their efforts to undo obamacare. the nonpartisan congressional budget office weighing in saying up to 22 million americans could lose their health insurance over the next

decade but it would also cut $320 billion off the budget deficit in that same time frame. >> bill: now republican opposition on that plan is growing. six senators at the moment saying they can't support the bill in its current form, shannon. >> shannon: more on that from capitol hill in a moment. first syria. good morning, kristin. any idea where the white house is getting this intelligence about another possible chemical weapons attack ramping up? >> the pentagon is saying it's seeing new activity at an aircraft hanger in syria. it's long been associated with chemical weapons. it is unclear if that is what prompted the white house to put out this very ominous and unusual statement late last night. it says that the u.s. has identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the assad regime and that if it does, he and his military will pay a heavy price.

that's a direct threat from the commander-in-chief. he has proven in the past he is not afraid to take decisive military action. the last time the assad regime carried out a chemical weapons attack against its own people it took president trump only two days to respond. at the time the white house accused russia that supports the assad regime of a cover-up. now the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. is including russia in this latest threat. quote, any further attacks done to the people of syria will be blamed on assad but also on russia and iran who support him. killing his own people. don't forget, shannon, this is all happening just one week before what could be the very first face-to-face meeting between president trump and russian president vladimir putin at the g20 summit in germany. >> shannon: in the meantime vice president pence is heading to the hill today with some work to do. what can you tell us about that?

>> vice president pence played a critical role in getting the republican healthcare plan through the house. now he is really helping to do the same thing in the senate. today he is heading to the hill to try to sway some wary republican senators who are more skittish after the cbo score came out yesterday and they'll work around the clock to cut a deal to finally repeal and replace obamacare. >> shannon: kristin fisher at the white house where the grounds crew is at work this morning, too. >> bill: doing what they do. as of this morning it would appear the battle over healthcare is running uphill. peter doocy is live to pick up that part of the story. what does this mean for mitch mcconnell as of this morning? >> as of this morning, bill, the majority leader mitch mcconnell needs to convince two members of his party to bring healthcare to the floor. nothing to do with backing the bill once it makes it to the floor. he needs to convince two more people to help him get it there

into the chamber so that debate can begin. majority leader right now is in a pickle. four republican senators are saying they will not support a motion to proceed at all. those four are senator susan collins from maine, rand paul from kentucky, dean heller from nevada and ron johnson from wisconsin. we expect to know more about the fate of this republican obamacare alternative by 2:00 p.m. today because that's when the senate gavels in for a day after a closed-door lunch with all members and the vice president and the hhs secretary tom price, after which leadership should know exactly how many senators are on their side and how many would prefer to leave obamacare in place for now. if the republican focus right now is on its own ranks, the democratic focus has been on a much wider audience the last few days. new jersey senator cory booker staged almost a four hour long sit-in on the front steps of capital. hundreds show up on person and

showed up on facebook and personal stories whose health depended on the law in place right now but, of course, gop leaders not expecting any democratic senators to support them and as far as we know, democratic senators still have not been asked to support the republican leaders by the republicans. not yet. >> bill: interesting. peter, thank you very much. want to bring chris stirewalt editor of all things political and charlie hurt for the washington times and fox news contributor. nice to see you together again. let's get back to healthcare in a moment here. serious matter out of damascus and syria. sean spicer's statement if assad uses chemical weapons he and his military will pay a heavy price. they paid a price back in april. how do we read these developments? >> i read it that russia must be very proud of its cyberhackers and all the guys they have sitting around in

basements trying to hack into the wisconsin board of elections. bully for them. we're shooting down syrian planes in syria. we did that. the united states is taking a posture in syria that is 180° from what the previous administration did, counted on russia. they counted on russia. they were going to get rid of chemical weapons. they didn't. they were going to provide stability in regions of syria, they did not. this is the united states -- there is no syria anymore. this is putting moscow on very stern notice that there could be big consequences. >> bill: charlie. >> this is why president trump picked jim mattis to be defense secretary in the first place. a lot of the establishment does not have much faith in donald trump but they do have faith in a guy like jim mattis and one of the only victories we have seen politically domestically

that sort of unified all sides from the administration was when donald trump decided to enforce barack obama's red line and do it with absolute ferocity. so i agree with chris. i would imagine this is definitely a stark warning to russia and iran. >> bill: you think about the theater of operations in syria now, wow. between assad forces and russia, the united states, isis, anti-isis forces, iran. it is a dangerous combustible mix. >> we have in a certain sense the same sort of ingredients that europe had at the beginning of the first world war. this is a powder keg. there are a series of interlocking alliances between sunni states, gulf arab states and russia and iranians and the united states in the middle. given the tensions between tehran and riyadh it could go bad quick. >> bill: you talk about the southeastern part of syria is where the action is south of raqqa as we pointed out before.

healthcare now, mike pence goes to the hill later today. what happens now, charlie? can you dare to guess? >> it looks like it will be pretty tough for republicans to get what they need to vote on it, let alone to get it passed. i've been saying this for a while and i realize i'm out on a limb here. i don't think it's necessarily bad for republicans. when you have a scene like we had last night where you have democrats -- republicans are trying to fix the bill that democrats gave us. they're trying to fix the plan democrats gave us and democrats are sitting on the steps protesting. it is absurd. why aren't they in the building working on something trying to work with republicans to fix it? we saw the house bill come through without a single democratic supporter. if this fails and then we go back to elections, democrats are going to own the entire healthcare catastrophe. and i just have -- >> bill: it hasn't been

characterized that way, charlie, why not? >> because you have right now trump -- the president and republicans sort of in a dance sort of battling it out a little bit. but i think that once we get past that and it is behind us, i think trump turns all of his ammo on democrats saying you gave us a terrible obamacare system and it has failed and you need to give me -- you need to give -- >> bill: there is a tone of that already this week coming out. what do you think of that, chris? >> unsubscribe on that list. here is the most salient selling point for mitch mcconnell in this legislation. if they don't do this now -- forget the 10 years out and 23 million out and this mostly flumry. 10 years is an eternity in washington it's two he tern tease. what this bill really is about is between now and november.

because in november the insurance companies have to write policies. that's when the window opens up for people to sign up. if washington -- if this government has not done something by november, the republicans keep saying obamacare is unraveling, it's dying. somebody will prop them up. mcconnell's best argument is do it now on our terms and do it with 50 votes for 51 votes. >> bailing out the insurance companies. >> bill: with the cbo scored it would bring down premiums and stabilize the insurance market. that's what we've heard thus far. mike pence will be up there and talk to his right-hand man coming up here shortly. ron johnson is on deck. nice to see you both. nice jacket, charlie. >> shannon: much more on the healthcare battle coming up in moments. we'll speak with senator ron johnson about why he right now

opposes this bill. what would have to change to get him on board and more later with marc lotter, press secretary for vice president mike pence and ohio congressman jim jordan. >> bill: it's being called a victory for the white house. the supreme court shifting momentum in the battle over the travel ban. how this move will shape the future of that policy. we'll tell you about that. >> shannon: should former president obama be called up to capitol hill to tell congress what he knew and when about russia and its attempts to meddle in the presidential election and why he didn't do more about it during the final days of the election? newt gingrich says he needs to go to congress? >> who did it go through? the meetings deciding not to pursue it? talk about an extraordinary failure of national security.

>> shannon: officials from the european union slapping google with a big fine saying it illegally steered users toward its own shopping platform. google denies it and it is the largest penalty handed out by the eu. >> bill: the current senate republican healthcare bill appears to be running uphill. the list of senators on the republican side currently opposing the plan has grown to

half a dozen. my next guess says the bill's main flaw it throws money -- more money at the problem. that man is wisconsin republican senator ron johnson here with me in the capital. nice to see you, senator. thank you for your time. in a nutshell what's the beef? >> i'm not opposing this. i said i'm not a yes yet. what i want -- >> bill: wiggle room then? >> we need to fix these collapsing markets that are obamacare. we've got to drive premiums down. i want to time to allow my constituents in wisconsin a chance to review it and provide their input and feedback. i'm not asking months but let's take a couple of weeks and be thoughtful. give me a chance to make the case to improve it. i was trying to make the case in the senate largely ignored. we really are ignoring the fact that obamacare artificially

drove up premiums double and triple. there is a reason for that. we refuse to do the cause analysis and refuse to be honest and courageous enough. all the things that sound nice have negative consequences called doubling and tripling the premiums. so many things that happen. people that don't actually work. the folks bill clinton talks about, they could then afford healthcare again. right now they're taking the risks. lower premiums. the subsidies would be reduced. a win/win situation. we have to have the courage to address it. >> bill: you say give it more time to look at it. as it stands today you're against it, correct? >> i'm going to oppose the motion to proceed because it's too early. that's different from saying i oppose. in the end no matter what i'm forced to vote for as imperfect as i know it will be my evaluation will be does it leave us off better tomorrow than we are today?

that's a low bar but we have to look at those premiums. >> bill: under senate rules they need 51 votes to proceed. right now you're a no, not a yes. >> for this week. for this week. >> bill: like obamacare, relies too heavily on government spending and ignores the role of the private sector can and should play. look no further how laser eye surgery went from exotic to affordable during the years it was not covered by most insurance, end quote. how does that example 30 years private sector as an accountant in the >> i would love to have a mon op -- my quality and level of customer service were higher. that's what free market does. >> bill: the example you give in your piece. why do you give that example and how does it apply to the greater good. >> laser surgery has not been

covered by insurance. absent the fact when consumers are paying for it, they actually provide that price so the cost of laser surgery declined and the quality improved. that's what happens throughout the rest of the free market system. because only 10 cents of every dollar is paid by the patient, people don't care, they don't know and care what things really cost because a third party is paying for them. we need to introduce free market driven price competition that would force providers to provide price transparency and restrain the costs in healthcare and that ought to be our overall goal. how do you restrain the cost of healthcare and improve quality and make sure we have innovation with more lifesaving techniques and devices. >> bill: seven years ago you ran for the senate largely on obamacare. you were one of the most vocal voices in america saying you want to repeal. >> i want to fix it. >> bill: if given a buy nary

choice between a yes or no are you willing to vote no? >> i'm going to vote no on a motion to proceed this week because it's too soon. i want to time to improve this bill. in the end as i said, whatever bill that i'm forced to vote on is it continuous improvement? i'll take the incremental gain but want it to be more than it is now with the bill. >> bill: last comment regarding your senate colleagues. what have you shared with mitch mcconnell and how has he responded? >> i said don't jam me. the other thing i've been trying to enforce a problem solving process that starts with information. bill, this is such an alter at universe. we've gotten through the process until we get the cbo score at the end of the process. we need better information at the start of the process. if you have that information and define the problem and set goals and devise the legislation.

we do it backwards and end up with the result. >> bill: appreciate your time. ron johnson, the republican senator from wisconsin. thank you. >> thank you. >> shannon: reaction coming into one of our big stories of the day after the white house warns of a potential new chemical attack by the assad regime. what would the u.s. be prepared to do if another attack occurs. general jack keane joins us live to weigh in. wildfires continue to ravage the west. as the damage continues so does the blame. one lawmaker isn't holding back about who he thinks is responsible. >> when we turn the forest service to the tree huggers and rock lickers we turned our history over. that's it? he means book direct at choicehotels.com for the lowest price on our rooms guaranteed. plus earn free nights and instant rewards at check-in. yeah. like i said. book now at choicehotels.com

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>> shannon: the white house is

warning that syria may be planning another chemical weapons attack saying the evidence shows similar preparations being made by the assad regime of the chemical attack in april that sparked u.s. missile strikes on a syrian air base. jack keane is here to talk with me about it. good to see you. already the syrians are denying this. the russians say they don't believe it either. we have a tweet from iran saying another dangerous u.s. escalation in syria on fake pretext will only serve isis. when it's being wiped out by iraqi and syrian people. what do you think? >> first of all i don't think it's idle conversation by the white house. they probably have some evidence and overhead satellite shows the airfield moving chemical stock like they had done once before. i think it's probably a smart move on the white house's part. the state department is a little surprised by it and so is the pentagon according to

sources. they're trying to stop them from doing it. and i think that's fine. the iranians, so our viewers understand, the iranians run the war in syria. their generals are on the ground and control the ground force and direct air strikes. so if something like this is going to be done, they would be complicit as would be the russians. and i think after the last one, the russians probably do not want assad to use chemical weapons again because they got caught up in the pariah in terms of being something as horrific as that and they were complicit in it. >> shannon: i think it may have been the russians saying they never established who did the last one. there is significant agreement within the international community who was responsible for the one back in april. so in its reference this statement from the press secretary last night said if assad moves ahead with another chemical weapons attack he and

his military will pay a heavy price. what happens this time around? >> there are six operational air bases that syria uses and they have aircraft and air power infrastructure at these air bases. they have ammunition, fuel, they have spare parts, they have aircraft and runways. i think we would likely take all six down this time and completely take out assad's air power. >> shannon: nikki haley says this. any further attacks done to the people of syria will be blamed on assad but also on russia and iran who support him killing his own people. we have that and all the denials. where do we go from here in making any progress when nobody seems to be on the same page except for the fact that they're all claiming they're going after isis? >> listen, to be frank about it, russia has been very successful, as have been the iranians, in propping up the assad regime when they were in trouble in 2015 and why russia

intervened at the request of the syrians. assad is going nowhere. i think they don't want to be directly involved in the civil war, what they want to do is defeat isis and drive them out of syria where the safe haven is and from then start to make some adjustment towards the syrian civil war. sunni arabs and nation and region from wanted to be involved in the war and bring assad down a long time ago. obama administration resisted that. the trump administration while they are resistant i don't think they're completely ruling it out. >> shannon: what do you make of the caulk there could be a meeting between our president trump and president putin in the coming weeks as part of the -- on the sidelines of the g20. what kind of conversation do you think they would have? >> they should always meet. even though we have some profound disagreements that are coming to a head, these are two powerful countries in the world.

we both have a nuclear missile arsenal and other capabilities that as a result of that we have to treat each other with some respect. and recognize the fact that we are going to have disagreements but also we are going to have common interests. the thing that always befuddled me about the bush administration. why not work against russia against radical islam. they're concerned about that. we have the same issue there. complicated by their direct involvement in syria but we have common interests and try to pursue those interests. at the same time when i appreciate the trump administration is doing, they're willing to finally deter russia and confront them when necessary, which is something his predecessor was not willing to do. >> shannon: to be a fly on the wall if that meeting happens. good to see you this morning. >> bill: senators now targeting president obama's former a.g. loretta lynch trying to find out if she tried to stifle the

email investigation of hillary clinton in any way. what we're learning today. republican following through on a promise to get case law to the floor after a girl was killed by a an illegal immigrant in the state of california. the congressman behind that bill is live with us in a moment. >> we would be proud to see kate's name associated with some of this new legislation. we feel if kate's law saves one daughter, one son, a mother, a father, kate's death won't be in vain.

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♪ and let me play (bell ringing) (audience cheering) >> bill: it is 9:33 in washington the senate judiciary committee holding a hearing on foreign surveillance and talking about the are you newal of the fisa act. the legal foundation for the government's surveillance power. it will end in december if congress doesn't make a move and extend it. we're watching it for headlines. senator grassley from iowa on your screen now. we'll bring those headlines to

you as they happen. >> there is no question that the congress should call the former president in to testify under oath to explain what he was doing and why he was doing it. there is no question that they should build the case from the ground up. >> shannon: former house speaker newt gingrich urging congress to bring former president obama in for testimony and why he sat on intelligence pointing to vladimir putin and his direct involvement in russia's election hacking. rick lowry, editor of national review and evan bayh, former democratic senator. what do you make of the revelations in what the obama administration knew and what they were trying to do and what they didn't do with regard to this information? >> the russian attempts to meddle in the u.s. election is really an act of war on our

democracy that would warrant a very robust response. seemingly from what we know publicly the response was not that rebust. so having congress explore the former president's national security advisor, director of the cia, secretary of defense, what our appropriate response might have been i have no problem with that. there is one challenge. a lot of it will be highly classified information. what our cyber capabilities are. how they might counter attack us. a lot of that will have to be done in closed session and really can't be revealed publicly. >> shannon: rich, the former house speaking gingrich saying what he wants to know about is not classified stuff. who, when, where, why, why didn't you do more about it and why did you act like later it was such a surprise there was more to this? the odds of him or any officials that senator bahy on capitol hill. >> i don't think you'll see him

obama testifying any time soon. call all his officials and the response from the obama administration at the time was totally in keeping with his approach to russia. which was incredibly weak from the reset button to the very end where the sanctions and the final weeks of the administration were incredibly weak and symbolic over the assault on our democracy. clearly what happened here, they were afraid of doing something that would backfire against hillary clinton. they thought she had this election wrapped up and then subsequently when trump pulled the incredible upset, that's when everyone of the left started screaming bloody murder about this and still in the grips of the fever dream that somehow you can find collusion and overturn the results of this election which will never happen. >> shannon: senator, what do you think about this? >> it's easy to second guess these things, shannon. i think that the president was

probably between a rock and a hard place. if he took more robust action, which i happen to agree with congress schiff and senator feinstein was in order, he would be accused of meddling that way. if he had a less robust response, the course he chose, he will be accused of having a political motive that way. we should hear from his associates about what the factors were, why they decided to do what they did and let the american people judge. one last thing, there are some reports that even the modest steps he took, the trump administration might be considering rolling back. by that i'm referring to some properties that the russians owned used to surveil and spy upon the united states. published reports the current administration is thinking about turning those properties back over to the russians. i don't think we should do that. >> shannon: as that plays out. there is more to that story as well. folks on the hill want to hear from loretta lynch, the former attorney general. they have a lot of questions for you including, rich, a bipartisan request from the

senate judiciary committee. senators graham, feinstein, grassy and whitehouse saying we want to know more about this alleged document that showed communication between a democratic operative saying loretta lynch wouldn't let the investigation go too far and why she told the then f.b.i. director refer to it as a matter instead of investigation. do we hear from loretta lynch? >> i hope so. clearly the way she was handling this investigation and meddling in it was inappropriate and shouldn't be dictating to the f.b.i. director to use political language to describe a lawful and appropriate investigation. it was her actions that forced comey in his mind to go public and speak about his reasoning for not recommending an indictment of hillary clinton which started -- which was much more harmful to hillary clinton

than anything russia did or didn't do to hack the election. but it began with loretta lynch tainting that investigation. >> shannon: senator, as rich said there are democrats stepping up on this front including the ranking member of the house intelligence committee representative schiff. he says that he also wants to know more about her side about why to call it a matter. the same words that jim comey did made him feel queasy to hear about that. >> that's right. a public explanation of this is warranted. was it just a semantic matter, matter versus investigation, that's no big deal. if it was part of a deeper, broader effort to influence the investigation in some way, that's a much more serious matter. so we should get to the bottom of it. >> shannon: agreement on that. rich lowry and senator bayh, thank you. >> bill: there was a big meeting on caphill today. where do republicans stand.

will they rally around the senate healthcare bill. senate marc lotter is our guest coming up. did the supreme court turn things around for president trump's travel restriction? the impact of all of that in a moment with jonathan turley. i don't know why i didn't get screened a long time ago.

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>> bill: supreme court says they will take up president trump's travel ban. they'll do it this fall. arguments on the hill. in the meantime major parts of the executive order will take effect including the ban on many travelers from six majority muslim nations as well as a 120-day ban on refugees. jonathan turley, law professor at george washington university in studio. nice to see you again. thank you for the time. what did you make -- let's start broadly -- of the ruling yesterday? >> a victory obviously. they've had a rough go of it. the first order went nowhere. it was partially a self-inflicted wound. badly drafted and executed.

second order was better, tighter, had a good defense team. i was surprised by the rulings in the ninth and fourth circuits. i didn't agree with them. i felt all along the president had this inherent authority. this order reflects that authority. the supreme court justices said look, we'll defer to the president of the united states on a national question like this. we won't second guess him. the odd thing, though, they didn't go all the way. they created this exception for people with bona fide relationships. that led three justices to say where does that come from? you say you'll defer to them. except for bona fide relationships. and that was sort of a curiosity that it was created essentially by the majority of justices to moderate the impact. but at the end of the day most of the order is now fully enforceable. >> bill: interesting you bring up the comment about the bona fide relationship. clarence thomas wrote this on screen.

i fear the court's remedy will prove unworkable and provide a flood of litigation until this case is finally resolved on the merits as parties and courts struggle to determine what constitutes a bona fide relationship. who precisely has a credible claim to that relationship and whether the claimed relationship was formed to avoid the executive order. that applies to relatives, students, people who have work in the united states. is that suggestion that there are a lot more cases that could come out of this ruling? >> there could be. i think thomas is right in that sense. those three categories are well-known to the state department. i don't think those will strip the gears. they're used to dealing with those. the court doesn't actually limit it to those three. what about other relationships? what if you have an association with an immigration group? you are brought in through a church group? are those substantial relationships? it will produce a lot of litigation. so i think that the objection of the three justice is was

two-fold. what exactly is this? this is springing from the head of zeus and you're saying we think this exception should be in there. but the other one is who is going to define this? how will we work through this? and remember, there is a 90-day period here. this order was supposed to be in effect for 90 days. the clock starts running three days after the inking of the order by the supreme court. that leads to a rather curious thing. if you count 90 days, that would end around september 27th, which is five days before the october argument. presumably it would then become mute like this is a planned obsolescence. so -- >> bill: it becomes obsolete what do you do? go back and write another one or does this stand? >> there was a very interesting parenthetical in the order which was brushed over by a lot of folks. it said we set the date for the beginning of the october term.

then they put in the parenthetical saying no earlier date was requested. the question is why didn't the trump administration say give us a hearing in july? it's not unprecedented. there is an interesting question about whether this is enough. the trump administration will let the clock run out in 90 days and do one of two things. issue a new order which will be iron plated with new data, or say that our vetting system is now complete. but there is a chance this oral argument might not occur. >> bill: very interesting. the carve-out you describe is fascinating. i think it presents a whole slew of possibilities down the road. i want to turn by ruth bader ginsburg. there are conservatives in washington that believe if there are cases that involve the president she should recuse herself based on statements she has made previously during the campaign or since he has been sworn in. what's your position on that? >> this is a tough question for me. i don't think that her

colleagues would agree she should recuse herself but i've been very critical of ginsburg for years for her public statements. i was also critical of scalia a great deal. he said things publicly talking about cases and issues. >> bill: is there a case where scalia recused himself because of that? >> the thing people don't really get. the justices don't fall under the judicial ethics code. it is completely voluntary and something that i argued for years should change. the justices position is we're supreme so you can't have other judges rule on our ethics. they judge what is ethical and what should be a matter of recusal. >> bill: you know some of these comments she has made has been very sharp and fresh in the memories of so many. but you're still torn as to whether she should say. >> bill: if you were a lower

court judge these would be problematic in terms of judicial ethics. i think it's wrong and have denounced in writing saying this is not what a jurist should do. the rise of the celebrity justice. there are justices that maintain their base. scalia was like that. he loved and audience and he also loved throwing grenades into rooms. he would go to a law school to tick people off. he loved that. it's not a good thing to have a base as a justice. not a good thing to talk about politics or people like the president. and i think that ginsburg has long crossed that line. but the fact is i don't think her colleagues would pressure her to recuse herself and i don't think she will. >> bill: thank you for your time. great to see you in person again. hope to see you soon. shannon, what's next. >> shannon: when the high court takes up the travel ban one congressman thinks ginsburg should recuse herself.

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>> bill: cnn is accepting the resignations of three employees after being forced to retract a story about a member of the president's transition team. it claimed that scaramucci met with the head of an russia investment fund. cnn said it didn't meet the network's editorial standards.

the writer, assistant editor and head of the cnn investigation unit have all left. >> shannon: raging wildfire in southern utah now the largest in the u.s. has forced more than 1,000 people out of their homes. one state lawmaker is blaming the catastrophe on a beetle infestation. >> do you actively manage a forest? that means cutting down dead trees or thinning the forest so it doesn't present a fire risk or as many environmental groups advocate let a forest evolve naturally. ban logging. let dead trees provide habitat for species. the argument comes up when you get the big fires now after years of drought, trees are unable to fight off this bark beetle the tiny insect that killed off pine and spruce. locals want to thin the forest but have been stopped by

environmental lawsuits. the finger pointing began yesterday in utah. >> when we turn the forest service over to the bird and bunny lovers and the tree huggers and the rock lickers, we turned our history over and the fire is going to do more damage because we'll lose our watershed, we'll lose our soil and wildlife and we're going to lose our scenery. the very thing you people want to try to protect. it's just plain stupidity. >> exactly how to manage a forest to prevent a catastrophic fire is open to debate. for decades loggers took out 12 million board feet from the national forest. today it's less than 3 million. many environmental group blame the feds for not letting fire thin a forest naturally and not combating climate change which they fault for the beetle infestation. it is vegetation management. this fire is 50,000 acres now.

90% contained. a dozen homes have been destroyed. back to you. >> shannon: thanks for keeping us updated. bill. >> bill: shannon, it could be a critical day. healthcare, the battle over healthcare reform intensifies. we're awaiting the start of the weekly news conference for house democrat and republican leaders and vice president mike pence is on the hill in a moment. his press secretary marc lotter will join us to talk about that. and jim jordan talking the supreme court and travel ban and what is next over healthcare. >> it's a system that's collapsing right now and it needs to be fixed. the sooner we fix it, the better we are. like coastal lobster and shrimp, with shrimp crusted with kettle chips. or new, over-the-top lobster and shrimp overboard. but it can't last, so hurry in.

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>> shannon: this is a fox news alert. any moment now u.n. ambassador nikki haley is set to testify on capitol hill. she could face questions about new reports from the

administration about chemical weapons activity in syria and signs the regime could be preparing for another attack. she tweeted any further attacks done to the people of syria will be blamed on assad but also on russia and iran because they support him. we're closely monitoring that hearing and bring it to you live as it happens. meantime senate republican leaders now defending the party's healthcare bill trying to bring everyone on board for a vote in that chamber. house republicans are expected at the podium where they'll take questions about repeal efforts and where they stand. welcome to a brand-new hour of "america's newsroom" in new york i'm shannon bream. good morning, bill. >> bill: i'm bill hemmer in washington today. vice president mike pence holds a listening session, held one yesterday. a lot more meetings coming up today talking with voters who say they were negatively affected by obamacare. all this coming as he tries to work out a deal to get fought 50 votes needed to pass the

senate healthcare plan. six republican senators say they can't support it at the moment. one spoke out last hour. ron johnson from wisconsin on "america's newsroom." >> i'm going to oppose the motion to proceed because it's too early. that's completely different from saying -- in the end no matter what i'm forced to vote for as imperfect as i know it will be, my evaluation will be is it continuous improvement. does it leave us better off tomorrow than today. we have to look at those premiums. >> bill: marc lotter is with me now. nice to see you again and in person. a busy day for you and the vice president. you just heard from ron johnson. you heard from others. will this get done? >> i think at the end of the day it will get done. republicans have been talking about this for seven years. the president campaigned on this. this is something that republicans know we have to do. premiums have more than doubled since obamacare went into effect. millions of people have come off of the obamacare rolls.

just yesterday the vice president met with a dozen people who can't afford their coverage. their coverage costs more than their mortgage and when they go to the doctor many doctors and hospitals aren't taking it. it's really important for people to know just because you have an obamacare card in your wallet doesn't mean it will be used. >> bill: republicans are not there. >> it's a legislative process. we'll work through the process. we saw it happen through the house. it is happening in the senate. republicans are coming together. you'll have some folks on either side of the spectrum trying to make adjustments here and there and that's where leader mcconnell and the leaders in the senate are working now along with the vice president and the president. at the end of the day you will see that republicans will get this done because it is a rescue mission for the american people. we've seen obamacare collapsing in fronts of our eyes with premiums skyrocketing with major insurance companies like anthem pulling out of wisconsin and their home state of indiana

they're pulling out. it is not sustainable. we have to do something to make sure when you have an insurance card in your wallet it does you good. >> we know the problems. will it get done this week? >> i don't want to get into time lines. mcconnell with call the votes when they have it together. we have to let the legislative process work itself out. when the senator believes they have the votes there and they have a plan that can pass, they'll call that vote. >> bill: you are suggesting there is flexibility in this deeper into the summer >> you're seeing the senate work together. the vice president is going to the hill in a couple of hours and have his policy lunch with all 52 members and meetings outside of that and hosting senators to dinner tonight at the vice president's residence trying to come to that consensus of where can we find those areas of agreement to get the votes needed to put the bill through? >> bill: senator lindsey graham said the following.

here is what i would tell any senator if you count on the president to have your back you need to watch it. if you're looking for political cover from the white house, i'm not sure they'll give it to you, end quote. is that true? >> i think what you're seeing now is seeing a president who is leading. he campaigned on repealing and replacing obamacare and delivering on that promise to the american people and working with republicans who want to work with us to get this done to get this bill across the finish line. at the end of the day, the voters and the american people will be the ones who make the decision about whether we lived up to our promises. things that some republicans have been saying for seven years, things that the president has been saying for the last couple of years as he was campaigning and now as president of the united states. at the end of the day we'll be judged on our results. we're seeing it on the economy already. >> bill: lindsey graham's comment, though, does the white house have their back? >> i think the white house will support those people who support the agenda the president has laid out. that's where we'll continue to see that focus and that laser focus.

>> bill: quickly who is coming over for dinner tonight? >> a number of senators from the conservative side of the caucus will be coming over. not unusual. vice president often has that? >> bill: twisting some arms? >> the vice president has a long record as being a conservative member on capitol hill. he can actually reach out to them and talk about why this is a conservative bill that is going the reduce spending, improve access and ultimately as the cbo said yesterday lower premiums for an average of 30%. >> bill: a big day ahead. we'll follow all of it. >> shannon: nearly 60 house republicans are calling for ruth bader ginsburg to recuse herself from the upcoming travel ban case because of comments she made about the president during the election. in an interview with cnn she said he has no consistency about him. he says whatever comes into his head at the moment. he really has an ego.

how has he gotten away to not get his tax returns? one of the lawmakers calling for the justice to recuse herself. jim jordan joins us live. congressman, good morning to you. why did you decide to take this step? >> the code of conduct for judges is clear. you shouldn't oppose a candidate. if you do and that person is in front of you you should recuse yourself. according to 28 u.s. code. i think justice ginsburg did all that and should recuse herself as do about 60 of my colleagues as well. >> shannon: the letter you signed onto said there is no doubt your impartiality can be reasonably questioned. it would be unreasonable not to question your impartiality. you know that the ethics things that applies to judges and recusals don't apply to the

supreme court. they do occasionally recuse themselves from cases. do you think there is any real hope that she will take heart with this letter and do the same? >> probably not. but again, i do think this is part of a broader problem. the american people are so frustrated with what they view as people who aren't being impartial. i know this is a different issue. look at what comey did. he misled the american people when he said -- when loretta lynch instructed him to call clinton's invest a matter and then this year he misled the american people when he -- those things coupled with this activity from justice ginsburg is what the american people hate. 60 of us signed a letter saying even "the new york times" and the "washington post" said you shouldn't have done what you did. you shouldn't have said what you said. i think you should be recused and as i said many colleagues think the same thing. >> shannon: she did come out

after the comments and not an apology per se but something to the effect that she should have measured her words more carefully or not said those things. you tap into the american people feeling they aren't being treated fairly. do you think that's what drove the win of president trump last fall? >> totally. equal treatment under the law. how the justice department handled the clinton investigation. when have you ever seen the subject of the investigation's husband get to meet with the attorney general three days before the subject of the investigation is interviewed and seen the former f.b.i. director leak a federal memo, a government memo through a friend to the "new york times" with the stated purpose he said it under oath with the stated purpose to create mom -- this is the kind of stuff that drives americans crazy. we want equal treatment under the law. we aren't seeing that.

all things are part of that concern and why we did the letter and called for hearings for mr. comey and why senator grassley is moving ahead to look into the lynch and comey matter. important things that the american people care about and a big part of why they supported donald trump for president. >> shannon: as those things play out we're standing by to see whether the senate will pass a healthcare measure. what do you make where things stand now? a number of conservative members say they don't think they can vote on it. and gop members saying they can't vote for it either. >> we'll see how this weeks plays out, shannon. i know that conservative senator lee, cruz and johnson have good ideas like the consumer choice option. as long as there is one plan offered by insurance companies that comply with obamacare then other plans should be allowed to be offered that consumers actually want. that would be a huge step in the right direction toward giving freedom, flexibility. the kind of plans that families

and individuals want in the individual market. so if that amendment gets adopted you'll see conservatives move and support. let's get it done. >> shannon: the american people are expecting that. always good to see you. thank you. >> bill: in a moment here house republicans hold a news conference. right now the uphill battle to repeal to obamacare continues on the senate side. vice president mike pence is on the hill meeting senators today in an effort to get that done and florida governor rick scott is one of those meeting with him. first he will join us live so stay tuned for that, shannon. >> shannon: the trump administration getting a win when it comes to the travel ban in part as the supreme court allows portions of the ban to go into effect. at least for now a closer look at what happens next coming up. >> bill: and president trump vowing to get a law passed in honor of kate steinle the young woman killed by an illegal immigrant. one of two major immigration bills expected to go before the

house. bob goodlatte is here for more on that next. >> the sanctuary city stuff is unbelievable. it is unbelievable. kate's law is a good thing. they can't even get it passed. it is something we'll do something about that if i win, believe me, we'll do something about it. we're going to do something about it.

>> shannon: republican leaders holding their news conference.

let's listen to paul ryan. >> i assume the bill will have changes. we made promises we would do that. every republican senator campaigned on repealing and replacing the law. the law is collapsing. 41% of counties in america now you have one plan to choose from. you are seeing families get hit with another double digit premium increase, seeing choices evaporating in much of america. blue cross and blue shield pulled out of wisconsin last week, pulled out of missouri and ohio. 94 out of 99 counties in iowa next year are scheduled to have no plans left. this law is collapsing. it is in a tailspin. we have an duty and obligation to rescue the healthcare system for people who are in the individual market. so i believe they'll get this done and i believe they'll get it done because they said they would get it done. >> are you taking the temperature of your members while the debate goes on in the senate. the freedom caucus. will you wait until the final

bill? >> we don't know what the final bill will look like. our members are waiting and seeing. we have opinions on what the best possible policy is and yes the reconciliation system is a little frustrating because we can't put all the bills in we would want. we're doing medical liability changes later this week. we're waiting to see what the senate produces and we'll make a decision after they do that. thanks, everybody. appreciate it. >> shannon: you have been listening to a little bit of the press conference with the house speaker talking about healthcare, what they hope to accomplish. the changes they think will be coming and more on that coming up. now another story we want to cover today. >> sanctuary cities are magnets for illegal immigrants including dangerous people with criminal records. there are more than 140 jurisdictions in six states actively obstructing

enforcement of federal immigration laws with sanctuary policies. this practice puts americans at risk and i believe the federal government should do all it can to discourage it. we're working -- >> shannon: a congresswoman at the house news conference with republicans leaders looking to vote on two immigration enforcement bills this week. one of them is a build named for two people killed by an illegal immigrant driving drunk. another named in memory of this woman, kate steinle, who was shot and killed by a illegal immigrant who was deported numerous times. bob goodlatte is fighting to get these bills to the floor for a vote. when people hear about kate's law. they've been hearing about it for so long a lot of people assumed it had already been passed. what's the hold-up? >> the hold-up has been getting a president of the united states who would sign this bill into law. we passed it in the last

congress and it didn't go anywhere. now pass it through the house this week and we're hoping this senate will take it up because it has such enormous public support. they can't understand why a city or other jurisdiction would choose not to cooperate with ice to get criminal aliens off their streets so things like the horrible murder of kate steinle don't happen to other people. >> shannon: you mentioned it has been floating around out there and the president is trying to take executive action. a number of cities and towns sued and they'll keep suing. what is the argument against cooperating with federal immigration authorities when people's lives are sometimes at stake? >> i think it's largely political unfortunately. i think these communities are catering to what they think is a politically popular thing in certain communities. i don't even believe that's the case. i believe the overwhelming majority of people of any ethnicity support the

government being able to get cooperation to enforce the law because after all, it's in these communities that people will be kept the most safe if those who commit crimes are sent out of the united states or put in jail, which is exactly what this no sanctuary city bill does and it addresses the lawsuits by giving clearer definitions of under what circumstances detainers can be issued and what the definitions are that are the subject of those lawsuits. and also it gives private citizens for the first time a cause of action against those cities if they are harmed or killed by an illegal alien who is loose on the streets of that city because the city failed to cooperate with ice. >> shannon: okay. those are some very hefty policy lifts. do you have bipartisan support. are democrats on board with this? >> i'm sure we will. i don't know until we have the vote on friday. we took this bill out of a

larger bill, the davis oliver act which we're also going to take up in this congress. and that legislation provides a lot more tools that have been requested by secretary kelly and the department of homeland security so that they can make sure that the effort to ramp up enforcement of our immigration laws continues and they're finding other legal challenges that they need legislation on. so we're going to push that legislation forward. we've already reported out of the judiciary committee. kate's law enhances the sentences on an illegal alien for entering the country. that's what happened five times to the person who killed kate steinle. i'm hopeful that this president for the first time in a long time wants the bills passed and

needs the tools to keep americans safe. >> shannon: okay. chairman goodlatte, thank you for your time. always good to see you. >> bill: breaking news on one of the bigger stories of the day out of syria. the white house sending a strong warning to the assad regime. now we're getting word the pentagon has confirmed it has seen activity associated with chemical weapons at a syrian base known for those weapons. those details from the pentagon moments away. hey you've gotta see this. c'mon.

no. alright, see you down there. mmm, fine. okay, what do we got? okay, watch this. do the thing we talked about. what do we say? it's going to be great. watch. remember what we were just saying? go irish! see that? yes! i'm gonna just go back to doing what i was doing. find your awesome with the xfinity x1 voice remote. >> bill: more breaking news on a big story breaking today. the pentagon confirming it has seen chemical weapons activity at a syrian air base after the white house issued a stern warning to president assad saying the united states is in the syria to get rid of the

islamic state. if mr. assad uses chemical weapons on an attack he and his military will pay a heavy price. lucas tomlinson watching this from the pentagon. where are these preparations taking place? >> president trump's national security team met at the white house yesterday where u.s. officials tell fox they're seeing new activity of serious chemical weapons program at an aircraft hanger at the same syrian air base long associated with chemical weapons activity outside hamms. the same air base u.s. military struck with 59 tomahawk cruise missiles in early april. a pentagon spokesman said the hanger was only partial lay damaged in the cruse missile strike. it warned syria from taking any further action. now today bill the syrian government denies the accusation. syria, of course, is backed by russia and iran.

in the last hour iran's foreign minister responded in a tweet. another dangerous u.s. escalation in syria on fake pretext will only serve isis precisely when it's being wiped out by iraqi and syrian people. and bill, there has been six u.s. attacks on this syrian regime and iranian backed forces just this month. united states has shot down two iranian drones in southern syria, one of which fired on u.s.-backed forces. >> bill: an active region in that country. what assets does the pentagon have in place now? >> president trump wants to do more than issue a warning. plenty of fire power in the region. the george w. bush group is striking isis in syria. last week a super hornet from bush shot down a syrian war plane. the first time the u.s. military shot down a jet in air to air combat in 18 years. now i'm told the first shot with the missile missed but the

pilot fired a second missile which brought down the syrian jet along with the carriers, dozens of strike aircraft and numerous guided missile destroyers and cruisers capable of launching tomahawk cruise missiles similar to the one in april. at the time of the cruise missile strike the u.s. military said the syrian regime launched the chemical weapons attack that killed women and children from that same air base where the pentagon is saying they see new activity. >> bill: we expect more from this today at the briefing at 2:00 eastern time. lucas, thank you. he is there at the pentagon. shannon. >> shannon: senate leaders are working hard to try to pull together the 50 votes they have to have to pass the republican healthcare plan. bringing vice president mike pence to the hill to get everyone on board during an important lunch today, florida governor rick scott will meet with him as well. he joins us next to react to the assessment and take a look at what the senate plan means for you when you head to your

doctor's office.

>> shannon: senate majority leader mitch mcconnell trying to keep the healthcare alive working on votes. six senators publicly saying they can't support the bill as it is currently written. mike emanuel chasing them all over capitol hill. it appears at this stage the senate republican leadership has a numbers problem. >> absolutely right. a number of senate republicans were struck by the congressional budget office for the uninsured would grow. the other numbers problem is gop senators who don't want to debate it or discuss it. susan collins, rand paul, dean heller and ron johnson. meanwhile the senate budget chairman said democrats shouldn't be able to use the congressional budget office

projections to stop this effort. >> i don't think it will make it easier for them to put the brakes on. there are $300 billion in savings after we reduce mandate taxes by $700 billion. so that's a pretty good deal, too. i think this will encourage competition. >> a few moments ago lindsey graham called the republican bill better than obamacare but he warned against taking some of the savings and trying to buy votes. the old cornhusker kickback democrats needed to pass obamacare. >> shannon: what are democrats saying about this? >> democrats are hoping that republicans get stuck. schumer said it wouldn't address the problem of many counties in america not having any health insurance options. he says it would make a lot of the healthcare problems even worse. democrats are calling for the gop to scrap this plan. >> if they're determined to take a vote knowing that it's a

very tough vote and they're having some of their members having a hard time with this vote. let's postpone it and see if we can fix it and be a commitment to the base. >> democrats would love to negotiate fixes to obamacare. >> shannon: mike emanuel live on capitol hill. >> bill: let's get the doctor's point of view and the view from outside of washington dr. marc siegel and florida governor rick scott with 15 plus years in healthcare. governor, welcome. want to start with the doctor in new york. marc, this is what we get from the cbo on screen. uninsured. 22 million more will not be covered. medicaid coverage in 2026, 15 million fewer. the cbo numbers are not always accurate. >> that's correct. when obamacare was passed in 2010 you'll note that the cbo predicted that 21 million would

sign up on the private exchanges by 2016. it is only 10 million. cbo predicted only 21 million in the country would be without insurance by 2016. it's 7 million more than that. it's 27 million. cbo doesn't have a great track record. in terms of the 22 million they're predicting now, let's point out that 7 million of those only are private insurance and i want to point out that of those 7 million many said i will have to buy insurance because i don't want to take that tax penalty. so some of them are liberated and they'll say i don't want that product. it has too much in it and it's too expensive. the governor will tell you when you talk to him that medicaid, which is 15 million, is a big item. governor scott in his state has revamped medicaid and saved a lot of money. i as a physician deal with medicaid overuse every day of the week. patient comes in and says i want a new wheelchair. i say what's wrong with the old

one it's working? i want dental and eyeglasses. i say you're infected let me treat that first. medicaid is too easily overused. the expansion caters to that. there was a study last year that showed that the expansion leads to drastic emergency room overuse. >> bill: you often argue this is a debate over health insurance and not over healthcare. >> that's right. >> bill: have we gotten better at it? >> i think we've gotten worse at it. if you go to my office you'll see my entire staff struggling with insurance approvals all day long because we care about our patients. the purpose of insurance is to turn down care, not enable care. they make a bigger profit if they deny care. we should stop mixing those words up. healthcare is something that you get from a physician like me, a physician's assistant or nurse or healthcare provider. healthcare is not health insurance. on the best day health insurance brings you to

healthcare. it is not a given. >> bill: marc siegel. thank you there in new york. want to bring in rick scott out of florida. good morning to you. mitch mcconnell's office says this about the cbo score. lowers premiums by 30%, 2020 compared to current law. provides more than $331 billion in deficit reduction. a big number. cuts taxes by $700 billion. ron johnson was in that chair last hour. he hasn't bought into this. he doesn't believe this bill has done enough to lower premiums. what is your view of that? >> well, i'm governor of florida so i'm coming up here for two reasons. florida taxpayers and businesses want to be treated fairly. floridians whether you have a pre-existing condition or not ought to be able to buy whatever we want to buy. the federal government shouldn't dictate what we buy. we should buy what we want to

buy. is this bill better than obamacare? absolutely. but everything we do we have to focus on the problem. the problem is 100% it costs too much. this bill will help drive it down but we have to do everything. obamacare is a complete disaster causing premiums to skyrocket in my state. >> bill: you would go after it in a different way. you have the mandate, right? you have taxes, regulations. >> bill: get rid of mandates and regulations and allow more competition. drive down costs in any industry. competition. selling insurance across state lines. i'm concerned especially in healthcare about the grand bargains. right now i'm up here fighting for florida taxpayers. >> bill: you would not go forward with a big bill then. you would in your words chip away at it one piece at a time. >> i've been governor for 6 1/2 years for seven sessions. i get more done if i break things up and do simple things.

i'm very appreciative that they're trying to repeal and replace obamacare which president trump and mitch mcconnell. when i want to get things done i focus on what's the biggest problem and how to get people on board. get rid of the mandates and taxes, everybody agrees costs are too highs. create more competition and let people buy what they want to buy and sell across state lines. i'm happy everybody is fighting for it and i'll fight for florida taxpayers. >> bill: you have a meeting with mike pence and a 3:00 meeting with mitch mcconnell. >> as governor of florida here is what i want. three things. i want to make sure that under medicaid plan we get treated fairly. we should get treated as well as any other state. no better or worse. our citizens, whether you have pre-existing condition. let us buy what we want to buy and get rid of the regulations.

i grew up in a family without health insurance. i want people to get access to healthcare. >> bill: good luck, governor. it's a big sell. >> hopefully i have a good week. i'm hopeful we'll have a good bill. >> bill: are you dubious, cautious? >> i'm up here as a fighter. >> bill: fair enough. shannon. >> shannon: u.n. ambassador nikki haley testifying moments ago on capitol hill responding to the news that syria may be preparing another chemical weapons attack. >> one of the goals at this point not just to send assad a message but to send russia and iran a message that if this happens again, we're putting you on notice and my hope is that the president's warning will certainly get russia and iran to take a second look and i hope it will caution assad from the fact that we don't want to see innocent men, women and children hurt. >> shannon: she has been emphasizing it won't be just

assad held responsible if there is another chemical attack on innocent people and civilians saying she will point the finger and russia and iran because they support assad. what the supreme court's rule means for people trying to come to the u.s. >> i hope the justices between now and october look closely at the decision here and make a ruling that's fair and represents all of us in the united states of america.

♪ (vo) you can pass down a subaru forester. (dad) she's all yours. (vo) but you get to keep the memories. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. >> shannon: the supreme court allowing key parts of the trump administration's travel ban to take effect as it looks to review the whole order in october. the president said quote. i cannot allow people into our country who want to do us harm. i want people who will be hard working and productive. my number one responsibility as commander-in-chief is to keep

the american people safe. ian bremmer joins us now. good to have you today. what do you make of this? i want to read a little bit from house minority leader nancy pelosi takes a different view than the president does. the blame discrimination of the muslim and refugee ban is unjust and dangerous handing terrorists a powerful recruiting tool. president trump claims he is strengthening security but the -- it is making america less safe, not more. >> it's overstated by nancy. i think there are a couple quick points you want to make sheer. these countries that trump says you need extreme vetting for were originally picked by a study under obama. the united states could not vet people coming into the united states. a legitimate security reason you want to strengthen security and vetting of those coming

from those countries. when trump initially put it in place he made it clear it was not a permanent ban. the temporary ban for a few months so that we could put a plan together in place to ensure the vetting was better. the courts have delayed this for months probably inappropriately. they've had all those months to put the vetting in place that they haven't spoken about. that seems inappropriate and pelosi's better line of argument. >> shannon: when she calls it a powerful recruiting tool for terrorists, how so? >> here view would be trump's willingness to go after muslims, talk about radical islamic terror, something obama was reluctant to say, is a tool that can be used by isis and other organizations saying you see, there is no space for moderate islam. these people hate us and aren't going to let us in. we're the only solution for you. now the reality is that the real recruiting tool for

radical islam is the fact governments aren't effective. social contracts work and no american dream for the average person or chinese dream for the average person growing up in a refugee camp in syria or sort of the displaced from iraq orem en or fighting civil wars or any of those things. that's what is leading to the recruitment. trump at the margins probably isn't helping matters but that's not why we have terrorism today. >> shannon: you mentioned syrian. nikki haley is testifying on capitol hill about what they believe is evidence that there is another chemical weapons attack being prepared possibly impending by the assad regime. syria and russia denying it and iran speaking out against it saying the u.s. is using fake pretext for going after them. >> nikki haley is the official that seems to be working for a different administration. she has made so many comments on inappropriate, crimea, annexation by the russians, what they are doing in ukraine,

now going after not just syria but tweeting that russia and iran will be held responsible. that has never come from the white house, right? tillerson a little bit as secretary of state. you wonder where the coordination is. certainly the fact that the united states is now putting the syrians, the russians and the iranians on notice that we'll hit you back very hard, much more significant than a few bombs against an airfield that we've warned them would require some form of russian response clearly trump is putting this out with the expectation that this means that assad and his minders will back off from any potential chemical attack assuming that intelligence was valid. if they don't, this is going to get really heated. what we'll all watch for in over a week's time putin and trump will meet together for the first time. if you thought that hug with

mody was not suitable for the workplace i can't wait to see what will happen when they meet. >> shannon: how do you think it will go? >> i think it will go well. trump has made very clear he likes strong leaders, hence the relationship in the philippines and turkey. he has always said only positive things about putin but never spent time together before. i think despite all the media concerns about russia, despite all of the congressional concerns about russia, even some you see from people like nikki haley, the ambassador to the u.n., the fact is that trump wants a reset with putin and when these two men get together on the global stage they will show a lot of support for each other. blame a lot of other people. >> shannon: with so much at loggerheads with respect to syria from these two powers, how do they navigate that? >> and the sanctions, the fact is i don't think we've ever seen in history a relationship

of the united states with another major country where the heads of state were so aligned personally while the countries truly are fighting each other on just about every front. and clearly that's not sustainable at some level. the question is what breaks first and i think that we're not going to see it break at this meeting on the sidelines of the g20. i think that will go well. >> shannon: to be there, though. ian bremmer, good to have you with us. thanks for coming in. >> bill: heather childress takes over soon. >> we talk about the stern warning suggesting the assad regime may be pressing another chemical attack. what it might mean in the civil war and the fight against isis. major drama on capitol hill as some senators balk saying 22 million americans will lose

health insurance if the current senate bill passes. we'll handicap the vote and talk to former president bush's cbo director. all that and more. >> bill: thank you, heather. new video showing a tough fight to knock isis out of iraq. surprise counter attacks from the islamic state have stalled the liberation of mosul. the latest on the efforts to crush the terrorists inside of that town next. you do all this research on a perfect car, then smash it into a tree. your insurance company raises your rates... maybe you should've done more research on them. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. liberty mutual insurance.

>> shannon: in a somber memorial the u.s. navy is paying tribute to seven sailors who lost their lives after their destroyer crashed off the coast of japan. it was held south of tokyo. more than 2,000 people lined the streets waving flags in memory of the victims. more than a week ago the uss

fitzgerald was trying to reach tokyo by day break when it ran into a merchant ship and took on water. the cause of the accident still under investigation. >> a setback. isis militants conducting counter attacks in liberated parts of mosul. perhaps the last stand for isis in that country. this as coalition forces make a final push for the last pocket of territory still held there. benjamin hall joins us live in london. how close is the end of the battle, benjamin? >> good morning, bill. well, percentage-wise this is very close. isis holds around 1% of the city. but this is the old city, the streets are small, the fighting there is house to house. isis has littered it with booby-traps and mines and so now it's heavy urban guerilla warfare. this is isis final stand in the city and only a few hundred

left. they're the battle hard and foreign fighters and will fight until the death and take as many people with them as they possibly can. iraqi forces are now saying possibly only a few more days but time and time again they've had to push back their schedule. in the last couple of days alone isis is launching counter attacks around the city which required troops to divert. they're still strong and also hiding among the civilian population which will be a serious concern for the future. >> bill: if they're defeated there what does it mean for isis? >> it seems a foregone conclusion they will lose mosul. they control a number of villages toward the syrian border and will lose those quickly. the new focus is toward syria and raqqa and kurdish forces are encircling that city there and that does signal and end to isis as a territorial force. however, while the people of mosul and those in rack --

raqqa will get free. but there is more to keep them from becoming strong again. the generals have taken more decisive action out there. the longer play, this longer game really a concern at the moment. that's where the difficulty will lie. >> bill: thank you, an update there from london. >> shannon: senate leaders as you know are working to get their votes in line in hope for the healthcare bill comes amid new cbo reports that could hurt the effort. a live report coming up from the hill next.

>> bill: waiting for the hill. by the way, today is mary pat's birthday. you know, nothing happens in this town without mp at work. mary pat, happy birthday. >> shannon: happy birthday from new york.

i had bill promised to give her a hammer hug. in the meantime, you continue from d.c., will get another hammer helping. for now, we're going to "happening now" starting now. >> jon: mike pence, the vice president heading to capitol hill today to huddle with senate republicans as they try to get enough support to pass their health care bill. good morning, i'm jon scott. >> heather: i'm heather childers, nice to be here with you. a lot more discussion on tap for this. republicans downplaying results of the cbo score that predicts that the bill will leave more than 20 million people uninsured over the next decade. pointing out that the score also estimates the legislation will lower premiums and flash the federal deficit over that same time period. now six republicans saying they cannot support the bill.