jonathan karl has the latest. >> reporter: the heaviest u.s. bombardment since president obama authorized air strikes. five in five hours. it's not likely to end any time soon. >> this is going to a long-term project. >> reporter: but there are signs air strikes are having an impact. isis was forced to retreat from two towns near erbil. and 15,000 people have been able to flee mount sinjar. they were trapped and facing death. this new video shows how dire the situation remains. the british estimating that 150,000 remain under siege. most members of a minority group isis threatened to wipe out. video from a syrian town controlled by isis shows the blood thirsty extremism the u.s. is up against. this 14-year-old boy saying, quote, i want to kill with them. jonathan karl, abc news. >>> jetblue is confirming that a bird strike caused an engine flight ready to take off from san juan to jfk. it was aborted. 186 passengers and 6 crew members evacuated. they were sliding down the slides. >> people were screaming and trying to bust open the emergency ex

jonathan karl now. >> reporter: in an exclusive interview with katie couric for yahoo news, john foley'sther says the u.s. could have done more. >> the united states could have done more on behalf of the western and american hostages over there. and still, you know, dealt with the broader worldwide issues. >> reporter: foley said the u.s. could have considered a prisoner exchange or other options short of paying ransom. but today, the white house said it did all it could. >> i can assure you that we have done everything that we can possibly do to try to bring home our hostages. tragically, we weren't able to rescue mr. foley, but we're going to keep trying for all of our hostages. >> reporter: also today, foley's parents revealed the last e-mail they received from the terrorists, just ten days ago. it still gave some hope that he would be freed. despite the chilling message. "you don't spare our weak, elderly, women or children, so we will not spare yours." the first of which, being the blood of the american citizen james foley. is is isle -- isle isis is tletdlenni to kill more american

we begin with abc white house correspondent, jonathan karl, traveling with the president. jon? >> reporter: good evening. the president arrived in martha's vineyard this afternoon. he already played a round of golf but also spoken to the leaders of germany, france, and britain. the attention focused thousands of miles away on the military operation in iraq. as 500-pound bombs dropped from fighter jets and missiles fired from predator drones, pummeled targets in northern iraq. president obama bluntly acknowledged there is no clear end date on this military operation. >> i don't think we'll solve this problem in weeks. i think this is going to take some time. the iraqi security forces. in order to mount an offensive, and operate effectively with the support of populations in the sunni areas, will have to revamp. get resupplied, have a clear strategy. >> reporter: although the president reaffirmed his promise not to send ground troops -- >> because we should have learned a lesson from our long and immensely costly incursion in iraq. >> reporter: he described a broader mission for

jonathan karl caught up with clinton before the big event. >> reporter: the timing for this encounter between hillary clinton and president obama here at a mutual friend's party on martha's vineyard is a little bit awkward. it comes just after secretary clinton offered some of her most pointed criticism yet of president obama's foreign policy. she tried to smooth things over shortly before the party at a book signing here on martha's vineyard but take a look what happened when i tried to ask her about the specifics. did you think he was handling the situation in iraq right now -- i mean would you be doing it differently? >> i'm excited about signing books. >> reporter: mrs. clinton promised to hug it out with president obama, but make no mistake, if she decides to run for president, this will not be the last time that thee finds herself at odds with president obama. jonathan karl, abc news, edgerton, martha's vineyard. >> the white house said overnight a, quote, good time was had by all. the couples dining on surf and turf and dancing the night away but no word on that obama/clinton h

tonight abc's chief white house correspondent jonathan karl on a man who turned tragedy into a life-long mission. >> reporter: nancy reagan had reportedly said she wanted a young, handsome press secretary to represent her husband on tv. she got the 6'1", 250-pound, mostly bald james brady. 40 years old, nicknamed the bear, and known above all for his sense of humor. brady had been ronald reagan's press secretary for just 69 days when those shots rang out in washington on march 30, 1981, one bullet striking reagan in the chest, another penetrating brady's skull. he was presumed dead. >> we are being told that jim brady has passed away. >> reporter: he survived, making his first appearance at the white house more than seven months later, partially paralyzed, in near constant pain and for a while barely able to talk. >> morally, it's the right thing to do. >> reporter: brady dedicated the rest of his life to fighting gun violence. 12 years after he was shot, congress passed the brady bill, requiring a waiting period and background checks for all handgun purchases. in 2000, the place where h

jonathan karl breaks down president obama's options. >> reporter: he calls out president obama by name. the president answering with resolve. >> we will be vigilant and relentless. when people harm americans anywhere, we will work to see that justice is done. >> reporter: the u.s. has conducted at least 13 more air strikes since the video was released yesterday. he could release more weapons to the front line, or send special forces to advice. he could launch air strikes for the first time on isis targets in syria. now, the president faces a new fight in iraq that could dominate the rest of his presidency. >> and now, abc's pierre thomas, who has been talk to his expert sources today about the number of westerners joining the terrorists. >> well, as brian pointed out, the executioner seemed to be british. this is 19-year-old shannon conley of denver. looks like an all-american girl next door, but authorities say she was hell bent on joining isis. the fear tonight, they come back to america to strike. there's an effort to track them, some back here at home under various levels of invest

jonathan karl abc news the white house. >> bit of health news. helping of fish every week can go a long way. new study says eating fish is link to more gray matter in the part of the were inthat controls memory. researchers look at 260 people who reported their diet underwent mri scans and discovered that those who ate baked or broiled fish every week had more gray matter in their brains and that could mean better memory. study published in the american journal of preventive immediate. >> fisherman in china held a dead while shark home this wea wean. the news agency said the fisherman accidentally caught the animal in the net on frida friday. more than 16 feet long and weighed more than 2 tons. is that not the wildest thing. whale shark are the largest fish in the sea and swim mainly in tropical area where they mostly feed on plankton and small fish. but we really want to share that photo with you. >> like tahoe wild hiv care has offered to treat a bear cub burned if the reeseen build fire in washington state. 6 month old cub nicknamed cinder cra

jonathan karl went at the president. ed henry has gone -- >> that's his job. >> exactly. that's what i'm saying. that's exactly right. >> but i wouldn't say they're harassing the president. >> certainly there have been loud complaints about the lack of access. let me get leslie in in our final half minute. your side seems to be depressed or something. maureen dowd of the "new york times" writing the other day that obama is slacking off, he's coasting into irrelevance. >> well, i have to tell you, and i wanted to jump in on not the cat fight but look, historically presidents have had a love-hate relationship with the media. george washington canceled, what, over a dozen subscriptions to newspapers when he didn't like what they said. and i honestly, as a democrat i am -- about time, mr. president. about time. use the media. use the media. because presidents have shown historically they can use it very successfully. but i also have to say when you have a president with a low approval rating, when you have a midterm election and you have a senate that could be flipped to repu

abc's chief white house correspondent jonathan karl has the story. >> reporter: today over the skies of northern iraq the heaviest u.s. bombardment since president obama authorized u.s. airstrikes. it started at 2:15 a.m. eastern time. u.s. aircraft hitting a terrorist truck near the city irbil. 30 minutes later a bomb dropped on another truck. at 3:40 a mortarist destroyed. 5:45 another armed vehicle was struck followed by another armed vehicle at 7:25. five air strikes in just five hours. part of an effort that isn't likely to end any time soon. >> this is going to be a long term project. >> reporter: but there are some signs airstrikes are having an impact. thor rest -- terrorist group isis was forced to retreat from two towns and the u.n. reports about 15,000 people have been able to flee mount sinjar where they have been trapped facing death. this video shows how dire the situation remains. the british estimating 150,000 remain under siege. most members a minority group isis has threatened to whiy out. the government reported finding a mass grave of 500 killed by isis. some of t

jonathan karl breaks it down. >> reporter: in this video, the executioner calls out president obama by name. demanding an end to air strikes in iraq. the president answering with resolve. >> we will be vigilant and relentless. when people harm americans anywhere, we will work to see that justice is done. there has to be a common effort to extract this cancer so it does not spread. >> reporter: the u.s. has conducted at least 14 more air strikes since the foley video was released yesterday. but to take out isis, the president has additional options. he could release more weapons to the front lines, or send u.s. special forces to advise iraqis. he could launch air strikes for the first time on isis targets in syria. one thing the president has ruled out is sending in ground troops. but even so, the president who counts ending the war in iraq as a big part of his legacy now faces a new fight in iraq that could welco welcoml dominate his presidency. >> and now, abc's pierre thomas, who has been talking to his expert sources today about the number of westerners joining the extremists. >> we

abc's chief white house correspondent jonathan karl has the latest. >> reporter: abc news has learned u.s. and british intelligence is closing in on the identity of the masked british terrorist who executed american journalist jim foley. we are confident he will be identified, a senior u.s. official tells abc news. and they believe he will be identified soon. >> you have plotted against us and have gone far out of your way to find reasons to interfere in our affairs. >> reporter: using voice recognition technology, they are working to match the voice with a data base of british nationals suspected of terrorist ties. they are also attempting to match the voice with communications now being monitored from the middle east. in addition to foley and steven sotloff, who foley's executioner threatened to kill next, abc news has also learned u.s. officials believe isis is holding two other americans. u.s. law enforcement is on high alert for isis-backed or inspired attacks on u.s. targets at home and abroad. an fbi bulletin issued friday, saying, quote, we are unaware of any specific credible

chief white house correspondent jonathan karl has the very latest with the president on martha's vineyard. >> reporter: overnight the pentagon released new information on the air strikes over terrorist targets in iraq. 20 minutes later, u.s. aircraft struck three more targets. with a follow-up strike destroying another. at 3:00 p.m. eastern, the final target of the day was demolished. president obama bluntly acknowledged there's no foreseeable end to u.s. operations in iraq. >> i'm not going to give a particular timetable because as i have said from the start, wherever and whenever u.s. facilities are threatened, it's my obligation, my responsibility as commander in chief to make sure they're protected. >> reporter: a key concern, the u.s. consulate and hundreds of citizens in the city of erbil. once thought to be iraq's safest city is now threatened by the islamic group isis. >> there is no doubt that their advance, their movement over the last several months has been more rapid than the intelligence estimates and i think the expectations of policymakers both in and out of -- outside of

jonathan karl went at the president. >> that is his job the he is a reporter. >> that is what i am saying. >> there have certainly been loud complaints on the lack of access. leslie, in the last half minute, your side is depressed with "new york times" saying president obama is coasting, and slacking off. >> i wanted to jump in on not the cat fight, but, historically, presidents have had a lot and hate relationship with the media and george washington canceled a dozen subscriptions to publications. about time to use the media, president. when you have a low approval rating and a senate that can be flipped to senate, democrats, what are you doing? you need to report the facts but back your guy. >> let me get a break here, send me a tweet. we will read the boast messages at the end of each practice. >> a "new york times" times regulation torpedoes a democratic senators career and frank luntz asks ordinary americans why they don't trust the media. s >>> "the new york times" story on montana's democratic senator john walsh upended his campaign 19 days ago. the paper said the iraq war veteran

and let's start with jonathan karl of abc news. this is news. let's watch. >> do you believe you have the power to grant work permits to those who are here illegally as some have suggested. >> what i certainly recognize and what i would expect with immigration reform, and i've said this in past, is that we have a broken system. it's underresourced and we have to make choices in terms of how we allocate personnel. and resources. so if i'm going to, for example, send more immigration judges to the border to process some unaccompanied children that have arrived at the border, then that's coming from some place else. and we're going to have to prioritize. my preference would be an actual conference on immigration law. we already have a bipartisan law that would solve a whole bunch of these problems. >> kristin welker, the question was, are you going to issue work permits. and say, who gets to stay here and work. and who doesn't. and his answer was, you know, i have to put a lot of people down border to deal with the young accompanied children. that

abc's chief white house correspondent jonathan karl looks back at brady's legacy. >> reporter: nancyss secretary to represent her husband on tv. she got the 6'1", 250 pound, mostly bald james brady. 40 years old, nicknamed the bear, and known above all for his sense of humor. brady had been ronald reagan's press secretary for just 69 days when those shots rang out in washington on march 30, 18981. one bullet striking reagan in the chest. another penetrating brady's skull. he was presumed dead. >> we are being told that jim brady has passed away. >> reporter: he survived making his first appearance back at the white house more than seven months later. partially paralyzed, in near constant pain, and for a while barely able to talk. >> morally, it's the right thing to do. >> reporter: brady dedicated the rest of his life to fighting gun violence. 12 years after he was shot, congress passed the brady bill, requiring a waiting period and background checks for all handgun purchases. in 2000, the place where he had held court was christened the james s. brady press briefing room. at the ded

. >>> now, let's go to washington and my colleague, jonathan karl. jon?> thank you, martha. >>> coming up next, texas governor rick perry indicted on public corruption charges. did he commit a crime or is this all politics? and what powerful democrat is lling the charges sketchy. >>> first, the powerhouse "roundtable's" big winners of the week. back in just two minutes. inners of the week. back in just two minutes. there's no reason we can't manufacture in the united states. here at timbuk2, we make more than 70,000 custom bags a year, right here in san francisco. we knew we needed to grow internationally, we also knew that it was much more complicated to deal with. i can't imagine having executed what we've executed without having citi side by side with us. their global expertise was critical to our international expansion into asia, into europe and into canada. so today, a customer can walk into our store in singapore, will design a custom bag and that customer will have that american made bag within a few days in singapore. citi has helped us expand ou

and let's start with jonathan karl of abc news.

abc's jonathan karl on the scene and, jon, this meeting could be a bit awkward. >> reporter: that's right, both clintons and both obamas will be at a big party tonight for one of their mutual friends and it comes just after mrs. clinton offered some rare criticism of the president's foreign policy telling the "atlantic" magazine his fail our to support moderate rebels in syria led to the rise of the terrorists that we are now bombing in iraq. i spoke to one of the president's top advisers, ben rhodes about this, he said the president is taking no offense. >> she remains a close friend of the president's and i think the point is that their friendship extends well beyond any differences or anything that is spun up in the public sphere. >> reporter: jon, as you know -- >> reporter: as for mrs. -- >> i'm sorry. >> reporter: i was going to say mrs. clinton said she called president obama to kind of smooth things out say she didn't intend that as an attack and look at this statement from mrs. clinton's spokesperson saying "she looks forward to hugging it out when they see each other" at tonight

. >> reporter: for "this week," jonathan karl, abc news, washington. >> thanks to jon for that. joining us now, dan pfeiffer, senior white house adviser. thanks for coming in. the president said he has full confidence in john brennan. we also saw john brennan say a few months ago that he didn't know about the snooping. nothing could be further from the truth. either he didn't know what was going on in his own agency or he wasn't telling the truth. doesn't that trouble the president? >> we have to look at how he responded. when there were allegations of improper conduct, he was the one who referred the allegations to the inspector general. he said -- he's setting up an accountability review board. john brennan is a man of great integrity and ability. someone the president knows very well. the president has confidence in him. >> the senate report likely to come out this week. maybe a little later. will the president order more action in the wake of the report? >> i think what this report does, which the president called to be declassified as much as possible as quickly as possible

our chief white house correspondent jonathan karl on the vineyard for us this morning. jon?reporter: good morning, she came of they met, they partied. we still don't know if they actually hugged. all the white house will say is that the obamas enjoyed spending time with the clintons and, quote, the menu quizzed of surf and turf and pastas. the obamas danced nearly every song of the a good time was had by all. before the party mrs. clinton sought to smooth things over at a book signing here on martha's vineyard but look what happened when i asked her specifically about the president's handling of iraq. >> do you think he was handling the situation in iraq right now -- i mean, would you be doing it differently. >> i'm excited about signing books. [ laughter ] >> always fun when jon shows up. did you get a signed book. >> reporter: i did not and as you can see she was not too into answering any questions but she did sign a lot of books, just not one for me, david. >> don't hold your breath. jon karl this morning. thanks. >>> we'll get over to amy robach who is tracking the othe

. >> head now to jonathan karl at the white house right now.ime for the white house to have an official response yet. but surely that is coming. >> reporter: no doubt. no official response yet, amy. but i have to say, this is especially devastating because the central -- the center piece of president obama's strategy? afghanistan right now is to have u.s. trainers training up the afghan army to take over for the united states. that is our mission right now. that is the u.s. mission is to train afghan troops so to have somebody reportedly dressed in afghan army uniform come in, kill an american two star general. and wes also know 15 other nato troops wounded. we don't know how many americans. but to have a shooting like this happen at the center of the training academy that the united states is using to train afghan troops to take over that mission, is truly devastating on many levels. obviously on a personal level, but also on a strategic level. that is what our mission right now is in afghanistan. it is to train those troops. hard to train tro