>> i guess i'd ask, what's your definition of mission is? we see this as conducting operations to defeat isil. that's our mission. our mission, defeat isil. so, no, this is not mission creep. under fire, emmanuel is defiant, as calls grow for him to resign. >> we have a process called an election. the voters vote. i'll be held responsible for the actions and decisions i make. that's how i approach it. good day. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. donald trump has done it again. this time, explaining his strategy to defeat isis, by killing the families of the terror groups leaders, in an appearance on fox this morning.

>> what about civilian casualties? what about the fact we're targeting them and people are concerned about collateral damage? >> i would do my best, absolute best. one of the problems that we have and one of the reasons we're ineffective is they're trying to -- they're using them as shields. it's a horrible thing. but we're fighting a politically correct war. >> we see it happening in rah ma nknee -- ramani. >> you have to take out the terrorists' families. they care about their lives. don't kid yourself. they say they don't, but you have to take out their families. >> nbc's katie joins you us now in manassas. donald trump is still leading the polls among republicans to be the nominee to be commander in chief. this is his military strategy. >> despite all the increasingly, frankly, controversial comments, maybe because of these comments, donald trump is continuing to

lead all these polls. now, he is saying, as we played, that he would do his best not to have civilian casualties but, yes, that he should take out potentially at least some civilian casualties. the families of isis members, whether they are innocent of terror or not. this is just another example of donald trump being hard lined and very conservative and extreme when it comes to his foreign policies. also called for bringing backwater boarding, what the red cross calls torture. it's a line that gets wild applause at his rallies. people like the idea of him bringing back enhanced interrogation. feeling that the isis members deserve it. they deserve to be tortured for what they're doing to us. also, what i find to be really interesting is donald trump is able to straddle the two worlds. one, we shouldn't be intervening in all the wars around the world. russia should bomb isis. but we should be bombing their oil fields, bombing the hell out

of them, taking out their families, and torturing potential terrorists. he was able to continue this campaign, straddling these worlds. his supporters are able to cherry pick, frankly, what they like about him, and choose what they like about him. that's why he's leading in the polls. his supporters are able to choose whatever they want to hear from donald trump. they're able to believe whatever they want to believe he is saying. andrea? >> thank you so much. out there in prince william county, virginia. joining me for our daily fix, msnbc contributor, founder of the "washington post" fix log, and bureau chief susan page. susan, donald trump weighing in and, clearly, as katie points out, getting stronger and stronger after paris. the paris effect, in fact, helped him and hurt -- well, most notably, ben carson. >> despite our predictions. we thought people would go to

candidates with experience in foreign policy. it hasn't helped jeb bush at all. people would be concerned about the possibility of having someone in charge who had no experience in national security. he's improved his position in some of the polls. i think people like -- i think his supporters like the fact that he talks so tough. he seems strong. he says he has a plan. in that way, this enhanced concern, about the threat of terrorism, the threat of isil, is helping donald trump. not what we expected. >> in fact, the new poll which shows marco rubio and ted cruz now pulling even, and second place behind trump, with ben carson falling farther behind, he's still in a three-way race with them but he's lost the most since paris. what we're also seeing in the poll is, of course, the voters focus on the economy has shifted

to foreign policy. >> yeah. i don't think that's unexpected, andrea, given the coverage of the paris attacks and the nature of those attacks. the number of people killed. i think what is remarkable is that donald trump has strengthened, as susan pointed out. donald trump has strengthened in the wake of that, not, well, jeb bush, i think, is sort of -- we well, not a rubio or cruise. trump mo -- ted cruz. he beat ben carson's challenge. carson is fading now. trump is now at or above where he was before the carson challenge. he has what i think is a very, very, very hard floor, which is there's going to be people who are for him, no matter what. >> no matter what happens.

>> that's in the low 20s. he probably has a hard ceiling, too, which is the low 30s. look, this isn't a two-candidate race. it's a 13 or 14-candidate race. 26, 27 that are steady for you is plenty good. >> hillary clinton beating them all. she's doubled her lead, or increased her lead. she's got a 2:1 lead over bernie sanders. >> absolutely. >> 60% to 30% is a resounding lead. >> for democrats, the paris attacks reinforced having a candidate that served as the secretary of state. long experience in this area. in the endless benghazi hearings, we saw her experience in foreign policy shine. this has been a help to her. bernie sanders mounted a remarkable challenge, stronger than any of us expected at the beginning. but it is hard to see him overtaking her in this situation. >> when he was asked foreign

policy questions in the debates, he resisted moving off of his position, climate change. he spoke of it being the biggest challenge. he resists talking about terrorism and that threat. the paris attacks really cemented many people's concerns. >> andrea, i was going to say, that debate was right after the paris attacks. the debate opened with sort of a softball, saying, do you want to talk about america's role in the world? he said -- i was stunned by this -- he said two sentences. this is a terror act and we mourn for the victims. i really want to talk about the climate change, economic inequality. it was a gross misreading of the moment and a sign that he's not -- he may not be a candidate who has all the gears that you need to win a nomination. >> you were at a monitor breakfast this morning with john

mccain. just back from iraq, saying there is not a strategy. not impressed by the pentagon's announcement of more combat troops. >> he puts it not on the pentagon, but the president. not a strategy. we need a strategy. we can either attack them there, or they'll attack us here. reiterated his call to send significantly more u.s. ground troops to the region. a case he acknowledges would have been hard to make before the paris attacks. he says the paris attacks shifted public opinion and made it a case, that the american people could be sold on. >> chris and susan, hang with me. i want to turn to the police cat crisis for someone we all know well, from his many years in congress and the white house. chicago mayor. he answered questions about accusations that he withheld the video of the laquan mcdonald shooting, specifically to help his reelection bid. >> i guess i'd go back a little bit and just ask, do you think

you would be mayor today if the video had come out before -- >> that's a hypothetical i can't answer. that said, i faced the election, faced the voters. they made a decision. >> they didn't know this, did they? they didn't see the content. do you think it would have changed their minds? >> the incident happened in october. the election was in april. >> but the city fought hard to keep that tape under wraps. >> the city provided the information the all the investigatory bodies. you're asking me a hypothetical. i'll leave that to you. >> illinois reporter, politico, natasha, the moderator of questioning rahm emanuel. you were pushing him on the fact that the voters didn't know the con content. he resisted responding to that. >> that's exactly right. the mayor made a point at one point, he's been talking about trust a lot, and he said that

the police superintendent, he got rid of him because he -- basically, there was an issue of trust. he asked him about trust with the mayor. he said, the voters have spoken. the voters didn't know about this video. hadn't seen the video at the time. he kept pointing to testimony, and it's true, that the corporation council for the city had testified to the content of the video. but that happened one week after the election. there are a lot of questions about the timing of all this. >> as you know better than anyone, that election was not an easy election. he was in a runoff. the timing of all that, the payment of $5 million to the mcdonald family, that all raises so many concerns. the "new york times" editorial today said, in part, mayor emmanuemarahm emanuel demonstrated a willful ignorance when he talked about

the situation. his response, either by design or negligence, was to do as little as possible until the video forced his hands. the residents will decide whether that counts as taking responsibility. there's a lot of talk of coverup here. >> well, you know, and, of course, he denies that. one thing we found curious, and actually it was the first question i asked him this morning, was, why he never watched the video before it became public. his pushback on that was, then he'd be criticized for seeing something the public wasn't allowing him to see. of course, community activists would say, perhaps if he had seen it, and was outraged by it, he would have, instead of fighting the release of it in court all those months, maybe he would have released it at the time. certainly, it would have been an uphill battle for him, if this had come out before the election. as you referenced, he was forced into a runoff, which he never

imagined would really happen. he did win by a sizable amount in the end, but he spent every penny of more than $20 million in his campaign fund to do that. it wasn't easy. >> rahm emanuel is a national figu political figure. >> from his time in the clinton white house, the congress, leadership in congress, and he's not only known in washington, but stays in touch with people in washington. look, this story, i defer to natasha and the folks in chicago, but it looks like it's going to get worse, politically speaking. it's important to remember that someone is dead here. let's put that into context. politically speaking, this story certainly seems to me like it's going to get worse, not better, for rahm emanuel. i thought he was combative, which is nothing new for him.

he was combative in the interview that natasha conducted. that demeanor, i'm not sure suits the political position he is currently? >> susan page, you've covered him for years. he was the chief of staff to this president, the deputy in bill clinton's white house. very close to hillary clinton. he's a major player nationally, politically. >> his position is to be on offense. we saw him on defense in the interesting interview with politico. i would agree with chris, this is not a story that's over. rahm emanuel, who has been involved in handling scandals and controversies on the part of people he's served, understands this is going to be invest gatded. questions about the timeline. was there a coverup, a delay for political purposes? we'll hear more. >> as soon as the white house briefing today, no doubt. thank you so much for joining us. after your big interview today.

coming up, mission creep? the pentagon announces more special operations forces to fight isis. richard engel ais up next. ya know, viagra helps guys with erectile dysfunction get and keep an erection. talk to your doctor about viagra. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension. your blood pressure could drop to an unsafe level. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. ask your doctor about viagra.

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defense secretary ash carter announced the pentagon is going to be tripling the number of special operations forces in a combat role in iraq and syria. from 50 troops the president announced in october to potentially 150, perhaps 200 people involved, including support. we turn to our chief foreign correspondent richard engel in turkey. >> andrea, every day, it seems we're hearing a little more

about the u.s. war plan against isis. it's been rolled out piecemeal. first, american advisers were sent to iraq. about 3,500 troops in iraq right now. then air strikes on syria. then american special operators to go to syria to carry out raids. now, the pentagon says the special ops will be carrying out raids in iraq. critics say it's really just more of the same. this as the uk, british lawmakers, are debating whether that country should take a bigger role in the fight against isis. >> reporter: after the u.s., france and russia have been bombing isis strongholds, today, the uk decides if it, too, will bomb isis in syria. this following new tough talk from defense secretary ash carter, saying that after paris, more needs to be done to defeat isis. >> we're at war. tens of thousands of u.s. personnel are operating in the broader middle east region. more on the way.

>> reporter: on their way are u.s. special ops to iraq. >> these special operators will, over time, be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence and capture isil leaders. >> reporter: but will it change the battlefield? it's not really different from what washington is already doing. special ops were operating in iraq in october. commandos from the top secret delta force joined kurdish fighters to raid an isis prison and freed dozens of hostages. one american was killed. what's new now is that the iraqi government, which complained it wasn't informed, is supposedly on board. >> raids in iraq will be done at the invitation of the iraqi government, and focused on defending its borders and building the iss zone capability. this force will be in a position to conduct unilateral operations in syria. >> reporter: only a tiny force will be carrying out the raids.

little change to a strategy critics say is too slow and underestimates the isis threat. >> after down playing isis as a local group with local interests, u.s. intelligence officials now almost universally accept that isis is an international threat. yet, a cohesive international, coordinated strategy to fight the group is clearly lacking. andrea? >> thanks to you, richard angle. for more, i'm joined by california congressman, the top democrat on the intelligence house committee. what about the threat and the response? the strategy criticized by john mccain as too little. is more special ops going into syria on combat missions? some people are worried about mission creep. >> there are concerns about the expansion of the mission. frankly, i think we're going to ultimately see more is going to have to be done. you need a lot of special operators to maintain a tempo,

to be able to not only capture or kill the targets but also exploit intelligence, and use the exploited intelligence to do another raid. the addition of another small number of special operators is probably not enough to maintain that kind of tempo, to change the dynamic on the ground much. so i think the administration is trying to affect the battlefield stalemate. i'm not sure this is going to be enough to do it. they are plainly considering, but reluctant to go further. i think, ultimately, it probably will be necessary to maintain some kind of a safe zone or buffer zone, to really affect that holding that isis has, from which they can plan, plot, derive resources and ultimately attack us in the homeland. >> how much support do you think the special operators would need, and how much should it be expanded to be truly effective? >> i have a lot of confidence in secretary carter.

i think he's as good as it gets. he'll make sure the special operators are spound are surrou troops that can do search and resc rescue, maintain a supply chain to them. they'll be well protected and well maintained force. the question is, is this going to be enough to move the needle? it will move it somewhat, but time is not on our side. i think that was the message paris hammered home. we can't allow this plague to maintain this large of presence in iraq and syria. we have increasing worries about a stronghold and holding territory potentially in libya. we'll have to take stronger, more dramatic action to go after the group. >> what do you say to americans who are worried about mission creep. >> i share the same concern. i'm deeply worried about it. at the same time, that has to be balanced with the real concerns

we have over an attack in the u.s. homeland. in the near term, we're worried about people being self-radicalized, acting out. in the midterm, if isis is allowed to maintain this space, they'll have the time to plot against us. we have the best intelligence in the world, andrea, but even that is not going to be enough. you can't count on intelligence alone to detect each and every plot. there are risks here. risks from escalation. there are risks from not escalating to deprive isis of that battle space. >> and isis wouldn't be able to continue if it didn't have resources like oil. russia, today, accusing erdogan personally, the president of turkey's family, of benefitting from the oil smuggling to isis across the turkish border. true or false? >> well, i have no idea whether his family benefits personally. i do think that turkey doesn't do enough to stop the flow of oil across that syrian/turkish

border. there are smuggling routes that have been there probably for centuries. it is lucrative for some of the people on the ground. i don't think that the regime itself, the turkish administration, profits from the sale of the oil. but i also don't think it's doing everything to shut down the flow of oil resources and foreign fighters across the border. >> there's a report from george washington university that isis has as many as 300 so-called ambassadors in the united states, many women, on twitter, other social media. sympathizers, perhaps not terrorists themselves, but certainly sympathizers and supporters. are the people in silicon valley doing enough to help the intelligence community shut this down? >> i've been meeting with them on precisely this question. certainly, some of the silicon valley companies are being aggressive to deprive isis of using the social media as a platform. facebook has taken aggressive

actions. it is difficult, i think, for some of the platforms, like twitter. has a challenge because of the way its medium is used. we can always encourage and must encourage all the companies to do more. indeed, we're having a broad debate on the encryption issue, as well. we do have a significant number of people that have been radicalized in the united states by watching this social media campaign. then you have another category, as you say, that may be sympathizers, but may not have crossed the line to criminality. it's a lot for the law enforcement resources to keep track of. >> adam, thank you very much, congressman. thanks for being with us today. >> thanks, andrea. paris remains on alert. the french shut down three mosques over fears of radicalization. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports." that's next on msnbc. citi histoo you? well, because it tells us something powerful about progress:

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isis released a new video. we're looking at what it purports to show, the beheading of an alleged russian in the grasp of the isis captors. this just released by isis online. of course, france today is continuing on alert. police have shut down a mosque east of paris, as part of a crackdown on what officials there are calling patterns of radicalization. two other mosques were closed last week, as paris remains under a state of emergency. this is the first time france is taking action against places of worship. nbc's gabe gutierrez is in paris are more. i understand a lot of people are not allowed to leave the country. they're closing borders, as well? >> yeah, that's right, andrea. good evening from paris. 22 people are now forbidden from leaving the country. 9 others have been placed under house arrest. the french interior minister calling the shutting down of three mosques unprecedented in this country. one, as you mentioned, southeast

of france, was closed today after a raid this morning. here's what police say they found inside the mosque. a 9 millimeter resvolverevolver hard drive, life insurance policy taken out in 2012 and documents on jihad. this is as france is under a state of emergency, has been for several weeks, shortly after the november 13th attacks. that has given police broader powers. since november 13th, there have been more than 2200 searches, 263 arrests, 232 people questioned and more than 300 weapons seized. police say 34 of them are what they call weapons of war. all this as the international man hunt continues for salah abdesl abdeslam, suspected terrorist of the attacks, as well as his accomplish, ma ha abrini.

citizens are to stay away from a metro station because there's going to be a protest related to the cop21 climate conference. >> police warning people in areas of paris not to light hanukkah candles in public, for the festival of lights, the jewish holiday that starts in a few days. >> yeah, it's been a tense situation here. since -- in the past several weeks, 120,000 troops have been deployed in and around paris. throughout the country as part of the security measures. as cop21 summit, with tens of thousands of visitors coming to the outskirts of paris, and so many heads of state here, president obama just leaving yesterday, the security situation has been ramped up and will remain ramped up. the state of emergency lasting until february right now.

andrea? >> gabe gutierrez, thank you very much. here's something that's not your typical facebook baby announcement. in a post yesterday, facebook founder mark zuckerberg and his wife, dr. priscilla chan, announced the birth of their daughter max. they're pledging to donate 99% of their facebook stock, worth $45 billion, over their lifetime to go towards the education, medicine and community building of the next generations. in the post titled "a letter to our daughter," the parents wrote, we will do our part to make this happen. not only because we love you, but also because we have a moral responsibility to all children in the next generation. zuckerberg is currently taking two months of paternity leave a week after announcing he'll offer four months of parental leave with pay for all employees. chicago calls for the mayor to resign, after questions grow louder of what is happening to

86 critical minutes missing in the video. another case has risen. this is "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. hing... uh right now you can get 15 gigs of data for the price of 10. that's five extra gigs for the same price. looks like someone just made it to the top of the nice list. in that case, i want a new bicycle, a bike helmet, a basketball, a stuffed animal that talks when you squeeze it. and... yes, yes. i got your letter. we're good. oh. okay i was just making sure. get 15 gigs for the price of 10 now at at&t. his day of coaching begins with knee pain, when... this is brad. hey brad, wanna trade the all day relief of two aleve for six tylenol? what's the catch? there's no catch. you want me to give up my two aleve for six tylenol? no. for my knee pain, nothing beats my aleve.

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it's what you do. ♪ you make me feel ♪ so spring has sprung. hey, hey, all the cops have got to go! >> i'm born and raised in the city here. i have seen a lot of things, but nothing like this here. >> we are not going away, rahm emanuel. we will be back. we'll march. we'll do whatever it takes to have this system changed. from the top to the bottom! >> chicago's leadership feeling the heat today. charges mounting over whether the city covered up the dash cam video of the police shooting death of laquan mcdonald for political reasons. mayor rahm emanuel rejected calls for him to resign. joining me from chicago, john

yau yang and carol, veteran reporter. carol, you've been front and center in this. there's so much to talk about, including the timing of the release of the video, the way the payment was made shortly after the reelection, and also that, some would say, suspicious gap of the tape from the burger king. what can you tell us about that? >> the event happened on october 20th, andrea, the shooting of laquan mcdonald. from the very beginning, the police department and the police union put out misinformation. saying that the officer essentially was approached, or lunged at, and had to protect himself. the city knew instantly. but this thing dragged out. the city fought the release of the video. only after relearned there was one. chicago is notorious for its video cameras on police cars not working, or the audio not working. then there was a very

contentious mayoral election. ferguson, missouri, had jumped off. there was a great deal of protest in other major cities. all of that fed into the false narrative, or allowing the false narrative to stand. it was not until five days after rahm emanuel's election runoff, which was the second time he stood before voters, that the city's corporation council announced they wanted to pay 5 million for a case virtually no one knew anything about. >> i wanted to show a little bit of you at the press conference yesterday, trying to pin the mayor down. >> carol? >> mayor, how do you build trust in the community when you as mayor didn't even see that video for 13 months, and your own police department, just hours after the shooting happened, put out false information about it? >> i think my answer to that goes to the first part. one is, we have a practice. not unique to chicago.

you don't do anything as it relates to material evidence that would hamper, hinder, compromise an investigation. >> john yang, this comes as there is another case being looked at with video that's not been released. >> that's right, andrea. this is a case that happened days before laquan mcdonald was shot. a young man was shot by police. the police said he was -- acknowledged he was running away from police. they say he had a gun in his hand. they say he recovered that gun. now, his family is suing for a release of the video. they say they have been able to look at it. they say it clearly shows that he is running empty handed. has nothing in his hands. in a bit of a difference under -- from the laquan mcdonald case, the city law department says they are currently re-examining when to release that video tape, or the

dash cam video. anita alvarez, the prosecutor, says she does not oppose its release. she also says that the investigation into the officer in that case continues. again, a judge says he'll decide on whether that video should be released on december 10th. andrea? >> carol, what are the political implications here for rahm emanuel? he's just been reelected. what do the protesters expect or want, and what is likely to happen, worth case scenario for him politically. >> he said, again, he's not resigning, but the heat is intense. you've covered him for years. you knew him in two white houses. rahm emanuel is someone who controls the narrative. in this case, the narrative is, to some degree, controlling him. he cancelled a trip to paris to meet with the president on climate change for this week. he likes to see himself as a player on the world stage, the

national stage. and in one of the biggest cities in the world. he had to stay at home and make that decision today. i think he truly has felt the heat. he's also famous for saying you never let a good crisis go to waste. this crisis has got him really handcuffed. i don't believe he'll resign, but i think he's going to have to do more than he has done to date. >> is there a feeling that the police superintendent was a scapegoat here, in that he praised him -- actually praised some of his behavior in the firing announcement. inexplicab inexplicably, he is on your station hours earlier. clearly, he didn't think he was about to be fired. >> no, not until he was spotted in city hall, looking quite upset. but he stood as a kind of shield between rahm emmanuel and the public. it's the mayor that runs the police department ultimately in

this city. neither the police department nor the mayor's office has been particularly forthcoming, when freedom of information requests have come their way. they have resisted it, delayed it. this is not the only example. this is not, certainly, the only example of paying a huge settlement on an officer who had never been disciplined. >> carol, all over this story. john yang, my colleague in chicago. thank you both. it's great to see you again, carol. thank you very much for joining us today. >> my pleasure. in baltimore, opening statements are underway in what is going to be six separate trials for the police officers charged in freddie gray's death. a black man who died in police custody last april, sparking rioting and protests. officer william porter is charged with assault, manslaughter, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. prosecutors say he failed to prosipr provide medical attention to

gray after being asked to help, while being transported in a van. the officer pleaded not guilty. first responders are protesting in congress today. we'll tell you why up next. "andrea mitchell reports" is back after this break. for years to come. how can you help? by giving a little more, to yourself. i am running for my future. people sometimes forget to help themselves. the cause is retirement, and today thousands of people came to race for retirement and pledge to save an additional one percent of their income. if we all do that we can all win. prudential bring your challenges®

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with congress very close to its end of the year break in a matter of days, the fight for the renewal of health benefits for 9/11 first responders is heating up in the senate today. democrats say majority leader mitch mcconnell is single handedly blocking the bill from moving forward. >> quite frankly, i was surprised yesterday when i was told by senator mcconnell it wasn't going to be on the bill. i was surprised. it's not in the bill, and i'm disappointed. it's something that these people deserve. i don't know what their 9/11 idea of the day is, i should say the hour. >> nbc's luke is watching this from capitol hill.

on the house side, the speaker said he supports this, but is this now caught in negotiations over what has to be on must-pass bills with so little time left? >> there are a few must-pass bills before congress is set to go home december 18th. this is really a political hot potato now. not only between democratic leaders and republican leaders in the senate, but also speaker ryan and mitch mcconnell. no doubt, they want to get this done. it's what ledgislative vehicle they want to attach it to. every single day that this is delayed, it causes these first responders to are to come back here to capitol hill to make their voice heard. >> reporter: as lawmakers scramble to finish important legislation before the holiday recess, there is an urgency on capitol hill to permanently renew health care benefits for ground zero 9/11 first responders. >> not one of you should have to walk the halls of congress and ask senator by senator, house

member by house member, to do the right thing. >> reporter: for firefighters like ray pfeiffer, who worked for weeks on the pile and are now sick, relief can't come soon enough. >> i'm one of the lucky ones, even though i have stage four cancer. i come here to help out. for the many that can't. it's a shame that we have to come here, as sick as we are, to beg for people that always say, never forget. >> reporter: despite overwhelming bipartisan support in the house and senate, the legislation is being held up by house republicans who do not favor a permanent reauthorization of what they see as another entitlement program. they think the benefit should be temporary. republican peter king of new york disagrees. >> when people look at it, it's a program and think it's a long-entitlement program. unfortunately, it's not. i say unfortunately because everyone who is affected by it is going to die. that's the ultimate. >> reporter: speaker of the

house paul ryan supports the legislation to extend the benefits. >> we have not decided what vehicle or funding level, but it's something we intend to do by the end of the year. >> reporter: to make the deadline, the speaker will have to facilitate a compromise quickly, on an issue where time is of the essence. >> i have terminal cancer. i can't come back in another five years. this bill has to be permanent. it has to be fully funded. >> andrea, i am joined by one of the first responders on the hill, anthony, nypd, now retired. he's disabled due to his experience working at the pile at 9/11. you hatteras pd respiratory ill. you had a meeting with senator mccomennecconnell's office. what did you learn today? >> thank you for having me. it's the common answers we're getting. the total run around. it's the complete disregard of congress to act on this.

for this senator to put a roadblock into what we're trying to do. the bill was set and ready to go. we were coming down to see the bill on the floor, and then this roadblock appeared. it's disgusting, what they're doing. >> you're one of the luckier ones. you're here standing, talking to me. i interviewed your colleagues who are in wheelchairs, can barely speak. why are nose funds so important for you, the health care funds? >> i'm standing here because of the world trade center's health bill. i'm almost where i was before 9/11. i'm fighting for the responders that don't have health insurance, the construction workers, the iron workers, all the people that responded down to that pile. the volunteers. they need it, it's essential. >> you raised your hand and said, send me. you went. you went to the pile.

you did your job. many of your colleagues volunteered. did you ever expect to have to come up here and ask for health care after giving your all? >> it's funny. i was reflecting on the way down here. also with the other responders. i said, you know, guys, we were strangers, and we didn't know each other. would you think 14 years later, we were put together here to do this? i mean, i worked side by side with nypd and everybody else, but did you think we'd be here years later, side by side doing this? no. i cannot fa no, ma phato -- fat >> back to you, andrea. >> thanks to you for bringing this to light. i mean, senators have been really impressing us with this. we have to say to all of the men and women who worked on the pile for months and months, while the epa was saying, there was no

risk to their health, this is a national disgrace. i'm glad you're on it, luke. thanks very much. >> thanks for the time. we have a very sad note today. president obama is remembering former clinton national security adviser sandy berger, as one of the nation's foremost security leaders. the president said, with his trademark passion, wisdom and good humor, he's remembered in the ranks where those he mentored carry on his work. he died from cancer at the age of 70. his work with madeleine albrig t albright's firm most recently. she said, he was one of my dearest friends and among the wisest people i've ever met. our thoughts are with his wife, children and five grandchildren as we mourn his loss. this is claira.

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hi, everybody. i'm thomas roberts. we begin with developing news right now in chicago. protesters are outside of city hall, calling for mayor rahm emmanuanual to meet the fate of ousted top cop. the mayor says he's staying put. >> people voted, made the decision and i'll execute the responsibilities of being the mayor and being accountable for the decisions i make. >> the mayor's response one day after announcing a new task force on policing in the wake of the laquan mcdonald shooting video. one member of that new force just spoke to my colleague, tamron hall, a couple hours ago.

>> we're very independent. we're certainly not lackeys of the mayors or any other group. we intend to take this task on very seriously. we have, i think, some real value that we can bring to the debate, to the discussion, and strong recommendations i'm sure we'll come up with by the time the work is completed. >> we have a series of reports covering all angles of this developing story. we begin with nbc's john yang, who has been covering this story in chicago from the beginning. john, bring us up to speed about the protesters and concerned citizens of chug. what a -- chicago. char th what are they asking for? >> they're asking for a new mayor. they've gotten a new police commissioner. gotten rid of the old superintendent yesterday. they've set nare sigthey're sig getting rid of the mayor and prosecutor, anita