they do not have to get eastern syria.m to be the administration's unequivocal policy. they do not seem to recognize that if they do not contain iran and eastern syria, they get the land bridge through syria, lebanon, and up encroaches on israel's security. it endangers the other arab nations, that borders on syria and lebanon. >> shannon: we know that there are folks on both side of the hill better calling for more clear policy and strategy regards to syria. hopefully that's coming from the white house very soon. general keene, thank you for. speed of 10 minutes before the hour. we'll get you to "happening now" in a minute here. unsafe right to work on the train by the transit system, they will not release video of several alleged violent crimes. we will take you there and let you know what is happening with that when we continue after thi this. your brain changes as you get older. but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve

take, for example, eastern syria. we are making pretty good progress against isis, but this creates the possibility of a security vacuum. who will move in to fill it? iran has an answer to that. how about us, they say, how about hezbollah? which is the terrorist organization they sponsor which is enemies with israel and has shelled israel in the past and killed a lot of israelis. there is concern as isis is driven out of eastern syria that iran could create a land bridge through iraq, syria, all the way to lebanon. that is probably not in our interest or the interest of israelis or even jordanians or iraqis. i think we have to figure out what kind of a force goes into eastern syria to prevent that. it is not worth a huge u.s. military effort or the risk of u.s.-russian direct conflict, but it may be worth trying to train up a larger syrian opposition, trying to propose a u.n. force for that sector, maybe even putting in modest additional numbers of americans in that sector to help create and catalyze this new governin

i think we have to figure out what goes into eastern syria to prevent that. it is not worth a huge u.s. military effort or the risk of russian conflict, but it may be worth trying to train up a larger syrian opposition, trying to propose a human -- u.n. force for that sector, maybe even put in a modest amount of americans to stabilize the east. we could imagine a federation in syria where assad rules much of the west and the turks keep their forces in the east as peacekeepers. the russians stay in the west. the kurds have areas in the north. and then this internationally governed space in the east replaces isis. and then we try to make that deal permanent and then get on with the process of rebuilding syria. you use your economic leverage to try to get assad to step down. basically say if you want the part of your country that you control to get the reconstruction aid, will have to find a successor government. you can have a chant -- hand in choosing it but you cannot stay because you have blood on your hands. that is what i think has a chance. as you can see

i think we have to figure out what goes into eastern syria to prevent that. it is not worth a huge u.s. military effort or the risk of russian conflict, but it may be worth trying to train up a larger syrian opposition, trying to propose a human -- u.n. force for that sector, maybe even put in a modest amount of americans to stabilize the east. we could imagine a federation in syria where assad rules much of the west and the turks keep their forces in the east as peacekeepers. the russians stay in the west. the kurds have areas in the north. and then this internationally governed space in the east replaces isis. and then we try to make that deal permanent and then get on with the process of rebuilding syria. you use your economic leverage to try to get assad to step down. basically say if you want the part of your country that you control to get the reconstruction aid, will have to find a successor government. you can have a chant -- hand in choosing it but you cannot stay because you have blood on your hands. that is what i think has a chance. as you can see

troops have surrounded the group's syrian capital of raqqah, but isis still has small towns in eastern syria and western iraq. but mosul is the prize. by far, the largest city under isis control. this woman says no one suffered more than the people of mosul. tell that to the world. the fighting left nearly a million people homeless and leveled a huge city. but those are problems for tomorrow. today, iraqis are looking forward to a hard-won victory. matt bradley, nbc news. >>> in this country, another kind of battle is going on tonight against a raging wildfire that threatens dozens of homes in california. the fire doubled in size overnight, and a scorching heat wave sure isn't helping. we get more from nbc's steve patterson. >> reporter: out west, 40 wildfires fueled by scorching temperatures are burning across 11 states. >> there goes the shed. >> reporter: in northern california, at least ten structures destroyed by a fast-moving fire. >> we're seeing a fully-engulfed home at this time. >> reporter: farther south near santa maria, 200 homes evacuated when the so-called alamo fire exploded

in southern syria also in eastern syria this put the jordanians and israeli is. in front of a complete where the syrian army supporters maybe the. fighters and iranian fighters got close to the demilitarized. zone in heights which would present a threat for israeli security promise the israeli point of view later on during the summit i believe that the russians in concerted. effort with the syrians presented this. as a trophy to the president to the american president to prove to him to prove to his opponents that. the united states could get something out of cooperation with the with russia and that's why i believe that the russians and the americans were able to get to this. zone. because we know that washington really is still sending those contradictory messages on the future of the syrian government it does beg the question how possible is any real progress. well this could be the first step to woods talks to food what's for the dogs. to teach. in order to a peaceful resolution for the sitting crisis but this is still a first step should be tested it's a lon

striking the government's army as it's fighting terrorists we believe the actions of the us in eastern syria to be absolutely unacceptable and we believe the u.s. should allow the syrian army axes to the border with iraq so that the border can be brought under full control as soon as possible we hope that after right. salutes destroyed there there will be no pleas for american army units in syria if they are not invited by the government. well ahead of the g. twenty summit donald trump's european tour started going to poland where he stopped over on an official visit nothing escaped the sharp eyes of the media during a review laying ceremony to commemorate the warsaw uprising against nazi occupation he was supposed to shake hands with poland's first lady but things well didn't go exactly the plan wasn't the only or chord moment. most of the media are speculating the. cheering there up the event were bussed in from across the country but it was not the only one partly struggling. so. the spokesman told us that we were a little showing. we should not hesitate to express ourselves during this s

striking the government's army as it's fighting terrorists we believe the actions of the us in eastern syriato be absolutely unacceptable and we believe the u.s. should allow the syrian army axes to the border with iraq so that the border can be brought under full control as soon as possible the actions of the americans in northern syria have been different as they have helped the kurds fight islamic state there we hope that after i still is destroyed there there will be no place for american army units in syria with if they are not invited by the government. well the battle for iraq has been waging for the syrian democratic forces are trying to push i said of the city kurdish fighters that breach through the walls of the old city for the first time an r.t. . to the front line. well back to the g. twenty in our french president money will mccrone is yet to arrive for the summit but the online community has already been given a lot of attention to how he may be received there given his history. this spokesman told us that we were a little shy in versailles and though we should not hesitate to

in eastern syria to be absolutely unacceptable and we believe the u.s. should allow the syrian army axes to the border with iraq so that the border can be brought under full control as soon as possible and we hope that after i still is destroyed there there will be no place for american army units in syria if they are not invited by the government. to the other big story of the week for us is ramping up its threats against north korea over the secretive country's latest missile test donald trump is vowing consequences or what he describes as very bad behavior it follows washington's u.n. ambassador telling the security council that the u.s. was ready to use military action if necessary with the details here. speaking to the fifteen member body here in manhattan at the united nations headquarters in the security council chamber u.s. ambassador nikki haley spoke strongly not just against north korea but against any country that she felt supports them now in her statements largely condemning the recent launch of a missile she went as far as to threaten the

striking the government's army as it's fighting terrorists we believe the actions of the us in eastern syria to be absolutely unacceptable and we believe the u.s. should allow the syrian army axis to the border with iraq so that the border can be brought under full control as soon as possible we hope that after i still is do. stroy there there will be no pleas for american army units in syria if they are not invited by the government. meanwhile fist fighting is taking place as the syrian army tries to push islamic state out of the city of raca kurdish fighters have breached through the walls of the old city for the first time r.t. went to the front line. was. not totally. i. don't know. what lie next. now leading us think tank has cast doubt over the extent to which the kremlin can control russian hackers the rand corporation has released a new report focusing on the role of cyber warfare in a potential conflict between russia and the us and it notes that there is a link scroope of cyber mercenaries and patry arctic activists in the country which moscow has little control and that such hacke

the government's army as it's fighting terrorists because we believe the actions of the us in eastern syria to be absolutely unacceptable and we believe the u.s. should allow the syrian army axes to the border with iraq so that the border can be brought under full control as soon as possible we hope that after i still is destroyed. it's bigger there will be no pleas for american army units in syria if they are not invited by the government. now leading us think tank has cost extent to which the kremlin can control russian hackers the rand corporation has released a new report focusing on the role of cyber warfare in a potential conflict between russia and the us and it doesn't know there is a loose group of cyber mysteries and patrick activists in the country which moscow has limited control of such hackers could carry out cyber attacks against the u.s. without any orders from the kremlin the report comes as the american president has once again failed to agree that russia was definitely guilty of meddling in last year's election will you once and for all yes or no definitively say that rus

striking the government's army as it's fighting terrorists we believe the actions of the us in eastern syria to be absolutely unacceptable and we believe the u.s. should allow the syrian army access to the border with iraq so that the border can be brought under full control as soon as possible we hope that after i salute destroyed there there will be no place for american army units in syria if they are not invited by the government. well syria was also touched upon in donald trump's speech in warsaw he struck a very different tone though to listen u.s. president called on russia to end its support for quote hostile governments in syria and iran statement comes a day before he is due to meet with that image putin on the sidelines of the g. twenty so they're discussing all of this now and the recent developments we may know one a she's a writer and political analyst covering middle east politics charmaine let's start with what trump has said that russia should stop supporting hostile governments in syria and iran i mean for the people that were hoping perhaps for some sort of constructive di

because of their alignment with iran, determined to take control of the areas liberated from isis in eastern syriathings into damascus and iraq. they need to talk about iraq and north korea. the whole international community must come down with greater pressure on pyongyang if they will ever be convinced to freeze and eventually abandon their missile and nuclear programs. mark: about -- alexander: it could be an area of progress. mark: please carry on. ukraine could be an area of progress, yes? alexander: it could be because the russians signed an agreement in minsk three years ago in which they pledged to restore ukrainian sovereignty over eastern ukraine, but they have not done anything since that time to implement it. president trump and secretary tillerson just appointed an envoy to increase u.s. engagement on ukraine and i think it is a good step. if the russians are prepared to talk directly with the u.s., they could perhaps help the ukrainians and germans and french who have been in charge of this, to actually solve one of the irritants in the east and west relations. i hope the issue is no

assad with his allies, russia and iran, taking off away from populated areas in the west toward eastern syriahere the islamic state is while the united states to the north of that around the islamic state capital in syria moving against the islamic state. those forces are getting closer and closer together. rather than warning off assad, russia, iran, we said let's cooperate. let's make sure we don't run into each other. i think that is what tillerson is saying, that should be the subject of the talks between putin and trump. the white house has said nothing about what they want to talk about. will that be the subject of their talks? i don't think we know. >> i want to get everybody on this question. i personally am perplexed everyday. people ask about trump's foreign policy. i don't know what it is. in particular, on russia. i think if you put a gun to the head of a trump white house official, they cannot tell you right now what our policy is toward russia. what do you think about that, karen? you have thought about trying to write about trump and foreign policy. do you think he has one yet?

-backed troops have surrounded the syrian capital of raqqa but isis still has small towns in eastern syriaosul is the prize. by far the largest city under isis control. this woman says no one suffered more than the people of mosul. tell that to the world. the fighting left nearly a million people homeless and leveled a huge city, but those are problems for tomorrow. today iraqis are looking forward to a hard won victory. matt bradley, nbc news. >> a 22-year-old man from texas was killed on a greek island, and now eight people v have been arrested in his death. those suspects are expected to face homicide charges. police say bacarri henderson of austin was beaten to death outside a bar after some sort of brawl this. happened yesterday morning. henderson had just graduated in may from the universi arizona. police say they are still looking for more suspects in this attack. >> police have now identified a man who was killed in a shooting in greenbelt. the man had been shot more than once. the man died at the hospital and police are now looking for the suspects in the shooting death. >> gettin

you have same sort of problem in eastern syria.t have a political strategy for what comes after the defeat of isis. the notion that you can simply assume that iraq is recreated as iraq and syria recreated as syria is not going to work. in facts the kurds will have independence referendum in just a few months. i think there is little doubt how that will come out. iraq ceased to exist as a state. we're acting like it is still there. melissa: john bolton, thank you. >> thank you, melissa. ashley: back here in the united states, more than 85 wildfires raging across the u.s. evacuating 4,000 residents near sacramento alone. good news, cooler temperatures in california are helping firefighters contain the blazes. crews make progress on fires in colorado, arizona and new mexico. melissa: mainstream media lashing out at ivanka trump sitting in her father's place at g20 meeting. you won't believe who is defending her though. ashley: amazon is slashing prices getting ready for the big prime day. we're hours ahe way from the most anticipated

and he's advancing now steadily into eastern syria.he has received far greater than anything turkey, saudi arabia, and the americans ever provided to the opposition. assad has basically won. the real question going forward is, how do you contain extremist insurgents against that assad government? and that is what rex tillerson was saying, how do you restore stability in such a way that they don't take advantage of cracks in the stability that is arranged. >> let's listen to something that secretary tillerson said today about what was discussed. listen to this. >>ly tell you that by and large, our objectives are exactly the same. how we get there, we each have a view, but there's a lot more commonality to that than differences. so we want to build on the commonality, and we spent a lot of time talking about next stips. >> our objectives are the same, he said. is that the same that u.s. and russian objectives are the same? >> what he's inspecting about is the geneva communique that set up a framework to get to a political setup in syria.

but now we're moving to a point where everybody is moving closer to raqqa, closer to eastern syria.oncern that you are going to have the u.s.-backed forces, the regime forces, the iranian-backed forces, the russian-backed forces operating at very close proximity. all indications are russia and moscow want to avoid a confrontation, but this is something trump and putin need to sit down and talk about. >>> to the national lead now, and seethe series of photos dur an outcry in new jersey. state-run beaches are closed this long holiday weekend. but that did not stop governor christie is his family. all of them seen relaxing on a stretch of sand closed off to everybody else but him and his family in the name of public safety. with the government shutdown, state-employed lifeguards are on furlough. chris christie is pushing back against the uproar, today tweeting touting open beaches. they are accessible, but a reminder, it's the state-run parks that are not. cnn's polo sandoval, he's live at liberty state park, another park closed to visitors. polo, how else is the governor defending the

it has evidence that isis leader abu bakr al-baghdadi has been killed in deir ezzor province in eastern syria. it's the latest report of baghdadi's death, which has nott been confirmeded by isis. lastst month, , russia claimedet may have killed d baghdadi in an airstrike on the outskirtsts of raqqa in northern syria. unnamemed u.s. offfficials say e trtrump administration may be planning to sisignificantly ramp up its military ininvolvemenentn libya. ththe plan could incnclude reestablishingng a perermanent . presence in n libya, whihich the u.s. has not had since it shuttered itits embassy in tripi in 2014. it could also include deploying a rorotating team of u.s. specil operations troops to l libya. the u.s. marine corps says it's sentenced a marine to o a reduction in rank and 10 days confinement after he pled guilty to showing naked images a fellow female marines in a private male-only facebook group. as many as 30,000 male marines were members of the invite-only facebook group called marines united, in which they shared thousands of naked or sexually suggestive photos of their fefellow f

syria and russia itself. it is still in crimea and eastern ukraine.e are watching a stalemate here and which way will it make and concern you most? >> if obama had deterred and confronted putten over crimea and ukraine and provided them with assistance, putin is never in syria. he would not have come. he came to syria because he knew that nobody, but nod nobody would stand in his way. he has leveraging influence in the middle east. but the new president went to the middle east and spoke to allies in one room and said the threat is the iranians and we are going to stand up against that and implied the russians who are their closest allies. as president trump and putin move down the road, there will be a confrontation, not necessarily conflict. but it is inevitable. >> lou: you believe it is a positive sign for the trump administration and the policies that he is pursuing that the iranians have been extraordinarily quiet and provocative than previously. >> yes, but the iranians run the war in syria. they are directingment use of a power. since the irani

it is true that last year, it did manage a deal with turkey, that closed the eastern route from syriaves tens of thousands of people this year, taking the route up from libya into italy. those numbers cause friction in italy itself, and border tensions too. today austria announced that it's ready to deploy troops to stop migrants entering.

today the challenge is in the eastern mediterranean, syria. this is brutal dictator and work criminal assad a coastline on the mediterranean and here's what it looks like. it is confrontation between the united states and russia that's the russian flag right above the u.s. in the other nations of this region, are in conflict not only about the geopolitics, about but also about the hydrocarbon an area of the world rich under the sea in oil and natural gas. these nations will compete for that. so -- >> cyprus is about -- >> it is indeed what does it all lead to. it leads to this. waves of refugees that move and take a look at that refugee boat, picture yourself on that trying to cross those waters. so these are deeply, deeply conflicted waters with huge high humanitarian challenges with huge issues at play. let's come closer to issues at home in florida this is caribbean a sea that we know well here in florida and i'm a florida native by the way i was born just north, and west palm beach the less expensive side of town. [laughter] the caribbean

the video which spread like wildfire shot the man from eastern province in syria being kicked on thegs this group of men to stop. they demand he praises of the syrian army and its people. there was subtly going around urging lebanese to beat syria. it is already there. we have a lot of syrians are cursing at the lebanese army, attacking them verbally. tensions are rising on both sides. your suggested solution, that they should go home. and you are going to put proposals to the cabinet of ways you think that can be achieved. what sort of thing that you suggesting? the safer areas in syria exceed in scale and size and surface area, the surface area of lebanon by about 60 times so there are several safe areas in syria right now. were these people come from, they are from different parts of syria said the areas where they can go back to home, they can. some have been going back home and coming back because the controls have not been 100% airtight. it is about having the right structures for them to go back safely — this is an important point— it is not about forcing them to go back to sa