army blackhawk helicopters flying in tandem over southern afghanistan today when without warning one of the blackhawks suddenly dropped from the sky. u.s. military officials say first reports stated that the helicopter that crashed and its seven-man crew came under heavy enemy fire. the u.s. military launched a rescue team, but it was too late. six of the blackhawk crew had been killed. only one survived with serious injuries. the military is still investigating to determine whether the chopper was brought down by mechanical failure or enemy fire. the incident occurred in the zabul province in southern afghanistan where taliban fighters remain a serious threat. today's fatalities bring the total number of americans killed in the 12-year war to 2,160 and expected to rise. >> the main thing this says to us is any time we have forces operating overseas, whether they are being shot at or not, there's a certain danger. >> reporter: there are currently some 43,000 american forces in harm's way in afghanistan. under a pending security agreement with the afghan government, that number could

army blackhawk helicopters flying in tandem over southern afghanistan when without warning one of the blackhawks suddenly dropped from the sky. the u.s. military launched a rescue peopteam but it was too . sixst crew were killed. only one survived with serious injuries. the incident occurred in the province in southern afghanistan where taliban fighters remain a serious threat. there are currently some 43,000 american forces in harm's way in afghanistan. under a pending security agreement with the afghan government, that number could drop to 7,000 to 10,000 by the end of 2014. but would commit u.s. forces to another ten years in afghanistan. to train afghan military forces and keep al qaeda in check. >> al qaeda would still love nothing more than to be able to say after 12 years of combat that they outlasted us. >>> turning now to washington and a rare moment of bipartisanship that expected at the capitol. the senate is expected to give agreement to a two year budget agreement. tracie potts joins us with the late latest. >> what's happening here is there is still opposition but by all

six americans were killed today when their black hawk helicopter crashed in southern afghanistan. we asked david martin at the pentagon to tell us more about how this happened. >> reporter: the black hawk with seven aboard was one of two american helicopters on a daytime mission in southern afghanistan when it was forced to make a crash landing. what caused it to go down is still unknown, but the second chopper saw no sign of enemy fire. initial reports reaching the pentagon said the crew of the downed aircraft did come under fire as they tried to get out of the helicopter, but military officers in afghanistan have since discounted those reports. exactly how those six americans died remains unclear. one thing is certain: by the time a rescue force could get there, only one aboard was still alive. the loss of six americans was a grim reminder that while their role has switched from combat to training and advising afghan forces, u.s. troops are still in harm's way. it was the worst single day loss for the u.s. in the six months since afghan troops officially took the lead in combat

presence has basically wound down in southern afghanistan and across that country. so far this month until this terrible accident, or incident if you will, only one u.s. troop had died in the war in afghanistan this month. still terrible news for all of the american families involved, all of those who serve in afghanistan and have been killed in action, but now today six more u.s. troops killed. chris? carol, i'm sorry. >> no worries. barbara starr, reporting live from the pentagon. >>> still to come in the "newsroom," a look into the crash that killed princess diana. were british special forces really involved? >>> plus your government, your wasted money. in a do-nothing congress where only 56 bills were pass this had year, they certainly wrote a lot of checks. >>> and george zimmerman, neighborhood cop. >> these guys always get away. >> accused murderer. >> not guilty. >> and now painter. now fetching, get this, $100,000. >>> and the rock 'n' roll hall of fame. ♪ i want to rock 'n' roll all night ♪ >> kiss, nirvana, peter gabriel. the inductees are named. find out

sols killed today in southern afghanistan, their helicopter went down near the boarder with pakistan. >> the president's new point person on healthcare.gov. he takes over tomorrow, and we will oversee tomorrow from technology to the marketing of the healthcare website.

but we continue to follow that story in southern afghanistan as well.duck dynasty patriarch, phil robertson refusing to back down from the anti-gay comments that got him suspended from the hit real aty show. one of the things we thought you should know. a live picture inside the massachusetts courtroom former new england patriot, aaron hernandez is making another appearance in the murder case against him. the issue right now whether prosecutors violated the judge's gag order. we'll be right back. [ sniffles, coughs ] shhhh! i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. oh, what a relief it is! >>> two members of a russian punk band convicted of a profanity laced protest in 2012 were released from separate prisons today, one of them de defiantly shouted russia without putin and said she's not afraid of anything anymore. it is seen as an a

paramedic and spirit of >>> we're waiting to learn the names of the soldiers killed in a crash in southern afghanistan this morning it appears the engine failed over zabul provence. officials say no reports of enemy fire as reported earlier. the troops part of the nato international force. >> a gunman killed one person and injured two others at regional medical center. officials say he came into the hospital with one gun and shot three people before killing himself. >> president obama tapped a former microsoft executive to take over the web site. kurt dellvine replacing an advisor brought in to overhaul the web site after the disastrous launch. fixing the web site was a main topic for a meeting. athe titans attending today are notably different than in 2011, including steve jobs, mark zuckerberg and heads of google, oracle, netflix, san stored, and cisco. today, heads of etsy, drop box, comcast, linkedn, microsoft and at and t. experts say the differences show which companies the president believes will shape the future of america's tech policy. >> that is interesting. >> what do you do before the end

we went into southern afghanistan, and at that time there were multiple ground units . we are looking of 400 soldiers, 200 soldiers per so many square miles, and not every battalion belong to the same overall brigade. there was a lot of fragmented communication going on, different standard operating procedures, so was really difficult to operate when you are not all train together. we were supporting multiple ground forces who are having difficulty communicating. some of the different communication architecture was in place but they had not train together in these states. we hit the ground running and had been looking at intelligence for the year leading up to this, and i was stressed with my soldiers for being able to support multiple units on the and try to direct or at least make recommendations to my commander on where he would direct aircraft and who to support. felt this immense pressure to be right. intelligence is supposed to drive operations. that is what we were aiming toward. not what always happens. it is one of those things where you are dammed if you do an

but the two blackhawk helicopters were flying in formation in southern afghanistan.fered some kind of mechanical problem they believe and it went down and made a hard landing. the problem here though is once that helicopter hit, those american forces aboard immediately came under heavy enemy fire, presumably from taliban. the u.s. military in kandahar dispatched a quick reaction and upon arrival those u.s. military forces engaged the enemy still on the ground and drove them away. by the time american rescuers got to the helicopter six of those americans were dead. one was very seriously wounded and medevaced out. now, this is the single deadliest crash or incident military incident involving u.s. military forces since august of 2012 when a helicopter crashed in the same mountainous region killing seven in august 2012. an investigation is still under way and there's still some suspicion, taliban claims they shot down the helicopter. the u.s. military thinks it was mechanical difficulties but this whole incident remains under investigation. >> briefly, do we know wheth

we went into southern afghanistan, and at that time there were multiple ground units. we are looking of 400 soldiers, 200 soldiers per so many square miles, and not every battalion belong to the same overall brigade. there was a lot of fragmented communication going on, different standard operating procedures, so was really difficult to operate when you are not all train together. we were supporting multiple ground forces who are having difficulty communicating. some of the different communication architecture was in place but they had not train together in these states. we hit the ground running and had been looking at intelligence for the year leading up to this, and i was stressed with my soldiers for being able to support multiple units on the ground and try to direct or at least make recommendations to my commander on where he would direct aircraft and who to support. i just felt this immense pressure to be right. intelligence is supposed to drive operations. that is what we were aiming toward. it is not what always happens. it is one of those things where you are

i'm asking them to collect very dangerous areas of southern afghanistan. and so it was interesting the dynamic between iraq and afghanistan and what my mission was but all within the intelligence cycle. ground intelligence. >> in afghanistan were there mortars or people firing at the helicopters that were doing this reconnaissance? was that -- >> yes. the types of aircraft we had, apaches that went out and they were basically the difference between the two. one is more of a the ability to target whereas the other is the small aircraft is going out, not so much in offensive role but more of, they're looking for information, taking pictures, literally hanging their arm outside of an aircraft, taking a picture and coming back. they were frequently targeted because they're small aircraft. they don't fly as fast as apache or a black hawk. so there were, we had, a lot of times when they came back if they had been shot at that was up to my group i was responsible for to assess the damage to the aircraft, to understand, you know, were they being targeted at, what

we went into southern afghanistan, and at that time there were multiple ground units . we are looking of 400 soldiers, 200 soldiers per so many square miles, and not every battalion belong to the same overall brigade. there was a lot of fragmented communication going on, different standard operating procedures, so was really difficult to operate when you are not all train together. we were supporting multiple ground forces who are having difficulty communicating. some of the different communication architecture was in place but they had not train together in these states. we hit the ground running and had been looking at intelligence for the year leading up to this, and i was stressed with my soldiers for being able to support multiple units on the ground and try to direct or at least make recommendations to my commander on where he would direct aircraft and who to support. i just felt this immense pressure to be right. intelligence is supposed to drive operations. that is what we were aiming toward. it is not what always happens. it is one of those things where you are

these troops killed when their helicopter went down in southern afghanistan.reports, there were no reports of enemy fire in the area area at the time. but they are talking to members of another helicopter flying in the immediate area asking them what they saw, what they might be able to tell them about all of this. so it's under investigation. you know, the war, everyone says, has been end wooing down. 42,000 troops still serving, about 129 troops killed so far this year. that's way down because the number of troops are down. but for the families of the fallen, it makes no difference. very sad, very tragic news as we go into this holiday season. >> barbara, it takes an while for the full details to come out. barbara starr. >> just breaks your heart when you think about the families just waiting. >> yeah, uh-huh. >>> all right. a warning today. that will north korea may it be about to conduct a fourth nuclear test, maybe even launch another missile according to a report from south korea's yonhap news agencying >> you're looking here at images of the nuclear fac

are waiting to learn the names of the six american soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in southern afghanistan this morning. according to the defense department, it appears the helicopter engine failed. only one person survived the crash. officials say there were no reports of enemy fire at the time and it is the most deadly single incident if troops in afghanistan twins 2012. they were part of the nato led force. >> investigators want to know why there was a second fire at the same recycling plant in five weeks. the fire kurd after an explosion at the sims metal management yard. you can see the toxic smoke from the fire. our reporter, matt keller, joins us live. >> the fire is." you can see how hazy the sky is around sims metal management this midday with air quality officials measuring contaminants in the air and firefighters are still here with equipment and after battling the fire. >> it felt like deja vu at the sims metal management a four at the recycling plant was sparked before 1:00 o'clock a.m. this morning and the second fire in a little over five weeks and police blocked seaport bou

service members are dead after a helicopter crash in southern afghanistan. one person on board was injured and survived. the crash happened in the zabul province on the helicopter was having engine trouble and there was no insurgent activity in that area. >> how much would you pay for artwork? newill tell you about the way george zimmerman could pay for his defense. >> plus, the boston bombing marathon on the warning signs his family solely for the attack. >> are there multivitamins that are waste of your money? new research might have you >> think twice before you pop a pill. >> eileen will be back to talk about the unseasonably warm >> was the boston, and mastermind mentally ill? that's a suggestion from a new report. >> it takes a closer look at the troubled history of tamerlan tsarnaev. mental health problems including possible schizophrenia, personal failures, and the senses light -- spiraling out of control all maybe factors according to a new report in "the boston globe." the parents talk about him hearing voices. he tells a friend that he goes to mos

forces in southern afghanistan, where six american troops have been killed.on is investigating whether they died in a helicopter crash or by enemy fire after their helicopter landed. according to two senior u.s. officials, it happened in southern afghanistan. one soldier did survive but sustained injuries. this is the single deadliest incident for u.s. troops since an august 2012 helicopter wreck that killed seven americans and four afghans. in 2013, 129 u.s. troops have lost their lives while supporting operation enduring freedom. >>> don't hold your breath waiting for the u.s. to admit involvement in a drone strike that hit a wedding convoy in yemen last week. human rights watch is still trying to get the u.s. to acknowledge carrying out another drone strike in yemen from four years ago. the group today called on the u.s. and yemen to investigate the air strike in december 2009 that killed 14 suspected terrorists but also took the lives of 41 civilians in a nearby bedouin camp group. the u.s. has never copped to any involvement in that air strike. >>> he dr

soldiers killed in southern afghanistan earlier this week. randy billings, joshua silverman, omar. ford, terry gordon and jesse williams lost their lives when their helicopter crashed on tuesday. five of the six soldiers trained together and were based in kansas. it's the largest loss of life in afghanistan in nearly six months. >>> the russian president touched on a number of hot button topics in his news conference. it it resembles one of apple's keynote addresses. this instance 1300 journalists were in attendance jock keeg for position to ask him a question. putin defended his opinion of the lgbt community and eased criticism of his record on human rights saying he will release one of his fiercest critics behind bars for a decade. he will also pardon a group of green peace protesters and two members of the all female punk rock group. he also brushed aside questions on edward snowden saying he's never met the former nsa contractor. >>> jay carney says the president will veto any bill that places sanctions on iran. the obama administration says it it will derail talks on the nucle

. >> six americans killed when their black hawk helicopter crashed today in southern afghanistan. one of two american helicopters out when it was forced to make a crash landing. still unclear exactly what brought the aircraft down. right now, there's no evidence of enemy fire. >> nasa ordered a series of space walks to fix a broken cooling system on the international space station. a second unit is running and the crew is okay. but if that second unit fails, they would have to evacuate. repair job will require at least two space walks. the first is set for saturday. >> well, you have to be pretty smart to get into harvard, but police say one student did something really dumb to get out of a final exam. >> hillside homes comes tumbling down and wait until you hear what the owner does for a living. ital in >> holiday lights are the heart and soul of the season and for one little girl from clayton, this display brings awareness to her one holiday wish, to have a heart. katie's story coming up. a subaru... ...are the hands that do good things for the whole community: the environment,

black hawk hawke with seven aboard was one of two american helicopters on a daytime mission in southern afghanistann it was forced to make a crash landing. what caused it go down is still unknown, but the second chopper saw no sign of enemy fire. initial reports reaching the pentagon said the crew did come under fire when they tried to get out but they have since discounted those reports. exactly how those six americans died remains unclear, one thing is certain. by the time a rescue force could get there, only one aboard was still alive. the loss of six americans was a grim reminder that while their role has switched from combat to turning and advising forces u.s. troops are still in harm's way. it was the worst single-day loss for the u.s. in the six months since the afghan troops s officially took the lead. still, losses are down dramatically. 125 this year compared to 310 last year and a high of 499 in 2010 at the height of the fighting. casualties have gone down as the number of american troops has gone down from a high of 100,000 to the current 42,700. then there's the financial cost. to date

soldiers were killed after their helicopter crashed in southern afghanistan today. there was no fighting reported at the time and there was no insurgent activity in the area. the crash is under investigation. and there has been no other information released. >>> congress is ready to pass a budget bill easing some of the effects of the across-the-board spending cuts known as the sequester. the senate agreed to advance the measure to a vote earlier today. the bill should pass easily and could head to president obama for his signature by the end of the week. >>> the stock market is relatively quiet today as investors away the results of a two-day policy meeting by the federal reserve. the dow is up a token amount. about 8 bucks and change. >>> we are enjoying some warmer weather the past few days but it's a very different story across parts of the country. the northeast dealing with yet another snowstorm. this is new jersey. they are expecting to get up to 4" of snow and that storm will then head to new england where folks are expecting to see nine inches of snow. the

. >> the blackhawk was one of two american helicopters on a day time mission in southern afghanistan when it was forced to make a crash landing. what caused it to go down is unknown. the loss of six americans is a grim reminder that u troops are still in harm's way. >> the yays are 67 and the nays are 33. >> a bipartisan deal that would end three years of benefits, another hurdle. the deal will pass the senate no later than tomorrow and head to the white house for the president's signature. >> wind is driving a wild fire burning in the big sir area of california. it's already destroyed more than a dozen homes. >> me and my dad ran out, got fire hoses. >> more than 600 firefighters are working to save homes. >> we're tracking another round of rain and snow showers. ly roll through the s wil metro area late tonight into the early morning hours. >> witnesses say a middle aged blind man with a seeing eye dog seemed very wobbly as he stood near the track. several people on the platform yelled to the man to keep low as the train approached. >> yelled lay down, and he did it. >> yeah. >> an

senior officials say the blackhawk uh-60 crashed today in southern afghanistan after what appears to be engine failure. one person survived. military investigators have a report that mortar fire hit the helicopter on the ground. it's the deadliest single incident for u.s. troops in afghanistan since august of 2012. >>> a quick-thinking security officer pulled off an amazing rescue at an airport in poland. you can see a father place his baby on the luggage counter for a moment to take off his jacket. then the baby fell off the table. the officer then dives and catches the child before he hits the ground. we'll show you it again. the video from last month's rescue was just released. the officer reportedly got a bonus for his heroics. >>> the oakland preacher who incorrectly predicted the end of the world back in 2011 has died. harold camping died in his home sunday after suffering from injuries the 92-year-old had also predicted the end of the world in 1994. he is the founder of the radio network family radio worldwide. >>> today the national rifle association sued the city of sunnyval

the country reaches record levels and the afghan national army surrenders key checkpoints in southern afghanistan to taliban in return for an anti-tax we spoke to an iraq war veteran who believes that cameron is trying to put a brave face on a story business. mission accomplished was used by cameron because you know politicians don't really say hey you know that wildly unpopular war that we sent you and your children to die and it was like for over a decade well we messed up and it was all of which they're not going to say mission accomplished by camera needs that we died for years in a colonial exercise that was a total blood soaked disaster due to the arrogance of rich politicians we thought they could dominate the land and resources of poor people in afghanistan using the blood of working class people from the united states and from the u.k. and it's almost you know for chairman to assert that there has been so called progress against the insurgency there is an absolute fantasy and the resistance in afghanistan has forced this more year withdrawal of u.s. and nato forces so this withdraw that

soldiers killed today in a helicopter crash in the remote region of zabul in southern afghanistan.itary investigators, they are now looking into this report that this helicopter came under enemy fire after it crashed. that's still not entirely clear as of now. early reports cited engine failure as a cause, but investigators are desperately trying to determine if the six members of the nato-led international security assistance force might have come under mortar fire. there was one survivor of that crash. and while many think the war there in afghanistan is winding down, we should remind you tonight there are still more than 42,000 still serving. >>> edward snowden, criminal or hero? i know. it depends on who you ask. but this is clear. he is willing to offer up more of what he knows. today he reached out to brazil's government, perhaps offering up a deal. cnn's chief national security correspondent jim sciutto reports. >> reporter: six months after fleeing spying charges all the way to russia, today edward snow den made an offer back across the globe to brazil. help fighting nsa su

. >> it is still not clear what caused tuesday's deadly crash of a u-s army helicopter in southern afghanistan. six american service members were killed. one person on board was injured. but managed to survive. a statement from the nato international military coalition says, the crash is under investigation. and adds, there was no insurgent activity in the area at the time of the accident. officials have not identified those who died. this was the single- deadliest day for u-s forces of 2012. >> a funeral is set for later this morning for a man killed by carjackers at a northern new jersey mall. thirty-year-old dustin friedland and his wife had just finished shopping at the mall at short hills sunday night when two men approached the couple in a parking garage, shot friedland in the head and drove off in his ranger rover. the suv was recovered the >> accused l-a-x airport gunman paul ciancia . was formally indicted on murder charges on tuesday. a federal grand jury issued 11 -felony counts, including murder and attempted murder. 23-year-old paul ciancia is accused of killing a t-s-a officer. a

>> reporter: well, this was in southern afghanistan, which is an area where troops move around frequently. sometimes they are on counterterrorism raids looking for specific targets. sometimes they are moving around to get into location and position to help afghan forces. so far, no word tonight on exactly what this helicopter was doing. >> barbara, thank you. we are also following another breaking news development right now. >>> wildfire burning out of control along one of california's most scenic stretches of coast. it's already charred hundreds of acres, destroyed multiple homes, forcing residents to flee. cnn's dan simon is on the scene for us. dan, what's the latest on this dangerous wildfire? >> reporter: we are at the fire command center and among those who lost their home is none other than the fire chief. you'll be hearing from her in a moment. first, you can see some of this thick black smoke in the forest land. the thing everyone has been talking about around here is how unusual it is that you would have a wildfire like this in the middle of december. but this region is facing o

six service members have died in the helicopter crash in southern afghanistan. there was no word on what caused the chopper to crash. the taliban is claiming it's fighters shot down the aircraft. danish and norwegian ships are ready to collect chemical weapons. they are part of a u.n. backed plan. but there may be delays because of security issues inside syria. on capitol hill, the senate is on track to approve a budget deal, the bill which passed the house last week, has clear add major murder until the senate, the plan would ease some of the across the board budget cuts and help us, we now? with this budget harry reid layed out the time line this afternoon. to avert another costly shut down in january. we have a lot to do before christmas, but we can get it done. we just need a little bit of cooperation from mcconnell talks to reporters this afternoon as well. >> you know, i and most of my members came to washington to reduce government spending, so i hated to walk away from something that clearly was working. and i don't think any of you had any d mcconnell s

dell what we know is that this blackhawk helicopter came down around mid-afternoon in a southern province in afghanistanhat borders are pakistan. six service members were killed. we do have confirmation as you say that they were u.s. service members. in the last 20 minutes or so we made a phone call to the international security assistance force headquarters in in kabul. the only thing they were willing to confirm is that the helicopter has been secured. there are boots on the ground and an investigation has begun. >> phil has anyone claimed response or was this an accident? >> nato officials are reluctant to say what caused the downing at this time. the taliban were quick to go on their twitter feed and claim responsibility. there were no known reports of enemy activity that was recorded by nato headquarters in kabul. no -- no firefighters or anything in the area, but certainly until an investigation has been at least progressed further down the road, there -- it's unlikely we'll know exactly what caused the downing, dell. >> this comes as the united states is still trying to convince the afghan presid

we know the helicopter crashed in an area in southern afghanistan.ial reports say there was no enemy fire in the area according to the pentagonful most likely the crash is a result of bad weather or mechanical malfunction. the taliban are claiming they shot down in a helicopter, which in the past they have done, but looks like they had nothing to do with the crash. u.s. troops remain in afghanistan as mentors and trainers, but even this crash shows you they are still very much in harm's way as we speak. >> conor powell, live. thank you. >>> breaking news on the colorado high school shooting last week. the local sheriff's department now reports the shooter planned to attack at least five areas of the school, and that the shooter had three working molotov cocktails and a machete. remember, as this investigation was winding down, -- this happened during this hour last friday -- the students were coming out and we got word from the sheriff that they found a device. our sources told our reporter that the device may have been one or a series of molotov coc

it appears this aircraft went down in southern afghanistan. nitial reports say that there was no enemy fire in the area, most likely this was either weather-related or a mechanical malfunction as most crashes in afghanistan are, but there's always a chance it was attacked or shot down by the taliban, a claim they are making. but defense officials say right now there was no enemy fire in the area. now, this is the single largest loss of life for u.s. and international troops in afghanistan for months. there are still roughly 50,000 or so american service members in afghanistan, most are in support roles, training and mentoring the afghans with the afghans really doing the majority of the fighting. but so far this year 119 americans have died in afghanistan, and and that's way down from the peak in 2010 where 499 were killed. that just shows it's still a very dangerous place for american and international troops no matter who's doing the fighting, jenna. jenna: conor powell, thank you. jon: well, right now the controversial, bipartisan budget dea

>> breaking news this morning, a helicopter crash in southern afghanistan. >> six american service members were killed. the cause is still under investigation. >> the wildfire in big sur, california, has destroyed at least 15 homes and forced the evacuation of 100 residents. >> mesh's veterans emerging at the center of a budget battle as the senate is set to vote today on a deal that would cut military retiree benefits. >> tonight mega millions jackpot isn't ap all-time record but a good chunk of change. >> $586 million. >> everybody's going crazy. >> rock and roll hall of fame northern plainsed its new inductees. kiss nirvana, hall and oates, peter gabriel, and cat stevens. >>> george zimmerman put this up on ebay. it quickly skyrocketed up to nearly $100,000. >> all that. >> joe johnson! he can't miss! >> paul mccartney, get the man a t-shirt. >> on the way, and it is good! from 61 unbelievable! >> win the game. my fantasy team is benefiting. >> "all that mattered." >> justin timberlake stopped the concert. he asked a guy to come up and facilitate this proposal. >> he has something he wa

. >>> six american service members were killed when their helicopter went down in southern afghanistanofficials are blaming engine trouble and say there was no insurgent activity in the area. 109 u.s. troops have died in afghanistan this year. >>> a bizarre diplomatic conflict between india and the u.s. indian officials have removed the concrete security barricades outside of the u.s. embassy in new delhi. this is in retaliation for at rest and strip search of india's deputy council in new york. come bardy is trying to maintain a visa for her housekeeper. they are investigating what happened. >>> still ahead joe manchin in our center seat, surrounded by george will, juan williams and charles krauthammer. >>> but first taking the president to court for abuse of power. unr ] every inch. every minute. every second -- we chip away. with an available ecodiesel engin.. and a best-in-class 30 mpg highwa and 730-mile driving range... for all the times you dreamed of running away from home -- now you can. ith enough fuel to get back. this is the new 2014 jeep grand cherokee. t is the best of wh

when i was in afghanistan, this was the beginning of the surge to southern, well, the gypping of the surge for the u.s. we went into southern afghanistan and we at that time there were multiple ground units battalion level soft you're looking at 400 soldiers, 200 soldiers per so many square miles guess. i, not every battalion belong to the same overall brigade. so there were a lot of fragmented communications going on. different standard operating procedures. so it was really, i guess difficult way to operate when you weren't all trained together. so that is what we went into. as an aviation unit we were supporting multiple ground forces who were having difficulty communicating. some of that came back to the different communications architecture that are in place. they just hadn't trained together in the states. so when we got, when we got there, kind of hit the ground running and we had been looking at intelligence through the year leading up to this and i was stressed with my soldiers for being able to support multiple units on the ground and try to direct or make recommendations t

well we are waiting to learn the names of 6 american soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in southern afghanistans morning. according to the defense department it appears the helicopter engine failed over this the province. one survivor rescue. no reports of enemy fire as reported earlier. it is the deadliest single incident for u.s. troops in afghanistan since last year. troops were part of the nato led international force. >> staying overseas. un diplomat say hundreds of people believed dead in violence in south sudan. local sources in the country capitol put the death toll at 4 to 500 but the figure couldn't be verified at this point. the south sudan president has blamed the violence on coup attempt by soldiers loyal to his former deputy. french ambassador says 20,000 people have taken refuge at the un mission. >> and on line bingo site will replace money stole friend san jose marching band fundraiser. we have been following this story. happened last wednesday when oak grief high school band was hosting a bingo gym and suddenly a mask gun man went inside and demanded their mone money. cash bei

service members were killed in a helicopter crash today in southern afghanistan. there is one survivor. that person's condition is not known tonight. nato says there was no insurgent activity in the area the time the chopper went down. investigators were looking at engine failure as a possible cause. >>> a bipartisan deal that would end three years of bitterness over the budget cleared another hurdle today. the measure passed a key test vote in the u.s. senate this morning. the 67 to 33 tally ensures the deal will pass the senate no later than tomorrow and head to the white house for the president's signature. the deal replaces $45 billion in automatic spending cuts with other savings and most importantly, it avoids another government shutdown. >> oklahoma republican senator, tom, is out with his 2013 waste book. it is the long-time deficit hawks annual report detailing wasteful government spending and senator cobern found 100 examples of what he calls stupid spending decisions totaling $30 billion. >> providing money to study romance novels. we provided money to

there was one survivor when the helicopter went down in southern afghanistan.re are no initial indications of enemy fire in the area at the time. there are reports of engine failure. but, look. they're going to have to investigate all of this very thoroughly to figure out what exactly did happen. terribly sad news for six military families going into the holiday season. for those who thing the war is winding down in afghanistan, always worth remembering that our troops are still out there. 40,000 plus troops still serving in afghanistan. the number of casualties may be down this year and troops down this year, but still military families paying a very significant price if that. ashlei ashleigh? >> i know it's early but they're saying engine failure. what do we know about the potential for enemy potential in the area? >> there is potential for enemy problems in the area. what d us that tell us? they had no radio call from the crew saying they were under fire because that would have happened if the crew was under fire and they had time to make a radio call. these

afghanistan, six soldiers killed when their helicopter crashed in these double province in southern afghanistans that crash is under investigation. there were no insurgence, nor insurgent activity in the area at the time of the crash. german chancellor today elected to a third term. her new coalition government is expected to move germany to the political left with the country's first-ever minimum wage to be introduced in 2015, $11.70 per hour. and protests in the ukraine today after russia agreed to lend the country $15 billion cut prices for natural gas by one-third. the ukrainian economy is close to collapse, but the demonstrators want a trade deal not with russia, but with the european union and much closer ties to your, not russia. our first guest tonight voted in favor of the ryan-marie budget compromise in the house and he says without agreement we would face another government shut down. he also stresses that the deal eases the burden caused by the sequestered. joining us now, congressman scott virgil, member of the budget committee as well as armed services committee. congressman, good

it happened today in southern afghanistan, even though we don't yet have a full picture of what happened exactly, it's beginning to come into focus. barbara starr is working her sources at the pentagon joins us now. what are you learning, barbara? >> reporter: good evening, anderson. at this hour military investigators are urgently trying to figure out what did happen here. the reports are that the helicopter, the blackhawk, went down due to mechanical failure. but once it hit the ground, were any of those six military members still alive? they are looking at a report that the helicopter once crashed came under mortar fire from taliban forces in the immediate vicinity. so what they need to determine now, did the six members die in the crash? or is it possible, possible, that they were alive when they hit the ground, that there was a mortar attack, and that they perished in that? investigators are talking to members of another helicopter that was flying in the immediate vicinity. they are trying to see what they can learn. we are told from the one survivor of the crash six u.s. military f

. >>> developing news from afghanistan, an american service member killed in southern afghanistan.orces face fire from enemy forces. we'll bring more details as we get them and we'll be right back. what if we could keep enough plastic waste to cover mt. rainier out of landfills each year? by using one less trash bag each month, we can. and glad forceflex bags stretch until they're full.* so you can take them out less often. the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪ [ ding ] cheese plate? cheese plate. no, i made something better. you used the oven? boom. [ male announcer ] pillsbury crescents. make the holidays pop. ♪ >>> again, there is breaking news from the obama administration that president obama enrolled in a health care plan over the weekend. jennifer palmieri is the director of white house communications and she joins me now live. thanks, jenna, appreciate your being here. >> happy to be with you, kristen. >> i want to talk about this l

soldiers were killed when their black hawk tell komter crashed in southern afghanistan. the aircraft had a hard landing and they believe due to mechanical problems. was afterwards attacked by militants when it went down. the soldiers were serving with the nato international security assistance force. the crash is the deadliest single incident for u.s. troops in afghanistan since august 2012. >>> the senate foreign relations committee has started a hearing on the american response to the sectarian violence that started nine months when muslim rebels overthrew the majority government. it is now a humanitarian crisis in which children are often the victims of brutal attacks. unicef says children are being killed because they are christian and muslim and the numbers are staggering. as much as 6,000 children recruited into arms groups, 2.3 million children, half of the country's population are being affected by the conflict there. the humanitarian group doctors without borders says even hospitals have been under attack by armed mobs. the violence also made it very difficult t