and i heard that in samara, too, and all suni samara, why did you get rid of saddam and give us iran, give us a shia majority? that's a fact of the matter in iraq, that shia where in the majority. if we left too soon, and they admitted, there would be mass bloodshed, they would commit some atrocities on sunis and others in the country. and more time to moderate that and more time to build a real could he police station and provide the real kind of political benchmarks that could provide stability would prevent the kind of irresponsibility from a majority that we need to avoid. >> chicago, republican line, you're next. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> okay, i've got a quick question for you, because i've had this opinion about the war since it started. but i was-- i'm a prior service member and with the navy for 10 years. my question is why are we using a deployment type strategy with regards to the war? i mean, in prior wars, you know, you have a buildup. you send the troops there, until it's done. now we're discussing having troops home for two times more than they're there. it j

let's bring in samara. another round of those dangerous winds on the way. >> that's right.se winds continuing to fan the flames but they're also moving the smoke. very heavy smoke expected in santa monica this evening. even rodondo beach. this smoke could get worse. the national weather service has issued a red flag warning through wednesday. winds could gust as high as 50 miles per hour. some foothills could reach 50 miles per hour. santa clarita could see winds as high as 51 miles per hour. not as strong as last week when they hit 100. it was then the national weather service actually issued a pds warning that verified a particularly dangerous situation. this is something that's very rare for them to issue. usually every five to ten-year weather events but they issued three in the last three months. and as we see a change in climate, we're going to continue to experience more extreme weather. >> those new alerts not what the firefighters need right now. thank you. tune in to this week tomorrow morning. jonathan carl has the latest on the l.a. wildfires with the fema admin

i heard that in samara. they said why did you get rid of saddam and give us a shia majority? they are in a majority. if we left too early, and the new york times openly admitted on sunday, there would be mass bloodshed. i think the shieh government would commit some series atrocities on sunnis and other people in the country. more time to moderate that and build a coalition and provide the political benchmarks that can provide stability would prevent the kind of irresponsibility from a majority we need to avoid. host: chicago, republican line. caller: good morning a quick question, i've had this opinion about the war since it started. i am a prior service member, i served in the navy for 10 years. my question is, why are we using a deployment type strategy with regards to the war? in prior wars, you have a buildup, you send the troops, but now we are discussing having troops for two times that they are there. it doesn't make sense to me why we aren't approaching this like a war. guest: i agree wholeheartedly. i think one of the big problems is troops are not there long enough

put more pressure on our ally, israel, to cease building bedrooms for their families in judea and samara than we do for iran for building a bomb. [applause] >> dealing with radicals who chant death to america, and who fund bombs and rockets to murder civilians in israel is nonsense. so when i hear our current president say christians to get off their high horse so we can make nice with radical jihadists, i wonder, i wonder if he could watch a western from the 50's and be able to figure out who the good guys and the bad guys really are. [cheers and applause] as president, i promise you that we will no longer merely try to contain jihadism, we will concur it. [cheers and applause] >> we will deal with jihadis just as we would deal with deadly snakes and let there be no doubt, israel will know, as will the whole world, that we are their trusted friend and the ayatollahs of iran will know that hell will freeze over before they get a nuclear weapon. [cheers and applause] and i commit this to you today. i will never ever apologize for america, ever. [cheers and applause] we face not only the t

oh, and samara joy. oh, my. chris stapleton. we sang a song with him, too. yeah. and mr. michael b jordan came by. oh, that was cool. that was really wonderful. okay, can someone tell me how to get to sesame street? i want to go. yeah. no kidding. right. i've been looking all these years. i've been trying to get to sesame street. all right. look. not only can you see the cast of sesame street, but you can also catch hoda kotb on her second to last today show ever as co-host. yes, the week long hoda continues. that's on today show following today's special report from the national cathedral. a lot going on. all right. well, we found it. that's the closest you're going to get to sesame street. i love it here. i know, as a kid, though, didn't you want to go? like always? mr. hooper's store and all that. snuffleupagus. i know. the works. right. childhood dreams. oh, you can make it if you just stick with it. see? we're here. there you go. we made it. now let's get to weather. weather, weather. remember that. yes. yes. all right, well, great memories, but let's talk about what

so those musicians, along with noah khan, samara joy, will appear on the 55th season of the iconic familyw. the upcoming season will focus on lessons in emotional well-being. songs from the artists will double as life lessons, and it will include an r&b pop track from sza about gratitude. the new season of sesame street debuts next thursday. they get these great guests on the show all the time. >> no kidding. i wonder if rocco will make an appearance because elmo hates rocco. >> oh, so you know this very well. you know the my son is a sesame street kid. >> or he was growing up and so rocco is the rock that everyone pretends is an actual pet, and elmo is the only one living in reality where he's like, that's rock. >> so, so funny. >> when i was a kid, i had a pet rock. so like, i can relate, like literally that was a thing. >> so pet rock. never heard of that before. you never heard of pet rocks? no. >> oh, please tell me at home. >> where have i been in the 80s? >> i don't know why we were obsessed with pet rocks, but it's because my parents had us think that they did, like, just here. ju

those musicians, along with noah khan and samara joy, will appear in the 55th season of the iconic familyupcoming season will focus on lessons in emotional well-being. songs from the artists will double as life lessons, including an r&b pop track from sza about gratitude. the new season of sesame street debuts next thursday. sounds like they're going to have some really good guests. >> they're always entertaining. all right, coming up, the seven things you need to know today. >> and a reminder you can watch all our newscasts live and on demand through the abc seven bay area connected tv app. it's available for apple tv, google tv, amazon fire tv, and roku. so download the app and start streaming. >> and as we head to break here at 655 a live look outside, it will be a beautiful day. we'll check in with drew in just a few minutes. >> i'm reggie aqui, i'm lyanne melendez, i'm luz pena, i'm tara campbell, i'm j.r. >> stone at abc seven news we deliver local stories with real answers to help make just joining us here are the seven things to know this morning. number one, former president dona

. >> samaras 43 homicides last year.hat's down. 34% compared to the year before police chief bill scott has already said that san francisco is one of the safest big cities in the country. >> a pregnant woman was killed on new year's day after a head-on crash in gilroy. it happened just after 6.30, wednesday night on the bus. the road near the new avenue. chp says a man was speeding when he veered into another lane crashed head-on into a car with the pregnant woman inside officers believe alcohol may be a factor in the crash. they're asking anyone with information or dash cam video of the crash. let's give them a call. in the north bay of allay family describes the moments there. roof collapsed the night before christmas conjures. gayle ong reports the family now has a deal with the cost of all that damage. >> terrifying moments as a homes. families ceiling collapsed on the night before just crashed. >> right live in one of those devastating. mean, being, you know, it's just amazing to see they look really devastating, es

no major delays along the richest samara fell or the golden gate bridge.et's talk about a lot of brands sold wal-mart stores is coming off the shelves. now. the brand brought a fresh issued a voluntary recall for its 12 ounce bags. markets eye broccoli florets. they were sold at wal-mart locations in 20 states including california over concerns they might be contaminated listeria, braga for us as the potentially contaminated brock. please pass. it's best if used by date. but those who kept it in the freezer, throw it away immediately. the company reports no illnesses related to that recall. >> considering quitting smoking a noose year's resolution. well, a new study might convince you to stick with that. the researchers found that e-cigarette, someone smokes on average can take about 20 minutes off their life expectancy that equals about 7 hours of life lost per pack. researchers also say a person smoking 10 cigarettes per day who quit smoking on january. 1st could prevent the loss of full day of life by january, 8th and by the end of the year, they could