our jennifer griffin confirmed the reporting of the reuters news agency just seconds ago.ding to a senior defense official, coalition air strikes targeted probe regime units operating in the vicinity of an airbase in the south of syria after a show of force to try to stop that probe regina forces was ignored, a coalition commander took the decision to hit regina -- probe regina sources and a "well-established conviction zone" peered the coalition commander assessed the threat then afterward shows of force did not stop the regime forces and those forces refused to move out of this "deconfliction zone." the commander on the ground called for an air strike as a matter of force protection. the senior u.s. official has now told fox news, quoting "there is no change in policy." the official said, this is the first time other than the tomahawk strike on the airbase that gave u.s. warplanes a targeted pro assad forces. we expect a statement from the pentagon any moment. in short, please hear what is happening. there are a syrian regina forces that have been murdering their own peo

today they did, sandra. >> sandra: jennifer griffin, thank you.nt trump trying to rally nato leaders behind a common cause. one of the most serious issues facing the alliance, the rise of isis. former president obama also in europe speaking out about the crisis that has developed in syria, due in part to the spread of the islamic state. >> i look at something, a place like syria, where despite our best efforts and this is something we worked on a lot, you still have a vicious war taking place. you still have millions of people displaced, hundreds of thousands killed. as president, i did not always have the tools that i wanted to affect those kinds of changes, but at least we tried. >> sandra: a retired four star general, former vice chief of staff of the army, chairman of the institute for the study of war and a fox news military analyst. general keen, good to see you. >> good to see you, sandra. >> sandra: your reaction to what you heard from the former president on saying that he didn't always have the tools that he wanted to affect those kind o

showing the chinese they were not just passing through. >> bret: jennifer griffin at the pentagon. thank you. up next, on this first foreign trip, first lady melania trump stepping out in public and out of her husbands considerable shadow shadow. shadow shadow. that is did you know slow internet can actually hold your business back? say goodbye to slow downloads, slow backups, slow everything. comcast business offers blazing fast and reliable internet that's over 6 times faster than slow internet from the phone company. say hello to internet speeds up to 250 mbps. and add phone and tv for only $34.90 more a month. call today. comcast business. built for business. >> bret: president trump's first foreign trip has given his wife a chance to share the love spotlight. tonight kitty logan on the first lady going public. >> while the president met with e.u. leaders in belgium today, the first lady had some business of her own. melania trump took time out to visit children in a brussels hospital. she seemed at ease joining kids making paper flowers. she came bearing gifts for the kids and

national security correspondent jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon for us. , what is different about this north korean missile test? >> reporter: welsh sandra, what made this launch different, they used solid not liquid fuel which makes the missile more mobile and harder to detect. they tracked it at 9:59 p.m. hawaii time saturday night. the launch involved a medium range kn-15 ballistic missile pit traveled 310 miles reaching a height of 347 miles before landing in the sea of japan. it comes one week after the north koreans launched a longer range intercontinental ballistic missile that got the pentagon's attention because it flew 1,000 miles higher than nasa's international space station, re-entered the earth's atmosphere and splashed down 50 miles from russia's coast. nikki haley had this warning today. >> because this is the same thing that keeps playing. all options are on the table. that means we have made it very clear we don't want to start a fight so don't give us a reason to have one. >> reporter: the u.s. sent a secondary craft carrier to the regio

jennifer griffin live from washington. jennifer, thank you. david: well, more on the u.s.ir strikes against pro iranian troops in syria. what does this mean for the syrian civil war going forward? lieutenant colonel oliver north has his take coming right up. cheryl: plus, possible health care do over. could the house need to vote again? . >> is this bill coming back? >> this is a technical issue. >> my colleague wants to schedule something, i'll we can walk the bill over there together because i believe the american people are waiting for it. liberty mutual stood with us when a fire destroyed e lingoom. we were able to replace everyt in it. liberty did what? liberty mutual paid to replace all of our property that was damaged. and we didn't have to touch our savings. yeah, our insurance won't do that. well, there goes my boat. you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™. liberty stands with you™ liberty mutual insurance david: well, of course the house taking a victory lap after passing american health care act. but did they start celebrating a little too soon?

national security correspondent, jennifer griffin joins us live from the pentagon. what can you tell us about this close encounter? >> the incident occurred wednesday in the east china sea, west of north korea. two chinese aircraft intercepted the constant phoenix. it's known as a sniffer plane, a spy plane the contest for signs of a nuclear test in the atmosphere. the u.s. surveillance plane was operating in accordance with international law according to a statement released by the pacific spokesman. while we are still advancing the incident, initial reports from the aircrew characterized the intercept is unprofessional. the issue is being addressed with china through appropriate diplomatic and military channels. meantime, the pentagon has deployed a second aircraft carrier strike group to the waters off the korean peninsula. the first time in seven years the u.s. will to have two aircraft carriers. i'm told the dod will not be talking about the incident with the chinese warplanes publicly, but was told they came much too close. >> julie: we are also learning today

jennifer griffin joins us live now from the pentagon. >> the president actually said he'd be honoredo make kim jong-un. the chinese foreign ministry spokesman said today that china would welcome direct talks between president trump and north korean leader, kim jong-un. the message from china, avoid further escalation and allow the situation to cool down. the chinese spokesman welcomed president trump's pronouncement he's willing to meet the north korean leader, who he called a smart cookie in a recent interview. >> under the right circumstances, i would absolutely meet with him. >> to mike under the right circumstances, i would meet with him. >> tensions are high, announcing that antimissile defense systems are not operational. this is a defense showed that could shoot down short and -- north korea and china has detested. north korea said on tuesday that the pentagon's decision to fly to supersonic bombers close to the demilitarized zone between south and north korea was a provocation, putting the two countries on the brink of nuclear war. the flight of the b-1 training mission was f

jennifer griffin at the pentagon. thank you. ahead, ambushing the police.wo officers wounded as they sat in their car. investigators say this was a targeted attack and they're hunting for the shooters. we go live to chicago next. >> jon: breaking news. the house now voting on the plan to keep the government running through the end of september. we reported earlier a sold told fox news the bill should pass but could be ugly for republicans. our senior producer on capitol hill says more than 100 republicans might vote against it. some conservatives say they're upset about democrats blocking the president's proposal like money for the border wall. the white house says the deal is a victory because it provides billions for the military and border security. if it passes the house, it goes on to the senate. we'll keep an eye on it. a man hunt underway in chicago after police say someone targeted two officers with a high powered weapon injuring them both. police say they're questioning three people and searching for others. the officers were in an unmarked car whe

>> shepard: jennifer griffin reporting there this afternoon. thank you.ice president mike pence meeting with lawmakers on capitol hill. one of the main topics will most likely be health care. but politco is now reporting white house officials are planning to take a different approach to healthcare with the senate than with the u.s. house. here's the thing. instead of talking to the lawmakers, they will lead it to mcmcconnell to come up with the votes to pass the bill. mike emanuel is on capitol hill. senator mcconnell is responding to complaints that no women hel this bill. >> shep, there's been a working group in the senate meeting for months talking healthcare. it's made up of gop leaders and other key players. as you can see, it does not include any women and the senate majority leader took some heat for that. >> the working group that counts, it's all 52 of us. we are having meetings every day. nobody is being excluded based on gender. write about what is actually happening. we're having a discussion about the real issues. >> privately separate republ

jennifer griffin is at the pentagon. know about the americans injured in this incident? >> secretary of state rex tillerson just issued a statement condemning the attack and offering condolences to the victims adding the u.s. commitment to afghanistan is unwavering. i spoke to a senior official and i'm told that 11 u.s. mostly contract personnel, were injured in the blast. they were working for the u.s. embassy. one afghan local guard is missing, i'm told, and nine guards working for a u.s. government contracted security company were killed during the explosion, which emanated from a water tanker packed with explosives. resulted in a mushroom cloud of smoke over the capital. a driver from the bbc was killed and four bbc journalists were wounded. the neighborhood where this attack occurred is home to many foreign embassies. blast walls didn't even make a difference today, shep. >> shepard: we still don't know who is behind this, right? >> it's not clear who is responsible. a spokesman for the taliban denied responsibility

you don't in nondemocracies. >> shepard: jennifer griffin at the pentagon.rdogan in turkey has imprisoned 300,000 political opponents. prominent new yorkers helped make wall street the world's financial capitol and happened on this day in history. (avo) come with us... ...to a new world. deeper than the ocean. as unfathomable as the universe. a world that doesn't exist outside you... ...but within you. where breakthrough science is replacing chemotherapy with immunotherapy. where we can now attack the causes of disease, not just the symptoms. where medicines once produced for all, are now designed to fit you. today 140,000 biopharmaceutical researchers go bodly to discover treatments and cures unimaginable ten years ago... ...and are on the verge of more tomorrow. >> shepard: at least two people died after powerful storms formed tornadoes and left damage in wisconsin. we're getting word from local officials that it's a severe one. a twister did touchdown in northern wisconsin flattening a mobile home park. the sheriff said one died, 25 hurt. a tornado destro

showing the chinese they were not just passing through. >> bret: jennifer griffin at the pentagon. thank you. up next, on this first foreign trip, first lady melania trump stepping out in public and out of her husbands considerable shadow shadow. that is next. and the mid-sized metris. ...if these are your wingtips... ...if this is your gourmet latte... then these are your vans. vans for professionals. strictly professionals. best commercial van residual value according to alg and starting at just $25,995. mercedes-benz. vans. born to run. when it comes to heartburn... trust the brand doctors trust. nexium 24hr is the #1 choice of doctors and pharmacists for their own frequent heartburn. for all day and all night protection... banish the burn... with nexium 24hr. when a fire destroyed everything in our living room. we replaced it all without touching our savings. yeah, our insurance won't do that. no. you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance when liberty stands with you™. tech: when your windshield needs to be fixed... trust safelite autogl

to jennifer griffin live at the pentagon and joins us with more. what do we know, jennifer about, the request for more troops? >> interesting, connell, amidst the leaked reports about troop increase for afghanistan, sean spicer was asked whether the president wants to win in afghanistan and whether a few thousand more troops would do the trick? here's his response. >> just because you spend more, throw more people, doesn't mean you are doing it in the most effective way. one of the things he's asked his national security team to do is actually rethink the strategy. what are we doing to achieve the goals that you are asking about? how do we actually -- how do we win? how do we eliminate the threat? and i think doing that isn't just a question of throwing money or people, but looking at the mission and the strategy and that's what the team has been doing holeistically not just in afghanistan. >> reporter: fox news learned the first brigade of the 82nd airborne division stationed at fort bragg, north carolina will provide the additional american troops

jennifer griffin is the latest. there's a new report on just how bad things may be in afghanistan right now. what are the low lights? >> the inspector general for afghan reconstruction issued his quarterly report and it states in no uncertain terms the casualty rates in afghanistan are "shockingly high" in the first six weeks of 2017. 807 afghan soldiers were killed by the taliban. doesn't include an incident that left 140 afghan soldiers dead in a single attack traded 11,000 were killed by the taliban last year, according to the u.n. "dangerous and stubborn insurgency controls or exerts influence over areas holding about a third of the afghan population. heavy casualties and capability gaps limit the effectiveness." >> we are under no illusions about the challenges associated with the mission. 2017 is going to be another tough year. >> defense secretary mattis is weighing a request for several thousand more u.s. troops for afghanistan. u.s. marines returned earlier this year and the 82nd airborne is next up to go t

jennifer griffin is at the pentagon. >> the reaction from nato ally turkey was swept into the point after the pentagon announced president trump had signed off on arming the kurds in syria. turkey's president said he would convey his displeasure in person when he visits the white house on may 16. >> translator: we want to believe our allies will prefer to side with us, not with a terrorist organization. >> the pentagon will send armored vehicles like this as well as machine guns, ammunition, and armored bulldozers to the kurds. a spokesman for defense secretary jim mattis called the kurdish fighters in syria "the only force on the ground that can successfully seize the isis capital in the near future." turkey considers the kurds terrorists. >> i am not concerned at all about the nato alliance and the relations between our nations. it's not always tidy. >> today for the first time the state department placed a bounty on the head of al qaeda as syrian affiliates, state department rewards for justice program is offering $10 million for information on muhammad al-jawlani, leader of the al-nus

now some of those advances are showing up back in iran. >> chris: jennifer griffin reporting from the pentagon. thank you. russia has once again sent a pair of nuclear capable bombers closed the coast of alaska. u.s. officials tell fox news the planes were flanked last night by two advanced russian fighter jets. the convoy was intercepted by a pair of u.s. air force f-22 stealth fighters that were already on patrol. officials say the russian fighter jets were unarmed and remained in international airspace. last month, russian bombers flew near alaska over four consecutive days for the first time since 2014. up next, the health care crisis in rural america. first, here's what some of our affiliates around the country are covering tonight. fox 45 in baltimore, please find an escaped prison inmate hiding in a drainage pipe. 28-year-old david watson was on his way to a psychiatric exam when he bolted. he will be sent back to the delaware prison where he is serving a sentence of more than 100 years. fox 2 in st. louis. heavy rains raising flood concern throughout the region. suburban valle

jennifer griffin is at the pentagon with specifics. >> coalition forces are currently undertaking a bombing campaign against isis, in eastern afghanistan where the pentagon says they killed the afghan head of isis. the afghan president's office confirmed the pentagon announcement. jim mattis, en route to denmark, had this to say. >> they are on their back foot in syria, iraq, they have lost a lot of ground. they still have strengths. we have eliminated some here and the fight goes on. stick we have learned that the two u.s. army rangers killed on april 27th in eastern afghanistan. joshua rogers and cameron thomas were killed in the same raid that killed the afghan head of isis. the pentagon is investigating whether the two americans were killed as a result of friendly fire. this is the same area where the u.s. dropped the mother of all bombs, a 21,000-pound bomb which is the largest nonnuclear bomb in the air force's arsenal. that was employed. sheikh abdul hasib is now dead. john nicholson issued the following statement. "any isis member who comes to afghanistan will meet the same fate." p

national security correspondent jennifer griffin live at the pentagon with more. >> it is the type of and encore aware that president has detained nearly 3,000 medical opponents in the e of last july's attempted coup. >> yesterday afternoon, we witnessed what appeared to be a brutal attack on peaceful protesters at the turkish ambassador's residence in that 1600 block of 23rd street northwest. as a result of the assault, 11 people and one police officer were injured. >> two people were arrested last night for aggravated assault and for assaulting a police officer outside the turkish embassy residents. witnesses said the attackers were members of the court turkish president's security detail. among them were his personal bodyguards pigment in black suits working for the turkish government crossed the street and attacked the kurdish and turkish american protesters for turkeys attack on kurdish backed forces in syria. the president was inside the embassy residence when the melee occurred at 4:30 p.m. last week, president trump authorized the u.s. military to arm the kurdish fighters in s

jennifer griffin, thank you. we are back with our panel. james, steve, a.b., and charles.ms, our resident historian, you mentioned the comparisons to watergate that are already being made by democrats, our colleague gregg jarrett in new york as a lawyer, rights, obstruction requires specific intent. if james comey concluded that president trump's language was vague, ambiguous, or elliptical, then he has no duty under the law to report it because it doesn't rise to the level of specific intent. perhaps that is why he did not tell mccabe it seems or rosenstein. the question is, if this is the case, then why is it rising to the level now? speak of "the new york times" story has a line into it to the affected details of this memo wp within a very tight circle of department of justice and fbi officials. that had to be a very tight circle indeed of andrew mccabe was not included in it. i want to close at one point about dreams comey and one one t about donald trump. james comey was formerly deputy attorney general and the bush-cheney first term. at a certain point, his boss, the

let's bring in jennifer griffin at the pentagon. >> i think what's most interesting. i have been reading the letter sent by rod rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, to the attorney general jeff sessions and which he outlines their case for why call me should be fired. what he points to, and it's interesting, is that on july 5, when the fbi director called me essentially usurped power from attorney general loretta lynch after the famous meaning of lynch and bill clinton on the tarmac, and that's when he said he decided to go forward and essentially hold that press conference explaining why they weren't going to prosecute hillary clinton. in this letter from rod rosenstein, its theory, he says "compounding the error, they director ignored another long-standing principle. we do not hold press conferences to release derogatory information about the subject of a declined criminal investigation." sometimes disclosed in the course of investigations "but we never release it gratuitously. the director laid out his version of the facts for news media as if it were a closing

our national security correspondent jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon with more about what this reward is all about and why it is being offered now. >> what is being notable is that is the first on the state apartment has placed a bounty on the head of anyone from al qaeda affiliate in syria. the rewards for justice program is offering come as you mention, a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of mohammed al-jawlani, leader of the front terrorist group, al-jawlani was named a designated global terrorist in may 2013, blocking his property and americans from dealing with him which in effect forced a travel ban arms embargo sanctioning him and those dealing with him, but this is the first reward offered for an al qaeda leader in syria. more information about al-jawlani is located at the website. >> jenna: interesting, let's talk a little bit, that is a big news story, russia continues to be a big part of the headline today, defense secretary james mattis had a message for russia today. tell us about that. >> washington is focused on

jennifer griffin tells us he is expected to ask the alliance to take a greater role.>> reporter: air strike still playing a key role in supporting the anti- isis coalition as they move closer to retaking the self- proclaimed isis capital. the russian military still backing the thought government has declared no fly zones in an effort to minimize civilian casualties, but the top us general says the zones are not restricting where american jets can fly and military consultation has increased significantly as the offensive continues. >> we make sure we know where we will operate so we can portray that to them that allows us to continue our attack. >> reporter: on the diplomatic front usm basner is in turkey trying to convince a skeptical turkish government to increase its presence in northern syria. >> we need to continue to support and strengthen the syrian people. >> reporter: the trump administration is counting on nato to step up and join the anti-isis coalition. >> they have been an observer and have become more and more engaged in the actual fight. >> reporter: they are looking at

we are just getting information from jennifer griffin at the pentagon, the cost of yesterday's test, $244 million. the cost of failure could be a whole lot higher. >> jon: exponentially higher. very, very true. jonathan hunt, thank you. >> heather: it for more on this, i'm joined by stephen tucci. he is a former defense -- we were just all watching jonathan hunt report there. we have a statement from a director of the missile defense agency. he said that this was an incredible accomplishment and a critical milestone for this program. do you agree? >> absolutely. this system is critical for our national security. the part that they tested yesterday, the ground-based midcourse is the hardest part to do. it is true rocket science and it worked. kudos all around to the folks who did it. it's a big step forward. >> heather: there are others that point out it hasn't worked all the time. in fact, since 2002, we spent $40 billion invested in this program. of the last five attempts from what i understand, only to have been successful and that is a 40% success rate. is that acceptable? >> well

jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon. r, first of all, why is this test upcoming so significant? >> eric, experts say it's like trying to hit a bullet with another bullet. the last three tests have failed. this is the first time the u.s. missile defense agency is attempting to intercept and intercontinental ballistic missile like this one tested earlier this month like the u.s. air force. in the past, they have tried to enter sent intermediate range missiles. it will be filed from the marshall islanding. if all goes as planned, the intercept will take place in space. it involves a five foot long kill vehicle that detaches and tracks the missile. the pentagon won't say the test in response to north korea's ballistic missile test. the head of the u.s. command says during recent testimony, he thought the u.s. needed to base missile enter centers in hawaii given north korea's advances. >> eric: for our sake, i hope it works. there's been another close call with a chinese war plane. that keeps coming. >> that's right. a senior

she session her campaign -- this is coming from jennifer griffin. her campaign tried to tell people the russians were interfering with the election and nobody wanted to listen, suggesting, i guess like maybe the obama administration was among them. she takes facebook to task for creating fake news and says the trump campaign was very important in this analytical research group, where all the russian ties are questions. very bitter and angry and flying off the handle. what do you make of that? >> look, this election was very, very challenging for many of us who worked for hillary clinton. i completely agree with her. the russian influence, the way fake news was perpetuated. what is crazy when i think about this is fake news was not even a term that we were uttering -- >> neil: wait a minute. she goes so far to blame her loss on massogony. she said this goes to a resistant movement to a new level. to question even the validity of the president and the white house occupants. what do you any of that? >> if russia interfered to the degree that she sugges

jennifer griffin live at the pentagon. what more did we learn about trump's offer to meet with kim?e chinese foreign ministry smokesman said china would welcome direct talks between president trump and kim jong-un. the message from china avoid further escalation and allow the situation to cool down. the chinese spokesman welcomed president trump's pronouncement under the right circumstances that he is willing to meet the north korean leader who he called a smart cookie in a recent interview. critics say the president would be breaking with tradition by offering to meet the north korean rogue leader without preconditions or getting anything in return. the chinese welcomed the move, of course. back to you, jon. >> jon: so where do things stand on the korean peninsula right now? >> tensions are extremely high. the u.s. is set to carry out another test of an intercontinental ballistic missile after midnight. the minuteman three is fired from vandenberg air force base in california. this is the second test in a week. the last u.s. ballistic missile flew 4,200 miles into the pacific ocean

we're hearing from jennifer griffin that they did do so. gallagher said it would be like shooting down a bullet with a bullet. they did just that. i worked. more details when it's available. the message for north korea, this is what we can do, shoot it down. that should be received well. meantime, this is not been received well be a lot of sponsors and supporters. again, advertisers. tiger woods arrested over the weekend. dui. now concerns that it could cost him a lot of money. how much? anyone's guess. michael here with forbes. what is the early betting here? he still has a number of big sponsors. what are they saying? >> well, the big one is nike. of $45 million, it's almost all from sponsorships now. he hardly plays anymore. nike accounts for almost half of that. nike is very forgiving. they brought michael vick back after the dogfighting stuff and they've been forgiving for tiger for things in the past. but my reporting is that tiger will probably get dropped by nike this time around. >> neil: didn't he just sign an extension with nike?

. >> jennifer griffin live at the pentagon as they continue to monitor things in north korea for another test. hi, jennifer. >> hi, leland. u.s. pacific command tracked the launch at 9:59 hawaii time on the 20th. it involves the ballistic missile, traveled 310 miles, reaching a height of 347 miles before landing in the sea of japan. what made this launch different is that it used solid, not liquid, fuel. which makes the missile more mobile and hard to detect. it comes one week after the north koreans launched a longer range intercontinental ballistic midmissile that influence 1,000 miles higher than the international space station, re-entered the earth's atmosphere and splashed down 60 miles from russia's coastal city. u.s. ambassador nikki haley had this warning today. >> because this is the same movie that keeps playing. all options are on the table. >> what does that include? >> that means we have made it very clear we don't want to start a fight, so don't give us a reason to have one. >> experts say they're trying to get president trump's attention, hoping to restart bilateral talks.

he spoke at an off camera briefing attended by jennifer griffin today, and in that briefing, accordingo jennifer, he said the following. we can now taste the threat through 2020. what we will see in 2020 was well replicated in what we saw yesterday. i was confident before the test. i am more confident today. and the men and women who man the missile defense control rooms across the country, including ft. greenlee in alaska, will remain on station 24/7, simulating every possible attack and preparing for the moment when there is a real nuclear warhead headed towards the united states. they are on station, as i say, 24/7, 365 days a year, jenna. >> jenna: we're grateful for that. you hear 2020. but you realize it's only three years. >> reporter: three short years. >> jenna: thank you. appreciate that very much. the pentagon is proud of that succe successful missile defense test but is it enough? new details emerging on the deadly terror attack in the heart of kabul as we learn of americans among the wounded. colonel alan west joins us with his perspective. managing blood sugar is not a ma

jennifer griffin joins us live from the pentagon with the most on this and why it matters. >> well, clashesnd fire between americans and the turkish military has increased in days. over the weekend the u.s. military deployed small units of special operators along the turkish border waving american flags and driving armored stryker vehicles in a show of force to to tear the turkish military from -- defeating isis, the turkish forces have made gains outside rocca, and the u.s. military believes they have the best chance that they have two captured the capital. turkey's president who consolidated power in a referendum, once to convince president trump otherwise. >> it is deeply saddening for us that there were u.s. flags on a county boy that carried organization, the ypg. >> last week turkish work plans to surprise their allies by bombing three locations in syria and iraq, killing at least 20 u.s. turkish trained fighters. the surprised air strike has strained relations. there turkish president is in india today, but issued a stern warning about working with the syrians to fight isis. the u.s.

jennifer griffin has more. >> it's been planned for at least six months. the u.s.r force will conduct another long range ballistic missile test wednesday. the new test of an intercontinental ballistic missile will be wednesday. the last test went 142 miles before splashing down near the marshall islands. the minuteman 3 launched wednesday by the air force will be unarmed. the new missile comes days after the last test on friday by the north koreans. in another show of force, fox news has just learned that the u.s. air force flew a pair of long range b-1 bombers from guam south of the dmz that separates north from south korea. they were escorted by south korean fighter jets, john. >> and where is the aircraft carrier, the u.s.s. carl vinson right now. >> it's interesting to note that it finally arrived off the coast of north korea this weekend as the u.s. air force gears up for another long range test wednesday, the carl vinson strike group will be in the waters off the korean peninsula in the sea of japan. vinson will continue doing training operations were the sou

jennifer griffin has details from the pentagon. >> as the president left for the middle east, secretary jim mattis gave an update on the ice is fight and to go new tactics the president has signed off on that they say has accelerated the destruction of isis. >> no longer will we have slow decision cycles because washington, d.c., has to authorize tactical movements on the ground. i have absolute confidence, as does the president, our commander-in-chief and the commanders on the ground. it's proven by delegating this authority to me. >> and preventing foreign fighters from leaving syria and returning home to set up more isis cells, ending what had been in the past as whack a mole's. >> we estimate at its peak, it was 1500 fighters per month. we estimate those numbers are less than 100 per month. >> they both push back on news reports that former national security advisor mike flynn and his financial ties to turkey, now being investigated by the fbi, interfered with the president's decision to arm the syrian kurds. slowing down the effort to retake the isis capital. >> we are getting into

jennifer griffin is at the pentagon this afternoon. what is different about this latest test, jen?ade this launch different, they used solid, not liquid fuel, which makes it more mobile and hard to detect. the second ballistic missile tested in a week. the u.s. pacific command tracked the launch saturday night. the launch involved a medium range kn-15 ballistic missile. reached a height of 347 miles before landing in the sea of japan. this comes a week after the korean launched a missile that got the pentagon's attention because it flew 1,000 miles higher than nasa's international space station. >> i think we're early in the game putting pressure on them. one can interpret that they're acting out now in response to the pressure that they're beginning to feel. >> the u.s. has sent a second aircraft carrier to the region and has said that china is putting pressure but it's hard to say what effect it's having. >> shepard: timing is a thing with the north koreans. what do we make of this? >> experts say north korea's leader is trying to get president trump associate tension hoping to r

let's get jennifer griffin who is live at the pentagon. >> reporter: officials tell me american warplanes carried out a strike against pro-assad regime units in at tanf in southeast syria today. after a show of force to try to stop the pro assad forces was ignored, the coalition commander took the desession to hit the forces operating in a quote well established deconflict shun zone. the forces were setting up fighting positions we're told in a protected zone used by the u.s. to train anti-isis forces. at tanf is about 170 miles from the isis defacto capital raqa. after shows of force, they didn't stop the assad forces. those forces refused to move out of the deconfliction zone. the commander called for the air strike as a matter of petition. there is no change in policy, the official said. but this is the first time other than the tomahawk missile strike after that chemical weapons attack that u.s. warplanes and u.s. ordinances have targeted pro assad forces. they accidentally hit them not too long ago. we expect a statement from the u.s. military soon. the ap is reporting a tank and bul

jennifer griffin shows us what happened and basically, hillary clinton unplugged. >> absolutely. this was hillary clinton as i've not seen her before. unplugged. it was as though she were laying out a case for not only why she lost the election, pointing fingers for the first time about who it was from the trump campaign who she believed colluded with the russians during the election, and in her words, weaponized data to tilt the election for which he makes the case against new york hedge fund eris rebecca mercer, who was family fortune teamed up with a firm to affect the outcome of the brexit vote but help the trump campaign. her conditions, that trump higher steve bannon and kellyanne conway. >> the mercers didn't invest that money for their own amusement. we know they played in brexit and they came to jared kushner and basically said we will marry our operation, which was more as it's been described, a lot of harvesting of facebook information. they married content with delivery and data. it was a potent combination. the question is where and how did the russians get into it?

our national security correspondent jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon and was listening in on nnifer? >> reporter: well, in fact, jenna, i was inside that press conference. two points ahead of the president's visit overseas. it's very clear that this sreus i was designed for two reasons. to re-establish the relationship with saudi arabia which, of course, frayed at the end of the obama administration when the obama administration focused so much on the iranian nuclear talks. that threatened the saudis. the saudis are rolling out the red carpet for president trump because they are happy that the u.s. is now once again paying attention to their needs. the president will also be trying to raise among nato allies, they're going to need more forces for afghanistan. it is clear they are going to try to get commitments from those other countries so there won't have to be as many u.s. forces sent to afghanistan. before the press conference at the pentagon began which, by the way, is only the second press conference defense secretary mattis has had in the briefing room since january 20t

jennifer griffin joins us live now from the pentagon. re that north korea and iran are sharing missile technology? >> reporter: well, sandra, when iran tested a ballistic missile in late january, the pentagon said at the time it was based on north korean construction and design. last summer iran conducted another launch of a missile similar to a north korean missile. north korea's missile looks almost identical. just yesterday, iran attempted to test a cruise missile from an midget submarine, raising eyebrows here at the pentagon. the launch failed but the test used a north korean designed submarine. only two countries in the world operate that kind of sub. north korea and iran. midget subs operate in shallow waters where they can be sneaky. a midget sub sank a south korean friget in 2010. >> sandra: thank you very much. i'm gonna jump in here because we do have breaking news happening on the house floor with the vote on the revamped healthcare bill. we have seen the number pass that magic 216 mark that was needed for passage in the house

jennifer griffin is at the pentagon. what more do we know about the pentagon's request for these additional troops in afghanistan? >> reporter: it's really interesting listening to sean spicer amidst all of the leaked reports about a troop increase for afghanistan. spicer was asked whether the president wants to win in afghanistan and whether a few thousand more troops would do the trick. here's his response. >> just because you spend more, throw more people, doesn't mean you're doing it in the most effective way. one of the things he's asked his national security team to do is think, rethink the strategy. what are we doing to achieve the goal that you were asking about? how do we win? i think doing that isn't a question of throwing money or people. but looking at the mission and the strategy. that's what the team has been doing. not just in afghanistan. >> fox news learned the first brigade of the 82nd air borne division stationed at ft. bragg north carolina will provide the additional american troops. 1500 were already

defense official per our jennifer griffin the pro-heir strikes targeted -- this was a show of force toime forces that was ignored earlier, and they upped the ante a little bit, coalition commander at the site had said this is well-established deconfliction zone that we are saying the syrians violated. so, we bombed them. we'll have more after this. ♪ predictable. the comfort in knowing where things are headed. because as we live longer... and markets continue to rise and fall... predictable is one thing you need in retirement to help protect what you've earned and ensure it lasts. introducing brighthouse financial. a new company established by metlife to specialize in annuities & life insurance. talk to your advisor about a brighter financial future. will you be ready when the moment turns romantic? cialis for daily use treats ed and the urinary symptoms of bph. tell your doctor about your medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood p

campaign trail, i got the sense from talking to jennifer jacobs that it is something he is thinking about. it was interesting to hear erik schatzker ask ken griffinhe thought about this and he said he is in favor of breaking up. julia: he said my fantasy is we break up the big banks. is a going tos remain a fantasy or are we going to do something about this? on dodd-frank or something more specific. julia: we will go back live to the milliken global conference. this is bloomberg. ♪ david: it is 3 p.m. in new york, 12:00 p.m. in san francisco. julia: welcome to bloomberg markets. david: we are live and bloomberg's headquarters in new york. in the next hour, we're covering stories out of beverly hills, washington, paris and tokyo. president trump sits down with number again tells us he wants to bring back the graph -- the glass-steagall law that separates consumer lending and investment banking. is he serious about raking up the big banks? will have more later this hour. one hour left in the trading day. the nasdaq is set to close at a new record high as optimism from earnings and the budget deal eases demand for safe havens. plus president trump's