welcome to "weekends with alex witt". first to the border crisis and a blunt new message from homeland security and a message to anyone thinking of crossing the border illegally. >> our message to those who are coming here illegally, those contemplating coming herely into south texas is we will second you back. >> joining me right now nbc correspondent chris. with a good morning to you, good to see you. what did secretary johnson hope to accomplish, and did his appearance have anything to do with the president's decision not to go to the border this week? >> good morning, alex. that was quite controversy by the president not to go to the border. he had a clear message. i'm not about photo-ops. i'm about getting things done. that has been to send senior members of his administration repeatedly to the border. this is jeh johnson's sixth visit there. he went to this detention facility, a place where they are holding 400 and eventually 700 folks who have come in, women and children. really the question is what happens long te

welcome to "weekends with alex witt." here's what's happening. breaking news in gaza. a 12 hour humanitarian cease-fire between israel and gaza is in effect. it began six hours ago. secretary of state john kerry arrived in paris looking to negotiate a longer seven day cease-fire. residents are moving to safer areas. palestinian health ministry said more than 830 have been killed in the conflict, mostly civilians. israel said it lost 34 soldiers. nbc's martin fletcher is showing me from tel aviv. good morning. this cease-fire is it expected to hold for the next few hours, about six we have left. i'm curious what the scene was like in gaza after it started. >> reporter: that's right. exactly halfway through the 12 hour cease-fire began at 8:00 in the morning local time, goes on to 8:00 p.m. local time. so far so good, no rockets from gaza, no israeli shelling of targets in gaza, so the cease-fire is holding. of course everyone hopes it will continue holding to the end. the question is what happens afterwards. will the lab miracle. will john kerry sometime in paris be abl

welcome to "weekends with alex witt." new security let has airports in europe stepping up security for flights headed to the u.s. the move follows new concerns to al qaeda is trying to develop a new kind of law making you get through airport security. let's talk about the details you learned about this. what do you have? >> reporter: good afternoon. french officials warning travelers that there could be delays on flights this summer. pilots that are bound for the u.s. now, the delays are currently estimated to be about 30 minutes to an hour. this comes amid intelligence that extremists fighting in syria are cooperating with bomb makers in yemen who are working on explosives that might get through airport security checks. government sources stress this has nothing to do with the fourth of july holiday. and by the way, alex, it is not clear the french are acting at the direction of the french government but you will recall this past week the obama administration called for tighter security a at airports that have direct fli

welcome to "weekends with alex witt." president obama issuing a new response today to house republicans launching a lawsuit against him. >> the republican plan right now is not to do some of work with me. instead, it's to sue me. that's actually what they're spending their time on. it's a political stunt that will waste months of american's time. >> joining me now, white house correspondent chris janice isin. welcome back. what is the president saying today? >> he's talking about the economy. i've talked to several white house officials about this lawsuit. they laugh about it and they think it's a winning issue for them. they thing that the messaging you just heard from the president, that the republicans are spending taxpayer dollars on frivolous things, when they should be focused, as he is, on the economy, is a winner for them. now, here's the question. where does it go from here? well, on wednesday, a subcommittee is going to look at this and vote on whether or not to move this lawsuit forward. it is expected they wil

welcome to "weekends with alex witt." new details on a dramatic move by the u.s. embassy earlier today to evacuate all personnel from the american embassy in tripoli, libya. secretary of state kerry spoke about it just a short time ago. >> so we are suspending our current diplomatic activities at the embassy, not closing, but suspending. we have moved people on ground to trunisia where they will disperse to other places. >> i'm joined by nbc's kristen welker who's covering this from the white house. this is something we were all following with great trepidation, considering the history there. what do we know about the threats that are facing people? >> u.s. officials have confirmed that all 158 americans have evacua evacuated. this is because of an increase in militant violence aimed at the militant government. the officials also say 158 americans, including 80 heavily armed u.s. marines, left the embassy compound early today in a caravan of suvs and buses and headed to kntunisia. it was protected by unmanned drones which shadowed them on their drive. no word on w

i'm ana cabrera in for alex witt. they're dealing with what's called incessant rocket fire from hamas. is a cease-fire within reach? cnn is on the ground across the region. live coverage just moments away. >>> a major setback for the mh-17 crash investigation. raging battles between them are keeping investigators from the crash site. hear how this situation could get even more dangerous in the days ahead. >>> plus, former secretary of state hillary clinton sounds off on vladimir putin. hear her firsthand account of how the russian president behaved during their official visit. >>> let's begin in the middle east and new doubts about whether another cease-fire can actually take hold. hamas has said it has agreed to a 24-hour cease-fire, but're still firing rockets into israel, again, blaming lack of commitment from israel. diplomats from the united nations are working to build what they call a humanitarian pause. yesterday israel said it was unilaterally extending the cease-fire that began on friday but then hamas has r

>>> welcome back to "weekends with alex witt."he rebels say bodies of the plane crash have been moved to refrigerated train cars and will stay there until the international delegation arrives. this is video of what appears to be the black boxes that are orange in color. the rebel leader says he will turn it over to the international civil aviation organization. also for today, the separatists are being blamed for destroying evidence that they see at the scene. they are calling these videos the smoking gun. three missiles and one launcher is missing one of its missiles. welcome, sir, nice to see you, as always. >> thank you, alex. >> let's get you to the latest of what you're hearing in terms of intelligence about possible military involvement and then moving that launcher back across the border into russia? >> i think the evidence is really piling up and secretary kerry made public a significant portion of that, that we have seen tanks, we have seen anti-aircraft weapons moved across the border from russia into ukraine. there's ev

welcome to "weekends with alex witt." we have new answers about the investigation and the access to the crash site in the rebel-controlled region of eastern ukraine. a team of european monitors says it was given brief access today to eight square miles of the crash site. just today after officials were forced to leave that area by armed gunmen. >> cooperation improves over time and we have better access today. >> what do you think of the investigation? >> was it enough access? >> the insurance tent site is rather large we understand because beyond what we have seen, but we will consult with those in charge here to see whether we get access to other sites. >> there is growing concern over the voice recorders. a separatist leader in eastern ukraine says no black boxes have been found but earlier a military leader of the same group said authorities had recovered the devices from the wreckage. here's what the european monitors are saying today. >> the black boxes are part of what we on serb here. we have now made special inve

>>> welcome back to "weekends with alex witt."stern ukraine where there is an effort to remove the last bodies of mh-17. ukrainian tanks are moving further south. keir simmons is in donetsk with the latest from there. keir, what are you hearing along these lines today? >> reporter: good afternoon, alex. well, we're hearing the sound of rocket fire from here. we're standing in the center of donetsk, the area of the crash site. we're hearing multiple rockets pounding the northwest of this city. boom, boom, boom coming in in an area that is controlled by the pro-russian rebels being fired by the ukrainian military. they have been firing ammunitions at that part of donetsk for days now. we think they are trying to get control of an area around the airport and at the same time, this stunning move by the ukrainians involving, as you say, tanks and other armored vehicles heading across the country into that country where mh-17 was downed, moving the rebels in front of them to get there, it seems. so a land grab by the ukrainian military

"weekends with alex witt" starts now. . >>> mh-17 tragedy. investigators say they can't get to the crash scene, and no one seems to know the fate of the black boxes. the latest on that mystery ahead. >>> the flight path. questions today about whether the entire episode should have been avoided. and are special planes still flying over the site right now? . >>> could this incident trigger a bigger conflict between the u.s. and russia, or might it actually have the opposite effect? >>> deeper into gaza. exactly how far the ground war is expected to go. a live report. >>> good morning, everyone here's what's happening. a group of investigators trying to return to the crash scene of mh-17 in eastern ukraine. a team of europeans was allowed to examine the debris friday for 75 minutes before being forced out bymen. this morning the ukrainian government says russian separatists took 38 bodies from the crash scene to a morgue in donetsk. they indicate the plane was shut down by a surface to aramis ill from an area launched by russian-backed separatis

welcome to weekends with alex witt. here's what's happening. we begin with new information this hour on hurricane arthur. that was just downgraded to a tropical storm. while arthur is now drifting away from the coast of new england, it left flooded streets and toppled trees in the north carolina outer banks. the extent of the damage has yet to be fully calculated. residents say they are used to the storms. >> we have been through this many, many times before. wind blows. storms come. we clean up. the next day we go and do what we do. >> they're a hardy bunch. the storm moved north. it brought five inches to new bedford, massachusetts, prompting a flood emergency. >>> the iowa river continues to rise. emergency crews brought in pumps and sandbags to protect a small town there. a gauge on the river was not working properly and officials were caught off guard by the rising waters. so, how is the rest of the holiday weekend shaping up for you? good morning to you, jeannette? >> reporter: good morning, alex. with that flooding concern across iowa th

welcome to "weekends with alex witt." new today, homeland security secretary jeh johnson says the obama administration is implementing several new actions to deal with the escalating border crisis. >> our message to those who come here illegally, our border is not open to illegal migration and we are taking a number of steps to address it including turning people around faster. we've already dramatically reduced the turnaround time, the deportation time. for the adults we're asking this week for supplemental for congress, from congress to bring on additional capacity, and we're cracking down on the smuggling organizations. >> and new sharp words from republican governor rick perry of texas today. his state of course on the front lines of the battle with a surge of undocumented immigrants including unaccompanied children crossing that border into texas. >> this is a failure of diplomacy. this is a failure of leadership from the administration in washington, d.c. we have a huge problem on our southern border. we have to dea

welcome to "weekends with alex witt."ying to develop a new kind of law making you get through airport security. let's talk about the details you learned about this. what do you have? >> reporter: good afternoon. french officials warning travelers that there could be delays on flights this summer. pilots that are bound for the u.s. now, the delays are currently estimated to be about 30 minutes to an hour. this comes amid intelligence that extremists fighting in

welcome to "weekends with alex witt."y secretary jeh johnson says the obama administration is implementing several new actions to deal with the escalating

welcome to "weekends with alex witt."vestigation and the access to the crash site in the rebel-controlled region of eastern ukraine. a team of european monitors says it was given brief access today to eight square miles of the crash site. just today after officials were forced to leave that area by armed gunmen. >> cooperation improves over time and we have better access today. >> what do you think of the investigation? >> was it enough

get a complete vehicle checkup >>> hey there, i'm alex witt.spoke at a california technical college earlier and touched on a range of issues including improving the economy, energy and job training. the president has been on a three-day fund raising trip to the west coast. >>> a new jersey couple is dead after a tornado struck a catch ground in virginia. their son was critically hurt. dozens for waken to hospitals. >>> local officials say the wreckage of flight 5070 was found in mali. it disappeared over western africa. severe weather may have been a factor. >>> two more military planes carrying remains of victims from flight 17 landed earlier in the netherlands. the flight with 298 people on board was shot down last week over ukraine. most of those on board were dutch. now back to "hardball." >>> we are back. here is a story from iraq you may not have heard about. the persecution of oh christians at the hands ofs i miracle extremists. christians in iraq occupied by isis are being warned to have are a choice. convert to islam, pay a steep price

welcome to weekends with alex witt. here's what's happening.th new information this hour on hurricane arthur. that was just downgraded to a tropical storm. while arthur is now drifting away from the coast of new england, it left flooded streets and toppled trees in the north carolina outer banks. the extent of the damage has yet to be fully calculated. residents say they are used to the storms. >> we have been through this many, many times before. wind blows. storms come. we clean up. the next day we go and do what we do. >> they're a hardy bunch. the storm mov

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"weekends with alex witt" starts now. . >>> mh-17 tragedy.say they can't get to the crash scene, and no one seems to know the fate of the black boxes. the latest on that mystery ahead. >>> the flight path. questions today about whether the entire episode should have been avoided. and are special planes still flying over the site right now? . >>> could this incident trigger a bigger conflict between the u.s. and russia, or might it actually have the opposite effect? >>> deeper into gaza. exactly how far the ground war is expected to go. a live report.

"weekends with alex witt" starts now. >>> dramatic and real this is the scene as a s.w.a.t.lane, the story behind what prompted this response. >> sudden live in gaza. a temporary cease-fire. >>> controversy and fall out new reaction to the punishment given a football player for a fight that left his girlfriend out cold. >>> near miss, that's what scientists are saying about a huge solar flare that nearly caused chaos on

as rachel would say, you got to >>> week skwrepbtdz with alex witt starts now. >>> air strikes from bothbe a prelude to something even better. >>> an escort accused of leaving one of her clients for dead. who is the suspect and why is the investigation broadening? >>> mid-winter flashback. the national weather service is calling for an unexpected but the of cold in what should be the hottest days of summer. >>> the return of an especialpis odyssey.

. >> welcome back to "weekends with alex witt."l power this sunday afternoon as the teenager who made a miraculous recovery after being shot in the head by the taliban met with the young ladies who escaped from boko haram in nigeria. she honored these stories to the brave young ladies and bring attention to the more than 200 that remain in activity. and the soul survivor in the texas massacre that left her parents and four siblings dead appeared saturday at a memorial for her slain family. >> i know that my mom, dad, brian, emily, becca and zach are in a much better place and i'll be able to see them again one day. thank you all for coming and showing your support for me and my family. stay strong. >> cassidy survived a gunshot wound to the head after her aunt's ex-husband went on a shooting rampage at her family's home on wednesday. >>> today, israel is closer than ever to a ground invasion as the crisis reaches its sixth day. israeli military has now dropped leeftlets warning residents to leave the area while air strikes pounded

right now, it's time for a preview of "weekends with alex witt." >> new information in the manhunt under police are searching for two men behind a carjacking that led to the deaths of three children as they were raising money for their church. >>> after months of strikes and rallies, a first for fast few workers demanding wages. first of the year so far. don't go anywhere. ♪ yoplait. with a smooth and creamy taste your whole family loves. it is so good all of the time. scheck it out.? i just saved 15% on car insurance in 15 minutes, so i took a selfie to show everyone how happy i am. really? because esurance saved me money in half that time. can i...? oh you can be in it! no need to photo-bomb me. hashbrown. selfie. yeah... that's not how it works. 15 minutes for a quote isn't how it works anymore. start with a quote from esurance and you could save money on car insurance in half the time. welcome to the modern world. esurance. backed by allstate. click or call. ♪ the back to school savings everybat staples.ed about from customers, to the staples associates. with guaranteed low prices on

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