blayne alexander is tracking it all on capitol hill for us. blayne?reporter: well, pat, you're absolutely right. today in a wide ranging news conference, president trump talked about those relief efforts in puerto rico and north korea, but threatening to overshadow all of that his controversial comments on the nfl. today president trump said that talking about that is just as much a part of his job as anything else. >>> president trump while holding a joint news conference with the prime minister of spain leveling a new threat against north korea when asked about possible military action. >> not a preferred option, but if we take that option, it will be devastating, i can tell you that. devastating for north korea. >> reporter: but mixed in with talk of terror a criticism that he used his office to divide the nation over nfl players kneeling during the national anthem. >> to me the nfl situation is a very important situation. i've heard that before about was i preoccupied. not at all, not at all. i have plenty of time on my hands. all i do is work. an

blayne alexander is joining us now. >> day three for president trump up at the u.n. he met with a number of world leaders oh and today he's turning those words into action. one day after calling the iran nuclear deal an embarrassment, he's made up his mind on whether to end it but would not say what that agreement here with palestinian leader mahmoud abbas, president trump sounding upbeat on middle east peace. >> stranger things have happened. but i think we have a great chance. >> we must all stand together and be accountable in implementing sanctions. >> repealing obamacare with the fight over pre-existing conditions once again center stage. >> so we're going to give plex guilt to cover six people but six people will be covered. >> today, president obama weighed in with rare comments on his namesake policy. >> when i see people trying to undue that progress, it's aggravating. >> democrats vowing to stop the new plan at all >> they hope to vote on this next week. and just within the past hour or so, we got new comments from president trump on that renewed effort to

blayne alexander is here to break it all blayne? >> reporter: jim, president trump mentioned both of those issues earlier this afternoon when speaking at joint base andrews. two foreign issues going on just as president trump prepares to give remarks next week before the u.n. now, when it comes to north korea, remember the u.n. just slapped a fresh set of sanctions on north korea to which the regime responded by not backing down. so, now it is up to president trump to determine what happens next. surrounded by the fire power of joint base andrews, speaking to military personnel, president trump warning what may come next if north korea continues its aggression. >> after seeing your capabilities and commitment here today, i am more confident than ever that our options in addressing this threat are both effective and overwhelming. >> reporter: north korea launching yet another test missile, its longest traveling to date, flying directly defying a fresh set of sanctions by the united nations. for now u.n. ambassador nikki haley says th

blayne alexander tracking this story on capitol hill. blayne, more to come. >> reporter: certainly more to come, doreen, and certainly, today, a change from the fire and fury comments. we heard from the president just a few weeks ago. today when it comes to north korea, president trump said that military option -- military action, rather, is certainly an option, just not his preferred option. president trump today with a more diplomatic tone towards north korea, despite the country's latest demonstration of newauclear strength. >> i would prefer not to go the route of the military but it's certainly something that will happen. >> president trump said military action is not inevitable. >> hopefully we're not going to have to use it on north korea. if we do use it on north korea, north korea. >> president trump addressing a conflict by forging an unlikely alliance at home with democrats. >> we have a great respect for the sanctity of the debt ceiling, and chuck does, and we all do. >> today the senate easily passing a measure to raise the d

>> okay, blayne alexander on capitol hill. thank you, blayne. >> uh-huh. >> a women's rights group calls it a slap in the face today. president trump's administration scrapped the rules for handling campus sex assaults. education secretary betsy devos has said the current rules were unfairly skewed against students accused of sex assault. under guidance from former president obama's administration, colleges were told to use preponderance of evidence standards. president trump's administration will allow colleges to choose between that standard and evidence standard, which is tougher to meet. the temporary guidance will be in place while the education department gathers comments and comes up with new rules. >>> local college campuses show the shift secretary devos is siding with abusers. >> you come to college and you expect people to look out for you and take care of you. they are elevating men who said they were falsely accused as same status with women who experience sexual assault, that's terrifying. >> a statement from the

. >>> president trump has been meeting with members of the united nations blayne alexander has more. >> reporter: another day of u.n. diplomacy for president trump one day after calling the iran nuclear deal an embarrassment he said he made up his mind on whether to end it. >> i have decided. >> reporter: but would not say what that decision is. iran's president said the agreement should not be scrapped by rogue newcomers, but stopped short of calling out president trump by name. here with mahmoud abbas, pup sounding upbeat on middle east peace. >> who knows, stranger things have happened. we have a good chance. >> reporter: after threatening to destroy north korea, total a less ominous message we must all stand accountable and be implementing u.n. resolutions. >> reporter: today making the rounds, backing a push to reform obamacare. >> i think the previous shot was sadly let down. >> reporter: with the fight over pre-existing conditions once again center stage >> we'll give plexibility flexio cover sick people, but sick people will be covered. >> reporter: today former president oba

blayne alexander picks up the story from there. >> reporter: another day of u.n. diplomacy for president trump one day after calling the iran nuclear deal an embarrassment, he says he has made up his mind on whether to end it. >> i have decided. >> reporter: but would not say what that decision is. he said that the agreement should not be scrapped by, stopped short by calling president trump out by name. here with palestinian leader mahmoud abbas, president trump sounding upbeat on middle east peace. >> who knows, stranger things have happened but i think we have a good chance. >> reporter: and after threatening to destroy north korea, today, a less ominous message. >> we must all stand together and be accountable in implementing u natnited nations sanctions and resolutions. >> reporter: a new push to repeal obamacare with the fight over pre-existing conditions once again center stage. >> so we're going to give flexibility to cover sick people but sick people will be covered. >> reporter: today, former president obama weighed in with rare comments on his namesake

blayne alexander ist house with the latest. hi, blayne. >> reporter: hello, doreen. good news coming out of the united nations with the sanctions. you're absolutely right. the big difference, china. this time china is on board with this new set of sanctions. and that's significant because, of course, china is north korea's largest trading partner so by the fact they have joined onto these sanctions, they are now applying increased pressure on this regime to get in line. >>> today, president trump hitting north korea with severe new sanctions, and issuing an ultimatum to the world. if you do business with kim jong-un, the u.s. will not do business with you. >> it is unacceptable that others financially support this criminal rogue regime. >> reporter: sitting with the leaders of south korea and japan, the president announcing an executive order that cuts off any country that gets its goods or labor from north korea. >> tolerance for this disgraceful practice must end >> reporter: and this time even china signed on. after president trump spent months calling for the cou

blayne alexander is covering this story for us. blayne? >> reporter: doreen, no question that this will be a very big week for president trump. we can expect to see a lot of news coming out of new york over the next few days. but no question that the main event will really be his speech tomorrow. this will be his first major address to other world leaders and what's important about this is this will likely set the tone for his relationships with those countries going forward. >>> for president trump, new territory in his home city, back in new york today for his very first united nations general assembly meeting. >> reform is what we're talking about. >> reporter: the president addressing the very organization he once slammed as ineffective. today praising it, but urging reform. >> the united nations has not reached its full potential because of bureaucracy and mismanagement. >> reporter: the president, who promised to put america slogan, saying he wants to make the united nations great. [ applause ] >> reporter: this afternoon the preside

blayne alexander reporting capitol hill. an another ho-hum friday. >> right. >> you think people would know by now. it's nearly impossible to steal an atm machine. >> never works. >> never works, we've never seen it happen. still, a group of guys tried to steal one outside of nats park and they ended up running away empty-handed and have the fbi on their tail. derrick ward is there. these guys just didn't get the memo, huh? >> reporter: the lure of quick cash is strong. certainly wasn't easy and not quick. if you're familiar with the stadium there on the other side of the crowds, there is usually an atm machine. that is completely gone because of what happened this morning. but what else happened this morning, police got a pretty good picture of the people that tried to steal that atm because of that security camera you see up there. this is all what happened. take a look. federal agents spent most of the morning collecting evidence. it was meticulous effort. crime. police say at least three people drove a stolen u-haul righ

blayne alexander joins us this evening and blayne, there say glimmer of hope in terms of unity. >> reporter: well, raj, it been a very interesting day today here in washington. some rather unlikely alliances between the president and members of not his own party. president trump said that when it comes to daca he wants a solution and so does congress but suggested there may be some different alliances with democrats. as protesters hit the streets for the second straight day over daca, president trump meeting with the very people he is charged with fissioning xing. congressional leaders of both parties. in a tuesday night tweet, he seemed to back away from his own decision writing if congress cannot act to legalize daca, i will revisit this issue. in a surprise turn, president trump went against the wishes of his party making a deal with democratic leaders to fund the government for three months avoiding a government shut down. on daca, the president suggesting chuck schumer and nancy pelosi might actually be his ally. >> chuck and nancy would like to see something happen and so do i. >> tod

blayne alexander is tracking each twist tonight from capitol hill. blayne. >> reporter: jim there has certainly been twists on this today. president trump when asked, said he's dedicate today finding a solution. so is congress. he suggested he may have unlikely allies from outside of his own party as protesters hit the streets for the second straight day over daca, president trump meeting with the very people who is charged with fixing it. congressional leaders from both parties. >> i appreciate everybody being here. thank you. >> in a tuesday night tweet, he seemed to back away from his own decision. writing if congress cannot act to legalize daca, i will revisit this issue. in a surprise turn,pr his own party, making a deal with democratic leaders to fund the government for three months avoiding a government shutdown. on daca, the president suggesting chuck schumer and nancy pelosi might actually be his allies. >> chuck and nancy would like to see something happen and so do i. >> today was a good day in a generally very partisan town. let's hope we

. >> blayne alexander reporting, thank you. >>> like blayne, megan fitzgerald was on the streets of the districts with a group of protesters today. she joins us now from the white house with some of the stories she heard from those directly impacted by this decision. megan. >> reporter: yeah, doreen, many of those dreamers have very personal and at times emotional stories as they were sharing them with us. part of the protest, started right here outside of the white house and then they made their way down the streets of dc. >> reporter: streets, stopping traffic and blocking the 12th street tunnel to protest president trump's decision to end daca, which allows young people brought to the country illegally as children to stay. >> and i want them to know that i'm here for them. i support keeping them in this country. >> we're going to fight all across this country in every corner wherever we have to to stand up for justice. >> i had family members that were murdered, that's why i came here to this country. >> reporter: for folks like juan martinez, the fight is personal. >> there's no oth

trump said that he would love to work with democrats but said that republicans can still go it blayne alexander, thank you. >>> apple really has a lot of folks talking about its new gadgets and the futuristic features. first at 4:00, why this could be a game changer for crime solvers. >>> plus, we're working for you to help protect your data with equifax. they are caving under pressure and why this may be a good thing for you. >>> i'm erika gonzalez. there are serious delays at the orange and blue lines at foggy bottom. due to a track problem, there are delays in both dirtions.ec >>> now first at 4:00, have you seen it? the sleek, new iphone x with the facial recognition technology, it's generating excitement all over the world. >> that's right. and it doesn't have a button in the front anymore. along with that excitement, it's new territory for law enforcement. news4's kristin wright is in newsroom. hey, kristin. >> unlocking my phone with my fingerprint is like second nature but there may be something that changes the story, so to speak. your face is your password. what is it going to mean fo

blayne alexander, nbc news, washington. >>> it helps us to stay connected with family and friends but is your smartphone creating new cll police? >>> and get ready for the mother of all rallies and the juggalo could impact you this weekend even if you have no plans to protest yourself. >>> details about the controversial study >>> stories of courage from washington state that may have stopped the deadly shooting from becoming a lot worse in washington state. the student gunman opened fire at the freeman high school in rockford. this afternoon, another student shot and killed tried to engage that gunman when the weapon jammed. we're also learning that the gunman came to the school with multiple weapons. three other people were shot and injured but we are hearing from hospital officials that they are in stable condition and are going to make. the student suspect is in custody in spokane county juvenile jail. doreen, back to you. >> erika, thank you. >>> it's something all of us have to stay connected but tonight new concerns about smartphones. the technology impacting a local school and

blayne alexander is at the white house with more. blayne, one meeting, two different versions. what gives? >> reporter: yeah, doreen, it was almost like we were getting read outs from two different conversations at times. but the most important thing to know is when it comes to daca, there is no change currently. now, president trump said they had a series of good talks, but no deal. but even those talks were enough to frustrate some conservatives on capitol hill and some members of the president's base. the very people who put him in office. landing in florida to survey destruction from hurricane irma, president trump first doing some damage control of his own. reassuring conservatives he is not going soft on immigration. >> we're not talking about amnesty. we're talking about, we're talking about taking care of people. >> reporter: this after democratic leaders chuck schumer and nancy pelosi proudly announced their dinner meeting with president trump ended with a deal on daca. the program protecting cu here as children. >> we all agreed on a framework to pass daca protections

blayne alexander is tracking the story for us. blayne? >> reporter: well, jim, disappointment is the word for republicans. -- from republicans here on capitol hill, all the way over to president trump at the white house. just disappointment they simply did not have the votes to make an obamacare repeal happen yet again. now, president trump, of course, keeping an eye on that, and a number of issues throughout the day. today in his joint news conference talking about north korea and puerto rico efforts, but threatening to overshadow all of that, his controversial comments on the nfl. and today the president said that talking about that is just as much part of his job as anything else. >>> president trump while holding a joint news conference with the prime minister of spain leveling a new threat against north korea when asked about possible military action. >> not a preferred option. but if we take that option, it will be devastating, i can tell you that, devastating for north korea. >> reporter: but mixed in with talk of terror and foreig

blain alexander is live at the white house for us this evening. blayne? >> reporter: remember, president trump is somebody who ran saying he could make a deal with anybody. so, with tonight's dinner he's eager to prove washington politics and sitting down with both parties. >> general electric -- >> reporter: president trump bringing both sides to the table over a bipartisan meal at the white house. so, who is coming to dinner? republicans and democrats. six senators sitting down with the president to talk tax reform. >> the administration has been clear. we want to sit down with anybody who is willing to be serious about real tax reform for this country. >> reporter: republicans hoping to jump start a stalled agenda are now more open to dealing with the other party. >> making our tax code much simpler than it is today, and i hope we're going to find that there are democrats who are willing to work with us. >> reporter: it's the latest action from a president who is showing he is now willing to work across the aisle, even if it means challenging his own p

blayne alexander has the late est from the white house. >> reporter: pat, erika, with senator john mccain coming out and saying he is against this latest gop health care effort, that now puts this bill in extreme remember the republic kangz could only afford to lose two votes to begin with. senator mccain says he's voting no. that means every other republican on the senate has to be on board if they have any hopes of passing this. so, why is senator mccain saying he's against this? well, procedure. he's against the procedure. a bill of this magnitude should simply not be a republican bill. it should be a bipartisan bill. he said he'd be willing to support something like this measure if it had undergone a series of extensive debates and hearings and that simply was not the case here. now, you'll remember that it was senator mccain who cast the rather dramatic deciding vote during the last effort coming to the senate floor and giving a thumbs down. he said that he takes no pleasure in opposing this measure, but simply in good conscience could not volt for it. it is also notable he and linds

blayne alexander is at the white house to sort all of this out. it's been very confusing today, blayne. >> reporter: yes, pat, there are a lot of questions as to what is going on with daca. most importantly, here's the latest est on daca. there is no change. president trump said good talks, but no deal. but even on capitol hill and some members of president trump's base. the very people who put him in office. >>> landing in florida to survey destruction from hurricane irma, president trump first doing some damage control of his own. reassuring conservatives he is not going soft on immigration. >> we're not talking about amnesty. we're talking about -- we're talking about taking care of people. >> reporter: this after democratic leaders chuck schumer and nancy pelosi proudly announced their dinner meeting with president trump ended with a deal on daca. the program protecting undocumented immigrants brought here as children. >> we all agreed on a framework, to pass daca protections and additional border security measures excluding the wall. >> report

here's blayne alexander. >> reporter: as the fight over health care reaches a boiling point on capitolill, tension with north korea now hitting a new high. that country's foreign minister accusing president trump of declaring war in this weekend tweet, threatening they won't be around much longer. days after american jets flew provocatively close to the north korean coast, they threatened to shoot down u.s. jets in self-defense. >> not at all. we have not declared war on north korea and frankly the suggestion of that is absurd. >> reporter: the war heating up. while on capitol hill, it's a battle for votes. the latest gop obamacare repeal bill now one no vote away from failure. with raubl cann senators rand paul and john mccain already against it. a frustrated president trump responding on the alabama radio show. >> you can call it what you want. but that was a -- that's the only reason we don't have it, because of john mccain. >> reporter: republicans holding just one hearing on the graham/cassidy bill enough to draw hundreds of people from around the country, hoping to have their voi

blayne alexander is tracking that for us. >> reporter: for president city, back in new york today for his very first united nations general assembly meeting. >> reform is what we're talking about. >> reporter: the president addressing the very organization he once slammed as ineffective, today praising it. >> the united nations has not reached its full potential because of bureaucracy and mismanagement. >> reporter: the president who promised to put america first now borrowing his campaign slogan saying he wants to make the united nations great. [ applause ] >> reporter: this afternoon the president sat down with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. >> today a friend of mine for many years. >> reporter: their goal, middle east peace. >> we are giving it an absolute go. i think there is a good chance that it could happen. >> reporter: the meeting not just meet and greet. president trump working to build new alliances as he looks to turn up the pressure on north korea andn. paying less attention to the tweets and actually looking at what the policy actions are of the united states

>> blayne alexander on the for us, thank you. >>> maryland govern is planning a massive highway that says will ease the maryland roads. >> the maryland part of the beltway, 270 corridor, bw parkway and the governor is talking tolls. >> transportation reporter adam tess is live on 207 to explain how this will work. how does this all work? >> reporter: monumental is right, erica. i mean, this is really unbelievable what we're talking about. take a look at 270 tonight as traffic continues to move here. and really, you're talking about a corridor so congested so many times that it becomes so detrimental to be out here. and we're talking about 270, the beltway, and the bw parkway. huge projects that the governor is talking about here. take a look at this press conference of where all of this was unveiled today and we're talking about a $9 billion project at this point is what the governor is expecting this to be. now, public/private partnership much like the express lanes in virginia were done. that means a private company would come in and most likely foot the money to build, operate and

. >> all right, blayne alexander. >>> jefferson davis highway in alexandria is getting a new name and the meeting is tonight. they put lots of names on the table. top choices include abraham lincoln , alexandria arlington, barack obama, heather heyer, and that's in killed in charlottesville. mildred and richard loving who broke the inter racial marriage barrier. patrick henry, rich mobbed and u.s. 1. the original public hearing was postponed while a larger venue was found. the meeting tonight takes place at the durant arts center on cameron street. it starts at 7:00. >> no matter what they pick somebody is not going to like it. that's the way it goes. gas lines are a mile long. people begging for water. others dwes pratt just to get out. puerto rico still very much a nation in crisis after hurricane maria. today house minority leader nancy pelosi called on president trump to deploy the military to the island. meanwhile, speaker paul ryan promised to give the nation what it needs to recover. most of puerto rico still has no power and many areas also have no cell or internet service. so

. >>> nbc blame alexander joins me from the united nations with the latest on the address. good morning, blayne. >> reporter: and good morning to you. this is a different speech from previous presidents. president trump called for a number of changes to the u.n. histone was scolding at times. but even still it was a more diplomatic speech than we typically hear from president trump making his first major appearance on the world stage. taking center stage before a world audience, president trump delivering his first speech before the u.n. general assembly. >> we meet at a time of both immense promise and great peril. >> reporter: speaking before the group he once slammed as ineffective. he called for u.n. workers to work together but always work in the best interests of their own country. >> as president of the united states i will always put america first. the united states will forever be a great friend to the world. and especially to its allies. but we can no longer be taken advantage of or enter into ha one-sided deal where the united states gets nothing in return. >> reporter: and president