emerge, so do questions, several military analysts with special forces cc: experience wonder why navy s.e.a.l.s were used as backup to catch a midlevel taliban leader in an isolated, mostly unpopulated valley. >> don't forget the s.e.a.l.s are a tier one unit. when we use them, they better be going into an area that really justifies their use. >> reporter: it was navy s.e.a.l.s, after all, that killed osama bin laden in pakistan, a mission far clearer, analysts say, than the one that turned out to be the deadliest attack on u.s. troops in a decade of war. u.s. troops here, brian, are in the midst of a gradual drawdown. the problem is the afghan government is not asserting control, so this country is just getting more and more dangerous. >> richard engel starting off our coverage tonight from kabul, afghanistan. richard, thanks. there is one community in particular, in california, that has been hit hard by the loss of so many navy s.e.a.l.s because it is the home of the navy s.e.a.l.s. our pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski joins us tonight from san diego. jim, good evening. >> reporter: go

courage, not just requirements for the job but a way of life. >> you can always counted on the navy s.e.a.l.s and special forces to do the hard jobs. >> reporter: the s.e.a.l.s endure more than 30 months of brutal and specialized training, taught to react quickly in dark environments. plunge from a plane, even for combat under water. they are prepared for anything able to deploy anywhere. >> they work in the shadows and the sooner they can step back in the shadows the happier they are. >> reporter: retired colonel was a navy s.e.a.l. and served nearly three decades with the military. >> these young men are national treasures. they're irreplaceable. you don't find them everywhere. so this is -- this was a tragedy for the entire country. >> reporter: the s.e.a.l.s are known as silent warriors but their mission, like the killing of osama bin laden, made a clear statement. a group that is takes the ultimate price. >> my nephew is over there. anytime you hear of any mass killings it brings it home and makes me a little nervous about what's going on. >> reporter: a community used to war, but one th

he's one of 22 navy s.e.a.l.s killed this weekend. the elite and claimed destine unit is the tip of the sphere in covert military operations. >> they work in the shadows and as soon as they are back in the shadows the happier they are. >> in coronado i didn't know what to say or do. >> although the navy s.e.a.l.s are sha rouded in seek kra see, its members gave worldwide attention after they raided bin laden's compound. they are no strangers to sacrifice but there's not much to prepare them for the loss of so many. >> they are national treasurers. they are irreplaceable. you don't find them everywhere. so this was a tragedy for the entire country. >> reporter: and we often hear about how the navy s.e.a.l.s are a very close-knit unit. they will have to rely on those bonds after losing 22 of their members. now the families will have to wait for their bodies to come home. >> an agonizing wait. thank you. >>> with the 30 u.s. troops killed in the helicopter crash, you see the number, 1,728. the helicopter crash has intensified the debate

toughest missions out there. >> now among the 30 americans who died in the incident, 22 were navy s.e.a.l.s, seven afghan commandos were also killed. tonight at 10:00 p.m. eastern i'll be speaking to a former navy s.e.a.l. about the elite forces. >>> it has never happened before, the u.s., the world's largest economy has lost its sterling aaa credit rating, standard & poors downgraded the u.s. to a aa plus rating and it could directly affect you, you may have to pay higher interest rates on things like credit cards. and that's just for starters. this is just days after the ugly protracted battle over raising the debt ceiling seemed to end with an agreement that made almost no one happy. s&p is pointing the finger at washington. >> the first thing you could have done is raise the debt celling in a timely manner so much of this debate could have ended to begin with. it's been done 17 times since the 1960s. and point number two is it could have come one a fiscal plan, similar, for example to the bowles-simpson commission which was bipartisan. >> huh? we probably need a lot more political analy

navy s.e.a.l.s. that's u.s. avy special forces, the very types of troops that, of course, conducted that raid against osama bin laden. one official saying this is a big loss for the u.s. navy. the information is that it is navy s.e.a.l.s, of course, could not be more sensitive, because at this hour, the u.s. military is moving very rapidly to try and contact and notify as many of the military families impacted by this as quickly as they can. and as you know, often, military families are spread across the united states, so what we are going to be seeing or learning about over the coming hours is casualty officers will be spreading out to hometowns, to bases, trying to track down all of the family members and give them this very sad news. we don't believe that all of them were navy s.e.a.l.s, deborah. there were some other forces on board. it was a chinook helicopter being piloted by the u.s. army, is our understanding and there may have been some other special forces on board from other services. but this may, in

that the 30 americans who died in saturday's chopper crash in afghanistan, most of them elite navy s.e.a.l.s were on their way to help fellow troops. >> most of the s.e.a.l.s. who died were from that same unit that killed osama bin laden, although none of the men took part in that mission. this morning family members are mourning their loss. they're praising their courage and giving some of our anonymous heros a name. barbara starr live at the pentagon. this is just, you know, after the great victory of osama bin laden, and how much praise is heepds on the navy s.e.a.l.s. to have them suffer, have the u.s. military suffer this kind of loss at this stage in the game in afghanistan is just heart breaking. >> heartbreaking and staggering for the navy s.e.a.l.s. and the entire u.s. military over the weekend. christine, as we continued to talk to our sources, they were just reeling from this event. you look at those pictures, those are the names, the faces, the families and the stories that are emerging across this country of the men who served. what we know now is that the helicopter most likely

billy, i know your son joined the navy s.e.a.l.s after 9/11, that he served around the world. was an instructor for a while and then came back and became part of the most elite s.e.a.l. team 6. what was it about the s.e.a.l.s and what was it about wanting to serve his country that attracted your son to this very challenging career? >> i believe that's what it was, the challenging career. just like kimberly said, aaron was courageous and if he did anything, he was going to do it the best he could do it. and it was a challenge to him to become a s.e.a.l. you know, i believe he saw the challenge as an opportunity to seven his country and to stand up for what he believed in. >> i think it has to be one of the most difficult things, as i've spent time with the families of s.e.a.l.s in the past, that they are doing extraordinary things at great risk to themselves, and yet because of the nature of the job, they can't talk about it and you can't talk about it. and often you aren't aware of exactly what their mission is. as an mom, let me give you an opportunity, if you would like, to b

at 5:00, a bay area father talks to nbc bay area about the death of his son who was one of the navy s.e.a.l.s. on that navy helicopter that crashed in afghanistan. this is a story you'll see only on nbc pay area. >>> also will he or won't he? ed lee made a public appearance today. we'll show you what he had to say just a few days before he'll have to announce whether he'll run for mayor for the city of san francisco. he did tip his hand just a bit. war1: of words. bruce bochy accuses a sportscaster of racism and it all has to do with this fight on friday. the news at 5:00 starts right now. >>> good evening. i'm diane dwyer. nbc bay area news has learned that one of the navy s.e.a.l.s who was killed in that helicopter crash in afghanistan this weekend has family here in the bay area. that as u.s. and nato leaders are now investigating whether the taliban was behind that attack. 30 u.s. service members died afghanys in thecc1: deadliest single incident for the united states since the war began there ten years ago. taliban leaders are claiming responsibility and early reports say it may have bee

in afghanistan it killed 30 american service members including 22 navy s.e.a.l.s. 8 afghans also killed. military officials say the troops died while on a mission to assist an army ranger unit under fire from insurgents. commandos wering itting a taliban leader directly responsible for the attacks. nato confirms it's begun an operation to recover the remains from the helicopter as part of an ongoing investigation. the crash is the single deadliest attack on u.s. forces since the war began almost a decade ago. >>> last night president obama called top american commanders to express his condolences for those who died and spoke with afghan president hamid karzai. for the latest we turn to nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel. he joins us live from kabul. good to see you this morning, richard. what's the latest on the investigation there? what do we know about what happened over the weekend? >> reporter: the u.s. military is saying little about exactly what happened which is somewhat understandable. you had elite special forces carrying out an operation. the army rangers, then na

and get to all of them just as quickly as they can because this very sensitive news that it is navy s.e.a.l.s is now really spreading very openly and very publicly, joe. >> obviously all our military personnel are precious. but could you sort of explain to our viewers why s.e.a.l.s are special, if you will, what it is that makes them special. >> reporter: right. i think you raise a good point. in afghanistan, in iraq, all forces are at risk all the time, from someone who may drive a truck or be a cook to these commandos who do these dangerous missions. that said, special forces, whether they are navy, army, air force, marine corps, these are some of the most highly trained commandos, the most highly trained in the u.s. military. a huge amount of money, training and expertise is poured into their careers so they can do these very dangerous missions. to go after insurgents in these remote, dangerous areas. and special forces are, to a large extent, carrying a very significant burden. they deploy time after time after time. they deploy six, eight months at a time. and all the indications are whi

. >>> the night that navy s.e.a.l.s got osama bin laden, a gripping report with extraordinary secondcond details on the daring operation to kill the al qaeda leader. we have been combing through the report. it's fascinating. >> it is. a page turner. the could is based on interviews with officer who is were intimately familiar with the mission. how the seals fought through the compound and the critical moment when they entered osama bin laden's bedroom. less than 18 minutes into the 38-minute raid came the crucial moment. navy s.e.a.l.s fought their way through osama bin laden's compound, killed his courier and the courier's brother and osama bin laden's son. they blasted through gates on the stair ways. since a team of seals turned on the floor. >> they're see this tall individual with a beard. >> he sensed that new yorker magazine with a nuanced detail of the raid. he bays his reporting on sourced conversations with special operations officers who had intimate knowledge of the ring. he did not speak directly with seals who teared out the mission. the identities are classified. in ha

part of the navy s.e.a.l.s team was also killed. president obama was briefed on the attack and expressed condolences to the families of those killed. their deaths are a reminder of the sacrifices including all who served in afghanistan. and although saturday was the deadliest day for troops since the start of the war, nato deaths have decreased by approximately 20% in the first six months of this year compared to last year. >> as u.s. forces continue to withdraw from afghanistan, it will be the special operations forces who will be replied upon more and more. alex? >> all right. in kabul, thank you for that. >>> meantime, reaction certainly pouring in across the u.s. let's go live to norfolk, virginia, and tom truong, what kind of impact is this having on the committee there? >> well, the navy is in shock. this is navy place, places like nor foerk. they are revolving around the navy and wra where many of the elite s.e.a.l.s train and one lived in virginia beach, not far from here. at a baseball game in nor foerk, they paused to reme

vaughn is one of 22 navy s.e.a.l.s killed this weekend. the elite and clandestine unit is often the tip of the spear. >> they work in the shadows and the happier they are. in coronado, california, where many s.e.a.l.s train hearts are heavy. >> it took me a while for it to sink in and when it did i just melt like i was melting. i didn't what to say or two. its members recently gained worldwide attention after s.e.a.l. team six raided osama bin laden's compound in pakistan, killing the al qaeda leader. military families are no strangers to sacrifice. there's not much that can prepare them for the loss of so many. >> these young men are national fre treasures. you don't find them anywhere and this was a tragedy for the entire country. >> we often hear how the navy s.e.a.l.s are so close knit. after losing 22 of their own they and their families will have to rely on those bonds more than ever. >> thank you. >> here's lester. >>> s.e.a.l. team six is so secretive the white house and defense department do not directly acknowledge its existence.

navy s.e.a.l.s. after the break we'll hear from military officials and family members. >>> and several are dead after a shooting rampage in an ohio town. >>> and a four-game series marred by a brawl finally comes to and. we'll show you how the defending world series champs did against their east coast rivals. turn left. you have arrived. sweet belt. e-reader for textbooks. gps. hd video cam for lectures. game pad. have you considered this by motorola ? it's got all that and more than 200,000 apps. technology to learn and play on-the-go. only at verizon. get the latest smartphones like the more powerful than ever droid x2 by motorola. buy one for $199.99, get another one free. >>> yesterday 30 american troops lost their lives when their helicopter crashed during an operation. and 22 of the dead are u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s. president obama has received a call from president karzai of afghanistan, each expressing their condolences for those who died. stan case has the -- mass -- has more. >> reporter: they

the navy s.e.a.l.s came very quickly. that is what they do. they help out anybody that needs help.nd somehow this happened. the reports are, wolf, that there was enemy activity in the area, enemy fire at the time and our sources all day long have been telling us there will be a full investigation, but they do have good reason to believe that this helicopter was brought down by insurgent fire. >> is it your understanding the incident, the fire fight is over with, all u.s. and nato forces are out of harm's way at least in that area? >> well, we were told that that fire fight, that original fire fight on the ground, there were no additional fatalities. but i don't think in this area of eastern afghanistan, anybody's ever really out of harm's way. they go back in time and time and time again. and i think you can be absolutely guaranteed that u.s. forces will return within hours to this area in the east, and they will look for whoever they can find that may have been responsible. >> barbara, stay with me. i want to bring into this conversation, retired u.s. army brigadier general, vice

tragedy in afghanistan. 30 american troops killed when a nato helicopter is shot down. 22 of them, navy s.e.a.l.s just weeks after their comrades killed osama bin laden. president obama tonight calling it a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifice of america's military, and we go inside the world of the s.e.a.l.s, their survival skills, their extraordinary training and, most of all, their mind. >>> and the other major story tonight, america's credit. this historic downgrade, the u.s. losing its stellar credit rating. what it could mean as soon as monday for your credit card, your mortgage and the future of american jobs. team coverage on the credit crisis and the helicopter down tragedy in afghanistan starts now. >>> and good evening. we begin tonight with that headline out of afghanistan that stunned and saddened so many of us today when we heard it. what is now the single deadliest day for u.s. forces in that war. a military chinook helicopter was shot down in the dark of night killing 30 u.s. troops and 8 afghans, everyone on board. abc news was the first to report that among the dead, 22 navy

the navy s.e.a.l.s were part of a mission named at taliban fighters. it is a crushing loss. the most elite forces in the u.s. military. 22 s.e.a.l.s killed in the fiery crash of their chinook helicopter, along with army and air force personnel. 30 americans in all. eight afghans and a dog trained specifically for special operations. it happened near a taliban stronghold. u.s. forces were engaged in a firefight on the ground. the chinook full of s.e.a.l.s was on its way to help when it was shot down, probably by a rocket-propelled grenade. most of the 22 s.e.a.l.s were part of the s.e.a.l. team 6, the heroic unity unit that carried out on the raid on osama bin lades compound in may. none of those who actually took part of the raid were believed to be on this helicopter. u.s. special operations teams carry out up to a dozen missions a day in afghanistan. 3,000 to 4,000 last year alone. since 9/11, there have been 32 s.e.a.l.s killed, but 22 in one day is devastating. there are juju 300 men in s.e.a.l. team 6, so in this one incident, more than 7% of the highly trained, highly v

navy s.e.a.l.s, five army air crewmen, three air force airmen, as well as seven afghan commandos and an afghan interpreter. a dog, part of the navy s.e.a.l. team, was also killed. some of the americans were from s.e.a.l. team six, the same unit that hunted down and killed osama bin laden. today, nato forces were recovering remnants of the helicopter as american and afghan troops continued to battle insurgents in the area. >> translator: the helicopters are still patrolling over the village, and right now the taliban are fighting with them. >> reporter: this remote mountainous region is filled with a brutal and deadly group committed to killing foreigners and anyone who gets in their way. the violence continued in afghanistan today as nato announced the deaths of four more service members in the south and east of the country. carl? >> attia abawi, thanks. >>> tonight, we're hearing from the families of some of the americans killed in that attack. nbc's thanh trong is joining us now from norfolk, virginia, home to s.e.a.l. team six. >> reporter: here in the greater norfolk area, tens of

navy s.e.a.l.s. afghan president hamid karzai said the number of u.s. dead is 31. he also says seven afghans were killed. the united states no longer has its perfect credit and that could cause problems all the way from wall street to main street. standard & poors has downgraded u.s. credit rating from aaa to aa plus. >> i think that there is plenty of blame to go around. this is a problem that has been a long time in the making. well over this administration, the prior administration. it is a matter of the medium and long term budget position of the united states that needs to be brought under control. not the immediate fiscal position. one that centers on entitlement and the reform having matching revenues to pay for those entitlements that's at the crux of the matter. >> poppy harlow will join out to talk about how the downgrade could affect every day americans. >>> polygamist sect leader warren jeffs is back in court for more testimony and the penalty phase of this trix he faces up to life in pri

inch >> one of the navy s.e.a.l.s killed in a chopper crash in afghanistan has bay area ties. the global economy is down tonight with wars are elated to the historic u.s. downgrade. asian markets are down as much as 3 and a half%. stock features in the u.s. are thumbabling as well. there could be another blood bath on wall street tomorrow. the stock market remains volatile so does the debate in washington on who's to blame. >> reporter: following america's credit downgrade, more bickering. democrats and republicans picking their targets. >> this is a tea party problem. >> this president has failed to lead. >> reporter: shots after a roller coaster week of economic news. congress raises the debt ceiling, thursday the dow plunges 500 points, friday a better than expected jobs reports, unemployment dips to 9.4% period and then friday night america's credit downgrade to double a plus for the first time ever. >> our mission has to be getting the economy going faster and creating more jobs. >> reporter: president obama has a jobs making to do list for lawmakers. pass a set of trade

troops killed yesterday in afghanistan, 22 of them navy s.e.a.l.s. they were on a mission to rescue an army ranger unit on a anti-terrorism mission. new details now from our pentagon correspondent barbara starr. >> the navy s.e.a.l.s were brought in to try and help another unit pinned down on the ground. they were already in the middle of a firefight. they needed help. they called for it. and the u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s came. we now know that the unit that was pinned down were u.s. army rangers, members of the army 76 ranger regiment out of ft. benning, georgia. they have been deployed in afghanistan for some time. part of this country's special operations forces that are conducting these anti-terrorism raids across eastern afghanistan. they needed help. the s.e.a.l.s came. and all indications continue to be we are cold that that helicopter was brought down by enemy fire. >> one of those killed was 30-year-old navy s.e.a.l. aaron carson vaughn. we're learning the names and hometowns of those casualties as the defense department goes through the agonizing

troops were killed, including 22 navy s.e.a.l.s. their way to help army rangers in a fire fight with the taliban. their target was a taliban commander responsible for attacks on u.s. forces. the taliban claims militants shot the chinook helicopter down with a rocket-propelled grenade. the fiancee of a guardsman killed talked with cnn about her last correspondence with him. >> he sent me an e-mail the day before, and he told me he said please don't worry about me. he said that you and the girls are always in my heart, don't worry. this place isn't going to change me. i'm going to change this place. that's just how i am. how said, i love you ma. just take care of my girls. and know that i am here thinking about you all the time. i'll be home before you know it. love you, ma. >> the incident is the single largest loss of life for u.s. troops since the war began nearly ten years ago. >>> to rob marciano, live in atlanta. rob, any flight delays we're looking at this morning? >> i think we'll see some this afternoon at least when the thun

just seven the 22 navy s.e.a.l.s. killed in saturday's chopper crash in afghanistan.al of 30 u.s. service members were killed in the attack, which is the single largest loss of life for the u.s. military since the afghan war began nearly ten years ago. afghan officials say the ch 47 chinook helicopter went down after it came under heavy fire and a rocket propelled grenade attack from the taliban. the s.e.a.l.s. were going to help troops on the ground fighting insurgents. the crash site has been cordoned off. seven afghan troops were aboard the helicopter as well and they died. barbara starr is joining us from the pentagon now. i understand, barbara, the pentagon has released information about coverage at dover air force base in delaware where the bodies will return to the united states. what have they told us. >> reporter: that's right wolf. this is the most unsettling news we are going to tell people very precisely what the pentagon has said. it will be unsettling, perhaps, to the families. but the pentagon has just given the news media a statement. i want to read it

special operations forces lost their lives. 22 of them were navy s.e.a.l.s, many from the same unit that conducted the raid against osama bin laden, though none of the s.e.a.l.s on that mission were on this raid. a u.s. military source confirms they were rapidly called in to assist another unit that had been pinned down in a fire fight in the eastern afghanistan. the s.e.a.l.s came in on a chin noek helicopter when they went down. the official says there are growing indications it was hit by enemy fire, but a full investigation will be conducted. commanders and special operations and the navy are moving quickly to send assistance officers to the families and hometowns of those lost offering as much information and assistance as they can. up remains are expected at dover air force base delaware in the coming days. >> barbara starr, thank you very much. president barack obama was notified of the helicopter crash and released a statement which reads in part "their deaths are a reminder of the essacrifices made by the men and women of our military and their families, including all who have s

navy s.e.a.l.s came. we now know that the unit that was pinned down were u.s. army rangers, members of the arm my's 76th regiment they have been deployed in afghanistan for some time. part of this country's special operations forces that are conducting these anti-terrorism raids across eastern afghanistan. they needed help and the s.e.a.l.s came and all indications continue to be we are told that that helicopter was brought down by enemy fire, joe. >> the more i'm hearing about this, just as an outsider and lay person, the more it sounds like this was a very atypical mission. can you tell me if that's true as far as the size of the team goes, the way they were getting there, type of helicopter? was this a normal thing? >> well, it was used to the extent a quick reaction force, the teams that go in when other units need help, there's no particular way they do it. they take as many people as they feel they need, as many helicopters as they can. in this case, the original target for those rangers on the ground was known taliban leader that had been responsible the

takes out the taliban fighters who shot down the navy s.e.a.l.s helicopter in afghanistan. >>> and captured, the long arm of the law finally catches up with the florida family on the run. captioning funded by cbs >> good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm randall pinkston in for betty nguyen. expect more whiplash on wall street today, after rallying for over 400 points on tuesday, the dow lost all of that and more yesterday. it plummeted over 500 points, a drop of almost 5%. it's the lowest close for the market in two years. so far this year, the dow has lost more than 7.5%. and the asian markets are also wobbling but appear to have stopped the bleeding. both tokyo's nikkei slipped, hong kong's hang seng fell about 1% although the markets saw some slight gains. joining us here in new york with more on the markets is alexis christoforous from "cbs moneywatch." good morning, alexis. >> good morning, randall. >> this sell-off didn't start a few days ago it began a few weeks ago. >> it's been week now. there's really no rest for the weary on wall street. >> what's driving it? >> it's two-fold.

not necessarily the same navy s.e.a.l.s that may have perished today in this province. this is a great loss. as you know, any american loss in afghanistan is a loss -- 31 american family members suffering, 7 afghan families suffering here as well. this is going to be a big morale boost for the taliban. these are the things they look for, the kind of motivation they send out. they're going to have propaganda videos going out to their fighters throughout the country motivating them to continue to fight. they'll be sending these messages across the border in pakistan where we expect many of the taliban commanders are currently stationed because of the month of ramadan. so obviously, a big morale boost for the taliban. they know by the end of this year 10,000 american troops are supposed to leave the country, because that was enstated by the obama administration and they know by 2012, 28,000 will be leaving afghanistan. they know by 2014 they expect the afghans to take over. many taliban biding their time for that date. others continuing the fight as we saw today. >> nbc's

this is such a tragedy. 25 special operations forces. 22 of them navy s.e.a.l.s. f them, wolf, part of the navy's co-vert operations, the very type of s.e.a.l.s that went in on the bin laden raid, this is a very big blow to the special operations team. they had been called in to help another team of troops on the ground. they were running into trouble and called for backup. the navy s.e.a.l.s came and by all accounts thrp shut down by enemy fire. >> some sort of shoulder fired missile? >> they are not saying at this time. there were reports of enemy activity and some sources saying to us they believe at this point it was brought down by some sort of enemy action. >> this was in the eastern part of afghanistan, not far from the pakistani border? >> absolutely. this is where u.s. special forces had been in heavy combat for months, day in, day out. in fact, one of the top commanders said most americans don't realize they are doing thousands of these helicopter assault missions every year. there may be a drawdown in regular convention forces coming home from afghanista

thank you for coming in. >> thank you. >>> a tragic day for the proud community of navy s.e.a.l.s and their family. 22 s.e.a.l.s are among the 30 american troops killed in a horrific helicopter crash. i'm joined now by retired u.s. navy s.e.a.l. captain. sir, good to see you today, thank you for joining me. >> good afternoon, contessa. >> 22 of 30 killed were from s.e.a.l. team six. it's a team of 200 total. what does that kind of loss do to the rest of the team? >> ast a tragic loss not only to the entire team, to the entire force, the family and country as well. these young men are national treasures. they're not found on every street corner. it's a tragic loss. >> the defense secretary is in tampa, florida, today, he's presiding over a change of command for operations command, he said this is a tragic reminder to the nation that we are a nation at war. how instrumental our teams like navy s.e.a.l. team six to the ultimate success of any mission? >> i think that our entire military is enormously important to the success of it. we forget sometimes that the s.e.a.l.s are supported by

navy s.e.a.l.s. majority of the s.e.a.l.s came from the same unit that sent the s.e.a.l.s in to the osama bin laden raid in pakistan earlier this year. several sources are telling us that the military has run a check on all of the names, and that none of the killed in action today were on the bin laden raid themselves. this how, is shaping up to be one of the most tragic days. not just for the u.s. military but for the special operations community which has really been carrying a very heavy combat load in eastern afghanistan, doing these raids, doing these missions day after day, night after night. >> you say we also know that they were under fire at the time, or at least there was some enemy fire at the time. >> absolutely. what our administration sources are telling us is, yes, there were reports at the time of enemy fire in the area. and although there will be a full military investigation, at least one official tells me, at this time, there is good reason to believe that it was brought down by ene

navy s.e.a.l.s and navy seaman craig vickers worked with a bomb disposal unit. >> craig talked about joining the military and serve his country and for him it was god first, his country and his family. >> for all that were on that helicopter, you know, every life is important not only this incident, but all the ones before them. >> the taliban attack also killed seven afghan commandos and their interpreter. >>> the syrian military rolled into another town today to crush anti-government protests. [ shots fired ] >> the brutality fired similar attacks to two other cities this weekend. both saudi arabia and kuwait have recalled their ambassadors to damascus. the saudi king taking an unusually harsh tone calling on syria to halt its, quotes, killing machine. >>> livering conditions are quickly deteriorating in tripoli. many neighborhoods have been without electricity or rung water for days now. libyan state television blames the outages on nato air strike, but nato tells cnn that there is no evidence that its planes bombed power lines. >>> here's a london neighborhood charred by weekend

even more sobering and heartbreaking when you realize that so many of the naval personnel, the navy s.e.a.l.s involved in this incident are not going to be going through this reunion. we spoke to a navy s.e.a.l.'s wife a short time ago today and got another stark reminder of some of the sacrifices being made. kimberly vaughn describes that horrible moment when uniformed officers came to her door and told her about her husband. >> and i just fell to my knees. >> reporter: arson carson vaughn was one of 22 navy s.e.a.l.s killed in the helicopter crash in afghanistan. kimberly is now left to care for 2-month-old daughter chamberlin and son reagan who turns two next month. >> i want to the tell the world that he was an amazing man, that he was a wonderful husband and a fabulous father to two wonderful children. and he was a warrior for our country. and he wouldn't want to leave this earth any other way than how he did. >> reporter: on the boardwalk, in the diners of the vaughn's newly adopted hometown of virginia beach, a community grieves for nearly two dozen young men who were in their midst, b

they include 22 navy s.e.a.l.s.ut also representatives of the army and the air force all of them were lost in this ferocious attack on the chinook helicopter in afghanistan over the weekend. along with them of course, there were eight afghans because they still need to identify all the remains, that process will take some time. a mortician experts here at dover air force base will begin that very difficult job we presume rather quickly. the ceremony that you spoke of is going to be held within the 2:00 hour. again, the president will be there. we don't know how long he plans to be here. we're told it will be for some extended period of time. but as we have said over the last few days, andrea, this single incident is the single greatest loss of life with the united states and afghanistan throughout its ten-year war here. 30 members of the u.s. military lost in addition eight afghan soldiers as well. it has renewed calls in some quarters to rethink if america should maintain this level of a presence in afghanistan. th

those were mostly navy s.e.a.l.s. as the navy s.e.a.l.s alived in the chinook on this location they were hit by a rocket propelled grenade. the taliban says it was a single rocket propelled grenade and it brought down the helicopter killing everyone on board. what colonel jacobs and other analysts are asking is why were navy s.e.a.l.s called in as backup? they are a tier one asset. these are the kind of people that are used to hunt down bin laden not be backup for an operation that was already being carried out by the rangers. >> that's the question that i heard him ask and that i was wondering as well. a chinook is a big, fat, slow moving target. that's not the same as the choppers that they use to go in for bin laden, tlaers the primary force. why do you think they were being used? were they the best and the closest available? we're not being told why, specifically. the ranger regiment operates in secret. the s.e.a.l.s operate with even more secrecy. when you have special ops sent in to aid over special ops is milit

holmes. >>> well, they are among the nation's elite warriors, navy s.e.a.l.s. f 22 s.e.a.l.s and eight other u.s. troops are mourning their deaths in afghanistan. new details for you. >>> plus, fires, looting and violence in north london. we'll tell you what led some people to torch police cars, buildings and a bus. >>> we didn't have to wait very long for the reaction on the overseas markets of the s&p downgrading of america's credit rating. trading on the tel aviv stock exchange was temporarily halting after stocks began plunging. kevin flower joins us live by phone. tell us what happened. >> well, deborah, early this morning, pre-opening trading on the testify veef stock exchange registered a drop of more than 6% on the main benchmark index. now, that led to a delay of the opening of the market of 45 minutes. and it's worth noting here that israel's exchange operates on a sunday through thursday schedule. it is among the first in the world to react to the standard and poors rating cut of the u.s. credit rating. what analysts here are telling us is that this i

also brad thorr, went on several research missions in afghanistan and pakistan with navy s.e.a.l.s. deadly at being a in the history of this ten year war. i want to show our viewer where is it took place. this is in some of the most treachero treacherous. what does it say as we pay tribute to these heros that this is still where a lot of the hardest parts of this war are being fought? >> well, it tells and you number of things. first of all, this is right on the outskirts, pot venot very fm kabul. it was the sacred ground that our troops protected. mostly to give the karzai government the opportunity to extend their reign, their government. this is very close to the capital. this is an area that has been handed over to afghan troops. this was an immediate reaction force that was coming in because we had personnel on the ground in need of assistance and so you had u.s. soldiers as well as afghan commandos. and it tells you that the gains that we make there are very fragile. so as we begin this drawdown, you realize that these gains that we have made at the loss of life and treasure a

it's when the helicopter carrying 22 navy s.e.a.l.s arrived. initially, it was a successful operation. the navy s.e.a.l.s managed to somewhat subdue the compound. the fire fight dropped in intensity. as they were leaving the area, it was struck, according to the taliban, by a single rpg bringing it crashing to the ground. they say the sight is secure. they closed off the area but they are still trying to identify and recover some of the remains of personnel and the equipment. >> richard, live in kabul. thanks very much. we'll check in with you later. >> can i just say one thing? >> yeah. >> back during somalia where we lost some men, it was on the front page of the papers for weeks and we had a movie about it, "black hawk down." we had 30 men die a couple days ago. they were in the papers yesterday. it's like, again, i think it speaks to how checked out americans are about this war. this is a horrifying story. it's a devastating body blow to one of our most elite units and you can find a story about a pitcher in minor leagues in the washington

navy s.e.a.l.s. abc's martha raddatz is in washington. and, martha, what do we know right now about this deadly incident? >> reporter: this is just devastating news, bianna. it was a u.s. aircraft. a chinook aircraft. senior u.s. military official, 25 navy s.e.a.l.s., 7 afghan forces, likely special forces, 1 interpreter, the 5-member crew of the chinook helicopter, and 1 dog. we all know dogs are in these operations. we know this from the osama bin laden raid. so devastating, this news. and that, especially after that news in may, that s.e.a.l.s were able to kill osama bin laden in a raid. today's crash -- and they do believe it was from enemy fire, possibly a rocket-propelled grenade. they believe it was shot down right after an operation. this was in wardak province. now, i also want to add that the first person to say these were u.s. special operations forces was hamid karzai, the president of afghanistan. he released a written statement, sending his condolences, for the loss of those troops and afghan forces, as well. but he was the

taliban leaders are claiming responsibility and among the dead 20 members of the elite navy s.e.a.l.s. the parents of one of those s.e.a.l.s lives in san jose. they called nbc bay area wanting to share more about their son. kim terry is here with more. >> reporter: diane, kevin houston's family got word of his death early yesterday morni ng and are, as you can imagine, still trying to come to terms with it. they say they knew his job as a navy s.e.a.l. was dangerous but he always assured them that everything was okay. they are saying they found some solace knowing he was doing something he loved. it was his childhood dream and his family said he thrived on helping people and doing what he was dog. he enlisted right after high school and has been on multiple tours in afghanistan. he was raised on the east coast but was very close to his father's side of the family in san jose. >> i just -- he's my son, and if i could trade places with him i would trade, you know. i'd have went there and let him stay here. >> reporter: houston's family is making arrangements to get to the east coast so

navy s.e.a.l.s and their missions are a point of pride for people here. they don't know much about the s.e.a.l.s or their identities. they still find themselves identifying with the s.e.a.l.s. one of the most moving parts of any of these situations, including this one, moving aspects is when you hear from loved ones about what it was like when uniformed officers come to their door and inform them that their loved one had been killed. we spoke to kimberly vaughn, the widow of navy s.e.a.l. aaron vaughn. >> i woke up, saw the reports on the tv. my mother came and told me about it. i was okay. nobody had come. as i come up the stairs, i heard the door bell ring and i thought hopefully, it's just a neighbor. as i rounded the stairs, i saw the men in uniform. and i just fell to my knees. it was just -- there's no preparing for it. you know, it's something that you see in the movies, not something you're supposed to live through. but it was men from the command and, you know, it was as nice as it could be, i guess. >> reporter: kimberly vaughn is now left to ca

they say 17 navy s.e.a.l.s died along with five members of the navy previous report had said that 22 s.e.a.l.s were killed in that incident. >>> still ahead here on "way too early," big news in the world of business. as steve jobs and his various addictive devices push apple past exxonmobil to the top of one impressive list. we'll tell you what it is. >>> plus, why, why would you do this? the los angeles dodgers forced to release a statement after an usher takes a ball away from a sweet little kid. that story and the pennant races ahead in sports and we will of course get a check on weather. when "way too early" comes back. >>> if you think i'm going down to plead to with a bunch of hoodlums to obey the law, no we start all over again. if the people of this country don't realize that laws are to be obeyed and i don't care what color they are. we're in trouble. [ female announcer ] so you think your kids are getting enough vegetables? maybe not. v8 v-fusion juice gives them a full serving of vegetables plus a full serving of fruit. but it just tastes like fruit. [ male announcer ] get

s.e.a.l.s. benson grew up, served in the navy 12 years. he leaves his wife cara and their 3-year-old son. as we told you earlier, another s.e.a.l. killed kevin houston had strong ties to the bay area. his dad and other relatives in san jose.cc1: there is his dad on the left. his family says that houston knew he wanted to be a s.e.a.l. since he was in the fifth grade. he is survived by his wife and three children. >> overnight oakland police stepped up patrols fearing more violence after a toddler was bycc1: a a stray bulletcc1: drive by shooter in broad daylight. christie smith is live near 65th avenue and international boulevard. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, scott. i wanted to say on our way here we saw sheriff's patrol cars, oakland police cars, up and down the street near where the 3-year-old was shot and killed. oakland police this morning also have a mobile command unit near 65th an international. all part of an effort to beef up patrols in a shooting that affected even the most hardened neighbor here. 3-year-old carlos was with his family outside of a market on internati

then devastating news from afghanistan. 30 americans dead including 22 navy s.e.a.l.s in the deadliest nearly decade-long afghan war. it is the most powerful job in the world but it's often been said, it can be the loneliest. david gergen is with us. he has served four american presidents at times of crisis. also, mary matalin. as america launched the wars in both afghanistan and iraq. david gergen, i want to start with you as someone who has been in the white house, often brought in in times of crisis. am i overstating it, the darkest day of the presidency to hear about the downgrade and then hours later, this horrible tragedy in afghanistan? >> i don't think you're overstating it. this past week i think was one of the toughest, perhaps the worst weeks the president has had. the markets fell so sharply even as he announced the debt ceiling agreement and then he had the friday, saturday, and then this weekend. and so it is tough. but i think the president discovered today that words alone are not enough. he tried very hard to reassure investors, as you know, he came out this afternoon

navy s.e.a.l.s tried to take care of the loved ones of their fallen comrades. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel from kabul. richard, good evening, and what have we learned about today's mission to strike back? >> reporter: it was definitely designed to strike back and right after that attack on that chinook helicopter, u.s. forces began a manhunt for the taliban responsible. on monday night, they tracked down at least some of the militants. once they were identified in a woody area in the wardak province, apparently some were trying to escape the country. an air strike was called in, f-16s, eight taliban members were killed, including according to the u.s. military, the fighter that fired that rp zbrks. >> you mentioned some poignant information about how did the military set out to notify the families here sn >> as you know, brian, the u.s. military doesn't give out this kind of information to the families by phone or e-mail, they go in person. but this time there were so many american families involved, the notification process was its own operati

and this is the long and expe e expensive process to train navy s.e.a.l.s. loss for families and friends and teammates. the 22 s.e.a.l.s killed in afghanistan among the unit elite. at various times it has been called s.e.a.l. team six. >> how tough will it be to fill the void on the team? >> it will be a challenge, no doubt. just to be a u.s. navy s.e.a.l. from the point you want to voluntary until you are in combat for the first time is about 3 1/2 years. >> and another two years of training and deployments to be on s.e.a.l. team 6. and they tracked down war criminals in the 1990s, and they tell us s.e.a.l. 6 team members are taking from the ranks of other existing teams, and half of the men that try out wash out. these are the guys that go on precise capture or kill missions like bin laden. >> how do they think on the battlefield than other s.e.a.l.s? what do they do that is different? >> you have to verify a threat, and then in an instant you have to determine whether or not that individual was a threat or whether he is not and if he is, you have to engage

. >>> family and friends gathered for a memorial service in san jose today for one of the navy s.e.a.l.sled in a helicopter crash in afghanistan earlier this month. kevin huston was one of those killed. huston was buried at arlington national cemetery, but his family in san jose wanted to hold another memorial here for those who couldn't travel to the east coast, so they could all remember him. >> a great father, you know, and just tough, you know. there was nothing he wouldn't try to do, motorcycles, jet skis, he just, you know, all the thrill-seeker you would think of in a guy is kevin huston. so nothing scared him. nothing. >> huston was a member of the navy s.e.a.l.s elite team 6 that is the same unit that was involved in the raid that killed osama bin laden. >>> a small plane trying to make a landing at napa county airport crashed on to highway 29 south of napa this afternoon. remarkably, the two people on the plane managed to walk away uninjured. the emergency landing happened just before 1:00 this afternoon. and witnesses say the four-seater plane skidded along highway 29 as it la

navy s.e.a.l.s, rushing to help a u.s. army ranger unit under attack. >> he loved his family, sister. just became an uncle. >> reporter: charles strange's son, michael, was one of those killed. the 25-year-old knew in high school he wanted to join the military. sons, husbands and fathers make up the rest of the victims. patrick hamburger of nebraska had been planning to propose to his girlfriend. aaron carson vaughn leaves behind a wife and two young children. his baby girl, born just weeks before he was deployed. >> he was such a good boy and he loved his country enough to put his life on the line. >> reporter: the mission was just one of dozens of operations u.s. special forces carry out every week in afghanistan. an investigation is under way to figure out how and why this time it ended in tragedy. >> we're going to question something, why was it a chinoook? the chinoook helicopters are big, lumbering, noisy, not the black hawk, getting in and out quickly. >> reporter: u.s. forces recovered the wreckage of the helicopte

most of them were navy s.e.a.l.s. >> president obama expressed sorrow at the loss of 30 american troops including navy s.e.a.l. commanders killed during a night mission in afghanistan. it is the deadliest attack in the nearly decade long war. the taliban is taking credit. >> a helicopter like the one seen here crashes killing 30 american service members in the eastern part of the country. most of them were u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s belonging to team six. the unit involved in the raid that killed bin laden. the president was briefed on the tragedy and issued a statement saying their deaths are a reminder of the sacrifices made by the men and women of our military and their families. the taliban claims it downed the helicopter with rocket fire. nato confirming there was enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash. >> they have skill sets, they have is capability to point a grenade at a helicopter and even at night to bring that helicopter down if they're close enough to it. >> in addition to the 30 americans, 7 afghan soldiers and one interpreter were also killed. >> the afghan defense

what happened in the final seconds when navy s.e.a.l.s burst into his room? lawmaker usually loyal to president obama votes no on the debt ceiling deal. bernie sanders is here and voicing his deep frustration and anger. >> i do believe that the president should be held accountable. when you say something in a campaign and you don't do what you say you would do, it's fair to raise those issues. you're gonna look so handsome once i get these little white pieces off you. how many do i have? more than you think. [ female announcer ] you can't pass mom's inspection with lots of pieces left behind. that's why there's charmin ultra strong. its diamondweave texture is soft and more durable versus the ultra rippled brand. so it holds up better for a more dependable clean. fewer pieces left behind. you sure clean up nice. yes i do. [ female announcer ] we all go. why not enjoy it a little more with charmin ultra strong? and to help feel fresh and clean, try charmin freshmates. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, available only from l

of the 30 americans aboard, 22 were navy s.e.a.l.s, most of them members of the now famous s.e.a.l. team six, the unit that killed osama bin laden. the other eight were air force and army personnel. civilian translator, and specially trained dog. the names of those killed have not been officially released but word is spreading as friends and family mourn their loss. many of them were still in their 20s and 30s, some with young children. their families knew they were in a kill or be killed business. >> he has gone over. >> reporter: that was the brother of michael strange. >> he loves all you guys, all his friends. >> reporter: they came from all over the united states. craig vickers, a bomb disposal expert, was from the hawaiian islands, john brown, a medic with the s.e.a.l.s, from arkansas. his wife and mother were among the 30 families who heard the worst possible news. >> the office of -- called my daughter-in-law, tabitha, and informed her that my son, john, had been killed this morning in afghanistan. >> reporter: today there is a ceremony scheduled at the operation command in