that's the central question here, guys. >> athena jones at the white house for us. thank you. >> some military veterans and their families are watching the news from iraq as it unfolds and asking what was their service for if iraq may be worse off today than when the u.s. troops met. earlier on "new day" we spoke to the widow of doug zembek, famously dubbed the lion of fall lu fall lou gentleman. >> you are a military widow. >> yes. >> what would you tell the president about potentially getting back involved, even with air strikes in iraq after knowing what your husband went through, what he told you about his dedication to the mission there and what you're seeing today? >> i would be in support, 100%, of him going back into iraq and trying to regain what doug fought so highly for, the framework of democracy. that is what he went over there to fight for. i would be in 100% support of him doing that, i would tell him that. >> in all, nearly 4500 americans were killed during the iraq war, 32,000 were wounded. >>> let's turn to washington now where it's been a week of

cnn's athena jones joins us by phone. are we getting any insight into the decision-making process into what to do next? >> reporter: well, this is what the president and his national security team have been discussing all weekend. we know that the president has been spending father's day weekend out in california but getting updates on the situation in iraq from his national security adviser, susan rice, and others. of course he's asked his team his national security team to come up with a range of options to help iraq fight off these swiftly advancing insurgents. those options don't include sending in ground troops, but they could include air strikes and we know that this ship, the "uss george h.w. bush" can be use fod are aused for air strikes. they can conduct reconnaissance and surveillance missions. the president is also under pressure to make a decision on what to do. another member of congress has weighed in on this discussion, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell who called on the administration to act swiftly t

athena jones live in washington.fireworks later today. >> well, we heard a lot of angry words, a lot of accusations being thrown around last night and we can expect a lot of the same kind of tough questioning today when a white house lawyer, lawyer for the white house counsel's office, jennifer o'connor, takes the hot seat today. she'll be testifying. one of the witnesses testifying before the committee. now, committee chairman darrell issa subpoenaed o'connor to compel her to testify yesterday. this is after the white house declined to make her available. they said their reasoning in part was they discovered, the irs discovered these e-mails had gone missing back in february, and that post-dates the six-month tenure that o'connor had as a lawyer at the irs. she was there only until november of 2013. but chairman issa accused the white house of trying to block the committee's first request for what he called voluntary cooperation from the white house, the kind of voluntary cooperation he says the white house had prom

victor, christi. >> athena jones, thank you so much.ctually it is deptula. >> thank you for being with us. >> i wanted to make sure i got it right. >> when you see the images of violence in iraq and we know what is happening there, do you get any sense that the u.s. pulled out too soon? >> it is really not an issue of timing, pulling out too soon. it is an issue of not having negotiated appropriate agreements before the bulk of the force left to allow access to air bases for example to be able to provide a continuous intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance to monitor to be able to nip them in the bud before they get to a critical state where they already are. >> what is interesting is the report that the u.s. was shocked by the growth and speed of the growth of isis. we know there was this meeting back in may where secretary hagel was in saudi arabia with leaders of arab countries and they discussed it, but there was no plan. what is your reaction to that? >> i find it pretty amazing that this kind of a threat was not detected earl

>> athena jones at the white house, thank you. >>> also here at home, many are celebrating the life of legendary radio host casey kasem died this morning at the age of 82. the radio and tv icon had been suffering from dementia. he had been hospitalized in washington state and a judge recently gave his daughter the authority to have doctors end his infusions of water, food, and medicine. kasem had said that he would not want to be kept alive if it, quote, resulted in a biological existence, end quote. a short time ago i spoke with nischelle turner and show told me what kasem's family is saying about his passing. >> reporter: we are hearing from his elder children and they released a statement. early this father's day morning our dad passed away surrounded by family and friends. even though we know he is in a better place and no longer suffering we are heartbroken. thank you for all of your love, support, and prayers. the world will miss casey and an incredible talent and humanitarian. we have not heard from his wife jean kasem or from his daughter liberty as of yet. >> and a memorial se

athena jones, thanks so much from the white house. >>> all right.hei the israeli military is going house to house looking for three teenagers who disappeared in the west bank. were they kidnapped by hamas? their parents are holding out hope for their safe return. >> we know that everybody is doing everything humanly possible to bring them home safely as soon as possible. >> we'll take you live to israel, next. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> israel's military has detained some 80 palestinians as part of an intense effort to find three teenagers. they disappeared late last week. the mother of one of the missing boys is speaking out. our ben wedeman is speaking out. >> reporter: one of the three israeli teen and u.s. citizen. >> we wanted to express the utmost thanks that everybody is doing and the security forces, the american embassy in tel-aviv is very supportive and we just feel waves and waves of prayers and support and positive energy in this dire

>> athena jones outside the white house, our thanks to you. later this hour we will talk to republican john sununu about u.s. options a topic he knows a bit about as he served as white house chief of staff during the first gulf war. >> a lot happening around the world today. >>> today marked one of the bloodiest days yet in the ukraine crisis. a transport was shot down early this morning as it was about to land in a city near the russian border. all 49 people aboard died. ukraine leaders blamed pro russian separatists. after this leaders in the u.s. and europe called on russia to do more and to the conflict there in eastern ukraine. this take-down of the plane sparked a protest in kiev. they threw rocks and demonstrators had eggs and demanded russia leave ukraine. tires piled up at the entrance and graffiti signs. several diplomatic automobiles were flipped over. >>> president obama xaped as the leader who ended the war in iraq. that was once part of his legacy but is it a liability now. one that could even perhaps cause more problems for him

>> athena jones thank you so much. >>> chelsea manning, the u.s. soldier formerly known as bradley manning says the u.s. military lied to the public about iraq. in a new york times op-ed, manning writes this, "as iraq erupts in civil war and america contemplates intervention, that unfinished business should give new urgency to the question of how the united states military controlled the media coverage of its long involvement there and in afghanistan. i believe the current limits on press freedom and excessive government secrecy make it impossible for americans to grasp fully what is happening in the wars we finance." now manning also takes aim at the government for branding iraq's 2010 parliamentary election as a section. she writes "those of us stationed there were acutely aware of a more complicated reality. military and diplomatic reports coming across my desk detailed a brutal crackdown against political dissents by the iraqi ministry of interior and federal police on behalf of prime minister nuri al maliki. detyn yees were often tortured even

. >> cnn's athena jones is at the white house with a closer look at the president's plan and christineoks at what it means for the overall economy. what is is the president's plan, athena? >> we're talking about expanding a program that allows borrowers to cap their monthly payments at 10% of their discretionary income. this would help an additional 5 million borrowers. this is part of the white house's effort to make college more affordable. it's something we heard the president talk about for years frankly. he said no one should go broke because they choose to go to college. now, the white house is saying this is part of what they call the president's year of action. he uses the power of the phone and the pen like signing this presidential memorandum today on this issue to bypass congress where we have seen this bipartisan gridlock. the president is also going to be asking congress to act in this matter so they can help even more borrowers. there is a plan put forward by senator elizabeth warren, massachusetts democrat, that would help up to 25 million borrowers refinance their loans

athena jones has more on this. , we heard president obama is going to be requesting $2 billion in emergency funds to stem the tide of illegal immigration at the border now. especially children. what will the money be used for? >> reporter: certainly part of the money will be used to boost resources at the border, boost our capacity to handle this huge influx of these unaccompanied minors that have been flowing across the border. they don't have enough space to house these children. they don't have enough people to process them, to make sure that humanitarian plans are being reviewed and to get them back to their home country. there is a lot the administration wasn't prepared for on this border issue and this $2 billion would help go to that. this announcement we expect to be larger than that, jake. the white house says this is part of what they're calling a new effort by the president to fix as much as of our broken immigration system as he can through executive action. and, of course, that phrase, executive action,

athena jones is live for us at the white house. let's start in baghdad.today, what is it? and what are iraq's leaders saying this morning? >> reporter: fredricka, there is concern in baghdad. there is some amount of panic buying, there's an increased level of security and we are seeing young men volunteers to join the militia. there is a sense here today that i.s.i.s. is rapidly advancing towards baghdad, has been slowed by some of these fighters being deployed to the north of the city. the prime minister nuri al malaki went to tamara, a scene that was a very bloody attack on an important shrine in 2006, it led to a massive onslaught of bloodheading that year and the following year. he said this is the town where the defend would begin, and it was not by chance that so many officers put down their uniforms. this is what he said. >> translator: what happened recently did not result from a lack of weapons, but it was a conspiracy. it was a trick. there was no collusion when orders made by people we know we are made to some army formation toss withdraw, whic

athena jones is live for us at the white house.a damon, live in erbil, iraq and nic robertson live in baghdad. at the white house we begin what do we know about the "uss george h.w. bush" moving? >> hi. we know this is expected to arrive in the persian gulf by later this evening. those two other ships, a guided missile destroyer, the "uss truckton" and a guided missile cruiser 'the uss philippine sea." we know the order to send the ships to the persian gulf, which came from defense secretary chuck hagel is meant to provide the president with "additional flexibility should military options be required to protect american lives, citizens and interests in iraq." that's part of the statement from pentagon press secretary rear admiral john kirby. as you know, the president is in california this weekend celebrating father's day weekend and also delivering that commencement address, but asked his national security team to come up way range of options for how to help iraq fight off this insurgent force. now, they're not going to send u.s.

cnn's athena jones is in washington with this one. good morning, athena. >> reporter: good morning, john. we're talking about high drama on capitol hill last night. this hearing lasted more than three and a half hours, and for much of that time it was republicans grilling the irs commissioner, accusing him of working to cover up the fact that all these e-mails had gone missing. they said the irs commissioner testified back in march that the irs would provide all of lois lerner's e-mails and come to find out just earlier this month that owe mails over a two-year period are missing because of this hard drive crash. i want to play for you a heated exchange, one of several, between the committee chairman darrell issa and the irs commissioner. let's play that. >> all the e-mails we have will be provided. i did not say i would provide you e-mails that would be disappeared. if have you a magical way for me to do that, i would be happy to know about that. we're providing all the e-mails. the fact that three years ago, some of them, not all of

athena jones is on capitol hill tonight. athena, what is going on inside the hearing?just getting under way. it started a few minutes late because of late voting. but the commissioner from the irs is already under some tough questioning about these e-mails. a two-year time period, january 2009 to april 2011. not clear how many e-mails may have began missing in that period just because they're miss pg. we have this letter here from the chairman, chairman issa from the house. it is 15 questions that he has posed to the irs commissioner. but these questions have -- many have several parts. it is many, many questions he is hoping that irs commissioner will answer tonight. let me play for you a little bit of an example of some of the tough questioning we heard from darrell issa to the commissioner. >> you, commissioner, are the president's hand-picked man to restore trust and accountability at the irs. you testified under oath in mar thatch you would produce all of lois lerner's e-mails subpoena bid this committee. before you testified, you took an oath you will take again

. >>> athena jones joins us now from the white house and james "spider "marks. a lot of resistance on its request? >> that's the key question here. some members of congress have been pushing the administration to do more to help the syrian opposition for a long time. folks like senator john mccain, lindsey graham. they called for it two years ago. we've already heard about marco rubio who put out a statement in favor of this. in fact, when i asked the white house about what kind of pushback they expect, an official told me that the language in this request is meant to build on a provision that senator levin introduced himself in may. so they are looking forward to working with congress on this but that gives you some sense of the kind of pushback they expect. of course, there are going to be other members of congress who are wondering what happens if these arms fall in the wrong hands. >> is this a good idea? >> i think it's a good idea. the challenge we have as described by athena, i think we can take off the table if these weapons fall into enemy hands. they w

athena jones. thank you so much. >> coming up, we will stay here on politics.tested political primaries today involving charlesly rang el, his harlem seat being challenged. we will take you to new york for that one and blowing up right now on social media, moments ago, a player in a world cup game allegedly bit another player and guess what, this is apparently not the first time he has done something like that. we will show you what happened. get reaction, next. (phone ringing) good afternoon. chase sapphire. this is stacy from springfield. direct access to a live advisor so you can get answers fast, and get back to the beach. chase sapphire preferred. so you can. ugh. heartburn. did someone say burn? try alka seltzer reliefchews. they work just as fast and are proven to taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. mmm. amazing. yeah, i get that a lot. alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief. >>> okay. moments ago, major incident in the world cup. this player appeared to bite another player during the second half of this match. by the way, this

. >> so you -- >> our athena jones is in washington. the fun assignment of covering all of these fireworks. what is the story about these e-mails and them just disappearing? none of us gets to say "they just don't exist anymore." there's always some kind of trail. what's going on at the irs? >> that's what a lot of republicans are saying on this committee and elsewhere. they're saying in this day and age, how can you lose all these e-mails just because of some hard drive crash? but that is what the irs reported to congress. some time ago. actually, just earlier this month. they revealed to congress that in all of their searches for all of the e-mails of this irs administrator, lois learner, who's at the center of the controversy over targeting conservative groups during the 2012 election, they discovered a whole bunch of e-mails from january 2009 to april 2011, hard to even say just how many thousands of e-mails are part of that group, went missing because there was a hard drive crash back in 2011. so the irs has said, well, lois learne

our athena jones is standing by -- apologize, we just lost the connection.ck from break, we'll go back to oscar pistorius and how this big ruling on his mental capacities could mean a big implication for a verdict in that case. >>> if you're like me, you keep wondering why on earth this trial of the olympian oscar pistorius is taking so darn long. began months ago. it came to an abrupt halt so that experts could test whether he was mentally incapacitated the night he shot his girlfriend to death. our defense attorney danny sevellos here to figure this out for me. this is not the kind of thing we see play out in american courts, a trial stopping for a testing to happen. this usually happens before hand. i think the bigger question here is whether this is going to now mean we are at speed for closing arguments and actually a verdict. >> trials in other countries don't move nearly as quickly as trials in the united states do once they're under way. remember this case is not a who done it, this is a why did he do it. the entire trial is a search into the mind of

our athena jones has been -- >> picasso's paintings go for millions and millions of dollars these daystist's early struggles when he was a poor bohemian that may have led to this great art mystery. ♪ >> there's more to this early masterpiece by pablo picasso than meets the eye. >> it's something that every curator in the back of their mind they think oh, maybe during my career i might have something spectacular happen like this. >> reporter: the blue room is considered one of the first of his so-called blue period worth tens of millions of dollars and if you turn it sideways and use an infrared camera to see underneath the acclaimed painting you will find a hidden surprise, a portrait of an unknown man wearing a jacket and bow tie painted a few months before the young picasso completed the blue room in 1901. to find a complete painting underneath a picasso and particularly an early work by him is just extraordinary. >> the phillips collection in washington has spent years working to unravel the mystery of the hidden painting. the existence of which was first suspected by an art conserv

cnn's athena jones is following the developments from capitol hill. good morning, athena. what's going on? >> congressman cantor was seen as the most conservative member of the house leadership team and a likely successor to speaker john boehner. now the focus is on who will the next majority leader and what this defeat will mean for the party. >> while i intend to serve out my term as a member of congress in the 7th district of virginia, effective july 31st i will be stepping down adds majority leader. >> reporter: the stunning defeat of majority leader eric cantor has left the gop reeling. >> i'm like everybody else, i was shocked. >> we're all heartbroken. he's heartbroken. >> reporter: the number two republican in the house lost to dave brat, a tea party backed economics professor who painted the seven-term congressman as out of touch and pro immigration reform. >> will you tell us -- >> reporter: after dodging reporters' questions for hours house speaker john boehner shared this praise for his good friend. democrats said cantor's defeat was another sign of sharp divis

let eelgs bring in cnn's athena jones. the latest on this. >> reporter: the president really laid into house republicans for refusing to vote on a comprehensive immigration bill that passed the senate a year ago. here he is in the rose garden earlier today. >> our country and economy would be stronger today if house republicans had allowed a simple yes or no vote on this bill or any bill. they would be following the will of the majority of the american people who support reform. instead they've proven again and again that they're unwilling to stand up to the tea party in order to do what's best for the country. >> reporter: and so the president is trying to keep the pressure on congress but he's also saying he's not going to stand by and wait for congress to act. he's directed his team to come up with exec ty actions he can take on the immigration issue and he wants to see the recommendations by the end of the summer. he also had a message for republicans who are already mad at him for using executive actions. let's listen

let's get to cnn's athena jones from the white house this morning. ouse reacting to this decision? >> reporter: good morning, this was a closely watched case and the white house is deeply disappointed in the supreme court's ruling. it's a blow to the president's plan to try to work around a congress that he believes is bent on obstructing him. >> hey, hello, minneapolis. >> reporter: president obama fired up about the partisanship that has defined his term. >> i'll be honest with you, you've got a party on the other side that -- whose only rationale, motivation seems to be opposing me, but despite all that we're making progress. >> reporter: and white house efforts to get around the gridlock suffered a setback on thursday with the supreme court's unanimous ruling against the administration on recess appointments. >> the decision today is -- it's a big defeat for president obama. >> reporter: the justices sided with congress saying that while the constitution allows the president to fill jobs temporarily during a recess without congressional approval,