can abc's jonathan carl reports from capitol hill. >> hillary clinton was all smiles as she came before the committee that she's accuses of being on a partisan witch hunt with huge crowds lining the hallways outside from the start the republican chairman was defensive. >> madame secretary, i understand. >> there are people frankly in both party who have suggested that this investigation is about you. let me assure you it is not and let me assure you why it is not. this investigation is about four people who were killed representing our country on foreign soil. >> and the top democrat on the attack. >> republicans are squandering millions of taxpayer dollars on this abusive effort to derail secretary clinton's presidential campaign. >> republicans released a never seen before e-mail mrs. clinton wrote on the very night of that deadly attack at benghazi. it was addressed to diane reynolds, the name she used for e-mail sent to her daughter chelsea. two of our officers were killed in benghazi by an al qaeda linked group. that's quite different than what the obama administration said in the

and abc's jonathan carl was there for biden's big announcement. >> reporter: with his wife and his boss at his side, joe biden walked into the rose garden, the final steps on a painful journey. he and his family were finally prepared to run, but he concluded, the window has simply closed. >> unfortunately, i believe we're out of time. the time necessary to mount a winning campaign for the nomination. >> reporter: biden's friends say he had desperately wanted to run for president -- he had even talked to supporters about launching a campaign -- but always hanging over his decision was the grief surrounding the death earlier this year of his son, beau. you could see biden still struggling with the loss in an interview last month with stephen colbert. >> but i find myself -- you understand it, i -- just sometimes, it just sort of overwhelms you. >> reporter: in the rose garden, with virtually all of the president's and vice president's senior advisers looking on, biden said his family is now in a better place. >> sooner, rather than later, when you think of your loved one, it brings a smil

jonathan carl, abc news, the white house. >>> the final four in baseball's playoffs are set. now that the mets have beaten the donors in the final game of their series. new york got off to a good start, scoring a run on daniel murphy's first inning hit. then with the mets down 2-1, murphy scored in the fourth to tie it at two. he came up again in the sixth inning and nailed what would would be the game winning so low home run. the mets win 3-2 and they will now host the cubs in game one of the national league championship series starting tomorrow night. >>> i love this story. you know all mets fans are happy about the success. but there's one who is probably a little bit more ecstatic than the others. meet add line rousseau. she just turned 100 years old on wednesday. >> she was originally a brooklyn dodgers fan, but when had he left for los angeles, add line said good riddance. so she supported the mets since they started in 1962. and like many mets fans she has no love for new york's other team. the yankees. >> never had any use for them. never. never. >> why? >> why? becau

jonathan carl, abc news, new york. >>> iran's guilty verdict of a "washington post" reporter for spy is being widely condemned. it's unclear if jason rezaian has been sentenced but he could face up to 20 years in prison. rezaian, an american citizen of iranian descent has been held in custody for nearly 450 days. he was the paper's tehran bureau chief. rezaian's brother says the u.s. and iran could do more to secure his freedom. >>> the u.s. navy marked a solemn anniversary on monday. the terror attack of the "uss cole" in the port of yemen 15 years ago. a small ceremony was held in norfolk, virginia. the ship is now a floating memorial. 17 americans were killed in the attack. the alleged master mind behind the bombing has never been tried. he's being head at guantanamo bay. >> breaking overnight, tragedy at the scene of an inferno in kansas city. two firefighters died battling this blaze at an apartment building. the building was determined to be unsafe and all were getting out when it collapsed on them. the fire chief called it "the worst day." two other firefighters were hurt. two

jonathan carl, abc news, the white house. >>> all right. now to my own personal favorite segment, sports with reena. american league baseball playoff style. there was wild stuff going on. >> start off with the rangers and blue jays. tied in the top of the seventh. with a texas runner on third, russell martin's throw back to the catcher hits the batter's box. after a long delay while they discussed, the runner was allowed to score. in the bottom of the inning, the rangers committed three errors 0 load the bases with the score now tied at 3. josebatis tas smashed a three-run home run. there were also a couple of bench clearances. but in the end, blue jays got it. 6-3. >>> the toronto would take on either houston or kansas city. the royals already up 4-2 in the eighth inning when kendry morales, did i get that right? hit a three-run home run. that's pretty much how it ended. they win 7-2 and will host toronto in game one of the american league championship series friday night. >>> meantime, wrigley field, lots of buzz there. they think they fo

we're going to get the latest right now from abc's jonathan carl. >> reporter: kevin mccarthy seemed on top of the world, saying he had the votes to be speaker of the house. but later shocked republicans out of a private meeting. mccarthy had told them he's bowing out. they were practically speechless. >> kevin said he's not running. > i just learned this like you all did. >> by the time mccarthy himself emerged swarmed by cameras, he seemed more relieved than defeated. >> i think i shocked some of you. the one thing i found talking to everybody, if we're going to unite and be strong, we need a new face to help do that. >> reporter: mccarthy's rice was meteoric when john boehner shocked the world two weeks ago by saying he would step downforced out by conservatives, mccarthy seemed a sure bet to replace him. what happened? for one, this, when mccarthy said the benghazi committee accomplished. >> everybody thought hillary clinton was unbeatable, right? but we put together a benghazi special committee, a select committee, what are her numbers today? her numbers are dropping. >> reporte

abc news reporter, jonathan carl. >> joe biden was in full vp mode today.e president's side in the morning. then awaiting the president of south korea in the afternoon. but what about the big question. >> are you running for president? can you just tell us when you will decide? okay. a little louder. have you'd made your decision yet? >> nothing. nothing at all? a source close to biden says he is nearing a final decision. although after hillary clinton's strong debate performance, fellow democrats are growing increasingly ill patient. senator barbara boxer, a clinton supporter, who in august saided by in should do whatever is in his heart, is now telling politico. i don't think there is a rationale for his campaign. i think he should endorse hillary. today, clinton got a big endorsement from the member of the cabinet. housing secretary, julian castro. widely speculated as a possible clinton runningmate. >> she h always been there for us. and today, we're here for her. >> so what is biden thinking. his younger brother. frank told the palm beach post today. h

jonathan carl, abc news, capitol hill. >>> hillary clinton did get three breaks during the hearings, each one about an hour long. so that means she spent more than eight hours before the panel. the word e-mail was mentioned near 300 times and the committee has interviewed 54 witnesses with more to come. so far the committee's investigation has cost taxpayers just under $5 million. >>> a major political boost for republican presidential rsh candidate ben carson. one poll shows that he's a fronts runner iowa. the latest quinnipiac poll shows carson with 28% of the iowa of donald trump. marco rubio 13% it, ted cruz 13% was trump slipping to second. >> one of the longest and most sophisticated drug smuggling tunnels has been discovered between the u.s. and mexico. authorities seized 12 tons after marijuana and arrested nearly two dozen people. 2400 foot tunnel connected warehouses in san diego ante wanna. it was lit, ventilated and equipped with a rail system. the arrests were the result of simultaneous sting operations in both countries. >>> in iraq, the first american casualty to repor

jonathan carl, abc news, capitol hill. people are trying to get paul ryan to put had his hat in the ring for that, but ryan is saying no. he wants to be president some day. and many people say that's a career killer if you're the speaker of the house even though you're third in line for president. >> right. >> talking about the presidential race, by the way, and the latest controversial comments from dr. ben carson. >> carson's been all over the news this week because of what he's been saying about guns. he is not done on that subject quite yet, this time linking the disarming of germans before world war ii and the holocaust. the details now from abc's brandi hitt. >> reporter: in the wake of the roseburg, oregon, school massacre, dr. ben carson has pushed back hard against calls for more gun control. >> many of the places where free zones. they select these places because they know they're not going to meet resistance. >> reporter: carson advocated fighting back against a shooter. >> i'll not just stand there and let him

jonathan carl, abc news, the white house. >> if biden joins the race, he may have one less competitor. democratic candidate jim webb considering running as an independent. he's holding a news conference today to discuss his candidacy, the campaign and his views of the political parties. he repeatedly complained about not getting enough talk time during last week's debate. he has 1% in the latest polls. >>> on the republican side, donald trump and ben carson are asking for secret service protection and the requests are being reviewed by the homeland security chief. taxpayers would foot the bill. such requests are not unusual at this point in the race for frontrunners. both candidates have made controversial comments about ethnic and religious groups and both are attracting large crowds. >>> a search under way for a teenager who claims to have accessed the personal e-mail of cia director john brennan. the hacker has posted documents online, including a list of e-mail addresses purportedly from brennan's contact file. no classified information we're told was reved. >> the longtime girlfr

for more, here's jonathan carl. attraction at republican debates that have drawn record new hampshire, donald trump will be a snooze. >> well, i think it's not going to be very well rated. because trump isn't in the debate, i am only kidding. i think it's not going to be highly rated, i think it's going to be watched for 10 or 15 minutes, people are going to get bored and turn it off. >> reporter: trump's decisive lead in the republican primary battle shows no sign of waning. in the latest national poll, fellow outsider ben carson is the only one close. all the others are in single digits. but on "60 minutes," president obama dismissed trump as a passing phenomenon. >> he's, you know, the classic reality tv character, and at this early stages, it's not surprising that he's gotten a lot of attention. >> reporter: you think he's running out of steam? i mean, you think he's going to disappear? >> you know, i'll leave it up to the pundits to make that determination. i don't think he'll end up being president of the united states. >> reporter: in response, trump offered his own critique of

as jonathan carl tells us, biden >> reporter: joe biden was in full v.p. mode today. at the president's side in the morning, and then, awaiting the president of south korea in the afternoon. >> are you running for president? >> i will answer in korean. >> reporter: can you just tell >> i can't hear you. >> reporter: okay. a little louder? >> have you made your decision >> reporter: nothing? nothing at all? >> i'll tell you what -- good to see you all. >> reporter: a source close to biden says he's nearing a final decision. although after hillary clinton's strong debate performance, fellow democrats are growing increasingly impatient. senator barbara boxer, a clinton supporter, who in august said biden should do whatever is in his heart, is now telling politico, "i just don't think there's a rationale for his campaign. i think he should endorse hillary." clinton got a big endorsement from a member of the obama/biden cabinet. housing secretary julian castro, widely speculated as a possible clinton running mate. >> she has always, always been there for us and today, we'r

i want to bring in jonathan carl. when you got word that the vice president would be speaking obviously the first thing that comes to mind is perhaps a decision on whether in fact he will run. >> reporter: we are in t t rose garden. i never seen an event more hastelely arranged. the vice president will be coming out assembled in the rose garden is all of the white house senior stf. the vice president senior staff. the presisint senenr staff. the n nional security adviser. they are all hear waiting to hear word about what the vice president is going to do. i will tell you we don't know exactly what he's going to say but i've never seen an announce announcement of somebodyappen running for president happen in the rose garden given the fact he's going to be standing here with the president. >> there's been so much talk if joe biden were to run, who would the president choose, secretary of state hillary clinton or joe biden the vice president. both part of his team. to have the president and the vice president staff there

and jonathan carl is following biden's every move. >> reporter: a at the whe house even president obama was bombarded with questions about his vice president. >> we're talking about climate change, guys. >> reporter: biden had nothing too say publicly about 20916, although at a white house event, he did say this -- >> i don't consider republicans enemies. they're friends. >> reporter: could that have been a swipe at hillary? this is what she said when asked which enemy she is most proud of. >> well, in addition to the nra, the health insurance companies the drug companies, the iranians -- [ laughter ] probably the republicans. >> reporter: and was this a shot a bernie sanders? >> i'm not one of these guys, you know, let's go after the rich and the powerful, and they're the problem. they're not a problem. >> reporter: a source involved with biden's deliberations told abc news the vp has not made a decision about running for president, but biden has been calling potential supporteters. >> how you all doing? >> reporter: over the weekend talking to the head of the influential firefighters

running out of time and expect by the end of the week we'll know whether or not biden is running, jonathan carl news, new york. >>> trump says he patched things up with aerosmith singer, steven tyler. he sent letters to the contender, asking him not to use his song. tyler is registered as a republican, it is a matter of permissionçó and copyright, the say. >>> and 39-year-old jason rezaian from san raphael has 20 days to appeal an espionage verdict. he has been in jail there for more than a year. the iranian db has called rezaian a spy. >> jason has been held and interrogated weeks and weeks. >> he is innocent, a journalist with credentials, he been caught up in larger forces in iran. >> rezaian has been held for more than a year. the u.s. state department has called on the iranian government to drop all charges and release him immediately. >>> london police say they're ending their round-the-clock surveillance video of the wikileaks man, julian assange. he sought asylum there. the surveillance video has cost the london police $17 million. police say they will arrest assange if he steps out of

i want tbring in jonathan carl. when you got word t that the vice president would be speaking obviously the first thing that comes to mind is perhaps a decision on whether in fact he will run. i never seen an event more hastelely arranged. the vice president will be coming out assembled in the rose garden is all of the white house senior staff. the vice president senior staff. the president senior staff. the national security adviser. they are all hear waiting to hear word about what the vice president is going to do. i will tell you we don't know exactly what he's going to say but i've never seen an announce announcement of somebody happen running for president happen in the rose garden given the fact he's going to be standing here with the president. >> there's been so much talk if joe biden were to run, who would the president choose, secretary of state hillary clinton or joe biden the vice president. both part of his team. to have the president and the vice president staff there in the rose garden many people ar

jonathan carl, abc news, the white house. >>> after the announcement hillary clinton tweeted the vp isd friend and great man. today and always inspired by his optimism and commitment to change the world for the better. >>> an abc news poll shows biden's decision not to run will help hillary clinton. without biden in the race, she leads bernie sanders with 64% to his 25%. here's how the numbers looked. he was receiving 16% support drop in clinton to 54% and 23 for sanders. tomorrow, hillary clinton will return to capitol hill to testify before the house select committee on benghazi. this is video from the last time she testified about the attacks. she's expected to face questions about events surrounding the 2012 attacks in which ambassador chris stevens and three other americans were killed. she'll likely be asked about her e-mail setup as well. >>> the caucus system is playing a role if congressman paul ryan will become speaker of the house. members of the freedom caucus emerged saying 2/3 will support ryan. he had met with them earlier in the day. >> outgoing speaker john boehner ann