megan hughes has more. >> president trump going back to his roots with a make america great generallyio. his attempt to repeal obama care got a step closer to reality. >> we are a step closer to liberating our citizens from this obama care nightmare. >> mike pence breaking the tie on capitol hill. >> lending his support, john mccain. he was welcomed back with a standing ovation. >> senator mccain speaking his mind, expressing reservations on what comes next. >> it's a shell of a bill right now. we all know that. i have changes urged by my state's governor that have to be included to earn my support for any bill. >> protesters around the capitol even the senate floor. republicans trying to hash out a bill that they can pass without democratic support. >> there are a lot of things we have done and will continue to do on a bi-partisan basis. regretfully, the issue of healthcare has not fallen into that category on either side. >> senate republicans will be rolling up their sleeves. senator mcconnell is open to all ideas and amendments. this will play out on the senate floor. megan hughes

here's abc 7 news reporter megan hughes. >> reporter: arizona senator john mccain making a dramatic return to the senate after revealing last week that he's fighting brain cancer. today joining republicans' uphill battle to repeal obamacare. >> i know many of us have waited literally years for this moment to finally arrive. >> reporter: mccain has been recovering at home over the weekend tweeting this photo on a hike with a friend. the president calling him a brave american hero on twitter today saying thank you, john. for president trump the vote to move forward on debate would be a much-needed win. >> after seven years of saying replace and replace obamacare we have a chance to now do it. >> reporter: speaking at a boy scout jamboree in west virginia, trump called out that state's senator, a key holdout. >> need to get senator caputo to vote for it. >> reporter: one looming question, what measure will ultimately come up for a vote? will they repeal and replace obamacare or just repeal? right now neither has enough votes to pass. >> we haven't even got to see the bill. even the republican

on capitol hill, megan hughes, abc 7 news. amay? >> megan, why was this meeting done behind closed doors? will anybody be testifying publicly? >> reporter: that's a very good question. here on capitol hill, it is customary and really seen as a courtesy when it's a member of the administration, someone who works at the white house at this level, for them to come in and do these sorts of behind closed doors interviews, at least initially. now, when it comes to donald trump jr., and paul manafort, they were actually invited to testify publicly at a hearing this wednesday. they're now negotiating to do these behind closed door interviews, also to provide documents and to generally cooperate. now, members of the committee have been very clear they still reserve the right to subpoena them if necessary down the road. ama? >> megan hughes live from washington, d.c., thank you megan. >>> on the eve of a senate's critical vote on republican efforts to repeal obamacare, president trump turned up the heat on gop lawmakers. the president today ca

abc 7 news reporter megan hughes has more on this developing story. >> reporter: president donald trump hoping to set the reset button, swearing in a new chief of staff. >> what he's done in terms of homeland security is record shattering. >> reporter: homeland security secretary general john kelly replacing reince priebus after a dramatic white house shake-up. >> we look forward to, if it's possible, an even better job as chief of staff. >> reporter: kelly diving right into the administration's turmoil. front and center at a cabinet meeting with attorney general jeff sessions whom trump recently called embattled and weak in twitter attacks. the president on twitter this morning saying no white house chaos, repeating that message to his cabinet. >> we were discussing a little while ago before the meeting how well we're doing, however. we have the highest stock market in history. >> reporter: in addition to leaks, public infighting and a major legislative health care defeat the white house faces foreign policy tests with north korea and russia. russian president vladimir putin demanding

megan hughes reports. megan: donald trump hoping to set the there is reset button, g in a new chief of staff. homeland security general secretary -- homeland security secretary john kelly replacing iebus, diving right into the administration's with a cabinet meeting with attorney general jeff sessions, whom trump recently called embattled and weak. the president this morning saying no white house chaos, repeating that message to his cabinet. mr. trump: we were discussing before the meeting how well we are doing. we have the highest stock market in history. megan: in addition to leaks, public infighting, and a major health care defeat, the white policylso faces foreign challenges in north korea and americans in russia because in half. -- that american staff in russia be cut in half. despite the president stating today we are doing very well, americans in the latest abc news-washington post poll gave the president a record low approval rating. megan his, abc news, washington. today, president trump will prese

in northwest, megan hughes, abc7 news. alison: coming up next at "abc7 news at 4:00" -- if you think our political discourse is bad, check this out. [screaming] alison: oh, boy. this was in taiwan. you won't believe what was used as weapons in this brawl. fists, desk or chairs? or water bah -- water balloons? the surprising answer coming up next. nancy: today the saudi government stunning new course of action. what is next for this woman ahead. alison: wasteful spending. it happens in ever find out the biggest offenders in the latest pork report at nancy: more fighting on the floor of the parliament in taiwan. members flipped chairs, used air horns and threw water balloons. i don't know where they got them. had them ready t this is the second fight in a week. alison: that is crazy. a woman detained for wearing mini skirt in saudi arabia has been released without charge. the video of her went viral and the police arrested her for wearing immodest clothes. in that country women traditionally have to wear loose fitting clothi

on capitol hill, megan hughes, abc7 news. jonathan: the president's senior adviser and son-in-law jared kushner back on the hill today meeting with the house intelligence committee members who wanted to hear from him about the role in the trump campaign and if there was a possibility of collusion between russia and the trump campaign. yesterday after the meeting with the intel committee members, kushner came out in front of the microphone saying there is no collusion with russia. nor did he know of anyone who did collude. now the president joked on twitter this morning that maybe barron will be next. barron is the youngest son who just moved in the white house a few weeks ago. nancy: a busy morning following the president's announcements on twitter. he also proclaimed the attorney general had taken a "very weak commission on clinton crimes." the president's words there. will the president do anything about it? scott thuman joining us from the capitol hill bureau. even the white house has a rather interesting disruption of the

. >> megan hughes is live in washington with more. >> rick, good evening, a white house spokespersonesident does still have confidence in the attorney general this even after the blistering interview with the "new york times." >> attorney general you will not resign? >> questions swirling if jeff sessions will step down after this vent to the "new york times." >> how do you take a job and then recuse yourself. if he would have recused himself before the job i would say thanks jeff but i'm not going to take you. >> shaking off questions for know. >> we love this job and this department and i plan to continue to do so as long as that is appropriate. >> in addition to sessions, president trump slamming deputy attorney general, rob rosenstein, former director james comey and acting director mccabe and rob certificate mueller. >> saying that mueller's office is rife with conflicts of interest. >> no one was looking at your finances, unrelated to russia is that a red line. >> the president can't start drawing red lines, mueller has a right to investigate this and reports to the justice dep

megan hughes, abc7 news. jonathan: hours ago a former teacher's assistant an coach in charles county indicted on more than 100 counts of child porn and assault. brad bell is live in waldorf where there are new developments in the case against carlos bell. brad: this is the new indictment today. it's thick and printed on both sides. each of the black dots represented the crossed out name of a young victim. this is a tough read. this is carlos bell. they want you to look at his picture. they are asking for if public's help in the fast growing case. the former teacher aanalysis and the and track coach was arrested in june after police found videos he had taken in young boys engaging in sexual acts at benjamin stoddert middle school in waldorf. initially the detectives were aware of ten young victims. but today in announcing a 119 count indictment against bell, the charles county state attorney revealed that count has more than doubled. this indictment. 13 have been identified. 11 have not been identified at this

megan hughes has more about what comes next. of presidentmember trump's inner circle on the hot seat, appearing before investigators for the senate intelligence committee. jared kushner releasing an unequivocal statement in advance of that meeting. underr, who won't be oath, also says he didn't know who would be in the meeting in trump tower that thanh junior set up with a russian lawyer, reportedly linked -- that donald jr. set up with a russian lawyer, reportedly linked to the kremlin. he sent this in. -- sent this email 10 minutes in. with the russian ambassador in meetings he did not disclose. >> we have a lot of ground to cover. we suspect this will just be the first interview. >> president trump on a tweet storm this morning lashing out at adam schiff as and asking -- the new white house communications director trying to downplay today's meeting, telling cnn -- >> i predicted this will be the last time jared kushner talks about the russians. >> could share will be interview tomorrow by the house intelligence committee -- k

megan hughes has the latest. megan: jeff sessions back to work as president donald trump dodges questions about his "new york times" rant against the attorney general. changes are afoot on france legal team.his lead s legal team. his lead attorney steppi d investigators looking into possible collusion between the trunk campaign and russia. they are looking for conflict of interest within robert mueller's team. kellyanne conway says many are democratic donors, telling fox and friends -- >> it is relevant that people know what the motivations are. that is not an attack on the team. that is what is fair is fair. megan: the white house doubling down on comments that robert mueller would cross a line if it includes trump's family finances not tied to russia. >> the president made it clear that the special counsel should not move outside of the scope of the investigation. president trump senior advisor jared kushner is set to answer questions on capitol hill. his son donald jr. and paul manafort face a deadline tonight

reporting live in washington, i'm megan hughes, abc news. ank you megan. >>> north korea's successfully launched its second intercontinental ballistic missile in the last month flying higher and longer than ever before. that missile was launched some 23 monday miles into space. according to experts north korea could now angle that missile to travel as far as washington, d.c. or new york. in a show of force, u.s. bombers flew with allies over the korean peninsula in a 10-hour military drill. >> the military action we take would probably trigger a war unlike anything you've seen since world war ii. >> the u.s. conducted a a previously scheduled test. >>> security heightened in airports around australia after authorities thwarted a plan to bring down an airliner and. extremists planned to kill passengers with poison gas. four men two fathers and two adult sons arrested on saturday but have yet to be charged. >> the pentagon says it has not yet received further direction from the white house since president trump tweeted that transgender individu

abc's megan hughes has more from washington. >> reporter: president trump hoping to set the reset button, swearing in a new chief of staff. >> what he has done in terms of homeland security is record shattering. john kelly replacing reens -- reince priebus reens -- white house shakeup. kelly diving into the discipline strayings turmoil front at center with jeff sessions who trump called embattled and weak in twitter attacks. the president saying no white house chaos. >> we were discussing a little while ago before the meeting how well we're doing, however, we have the highest stark market in history. in addition to leaks, public infighting and major legislative healthcare defeat, the white house faces foreign policy challenges with north korea and vladimir putin saying that diplomats be cut in half after the congressional sanctions bill. >> it is as if the congress decided the president is a child and put the things on the shelves. >> americans in the latest washington post poll gave the president at his 6 month mark a low approval rating. >> the whoas coast of florida is under a tropica

in washington, megan hughes, channel6 "action news": brian. >> extraordinary day megan.t on the resignation of sean spicer and so much more coming up after "action news" tonight at 6:30. >> the state department announced today it is reinstrucing travel to north korea. americans will need a special validation passport to go there. travelers can just get those passports for humanitarian reasons or other very limited circumstances. all other travel by u.s. citizens to and throughout north korea is prohibited. the ban is put in place over mounting concerns of risk of concern of detention. >>> three israelis have been killed in clashes at a contested holy site in jerusalem. thousands of people are protesting the presence of metal detectors in olde city which is holy to both jews and muslims. the metal detectors were put there after an attack last week that left two israeli soldiers dead. today four officers were also injured when crowds began to throw stones and launch fireworks. >> we have learned now that a group of florida teens who recorded a man drowning and mocked him i

here's abc's megan hughes. >> you will not resign?porter: questions swirling about whether the nation's top cop, jeff sessions will be stepping down after this from trump to the "new york times." >> how do you take a job and then recuse yourself. if he would have recused himself before the job i would have said thank, jeff, but i'm not going to take you. >> reporter: attorney general sessions shaking off questions for now. >> we love this job, we love this department, and i plan to ten to do so as long as that is appropriate. >> reporter: in addition to sessions, president trump slamming rod rosenstein, comey, andrew mccabe and special prosecutor robert mueller, the man tasked with investigating russia and possible collusion with the trump campaign. sources saying it is rife with conflicts. and investigators could kosross red line. >> is that a red line? >> i would say yes. >> reporter: democrats quick to accuse president trump of overreach. awing red lines. can't start mueller has a right to investigate this. he reports to the justic

abc's megan hughes has the latest. >> reporter: president trump putting senate republicans on notice. >> any senator who votes against starting debate is telling america that you are fine with the obamacare nightmare, which is what it is. >> reporter: gathering a group of people the white house calls obamacare victims, ahead of a health care showdown tuesday. hours after the white house event, the president raising the issue again at the boy scout jamboree, even threatening his health and human services secretary. >> by the way, you going to get the votes? you better get them. otherwise, i'll say, tom, you're fired! i'll get somebody. >> reporter: giving majority leader mitch mcconnell a potential boost, senator john mccain who is recovering in arizona is now expected to return. but mcconnell can still only move the bill forward. >> we're here to make sure that the senators hear us, loud and clear. we need to kill this bill. >> reporter: at the u.s. capitol, a torrential downpour and protests against the obamacare repeal efforts, while inside, confusion about what measure is coming up

the president has chosen a new lawyer to lead his extenal team managing the russian probe and megan hughes has the latest now. >> reporter: attorney general, jeff sessions back to work this morning as president trump dodges questions about his new york time rant against the attorney general. >> does jeff sessions have your full support? >> thank you everyone. >> his leading attorney, mark kasowitz steps aside and john dowd taking his place. according to media reports the legal team is investigating the investigationers looking for collusion between the trump campaign and russia, and looking for conflict of interest in robert mueller's team many are democratic donors. >> it's relevant that people know the motivations. that is not an attack on the team but what is fair is fair. >> doubling down that he would cross a red line if it included trump family finances not tied to russia. >> that the special council so not move out of the scope of the investigation. >> jared kushner is expected to answer questions on monday on capitol hill and donald trump jury and paul manafort face a deadline toni

megan hughes, abc news, capitol hill. >>> new developments this midday after an early morning shooting at santana row in san jose. police now have someone in custody. abc 7 news reporter matt keller talked with police about the investigation and joins us live from san jose. matt? >> reporter: jessica, 615 apartments here in santana row. some of them go for close to $7,000 a month, but they are luxury living. however, they are not bulletproof. santana row in san jose bills itself as the ultimate destination for style, but today many unusual visitors. san jose police officers armed with rifles and s.w.a.t. gear. >> there were shots fired in the apartment, trying to secure the area and we can't go in until they do. >> reporter: at about 12:45 this morning santana row called police after they were called by missouri luxury apartments. >> the call was that neighbors herd gunshots coming from what they believe was inside one of the units, and it appeared that a bullet had passed through the wall from one unit to another. >> reporter: officers arrived not knowing what they were facing. they e

abc's megan hughes has more. >> reporter: president trump going back to his campaign roots tuesday nighteat again rally in ohio. the president feeling renewed momentum after his promise to repeal obamacare got a step closer to reality. >> we're now one step closer to liberating our citizens from this obamacare nightmare. >> reporter: vice president mike pence breaking the tie on capitol hill. also lending his support, senator john mccain, a scar visible above his left eye after brain surgery. he was welcomed back with a standing ovation. but after casting his vote to move forward to debate. >> mr. mccain, aye. >> reporter: senator mccain speaking his mind, expressing reservations on what comes next. >> it's a shell a bill right now. we all know that. i have changes urged by my state's governor that will have to be included to earn my support for passage of any bill. >> reporter: protesters against repeal made their voices heard on the capitol, even on the floor. republicans now trying to hash out a bill they can pass, without any democratic support. >> there's a lot of things that we hav

megan hughes is live in washington with the latest development. >> reporter: good afternoon.hite house spokesperson telling us late today that the president does still have confidence in the attorney general. this 24 hours after this blistering interview with the new york times. >> you will not resign. >> reporter: questions swirling about whether the top cop jeff sessions will with stepping down after this event from donald trump to the new york times. >> how do you take a job and then recuse yourself? if he could recuse himself before the job, i would say thanks. >> reporter: shaking off resignation questions for,0 now. >> we love this job. we love this department. i plan to continue to do so as long as that's appropriate. >> reporter: in addition to sessions trump slamming rod rosenste rosenste rosenstein, james comey, andrew mccab and robert mueller, the man tasked with investigating russia and possibly collusion with the trump campaign. trump saying mueller's office is rife with conflicts of interest. >> he was looking at your finances, unrelated to russia. is that a red

megan hughes, abc news, washington. >>> now, the vote touched off an angry reaction here in the bay arearged outside the snan general hoital. the protest was organized by the chinese progressive association. they say proposed cuts in medicaid will hurt millions of families and threaten a high percentage of people in the asian community. >> we do know that when obamacare came out, asian-americans disproportionately signed up for the insurance. we know that if obamacare is repealed, then that means a lot of our folks will lose coverage. >> reporter: the organization says that approximately one-third of californians now rely on a version of state medicaid. >>> in a rare show of bipartisanship, the house voted to slap more sanctions on russia for its alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election. congress voted 419-3 in favor of a new round of sanctions on north korea, russia and iran and limit president trump's ability to undo them. it's unclear whether the president will veto it. >> these sanctions are a clear signal that the united states will hold president putin and his close assoc

in northwest, megan hughes, abc7 news. nancy: press briefings became must-see tv with sean spicer. he was more than a sparring partner with the press corps. his job was to be the voice of between the white house and the rest of the country. even setting up a skype link to allow reporters from all over to get involved. jeff goldberg with reaction to spicer's resignation. jeff? jeff: well, nancy, outside the white house, this is the news everybody has been talking about this afternoon. when it comes to the white house press secretary under previous administrations in the modern era, maybe people would not know who the white house press secretary is. but it seems everyone knows who sean spicer is. as you mentioned a moment ago his briefings became practically must-see tv with reporters. many people, millions of americans tuning in to watch him spar with the white house press corps. supporters love sean spicer. critics not so much. today a lot of people we spoke to agreed that sean spicer had often times a very tough job speaking for a president whose messaging sometimes changes very q

megan hughes, abc news, washington. >>> now, the vote touched off an angry reaction here in the bay area. dozens converged outside the snan general hospital. the protest was organized by the chinese progressive association. they say proposed cuts in medicaid will hurt millions of families and threaten a high percentage of people in the asian community. >> we do know that when obamacare came out, asian-americans disproportionately signed up for the insurance. we know that if obamacare is repealed, then that means a lot of our folks will lose coverage. >> reporter: the organization says that approximately one-third of californians now rely on a version of state medicaid. >>> in a rare show of bipartisanship, the house voted to slap more sanctions on russia for its alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election. congress voted 419-3 in favor of a new round of sanctions on north korea, russia and iran and limit president trump's ability to undo them. it's unclear whether the president will veto it. >> these sanctions are a clear signal that the united states will hold president putin and

. >> let's head now live to capitol hill and abc's megan hughes with the latest on kushner's testimonyreporter: rick, good evening. kushner who rarely speaks publically really embracing the spotlight today. his message number one he is cooperating and number two, he says the president's win had nothing to do with russia. after more than two and a half hours jared kushner emerging from his meeting with the senate intelligence committee up beat. >> jared how did the testimony go. are you confident. >> reporter: wasting no time stepping in front of the cameras. >> make me be very clear. i did not collude with russia nor do i know of anyone else in the pain who did so. >> reporter: trying to control the narrative from the outset with an 11 page statement detailing his meetings with russians including that meeting with donald trump jr. former campaign manager paul manafort and a russian lawyer reportedly linked to the kremlin. kushner says he didn't know who would be attending. he also gave more detail on his meetings with the russian ambassador and a russian banker during the transition me

megan hughes, abc news, washington. >>> breaking news push alert as abc confirms scaramucci's firing. be sure to enable push alerts. >>> developing news out of san francisco. all-day police standoff with an armed man is finally over. the suspect in custody. the man's mother is dead. it began after midnight last night near 15th and beaver street. new details from police. melanie? >> reporter: this was a more than 14-hour standoff that involved no use of force by san francisco police. we did hear what may have sounded like a flash bang at one point. this all got started last night after officers received a call for shots fired at about 11:45 p.m. a male suspect who shot an elderly female. sources tell abc 7 news that was his mother. she later died at the hospital. the suspect would not come out of the home for more than 14 hours. we saw here hostage negotiators, a s.w.a.t. team and other specialized units. people that live in the area of 15th and castro were told to shelter in place. there was also an evacuation center set up at mckinley elementary school at 14th and castro. around 2:00

here's abc's megan hughes. >> you will not resign? would have recused himself beforeou have said thanks, jeff, but i'm not going to take you. >> reporter: attorney general sessions shaking off questions for now. >> we love this job, we love this department and i plan to do so as long as appropriate. >> reporter: rod rosenstein, andrew mccabe and robert mueller, the man tasked with investigating russia and possible collusion with the trump campaign. sources saying it is rife with conflicts. and warning investigators could cross a red line. >> mueller was looking at your finances unrelated to russia. is that a red line? >> i would say yes. >> reporter: democrats quick to accuse president trump of overreach. >> the president can't start drawing red lines. mueller has a right to investigate this. he reports to the justice department and not to the president of the united states. >> what we're seeing is obstruction of justice. criminal intent unfolding almost as a textbook case right before our eyes. >> reporter: the congressional investig