quote, if mr. assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price." this is an unusual statement in that it comes from press secretary sean spicer.

that's up to the intend of mr. assad.as the implication of doing is telling the rest of the world, this is what we are thinking about doing. when i say the rest of the world, i'm talking, specifically about iran and russia. remember, this press release went out in the late hours last night, between 10:00 and 11:00. it was early morning in syria and russia. they had all day to think about their response, prepare for a response, if it did come, while most of washington was sleeping. yeah, it's not quite the right way, in my view, in my humble opinion of doing these kinds of warnings. it should be done through the diplomatic channels. you have to realize the repercussions of this. it allows your enemy to know what you are thinking about. it allows your enemy to turn on air defense systems and telegraphs your moves, which is something mr. trump said he didn't want to do on the campaign trail. >> one of the things that was successful about his campaign and what people loved about his message is he would not telegraph his moves

. >>> sean spicer says if mr. assad conduct the another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price. nikki haley says that was meant for a wider audience. >> the goal at this point is not just to send assad a message but to send russia and iran a message, that if this happens again, we are putting you on notice. >> a new video shows basheer al-assad climbing into a cockpit of a plane. a russian official calls the white house's statement a provocation. >>> dozens are recovering from injuries after a subway train went offer the tracks toward the end of the morning rush hour in upper manhattan. in the dark tunnels with smoke from a fire that was ignited by sparks from the derailment. the transit authority says the cause appears to be an extra piece of rail on the tracks. >> the train bucked forward, bucked backward, and in the process of doing that, two of the cars derailed. they scraped the side of the wall. >> the derailment not only damaged the cars but the track, the tunnel wal

if mr. assadonducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price." it's a very ominous statement coming from this white house, don, but very much a red line that this white house is drawing here. keep in mind, the president during the campaign criticized president obama time and again for not enforcing a red line when it kocomes to chemical weapons in sere wra. he appears to be drawing one tonight, don. >> the breaking news from jim. i want to turn to something else. this is a key day for the white house between health care, the president's partial travel ban win. it would be nice to play the tape from the white house briefing right now to show the american public exactly what happened. how this administration answered questions, but once again, cameras weren't allowed to record anything. you asked about that. you have this audio. let's listen. >> sean, sean, can you answer whether the president still believes -- >> there's no camera on, jim. >> may

in a statement the white house warned if mr. assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons he and his military will pay a heavy price. the white house said the preparations were similar to those taken before an attack in april in rebel held territory that killed nearly 100 people including men, women and children. victims exhibited signs of suffocation, convulsions. assad denied responsibilities for the attack. russia said the toxic agents were released when a syrian air strike hit a rebel chemical weapons arsenal. days after that attack president trump ordered a cruise missile strike on the syrian base where it's believed the syrian military had launched the chemical attack. after the white house statement the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. tweeted, any further attacks done to the people of syria will be blamed on assad and his allies, russia and iran. the u.s. air strike was the first direct american attack on the syrian government and the toughest u.s. action in the six-year syrian civil war. earlier this month the

if mr assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons he and his military will pay a heavy price britain is already on board if asked how does something really dumb for new reason again the u.k. will join the us in punishing him we think it's absolutely right if we can to prevent the use of chemical weapons and we will fully support any u.s. action if you've been following events in syria recently you knew they aren't kidding the united states has attacked assad five times in what they see. is self-defense problem is justifying the prolonged conflict isn't easy once than voters don't want another gung ho bombing campaign they learn their lesson after the first few times the international community sick of reckless interventions and you only thing left is to wait for asaad to give them a cause and since he's a comic book supervillain well it's just a part of the script. the u.k.'s prime minister has clashed with the leader of the opposition in the first parliamentary question session since the country's election earlier in june. but in the past month signs had small si

. >> reporter: a nighttime warning shot at syria, press secretary sean spicer writing, if mr. assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price. the message coming less than three months after president trump launched an air strike against syria in april, for a chemical weapons attack that killed dozens, including children. >> you've seen activities that are similar to preparations of a chemical weapons attack, much like what we saw on april 4th. >> reporter: the pentagon adding the activity in the last 24 hours strongly suggests the intent to use chemical weapons, including activity with airplanes, ammunitions, at the same airfield the u.s. struck. today syria seemed to thumb its nose at the u.s., assad visiting a russian air base, who propertied up the syrian regime had its own warning for the u.s. a top official there calling america's statement an unprecedented provocation. u.n. ambassador nikki haley lashing out. >> i believe that the goal is at this point not just to send assad a message, but to send russia and iran a

if, however, mr. assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price. again, we do not know what this is about. the white house has not put out any supporting information, nor have they made any officials available to explain this. our producers at the pentagon and state department are trying to chase this down but at this point can't get any supporting information either. we'll let you know as we learn more. that april 4th chemical weapons attack referenced in the statement of course was followed on april 6th by president trump ordering 59 tomahawk missiles to be shot into syria. i don't know if that's what they're sort of -- if that's what they're implicitly referencing here. but, again, an unusual statement just moments ago from the white house press secretary. that does it for us tonight. we'll see you again tomorrow. now it's time for "the last word" with lawrence o'donnell. >> good evening rachel. i'm hearing that statement as you read it, and t

in a statement, quote, if, however, mr. assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price. this statement came from white house press secretary sean spicer, accusing assad of preparing an attack similar to the one he carried out on april 4th. that one killed at least 70 people, including many children. the white house said that attack crossed a red line, and their response was swift. a u.s.-led missile strike on a syrian air base within 63 hours. abc's military analyst steven gan-yard says this time we could see an even bigger strike. >> if he didn't believe assad is getting the message, he could expand the target set, including the syrian headquarters or even assad himself. >> reporter: syria denies they were responsible for the prior chemical attack and russia the charge is unacceptable. >> the use of chemical weapons against innocent civilians is absolutely abhorrent. it's illegal under any rule of war. >> reporter: and u.s. ambassador to the u.n. nikki haley tweeted t

saudi regime the united states is in syria to eliminate the slum extent of iraq and syria if however mr assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons he and his military will pay a heavy price. well or maybe east correspondent paul asleep or not gauges the international reaction to those claims. the kremlin has responded saying that it is familiar with the statement but it is not aware of its basis a criminal spokesperson said that they categorically disagree with the wording and now the attack stressing that damascus cannot be held liable for the last attack because despite all of russia's demands an unbiased international investigation has still not been carried out moscow also says that it considers any threats to the legitimate leadership of syria unacceptable. we consider such threats to the legitimate government of the syrian arab republic unacceptable but at the same time it's important to point out that we consider unacceptable the use of chemical weapons the potential danger of repeated provocation with chemical weapons in syria still exists well the white house a

if mr assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons he and his military will pay a heavy price britain is already on board if i ask how does something really dumb a new reason again the u.k. will join the us in punishing him we think it's absolutely right if we can to prevent the use of chemical weapons and we will fully support any u.s. action if you've been following. events in syria recently you knew they aren't kidding the united states is attacked asaad five times what they see is self-defense but when they see that they don't actually mean it u.s. troops would never threaten knew they were defending that i says allies who the syrian army says were never threatened i that the u.s. are now allies to the teeth we have already started to provide the weapons and the equipment in the area mission that we said that we would and will continue to provide those two or syrian democratic forces both the syrian arabs and the syrian kurds. the kurds of course are being used by the americans to further american foreign policy and i think it's because the foreign into that st

have there is evidence of this if you were to have an election in syria internationally supervised mr assad ran he would win that is something the saudis and the turks can't seem to cope go in go ahead. well we have to distinguish between two different conflicts in syria there is an internal conflict between the syrian government and its opponents and then there is a larger international conflict which involves outside ours like turkey and saudi arabia and iran and unfortunately what appears to be happening in the middle east is that we are seeing a division of the middle east between countries like saudi arabia and turkey and other countries which are now pursuing their own regional interests and in the case of saudi arabia i think it's quite clear that the regional the primary focus of saudi policy increasingly is becoming its feud with iran in the case of turkey i think it's more calm. gaited because i think the turks have had regional ambitions which i think all beyond their powers to achieve the problem is that we have to try and separate these different strands it we're going to chang

sean spicer warning, "if mr. assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price." >> the goal, is at this point, not just to send assad a message, but to send russia and iran a message that if this happens again, we are putting you on notice. >> reporter: the pentagon now pointing to that chemical attack in april, more than 80 innocent civilians killed, many of them children. >> i will tell you that attack on children yesterday, had a big impact on me. big impact. >> reporter: the u.s. retaliated with a missile strike on an air field, the very spot where u.s. officials now believe preparations for another chemical attack are under way. the syrian government quick to dismiss the allegations, but from bashar al assad today, a display of military might, a new video showing him climbing into the cockpit of a russian warplane. and now russia is condemning the new warning from the white house as unacceptable. >> and cecilia vega joins us now from the white house. ceci

assad regime the united states is in syria to eliminate the slum extent of iraq and syria if however mr assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons he and his military will pay a heavy price within the past couple of hours to britons to phone circuitry has pledged the u.k. support for any u.s. action to prevent another chemical attack in syria why go follow admits he hasn't seen the intelligence that washington is basing its allegations on the warning let's get some more on this small middle east coast paula what exactly is the white of saying about this chemical attack that's supposed to be being planned give us more detail. well the wording of this white house statement is certainly very interesting they say that they've detected potential preparations that would likely result in mass civilian casualties they talk about the mass murder of innocent children and certainly in order to be able to sell a message as serious as this you need that kind of emotional pitch that talks about innocent children being killed the statement also references potential preparations but it

saddam regime the united states is in syria to eliminate the slum extent of iraq and syria if however mr assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons he and his military will pay a heavy price for mideast correspondent paula slayer has the international reaction to those claims. let's first look at the wording the statement says that they have detected potential preparations that would likely result in mass civilian casualties particularly innocent children are that's quite emotive language obviously used to garner support for such a statement the statement also talks about a potential preparations but what exactly does this mean there are no details given other than that it is similar or seemingly similar to what the u.s. detected before the last chemical attack back in april the statement also says any chemical attack in syria in the immediate future will be blamed on assad and his allies now there is no investigation no due process just punishment and of course we have to ask the question about the timing of the statement now assad is making major gains in syria's especi

regime the united states is in syria to eliminate the slow mixtape of iraq and syria if however mr assad conducts another mass murder chemical weapons he and his military will pay a heavy price. pledging the u.k. support too for the u.s. action to prevent another chemical attack in syria michael followed mitzi hasn't seen the intelligence that washington is basing its allegations on of his poor sleuth takes a closer look they say that they've detected potential preparations that would likely result in mass civilian casualties they talk about the mass murder of innocent children and certainly in order to be able to sell a message as serious as this you know that kind of emotional pitch that talks about innocent children being killed the statement also references potential preparations but it doesn't give any kind of details as to what those potential preparations involve so what does it mean other than that it is similar to what the u.s. detected before the last chemical attack back in april the statement also says that any chemical attack in syria in the immediate future will be blamed o

saddam regime the united states is in syria to eliminate the slum extent of iraq and syria if however mr assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons he and his military will pay a heavy price well the stories come in overnight more a dozen of our correspondents across it more and more and what else is the white house saying about this a chemical attack that supposedly is sad is planning here well the wording of what they're saying is very interesting because they say that any chemical attack carried out in the future will be squarely and by default blamed on assad which is which is very strange because there will be no jew process no investigation merely punishment the other interesting thing is that they say they've detected preparation similar to that which happened before the last chemical attack which happened in april of this year then also those little by way of investigation and it went straight to punishment the united states and trump launched a salvo of cruise missiles at the syrian airfield which was engaged in the fight against isis launching sorties against th

side regime the united states is in syria to eliminate the slum extent of iraq and syria if however mr assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons he and his military will pay a heavy price our middle east correspondent paula slee were joins us now with more details the international reaction to these claims hi there paula yes so what else is the white house saying about this chemical attack supposedly being planned by damascus. well the white house a statement on the threat of a new chemical attack as you say that it claims will be carried out by the syrian government is interesting indeed let's first look at the wording the statement says that they've detected potential preparations that would likely result in mass civilian casualties particularly innocent children are that's quite emotive language obviously used to garner support for such a statement the statement also talks about potential preparations but what exactly does this mean there are no details given other than that it is similar or seemingly similar to what the u.s. detected before the last chemical attack

however if mr. assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons he and his military will pay a heavy price. i imagine, hallie there is much scrambling going on to figure out how the back story to something like that gets reported. >> let me just saw broadly that the white house wants this statement to speak for itself, being fairly tight lipped about it. tight lipped about the back story. i will tell you one source thinking behind this statement, these words that you just read say a lot. another administration source when i asked if this was an indication that some kind of an attack may be imminent, and how imminent did they believe it was, they added if this can deter the behaviors that we saw last time from the assad regime and the chemical weapons attack, then lives could be saved. i do think this is fairly unexpected at least into tonight. and we are reporting more on the back story, brian, but you saw the activity from the assad regime in april, the first big military action of presid

saddam regime the united states is in syria to eliminate the slum extent of iraq and syria if however mr assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons he and his military will pay a heavy price. as across this so the threats there's a lot of ifs and buts though what else is the white house saying about this tench chemical attack that they think could be being planned well the warning is the text of it is very strange even all of the i would say it's categorical that they've detected potential preparations for an attack that would likely result in the mass of civilians and innocent children not just children but innocent children that's what costs doubts on this whole warning it's that if you go to warnings these serious you know are subject this serious and pressing why would you need to use an emotional and emotional method of reaching the audiences why would you need to use innocent children and backing that opinion is the fact the united states central command officials have reportedly said that they have no idea what what prompted the white house's warning they also say

saddam regime the united states is in syria to eliminate the slum extent of iraq and syria if however mr assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons he and his military will pay a heavy price so what's behind this warning the fact checking on the latest allegations from washington the wording is very interesting they say they've detected potential preparations that would likely result in massive million casualties including innocent children problem here is when you have to sell a message is serious as this using an emotional peach the innocent children well you're in trouble the other part is potential preparations new details on what those potential preparations are other than the similar to those that the united states the take that before the last chemical attack back in april the united states never warned anyone that didn't attack was coming back in april so the potential preparations are well anyone's guess the other interesting thing is that they say any chemical attack that will happen in syria in the immediate future will be blamed on ass ad and his allies no inv

if mr assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons he and his military will pay a heavy price britain is already on board if i ask how does something really dumb for new reason again the u.k. will join the us in punishing him we think it's absolutely right if we can to prevent the use of chemical weapons and we will fully support any u.s. action if you've been following events in syria recently you knew they aren't hitting the united states has attacked assad five times in what they see is self-defense problem is justifying the prolonged conflict isn't easy what's the vote is do. one to another gun who bombing campaign they learn their lesson after the first few times the international community sick of reckless interventions and you me thing left is to wait for asaad to give them a cause and since he's a comic book supervillain well it's just the parts of the script. venezuelan authorities are on the hunt tonight for a rogue police officer accused of attacking the country's supreme court today the officer opened fire on the interior ministry from a stolen helicopt