margaret brennan for us tonight. margaret, thank you. in another importantistic the chairman of the house intelligence committee removed himself today from the investigation of russian med ling in the u.s. election. here's nancy cordes. >> reporter: you in ness made the surprise announcement just before leaving the capitol for a two-week recess. in a statement, the california republican said he was stepping aside from the russia matter because "several leftwing activist groups have filed accusations against me." accusations he called "baseless, "baseless," but that are now being havinged by the republican-led house ethics committee. house speicher paul ryan learned of the ethics probe last night. >> i think mr. niewnes wants to make sure there is not a distraction and wants to clear himself while the investigation continues on without any kinds of distractions. >> reporter: at issue is whether niewnes improperly revealed classified information after an unusual late-night visit to the white house two weeks ago. >> i have confirmed that ad

margaret brennan reports. >> reporter: the trump administration was out in force, defending the strikes and ramping up a confrontation with the russian patrons of syrian president bashar al assad. >> i think we should ask russia, how could it be if you have advisers at that airfield that you didn't know that the syrian air force was preparing and executing a mass murder attack with chemical weapons. >> reporter: this week in moscow, secretary of state rex tillerson is expected to press vladimir putin on how his government failed to prevent the sarin gas attack. >> i don't draw conclusions of complicit at all. but clearly they've been incompetent, and perhaps they've been simply outmaneuvered by the syrians. >> reporter: tillerson's message is that moscow must enforce the deal it brokered to keep assad from using chemical weapons. yet the kremlin continues to deny that he used any poison gas. >> it cracks me up that russia can say those things with a straight face. truly, it is amazing that they continue to cover for assad. >> reporter: despite the war crimes allegations, the trump admin

margaret brennan for us at the white house. margaret, thank you. well another federal judge that mr. trump clashed with during the campaign is back in the spotlight tonight. gonzalo curiel has been assigned to preside in a lawsuit brought by a 23-year-old illegal immigrant who has been deported to mexico. the man claims that his dreamer status should have allowed him to stay in the country because he arrived here as a child. judge curiel preside over two lawsuits involving the now-defunct trump university which were settled. mr. trump questioned his impartiality called him, "a mexican." judge curiel was born in indiana. the decision by fox news to fire bill o'reilly may not end the sexual harassment scandal there. federal prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation. according to a lawyer for a woman who is suing roger ailes, the former chairman of fox news. anna werner is following this. >> reporter: the board of 21st century fox met inside fox news headquarters today-- >> shame on fox! >> reporter: while outside the national organization fo

. >> margaret brennan, thank you. >>> now an update on a man accused of robbing a wisconsin gun storeng an anti-government manifesto to president trump. paula reed has the latest. >> here he is. you'll never forget this face. >> reporter: on april 4, joseph jacobowski recorded the moment he sent a manifesto to president trump. in it, he expresses grievances against the government and antireligious sentiment. >> revolution. time for change. >> reporter: hours after he mailed the manifesto, a large quantity of high-end handguns and rifles were stolen from a nearby gun shop. a short time later, his car was found on fire. jacobowski is the focus of a massive manhunt. david moore is chief of the janesville, wisconsin police department. >> find the suspect, make the arrest and keep all of our communities safe. >> reporter: police say jacobowski had been highly agitated recently, regarding a variety of political issues and allegedly made threats to steal weapons and use them against public officials or at an unspecified school. local and federal law enforcement agencies are working to the on

>> margaret brennan in mouse cow. anks, margaret. >>> the president's press secretary is apologizing for trying to compare the attack by assad to that of the nazis. the statement in the midst of passover did not recognize the nazi's use of poison gas to kill millions of jews and other prisoners. chip reid is at the white house. good morning. >> good morning. a big part of the white house press secretary's job is to clean up after the president. but in this case, sean spicer is trying to clean up his own mess. >> my comments today did not reflect the president's and were wrong. >> white house press secretary sean spicer swift apologized for statements he made at the podium. >> you have someone as despicable as hitler who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons. >> when asked to clarify, spicer stumbled seeming to forget those who died in concentration camps. >> he was not using gas in the same way -- clearly -- thank you. i appreciate that. he brought them to the holocaust center. i understand that. >> at the pentago

we begin at the white house with margaret brennan. margaret. >> reporter: well, u.s. officials say that north korea launched an unidentified ballistic missile. it isn't clear yet whether the test was a success or failure, but it happened early saturday morning asia time, defying the trump administration's latest warning issued just hours before. a strike group and japanese destroyers are now operating within striking range of north korea. a show of force meant to counter leader kim jong-un's continued missile test. in an interview with reuters on thursday, president trump sounded a warning. >> reporter: his comments rattled u.s. aally south korea, whose leaderes were surprised they pay $1 billion for a controversial missile defense system. the u.s. installed it earlier this week, and last year agreed to pay for its operation in a signed accord. >> it's the most incredible equipment you've ever seen-- shoots missiles right out of the sky, and it protects them

margaret brennan has more from palm beach florida where the president spent the weekend. >> what was happening task was happening. >> reporter: the trump administration was out in force defengd the strikes and ranting up a confrontation with the russian patrons of syrian dictator assad. national security advisor general hr mcmaster. >> i think what we should do is ask russia how could it be if you have advisors at that airfield that you didn't know that the syrian air force was preparing and executing a mass murder attack with chemical weapons. >> reporter: this week in moscow secretary of state rex tillerson is expected to press vladimir putin on how his government failed to prevent the sarin gas attack. >> i don't dah conclusions of complicit at all. but clearly they've been incompetent and perhaps simply outmaneuvered by the syrians. >> reporter: tillerson's message is that moscow must enforce the 2013 deal it brokered to prevent assad from using chemical weapons. yet the kremlin continues to deny that he used any poison gas. u.n. ambassador nikki haley. >> first of all it cracks

margaret brennan is covering mr. trump's first summit meeting with the president of china in florida. >> reporter: president trump wrapped up his meetings with china's leader xi jinping today, a crucial test of diplomacy that was largely overshadowed by last night's military action. >> i believe lots of very potentially bad problems will be going away. >> reporter: after dinner last night, the president informed xi that u.s. missiles had just made impact in syria. he told the nation shortly afterward. >> it is in the national security interest of the united states to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons. >> reporter: the decision to intervene in syria's brutal six-year war seemed a sharp departure from the "america first" policy outlined by president trump on inauguration day. >> we do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone. >> reporter: secretary of state rex tillerson said the strike does not signal a new u.s. offensive in syria, where there are already nearly 1,000 troops focused o

margaret brennan, cbs news, the white house. >>> a powerful earthquake struck northeastern iran today. the magnitude 6. quake was centered in a remote mountainous area, which was home to about 5,000 people. rescue workers say at least person was killed and five injured. a quake of that magnitude can cause severe damage. phone service to that area has been knocked out. >>> today severe storms are likely from the midwest to the southeast. it could trigger tornados like the ones that touch town last night in the southwest corner of missouri. an elementary school, fire station, airport, and some homes were damaged. no reports of injuries though. the storm produced damaging hail and strong winds that pelted northeast oklahoma late yesterday. >>> coming up on the "morning news" now, court victory. a decision by a federal appeals court protects lgbt employees from workplace discrimination. >>> and a pepsi commercial featuring kendall jenner fizzles with its protest theme. this is the "cbs morning news." this is the "cbs morning news." when heartburn hits, fight back fast with tums smoothies.

former official, who insisted that there was nothing improper or political involved. >> pelley: margaret brennan at 2 white house. margaret, thank you. today mr. trump heaped praise on the president of egypt at a white house meeting. he said abdel assisi has done a fantastic job fighting terrorism. president obama never invited sisi to the white house. sisi is a former general who deposed the elected president in a military coup four years ago that left more than a thousand egyptians dead. today the senate judiciary committee approved the nomination of neil gorsuch to the supreme court, but democrats are promising a filibuster to block a vote by the full senate, and they have the vets to do it, unless the majority, republicans, of course, change the rules. here's jan crawford. >> judge gore such is by any measure a superbly qualified nominee. >> reporter: the committee approved the nomination on a straight party-line vote. the democrats said the fight was far from over. >> in my view, this is not a routine nomination. >> reporter: the top democrat, dianne feinstein, said her party had the votes

and, scott, they say they're even open to coordinating in the fight against isis. >> pelley: margaret brennan on the banks of the moscow river for us tonight. margaret, thank you. among those killed in last week's nerve gas attack were the loved ones of abdel hameed al youssef. >> reporter: this is the face of syria's civil war. abdel hameed lost 29 of his family members last week, including his wife and twin babies. "i wanted my daughter aya to be a doctor," he said. he buried them on wednesday, the day after the attack on his hometown. you chose to carry your baby in your arms to be buried. why did you do that? "because that's how i carried them when they were alive," he said. "i loved them so much, and i know they loved me, too." abdel hameed told us he put them next to each other in their grave and told them not to be scared. even in the cruelty and chaos of syria's six-year-long conflict, the attack on khan sheikhoun stands out for its brutality. it happened on abdel hameed's second anniversary with his wife dalal. six years ago he told us he was taking part in peaceful protests against

the ships have long been scheduled to arrive at the end of the month. >> pelley: margaret brennan at the white house. russia has given the world a peak at its state-of-the-art military base in a remote section of the arctic. why is it there? well, there's a lot of oil and gas under the sea, and russia, the u.s., canada, denmark, and norway are all laying claim to the region. here's jonathan vigliotti. >> reporter: president vladimir putin's recent stroll among the glaciers along with reindeer pulling russian soldiers was a build-up to today's unveiling of russia's newest military base. trefoil, located just inside the arctic circle. the p.r. offensive comes as moscow moves to solidify its claim to the arctic's huge oil and gas reserves that russia believes to be worth trillions of dollars. while most of the base remains off limit, the kremlin offered up an internet tour, showing dorm-style accommodations that can house 115 troops for 18-month stints. the facility is russia's second with four others to come as well as an air field. the u.s. has its own base in nearby greenland. but th

obama for today's attack, strikes some even in the trump administration as misguided. tere's margaret brennan. >> reporter: the gravity of the images led president trump to issue a statement condemning the chemical attack as "reprehensible and heinous." he then shifted to politics blaming president obama's "weakness and irresolution," for not following through on the air strikes he threatened in 2012. >> a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. >> reporter: when a defiant acsad carried out the rarge-scale chemical attack in 2013, mr. trump warned on twitter against any u.s. action. now that mr. trump is president, he has reversed his position, as spokesman sean spicer indicated in an off-camera briefing today. >> america's credibility was at stake, and i think the president abnts to point out that there was a red line, and they did cross it. we did talk about-- we did have alternatives to regime change, and they weren't taken. >> reporter: a number of u.s. national security officials told cbs news that they also fault mr. obama fo

is still a president's finances, and with more on, that we have our white house correspondent margaret brennan. >> we're in very good shape on tax reform. >> reporter: at a rally in wisconsin, president trump said his administration was on its way to fulfilling his campaign promise of overhauling the federal tax code. >> it will be simple. it will be easy. it will be fair. >> reporter: but democrats vow not to work with the president unless he releases his own taxes. senate majority leader chuck schumer. >> it's going to make it much harder to pass tax reform with the president not releasing his tax returns, because everything he proposes people will say, i wonder if he's doing it for the public or for himself. >> reporter: the white house insists that voters do not care about tax returns, but arkansas republican senator tom cotton faced tough questions about it yesterday during a town hall. >> as far as i'm aware, the president says he's still under audit. >> reporter: a leaked copy of the prent showed mr. trump paid $38 million in federal taxes on more than 150 million in income. but it did

margaret brennan is with the secretary of state, rex tillerson. >> the current state of u.s.-russia relations is at a low point. >> reporter: after a two-hour meeting at the kremlin with president vladimir putin, in which no cameras or press were allowed, secretary tillerson left without having settled the main issue dividing them it's future of syrian dictator bashar al-assad. >> that's a butcher. that's a butcher. >> reporter: back in washington, president trump said he wanted to know if russia was aware of the assad regime's plan to launch last week's sarin gas attack. >> would like to think that they didn't know, but certainly they could have. they were there. so we'll find out. >> reporter: you said you believed russia was either incompetent or complicit in these chemical weapons attacks. do you know which one that is? >> we have no firm information to indicate that there was any involvement by russian forces into this attack. what we do know is that the attack was planned, carried out by the regime forces at the direction of bashar al-assad. >> reporter: putin has claim

the secretary of state, rex tillerson, carried a message to moscow today, and margaret brennan is with him. >> they have aligned themselves with an unreliable partner in bashar al-assad. >> reporter: secretary tillerson called on russia to break its alliance with the syrian dictator. >> i think it is-- it's clear to all of us that the reign of the assad family is coming to an end. >> reporter: tillerson said the u.s. and its allies want russia to broker a cease-fire and convince assad to step down, a complete reversal from just 12 days ago. >> i think the status and the longer term-- longer term status of president assad will be decided by the syrian people. >> reporter: that was before last tuesday's sarin gas attack, and president trump's subsequent order of a limited missile strike on a syrian airfield that the u.s. says was used to launch the chemical attack. russian president vladimir putin disputes that account and compared it to flawed u.s. intelligence used to justify the 2003 u.s. invasion of iraq. putin also claimed that chemical weapons were now being planted in syria to fra

the ships have long been scheduled to arrive at the end of the month. >> pelley: margaret brennan at the white house. police in fresno, california, said the man arrested yesterday was not a terrorist. they said he's a racist who laughed about the killings. carter evans tells us about the victims. >> the guy came behind him, and just shot him down, like he was nothing. >> reporter: rosi rosie wagner's 37-year-old son, mark gassett, was one of three killed during the shooting spree. this cell phone video appears to show the gunman running and opening fire. police say kori ali muhammad fired a total of 17 rounds. his first victim was 34-year-old zack randalls, a married father of two who was on his first day of training with the local utility company. next, the gunman shot mark gassett as he was carrying groceries down the street, and then relooked liked before opening fire on his final victim, 58-year-old david jackson in a catholic charities parking lot. muhammad surrounded to police yg,"god is good" in arabic. police chief jerry dire. >> kori ali muhammad is not a terrorist, but he i

and margaret brennan is in moscow. >> reporter: on the eve of secretary tillerson's moscow visit, the white house vowed to respond if bashar al-assad continued to use chemical weapons. >> the sight of people being gassed and blown away by barrel bombs ensures that if we see this kind of action again, we hold open the possibility of future action. >> reporter: the trump administration blames russia for allowing assad to carry out the sarin gas attack. >> regardless of whether russia was complicit here or whether they were incompetent or got outwitted by the syrian regime, you would have to ask the russians that question. >> reporter: the kremlin along with assad's patrons in iran called last week's strikes a violation of international law and demanded an unbiased investigation of the gas attacks. >> you know, wouldn't it be a great thing if we could actually get along with russia? >> reporter: despite mr. trump's vow to improve relations, tillerson faces tough meetings with russia's top diplomat and possibly vladimir putin himself, a man who once awarded him the country's award of frie

today both turned up the heat, and margaret brennan has this. >> we're reviewing all the status of north korea, in terms of state sponsorship of terrorism as well as all the other ways in which we can bring pressure to bear on the regime in pyongyang. >> reporter: secretary of state rex tillerson says the u.s. wants to force north korean leader kim jong un to the negotiating table, offering diplomacy as a way to avoid a military clash. a north korean propaganda video surfaced today showing kim at a concert. it was a video simulation of a missile strike on the u.s. >> reporter: vice president mike pips on a tour pence on a tour of the region. >> under president trump, the shield stands guard. and the sword stands ready. >> reporter: the u.s. has no diplomatic relations with pyongyang, which has made no secret of its nuclear ambitions. and u.s. presidents have long pressured china to rein in its neighbor. at their recent mar-a-lago summit, president xi jinping cautioned mr. trump against any u.s. military action in north korea. he said his message was clear, we do not want war or chaos on

the ships have long been scheduled to arrive at the end of the month. >> margaret brennan at the white house. >>> russia has given the world a peek at its state-of-the-art military base in a remote section of the arctic. why is it there? there's a lot of oil and gas under the sea, and russia, u.s., canada and denmark are all laying claim. >> reporter: the recent stroll among the glaciers, along with reindeer pulling russian soldiers was the unveiling of russia's newest military it's located just inside the arctic circle. the pr offensive comes as moscow moves to solidify its claim to the arctic's huge oil and gas reserves that russia believes to be worth trillions of dollars. while most of the base remains off limits, they offered an internet tour showing accommodations that can host 150 troops for 18-month stint. it is the second with four others to come with an airfield. the u.s. has a base in greenland. but the russian buildup, the largest since the cold war, has raised red flags in washington. james mattis has warned that russia must not be allowed to dominate the arctic. but for n

>> margaret brennan. thank you, margaret.oining us now is david frum, former speech writer for president bush. he wrote a lesson from president trump's syrian strike. he joins us from the washington bureau. good morning. >> good morning. >> this is a president who said during the campaign we should stay the hell out of syria. what do we make of this change? >> if donald trump can reverse himself on syria, he can reverse himself literally on anything. this was an opposition to any form in syria but especially air strikes. its was a position he repeatedly took in his famous tweets and speeches from the first chemical attack in syria back in 2013. >> david, do you think the president has grander designs as it concerns bashir al assad or is it one off. >> i think trump really does not see strategically. he sees something, an image, he feels something, and he acts. the thinking and explaining come later. this is a random walk. this could be followed by trump doing absolutely nothing or we could be stumbling our way into a war. i d

margaret brennan has more. >> i think we have made tremendous progress in our relationship with chinasident trump's china summit was not the only high steaks diplomas i at mar-a-lagoment on the side lines, prive us, talk between the administration's two washing sanctions, advisor steen bannon, and injury add kushner. the architect of the america first policy, and has advocated breaking up america's a lie answers and institution. >> we have team that just grinding it through, on president donald trump promised the american people. >> that revolution area world view competes for influence, with kushner, live long democrat with global spendings. as mr. trump's most trusted advisor, kushner was invited to join his intimate dinner with china's president, wife ivanka dismissed the infighting during interview with gale king this week. >> i do think we have a lot of different view points at the table. but they're not at odds with one another. >> on friday, the white house denied persistent press reports that mr. trump was considering firing chief of staff prive us for failing to sort out ever

margaret brennan, cbs news, pal.this morning, operations are resuming see syrian air base hit by up the s missiles, military experts say the missiles not supposed to completely disable that base, though. meanwhile activists say the town hit by a chemical attack that was targeted in new air strikes, those strikes came less than 24 hours after the us attack on the syrian air base, it is not clear who was behind those new air strikes. >> back at home, new exhibit, the cultures in the crossfire exhibit owned to the public it the pen museum, sneak peak last week. now, terror groups have launched campaign to destroy cultural sites in syria. this exhibit shows what might be lost. cultures crossfire also feature artifacts, from iraq. >> well, there is still so much more to come right here on cbs-3 "eyewitness news" this sunday morning, and coming up next, we will check in with "face the nation" john dickerson for a look ahead at today's broadcast. stay with us. at longhorn, tonight's special, steakhouse cuts. featuring, for

margaret brennan is in moscow. >> reporter: good morning.dimir putin is playing his mouse game as to if and when they'll meet. whether or not that happens depends on the next few intense hours of talks. an intense day of diplomacy began with a handshake. >> and to further clarify areas of sharp difference. >> reporter: and a message from secretary tillerson to his russian counterpart, sergey lavrov. better relations with the u.s. require russia to stop propping up syrian dictator bashar al assad. >> frankly, putin is backing a person that's truly an evil person. >> reporter: in an interview with fox business, president trump argued that assad is a war criminal. >> but when you drop gas or bombs or barrel bombs that have these massive barrels with dynamite and they drop them right in the middle of a group of people. and in all fairness, you see the same kids, with no arms, no legs, no face, this is an animal. >> reporter: mr. trump said the limited air strike he ordered on a syrian airfield will not be followed with an increase in u.s. ground

here's margaret brennan. >> i think we have made tremendous progress in our relationship with china.reporter: president trump's china summit was not the only high-stakes diploamalcy at mar-a-lago. on the sidelines, chief of staff reince priebus brokered a detente between the administration's two warring factions, varies steve bannon and trump son-in-law jared kushner. the populist bannon is the architect of the america first policy and has advocated breaking up america's alliances and institutions. >> we have a team that's just grinding it through on what president trump promised the american people. >> that world view competes for influence with kushner. as mr. trump's most trusted adviser, kushner was invited to join his intimate dinner with china's president. wife ivanka dismissed inn fighting during an interview with gayle king this week. >> i do think we have a lot of different viewpoints at the table, but they're not at odds with one another. >> reporter: on friday, the white house denied persistent press reports that mr. trump was considering firing chief of staff priebus for

margaret brennan is traveling with the president in florida. margaret, what have you learned?> reporter: well, scott, this is not a declaration of war but it is a declaration that president trump is putting the credible threat of military force back on the table when it comes to any threat he's looking at right now and specifically when it comes to the use of sarin gas as you just said which the u.s. now assesses with a high degree of confidence was the nerve agent used to kill those civilians in northern syria this week. >> sarin gas banned all around the world, banned 20 years ago this month as an illegal weapon. >>> the "cbs overnight news" will be right back. i was wondering if an electric toothbrush really cleans... ...better than a manual, and my hygienist says it does. but... ...they're not all the same. turns out, they're really... ...different. who knew? i had no idea. so, she said look for... ...one that's shaped like a dental tool with a round... ...brush head. go pro with oral-b. oral-b's rounded brush head surrounds each tooth to... ...gently remove more plaque an

. >> mason: margaret brennan at the white house. thanks, margaret. today, mr. trump became the first sitting president to address the national rifle association since ronald reagan. errol barnett is in atlanta. >> the eight-year assault on your second amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end. ( cheers and applause ) >> reporter: president trump today assured members of the national rifle association that the $30 million the gun lobby spent in support of his election campaign was worth it. >> as your president, i will never, ever infringe on the right of the people to keep and bear arms. never, ever. ( cheers and applause ) >> reporter: the n.r.a. was an early backer of candidate trump and spent more money on his behalf than any other advocacy group. as president, mr. trump has rolled back some obama-era gun regulations, reversing a ban on lead ammunition at national wildlife refugees, and repealing a requirement to report mental illnesses as part of background checks. mr. trump also highlighted his appointment of conservative neil gorsuch to the supreme co

. >>> up next, "cbs evening news", tonight bay partisan effort on tax day, margaret brennan explains why some republicans are calling on democrats for president trum top release his tax returns and artifacts from the by gone area rarely seen in philadelphia, want ads of freed slaves searching for their loved won. here's scott captioning sponsored by cbs >> pelley: dinner and a deal. ivanka trump's company won monopoly rights to sell her products in china the day she dined with the chinese president. also tonight, fresno priscilla n say a -- fresno police say gunman who hated whites shot and killed three today at random. >> these individuals chosen today did not do anything to deserve what they got. no employees at a mcdonald's lead police to the gunman who posted an easter sunday murder on facebook. a new study looks at whether anti-depresseneds taken during pregnancy raise the risk of autism. and newly discovered documents tell us how freed slaves struggled toni

margaret brennan has more from moscow, coming up, from new york, here now is scott pelley take care familye will see you tonight. captioning sponsored by cbs >> pelley: another blunder from the podium. >> someone as despicable as hitler, who didn't even sink to the-- to using chemical weapons. >> pelley: then it got worse. >> he was not using the gas on his own people the same way that assad is doing. >> pelley: white house errors of historic proportions. also tonight, the elite navy seals. cbs news investigates drug abuse in the ranks. >> people that we know of, that we hear about, have tested positive for cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana, ecstasy. >> pelley: should men get routine screenings for prostate cancer? new recommendations today. and wounded

here's margaret brennan. >> reporter: of the 91 days that president trump has been in office, he's spent 25 of them at his mar-a-lago club in florida, often mingling with members and guests. since the election, the cost of membership has doubled to $200,000. >> i will tell you that our system is broken. >> reporter: mr. trump often railed against pay-to-play politics on the campaign trail. >> and that's a broken system. >> reporter: yet the acsetion at mar-a-lago is unparalleled. just last weekend, two former presidents of colombia were guests and quietly met with mr. trump. former president debor andre paa tweeted: the two men are opponents of colombia's current president who has not yet met with president trump. and the encounter was not on president trump's public schedule. five days later, white house spokesman sean spicer seemed surprised to hear about it. >> no, i'm just saying i'm unaware of that. >> reporter: the white house later said the men "briefly said hello when the president walked past them." club members have posted photos with military officers and even with the preside

. >> margaret brennan on the banks of the moscow river for us tonight. margaret, thank you. >>> among those killed in last week's nerve gas attack were the loved ones of abdel hamid al yusef. >> reporter: this is the face of syria's civil wash. abdel hamid al yusef lost 29 of his family members last week, including his wife and twin babies. i wanted my daughter to be a doctor, he told us. and ahmed was going to be my sidekick. he they were alive, he said. i loved them so much, and i know they loved me, too. of abdel hamid told me he put them next to each other in their grave and told them not to be scared. even in the cruelty and chaos of syria's six-year-long conflict, the attack stands out for its brew at th brutality. it happened on his second anniversary with his wife. six years ago, he told us, he was taking part in peaceful protests against the syrian president bashar al-assad, an uprising that met with violence. assad is a criminal, he said. all we wanted was dignity and freedom. do you think that the american missile strikes will make any differen

margaret brennan in moscow begins our coverage. >> they have aligned themselves with an unreliable partneral-assad. >> reporter: secretary tillerson called on russia to break its alliance with the syrian dictator. >> the reign of the assad family is coming to an end. >> reporter: he said the u.s. and its allies want russia to broker a cease-fire and convince assad to step down. a reversal from just 12 days ago. >> i think the status, the longer-term status of president assad will be decided by the syrian people. >> reporter: that was before last tuesday's sarin gas attack. and president trump's subsequent order of a limited missile strike on syrian airfields that the u.s. says was used to launch the chemical attack. russian president vladimir putin disputes that account and compares it to flawed u.s. justify the 2003 invasion of - iraq. he claims that chemical weapons were being planted in syria to frame assad. the white house accused putin of a cover up and said russia was trying to quote, confuse and on few skate on behalf of the syrian regime. >> it is very clues that the assad regime p

>> margaret brennan in moscow. thanks, margaret. >>> president trump is reportedly considering new sanctions against korea. north korea released statements showing dictator kim jong-un watching drills. president trump indicated he may confront the north without china's help. >> i said the way to make a good trade deal is help us with north korea. otherwise we'll just go it alone, and that will be all right too. but going it alone means with lots of other nations. >> kim jong-un made a rare appearance last night. north korea called the development more powerful than hundreds of nuclear bombs. he witnessed a high-profile spectacle. ben, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. our north korean guides told us we could meet at 5:00 in the morning. we could not bring our cell phones and we could not say where we were going. by the time we got there, the message was clear. on the ride we saw the north koreans preparing for the military parade and we saw people on either side of our bus. thousands of north koreans have flo

margaret brennan is at the white house with a plan that's months away from a vote. margaret, good morning. >> good morning. corporate tax rate in the world and the biggest cuts in president's plan go to large companies and businesses like his own, but it remains unclear how the administration will pay for a plan estimated to reduce tax revenue by 7 trillion ove $ a decade. president trump says his tax cut will unleash economic growth. >> we'll have a massive tax cut for businesses. >> treasury secretary steve mnuchin argued that slashing the tax rate from 35% to 15% will give businesses extra cash to hire. >> this is not just about large corporations. small and medium sized businesses will be eligible for the business rate as well. >> that may help bring employment back to the u.s., according to maya macguineas. >> i think it would have huge effects on our competitiveness. >> senate minority leader chuck schumer dismissed it as a giveaway to the wealthy. >> they don't need another huge tax break while middle class americans and those struggling to get there need help

margaret brennan reports. >> reporter: 36-year-old jared kushner has no diplomatic experience, but'some an envoy to foreign leaders. at times in place of the secretary of state. >> if you can't produce peace in the middle east, nobody can. >> reporter: before taking office, the president tasked his son in haw with brokering peace between the israelis and the palestinians. kushner played a key role in february's visit from israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. >> can i reveal, jared, how long we've known you? >> reporter: finessing the strained relationships with mexico and working with the canada government are also kushner projects and he's running a new office to integrate business ideas into the government. sean spicer says the state department is not being sidelined. >> he brings a perspective to this and began doing that during the transition, but, again, it's not a binary choice where he's doing this at the expense of somebody else. >> reporter: but he has a direct line to the president whereas the other institutions do not. >> that's great, a win for our government. >> re