>> barbara starr at the pentagon. bara, thank you for staying on top of this the last several weeks as the numbers unfortunately climb. >>> up next for us, we go back to the campaign trail in new hampshire where senator amy klobuchar says she has a strategy to win. when it comes to using data, everyone is different. which is why xfinity mobile created a different kind of wireless network. one that saves you money by letting you design your own data - giving you more choice and control compared to other top wireless carriers. now you can choose unlimited, shared data, or mix lines of each and switch any line, anytime. no one else lets you do that. design your own data with xfinity mobile. it's wireless reimagined. simple. easy. awesome. >>> if you can't decide if you're going to fill your refrigerator or fill your prescription drug, i know you and i will fight for you. if you don't know if you can make that paycheck extend a little bit more to pay for your rent, i know you and i will fight for you. that is what this ele

hello i'm barbara starr in london these are the top stories on al-jazeera the world health organization has warned of the coronavirus epidemic is escalating rapidly and action must be taken quickly to prevent it from becoming a pandemic this is the global reach of the virus continues to expand croatia austria algeria and switzerland have reported their 1st cases and there's been an increase in the number of infections in south korea iran and france this is a rapidly escalating epidemic in different places that we've got to tackle super fast to prevent a pandemic and it's actually what china demonstrates is where this goes is within the control of our decisions to apply this kind of rigor and approach to to to this disease or for more people have now died from the virus in italy taking the death toll there is who 11 mohamed jew who has been following developments in milan. well we've heard that 3 of the people you mentioned who died were all over the age of 80 that one was 831 was 84 another was 91 of the 2 of the people who died were in the town of don't you know that here in the lone p

barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >> thank you to barbara there. >>> now the number of coronavirus cases. globally there have been more than 77,000 confirmed cases, and at least 2,300 deaths. the bulk of those deaths coming from mainland china. >> in wuhan, the epicenter, chinese officials are trying to contain the virus in part with these makeshift hospitals. you know, they go up in a few days. cnn's david culver, he got a rare look inside one of those field hospitals. this is what he found. >> reporter: you are walking through one of several wuhan field hospitals. this one a converted exhibition hall. it is aimed to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. notice bed after bed after bed, people crammed in, just feet apart from one another. portable toilets, a bit messy inside, trash cans overflowing. you can see the piles of used facemasks. the woman who toured cnn via video chat tells us the conditions here worry here, fearing rep tugs-- repercussione asked that we her lisa wang. >> there's a chance of cross infection and people being here by mistake. >> reporter: this was aired b

barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >>> next here, election 2020.or die day for joe biden's campaign. but there's a reason he's still confident the south carolina primary will go his way. that's next. hi! we're glad you came in, what's on your mind? can you help keep these guys protected online? easy, connect to the xfi gateway. what about internet speeds that keep up with my gaming? let's hook you up with the fastest internet from xfinity. what about wireless data options for the family? of course, you can customize and save. can you save me from this conversation? that we can't do, but come in and see what we can do. we're here to make life simple. easy. awesome. ask. shop. discover. at your local xfinity store today. >>> welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. you are watching "cnn newsroom" live from the atl. i'm george howell. >> i'm natalie allen. here are the headlines at this hour. hundreds of syrian refugees are clashing with police, as they desperately try to enter hopes of reaching the european union. t

hello i'm barbara starr in london with the top stories on our. turkey says its military as dozens of syrian government targets killing many troops the strikes were loaded stuff to 5 turkish soldiers and 3 civilians were killed by shelling in it late province turkey's the fence minister says his forces have killed 76 syrian soldiers in rebel held it but syria's main ally russia has contradicted those claims turkey and russia are opposing sides of the fight. yet egypt air. force all of us and what we see is an aerial assault by regime forces an adlib which resulted in 8 people dying 5 soldiers and 3 civilians and we concluded that it was unacceptable and retaliation was carried out we responded we did what was necessary and make them pay the cost of their actions by air and land assault is our wish that everyone remember and know the responsibilities within the dream and so we continue our efforts within the terms of the agreement. the pressure is growing in hong kong for authorities to contain the new coronavirus with the territory shutting down m

congress had specifically appropriated that money to buy military equipment, so as barbara starr reportswell with lawmakers, even some from his own party. >> it is pretty impressive. >> reporter: president trump showing off the progress of building his border wall. >> right now we have 122 miles of wall that has been built. >> reporter: the latest plan to help pay for it is to divert nearly $4 billion of pentagon spending, much of it from weapons programs to keep going with one of the president's most controversial priorities. the new funding proposal is facing a buzz saw of bipartisan congressional opposition. the ranking republican on the house armed services committee says the funding shift is unconstitutional. >> the constitution says it is congress' role to raise and maintain, provide for armies and navys and other military forces. what has happened here is they didn't get congress' approval. they just moved money around. >> reporter: and even as lawmakers say border security is important -- >> so are the priorities of providing what our troops need to fight and win america's wars.

cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr is joining us by far. barbara, what do you know? >> secretary esper, looking at the health and human services, providing support for up to 1,000 people who may need to be quarantined as they travel back to the united states, and may have been in places where they could have been exposed to the coronavirus. so here is what is going on. hhs is going to the pentagon and said we're going to need help housing all of these people for the potential two-week quarantine. d.o.d. approving the request, providing enough capability, enough facilities, for up to a thousand people at several locations through february 29th. this is going to be a situation where they will put them on bases, probably in breaks of about 250. so these people who may be quarantined by health and human services already, we know that several are in tsouthern california, two others named in california, travis air force base in northern california and the marie corps air station at me miramar and also the base in texas and a training facility at fort carson, colorado. so w

barbara starr, thank you so much. tune in this sunday morning to "state of the union" at 9:00 a.m.m or twitter or facebook. you can tweet the show, and our coverage continues on cnn. have a fantastic weekend and i will see you sunday morning. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> this is cnn breaking news. >>> i'm wolf blitzer in the "situation room," and we are following breaking news, the washington post is now reporting that bernie sanders has been formally briefed by top u.s. intelligence officials on russian efforts to help his presidential campaign. we are also learning new details in the heated intelligence briefing that u.s. lawmakers got on the russian interference designed to help re-elect president trump. it is more of the breaking news right now, and the justin correspondent evan perez is joining us, and a significant pm

>> thank you, barbara starr. sunday morning for "state of the union" and we will have presidential democratic candidates pete buttigieg and amy klobuchar, and also james clyburn. it is at 9:00 a.m. sunday and also at noon. so our coverage will continue right here on cnn. happy valentine's day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> wolf blitzer is on assignment. i'm brianna keeler in the "situation room," and tonight, there are new questions about the political motives inside of the justice department with the revelation that attorney general william barr ordered a rare review of the case against michael flynn. he is the former national security adviser who pleaded guilty of lying to the fbi, and the second trump loyalist to see the trump intervention in a case that is closely watched by the president. >>> also, tonight, the justice officials say they dropped the criminal investigation of the fbi director

. >> let me bring in barbara starr. you reported the pentagon is preparing to house as many as one thousand people who may need to be quarantined when they return from overseas. we know 195 people, diplomats and family members are quarantined on a military base in california. now we're talking about preparations for up to 1,000 possibly. do you know why that number? >> well this is because the department of health and human services says it needs help in getting housing for these people during the a two-week quarantine period. they have to put them somewhere where they can be monitored. they're not going to be allowed to wander around and a military base fits that description. defense secretary mark esper late today signed the authorization, if you will, saying that he would support hhs's requests for up to 1,000 beds through february 29th. so, they're looking now if the need comes, there are several bases besides the reserve base south of los angeles that they are looking, that have been earmarked to house these people

barbara starr is joining us from the pentagon. and the military has put new restrictions in place and the soldiers in quarantine, but there is no clear solution here? >> no clear solution here for the military or civilian society. jake, this is a 23-year-old male army soldier now in a negative pressure isolation chamber and something that will help to prevent cross infection where he is being treated in cross korea and 15 other members in self-quarantine. there are travel restrictions across the pacific now for the u.s. military as well as restrictions in the middle east. perhaps most interesting the border between kuwait and iraq now essentially closed, so that means that the u.s. military is going to be looking for other ways to resupply the u.s. military mission in iraq. they will have to increase their efforts to bring supplies in by air. there is also a look at all military exercises. we may quickly learn in the coming hours that key exercises in south korea for example have been scaled back. so no longer can the military say

hello i'm barbara starr in london these are the top stories on al-jazeera the world health organization says the sudden increase in corona virus cases outside of china is the plea concerning iran's health ministry says 12 people have now died there while a 6th death has been confirmed in northern italy the key message that should give all countries hope courage and confidence that this virus can be contained indeed there are many countries that have done exactly that for the moment we have not with the mercy of the uncontained globally spread of this bias and we are not witnessing largest gives severe disease or does does this virus have pundit meek potential absolutely it has and we vary it from our assessment not yet iran's health ministry has pledged to be transparent about the outbreak but it has been heavily criticized by one m.p. in qualm who says the number of dead could actually be as high as 50 i said vague has more now from tehran. there's been an extraordinary exchange in clash a war of words between a member of parliament ahmed a meter above the he's a member of parliament f

let's get to barbara starr.s what are you learning. >> reporter: this is still an emerging report we're getting and the information has been very murky for the last several hours but a u.s. defense official says that they are looking at these reports, that there may be multiple casualties. what they're not able to tell us with these very initial reports, how many injured, how many wounded, if you will, and how many perhaps killed in action. we have to emphasize, the information we're getting is that there are both killed and wounded, but we don't know how many. officials are cautioning the reports is "are still coming inm this remote area and they don't have solid information yet. this has been going on for several hours now while we await more information from the pentagon. it was a joint u.s./afghan operation in eastern afghanistan which they started taking indirect fire. they got fired on essentially, but they don't know who fired upon them in these very initial reports. they're trying to figure out how this

hello i'm barbara starr in london these are the top stories on al-jazeera syria's president bashar al assad says he is committed to continuing his government's offensive in the north of the country until the very end his forces have made massive gains in the last rebel held areas in recent days capturing dozens of villages in aleppo province u.n. figures show that $875000.00 syrians mostly women and children have now fled the offensive by syria's government and its russian allies since early december of those 40000 the fled in just the past 4 days has said made his comments in a rare appearance on television in an item we fully understand at this liberation does not mean the end of the war or the end of plots or terrorism either this liberation does not mean the enemy's will surrender this liberation means that we put our enemies pride and nose in the dirt as a primary step to defeat them completely sooner or later. our batteries on the turkey syria border with more on bashar al assad's comments. this is a delicate moment for the syrian opposition but also for the syrian government at

and barbara starr in london with the top stories from europe including brussels demands fair competition while london champions free trade as both sides have very different visions of the post relationship. to convict or acquit both sides begin their closing arguments don't trump some pitchman trial and in sports a 50 year wait is over for the kansas city chiefs. still to. achieve speeding the san francisco $49.00 ers to win the super bowl. will begin with one of the most serious escalations between turkish and syrian government forces in recent years the syrian military has killed 5 turkish soldiers and 3 civilian military personnel now turkey is here. back the defense minister has arrived at the border he says his forces have killed $76.00 syrian government soldiers in the province and syria's main ally russia is contradicting those claims president that are just tired of the one says the retaliation was justified turkish president roger tiber out of the un says his country will protect its interests. how it's all of us and what we see is an aerial assault by regime forces and would re

cnn's barbara starr is live at the pentagon with the breaking details. what's just happened?g. this is exactly what president trump wants to be able to say on the campaign trail, that he ended america's longest war. so here's where we are. tonight, in afghanistan, which is just hours from now, a seven-day period of a so-called reduction in violence supposed to go into effect. taliban agree no attacks. if there are attacks, the u.s. military will quickly try to determine who was responsible. if this seven-day period works and it is a big if, then on february 29th, they will sign a more formalized peace agreement. this is the hope. the idea is all of this leads to the u.s. being able to bring home u.s. forces. 12,000 troops there now. they hope to bring it down to 8,600 or so. but don't count on u.s. troops fully leaving any time soon. they still want to keep u.s. troops in the region in afghanistan to fight against terrorists. and the taliban want all u.s. troops out of the country so there is still potentially a very long way to go on all of this. >> this is all falling apart

. >> our barbara starr explains how the pentagon plans to use military housing for those who will be quarantined upon arrival to the united states. >> reporter: defense secretary mark esper has now approved a request from the department of health and human services to provide up to 1,000 beds, housing facilities, on military bases for people who are coming back to the united states and they may have to go in quarantine for coronovirus concerns. this plan would call for these people to be in quarantine, on these military bases, if needed, through february 29th. the bases include march reserve air force base in california south of los angeles, which is already housing some people. in addition, a training facility at fort carson, colorado, lachlan air force base in texas, travis air force base in california and also the marine corps air fashion at miramar which is near san diego in southern california. nobody knows how many people may be arriving in the united states exactly that may have to go into quarantine, but this is clearly an effort to get ahead of it and have a plan in place fo

i'm barbara starr in london with the top stories from europe including growing up online a new british survey reveals more about how children are developing with their devices. and don't use them to their school be asian champions league is the latest competition to be affected by the coronavirus with all matches involving chinese clubs postponed until april. thank you for joining us the world health organization says the corona virus outbreak that killed hundreds of people and infected thousands is showing no signs of mutation and has not caused a pandemic the global death toll stands at 427 all but 2 of those have been recorded in mainland china more than 25000 people have been infected there are now examples of 2 people contracting the virus without being in china one got sick in thailand the other in singapore and a cruise ship is under corn. at a port in japan a passenger who got off the ship in hong kong was later confirmed with the virus that brings the total number of cases in hong kong to 17 as a city reports his 1st death from the outbreak and in an unprecedented move the wor

hello i'm barbara starr in london these are the top stories on al-jazeera the world health organization says the 7 increase in corona virus cases outside of china is the plea concerning iran's health ministry says 12 people have now died there while a 6th death has been confirmed in northern italy the key message that should give all countries hope courage and confidence is that this virus can be contained indeed there are many countries that have done exactly that for the moment we are not with mercy the uncontained globally spread of this bias.

hello i'm barbara starr in london these are the top stories on al-jazeera the u.s. and afghan taliban have signed the preliminary deal that could eventually end america's longest running war it's the result of 18 months of talks but there's still a long way to go before peace returns to afghanistan the deal was signed at a ceremony in catheters capital doha where many of the talks leading up to the agreement took place u.s. president donald trump spoke about the deal about an hour ago and sang to everyone involved in that the scotians be meeting personally with taliban leaders in the not too distant future. we'll be.

hello i'm barbara starr in london these are the top stories on al-jazeera the world health organization has warned of the coronavirus epidemic is escalating rapidly and action must be taken quickly to prevent it from becoming a pandemic this is the global reach of the virus continues to expand croatia austria and jiri and switzerland have reported their 1st cases and there's been an increase in the number of infections in south korea iran and france this is a rapidly escalating epidemic in different places that we've got to tackle super fast to prevent a pandemic i mean it's actually we're trying to demonstrate is where this goal.

following barbara starr you're watching out there a live from london also coming up caucus chaos in iowa embarrassment for the democratic party as it fails to announce a winner after monday's vote plus. the parents in shock as they struggle to understand how and why 14 of their children died in a stampede at a kenyan school. hello thank you for joining us china has admitted shortcomings in its response to the corona virus outbreak several asian countries have recorded more cases of the coronavirus in people who have not traveled from china but the world health organization says it is not yet an international pandemic it's calling it an epidemic with a number of hotspots but says it's showing no signs of mutation and is actually proving quite stable. when you deal with epidemic you rapidly sees that in addition to the epidemic of diseases we often have an epitome of information and this is what we call intraday mick and it's really a nippy dimmick of rumors of false information that is circulating at the same time and every outbreak as it's info demick and so we have realized over time th

though i'm barbara starr you're watching al-jazeera live from london also coming up hosni mubarak who ruled egypt until being toppled in the 2011 revolution has died aged 91 when you dangar over india's controversial citizenship laws 13 people are killed in protests in the capital during the u.s. president on tribes of physics and the 19 people are killed as government here strikes reportedly targets schools in northwest syria a group says civilians must be given safe passage. welcome to the program the world health organization has warned of the coronavirus epidemic is escalating rapidly and action must be taken quickly to prevent it from becoming a pandemic this as the global reach of the virus continues to expand emergency talks have been held the in italy where the virus has now spread south from its epicenter including don't you to tuscany and even sicily there are also confirmed cases across the border in croatia austria switzerland and germany the number of cases continues to rise in iran as there's concern over the government's handling of the outbreak after the country's depu

hello i'm barbara starr you're watching al-jazeera live from london also coming up turkey's president says russia must stay out of the fight in syria after airstrikes killed dozens of turkish soldiers fighting in syria has triggered a major refugee crisis turkey opens its border with greece saying it will not stop migrants trying to cross into europe and a setback for efforts to broker a deal in the a nascent dam is ethiopia rejects proposals put forward by the us. hello thank you for joining us the u.s. and afghan taliban have signed a preliminary deal that could eventually end america's longest running war it's the result of 18 months of talks but there's still a long way to go before peace returns to afghanistan the 1st stage of the agreement means that there should be a $135.00 day period of what's called a meaningful reduction in violence that 1st stage also includes the exchange of about $6000.00 prisoners the deal is being described as a precursor to a peace agreement between the warring sides within afghanistan it's hoped it will lead to talks between the taliban and the gover

alone barbara starr you're watching out as they are live from london also coming up hosni mubarak who ruled egypt until being toppled in the 2011 revolution has died at the age of 91 a major defense deal agreed but differences remain over trade the u.s. president wraps up his 1st visit to india and 19 people are killed as government air strikes reportedly targets schools in northwest syria one group says civilians must be given safe passage. thank you for joining us the world health organization has warned of the coronavirus epidemic is escalating rapidly and action must be taken quickly to prevent it from becoming a pandemic this says the global reach of the virus continues to expand croatia austria and switzerland have reported their 1st cases and there's been an increase in the number of infections in south korea iran france and italy. this is a rapidly escalating epidemic in different places that we've got to tackle super fast to prevent a pandemic i mean it's actually what china demonstrates is where this goes is within the control of our decisions to apply this kind of rigor and

i'm barbara starr in london with the top stories from europe including brussels that man's fair competition why london champions free trade as both sides have very different visions.

hello i'm barbara starr in london these are the top stories on our jazeera syria's president bashar al assad says he is committed to continuing his government's offensive in the north of the country until the very end his forces of made massive gains in the last rebel held areas in recent days capturing dozens of villages in aleppo province u.n. figures show that $875000.00 syrians mostly women and children have now fled the offensive by syria's government and its russian allies since early december of those 40000 the fled in just the past 4 days has said made his comments in a rare appearance on television. and i don't fully understand.

alone barbara starr you're watching al-jazeera live from london also coming up hong kong shot several crossings that link it to mainland china in the sponsor the coronavirus and election victory overturned malawi's constitutional course nullifies the 2019 result saying a new vote must be held in 150 days and could this be the 1st step to the white house for a democratic candidate makes its choice for presidential nominee. turkey says its military has had dozens of syrian government targets killing many troops the strikes were launched after 5 turkish soldiers and 3 civilians were killed by shelling in syria's rebel held province turkey has now sent more reinforcement to adlib and is threatening further action priyanka gupta reports. towns and villages and don't press syria under attack by government jack it's. a grim reality throughout the 9 year civil war. for the 1st time the government assault and it has put turkey on the syrian regime it direct military confrontation. os off to turkey sent military reinforcements into syria which says it was to prevent more bloodshed in the provin

let's go straight to the pentagon and our correspondent there barbara starr. e story? >> well, brook, they hope to. they have a lot of optimism about it, but there is still plenty of skepticism as well that this may all work out. still, it is a hint that there could be a breakthrough in the end trying to end america's longest wear, the 18-year war in afghanistan. we know that the negotiations with the taliban seem to be headed in the right direction, and earlier today afghan president ghani tweeted saying, commenting on twitter he said that secretary of state mike pompeo had brought him a, quote, significant and enduring reduction in violence taliban proposal, a reduction in violence now being proposed by the taliban. it could be announced formally this week by the united states, and if this reduction in violence works over the coming days, this could then lead to a peace agreement. so why not huge optimism about this? look, the taliban leadership they're negotiating with, may not be able to control the thousands of taliban fighters and loyalists across afghani

following barbara starr you're watching al-jazeera live from london also coming up the growing evidence of a client in cases of corona virus in china as health officials say the virus is not as deadly as previous strains. a major breakthrough in efforts to enforce an arms embargo in libya the european union ok's new sea and air patrols in the eastern mediterranean. that russia has big plans for facial recognition we take a closer look at legal attempts to shut it down. syria's president bashar al assad says he is committed to continuing his government's offensive in the north of the country until the very end his forces have made massive gains in the last rebel held areas in recent days capturing dozens of villages in aleppo province u.n. figures show 875000 syrians mostly women and children have now fled the offensive by syria's government and its russian allies since only december of those 40000 have fled in just the past 4 days said made his comments in a rare appearance on t.v. . we fully understand that this liberation does not mean the end of the war or the end of plots or terrori

hello i'm barbara starr you're watching al-jazeera live from london also coming up on the program harvey weinstein is found guilty of sexual assault and 3rd degree rape but cleared of the most serious charges against him plus your nation is doing so well we are very very proud of india donald trump and their entry modi lavish each other with praises india rolls out the red carpet for the u.s. president. but away from the pomp and pageantry more violent protests over india's new citizenship. thank you for joining us the world health organization says the sudden increase in coronavirus cases outside of china is deeply concerning iran's health ministry says 12 people have now died and rejected reports from an m.p. in the city of quam that the figure could actually be as high as 50 the speed border is being closed and flights grounded the outbreak is spreading across the middle east kuwait iraq by her ain and afghanistan have all confirmed cases meanwhile in europe 6 people have now died in italy's north which has more than 220 cases that's the highest concentration outside of a ship asia me

let's bring in barbara starr now from the pentagon. rbara, just tell us, do we have an idea of the extent of these injuries with these newer cases? >> brianna, the pentagon so far basically referring to it as mild traumatic brain injury, but look, it can grow worse over time. we don't know. we don't even know at this point in terms of the more than 100 diagnosed cases how many troops have been able to stay on duty, how many had to be pulled off to get medical treatment, how many have been returned to duty. the pentagon not offering the details behind that number, though we are learning they do expect to announce this afternoon more than 100 diagnosed with this brain injury. i think it's really important to point out, this is more than a month after the iranian ballistic missile attack on the al-assad base in attack and it was that attack that sent huge blasts across the base. troops were sheltered in bunkers, but the blast wave were so overwhelming, those bunkers were not sufficient to prevent these kinds of injuries. so what do you hav

hello i'm barbara starr in london these are the top stories on al-jazeera the u.s. and afghan taliban have signed a preliminary deal that could eventually end america's longest running war it's the result of 18 months of talks with the still a long way to go before peace returns to afghanistan the deal was signed at a ceremony inkatha house capital doha where many of the talks leading up to the agreement took place u.s. president on top a spoken about the deal and thanked everyone involved in the discussions. be meeting personally with taliban leaders in the not too distant future. and we'll be very much hoping that they will be doing what they say they're going to be doing they will be killing terrorists they will be killing some very bad people that will keep that fight going we've. had tremendous success in afghanistan and the killing of terrorists but it's time. after 'd all these years to go in to bring our people back home. while the us taliban agreement has for cautious relief in afghanistan many people are pleased that a deal has been reached but there is co

and barbara starr in london with the top stories on al jazeera syria is experiencing its biggest exodus in 9 years of civil war nearly a 1000000 people most of them women and children have now fled the province the country's last rebel stronghold the u.n. has warned of catastrophic human suffering. people are fleeing under horrendous conditions many are on foot or on the backs of trucks in below freezing temperatures in the rain and in the snow then moving into increasingly crowded areas they think will be safer but in italy nowhere is safe almost 50000 sheltering under trees or in other open spaces. i am getting daily reports of babies and other young children dying in the cold libya's internationally recognized government has the hopes of quickly reviving un cease fire talks the negotiations were suspended after 3 people were killed in an attack on a port in tripoli libya's prime minister says he's fed up with discussions and that he must 1st defend his people. because. of most of my the international community is still trying to appease the other side and this gave them the ok to con

cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr is joining us by far. barbara, what do you know?> secretary esper, looking at the health and human services, providing support for up to 1,000 people who may need to be

barbara starr reports. >> reporter: it is the first but fragile step toward ending the war in afghanistaneen the taliban and the united states works, the parties will sign a more permanent peace agreement for afghanistan next saturday. it also gives president trump a talking point for the campaign trail. earlier this week, he made the case that the deal is better than any alternative. >> we could win that very quickly and easily if i was willing to kill millions of people. i'm not willing to do that. i'm not willing to do that. >> reporte hi! we're glad you came in, what's on your mind? can you help keep these guys protected online? easy, connect to the xfi gateway. what about internet speeds that keep up with my gaming? let's hook you up with the fastest internet from xfinity. what about wireless data options for the family? of course, you can customize and save. can you save me from this conversation? that we can't do, but come in and see what we can do. we're here to make life simple. easy. awesome. ask. shop. discover. at your local xfinity store today.

barbara starr is working the story for us. 109 troops have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuriesht. 109 american troops now diagnosed with what is believed to be mild traumatic brain injury following that iranian missile attack on january 8th over a month ago. 76 have been able to return to duty. the others all in various stages of being treated. this all occurred when the iranians launched ballistic missiles sending massive blast waves. even though troops were in bunkers, the blast waves was so significant that basically their brains got jarred and moved around, essentially bruised and dr traumatic brain injury resulting. the symptoms can linger for weeks, if not months. they will be under observation, we're told. what happens if the iranians or other add ver sars were to do this again. the u.s. is trying to get the iraqis to approve putting patriot missile batteries into these areas and trying to figure out how to harden these bunkers so when troops are trying to shelter they may have shelter from future missile attacks. wolf. >> very disturbing indeed. thank you. just ahead, t

let's go to the pentagon, barbara starr is there with us from washington. hugely significant, barbara, if it works, though, if the taliban can be trusted. >> well, that is in afghanistan that is one of the questions that continues to endure. what is going to happen several hours from now is this reduction in violence agreement will go into effect for seven days. if it works, then this will be followed by a more formalized peace agreement to be signed next saturday, february 29th. but in this seven-day period that is so critical to getting to that peace agreement, the view is that both sides have agreed to this reduction in violence and if there are any attacks, any ieds, suicide bombers, that sort of thing, the u.s. military will try to quickly verify whether the taliban were responsible for it or other elements in afghanistan and there is plenty of them, there is al qaeda remnants, isis, any number of insurgent affiliations in that country. so this is first part is still going to be very challenging, getting to a peace agreement that as well because the tal

to billion from the pentagon that was intended to be used for the military and naonal guard as barbara starr reports the move is getting backlash from both sides of the aisle. >>it's pretty impressive president trump showing off the progress of ilding his border wallright now we have. a 122 miles of wall this bn built the late plan to help pay for it is 2 different nearly billion of ptagon spending much of it from weapons programs. >>to keep going but one of the president's most contrersial priorities, the new funding proposal is faci a buzz saw bipartisan congression opposition, the ranking republican on the house armed services committee says the unconstitutional the constitutiosays it's congress's role raise and maintain for armies and navies and other military coses what's happened here is they di't get congress's approval, they st movemoney around and even us lawmakers say border securis important so are e priorities of providing what our trps need to fight and win amica's wars. >>the money iscoming out of critic programs such as the the armed reaper drone et and program, th considered

barbara starr has more for us this morning. >> apparently the troops were leaving the meeting with localn security uniform opened fire with a machine gun on them, leading to the death of these two americans and wounding of six others. now, the pentagon has not yet officially discussed what they believe could be any possible motive for this taattack. it is not clear whether the person was somebody not an afghan security member, but in a uniform, perhaps stolen, or was the person a member of afghan security forces. all of this goes to the question of motive. it is not clear if it was an ambush or this person was even aiming at the americans at the time. all of that still under investigation. but as you say, it comes at a very tough time in afghanistan. 13,000 troops there, trump administration very much looking to reduce that number, bring it down to just over 8,000. but 22 americans lost their lives in afghanistan, just last year. the highest level since 2014. it remains very violent, very dangerous for the troops there, of course. >> certainly does. reminder of that with these two lives

barbara starr is there with great reporting on this. you have your hand on the resignation letter. what does it say? >> let's get to what he said in the resignation letter this morning. it is a letter to the pft of the united states. it says mr. president, it is my understanding from secretary esper that you requested my resignation from serving as undersecretary of defense for policy. senior administration officials serve at the pleasure of the president. as you have requested, i am providing my resignation effective february 28th th, 2 0 2020. john rood has been the policy chief at the pentagon. that's a name and not job not well known outside of national security circles, but inside the circles, a very influential post overseeing policy on everything from russia to china to ukraine as you mentioned. and why it's so important, of course, is u.s. relations with the allies and also u.s. defense and national security policy, especially as it relates to china today which is a big priority at the pentagon and where in the future u.s. troops may be deployed. rood had run afoul accordin

the leader of al qaeda's arabian peninsula, this comes from cnn reporting for myself and barbara starrficial told us they recently conducted a strike. many counterterrorist officials consider him one of the most notorious in the world. he would sneak bombs on planes in laptop computers and other electronic devices. he reportedly came the leader of aq in 20134. when asked about the report, the office would not comment on it. this comes after qassem soleimani was killed in a drone strike last month and baggedy died in a raid in syria in october. >>> most republicans standing by the president during the impeachment trial. up next we will talk to one lifelong republican who says she's leaving the party next. sh to jackson hewitt. our tax returns come with a free lifetime accuracy guarantee. life may change. your lifetime accuracy guarantee won't. tax prep guaranteed at jackson hewitt. your lifetime accuracy guarantee won't. hea country that puts working together ahead of standing apart. where we find common ground to expand health care and build a stronger, fairer economy and save our plan

barbara starr has been working this story.ou learned. >> brianna, defense secretary mark esper signed the paperwork that will allow the pentagon to provide housing at the request of the department of health and human services for up to 1,000 people for about two weeks plus, and it's what they're working out. we know already 2 h00 people ar being housed at a reserve base in california south of los angeles. another base, a training facility at fort carson, colorado, travis air force base in northern california and miramar station in san diego. military families and military personnel on these bases will not come into contact and they will be isolated and quarantined and they will not be able to go to other portions of the bases and there should be no contact. the pentagon is insistent that all it's doing is providing the very much needed housing essentially for people while they are in this quarantine. right now they have been asked by the department of health and human services to provide up to 1,000 beds, but at the moment it'

sources tell me and barbara starr one of the pentagon's most senior officials, john road, being for roodhe's been asked to resign. as the pentagon's top official policy, rood oversees all the key national security priorities. russia, china, the korean peninsula, and ukraine. we should note he was involved in certifying to congress that ukraine had embarked on significant reforms to justify its receipt of that crucial security assistance. a move that contradicted, of course, the president's reason for withholding the aid. and hours after trump's july 25th phone call with zelensky, rood emailed secretary esper and said placing a hold on security assistance at this time would undermine our defense opportunities with a key partner in the strategic competition with russia. a little more context here. rood joined the administration january 2018 under defense secretary jim mattis who resigned himself. again, the latest administration to disagree with policy decisions and now leaving the administration. >> it's really important reporting, and it just continues the trend here of those who do not

pentagon some money that wa slated to be used for military hardware and national guard uipmenas barbara starr reports the move is getting bipartisan backlash from lawmakers. >>it's pretty impressive president trump showing off the progress of building his rder wall right now we have. a 122 miles of wall this been built the lest plan to help pay for it is 2 different nearly billion of pentagon spending much of it from weapons programs. >>to keep going about one of the president's most controversial priorities, the new funding proposal is facing buzz saw of bipartisan congssional opposition, the ranking republican onthe house armed services committee shows the fundinshift is unconstitutional the constitution says it's cong's role to raise and maintain for armies and navies and other military coures didn't get congress's s they approval. they ju move money around and even us lawmakers say border security is important so are the priorities of providg what our troops need to fight and win america's wars. >>the money is comingout of critical programs such as the advanced f 35 fighter jet. >>and the

barbara starr is at the pentagon, and what is expected from this peace deal, and what might it mean fors in afghanistan? >> well, jake, if this all works, the u.s. will be able to draw down and bring home some troops quickly and some 10 to 12,000 there come down the 8,600 troops there in afghanistan to fight the remnants of al qaeda and isis and that is the whole idea if it works. they ink the deal tomorrow, and that is the schedule, but on the question of the secret annexes, maybe good reason for congresswoman liz cheney to be asking the questions, because right now, none of the documents have exactly been made public and the world has not seen what everybody especially the u.s. plans to sign. there are indications that the administration says that we are not entering into some new cooperative relationship with the taliban, and a lot of questions and worries. look, it has been a long war. this is a war that ends with diplomacy more than 2,000 troops killed in this war, jake. >> and barbara, speaking of the u.s. service members and secretary of state pompeo was on capitol hill and quest

following barbara starr you're watching al-jazeera live from london also coming up the growing evidencef of the client in cases of coronavirus in china as health officials say the virus is not as deadly as previous strains. a major breakthrough in efforts to enforce an arms embargo in libya the european union ok's a new sea and air patrols in the eastern mediterranean.

kind of new game this regime is now fresh batteries that are doing great things and i was lost barbara. starris live. like. every i'm going to be emotional you know obviously time heals all is going to continue to help us every game every every day continued lean on each other and overcrowding problem on us and you know we've got to continue to push for that's what he wants to do. the los angeles clippers went within 2 games the lakers at the top of the western standings with a comeback win against the san antonio spurs this buzz had been 15 points ahead in the 1st half of paul george and quiet when it combined to blow them away in the 2nd georges ice cold 3 pointer with seconds to play in so there was no way back for san antonio flip is winning 108205. the atlanta hawks trey young scored more than 30 points for the 25th game this season and helped them into a hard time lead over the boston celtics but the 21 year old young couldn't get in the way in boston biting back to go 3rd in the eastern standings 123250. last season said ron is up napoli showing signs of recovery after a dreadful 1st h

alone barbara starr you're watching out to see her live from london also coming up hong kong shot several crossings that link it to mainland china in response to the coronavirus and election victory overturned malawi's constitutional course nullifies the 2019 result saying a new vote must be held in 150 days and could this be the 1st step to the white house for a democratic candidate makes its choice for presidential nominee.

. >> myself and barbara starr reporting this this morning.fficial in the pentagon under secretary for policy. so involved in all of the key administration priorities. countering china, russia, ukraine story notably. i'll get to that. south korea, north korea, afghanistan. had differences with the administration, has been asked for resignation. but the clear message here is that he's being pushed out in part because of these differences. he came in under defense secretary mattis. you have someone who you might describe as a contrarian voice there who will no longer be present. >> there is a very specific episode dealing with ukraine that people can remember. >> hours after the famous july 25th phone call between trump and zelensky where you had this alleged quid pro quo, he wrote esper and cnn reviewed these emails and said about this hold, the following. placing a hold on security assistance at this time would jeopardize this unique window of opportunity and undermine our defense priorities with a key partner in the strategic competition with