and this is how we put more pressure on the houthis to be on board with us.hing that we reach for the first time in the history of this conflict and we have no option to fail. we consider that failure is not an option in this case. we need to succeed in the trust—building measures and implement outcome of stockholm so that we have more trust—building measures in place, so that we can go one step further into the political settlement of this crisis. a final thought about the western role in all of this. would you agree that it would be more important right now for the united states, the united kingdom and other countries, who have in the past helped arm the saudi—led coalition in yemen, it would be much more important, would it not, that they put all of their efforts, not into providing armaments, but actually providing serious diplomatic input to get this yemen problem solved? this is what we think. the government of united states and the government of uk and all our western partners, they are working hard to alleviate the suffering of the yemeni people, the

the houthis tried to take over the yemen government. the houthis, backed by iran. this is about geopolitics of iran, houthis in yemen, iran and the shi'a crescent in iraq and syria, and a direct threat to israel. the largest state sponsor of terror, iran, that is a mortal sworn enemy to israel, as they chant death to israel, death to america, so let's put this all in proper context. of what we're really talking about here. are we defending iran and the houthis here? today? so i'd like to close by putting two documents in the record. the first is a letter sent by the department of defense, office of general counsel, stating that d.o.d. opposes the resolution because the resolution's fundamental premise is flawed. because the united states support to the saudi-led coalition, quote, does not involve any introduction of u.s. forces into hostilities. are we going to go around and second guess every security cooperation agreement we have with 117 countries, including israel, and nato? and other partners? and the second is a statement of the administration's policy on thi

to put more pressure on the houthis to be on board with us.first time in the history of this conflict and we have no option to fail. we consider that failure is not an option in this case. we need to succeed in the trust building measures and building on the outcomes so that we have more trust building so we can go one step further into the political settle m e nt further into the political settlement of this crisis. a final thought on the western role. would you agree it would be more important for the us, the uk and other countries, who have in the past helped arm the saudi—led coalition in yemen, that they put their effect not into providing armaments but actually providing serious diplomatic input to get these yemen problem solved? this is what we think. the government of the us and uk and all partners, they are working hard to alleviate the suffering of the people of yemen, the push for political settlement and this is how we are working together. remember, the war in yemen was a necessity to stop the policies of oran who was a necessity

the houthis tried to take over the yemen government. the houthis, backed by iran. this is about geopolitics of iran, houthis in yemen, iran and the shi'a crescent in iraq and syria, and a direct threat to israel. the largest state sponsor of terror, iran, that is a mortal sworn enemy to israel, as they chant death to israel, death to america, so let's put this all in proper context. of what we're really talking about here. are we defending iran and the houthis here? today? so i'd like to close by putting two documents in the record. the first is a letter sent by the department of defense, office of general counsel, stating that d.o.d. opposes the resolution because the resolution's fundamental premise is flawed. because the united states support to the saudi-led coalition, quote, does not involve any introduction of u.s. forces into hostilities. are we going to go around and second guess every security cooperation agreement we have with 117 countries, including israel, and nato? and other partners? and the second is a statement of the administration's policy on thi

"the houthis scared us when they were here," he says.members apaches, too, the helicopters of the saudi-led coalition. some othese men lost friends. >> they attacked them with airstrikes. they thought they were the enemy. some of them got compensation -- 30,000 saudi rals. they gave them new boats and engines. lyse: 30,000 saudi riyal 6000 pounds. some say they received much more. for now the sea is safer t wi cease-fire. we are with emirati forces. they helped yemen's military and militias recapture the city from the houthis a year a. families are now fleeing here from front lines nearby. this man lives in this camp with his children and grandchildren. they have been here fomonths. can they go home now? >> no, how can we go back? .here are a lot of min it is deserted now. just yesterday the houthis attacked there. lyse: there is danger here, too. a grenade was thrown at the camp. a seven-year-old among the injured. yemen's war is a war on childhood.pa he lost of his hand to a landmine. in one of the world's most heavily mined countries.

the navy seal raid was in a village, on the front line between the tribes and the houthis.ince i heard about the raid, i've been trying for months to get access to the village. i finally got a phone call, i was going to be picked up by somebody from yakla village and be driven there. yakla is a very dangerous place to get to because it sits in the middle of several front lines. you have the houthis, you have the tribes, and you have the yemeni government fighting there. you also have elements of al-qaeda, and so this exposes everyone to the danger of us drone strikes. on the way, the driver stopped in a clearing, where he told me that this is where the american special forces had landed... they had treked for seven km to the village of yakla, so we had retraced their trip to the village. on the 29th of january, 2017, navy seals attacked an al-qaeda headquarters here, according to a pentagon statement. it says they met resistance, including from numerous female fighters. one american soldier was killed and three others injured. i wanted to talk to the eyewitnesses that had s

captured by iran's allies, the lu houthis.f chants of "death to america," this u.s. mrap was broadcast on a houthi-backed channel with the deputy leader sitting behind the wheel. cnn was able to obtain the serial number from one of the houthi-held mraps and verify that it was part of a $2.5 billion 2014 u.s. sale to the uae, a coalition partner. so why does it matter? because these very mraps and others like them have already, we're told, phone call into the hands of iranian intelligence. in an audio interview with a member of a secret houthi unit, the preventative security force, cnn was told some u.s. military technology has already been transferred to iran. >> iranian intelligence are assessing u.s. military technology very closely. there isn't a single american weapon that they don't try to find out its details, what it's made of, how it works. >> advanced improvised explosive devices with iranian components are now mass produced by houthi forces, on a scale only previously achieved by isis. and the u.s.'s first line of de

"the houthi scared us when they were here", abdu says.i—led coalition. some of these men lost friends. translation: they attacked them with air strikes. they thought they were the enemy. some of them got compensation, 30,000 saudi riyals. and they gave them new boats and engines. 30,000 saudi riyals — that's about £6,000. some say they received much more. for now, the sea is safer with the ceasefire. we're in kokha with emirati forces. they helped yemen's military and its militias recapture this city from the houthis a year ago. families are now fleeing here from front lines nearby. there's danger here too. a grenade was thrown at a camp for the displaced. seven—year—old hamed among the injured. yemen's war is a war on childhood. haled lost part of his hand toa landmine, in one of the world's most heavily mined countries. his fingers are shredded. do you think the ceasefire is going to hold? i don't think, because every day, gun shot in the head, shrapnel, explosion, shrapnel from landmine, every day. but if the ceasefire collapses, it wi

"the houthi scared us when they were here", abdu says.rs of the saudi—led coalition. some of these men lost friends. translation: they attacked them with air strikes. they thought they were the enemy. some of them got compensation, 30,000 saudi riyals. and they gave them new boats and engines. 30,000 saudi riyals — that's about £6,000. some say they received much more. for now, the sea is safer with the ceasefire. we're in kokha with emirati forces. they helped yemen's military and its militias recapture this city from the houthis a year ago. families are now fleeing here from front lines nearby. there's danger here too. a grenade was thrown at a camp for the displaced. seven—year—old hamed among the injured. yemen's war is a war on childhood. hamed lost part of his hand to a landmine, in one of the world's most heavily mined countries. his fingers are shredded. do you think the ceasefire is going to hold? i don't think, because every day, gun shot in the head, shrapnel, explosion, shrapnel from landmine, every day. but if the ceasefire c

"the houthis scared us when they were here," abdu says.me of these men lost friends. translation: they attacked them with air strikes. they thought they were the enemy. some of them got compensation, 30,000 saudi riyals. and they gave them new boats and engines. 30,000 saudi riyals — that's about £6,000. some say they received much more. for now, the sea is safer with the ceasefire. we are in kokha with emirati forces. they helped yemen's military and its militias recapture this city from the houthis a year ago. families are now fleeing here from front lines nearby. there is danger here, too. a grenade was thrown at a camp for the displaced. seven—year—old hamed among the injured. yemen's war is a war on childhood. khalid lost part of his hand to a landmine, in one of the world's most heavily mined countries. his fingers are shredded. do you think the ceasefire is going to hold? i don't think because every day gun shot in the head, shrapnel. the explosion, shrapnel from landmine, every day. but if the ceasefire collapses, it will get worse

this agreement was supposed to look after, in terms of understanding in taiz, that would lift the houthiopen a humanitarian corridor between sana'a and hodeidah, which are the two areas they control. and they also refuse to de—mine that road in fear of the coalition forces coming over and taking these areas easily if these landmines weren't there. so we're not really seeing, you know, any — this implementation taking place with teeth. so far there has beenjust, it's perhaps more on paper than on the ground. the campaign is growing for african art seized in the colonial era and displayed in european museums to be returned to the continent. a report commissioned by president macron of france suggests 90% of africa's cultural heritage is still held outside africa. here's the bbc‘s africa editor, fergal keane. the past is alive, but to whom does it belong? to the descendants of the empire builders, or the people from whose lands it was taken? in the old imperial capitals, art that was stolen by colonial conquerors is now the focus of a growing campaign for restitution. these are the benin br

i think all parties need to take responsibility but the houthi rebels need to grant access to criticalut. otherwise as the un has warned, this truly is in risk of spillage and it being spoilt and it could affect basically the food suppliers for millions of people for months to come. we definitely don't want to see this aid being spoilt and it has to go to the right people. hopefully more sustained international pressure to get a ccess sustained international pressure to get access to these mills. you know, of course yemen has suffered so much from the civil war that has become a proxy war, from hunger, from disease. i think many people would have thought this kind of thing was sorted out by the stockholm agreement but domino. yes, the stockholm agreement was overly optimistic and was really dubbed as the first stops to peace. —— but no. we have realised it is overly optimistic in what it was trying to achieve and the timeline in which was trying to achieve it. we now have an indefinite delay since the un envoy has announced that and that isa un envoy has announced that and that is a ma

i think that all parties need to take responsibility, but the houthis definitely have to grant access and out. otherwise, as the un has warned, this truly is in risk of spillage, and it being spoiled, and it could affect basically the food supplies for millions of people for months to come. so we definitely don't want to see this aid being spoiled, and you know, it has to go to the right people. so hopefully, more sustained international pressure to get access to these mills. you know, of course, yemen has suffered so much from the civil war that's become a proxy war, from desperate hunger, from disease. i think many people would have thought this kind of thing was sorted out by the stockholm agreement, but no. yeah, the stockholm agreement was overly optimistic. it was really dubbed as the first step to peace. but we've come to realise hence that it was just overly ambitious in what it was trying to achieve, and in the timeline that it tried to achieve it. so we now have a significant delay, it's almost an indefinite delay since the un envoy has announced that, and this is a major di

houthi leadership denied to cnn the existence of the preventive security force. iran for comment and received no response. at the very least, these hard-profile catches make them harder to fight. our next stop is where we're told a militia is in possession of american weaponry. in these images obtained by cnn, you see the abalabas militia quietly patrolling the streets. if that wasn't enough, there is also a watch with weaponry. arms markets are illegal in yemen, but that hasn't stopped them from operating. using undercover cameras, we are able to film armed cellars hidden by women's clothing shops. we're told we can put in an order for an american rifle. sales like these are drawing a hard market for u.s.-made weapons. and that's just the tip of iceberg. cnn was told by coalition forces that a deadlier u.s. weapon was dropped to yemeni forces, an air drop proudly proclaimed by saudi charges. where were they used and by whom? we try to find out. can you hear me? we've been told we can't go ahead with the interviews we had preplanned. this local government is unde

thinking they were houthis, he shouted out. he says the commandos shot him through the heart.rned fire. he survived that night, but his wife was killed. a man's grandson was killed. the people told me that at least 7 women and ten children were killed that night. the youngest was a three—month—old. the pentagon acknowledged that civilians including children were likely killed and what they call a ferocious fire fight. but they said the navy seals had obtained valuable intelligence and taken out al-qaeda leaders, including two brothers. they deny that they had anything to do with al-anda. he says one of them was a tribal commander with that yemen army, this was told to us by the yemen government. the family did have connections to al-qaeda in the past. the family is symbolic of the complexities of yemen politics. you have people of his family who did choose to join al-anda. you have members who did not and chose to fight them. the brother—in—law, the leader who was killed in a drone strike in 2011. the 8—year—old daughter, annis, was killed in the raid. the family said that she

thnd problem is iran, continuing to fund the houthis. if you want to know wd's cau the humanitarian crisis in yemen, you need look no further than the islamic republic of iran. judy, for example, how many dollars has iran provided for manitarian assistance in yemen. i can tell you. do you know? >> woodruff: i don't know. it's zero. how much money have theiratis and saudis provided? the americans, the brts, the saudis and emiratis are doing everything we can to take down the threat fr h theanitarian crisis in yemen while iran fuels le. it provides misto the houthis that they launch into airports i saudi arabia, in the emirates. these are the challenges in yemen, these are the challengesn that this adtration is determined to push back against and we're going to keep at it. >>oodruff: and we assume this legislation will go on to the senate, which passed simar language not very long ago. so we'll watch to see what happens. finally, mr. secretary, i want to take you to north korea, erich, of course, is ano major focus of yours with this upcom

the iranian booked houthis acted with cleat disregard blocking humanitarian aid. there is no question that they bear much of the blame for the current humanitarian crisis. for nearly four years the saudi coalition has used american bombs, american planes with american logistical support and until recently american refueling to further a conflict that's cost thousands of civilian lives and led to a humanitarian crisis in the country. there is no question that american involvement to date has exceeded the congressional authorization that exists to combat terrorists in the region. for too long the united states has been directly involved in this war without congressional authorization or oversight. this bill, which passed the senate last year with bipartisan support, specifically exempts action that is target al qaeda and any other terrorist activity. my colleagues opposing this seem to forget we have a responsibility under the constitution to exercise our oversight authority over american military engagement. nothing in this legislation prevents the administration f

captured by iran's allies, houthis.backdrop of america, this was broadcast on a houthi backed channel with the deputy leader sitting behind the wheel. cnn was able to obtain the serial number from one of the held emirates and verified it was bought with $24 billion u.s. sale to a coalition partner. why does it matter? because these very emirates and others like them have already with health and fallen into the hands of iranian intelligence. and the unit of the security forces, cnn was told some u.s. technology has already been transferred to iran. >> the iranian intelligence are assessing u.s. technology very closely. there isn't a single american weapon they don't try to find out its details, what it's made of and how it works. >> reporter: advanced improvised explosive devices with iranian components are now mass-produced by houthi forces on a scale only previously achieved by isis. the u.s.'s first line of defense against ieds, has been compromised. they denied the existence of the preventive security force and cnn h

the houthis are closer than ever to tehran, and they're launching iranian-made missiles at riyadh. i thought we were doing -- done doing dumb stuff. on top of all of this, the president compounded this humanitarian crisis by implementing a travel ban, which left the families of american citizens strand stranded in a war -- stranded in a war zone that we helped create. i represent one of the largest yemeni american communities in the united states. i have hundreds of families in my district, staten island and south brooklyn, who wore bee their husbands, their wives -- who worry about their husbands, their wives, their children, their parents, who only want to be reunited with them in the united states. now, many families have told me that they can apply for a waiver, which somehow makes this unconstitutional -- excuse me -- constitutional, but not a single person from the secretary of state on down can tell me how my constituents can actually get the waivers that their family members so desperately need. we still don't know. look. nobody cares about cares about national security mor

forces from united arab emiriras have been fighting against houthi rebels in yemen s since 2015.h countntries have long been among the top clients ofof germany's arms industry. the german government has repeatedly denied any knowledge of german weapons being used in. yemen. you can find out much more about this story in about 20 minutes. we are going to be talking about it on "the day" following this bulletin. here are some of the other stories now mangng headlinines around the world there is confusion surrounding the surprise resignation of the iranian foreign minister. he negotiated tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with the world powers. reports suggested that the president had rejected his resignation and is s standing by his moderate ally. drews in nigeria have taken to the streets to protest a possible fifth term for resident -- the president. the 81-year-old leader came to power 20 years ago. his announcement that he would seek resolution sparked a wave of protests. voters in cuba have overwhelmingly backed a new constitution which changes rerecognizing the country as a e party c

killed near the border with yemen saudi media says they died during fighting with hooty rebels the houthi say they for all the major offensive by saudi forces in three locations along the southern border thirty's president says the united states isn't putting its full weight into the investigation of the murder of jamal khashoggi this as a new report from turkish police suggests szell g.'s remains may have been burned inside a well the journalist was killed and dismembered at the saudi consulate in the stumble back in october seventh also all who has more. the residence of saudi arabia's consul general in istanbul is once again under the spotlight every sent report by police saudi journalist america should just remains were burned in a well used for cooking purposes inside the compound security camera footage leaked to the turkish media late last year appeared to show her ship just remains being carried inside the consul general residence in bags and suitcases after being killed and dismembered at the consulate building just meters away. turkish persecutors have not said much on the case

killed near the border with yemen saudi media says they died during fighting with who the rebels the houthi say they for old a major offensive by saudi forces in three locations along the southern border. thirty's president says the united states isn't putting its full weight into the investigation of the murder of jamal khashoggi this as a new report from turkish police suggests shorty's remains may have been burned inside a well the journalist was killed and dismembered at the saudi consulate in istanbul back in october so them cause all who has more. the residence of saudi arabia's consul general in istanbul is.

because of the a coalition and the government we are shelling areas the government is saying the houthi is are targeting civilians so the u.n. is facing a huge problem when it comes to consolidating the ceasefire in in her data and by the way it was not only about the cease fire they were hoping to implement an x. president exchange deal still happening they wanted to ensure the ceasefire is extended nationwide it's not happening and both parties are entrenched so far and the un is definitely trying to break the impasse because they know that if they cannot do that just going to be further. catastrophe for the yemeni people and for data is just the tip of the iceberg the un is focusing on implementing these four at the ceasefire and that particular city when you look at the problems right across the country there are many indeed and it will look at what is happening right now as we speak in yemen there is a push by the government to take over the coastal areas backed by saudi arabia and the and the u.s. strikes are continuing there's fighting and there's fighting all the oscars of the s

the houthis brag about using uavs to target patriot radars. russia shows the potential for integrating uavs and artillery ballistic attacks in syria and ukraine. things like that. as we look at the need for survivability, aren't we going to need air defense for our ballistic defense elements to protect them against cruise missile attack or anything else? >> the answer is yes. as with any high value asset, the combatant commander, wherever the asset is stationed, that's one of the responsibilities that comes with that geographical commander. they assess and assign forces to perform that function where designated. yes. >> i would agree -- certainly agree with that. take an unarmed uav or unmanned aerial system, put a weapon on it. you essentially have a version of a cruise missile. the difficulty, of course, is as these platt fofforms get smalle faster, more agile, they become more difficult to counter, which is why part of what we are advocating here is sort of a reinvigorated effort to look at ways to do that. using not just existing technolog

some arms may have also made theieir way into the hands of iranian-backed houthi rebels.di arabia and the united arab emirates are using the weapons to buy the loyalties of various militias or tribes and gain influence in yemen's political landscape, according to the report. a u.s. defense official confirmed to cnn there is an ongoing investigation into the matter. general joseph votel, the head of u.s. central command, tolold the senate armed services committee tuesday he was not told about trump's withdrawal of u.s. troops from syria before trump made his public announcement in december. vovotel also tolold the committe that quote "the fight against isis is not over." a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against steven salaita, the american studies association-or asa-and other defendants who were sued after endorsing the boycott, divestment and sanctions-or bds-movement. professor salaita joined the board of the asa 2 years after the organization passed a boycott resolution but was still named as a defendant. the center for constitutional rights, which represented salait

iran aligned houthi forces were behind his kidnapping. birch was freed last week.ys he has been reunited with his family. >>> the security exchanges commission is asking a federal judge to hold elon musk in con tempt. the s.e.c. accuses musk of violating a settlement deal reached last year after the aborted bid to take the company private. regulators say that musk last week published inaccurate and material information about tesla protection to his more than 24 million twitter followers and that he didn't ask for or receive company approval before publishing his tweet as had been stipulated. steaks la tweeted that they made zero cars in 2011. hours later he said that the company will actually deliver just 400,000 cars this year. and they say that he didn't ask for or receive company approval before publishing the tweet. tesla agreed to establish a committee to overs sesocial med posts. >> you are a public company. you take money from mom and pop investors. you can't do that. you can't say we're going to make 400,000, no, 500,000. >> less is more on twitter. just st

they say it is to hit the houthi militia.iming isn't helpful for the secretary of state. >> and the humanitarian crisis that you reported on, and you were there in yemen under very dangerous circumstances. the crisis continues. so many people, especially young kids. they're being starved to death right now and we'll stay on top of this story together with you. thank you for your excellent, excellent reporting as usual. thank you very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room. erin burnett starts right now. >>> "outfront" next, a clash on capitol hill. democrats sparring with the acting attorney general for president trump over the mueller probe. a congresswoman who led the charge against matthew whitaker is out front. plus the white house blowing off a dead 39 explain the horrific and brutal murder of jamal khashoggi. what is the connection between president trump, saudi arabia and the national enquiner? and prosecutors now investigating the "national enquirer" after jeff bezos accused them. could it be bad n

it would sanction those helping the houthis and it would directly sanction those responsible for theis a direct action with bipartisan support, not only senator graham, senator young, senator collins have joined us in that legislation. it's a very strong bipartisan piece of legislation that i'm looking forward to getting a vote on. >> let's talk about another piece of legislation that you are proposing on a very different critically important issue. one day before the one-year mark of the massacre in parkland where 17 high school students were murdered, you together with florida congressman have introduced the keep america safe act. roughly outline what it would do, but also let us know this morning, because at last check you didn't have any republican support of it. is that still the case? >> the keep america safe act is basically very common sense gun safety legislation. it says that we eliminate high capacity magazines, magazines that hold 30, 60, 90 rounds to one that is only ten rounds. you don't need, 30, 60, 90 rounds to go hunting. you don't need that to protect yourself. hig

the militias that they have established throughout the middle east, whether it is hezbollah or the houthis or the various militias developing in iraq and syria the main purpose is to further iran's influence and its domination over the areas in the middle east. look what's happening in iran. there are bred lines, demonstrations, spontaneous demonstrations in all of the cities in iran we've seen huge protest that is have taken place with people chanting "why are we helping syria? why are we helping lebanon let us concentrate on iran it is that coif government -- it's a dysfunctional government. >> do you think we're close to seeing a regime change >> i don't know. i think it would be premature to try to predict anything of that sort definitely listen to rohani. he is saying that iran has never faced such a difficult economic situation. >> auto i hope with mr. trump's sanctions, we're going to see a change of the conduct of the leadership of iran the iranian people are the first victims of this leadership >> when you take a step back and look at what you've seen over the last ten to 15 years

but its fight against houthi rebels, who are backed by iran, has led to what the u-n calls the world's humanitarian catastrophe. (grant) that devastating mass shooting at the parkland florida high school last year was avoidable, that's according to that state's new governor, ron desantis. just a day before the one year anniversary of the school shooting he's now calling for an investigation. reporter kim hutcherson has the latest. andrew pollack, father of school massacre victim: "we've been fighting for justice for our murdered loved ones and this is just the beginning." florida governor ron desantis is now calling for a state- wide grand jury investigation.. into what he calls the broward school districts' failures intoits response to the attack on the school..and the handling of student safety and security issues.gov. ron desantis, (r) florida: "this is something that is very serious and i think that it's something that we're going to look at and evaluate who they're holding accountable." families of the victims stood with the governor, thanking him for taking action.max schachter,

thousands killed and millions displaced after four years of fighting after houthi rebels supported byd a saudi-led coalition backed by the united states. and now cnn has exclusive learned that some of those weapons sold directly to the saudis and to the uae are now in the hands of terrorists linked to al qaeda and others. nima elbagir offers up this upclose look. >> reporter: the influx of weaponry is prolonging the conflict. on our way back from the front line, we spot what we've come in search of. it's absolutely incredible. we're driving past and it's like a grave yard of american military hardware and this is not under the control of coalition forces. this is in the command of militias. which is expressly forbidden by the arms sales agreement with the u.s. >> and that report was front and center during a capitol hill hearing where the head of the u.s. central command was questioned about these developments and what the defense department plans to do next. >> we have not authorized saudi arabia or the emirates to retransfer any of this equipment to other parties on the ground in ye

those who are supporting the houthis and those denying humanitarian aid and specifically as it relates to khashoggi, it would insist on direct sanctions on those individuals who are ult pimatel found to be responsible for khashoggi's murder and from everything that i have seen, it is very clear to me that the crown prince was intimately engaged in that murder. so at the end of the day, the president may seek to avoid that responsibility. the congress will put his feet to the fire. i'm glad that we have broad bipartisan support in this legislation and i look forward to putting a vote on the floor of the senate because we cannot just simply allow the indiscriminate killing of a journalist to ultimately go by without consequences at the end of the day. >> senator menendez, thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you. >>> just ahead, former trump fixer and lawyer michael cohen is postponing another date with congress to testify. so what's his excuse this time? >>> and will democrats do a better job investigating the president's personal finances than robert mueller? we're taking a closer l

coalition and the government we are shelling areas the government is saying the houthi is are targetingivilians so the u.n. is facing a huge problem when it comes to consolidating the cease fire in in her data and by the way it was not only about the cease fire they were hoping to implement an x. president exchange deal stuff happening.

well yemen's houthi rebels have delayed the partial withdrawal of their fighters from two ports just outside the data they were supposed to leave sunday funday rasa. supports to comply with a un brokered deal reached with yemen's government in sweden last year the host they say the government isn't holding up its and off the agreements the visions over human rights have been exposed as egypt hosted the first summit between the arab league and the european union leaders gathered in the red sea resort of sharm a safe to discuss issues like migration security and trade they have agreed to work more closely together and meet regularly with the egyptian president have been fatah has sisi held the summit that acknowledged some disagreements with the kind of them. i'm speaking very openly and confidently you guys want teach us our humanity we have our him and if you and we have our values and we have our ethics and you have your humanity and your ethics and you expect that so respect ours as we respect yours never no circumstances will i give up on freedom and democracy and that. i insisted

saudi state media say yemen's houthi rebels have killed at least nine saudi soldiers in a renewed military offensive the attacks happened in the southern provinces of a say to james allen and russia and it is the worst spate of violence since a un brokered peace deal was signed in december priyanka gupta reports. fierce fighting in the northern front lines of yemen who the rebels say they have launched major attacks on saw the u.a.e. backed forces across the border in saudi arabia over the past three days a number of saudi soldiers were killed and the military positions captured according to who the media sources saudi media is also reporting the deaths of soldiers who he say the attacks will not stop and yet mr miller are watching our operations will continue and in the coming days the lot of violence further as the war on yemen continues and the coalition continues to violate their obligations and promises under the hood data agreement the army and resistance fighters have no alternative but to continue to fight and intensify their tactical operations. this is the first significant escal

bigger fight for yemen it has become the focal point of the fighting over supremacy in yemen the houthi know that if they lose her data it will pave the way for the government forces to take over the capital sanaa that would be the beginning of the end for the who these are the same time the government is saying that if that collapses it was thought it's major offensive to take over her day to the coastal areas so it's become some sort of major test for the united nations if this deal collapses is going to be a major said we know the who he is hashem have been very critical of the u.n. this is the last mission of the outgoing u.n. monitor patrick ahmed whoever comes next are they going to have a more easier time you think or is it going to be as difficult very difficult because. it was appointed when the deal was finalized about a month and a half ago so the feeling is that this man needs at least one year to be able to implement all the modalities of the agreement he stepped aside just a month later this gives you an indication about how explosive the situation is his convoy came under

>> this is a rebuke, mika, of the way saudi arabia and the uae have waged war against the houthi rebels. it will try to reign in what it sees as massive overreach of the trump policy. >> with just hours left before another government shutdown, what the president and his shadow counselors on tv are saying about it. plus, a headline that caught a lot of attention, "smaller tax refunds surprise those expecting more relief." you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. ♪ where have all the flowers gone ♪ ♪ long time passing [indistinct conversation] ♪ [friend] i've never seen that before. ♪ ♪ i have... ♪ man 1: this is my body of proof. woman 1: proof of less joint pain... woman 2: ...and clearer skin. woman 3: this is my body of proof. man 2: proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis... woman 4: ...with humira. woman 5: humira targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further irreversible joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. humira is the #1 prescribed biologic for psoriatic

sullivan: the houthis backed by the iranians? mr. votel: the saudis were concerned about the presence of an iranian-backed organization along their southern border. mr. sullivan: and with regard to israel they haven't moderated their malign activities, have they, iran? mr. votel: i think if you talked to the israelis they certainly would agree with that. mr. sullivan: with regard to secretary pompeo gave a speech in cairo that was laying out what i thought was a very well articulated, robust counteriran strategy, how are you looking as a centcom commander to execute this strategy? which i think is one of the most important things we can be doing in the middle east. mr. votel: senator, i have responsibility for helping put together the department's global campaign, the military global campaign for iran. as i look at that, i look at a variety of different things that we have to do as part of that. we have to assure our partners. we have to challenge iran in the areas where they are trying to exert their malign influence. we have to be

up until about five years ago, it was relatively safe until houthi rebels took over the government and he was one of the few who stayed behind. >> indeed. so, it was 18 months ago your dad was grabbed off the street in broad daylight. and then, after that happened. what sort of efforts did you, your family, and the u.s. government launch to try to get him back? >> well, i was officially notified by the fbi. they came by my office and we spoke. they have been wonderful. they have been keeping us informed the whole time. any time they had information, they were everybodableto provide it to us. two days ago i got a call from the fbi and let me know that my father had been released the next day it came out in the news. we were overjoyed. >> absolutely. have you spoken to your father yet? >> i have not. it's my understanding he is intensive reintegrate program. so he is -- giving him time to get back with his immediate family and we hope to hear from him soon. steve: absolutely. just out of curiosity, what's the first thing you are going to tell your dad? >> that we love him. we miss him. a