>> all right, barbara starr, thank you for that, barbara. also in yemen, u.s. overnight against al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. we are told u.s. forces hit multiple locations, targeting militants, equipment, infrastructure, heavy weapons systems and fighting positions. a u.s. defense official says the attacks were not linked to the intelligence obtained in january. they had been planned for sometime. clearly there's been some recent activity and interest in what's going on in yemen. >> yeah. >> all right. the mystery that broke the internet earlier this week is resolved. amazon giving an explanation for those outages at some of the most popular sites on the internet. we did survive, by the way, a slow internet. but here's the hint. this was not a computer glitch. we're going to get a check on cnn money next. >> this is news to me. >>> president trump's call for another $54 kbl in defense spending is reverberating far beyond u.s. borders. one unintended side effect being felt in russia. 54 billion would be only a 10% spike for the pebt gone, but it's more tha

our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr, has been working the story for us. , i understand there are some new charges. >> new dooimindictments by the justice defarmt in an ever widening bribery scandal going on for years dating all the way back to 2012, 2013. today the justice department indicting another nine people including a retired navy admiral over charge, allegations of bribery. this is the so-called "fat leonard" case, a nickname for a contractor out in singapore who allegedly bribed navy officials for years trying to get lucrative navy contracts in that area. there are allegations of days-long, multiple days long partying, "fat leonard" once picking up a $50,000 party bill for these navy personnel. drinking. women. prostitutes. some of it very unsavory, wolf. how unsavory you might ask? well, let me read you one sentence out of the justice department. might not want your children in the room for this one. justice department saying, "during the party" referring to one party, "historic memorabilia related to general douglas macarthur was used by the par

i want to bring in pentagon correspondent barbara starr who is working the story. united states and britain recently banned ek electronics from some flights from middle eastern and african nations. is this why? >> wolf, good evening. this is a very significant part of why those access were taken. but we have been talking to a number of government officials and there is more to it. they are growing increasingly concerned about airlines and have been tracking specific information from a pilot in yemen and syria and isis and the concern is growing, wolf. >> the intelligence comes amid heightened concerns that ices and al qaeda asillated terror groups perfected their ability it hide bombs in electronic devices. >> cnn has learned this new intelligence was a significant part of the decision earlier this month to ban laptops, tablets and other electronic devices from the passenger cabin of planes flying directly to the united states from ten middle eastern and north african airports. demanding instead they are stored in checked luggage. >> elevated intelligence we are ar

we'll talk to barbara starr to get a fact check, a reality check on what we know about what intelligenceathered in that mission. stay with us. >>> one of the truly indelible moments of the president's speech is when he honored the wife of former navy s.e.a.l. ryan owens, killed in yemen. the white house has been very defensive about this mission. last night the president called it highly successful. >> i just spoke to our great general mattis, just now, who reconfirmed, and i quote, ryan was a part of a highly successful raid that generated large amounts of vital intelligence that will lead to many more victories in the future against our enemy. >> our barbara starr joins us this morning from the pentagon. and there was that moment that none of us will forget, the honoring of navy s.e.a.l. william ryan owens' widow and him for his service to the country, but then the president saying no question about how successful this mission was. what do we actually know about that? >> reporter: well, you know, i think it all starts with remembering this young woman widowed just 30 days ago or so. fr

let's go live to our pentagon correspondent barbara starr. barbara, what's behind all this tough talk? >> reporter: wolf, every day north korea is getting closer to a weapon that could potentially attack the united states, and that is why you are seeing a change in policy. with north korean soldiers at his back on the dmz, secretary of state rex tillerson used his visit to south korea to dramatically unveil donald trump's doctrine towards kim jong-un, the dangerous and unpredictable north korean leader. gone are the days of hoping sanctions and tough language make him stop his weapons program. >> let me be very clear. the policy of strategic patience has ended. we're exploring a new range of diplomatic security and economic measures. all options are on the table. >> reporter: tillerson ruling out old negotiating strategies that would have allowed the north to freeze its current program. critics say a clear policy is now critical. >> if you say strategic patience is no longer our policy, that's great, but what has replaced it? >> reporter: nort

airliner. >> barbara starr there.airo and monitoring what has been happening there in yemen. what are you learning, ian? is it the same that we heard from barbara starr? >> reporter: the thing about the strikes is they were targeting a number of things, natalie. they were going after weapons, they were going after militants, sa safehouses, the infrastructure of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. there were more than 30 air strikes. and when you compare that to 2016, there was roughly 30 air strikes in the whole entire year. so this is a sharp increase that we're seeing taking place here. and they're targeting these militants in the southern central part of the country in several provinces where al qaeda has been known to congregate and take advantage of the lawlessness and vacuum that has been created by the war in yemen. >> and this war has been going on and on there and there has been criticism from people inside saying where is the world. what is the view there on how the u.s. is stepping up this air campaign and h

cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr live with the latest. of the reckoning this time is this is more troubling because if the trajectory were a little different here, barbara, it may have reached land, at least one of these missiles. that's raising a concern. >> reporter: it's raising a lot of concerns. good morning, chris. top worry here at the pentagon this morning is what north korea may have planned next for its missile program. u.s. officials are saying they do see as they expect, additional signs of testing, of components that additional missile launches could happen as always. u.s. intelligence keeping a close satellite eye on the underground site where north korea tests nuclear devices. what happened here is that four scud missiles, extended range scud missiles were launched. as you say, one of them at least came within 200 miles of the coastline of japan, drawing sharp condemnation from the u.s. state department which issued a statement saying we remain prepared and will continue to take steps to increase our readiness to defend ours

barbara starr, reporting. we appreciate all the latest information. joining me now from denver, the former united states ambassador to iraq, christopher hill. thank you, ambassador, for joining us. first, your reaction to this report? >> well, first of all, this is just awful. this is a very high degree of collateral damage. we haven't seen this in a long, long time. so this is pretty bad. i want to, though, stress some of the points that barbara has already made, frankly. isis' m.o., their modus operandi is, indeed, to use human shields, is indeed to store ammunition among civilians. so i would not rule out there is this kind of issue. obviously, this is particularly sensitive, because you have a shia-led iraqi government, you have a lot of sunnis in the area, with great suspicions of the iraqi government. and frankly, suspicions of us, because we helped put a shia-led government in power in baghdad. so this is going to require some depth diplomacy. i'm sure other sunni countries are looking at this very carefully. we've already seen some of the sunn

i want to bring in pentagon reporter barbara starr. barbara, tell us what happened. did this happen? >> well, brianna, this happened in villages in northern syria. they thought they were fighting in areas where isis was. it turns out they had withdrawn and u.s. forces had moved in. when they saw what was happening and they knew that their own backed fighters were in these villages, they got in touch with the russians on a communications line that they used and got it all sorted out and those air kraftd then withdrew. it's perhaps a real signal of how complicated the battlefield is in northern syria, how many different players are there on the ground in the air and how tough a fight that may be coming as some of those fighters begin to move on raqqah, syria, trying to get that city back from isis and as they contemplate, new military measures to ramp up. brianna? >> barbara starr, thank you so much for that. >>> meantime president trump wants to change to a merritt-based immigration system. to focus on highly employable immigrants. take a listen. >> our current immigr

barbara starr is at the pentagon following the developments. >> here is where it stands.e investigation looking into this. the fbi looking at whether there's criminal activity, the c anchts. >>> trying to determine what it lost and how it lost it. all possibilities on the table. could it have been an employee inside the cia, could it have been a contractor, some outside hacker that somehow got in, a state actor. a lot of people speculating, pure speculation. could it have been russia or another state actor, someone overseas. getting a lot of attention because this is old deals with the ability of the intelligence service to hack in to common devices that we all have, our phones, computers, televisions. the cia not officially commenting on this, but, in fact, reminding people it has the legal authority to collect this kind of intelligence overseas against foreign targets. that's what they say their reason for doing all this was. if wikileaks posts the computers codes on how to undertake this activity, there could be disastrous things over sea, maybe even the united states.

let's bring in cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr now. barbara, first, the president asserted last night james mattis, the secretary of defense, told him, quote, ryan owens was a part of a highly successful raid that generated large amounts of vital intelligence that will lead to many more victories in the future against our enemies, unquote. your reporting supports that a assertion. have you learned anything new? >> vital intelligence that supports huge victories, we should expect to see more missions like this. what we are being told by senior defense officials is part of the intelligence that they gathered up specifically gave them clues about additional camps of al-qaeda operatives inside yemen. and if they can work that intelligence into precise locations, you can bet they're going to move against them. they also got intelligence about the group's efforts in training fighters, training for what, recruiting them, and especially in explosives manufacturing. that is particularly interesting because al-qaeda in yemen has been expert in th

let's go to our pentagon correspondent barbara starr.latest. >> reporter: tonight the promise of diplomacy, the threat of war neither option appears to be changing kim jong-un's mind. tonight an urgent race by u.s. intelligence to find these, north korean mobile missile launchers moving around trying to escape the eyes of u.s. satellites overhead. >> he's act very, very badly. >> the threat of north korea is expected to launch more missiles. some might be capable of reaching u.s. soil. they delivered these last month to deliver an unwelcomed surprise landing just off japan's coastline. japan now conducting its first ever evacuation drill for sa civilians in the face of the growing threat. kim jong-un the unpredictable leader testing a new miss i i will test. the u.s. things this engine might eventually go on an intercontinental ballistic mitt i will. >> through this test it is assessed that north korea has made meeping full progress in engine performance. >> reporter: it's another potential component for kim's march to be able to attack

i want to go to barbara starr at the pentagon, what are you hearing? >> reporter: one of the big questions, the u.s. got a lot of intelligence, but was any intelligence valuable enough to start act upon and we now know that yes, it was. cnn has talked to a number of u.s. officials who say one of the things they got in this raid is they grabbed a lot of electronic data including hundreds of potential contacts of al qaeda operatives and sympathizers, some outside the middle east, some in the west and they are now beginning to take action to try to track these contacts down, find these people either through their e-mails, online presence or any way they can because they believe there be may al qaeda sympathizers out there involved in planning additional attacks, this is why -- the raid, they said they had to conduct, they knew there was intelligence there. they grabbed multiple terra bites of data, they are working through it, they also believe they have additional intelligence about al qaeda safe havens, targeting, training, explosive manufacturing, how

cnn's pentagon correspondent, barbara starr, joins us now with the latest. a, what are you learning? >> reporter: well, good morning. i can tell you that the u.s. military does feel a great sense of urgency to get this investigation done as quickly as possible, according to officials we've spoken with. they know the sensitivity of this, perhaps 100 or more bodies, about 100 pulled from the wreckage so far. the investigation focusing on what exactly happened. the u.s. knows already that it did conduct an air strike on this street in west mosul on march 17th when all of this apparently happened, but the question at hand is what exactly did the bomb hit? how did these houses collapse? was there a truck bomb that was hit, possibly causing secondary explosions? was isis, in fact, holding these people as human shields as they very often do? the u.s. view very much is that they try to avoid civilian casualties, but it is isis' responsibility that it is holding people essentially hostage in their city. the aatrocity, the u.s. view is that it is isis' atrocity at this

let's go to the pentagon, barbara starr is there with more.hn mentioned, what they're calling continued activity at these sites. what does this mean? >> reporter: well, good morning. if you thought the weekend firing of four extended range firing of scud missiles is a problem, we're in for more. u.s. officials are seeing signs of continued activity at the north korean underground nuclear test site, where north korea has several times tested a nuclear device underground. they're seeing signs of activity under the surface. they're not sure what it means but they're telling me it's similar to what they've seen in the past right before a test. you can bet u.s. satellites have their eyes trained on that underground nuclear test site. separately from that, they're also seeing signs of continued activity at other missile sites above ground, things like engine tests and other preparation activity for possible additional missile launches. that would be no real surprise. north korea's missile program is growing. they're having more and more success in t

barbara starr at the pentagon.or me, i'm wolf blitzer, erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. >>> next, breaking news, fbi director james comey and high security clearances, we'll speak to him plus a member of the intelligence committee. >>> plus, we'll find out outstandi "outfront." >>> and looking at a connection between a trump organization computer server and a major russian bank, those breaking details "outfront." let's go. >>> good evening to all, i'm erin bu

that is a question on the table. >> barbara starr, fascinating first trip to asia for the secretary of 90 minutes from now president trump welcomes angela merkel to the white house. he had a lot to say about chancellor merkel during the campaign and most of it wasn't nice or flattering. with me now is -- you can find his latest piece, donald trump and angela merkel, the odd couple. you list the differences here. russ russia, nato, trade, climate change, refugees, counterterrorism. that's a big list. want to start with russia, which may be the most important. >> russia there is a big difference, there's no doubt about that. what's interesting is the strengths of these two people. some say it is a conversation will be the leader of the free world meets donald trump but merkel understands putin better than any other western leader. there's no doubt about that. and she's very concerned about donald trump, to become closer to putin, she understands the danger in that because she talks to putin virtually every week. she believes it is essential for some western leader to have a real rapport

cnn's barbara starr has details. >> one of the most widespread allegation that's u.s.craft strikes in mosul, iraq, may have caused up to 200 or more civilian deaths. what the u.s. military is saying is they are aware of these allegations from social media, from activist groups, from iraqis and they are looking into it. this was an area in west mosul, heavily populated. there were a number of air strikes over recent days. there had been social media reports and videos emerging of civilians killed in the area. the us u military says it was bombing in the area and trying to get fidelity, did it bomb these buildings, were civilian casualties caused. they're being looki they're looking at a mosque struck, civilians killed there. locking into another case of a school building bombed north of raqqah, syria, more civilians were she wiltered. a number of investigations now underway and the u.s. military insists if it is said to be found responsible it will take that responsibility. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >> all right, straight ahead, no deal for obamacare's replaceme

thank you for the update, barbara starr, we appreciate it.ant to enter does you to this week's cnn hero. on this frigid navajo refer vags, the supplies and services can be hours away and navajo elders have to make do. meet linda myers. >> you find elders without food, many don't have running water. or plumbing. one of our main goals is to keep the elders warm through the winter. it can get down to zero here at night. >> thank you. >> you're welcome. >> they need fires going all the time. and if they don't, then there's greater chance that they could freeze to death. >> to see how linda myers helps, nominate someone you think should be a 2007 cnn hero, we're back in a moment. (vo) what if this didn't have to happen? i didn't see it. (vo) what if we could go back? what if our car... could stop itself? in iihs front-end crash prevention testing, nobody beats the subaru impreza. not toyota. not honda. not ford. the all-new subaru impreza. more than a car, it's a subaru. if you have moderate to severe ulcerative colitis or crohn's, and your sympto

cnn's barbara starr joins me now from the pentagon. d cia have opened a criminal investigation into the source of this leak? >> reporter: a very major investigation, jake. tonight the cia is not confirming publicly any of the details, but a short time ago issued a statement saying all americans should be deeply troubled by anything that wikileaks does that could harm national security. the new investigation is an acknowledgment the documents appear to be largely authentic, detailing how the cia hacks into common devices like phones, televisions and computers overseas. the trump administration won't publicly confirm the leak, but appears to have known about it for sometime. >> all of these occurred under the last administration. that is important. all of these alleged issues. >> wikileaks, i love wikileaks. >> reporter: the white house says this time it's a serious breach. >> this alleged leak should concern every single american in terms of the impact it has on our national security. >> reporter: the fbi and cia will investigate for pot

we're joined by cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr.so understand there were new air strikes overnight? >> that's right, john and poppy. good morning. the pentagon confirming there were another series of u.s. air strikes in yemen overnight as they continue to escalate this campaign against al qaeda in yemen. so far no reports yet of additional civilian casualties. always a big concern for the u.s. military. we are also learning in that first round that occurred overnight wednesday, they believe they killed a top al qaeda omtiperative they had bee looking for, no formal ap announcement from the pentagon yet. they're continuing to sift through the intelligence. they do believe there's a good possibility they got to that person. so what about all the intelligence they did gather back on january 29th in that initial ground raid? we are told that, in fact, they are beginning to act on it in some very interesting ways. they are sifting through laptop computers, cell phones. they're looking at contact information, numbers, data, names of peopl

get more of the details that we know, at least understand right now, from pentagon correspondent barbara starr. barbara, what's the very latest? >> reporter: well, let's just deal with those additional troops first very quickly going to mosul, iraq. these are a couple hundred troops or more from the 82nd airborne division at ft. bragg. they are going to iraq, to mosul, to beef up the ability of the u.s. to advise and assist iraqi forces there. they will work as military advisers. the fighting in west mosul, which is a heavily populated neighborhood, is getting very grim, because there are thousands of civilians there on very narrow, crowded streets, crowded neighborhoods. so now we come to this situation on march 17th. what the u.s. knows is that an air strike was called in at the request of the iraqis. it hit somewhere in this neighborhood where you're seeing this utter devastation, more than 100 bodies pulled out of houses so far, and it is believed there will be more to come. the investigation now centering on how did this all happen. if the people were being held as civilian shields by isi

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let's bring in pentagon correspondent barbara starr.rious punishments. >> how it happened and who is behind it is now a top priority for investigators. >> reporter: hundreds of sexually explicit photos of female service members posted via a private facebook group page called "marines united." the page linked to a google drive photo where the pictures were stored. members on the site solicited others to submit photos of women. only men were invited to join. where derogatory and reportedly violent comments were made against the women. now dozens of marines could face disciplinary action. the naval criminal investigative service opened an investigation. it was all brought to light by a former marine. >> what we discovered was roughly 100 folders that contained dozens of other subfolders, some of the folders had one or two images in them with no real way to identify a victim. other ones, a little more than two dozen, included name, rank, current military duty station, easily weaponizable if put into the wrong hands. >> wounded in afghanista

barbara starr at the pentagon, how did they come across it? >> reporter: well, good morning.was a former marine who spotted this and came to the marine corps, saying he was very troubled by it. it has sparked an investigation by ncis, the naval criminal investigative service. they are looking into all of this, trying to determine how widespread it is and who may be behind it, whether there are active duty service members who are behind these postings. that may be something that they can go after them for with disciplinary action. former service members who may be behind it that may be posting these, it may be difficult to go after them. a lot of concern about how many women may have had their photos posted without their knowledge. we're getting tough reaction from the sergeant major, the top noncommissioned officer in charge of marines. a lot of concern about all of this. by all accounts this investigation going full steam ahead to try to figure out what has happened here, how these photos got posted online and who may be behind it, john, poppy. >> keep us posted, barbara sta

barbara starr has details from the pentagon. >> reporter: one of the most widespread allegations thatu.s. air strikes this month in mosul, iraq may have caused up to 200 or more civilian deaths. wi what the u.s. military is saying is that they are aware of the allegations from social media, from activist groups, from iraqis. and they are looking into it. this was in west mosul, herly populated. there were a number of air strikes over recent days. there have been social media reports and videos emerging of civilians killed in the area. the u.s. military says it was bombing in that area, but it is trying to really get fidelity, did it bomb these buildings, were civilian casualties caused. they are also looking in about to a recent strike near a mosque. civilians said to be killed there. they are look into yet another case of a school building bombed north of raqqah, syria. more than 30 civilians were seeking shelter in that building it is said, they are looking into those allegations as well. no final answer on any of these, but a number of investigations now under way and the u.s. mili

>> indeed, barbara starr working sources this morning. thank you for that. and all of this north korean news comes as the white house continues to angrily defend president trump's unproven wiretap claims. the controversy proving challenging for the president to focus on his own agenda. good morning. >> reporter: poppy this administration appears to be in crisis mode on multiple fronts with members of the president's own party on capitol hill flatly contradicting his wiretapping claims. the response so far from the white house in the briefing room has been doubling down. >> hold on. let me -- i'm trying to answer your question, jonathan. if you can calm down. >> reporter: white house press secretary sean spicer defiant and combative. >> stands by it but you're mischaracterizing what happened today. >> reporter: angry defending the president's unsubstantiated claim that former president obama wiretapped phones at trump tower despite leaders from both parties saying there is no proof. >> we have cleared that up. no evidence of that. >> reporter: spicer continui

you don't have to hate anybody. >> reporter: barbara starr, cnn, washington. >> the question, why do> iraq's leader is set to meet shortly in the u.s. his troops were in the final stages of yes eliminati-- elimi isis in iraq. the ypg kplander sacommander sa assault will start in april and his forces will take part, despite fierce opposition from turkey which considers the ypg terrorists. >>> rebels launched a surprise attack in damascus. it began in the east with rebels pushing close to the old city. government troops responded with intense bombardments on rebel-held areas. state media says an attack by fighters was repelled. the clashes were the most violent in months, perhaps in years. >>> the u.s. president set to hold talks with another major middle eastern leader, the egypt president assisi is scheduled to hold talks to discuss the israeli/palestinian conflict. they met during the u.n. general assembly. he praised el sisi as a quote, fantastic guy and touted their chemistry. >>> a beloved fairy tale is back in the theaters. >> and we'll tell you if fans were happy with the new l

barbara starr at the pentagon.season in a new season of "finding jesus," historians explore lots of significant developments that we've learned. cnn's david gregory has a preview. david? >> wolf, the series premiere focuses on a central figure in the death of jesus, the roman governor at the time, pontius pilate. who was he? and is there now evidence about his life that helps to confirm the account about him in the gospels? we went to the holy land to explore. >> reporter: on the shore of the mediterranean sea there is an ancient secret as old as the birth of christianity. here in sathe majestic roman po, a fatal determination changed history. the roman governor based here, pontius pilate, was called on to decide the fate of jesus of nazareth. he would be a harsh judge. >> he was brutal. we hear massacres and bloodsheds that were connected to the time that he had the rule over judea. he was not a nice person. >> reporter: we have come to the amphitheater here with dr. shimon gibson, an archaeologist who has spent m

>> barbara starr for us in the pentagon. >> a shocking claim by amnesty international that many civilians killed in the coalition air strike were repeatedly told by the iraqi government to remain in their homes instead of fleeing mosul. this as cnn crews on the ground in mosul are learning many of those left behind are desperately trying to stay alive. cnn's arwa damon reports. >> well, john, we were down in western mosul earlier today in one of the neighborhoods that's not far from where the incidences that are being investigated by both the u.s. and the iraqi militaries took place and even tlk you really see the extent of the devastation. a lot more vast and widespread than what we've seen in eastern mosul and that's for had a number of reasons. the area is very densely packed. there are narrow alleyways that make it very difficult for vehicles to go down, if not completely impossible, and this is where isis had really entrenched itself. we saw one large crater quite possibly caused by an air strike. spoke to a handful of c

cnn's barbara starr is at the pentagon. barbara, what do u.s.ials believe russia is trying to accomplish here? do they foresee russia military operations inside libya? >> reporter: the pentagon and u.s. intelligence community urgently trying to figure out why there may be russian special forces about to go into libya. the trump administration firmly keeping the door open to cooperating with vladimir putin to fight isis in syria. >> president has been very clear in the past that the country shares our commitment to defeating isis and we can work with them in an area of shared mutual concern, then we will do so. >> reporter: but russia is already moving beyond syria launching a new effort in libya to exert its influence and change the security landscape in a country where there is still no central government more than five years after ka daf i was ousted. they are increasingly concerned. >> what is russia trying to do in libya, general? >> senator, russia is trying to exert influence on the ultimate decision of who becomes and what entity becomes

cnn's barbara starr is live at the pentagon. barbara, a u.s. this mission is on him, but the military still is telling a very different story. isn't that right? >> reporter: well, they are, jim. and i don't really think it's very surprising. we've seen this very often in the past when there are fire fights when there are confrontations in front line war zones, if you will. often the military has a view of what happened, and civilians on the ground have very credible eyewitness reports of what they say happened to them. in this case, this seal raid in yemen in late january has continued to be controversial. the top commander saying he accepts responsibility that civilians died, that a navy seal died, but he tried to explain why he believes there was no misconduct. >> when i go through these things, there are some specific things i am looking for. i am looking for information gaps where we can't explain what happened in a particular situation, or we have conflicting information between members of the organization. i am looking for indicators of i

john, barbara starr at the pentagon. lots to talk about with our panel.jackie kucinich, the senate intelligence committee took their veil off and richard burr and mark warner provided a bipartisan base, we're the grown-ups and another headline manu raju asked senator burr outright. the white house keeps on saying that everyone says there's no evidence of collusion between trump associates and russians. are you ready to say that now and richard burton said, no, i'm not ready to say that now? >> well, right. he's saying and he also said that they will go where the facts lead them which is traditionally how you would have an investigation, not the way the house is doing it. it's refreshing to see the two of them, senator mark warner and senator presenting a united front and you get the sense that is there will be serious work done there which is not the case on the other side of the capitol. >> it's clear to me they wanted to show a united front. >> margaret hoover, charlie dent, moderate republican from pennsylvania earlier told us today here on cnn that th

bar barbara starr is at the pentagon.t's the latest. >> they are looking they say at every piece of data they can. in fact, a short time ago they briefed reporters and said they are looking at 700 videos from aircraft overhead during this whole period of several days, but especially on march 17th in this area of west mosul to try and help them determine what happened. 700 videos to go through. the iraqis are saying that one of the targets was a suicide truck bomber. the u.s. saying that also that some houses were struck in this yash hoo neighborhood. there is a lot of effort by the pentagon to make clear that the rules of the road have not changed, that they will continue to do everything they can to protect civilians, something they say isis does not so. james mattis spoke about this a short time ago. >> there is no military force in the world that has proven more sensitive to civilian casualties. we are keenly aware that every battle field where an enemy hides behind women and children is also a humanitarian field and w

want to get to the pentagon and bring in barbara starr. what's going on here?ler is in a very unusual hearing because there is a widespread military criminal investigation going on right now into this posting of explicit nude fphotos of servicewomen. mainly the website marines, nighted which may have upwards of 30,000 members even though the site has now to some extent been taken down. they've found 12 other sites. i think everybody understands in today's world you take down an objectionable site from social media and it migrates to another location. general neller pledging to get to the bottom of it and to end this type of behavior in the marine corps. and very publicly passionate about how he feels about the service of female marines. have a listen. >> to the men in our corps serving today and those who no longer wear the uniform, you are still marines. i need you to ask yourself, how much more do the females of our corps have to do to be accepted? was it enough when major megan mcclung was killed by an ied or captain jennifer harris killed when her helicopte

military effort. >> barbara starr reporting for us over at the pentagon.king news. under fire for not disclosing his talks with russia's ambassador to the united states during the campaign, the attorney general jeff sessions steps aside from any investigations into trump campaign contacts with the russians. but top democrats say that's not enough. they say he should resign. predit the market. but through good times and bad... ...at t. rowe price... ...we've helped our investors stay confident for over 75 years. call us or your advisor. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. energy is amazing. how we use it is only limited by our imagination. and at southern company we're building the future of energy, for you. guests can earn a how cafree night when theypring book direct on choicehotels.com and stay with us just two times? spring time. badda book. badda boom. or... badda bloom. seriously? book now at choicehotels.com ♪ ♪ everyone deserves attention, whether you've saved a lot or just a little. at pnc investments, we believe you're more than just a number.

. >> barbara starr, thank you for that reporting. mike rogers, thank you as always. >> thanks, guys. good to see you. >>> we want to let you know the man who questioned senator sessions, senator al franken will join us live in a few minutes. let's continue our breaking news coverage right now. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> good morning everyone. welcome to your "new day." attorney general jeff sessions is under fire this morning for failing to disclose two meetings he had with a russian diplomat. sessions was still senator at the time but also an advisor to the trump campaign when he met last year with russia's ambassador, and that person is considered by u.s. intelligence agencies to be a high level spy. >> that's interesting. the attorney general says he never talked to any russian personnel about the campaign. but these revelations come in the justice department. that's where the reports are coming from, from "the washington post." sessions during his confirmation hearings certainly gave information that was inaccurate. moments

few minutes ago we got a full update on what we know so far from cnn's pentagon correspondent barbara starr. let's listen. >> good evening, ana. it's a confusing picture, it's very serious. the u.s. military taking it very seriously tonight. a short time ago, the u.s. central command, the coalition, announced it is opening a formal assessment into whether on march 17th, in west mosul, it may have dropped bombs that killed a significant large number, perhaps, perhaps hundreds of civilians. so issue right now, nobody knows exactly what happened. all of this began to emerge over the last couple of days as social media activists in the area began to report large numbers of civilian casualties due to bombings in west mosul where there is very tough fighting against isis. the picture has been pretty murky because there's so many conflicting reports, and the u.s. doesn't have anybody on the ground there that can put eyeballs on the situation and really verify it. but the pentagon, the coalition today, a short time ago, said that they've been able to determine that, yes, they did conduct the air st

we spoke with cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr earlier on what she has learned. >> this is reallyhe u.s. military led coalition now engaging in three reviews, investigations if you will. of civilian casualty allegations in march. in both syria and iraq. but the one that is almost really heart-stop something the one earlier this month in west mosul, iraq. now nothing has been absolutely verified. but there were a number of allegations over a period of days that there had been civilian casualties after bombings. that, that women and children and civilian men clearly were being pulled out of the rubble of a number of buildings in a very crowded neighborhood area of west mosul. the military started looking into it in earlier today, issued a formal statement saying that yes, they were bombing in that area, of west mosul on march 17th and now they will conduct a formal assessment reviewing everything they can. to see if those civilian casualties were the result of any coalition, u.s.-led bombing runs. the question that comes to my mind for everybody is i suppose the word "blame." u.s. o

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>> barbara starr at the pentagon for us, thanks.npacking the nesting doll, one law maker is asking or help connecting the dots between trump's inner circle and russian officials. that congressman will join us next. kind never had to. we've used real ingredients, whole nuts, and natural flavors from the very beginning. give kind a try. (vo) do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; rage, rage against the dying of the light. do not go gentle into that good night. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ i did... n't. hat? hey, come look what lisa made. wow. you grilled that chicken? yup! i did... n't. smartmade frozen meals. real ingredients, grilled and roasted. it's like you made it. and you did... n't. ( ♪ ) i moved upstate because i was interested in building a career. i came to ibm to manage global clients and big data. but i found so much more. ( ♪ ) it's really a melting pot of activities and people. (applause, cheering) new york state is filled with bright minds like victoria's. to find the companies and talent of to

cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr, what are you hearing about this movement?me of these pictures are confusing, let's sort some of it out. the green vehicles moving around with american flags in iraq, those u.s. rangers in northern iraq on a very visible mission. you see the american flags, the cameras are there, they want to be seen, they are trying to prevent fighting from breaking out in this critical area called manbij. there's a lot of different forces there, the army rangers trying to keep it all calm. very different where the marines are in another location in northern syria. they are there moving in with their artillery. they are there to provide covering fire, will yif you wil locally u.s.-backed forces, arab-kurdish forces in the reason. that's a critical fight unfold because raqqah, the self-declared capital of isis, the u.s. trying to use local forces, this artillery, ramping up the pressure on isis in raqqah. by all accounts some of that is working. u.s. officials say, and it can't be independently verified, that isis is beginning to leave the cit

let's go do cnn correspondent barbara starr.ts and politicians reporting otherwise, valuable intelligence was undeniably seized and acted upon? >> reporter: vital intelligence, those are the words we're hearing and the big question was it actionable. is it enough for the u.s. military and the u.s. intelligence community to take some further action. and the answer we are getting is yes. nobody is bombing a bunch of targets because of this. there were some raids overnight in yemen. not tied to this at all. but the intelligence is proving to be important. they are taking action now, we are told, to try and track down hundreds of contacts, people, you know, people who might be sympathizers with al-qaeda in yemen whose data was found inside what they seized. so, now they're looking as a first step at all of that trying to see if they can track these people down. are they valid contacts, do these people exist, could they be sympathizers involved in potentially plotting future attacks. they also found intelligence that they say is goin

barbara starr reporting from the pentagon. thanks very much. once again the president getting ready to address this rally in louisville. we're going to have coverage for that, stand by. that's it for me. thanks for watching. erin burnett out front starts right now. >>> up next the breaking news the fbi director seds there's an investigation into links between the trump campaignnd at russian government he's denies any evidence of wiretapping claims the president will be speaking live this hour. will he fight back? plus more breaking news, personal electronics banned on direct flights from a dozen airlines in the united states. a major security concern linked directly to alqaeda tonight. and is sean spicer's credibility shot? >> good evening i'm erin burnett. out front. president donald trump is wrong and the white house tonight so far will not admit what the fbi director james comey said in a rare public appearance today. comey declaring under oath that will is, his words, no information to support trump's claim that the obama administration wir

let's go to barbara starr. what the general had to say and what we're learning about the investigation. >> reporter: where we are right now is more than 100 souls, 100 bodies pulled from the wreckage today in west mosul. today t today they came out and said u.s. was involved in the death and destruction. listen to what steven towns end had to say. >> we let them look at the scene. they had skill and technology. my initial assessment was that we probably had a role in these casualties. now, here's what i don't know. what i don't know is were they gathered there by the enemy? we still have assessments to do. it sure looks like they were. we'll say that. the iraqis firmly believe that they were gathered there by the enemy. >> reporter: what he is say is the u.s. and iraq believes it's likely these people were being used as human shields. he was adamant that the u.s. does not target civilians. they have to determine was the house booby-trapped, did they bomb a suicide truck bomb, what brought the house down from a t

barbara starr at the pentagon. a lot going on, barbara. >> a lot, indeed.missiles fall into the sea of japan, closer than anybody would like to the coastline. the u.s. has a number of weapon systems in the region that can quickly determine through radars and intelligence whether any north korean missile is headed for land and attempt to shoot it down, and that's one of the other reasons on the other side of the screen from me, you see the new systems being unloaded in south korea, and this is a weapon that is to detect and destroy incoming missiles. everybody in the region knows about this, and it's no secret and everybody out there in front of tv cameras making sure the world sees the message they want them to see. the chinese foreign ministry, the least of it, the chinese have been very opposed to putting the new u.s. system into the region, and just yesterday the chinese foreign ministry issuing a statement about its concerns, and it said we will firmly take necessary measures to preserve our own security interests and the u.s. and south korea must bear

let's go to our pentagon correspondent barbara starr. barbara, what are you learning? >> well, wolf, the white house has wanted to get more details out there. classified as the mission was about what really happened and what they learned, it now appears some information is being made public. >> i just spoke to our great general mattis, just now, who reconfirmed that -- and i quote -- ryan was a part of a highly successful raid that generated large amounts of vital intelligence. >> reporter: a full-throated defense at the raid in yemen that led to the death of navy seal william ryan owens last month. u.s. official tell cnn the intelligence gathered point it additional al-qaeda hide outs that may lead to even more raids. documents the seals seized detail training, targeting, and explosives manufacturing by the group which has attacked the west, including the 2015 attack on the charlie abdough offices in paris and the attempted 2009 bombing of an aircraft landing in detroit. but there are serious questions about how the seals ran straight into a fire fight resulting in se

i want to bring in cnn's pentagon correspondent barbara starr. of all, you know, have you ever seen anything like this? you have obviously been covering the pentagon for so long and are wired probably more than anybody else there. but also, do you know if they have been able to identify who is responsible? >> well, a major military investigation now under way, dana. the ncis, naval criminal investigations service, looking into all of this. it was brought to their attention several weeks ago by a former marine who had been online, came across this site and discovered what was in it. he brought it to their attention. so that investigation very quietly begun. they're trying to determine how many people were involved. by all accounts, the photos of the women not suitable to be -- to describe on a news station like cnn. very lewd, very salacious. it is possible some of them were originally taken under consensual circumstances but then shared not with the consent of the women. it is possible some of the photos were taken under stalking circumstances. >

i want to bring in cnn correspondent barbara starr and bob bear, a retired cia operative. i want to let our viewers know that jeff sessions is going to be holding a press conference at 4:00 p.m. we are at 3:21 eastern time, he's going to be holding a conference in 40 minutes. we will bring it live to you on cnn. stay tuned for that. back to this raid. this is coming as the administration has been defending this raid. they said even though they lost a navy s.e.a.l. even though civilians were killed that a lot of recoverable vital intelligence has been benefitting them. >> they have said that briana. they have been very specific with their wording here. they are calling it vital intelligence, valuable intelligence, so the debate comes up if it's something called actionable, can the u.s. intelligence community take this intelligence and somehow act upon it. we saw some raids, airstrikes in yemen overnight not tied to sbre intelligence here, but actions are being taken, not necessarily dropping bombs, but they found a lot of laptop, cell phones, computer data, they're starting