let's go to barbara starr at the pentagon. she's working this for us. again and again, they were unable to say if members of the armed forces currently serving would be kicked out, which is what the president's tweet suggested. is there any clear understanding where you are at the pentagon right now about what this new policy means? >> reporter: that's really the point, wolf, there is no understanding. this was the making of military policy, if you will, by the president on twitter. the u.s. military operates by rules, regulations and military law, directives. none of that, no guidance from the white house about what this all means. you saw the press secretary say the white house and the pentagon will now work together, but the concern is that for those who are currently serving, estimated between 13 to 6600, a relatively small number given the size of the military. what happens to these people? will they be forcibly booted out, to be clear, from the u.s. military? will they even get an honorable discharge? will this be legal? what will happen to them?

pentagon correspondent barbara starr is joining me with this. what are you hearing today? >> we have breaking news in the last five minutes. we know the chairman of the joint chiefs, the heads of military services did not know yesterday that this tweet from president trump was coming and they have been scrambling for over 24 hours to figure out the steps ahead. a short time ago, the chairman of the joint chief, general joseph dunnford, a four-star united states marine, the president's top military adviser put out a message to the troops and it is quite telling. i want to read all of it to our viewers. again, general dunford, the chief military adviser. he says, i quote, i know there are questions about yesterday's announcement on the transjend policy by the president. there will be no modifications to current policy until the president's direction has been received by the secretary of defense and the secretary has issued implementation guidance. in the meantime, we should continue to treat personnel with respect and importantly, given the current fight and the challenges w

joining us from the pentagon is barbara starr.arbara, you are the one who broke the news of the preliminary investigation. how could something like this happen? >> reporter: well, now they are beginning to put some answers to the question about what happened, but why it happened still remains very much a matter for investigators to try to determine. what it appears, according to the initial findings is the crew simply was not aware, quickly enough, of what was happening around them, this cargo ship, this philippine cargo ship was approaching them. not aware of how dire the situation was. the imminent danger they were in of being hit. they continued on their course. by all accounts took no action to evade the cargo ship. this would put it square in the navy's lap. they have the responsibility of getting out of the way. navy ships rely on expert seamanship. they should have understood much sooner what was happening to them. tragedy for seven navy families. look, this cargo ship, when it hit the star board side ripped a hole below th

cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr working this story for us. barbara, this may be the regime's most troubling launch yet. >> reporter: it may well be, brianna. based on intelligence gathered from u.s. spy satellites and other classified sensors, all of the intelligence is pointing towards north korea likely launched its first inter-continental ballistic missile. these are the first images of the north korean missile launch. the u.s. never wanted to see. u.s. officials calculate this is likely a two-stage inter-continental ballistic missile, an icbm that could some day hit parts of the united states. u.s. spy satellites for days had picked up imagery of a potential missile launch like this one launched in may being ready. now the latest assessment suggests the new launch was a more advanced missile that traveled farther than any previous missile test. the south korean and u.s. military estimates the missile travelled more than 580 miles in 37 minutes. based on this, experts calculate the missile could have a maximum range of roughly 4,160 miles,

>> barbara starr, thank you for the exclusive new reporting. critical information from the pent fwob. we appreciate it. the fallout from this missile test is one of several foreign challenges that faces president trump as he's in the air right now to europe for a set of crucial meetings. >> first he's visiting poland and then germany. obviously north korea will be something that's discussed everywhere during this meeting, but it also will include the president's first one-on-one with vladimir putin. that aside white house says this is his first meeting. secretary of state rex tillerson calling it a new escalation. suzanne malveaux with expectations heading into this trip, suzanne. >> one of the things we're looking at is provocation. we asked the president questions, shouting to hum before he left. he said, we're going to do very well. that's all he was able to say about that. the white house clearly wanting to project strength and independence to the world leaders. that is their goal here. whether it comes to climate change, immigration, trade

barbara starr at the pentagon, thank you. all of this makes for a full menu for the president when he arrives at the summit. but there's more. the president also preparing for his first ever meeting with vladimir putin. we should note in the past mr. trump claimed the two had met before. that aside, this morning the kremlin said the russian goal was to establish a working dialogue with the united states. what does that mean? michelle kosinski live at the state department for the expectations of this big meeting friday. >> remember a working dialogue is what was supposed to have been established when secretary of state rex tillerson went to moscow, met with the foreign minister, and met with vladimir putin. that was just a few months ago. but as we all know, that meeting did not go well at all. remember, the press conference afterwards was this testy exchange with the u.s. and russia disagreeing sharply on syria, on hacking of the u.s. election, on just about everything. so now they're going out to sit down again and this is w

never. >> joining us now live at the pentagon is our pentagon correspondent barbara starr. barbara, you're the one who got this reporting, this information. what else are the investigators telling you? >> reporter: first, continuing utter heartbreak for these seven navy families, but what investigators are finding, and it is the preliminary findings, more information could come to light, is there were a series of cascading errors by the navy crew manning the ship at the time. they knew this cargo ship was out there. they knew it was approaching, but for some reason nobody sounded a warning or an alarm of imminent danger. there was no action to change course until it was too late. the ship apparently just kept on the course it was on at the time. and that's what's so inexplicable, what kind of seamen ship was actually at play here at work. and so that's where it goes now the investigation. they know that the crew failed to respond, but why they failed to respond remains a critical question. you know, the devastating wreckage is perhaps one of the bigger issues now. a hole rip

barbara starr is live at the pentagon with more. what are they thinking at this moment about this launch? >> reporter: what's most interesting, john. a number of u.s. officials, it's july 4th, should be at home, are in at work today from the state department to the pentagon. a series of very quickly called meetings to discuss all of this. when north korea said overnight our time here in washington that they had launched an intercontinental ballistic missile not of shorter range at the u.s. initially thought, it caused a scramble. all night looking at the data from the missile launch. data gathered by satellites and other u.s. classified sensors, recalculating everything. and we could see indeed the trump administration come to a conclusion today that this was north korea's first launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. this changing the security calculation across the world, because what it fundamentally means is, kim jong-un's testing program has worked. he tests and tests his missiles, and now he may well have an icbm that

barbara starr, you are going to continue to work your sources.ant to get reaction from republican congressman, adam of illinois, a member of the foreign affairs committee. thank you for joining us. what do you make of the breaking news? >> it's of concern. north koreans are way more advanced than we thought. the icbm missile test surprised me when it happened on july 4th. if this is another one, it's concerning. one thing to keep in mind, every time they have a missile test, they learn from it, we also learn from it. we can watch trajectories, how they are doing and what they are doing. it makes us better at defending. this is concerning. what this does for us is should we double our efforts in the house with the administration to invest in future missile defense whether it's intercepts. on the medium range missiles, that's where the thud missile defense system comes in very porpt because that's what defends japan and south korea from intermediate range. >> how confident are you the systems we are developing are keeping up with the missile progra

barbara starr at the pentagon.ational security analyst, thank you for being here. general, let me begin with you. we have not heard what the president's strategy will be in afghanistan. we have heard he's considering the range of 3,000 to 5,000 troops in afghanistan. he deferred a lot of it to secretary mattis. should we expect an update soon, do you believe, on that front? >> we should, absolutely. let's review for a second where we are. we have an afghan military that's not as large, not in sufficient numbers as and as professional and mature as they need to be. that is growing, incrementally. probably need to pick up the pace there. secondarily, the taliban increased presence in the country beyond where they were at 9/11. keep that in mind. the taliban is creeping back in as the united states has departed, it has regained strength. the third thing is we have to get tough on pack tan. there has to be an outside in strategy. they need to create a strategy that articulates why this is important, why the united stat

barbara starr, again, breaking news.ecretary james mattis, talking to reporters by choice saying the capability now is icbm capability of north korea doesn't change the situation and quite deliberately saying diplomacy is the first option. barbara starr, colonel cedric layton, thank you for joining us. >> you bet. >>> shortly, the german ambassador to the united states will join me live. president trump and german chancellor angela merkel just wrapping up their meeting. what did they discuss? is there common ground between the two nations? perhaps some of the conflicts between these two leaders? did they mend some of those fences? [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare? that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, they could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call today to re

barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >>> barbara, thank you. now to hong kong. thousands of protesters there are marching. the annual protest hours after the national flag raised over hong kong marking 20 years since the end of british colonial rule. xi jinping has visited, but left hong kong. >> before he departed, he warned against challenging chinese authority saying it will not be tolerated. mr. xi swore in the first female leader kerry lam. there were issues saturday as police and demonstrators scuffled. >> let's go to hong kong and our correspondent ivan watson is there live where protesters gathered. ivan, good to have you with us this hour. direct words from the chinese president. how is that message perceived on the ground where protesters are doing what they typically do in hong kong. >> reporter: i think people here are showing their opposition to that kind of statement in this uniquely hong kong tradition. annual pro democracy march. every year on the anniversary of the handover from british rule to chinese central government rule. you won't see this

. >> i want to bring in pentagon correspondent barbara starr. barbara, how concerned are u.s. officials about this new missile? >> reporter: look, pamela, it may have been just a test by the north korea regime, but new information tonight about the threat it could pose to all of us. duly, north korean videos. first north korea showing the world its new intercontinental ballistic missile. then hours later, a u.s. and south korean show of force, holding a drill, firing missiles that could destroy north korean targets. the pentagon warning even the test of the north korean missile poses new dangers. >> this missile flew through busy air space used by commercial airliners, it flew through space, it landed in japan's economic zone in an area used by commercial and fishing vessels. all of this completely uncoordinated. >> reporter: there is an internal debate between u.s. and allied circles about whether this never-before-seen missile really shows a north korean capability that hit a target 3400 miles away, the definition of intercontinental range. the current calculation is it's ri

let's bring in cnn correspondent barbara starr. barbara, what are we learning tonight?eporter: good evening, jim. well, this missile test had been long planned, long scheduled but it takes on new significant importance with what is happening in north korea. south korea flexing its own military muscle, conducting a naval launch fiefr military drill to show the world and north korea leader kim jong-un its own military might. for its part, north korea is still celebrating the launch from the 4th of july. >> translator: the great success of the inter-continental ballistic launch a demonstration of our mighty power. >> reporter: u.s. intelligence is urgently assessing what it knows about the north korean icbm test and how soon it will be able to strike u.s. oil. >> we're still analyzing the latest test at this time. >> reporter: a key question, did the missile reenter the earth's atmosphere intact? that would be a necessary step for a north korean icbm to hit a target. then there is the issue of placing a nuclear war head on top of the missile. >> they're trying to miniaturi

that's where we find our barbara starr. rbara, you got your hands this morning on a fascinating memo from the chief of naval personnel to everyone below him saying what? >> well, he is beginning to lay out like the other services are the questions at hand. and that's why the pentagon is asking the white house for some direction. what is the real intent of the president's tweet? military policy by twitter is not really the way the u.s. military works. they want specific direction from the commander in chief. they want him to put pen to paper and say what his intent really is. and one of the key questions that we're seeing emerge now is does the president intend for transgendered persons who are currently serving to forcibly be pushed out of active duty, to be pushed out of the military. will they get honorable discharges if that's what he wants so they can continue to get retirement and medical benefits based on their years of service. so, the chief of naval personnel, and i think we can assume the other personnel chiefs pret

we'll start with barbara starr. barbara, what are you learning? >> reporter: good morning, brianna. the trump family spending its time in meetings. increasing increasingly, it looks like it was an intercontinental ballistic missile. these are the first images of the north korean missile launch the u.s. never wanted to see. u.s. officials calculate this is likely a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile, an icbm, that could someday hit parts of the united states. u.s. spy satellites for days had picked up imagery of a potential kn-17 missile launch, like this one launched in may being ready. now the latest assessment suggests the new launch was a more advanced missile that traveled farther than any previous missile test. the south korean and u.s. military estimates the missile traveled more than 580 miles in 37 minutes. based on this, experts calculate the missile could have a maximum range of roughly 4,160 miles, long enough to reach all of alaska but not the rest of the u.s. >> you have to remember the missile technology has been around for a long time, so there are no partic

i want to bring in cnn correspondent barbara starr. ng the battle winning the war not the same case, barbara. >> reporter: not at all, brianna. the u.s. could win the combat phase of the war but it's going to open up a whole new set of challenges. >>> u.s. marines in syria firing artillery at isis positions. unprecedented video, much of it shot from a drone overhead, underscoring the growing danger for more than an estimated 700 u.s. combat forces on the ground. the u.s. war against isis in syria is at a critical stage. u.s. forces including snipers are inside raqqa trying to end the islamic state that baghdad i declared three days ago this month. but tens of thousands of civilians are still at risk from isis and syrian president bashar al-assad. president trump is about to meet with russian president vladimir putin for the first time. and the white house says the war in syria is likely to be discussed. the u.s. goals? >> the need to, to de-escalate the syrian civil war, to defeat isis there, and to end that humanitarian catastrophe. >>

cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr has this report. >> reporter: north korea's new intercontinental ballistic missile rolled up to the launch pad, fired, and change the world for president trump. >> i don't draw red lines. >> after declaring the era of strategic patience is over. the north korean threat is now a major issue at the g20 summit. president trump trying to leave all options from sanctions to military action on the table. >> i have some pretty severe things that we're thinking about. >> in his first public statement, defense secretary james mattis says diplomacy still is the priority in controlling north korea's new missile launches. >> i do not believe that capability in itself brings us closer to war because the president has been very clear and secretary of state has been very clear that we are leading with diplomatic and economic efforts. >> the secretary has long warned that war with kim jong un could lead to catastrophe. >> as you know if this goes to a military solution it is going to be tragic on an unbelievable scale. >> military options have been updated for the

. >> our barbara starr has the report. >> reporter: south korea flexing its military muscle. conducting a naval military drill to show the world and north korean leader kim jong un it's own military might. for its part, north korea is still celebrating the launch from the fourth of july. >> translator: the great success of the intercontinental ballistic missile launch is the show of our mighty power. >> reporter: the u.s. is assessing what it knows about the north korean icbm test and how soon it will be able to strike u.s. soil. >> we're still analyzing the latest tests at this time. >> reporter: a key question, did the missile reenter the earth's atmosphere in tact? that would be a necessary step for north korean icbm to hit a target. then the issue of placing a nuclear warhead on the missile. >> they are trying to put it on top of the icbm delivery system. i think it is a very serious threat. >> reporter: a threat that for now the u.s. is confronting peacefully. >> this is a diplomatically led international effort to stop a worldwide threat they are bringing to bear. >> re

barbara starr joins me now. what have you learned? >> reporter: what u.s.are telling me is they have not seen this missile before. when they initially looked at it after the launch, they thought it was a missile they were familiar with, something called the kn-17 liquid fuel, but after looking at all the data, all the intelligence, they found that it was a two-stage

. >>> first, let's go to our pentagon correspondent barbara starr. barbara, a lot of questions and concerns tonight surrounding the president's very surprise decision to ban transgender troops. >> reporter: wolf, tonight it looks like the heads of the military branches here at the pentagon caught off guard by the president's decision and the crucial question for the thousands who are still currently serving. what will happen to them? will president trump have them forcibly booted out of the military? >>> president trump making military policy via twitter. today suddenly announcing the united states government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the u.s. military. sparking instant criticism from democrats and republicans. >> i believe that is an awful decision. i served in active duty in the military and i can tell you, we don't care about gender orientation or identity who who you love. >> reporter: senator john mccain chair of the senate armed services committee, saying there is no reason to force service memb

let's go to our pentagon correspondent barbara starr, our cnn diplomatic analyst, and retired admiral john kirby is with us as well. barbara, what are you hearing at the pentagon? was this their recommendation, the top military brass to the president to go ahead and issue this ban? >> reporter: prior to the president's very sudden tweet this morning, non it wasn't. what was in the works that defense secretary james mattis announced last month that there would be a six month pause in this. the joint chiefs had some concerns about how it would all work and mattis said let's take a deep breath, look at this for the next six months, about the issues of recruiting, about whether having transgender members of the military and about medical costs. nobody should assume what the outcome of the pentagon six-month review would be. there were no preconceived notions going in. the chiefs wanted more time. and mattis said let's take more time to look at the whole thing. we now have the president's very sudden tweet this morning that appears to reinstate the ban. the big question now, wolf, is you'r

and as barbara starr reports, the battle for raqqa is just one of the many challenges both sides are facing. >> reporter: u.s. marines firing artillery at isis positions. unprecedented video, much of it shot from a drone overhead, underscoring the growing danger from more than an estimated 700 u.s. combat forces on the ground. the u.s. war against isis in syria is at a critical stage. u.s.-backed forces including snipers are now inside raqqa trying to end the islamic state that abu bakr al baghdadi declared three years ago this month. but tens of thousands of civilians are still at risk from isis and syrian president bashar al assad. president trump is about to meet with russian president vladimir putin for the first time. the white house says the war in syria is likely to be discussed. the u.s. goals -- >> the need to deescalate the syrian civil war, to defeat isis there and to end that humanitarian catastrophe. >> reporter: it's all about to get a lot tougher. >> putin believes that he is in the cat bird seat at this point. >> reporter: with the u.s. no longer regularly calling for

barbara starr joins me now. what have you learned? >> reporter: what u.s. officials are telling me is they have not seen this missile before. when they initially looked at it after the launch, they thought it was a missile they were familiar with, something called the kn-17 liquid fuel, but after looking at all the data, all the intelligence, they found that it was a two-stage missile, perhaps a deception. they put out the missile that was expected and put out another on top of it. why is that so significant? it's because this is now the configuration that gives the north koreans the eventual capability for that intercontinental ballistic missile that could hit the u.s., are they there yet? no, this is just demonstrating that capability. they will have to make a lot of improvements to actually make it hit an intercontinental target, specifically the west coast of alaska. but what the u.s. is seeing, is north korea living up to the threat. they said they were going to test, they said they were going to develop, and that's exactly what they're doing. now putt

barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >>> thousands of people are marching in hong kong right now. they're gathered on the 20th anniversary of the former british territories handover back to china. many are worried it will erode china's democracy. >> he warned against any challenges. >> translator: any attempt to endanger china sovereignty and authority challenge the power and bake law of the hong kong special administrative region. or use hong kong to carry out infiltrations and sabotage activities against the mainland is an act that crosses the red line and is absolutely impermissible. >> mr. xi also swore in hong kong's first female leader. carrie lam said she recognized that hong kong faced political and economic challenges, but she ask added they can't be revolved overnight. let's get straight to ivan watson where protests are taking place this hour. ivan, i see a lot of people there are. more than what we saw this last hour from this particular view, given the heat, given the situation, these demonstrators are still determined to have their voices heard? >> reporter: it's a l

>> barbara starr, thank you so much for that. senator chris coons, back to you now.iew. could the u.s. do anything at all to prevent a nuclear capable north carolina. >> both putin and president trump said they intend to follow mobilization first, they're trying to mobilize a world effort. some of the things done at the world nations g20 says that other allies see it the same way. the key country here is china. this is china's problem because it's destabilizing pet nie inin peninsula, destabilizing the region, but trump has not taken any steps tofor destabilizing action. if this is one of our most important national security questions, then why does the president want a budget that would cut the military spending by almost a third? that sounds like we're cutting diplomatic efforts with china. >> if china hasn't done anything up to this point, why are you kfrt it could? >> i'm not confident. in fact, i'm not even optimistic. i am concerned china is balancing their concern that if there is a crisis versus they will concerned that the rest of the world will coalesce on

go to our pentagon correspondent barbara starr standing by. will ripley standing by in beijing, alexander field in seoul, south korea for us. barbara, first of all what do we know about the reported launch? for example, what type of missile was launched today, do we know? and different than the last launch that took place on july 4th? >> reporter: all the things we are awaiting the pentagon to tell us, wolf, on this day, as once again world threats intervene on washington politics. the north koreans fired this missile about 10:45 this morning each coast time. according to the pentagon it was quickly detected. the u.s. has satellites and other intelligence gathering systems that can quickly detect ballistic missile launches, especially out of north korea. there had been a lot of indicators that they might be getting ready to launch. what we're looking for now is the announcement by the pentagon about what kind of ballistic missile this was. there is a good deal of concern it might have been yet again an intercontinental range ballistic missile.

. >> pentagon correspondent barbara starr joins us with the latest. >> good morning. the president tweeting his condolences along with the first lady a short time ago. the marines saying that they do not know what happened here. it was a marine corps kc-130. that's an aircraft that normally conducts refueling operations but also can carry cargo, carry troops, crashing yesterday afternoon. you see the aftermath here in mississippi. it came out of cherry point, north carolina. no indication even so far that the pilot was able to make any kind of radio call that the plane was in distress. that's all part of the investigation. the faa says they called the marine corps instantly, of course, when the plane disappeared from their radar. 16 souls lost on board. all members of the u.s. military. and what the pentagon is telling us at this hour, they are now reaching out to families across the country, next of kin, to notify them. and after that is done, then the nam names of those who perished will be made public. >> barbara starr reporting from the pentagon. thank you for tha

let's go to the pentagon, barbara starr is there with more.rand corporation finding the costs between 2 and $8 million, also you have reported that the folks across the hall from where you are, taken by surprise with this announcement. >> taken by surprise and then some. i have to tell you. a short time ago, the chief pentagon spokesman in the building today told reporters rg call the white house. they didn't know anything about it. it doesn't appear at this moment that the pentagon has a lot of if any information about exactly what the president has in mind. it was only in the last several weeks that defense secretary jim mattis said he wanted to take a pause for six months and look at this entire issue of transgendered petransgender ed serving in the military. they wanted to get a deeper look at this. there's not a clear answer as to how many transgendered persons serve in the military. the estimates, 1,000, 1,300 all way up to 6,000 or more. it tells you how little they know at this point about the scope of the issue that they're trying to

cnn's barbara starr at the pentagon with the latest on that. good morning, barbara. >> good morning, john. let's be clear, many sources we are talking to here in washington this morning are telling us they do not anticipate at this point u.s. military action against north korea. that the administration is still looking at options involving sanctions and diplomatic action despite the rhetoric that is emerging. so that perhaps is a starting point. could there still be diplomatic action and sanctions to come. that said u.s. military commanders certainly have recently updated military options for the president if he were to choose to exercise them. he has said there's no red lines. let's listen to a bit more of what he said of all of that this morning. >> i have some pretty severe things that we're thinking about, that doesn't mean we're going to do them. i don't draw red lines. president obama drew a red line and i was the one that made it look a little bit better than it was, but that could have been done a lot sooner and you wouldn't have had the

barbara starr at the pentagon. barbara, what leads u.s. officials to believe this could have been an intercontinental ballistic test with the range potentially of at least hitting the united states? >> reporter: jim, administration officials are making it clear they don't want this situation to escalate, but they are also saying looking at the latest intelligence from satellites and other sensors, that is what is convincing them this most likely was an intercontinental ballistic missile. >> so a step forward, but you're hearing that officials don't believe that today a north korean icbm could directly strike the intercontinental u.s.? >> reporter: what they are saying is what they've continued to say. kim jong-un has a very active missile test program, and that they believe that is his ultimate goal. he can't maybe do it yet, but they really do believe that's what he wants to do, a missile with a nuclear warhead that could hit the u.s. these are the first images of the north korean missile launch the u.s. never wanted to see. u.s. official

let's bring in barbara starr.g ready for another icbm, or intercontinental ballistics missile. what does that tell the experts? >> reporter: what officials are saying is uyou have to assume nw that north korea is ready for some missile launches. they are seeing cases where they could launch again in about two weeks. too soon to say if it will be the second icbm test or another intermediate range test. all of it, however, very concerning to officials because north korea clearly on this track to be able to launch missiles that can eventually hit the united states. the big issue is when will they have the ability to precisely target an area in the u.s. jake? >> barbara, it's not just the missiles program. cnn has also learned that north korea's most advanced submarine is engaged in unusual activity in the east sea. what are you learning? >> reporter: it's right now been noticed it's about 100 kilometres, about 60 miles or so offshore north korea. not a very advanced submarine, by the way. it's diesel, it can't go und

>> barbara starr at the pentagon for us.hank you. >>> joining me now is navy lieutenant commander blake b beeman. he joined the army in 2006 and transitioned in 2013. he is said to be the latest transgender admitted serving openly. thank you for being here. we appreciate it. >> absolutely. thanks. >> what was your response when you saw or heard about the tweets from the president this morning? >> i was definitely shocked and upset. as a transgender service member, i'm doing my job and continuing to serve with honor and dignity, and this was definitely something that has taken me aback, at least for the foreseeable future. >> have you heard from your superiors? are you worried about being separated from the military against your will? >> i am absolutely worried about being separated. i have already talked to my superiors and they are just as shocked as i am. and they wanted me to know that they completely support me and support the work that i do as far as within the military, and that they will continue to do so till the mil

let's go straight to barbara starr, our pentagon correspondent.me what is the new intel that the u.s. intel revealing. >> reporter: hi, brooke. what we are learning from u.s. sources administration officials is they are noticing new intelligence they're gathering from satellites showing that north korea is likely getting ready for another ballistic missile test. not clear at this point if it will be a second intercontinental range ballistic missile, another missile that could hit potentially the u.s., or something that could hit in the pacific or more regional missile, but it doesn't really matter much at this point. north korea continuing to make rapid progress on its missile program, according to u.s. officials. this latest intelligence comes from imagery, from radar satellites, radar intelligence that they are beginning to test the systems that they might have to use in an upcoming launch. so all of this getting a lot of attention because north korea is getting very capable, officials say, at being deceptive, getting ready for a missile launch

barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >> well we spoke to two transgendered members of the military, navy lieutenant commander blake drummond. he joined in 2006 and transitioned in 2013 whilst on active duty, and spoke with jake tapper. >> i was definitely shocked and upset. as transgendered service member, i'm doing my job and continuing to serve with honor and dignity. and this -- this was definitely something that has taken me aback for at least for the foreseeable future. >> have you heard from your superiors? are you worried about being separated from the military against your will? >> i am absolutely worried about being separated. i've already talked to my superior, and they're just as shocked as i am. they wanted me to know that they completely support me and support the work that i do as far as within the military. and that they'll continue to do so until the military tells me it's time to hang up my boots. >> a study directed by the defense department found that the military would spend less than a quarter percent on readiness and health care for transgendered military members. t

barbara starr, at theet. gone, what are the options on the table that they would be exploring? where this starts is we now know that the u.s. and south korea are looking at all that technical data about north korea's missile launch to see if it is capable of hitting the u.s., as north korea claims. if that claim is true and they are looking very hard at it, we expect to have some information in the coming hours what the conclusion of this analysis is. if it is an icbm, an intercontinental ballistic missile, the question for administration officials how would they respond. north korea would not be allowed to have a missile that could hit the united states and particularly with a nuclear w warhead. this will provoke a discussion in the administration, which is already happening today, about potential options. look, they could be diplomatic options. sanctions. working with other countries wrapping up the pressure. it could be some kind of low level, if you will, military option. we often have seen in the past more ships, troops, aircraft to update the presence in the korean penins

nick paton walsh and barbara starr are following the latest developments. nick, you first.. how is this playing out? >> very slowly at this point. we are seeing the last few hundreds of meters literally of territory inside the old city of the iraqi town of mosul. once the biggest population center isis controlled. well, they're now in a very small pocket. but they have suicide bombers in their midst, civilians being used as human shields, rubble everywhere, booby traps in that rubble. it's been a nightmare for iraq but one that seems to be slowly coming to a close. much political will here to announce the end of isis, their final victory. that could be hours, it could be days away. things are moving slowly though. >> barbara, isis has another de facto capital in syria that is close to falling as well. once both capitals ball, what is the u.s. plan moving forward to defeat isis? >> well, this may be just the beginning as you point out. the fighters that the u.s. is backing are moving into raqqah, encountering a lot of opposition. no telling when it will be back under their c

barbara starr live at the pentagon with today's lesson in chain of command trump-style. eporter: hi, john. chain of command or lack thereof, at least in the last 24 hours. we're learning that the chairman of the joint chiefs and heads of the military services simply did not know that the president was going to tweet this ban yesterday morning. and now 24 hours later, they are asking for some guidance from the white house, what exactly does the president mean and what does he envision here? the chairman of the joint chiefs, the president's top, most senior military adviser, general joseph dunford, issues a memo to the troops, and i want to read you just part of which general dunford said to the troops a short time ago. and i quote -- he said, there will be no modifications to the current policy until the president's direction has been received by the secretary of defense and the secretary issued implementation guidance. in the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect. general dunford, laying it out there in black and white. they do know know wh

barbara starr is there. what are you learning?eporter: we are learning the joint chiefs, including the chairman did not know this tweet would be coming. it has been extremely disruptive, i can tell you, in the pentagon as they scramble to figure out the next steps ahead. really, yesterday, the white house press secretary, sarah huckabee sanders pretty much laid it out. if you missed it, what she said is when the president made the decision yesterday, she's speaking yesterday, she means tuesday, so when the president made the decision tuesday, the secretary of defense was immediately informed as were the rest of the national security team that had been part of this ongoing conversation. so, defense secretary james mattis informed after the president made the decision. the joint chiefs not knowing this tweet was coming. now, today, we have seen firsthand the scramble is on in the military to figure out what the president really means. how do you turn a tweet into actual military, legal military policy? we have heard from the chief o

barbara starr has more on many hero's story. >> the whole time frame maybe lasted anywhere between like minutes, and five or six lifetimes. i don't know. >> reporter: in 2007, he went on a night patrol in the mountains of eastern afghanistan and stepped into history. >> the soldier as humble as he is heroic, staff sergeant. >> reporter: in 2010, receiving the nation's highest award for valor, the first living medal of honor recipient since the vietnam war. >> he'll tell you that he didn't do anything special, that he was just doing his job. >> reporter: now a decade after that patrol, he has taken another extraordinary step. giving his medal of honor to his unit, the 1737rd airborne brigade where he thought it belonged. >> i am not here because i am a great soldier. i am here because i serve with great soldiers. >> reporter: the brigade's current sergeant major frank valez says his action left him speechless. >> the first thing that came to mind is are you sure you want to do that? and he said yes, sir, i think it belongs to the 173rd. >> reporter: the brigade posted video, capturing a

barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >>> you're live in the "cnn newsroom."ork. a new twist in the scandal that already involves the president's son, his son-in-law and his campaign manager. a british music promoter, a former soviet soldier with alleged ties to russian intelligence and a russian lawyer peddling dirt on hillary clinton. cnn has now learned all of the people as well as at least two others attended a meeting last summer at trump tower. lawmakers are zeroing in on a russian born lobbyist who worked as a counterintelligence officer for the soviet union although he denies being formally trained as spy. the president for his part said he only recently became aware of his son's meeting. he's spending the weekend at one of his golf courses and boris sanchez is nearby. the lawmakers are eager to hear from both trump jr. and this lobbyist.

let's bring in barbara starr. there's more pressure on the u.s.h korea's second intercontinental ballistic missile test? >> indeed, wolf. tonight, the pentagon is absolutely committed, they tell us, to a dip mow mlomatic solut north korea. it's not clear that north koreans feel the same way. it's north korea's second launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile in less than a month. kim jong-un on hand for it all leaving president trump with little new to say publicly. >> we'll handle north korea. we're going to be able to handle the north. it will be handled. we handle everything. >> reporter: japanese television cameras captured what appears to be a flash of light when the missile was believed to have fallen into the sea. the u.s. is evaluating if parts broke up and how much flight control and guidance pyongyang really had. but an unwelcome surprise. the pentagon calculates this missile flew longer and higher than any previous north korean attempt. that means it has a potential range of more than 6500 miles, putting los angeles, denver and ch

cnn's barbara starr has this. >> president trump's first white house meeting with south korea's newlysident moon came with a message for north korean leader kim jong-un. >> the era of strategic patience with the north korean regime has failed. many years that it's failed. and frankly, that patience is over. >> but now what? how does the trump administration intend to stop north korea's rapidly accelerating effort to build a missile and a nuclear warhead that could hit the united states? >> we're working closely with south korea and japan, as well as partners around the world, on a range of diplomatic security and economic measures. to protect our allies and our own citizens from this menace known as north korea. >> the u.s. military remains on alert. watching for any hint of a missile launch or even another underground nuclear test. trump initially leaned on china to help stop north korea's weapons testing. >> the relationship developed by president xi and myself i think is outstanding. >> pressuring chinese president xi to use his influence with kim. but that appears to have changed.

is a lot to discuss with pentagon correspondent barbara starr. of "isis, inside the army of terror." barbara, if or when isis does lose control of raqqah and mosul, what kind of an effect will that have on its overall strength? >> well, look, it takes away one of its biggest propaganda values to radical people around the world, people who radicalize. it can no longer really claim it's an islamic state. it takes away their state. but they still have considerable propaganda value. people get inspired by them. they can still recruit overseas potentially. they can still inspire terrorist lone wolf attacks, if you will, in europe. we're already seeing that of course in recent weeks and months. so it takes away sort of their military state in iraq and syria, but it doesn't take away the fact that they can still be a potent force. they can be a guerrilla movement essentially in many places in the world. >> michael, is isis still a caliphate if it has no real territory under its control? >> no. i mean it wasn't a caliphate to begin with, even when it had

barbara starr has more on him.the pentagon for years and have a lot of experience with general kelly. explain his background. >> reporter: four-star marine, anderson. close for decades to defense secretary james mattis, and general doneford. so kelly knows national security, even before he went to homeland security. this is a guy who knows how to run a large organization. he served in iraq in combat out in western iraq in anbar, in fallujah. so he's seen very tough times. you know, donald trump likes his generals, but will the generals like kelly be able to adapt to president trump's, shall we say, flexible management style certain days of the week. he's coming into an organization at the white house that may be very different than what he's used to. and he will have to adapt to that to a large extent. >> and beyond the loyalty that comes with being a cabinet secretary, is he a true believer in the president and the president's agenda? >> absolutely is. anyone you talk to, anyone who has watched him operate for the

barbara starr has more. i imagine they keep analyzing intelligence for what they can learn about this missile launch. >> reporter: they are continuing to look, jim, at all the data they can gather about it, and they are beginning to come to some conclusions about the threat this north korean missile may pose to all of us. viewing u.s. and north korea videos, first north korea showing the world its new inter-continental ballistic missile. then a south korean show of force, holding a drill, firing missiles that could destroy north korean targets. the pentagon warning even the test of the north korean missile poses new dangers. >> this missile flew through busy air space used by commercial airliners. it blew into space. in landed in japan's exclusive economic zone in an area that's used by commercial and fishing vessels. all of this completely uncoordinated. >> reporter: there is an internal debate within u.s. and allied circles about whether this never before seen missile really shows a north korean capability

barbara starr at the pentagon, thank you so much. >>> o.j. simpson expected to walk free in a matter of months, after a nevada parole board ruled in his favor. but the nfl hall of famer raised eyebrows with some of what he said to the parole board. listen to this. >> i always thought i've been pretty good with people. and i basically have spent a conflict-free life, you know? i'm not a guy that ever got into fights on the street and in the public with everybody. >> joining me now is o.j. simpson's longtime friend and former manager, norm pardo. let's get your reaction to the news yesterday that after nine years, as early as this fall, o.j. simpson will be free. >> i mean, we were excited, very excited that he was getting out. almost elated. >> when you heard -- >> just to know that he's actually coming out of there and going to be free. >> and that's something that you've been looking forward to? >> oh, yeah, we've been working hard at it. he's been in there for nine years, for something we felt he shouldn't have been in there for in the firs

barbara starr, we're going to let you go. thank you very much.we want to shift back for just a moment to what we were talking about before and this is the fate of jeff sessions. one of the things that has developed is the support from the attorney general from within the republican party. senators saying no, we stand by jeff sessions. conservative media saying we stand by jeff sessions right now. the and now some people in the white house apparently telling the president he should back off. what do you make of it. >> well, 24 hours ago sitting in the same position. talked about how there still is a little bit of loyalty left in washington, d.c. and actually seeing that play out now. whether that is centrist or republican senators who tend to go more to the senate. but rob from ohio forcefully coming out, acknowledging he doesn't always agree with him on the issues but finds him to be an honorable man. at the same time seeing things from conservatives. look at the totality of what donald trump is doing now. not only is he personally hurting jeff s