. >> randall pinkston is live in washington with the latest developments. randall? >> richelle, the commander of the washington navy yard said they're taking steps to reopen the facility to employees who have not been allowed in after monday's shooting. however, building 197, the navy sea systems command, that will remain closed as authorities continue to collect evidence. today for the first time we have reaction from the mother of aaron alexis. she apologized to the families of the murder victims. >> my son alexis has murdered 12 people and wounded several others. his actions have had a profound and everlasting effect on families of victims. i don't know why he did what he did. aaron is now in a place where he can no longer do harm to anyone. for that i am glad. to families of the victims i am so very sorry that this has happened. my heart is broken. >> president obama will be attending a memorial service to honor the innocent victims. it will take place this weekend as the president shares in the nation's grief. >> randall pinkston, randall, before i let you go,

. >> randall pinkston outside the white house. and libby casey, live on capitol hill. i have to ask you - i'm wondering after a second day of testimony from secretary kerry are the members getting the answers they are looking for? >> well, they are certainly getting a chance to ask questions. you'll notice in a lot of these hearing exchanges members of congress start by giving a bit of a speech before getting to the heart of their question. it made twitter when liberal democrat allan grayson gave a speech, a preamble. they are asking questions from everything as to how much it will cost, how much of a

stephanie. >> all right, randall pinkston, thank you randall. >>> foreign policy advisor to secretary hagel when he was a senator, currently editor and ceo of monitor. thank you very much for joining us from washington. you were the foreign policy advisor to chuck hagel when he was serving in the senate. i wonder if you are advising him today as he pushes for the obama's case for military action what you owould advise him? >> i think what's happening in the congress today is a difficult choice for many members. while the resolution seems to be going ahead, the senate foreign relations committee on which chuck hagel served as well as secretary of state john kerry, president obama and vice president biden all served on that very committee, they had a full day of hearings yesterday and that committee has marked up a resolution, which may be voted on as soon as this afternoon, and which has tightened the language regarding the authorization of force to be sure that the -- if there is a strike on syria, the strike will be limited in duration and scope and targeted for -- to degrade chemica

randall pinkston is in washington with more. are they whispering to each other writing notes or something? >> we can hope they are at least whispering to each other but no public signs. the president appeared to be visibly ticked off by this plan of the gop house of representatives in exchange for defunding the affordable care act. he's also concerned the president is about another line in the sand that the republicans are drawing next month when the nation hits the debt limit and the threat by some republicans of throwing the nation into default on its financial obligations. >> the united states of america is not a dead beat nation. we are a compassionate nation. we are the world's bedrock investment and doing anything that threatens that is the height of irresponsibility. that is why i will not negotiate over the full faith and credit of the united states. i will not allow anyone to harm this country's reputation or threaten to impact pain on any individual just to make a political point. >>> he called the speaker to say he wo

but we can hope, dell. >> randall pinkston, thank you very much. and as we watch those images that randall was talk about, the moment of unity, it didn't last long last night, this is john mccain, a frequent critic of the white house talk about how he is concerned, worried about any diplomatic deal with the russians. >> the russians have sent plane load after plane load of convention weapons into syria, that has helped assad, and hezbollah and others, and has tipped the balance from a favorable situation for the syrian army is in, to save forable to assad. >> as was the case some 12 years ago on the day of september 11th, this day 12 years later, the world is debating who it should get involved in the middle east. on this day many are days a day off to remember what happened. they continue to read the names at the world trade center site where they began this morning around 8:30, and they will continue for another 26 minutes until all of the names are read. our david shuster is at the world trade center memorial site. david it has been quite the em

randall pinkston, al jazeera, washington. >> first, smoke-free. now begun free.tarbucks' ceo makes an appeal for mont more guns in its store. and a lucky winner in the power ball jackpot. >> starbucks is now in the middle of a gun debate. the company is running ads in many major neighborhoods asking customers to leave their guns at home. jonathan martin spoke with people in nashville. >> reporter: with 13,000 stores across the u.s. starbucks has to please customers and make money no matter what the gun laws are. so hoping that asking customers not to bring guns has to satisfied english that's his gun. there is no need to have a gun inside of starbucks. >> but it's the right of the patron to go elsewhere, shop somewhere where guns are allowed if they so choose. they have the right not to go there any more. >> reporter: the $13 billion a year company is stuck in the middle in the debate of guns. until few it delivere deferred l laws. but in an attempted rally in newtown, connecticut, it said that firearms were no longer welcome. it was made in a video announcement

. >> randall pinkston joins us live from washington. randall, is it inevitable? is the president ready for the government to be shut down? >> reporter: the president hopes it certain happen but since it has happened before, all three brags of government have their con techni-ince see plans, including among other things, furloughs and delays of some federal payments. mean while some republican senators who oppose the president and obamacare are claiming they can get some democrats to join them. >> all 45 republicans in the senate in march voted to defund obamacare. we will keep those and add a 46th, geoff kiaza from new jersey. i hope that a few senate democrats, particularly those from red states who will referee elections this year will consider joining us. this is what the american people asked us to do. >> that's senator mike lee of utah. he and his counteder parts -- counterparts continue to say they do not want a government shutdown but they also don't want funding for obamacare and their purpose is to keep the government operating. the minority leader in th

. >> randall pinkston joins us live from washington with more. randall, the drums are beating louder and in unison at this hour. >> reporter: yes indeed, they are, dale. president obama said this morning that he believes and he wants to make sure that there is unified action with respect to any strike against syria. he met with 16 members of congressional leadership along with his national security staff, and this morning he picked up a key vote of support from republican house speaker john boehner. >> this is something that the united states, as a country, needs to do. i'm going to support the president's call for action. i believe that my colleagues should support this call for action. >> reporter: in addition to speaker boehner, who is the speaker of the entire house and not just the republicans, we also hear today from cantor, his number two, eric cantor, another opponent of president obama in some many -- on so many issues. cantor saying that he, too, supports the president's call for action against syria. keep in mind that yesterday two key

. >> randall pinkston is at the site of the shooting a few miles away from capitol hill and the whiteouse. what has the security about that like sings the shooting? >> well, this morning, morgan, the streets have been reopened. yesterday it was a total lockdown around here, no one could get in or out for blocks around. the only streets that remained barricade the by police officers are those providing immediate access to the washington navy yard. otherwise, everyone's free to come and go as they please. this is a parking lot across the street from the complex and we see people arriving here to go to work this morning. the washington navy yard has been described by local officials as one of the most secure facilities in the city of washington, d.c., so a lot of questions are being raised about how exactly this gunman gained access with those high powered weapons. >> you say it's described as one of the most secure facilities. judging from what you see there and given the level of security that you just described, is this the type of crime that only an insider could have committed? >> w

randall pinkston joins us life from washington, d.c. good evening randall. >> good evening, john. president obama is back -- on his way back from the g-20 summit. the administration insisting that notwithstanding public protest and a lot of reticence from lawmakers that in the end the president will get the support he needs. >> i now ask unanimous consent that a letter of notification relating to section 2, be printed in the record. >> senate majority leader harry reed took another step to have congress take another step in syria, putting it on the calendar. the resolution could be up for a vote in the senate as early as next week but the outcome is uncertain. even president obama admits it will be a hard sell but before leaving the g-20 summit in russia he pressed his case again. >> failing orespond to this breach of international norm would send a signal to rogue nations, authoritarian regimes and terrorist organizations that they don't have to pay a consequence. >> many are telling their lawmakers to stay out of syria or if there is a strike to make sure that american forces do

del. >> randall pinkston thank you very much live from washington, d.c. >>> al jazeera's mark schneideras been following the story from texas. he joins us there live. mark, you've been talking to people who have a sense of who the motive might have been. what are they telling you? >> reporter: well, just a vague sense. they say, you know, alexis could get angry from time to time. one of the things he was recently angry about was not getting paid in a timely fashion from the naval contractor job in japan. his check wasn't coming on time and wasn't as much as he thought it would be. he mentioned he was angry with the government. if that's the motive, we don't know for sure. that's one thing his friends were talking about this morning. >> mark, we read reports on his two arrests for gun-related offenses. did alexis show any violent tendencies according to his friends? >> reporter: not according to his friends. they say when he got upset, he would often get withdrawn and maybe go back to his room at the apartment he was sharing with one of his friends and play video games. sometimes he woul

randall pinkston joins us from washington. randall, what have we heard so far from house leaders? >> well, so far we've been hearing very positive statements, very positive reaction to president obama's call for reaction to syria for assad's use of chemical weapons. 16 congressional leaders attended the meeting led by president obama. let's in attention, vice president biden, john kerr i and other national security staff. it was thought that he would be hard for him to get support from his long-time critics, including john baner, but john boehner came out in support of the president. >> nato is not likely to take action. the united states for our entire history has stood up for democracy and freedom for people around the world. the use of these weapons has to be responded to, and only the united states has the capability and the capacity to stop assad, and to warn others around the world that this type of behavior is not going to be tolerated. this is something that the united states as a country needs to do. i'm going to support the president's call for action. i believe that my

back to randall pinkston. when you hear numbers like that, it is clear what the president and his team are up against, and it's clear that today secretary of state kerry, secretary of defense chuck hagel, chairman of the joint chiefs general dempsey get tough questions from members from the house once this hearing gets under way. >> reporter: if there is a hopeful sign with respect to the administration convincing members of congress, perhaps it's in the fact that the closed-door security meeting went on much longer than anticipated with the senate form r foreign relations committee where sensitive intelligence was shared to make the administration's case that indeed these chemical weapons were under the control of assad and they were used. i suspect that they may have also been some information about what happens if. those questions about what happens after the strike. with respect to the poll results, the only hopeful sign there is that this poll was taken before bipartisan leadership came out yesterday in s

all right, covering the hearings on syria we turn now to randall pinkston. randall, we'll talk to you. were there any specifics given as to the potential military operation in syria? >> no, and obviously that's an operational issue that neither secretary kerry or hagel or general dempsey would reveal even if they knew the details. part of what they're going to do is going to be determined by the resolution, also the orders that they eventually receive from president obama. they did say that in a broad sense any military action the u.s. takes will not be aimed at resolving serious civil war. general dempsey spelled out the purpose of a strike. >> this isn't about eliminating chemical weapons. that's not possible given the number and direction of them. it's about convincing the assad regime that it's unacceptable for them to use it, and that's the limit of this military operation. we're postured for the possibility of retaliation, and i can assure you that our regional partners are as well. >> general dempsey did say that for his purposes militarily, obviously

randall pinkston joins us now, randall, what are the key concerns that congressmen have. >> there aretumbling blocks, and they extend across party lines, for example, senator richard burr of north carolina, a republican, appears to be leaning towards support. >> that's up to the administration to share the appropriate information. i think thi if they do everyonel agree. >> but one of the president's strongest supporters said she's not quite ready to make the commitment. >> if there is a strike, we're allies, and what will they do? i know the 37 nations said that they would support us, but what does support mean? >> reporter: well, you know, one of the issues hanging over all of the members of congress, especially the liberal democrats who listened to the evidence, voted for going to war, and then discovered there were no weapons of mass destruction, some are saying this is a totally different circumstance. there is evidence of the use of nerve gas in syria, and that it must be dealt with, and so therefore, but as we're hearing a lot of members of congress on both sides of the aisle st

joining me more on this is ran randall pinkston. good morning. >> good morning rachel. >> the draft resolution as you indicate could be voted on as early as today. it also includes a provision that requires the presidential report back to congress ten days after the initiation of military action and then every 20 why days thereafter. and of course it does give the president the option after a 60-day exploration to come back and ask for 30 more days. this afternoon it would be a replay for secretary kerry and also for secretary hagel before the house foreign affairs committee. they will be questioned just as strenuously as they were yesterday. a full fledged debate on whether the u.s. should engage in military action in syria. >> so when does the full house take up a vote? >> well, the full house will take up the vote after the house foreign affairs committee approves a resolution. presumably they will approve the resolution. they also have the option of changing it and sending it back to the house foreign relations committee for the

randall pinkston reports. >> fbi and military investigators continue to gather evidence from monday's shooting at the washington navy yard. beyond the yellow tape in building 197 crime scene specialists are closely measuring the tra trajectory of every round. first rented a rifle at a gun store in virginia, he practiced then purchased an 870 shotgun and ammunition. alexis had a history of mental issues that prompted him to seek medical care still he was able to maintain his government clearance allowing him to work for a defense contractor with access to a military base. defense department officials want to know why. >> there are many questions that are going to be asked, need to be asked, many reviews, and the intensity of those reviews have to go down to every aspect. the security of the physical premises, the security clearance, standards of that security clearance are they strong enough why do we do certain things the way we do, we need answers and we will find those answers. >> today the gunman's mother expressed regret for her son's action he and apologized to the victims. >> aa

randall pinkston is following latest developments, and he's joining us now from washington. randall? >> secretary chuck hagel said he's going to look at a key question in this whole incident. how is it that someone like aaron alexis who has brushes with law enforcement, misuse of weapons firing into the ceilings of an apartment not to mention mental issues, how was it that he was able to obtain security clearance that would allow him access to a military base? >> obviously there were a lot of red flags, as you noted. why they didn't get picked up. why they didn't get incorporated in the process. what he was doing. those are all legitimate questions that we're going to be dealing with. when you go back in hindsight and look at all this there were red flags, of course there were. should we have picked them up? why didn't we? how could we? all these questions need to be answered. >> secretary hagel has authori authorized an top to bottom investigation along with other agencies along with congress, which we thin suspect will looko security clearances in the weeks and months ahead

. >> randall pinkston outside the white house. and libby casey, live on capitol hill. i have to ask you - i'm wondering after a second day of testimony from secretary kerry are the members getting the answers they are looking for? >> well, they are certainly getting a chance to ask questions. you'll notice in a lot of these hearing exchanges members of congress start by giving a bit of a speech before getting to the heart of their question. it made twitter when liberal democrat allan grayson gave a speech, a preamble. they are asking questions from everything as to how much it will cost, how much of a commitment is it to the long-term strategic goals. i spoke to another democrat in the queens area, and he is not ready to commit to a vote. he sat on the committee, asked some questions and has more. he expects to get answers behind closed doors in intelligence briefings. we'll pick up with them tomorrow. we won't see what is happening behind the scenes. they'll have a chance to ask more questions. it will happen tomorrow and again on monday. the congressman says he's wre

randall pinkston, al jazeera, washington. >>> some of the rebels are linked to a al qaeda and that's worrying western leaders. >> reporter: rebels went to al qaeda pushing their way the to new territory. this is the historic town northeast of damascus. they say they are the controlled here but it's not clear what he has elsewhere in the rebelle city. the u.s. say it doesn't intend to support extremists but any military action which destabilizing the assad government is likely to trouble the rebels. the threats of an impending strikes results to the opposition. >> it shows perhaps a credible threat to the use of force of the united states and its allies having somewhat of an effect the already that will add that we are now going to hear. >> reporter: syria is not simply split between forces and the rebels. the opposition is fractured. groups are breaking away forming new alliances. that's another challenge for the u.s. as it intends to gather support for military action. it could mean that if the u.s. strikes the president it could end up supporting fighters who along with other globa

let's bring in our randall pinkston. any other impression since we last spoke to you, randall? >> only this, the information that the obama administration is receiving from the committees, it's not just republican who is are standing in opposition. listen to this quote: the u.s. should use limited military force against the assad regime, but we should not give the president a blank check. this comes from a democrat who supports the use of force but only in a limited fashion. that would be representative engel. so the administration administration sees there is much more work to be done before congress will sign on. >> randall, we talk about a check to be written here and no one is talking about the cost might be of any military strike, but that is being considered by the senate foreign relations committee, considering to put a 90-day action. at this moment let's get you back to the hearing on capitol hill. >> a reason is a number of their members, three or four of them are not in favor of it, so they didn't--they did a consensus statement. but individual countries are prepared

. >>> randall pinkston joins us live now from washington. ery time the president makes a public appearance, randall people are going to expect him to address what is going on in syria. >> absolutely. and he did address what was going on in syria today. but of course with secretary kerry meeting with the russian official in geneva with the congress still considering those resolutions authorizing use of force, syria is front and center for the station and for president obama. >> i am hopeful that the discussions that secretary kerry has with foreign minister lavrov as well as some of the other players in this can yield a concrete result, and i know that he is going to be working very hard over the next several days to see what the possibilities are there. >> we heard president obama refer to working hard over the next several days, suggesting, obviously, that the window of opportunity is somewhat flexible. yesterday the white house press secretary, jay carney, refused to set a deadline on the time it would take for some outcome of these diploma

al jazeera randall pinkston joins us from washington, d.c. randall, today's sense will be yet another moment the president will have to serve as consoler-in-chief. are we expecting him to say anything different than what he said in the past after mass shootings. >> other than mentioning victims, i can't imagine the president will say anything different. he has made a series of speeches talking about the need for better gun control laws, talking about the need for congressional action. we know, however, this is a topic that is on his mind. last night, he addressed the congressional black caucus here in washington, d.c. and he talked about the latest victims at the washington navy yard. >> i will be meet and mourning with families in this city who now know the same unspeakable grief of families in newtown and aurora and to yucson and chicag and new orleans and all across the country, people whose loved ones were torn from them without headlines sometimes or public outcry, but it's happening everything single day. >> randall, president obama has

randall pinkston, al jazeera, washington. >>> refugees continue to stream out of syria by the hundreds three boats carney more than 800 refuge easy was intercepted off the coast of italy. one boat carrying mostly women and children was sinking. everyone on board was rescued. the united nations estimates 3,000 refugees have arrived in italy since august. >>> in poland, the movement in the 1980s. thousands jammed the streets of warsaw today. marchers were protesting the labor policies. many carried signs demanding better pay and better jobs. it was the culmination of four days of demonstrations in warsaw. in mexico city, police disbursed thousands of striking teachers with tear gas in and water can options. the force ended a three-week protest against the country's educational reform. anna rainy reports. >> the beginning of the end of a month-long protest. thousands of riot police cleared the plaza on friday. their move was steady, quick and efficient: in the lead-up to the confrontation, many wielding makeshift weapons said they would stand their ground. >> we will not let them take the

. >> for more we are joined now by randall pinkston in washington. randall?> law enforcement officers are still on the ground collecting evidence. but even as the investigation continues navy officials are preparing to return the yard to operations. as we know there has been the use of only essential personnel for the past few years. we have the captain of the washington yard. thank you for joining us. tell us exactly what instructions have you given to the employees about when they come back and when operations will resume as normally as they can, given the circumstances? >> okay. let me begin with our thoughts and prayers continue with the families of those lost and to all of the employees that were affected by monday's events. today is our period of transition and healing. for the transition piece we have opened our 9th straight gate and o street gate, and allowing people to come back and collect their personal equipment that was left here, their cars, and as long as we have the healing here for all of those affects, we have set up counselors here at the w

. >> randall pinkston has been tracking political reaction from washington, d.c. including the response from republicans. >> in the republican response to the president's weekly address, the gop selected nevada governor brian sandoval to give poliresit obama some advice on bi-partisan leadership. >> like washington, nevada has a politically divided government. but that hasn't stopped our efforts to grow nevada's economy. good executives like all good leaders must expect opposition when making decisions or when making or enforcing the law. but executives must engage those that disagree with them. they must listen to all ideas, persuade when possible and respectfully and firmly disagree when necessary. >> we should note it is ironic that republicans selected governor sand 0 value to respond to the president. sandoval was one of the first republicans to support the affordable care act. in nevada, he has taken steps to set up healthcare exchanges and expand medicaid coverage, two key provisions of obamacare. randall pinkston, al jazeera, washington. >> still ahead, a

randall pinkston has been following that story, and he joins us now live. >> john, it was a successful vote for the obama administration in trying to gain congressional support to prescribing in syria, 10-7. on the hour side it was rough sledding for team obama greated with a cloud of skepticism throughout the day, and at a time when congressional curtsy was tossed aside. as the hearing began, anti-war protesters held up red hands. in this exchange republican tomorrow moreno wanted to know who a strike would help. >> do you trust these week? >> well, that's not my business-- >> certainly it has to be the business because you're making decisions to go into war and put american lives at risk. >> we're not unaware of all the different groups with self interest-- >> excuse me sir, i think we are aware-- >> congressman let me respond to that. >> would you do it quickly. >> it's the focus is not on good guys, bad guys. the focus is on resolution-- >> i don't think good guys would be using the gas. >> reporter: house members, many of them opponents of the obama administration, went on the att

randall pinkston is following this for us from capitol hill. >> it began at the white house with president obama, vice president biden went out and paused for a moment and then went back inside. the president going from there to the pentagon where theres with a wreath laying ceremony and brief remarks from the president paying tribute of those who died on september 11th and the patriots who have given their lives since then. here on capitol hill there was also a moment of silence, with speaker boehner, nancy pelosi, harry reid and mitch mcconnell all speaking here with music, the pledge of allegiance, and the members of congress standing in unity. an unity that we're not going forward in syria. >> it's hard to oaring that almost 12 hours, what impact did it if anyone of how the united states got here with regards to the situation in the middle east, the murky situation in iraq, and making sure this time they give the diplomatic everything to change. >> i think all the points you raised in your question would certainly be issues that would be thought about by members of congress. i do know

randall pinkston is live with the latest. randall it passed the house.l us what the next step it is? >> reporter: it's a hot potato that the senate really doesn't want, but that's where it is going to go. it includes the provision as you say to defund the affordable care act, obamacare, and the senate laters, democrats and even some republicans say that idea is dead on arrival, but for now john boehner is celebrating. >> while we had a victory today for the american people and frankly we also had a victory for common sense. listen, senator bachmann saad it right several months ago when he said that this law is a train wreck. and it is a train wreck. and while the president said if we pass this law, health care costs will go down. now we find out that health care costs are going up for most americans. president said if you like the health insurance policy that you have, you can keep it. we found out that's not quite accurate either, and millions of americans will find out that is just not unite true. >> reporter: speaker boehner and the democrats all choo

randall pinkston joins us live from washington, d.c. with that story. randall. >> reporter: just minutes ago the white house released a picture of vice president biden chairing a meeting in the white house situation room. in that meeting three members of the house of representatives and four senators, all of them democrats, as the effort continues to get support for the strike on syria, an effort that appears to be increasingly difficult. there were more top-secret briefings from members of congress as the obama administration continues to make the case for military strikes on syria. even some of the president's closest allies are not rushing to support his decision. >> i am busy doing my due diligence to decide how i will vote and how i will vote that will be in the best interests of the united states, deter further use of repugnant and grim and ghoulish weapons in syria and the rest of the world. >> reporter: in iraq when no weapons were found hangs over this decision. >> i am trying to see if those same problems are evident this time, and they are not

randall pinkston joins me now from the washington navy yard where a search for a motive continues, randall>> reporter: del, there are so many questions to be answered. one of them how could a person with a history of mental illness, and us of firearms, how could that person be give becoma defense contractor. >> reporter: looking for answers and information about aaron alexis. the gunman who shot and killed 12 people and injured eight others at the washington navy yard on monday. >> we don't know what the motivation was, we asked if there was likely terrorism involved. we have no decision of that. we'll continue to investigate that. >> reporter: alexis used his valid pass as a defense contractor to gain access to the navy facility. the police are ruled out any other possibly shooters in the attack. >> we feel comfortable that we have the single and sole person responsible. >> reporter: the shooting brought that thenavy sea system. investigators say at one point alexis was perched on an atrium picking off his victims down below. many were told to stay in place as tactical team started huntin

. >> randall pinkston joining us live. that's half of the full court press by the white house, and in an hour from now john kerry and chuck hagel will suppress the white house. >> at the white house, a lot of strong statement and support of the president's call for action. and del, it's important to important to hear that we're called to action. speaker boehner's press secretary coming out with a statement saying that it's still up to the president. it's his responsibility to make his case to the american people, perhaps tempering that support a bit, waiting to see which way the wind will be blowing ahead of the huge meeting this afternoon. secretary kerry, secretary hagel going before the powerful senate security committee, and we'll see if the committee gets behind it this afternoon. >> if two men know the senate well, it's both of those gentlemen, former senator john kerry and former senator chuck hagel. sherry from political co-,the white house must be smiling right now. oddsmaker would have said that this would not be

randall pinkston is in washington for us, marc jacobs is with us as well. and randall, let me start with you. impressions so far of the hearing? >> well, certain, tony, much more pointed questioning today on the part of members of the house of foreign affairs committee than we heard yesterday in the senate. pointed questions, questions challenging the logic, what the effectiveness of a strike would be, questions of where are america's allies, who else is on board with this plan, and here we're just listening to joe wilson of south carolina even bringing in domestic issues of suggesting, alleging, raising the possibility that the president was some how using this crisis to divert attention from the affordable care act and some other domestic issues, from my perspective, a very odd com compilation of charges of this decision to use military force. it was congressman wilson who in a state of the union address called mr. obama a liar. >> yes, have you heard much of a challenge to the intelligence case being made by the secretary of state? >> i haven't heard much

. >> randall pinkston is at the site of the shooting a few miles away from the capital and the whiteouse. what is the security like where you are? >> del, the streets around the navy yards have been reopened. of course yesterday everything was on lockdown for blocks, people not allowed in or out. this morning, the streets are open, however, a lot of business establishments near the navy yard remain closed and of course the navy yard itself has been closed off to most of the 3,000 employees as the report indicated on the essential personnel being allowed inside today. >> randall, we also know that capitol hill shut down. even the nats canceled their game. are things in the capitol slowly getting back to normal? >> the white house canceled a music program scheduled for last night. we do know that congress did for a while shut down with an abundance of caution, there was never a threat on the congress itself, but of course, the chambers were closed down, people not allowed in or out. this morning, there is business as usual with respect to the senate at least. the senate and the house w

randall pinkston live in dc.nk you so much. >>> hurricane manuel has weakened significantly, but the storm had a devastating impact when it slammed into mexico. the acapulco area is still dealing with the mud slides and bracing for more storms. >> reporter: this is the result of tase of torrential rains, dozens of bridges and roads laid to waste. people wait for emergency rations flown in by the military. many are desperate for help. >> translator: we just want medicine and support, something to eat. >> reporter: more than one million people have been affected by two tropical storms that slammed into mexico last weekend. rescue teams are minding more bodice as they each isolated areas. survivors say the mud slides came out of nowhere. >> i was walking down the street near a store when i heard a loud noise, and i just stood there. i saw how the dirt and dust began to billow up. when i saw that it was coming down to the field, i started running. >> reporter: the government is appealing to mexicans to help out. food

randall pinkston, good to see you. let's talk first of all about this op ed in the new york times from russian president vladimir putin. how is the white house responding to that? president putin being an ally of syria doing what he can to avert any kind of military strike from the u.s. what is the u.s.'s reaction? >> putin has his own objectives and aims at heart and certainly not america's. we would like to be the fly on the wall for shall we say the unofficial reaction to what putin wrote but we do have a senior administration official telling us this morning that president putin has invested his credibility in transferring assad's chemical weapons to international control and ultimately are destroying them. if world will note whether russia can follow through on that commitment. and you don't have to really read through the lines here to see what the white house is saying, that now mr. putin its up to you to deliver what you promised, which is to gain international control of syria's weapons towards destroying them

randall pinkston joins us live. how will the republicans try to derail health care law. talk a blibled that. >> the first stage of this showdown at the okay corral. the fiscal year ends september 30th and if the congress does not pass a continuing resolution to keep things flowing then there will be a government shut down. so the republicans say they are willing to pass a continuing resolution but only if it strips funding from the affordable care act, house resolution 59. just moments ago, the president's office of management and budget has released a statement saying that if in fact the house passes joint resolution 59 he will veto about bill. that is to say, he will accept a shut down. of course, the republicans are going to blame it on president obama, president obama is counting on the fact that the voters will be looking at the republicans who have tried repeatedly to block obamacare for the past four years, five years. none of those efforts have succeeded not even at the supreme court. it is possible that at the last minute house speaker joan boehner will introduc

randall pinkston, the sides have a lot to say not necessarily to each other. >> not at all. not in agreement. both republicans and democrats both say they do not want a government shut down at the end of the month when the budget runs out and they don't want to default on the debt ceiling but president obama and draghts are saying the action he -- democrats are saying the action he of the gop are not helpful. >> the united states of america is not a deadbeat nation. we are a compassionate nation. we are the world's bedrock investment and doing anything that threatened that is the height of irresponsibility. that's why i will not negotiate over the full faith and credit of the united states. i will not allow anyone to harm this country's reputation or threaten to inflict economic pain on millions of american people just to make a ideological point. >> and the president says the solution is a clean bill, something that will keep the money flowing at the end of the month and something that will raise the debt ceiling without attaching what republicans say is an absolute necessi

randall pinkston joins us from washington. what are they saying about the budget fight? >> house speaker john boehner said the same thing he said at least 40 times before. legislation that never made it through congress because the senate wouldn't take it they're going to try again tomorrow. they're going to try to pass a continuing resolution to keep the money flowing for the government to stay in operation past the fiscal year, september 30th. but they also want to defund the affordable care act. meanwhile, democrats are saying that it will never work. even if it passes the senate. somehow. they are saying that the american public will have a very, very serious response when they realize the consequences of trying to shut down the government. this is congressman charlie wrangle. >> closing down the government doesn't mean that a whole lot of federal civil servants are going to be in the street alone. it means that people that are going for dialysis, it means that people that are on life suspension, it means people that are on the brink of getting a job, it means an eco

randall pinkston is live now in washington where the president is preparing to speak. randall, these attacks are personal for any president, but for this president, they are adding up by some counts as many as 14 mass shootings during his term. what do we expect the president to say today? >> well, actually, detail, we expect him to say when these shootings occur, the daily shootings that occur like his own hometown of chicago. by one count, there are at least one or two shootings every week that involve four or more persons. the president is not going to be expected to propose any new legislation of t legislation. last night speaking to the congressional black caucus, he acanswered his administration has not been able to get congress to pass tighter gun control legislation earlier this year. he said what needs to be done now is for the people in congress who are concerned about gun violence to keetch tp the pressure up, get up and go back at it, said the president. >> shifting gears, there is that work coming up over the debt ceiling and, also, the situation involving

star-spangled banner yet wave ♪ ♪ o'er the land of the free ♪ and the home of the brave >> so randall pinkston image, it was 12 years ago, it could be argue that in the days and months that have followed, unity is not a word that is very common in washington. >> reporter: that's true, but when it comes to 9/11, i think there is still a sense of unity, that the nation has to come together to fend off threats foreign and domestic. obviously there has been a lot of partisanship with respect to syria, but today we have democrats and republicans standing together to remember that horrible day. flag at half mast, and people coming buy stopped out of respect. >> randall this is somewhat of a different observance of the september 11th attacks. but instead there have been some political speeches but not the type we have seen in years past, and yet it is just 12 hours after the speech by the president where he laid out his reason to pause in syria. where do we stand on that debate? >> well, as you know the senate has put off for a while, probably until next week at the earliest, any vote on authorizing

i>> randall pinkston reporting from washington. i know you'll continue to follow this. thank you. >> the house voted to slash the food stamp program by nearly $40 billion over 10 years on thursday. the bill passed without a single democratic vote, and president obama has promised to veto the measure. it's the second part of the farm about him that the house voted on back in july. even with these potential cuts, the food stamp program will cost $700 billion over that time. right now, one in seven people is on food stamps. >> the death toll from mexico's back-to-back hurricanes has gone up to 97. dozens are still missing. the resort area of acapulco is suffering from flooding and landslides. they are bracing for more storms. we have more from mexico city. >> this is the result of days of torrential rains, dozens of bridges and roads laid to waste, thousands of homes destroyed, 10s of thousands of people made homeless. people wait anxiously for emergency rations. many having without food or water for days and are debt pretty for help. >> we just want medicine and support,

into randall pinkston joins us with more on the budget battle. is anybody speaking from a new script at least? >> sort of. we have heard a lot about the division within the republican party especially as between republicans on the house side and moderate republicans on the senate side. this morning we are hearing an effort to get democrats to join republicans in the senate to oppose the affordable care act. we heard from utah senator mike lee. >> all 45 rep was in the senate in march voted to defund obamacare. we'll keep those and at a 46, jeff from new jersey. i hope that a few senate developments, those from red states who are up for re-location will consider joining us. >> this is what the american people ask us to do. >> there, we go, if, in fact, and frankly i have no idea whether the senator from louisiana might be willing to join the republicans in the effort. senate majority leader harry reid say all the democrats are on board and maintaining the affordable care act, maintaining funding for obamacare, meaning he'll take it out of the reso

aljazeera's randall pinkston joins us from washington, d.c. what is the likelihood of a shutdown at this point? >> well, one financial services company is saying it's increased about 40%. let's take a quick look at the backdrop here. we are looking at the conclusion of the nation's fiscal year, september 30, when the government runs out of money. then the other key data is mid october, when this nation will hit its debt ceiling limit. failure to fix either problem could result in a government shutdown. here's what house speaker john boehner has to say. >> there should be no conversation about shutting the government down. that's not the goal here. our goal here is to cut spending and to protect the american people from obamacare. it's as simple as that. >> now, speaker boehner says there should be no talk about a government shutdown. he knows if republicans carry through with their threat to defund the affordable care act, that democrats and president obama won't go for that, and so that would result in a shutdown. the second date, the debt ce

. >> randall pinkston joins me live from the navy yard where the search continues. >> the search for a motive conditions and the search for the method the gunman used in sneaking in weapons into a building that is said to be one of the most secure in the city. >> trying to make sense of the unthinkable. investigators and city leaders are looking for answers and information about 34-year-old aaron alexis - a gunman who shot and killed 12 and injured eight others at the washington navy yard on monday. ed. >> we don't know what the motive is. we were asked if terrorism was involved - we have no indication of that. we haven't ruled it out, we continue to investigate that. >> the motive is a misty, but investigators say aaron alexis used a valid pass as his employment from a defense contract to gain access to the facility. police ruled out other shooters. >> we feel comfortable we have exhausted all means to eliminate the possible last suspect. we feel comfortable we have the single and sole person responsible. >> the shooting brought the capital to a standstill. the first shots at # 8:15

. >> randall pinkston lye, thank you. well, the issue of mental health and gun control is back in the forefront after new revelations the navy yard shooter was struggled with serious issues. juan. >> during a run in with rhode island police, just six weeks ago, aaron alexis told officers he had been hearing voices and believed he was being followed. now the incident troubled them so much, they informed the navy about the altercation. >> aaron alexis was in rhode island on business in august, when he called police saying he was hearing voices through the walls of his hotel and being followed. alexis also claimed someone was sending vibrations through his body using some sort of microwave machine. police say they told the navy about the incident, and were told it would be checked out. one security expert says mentally ill people not getting the service they need is a recipe for disaster. >> alexis was still given security clearance, and was able to buy a gun days before the shooting which he used in the attack. he also soug

randall pinkston. randall. >> punishing assad for his alleged use of nerve gas, the obama administration continues to make the case for military strike on syria. but even some of the president's closest allies are not rushing to support his position. >> i'm busy doing my due diligence to decide how i will vote. and how i will vote that will be in the best interest of the united states, deter further use of repugnant, repugnant and grim and ghoulish weapons of mass destruction both in syria and around the world. >> the shadow of the iraq war when no weapons of mass destruction were found, hangs over this decision. >> are those same problems evident this time? they are not. i think the intelligence is different. it is much better. that it is conclusive on the fact that these weapons were used. >> for that reason, california senator dianne feinstein says she will support a resolution authorizing use of force. but some senators say there are other options. >> this is not a choice between doing nothing and d

. >> randall pinkston has been tracking the day's political reaction in government including a response from the g.o.p. >> the republican response to the president's weakly address, governor brian sandoval to, give president obama on advice on bipartisan leadership. >> like washington, nevada has a divided government. good executives like all good leaders must expect opposition when making decisions or make organize enforcing the law. executives must engage those who disagree with them. they must listen to all ideas, persuade when possible, and firmly disagree when necessary. >> it is ironic that governor sandoval was selected to respond to the president. san valley was one of the first governors to support the healthcare medical act. he expanded two key provisions of obamacare. >> after the possible government shutdown are sorted out, congress will then debate racing the debt ceiling. one of the items, the keystone oil pipeline. >> the keystone oil pipeline is still a line on the map but it has fueled dozens of rallies and protests where hundreds of people have been arrested and it has

. >> it is unclear if there are enough votes to pass it, randall pinkston joins us live. randall, what did the senate do today to move the resolution along? >> well, tony, what happens was the senate majority leader opened what he called a short seasosession. that starts the talk clicking. that allows the resolution passed by the senate foreign relations committee this past wednesday, it allows it to go n the calendar for monday when the senate returns, and then there is a motion to limit debate because there have been some threats especially from senator rand paul that he was going to filibuster. they would take steps to limit that debate, and bring it up for a vote possibly as soon as webs. however, just because it's being brought up for a vote does not mean it will pass. there will be amendments. some think it's strong. others don't think it's strong enough, and some senators don't think that we should be involved in military action. that's where we stand. >> how much are you getting of the hurdle does the obama administration face of winning congressional approval here

randall pinkston joins us. randall. >>> syria use of chemical weapons, 11 of the g-20 member states said that they condemned and also demand he a strong international response but did not specify military action. now that he's back at home the president rejoins efforts to persuade the american public and congress. >> i now ask unanimous consent that a letter of notification relating to section 2 congress 22 be printed in the record. >> senate majority leader harry reed took a step putting the resolution on the senate calendar. the resolution including amendments could be up for a vote in the senate as early as next week but the outcome is uncertain. even president obama admits it will be a hard sell. but before leaving the g-20 summit in russia he pressed his case again. >> failing orespond to this breach of -- failing to respond to this breach of international law, they can develop and use weapons of mass destruction and not pay a consequence. >> throughout the country many americans are telling their lawmakers