[laughter] now watch wolf blitzer. take an analyst making a nuanced argument about the balance in this country between liberty and security. watch blitzer take this cat to j school. >> after 9/11 i think the american people gave the executive branch extraordinary leeway to sort of keep. >> is that good or sphwhad. >> think ultimately it's a good thing. >> jon: it's just not -- good or sphwhad can't believe this dude let himself get blitzed so quickly. let's michel bachman show you how it's done in the timely affordable care act. >> let's go through the points tell me if it's good or bad. is it good or bad that children can be on their parents health insurance policies until they reach 26. >> these are biftz done now. >> but that's part of obamacare s. that good or bad? -- is that good or bad? [laughter] >> jon: wuft want to make this clear -- just want to make this clear, that's michel imichelle i think vaccines give you brain damage bachman being told by wolf blitzer to dumb it down. that's not the game. playing good

i now turn you over to wolf blitzer. it's not our news aide dressed as wolf blitzer.on room." >>> happening now, tech giants coming to the rescue of the obama care website as its ongoing failures take a toll on the president's poll numbers. >>> also, why won't the white house let congress hear from some survivors of the deadly terror attack on the u.s. mission in benghazi? >>> and a huge turnaround by the faa. a new rule will change the way almost all of us fly. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> they are some of the biggest names in tech. google, oracle, red hat. we just learned that dozens of

for a moment i want to bring in wolf blitzer. forgive me if i am not popping a champagne cork at this point. i see february 7th and january 15th as potentially the days that we need to block off our vacations because we're going to be in the same boat. am i too cynical? >> reporter: no you have a right to be cynical about that kind of stuff. we've gone through this so many times in the past. let's see what happens come january and february. if on the other hand, house senate budget confer rees can work out some long-term grand bargain type issues, entitlement reform and tax reform, but that deadline, there's no hard and fast rules or enforcement mechanisms along that line, let's say they can, maybe they'll be encouraged to go ahead and runs again raise the debt ceiling come february. once again make sure the government doesn't shut down come january. i'm an optimist by nature. let's hope that cooler heads and smarter people will prevail. >> good luck with that. wolf, thank you for that. stand by if you will. there are a couple of

i now turn you over to wolf blitzer. it's not our news aide dressed as wolf blitzer. he's the real wolf blitzer in a place called "the situation room." >>> happening now, tech giants coming to the rescue of the obama care website as its ongoing failures take a toll on the president's poll numbers. >>> also, why won't the white house let congress hear from some survivors of the deadly terror attack on the u.s. mission in benghazi? >>> and a huge turnaround by the faa. a new rule will change the way almost all of us fly. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> they are some of the biggest names in tech. google, oracle, red hat. we just learned that dozens of their experts are taking part in what's being called a tech surge to try to fix the mountain of problems plaguing the obama care website. among the latest, a total crash that kept the site down for a full day and a half. now there are signs the obama care debacle is taking a serious toll on the president's approval numbers as well. cnn's athena jones begins our coverage this hour at the white house. wh

. >> wolf blitzer, thank you very much. appreciate it. wolf will be taking over coverage at 1:00 to continue all of this. we want to talk about what wolf mentioned here, the democrats, potentially in a little -- in a small way blinking when it comes to the deal to negotiations. >> is that how they see it? bring in john llama from kentucky. what did you make about what john boehner might say about what might be on the table now? >> what we're seeing now is an interesting dance where the republicans met this morning to, decided to take the initiative it doing what the president said he will do, end the impasse on the debt ceiling on a temporary basis, if the president agrees to talk about budget issues. and so i think they're going to go to the white house this afternoon, and then the president will agree to negotiate with them, and then i think they will also make a deal on the government shutdown. i think we're seeing an elaborate dance, everybody's feeling like they take the initiative in getting things off of this impasse. but ultimately

"cnn newsroom" with wolf blitzer starts right now. see you tomorrow. >>> i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. president obama getting ready to go before the cameras and the microphones about an hour from. the president earlier called the house speaker john boehner but it wasn't exactly the conversation that boehner has been speaking. here is what the speaker said before he spoke to the president. >> americans expect us to work out our differences. but refuse to go negotiate is an untenable position and, frankly, by refusing to negotiate, harry reid and the president are putting our country on a pretty dangerous path. listen. there has never been a president in our history that did not negotiate over the debt limit. never. >> so what did the president say during that phone conversation? our senior white house correspondent jim atocosta is standing by at the white house. what is the white house saying about the phone call, jim? >> reporter: it's interesting to note, wolf, that the president's phone call to house speaker john boeh

i now turn you over the my colleague wolf blitzer in "the situation room." wolf? >>> thanks very much. "the situation room" special report. government shutdown. two days. president obama reaching out to congressional leaders in both parties inviting them far meeting at the white house only minutes from now. will there be a breakthrough or not? plus, hundreds of patients including children with cancer who want to start clinical trials and can't. we're taking a closer look at the real impact of the shutdown. it's having an enormous impact already across the country. >>> and if you think things are bad now, guess what? it may be getting a whole lot worse from here. details on what could happen if the looming shutdown over the national debt isn't resolved. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." live picture of the white house where republicans and democrats are about to come together for the first time since the crisis formally took place 41 hours ago. president obama is inviting congressional leerlds to meet with them face to face at the white house to try

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> we begin this hour with chilling new developments involving a top terror commander who managed to elude an elite navy s.e.a.l. team trying to capture him. there is fear he could be joining forces with al qaeda in the arabian peninsula to plot against america and it has u.s. officials so concerned, they are taking dramatic action right now to try to hunt him down. let's go straight to our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr. she's working the story for us. officials are obviously deeply concerned. he could have been involved in that attack in kenya. what is the latest? >> the question is could that mall attack have even happened without the help of this terrorist leader. does he pose now a much more direct threat to the united states. the images we are about to show can be very disturbing. at the westgate shopping mall in nairobi, kenya, shoppers ran for their lives when gunmen took over the complex on a shooting rampage. u.s. intelligence is still

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> just seven hours from now will mark one week since the start of the government shutdown. there is still no end in sight to that. yet the clock is already ticking toward a much greater crisis. ten days from now, the united states could start defaulting on its bills, unless congress votes to raise the nation's debt ceiling. there's also harsh new rhetoric from president obama and the house speaker john boehner. but the white house today may have signaled a possible, possible compromise in the debt ceiling. let's get the very latest from cnn's chief congressional correspondent, dana bash, who is here with me. what is the latest? because this is moving rapidly and potentially could get out of control. >> that's right. you know, it tells you everything you need to know that when the white house signals even the slightest wiggle room, even if it's not on anything republicans are demanding, it's taken as news and parsed very closely. that's what happened w

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> take a look and see what's going on live in "the situation room" right now. these three people are interested in signing up for obama care. they're about to log on to the website and try to enroll. we've heard about all the problems with the system, including new details during that testy house hearing today. but we're going to try something very different with the help of our guests and cnn's tom foreman. you'll be able to see how the obama care website works or doesn't work in realtime. the clock starts ticking right now. the sparks meanwhile were flying on capitol hill today as lawmakers squared off and obama care contractors blamed each other for the website problems. let's begin our coverage right now with cnn's joe johns. he's up on capitol hill. >> reporter: wolf, if there was one big loser today, it was cms, the centers for medicare and medicaid services. contractors testified at this hearing, put a lot of blame on the government for making

cnn newsroom with wolf blitzer starts right now. starts right now. have a great weekend. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com right now obama care opponents are shifting attention back to the health care law now that the fiscal showdown has ended. some are calling for a cabinet member to resign because of all the problems with the website. right now, republican members of congress have all left capitol hill. they're back in their home districts trying to explain the shutdown to their constituents. but how will that message play in peoria and in houston and in miami? and right now, the markets are just barely rising since the u.s. has averted hitting the debt ceiling for now. investors can now turn their attention to earnings. hello, i'm wolf blitzer in washington. we begin with the fiscal stalemate. it may have ended, but the issue that triggered the standoff is now the front and center once again. we're talking about obama care. republicans bent on trying to do away with the health care law are calling for hearings next week and they're calling for

meanwhile, "cnn newsroom" with wolf blitzer starts right after wolf blitzer starts right after this. www.vitac.com power. give me more power! [ mainframe ] located. ge deep-sea fuel technology. a 50,000-pound, ingeniously wired machine that optimizes raw data to help safely discover and maximize resources in extreme conditions. our current situation seems rather extreme. why can't we maximize our... ready. ♪ brilliant. let's get out of here. warp speed. ♪ of their type 2 diabetes with non-insulin victoza®. for a while, i took a pill to lower my blood sugar, but it didn't get me to my goal. so i asked my doctor about victoza®. he said victoza® is different than pills. victoza® is proven to lower blood sugar and a1c. it's taken once-a-day, any time, and comes in a pen. and the needle is thin. victoza® is not for weight loss, but it may help you lose some weight. victoza® is an injectable prescription medicine that may improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. it is not recommended as the first medication to treat diabetes and should not be use

i'm wolf blitzer, and you're in "the situation room."s getting closer to a potential disastrous double whammy, a -- on top of a partial government shutdown. president obama has been meeting with hout democrats, as he works for a way out of this crisis. he faces a much tougher crowd tomorrow when he meets with the house gop leaders, or senior leader is following all of these late-breaking developments, what is going on? >> reporter: white house officials say president obama is meeting with as many members of congress as he can before next week's debt ceiling deadline. the meeting should break up at any moment now, but the most important message this white house is getting out today is that military service members and their families are not left behind in the shutdown. >> with the administration warning of an economic catastrophe, the president is inviting every member of consequence to the white house this week. the first group, how democrats. >> this is about the president meeting with as many members of conas he can to make sure we don

i'm wolf blitzer in warble.. >>> tonight on "crossfire", what have we learned about obama care? after a day of answers -- >> hold me accountable. >> questions. >> would you commit today, secretary to shut down the system and do an end-to-end security test? >> we're not in kansas anymore. >> and capacity operation. >> who is ultimately responsible? it is the president, correct? >> you clearly -- whatever. >>> on the left, van jones. on the right newt gingrich. in "crossfire", congressman jan schakowsky, who supports obama care, and congressman tim murphy, who opposes

i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington.no meeting of the minds in the shutdown showdown. this is day nine of the partial government shutdown and we're only eight days away from the debt ceiling deadline. we're waiting for today's white house briefing. it's set to begin. we'll have live coverage. stand by for that. jay carney is getting ready to answer the questions. >>> meanwhile, here's the latest that we have. president obama has invited the house democratic caucus to the white house. 219 house members would support what is called a continuing resolution to reopen the government with no strings attached. that's two more than the number needed but the measure is unlikely to reach the house floor at least for now. meanwhile, a senior house republican tells cnn that gop members may be willing to back a short-term debt ceiling increase if the

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> let's begin with the breaking news. this was the scene just a little while ago, only a couple blocks from where we are here in washington. police swarming capitol hill after gunfire erupted, forcing members of congress to temporarily shelter in place. we're told it all began with a car chase that started at the white house, ended not far away up on capitol hill, when the car slammed into a police vehicle, injuring an officer. a source says the suspect, a woman, was shot and a child was in the car. we're just getting the first audio of those shots being fired from a witness recording it all on her cell phone as it happened. [ gunfire ] >> our brian todd is joining us live from the scene with the very latest. i know you also want to share with our viewers some extraordinary new video of the actual chase. hold on a second, brian. we're having trouble hearing you. your audio is not good. now you're okay. start again from the beginning. >> reporter: okay. all right, wolf. we'll pan jus

i'm wolf blitzer. you are're in "the situation ro" >>> america's allies are furious right now over reports of widespread u.s. spying on world leaders. some have called in their american ambassadors and germany's chancellor personally called president obama this week to ask if her phone was tapped. with america's friends already complaining of shattered trust, more leaks about u.s. intelligence activity may be on the way. let's begin our coverage this hour with our chief national security correspondent, jim sciutto. he's in new york following all these developments. >> reporter: good morning, wolf. several developments today. on the positive side, germany saying they are going to send a delegation to the u.s. to discuss these revelations and work out ground rules going forward for what's acceptable and what's not in terms of surveillance like this. but more worries to come as you referenced. reports today first in "washington post" of the possibility of other edward snowden sourced documents revealing o

wolf blitzer will be anchoring special kufrpg coverage of the starting sharply at 9:00. ss a minute. but as she's about to go into this hearing, the last we heard is that at least portions much the obama care website are still down. this is not a good way for her to be starting off. in down for several hours. second time they have had to apologize that the whole system has crashed at least for the time being. hhs blaming verizon for this second takedown. but certainly embarrassing. she'll have to answer questions about this. but there are much bigger questions that she'll have to answer, as well. i suspect we're not going to get the numbers even though they know the numbers how many people have actually signed up, how many people have gone to the website, how many people have actually especially rolled in various systems, how many of them are medicaid recipients, how many are actually paying in to the system. they have all that information, but they say they won't release it up at least mid november if not later. i'm not exactly sure why they're reluctant to release that

cnn newsroom with wolf blitzer starts right now. starts right now. captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com right now obama care opponents are shifting attention back to the health care law now that the fiscal showdown has ended. some are calling for a cabinet member to resign because of all the problems with the website. right now, republican members of congress have all left capitol hill. they're back in their home districts trying to explain the shutdown to their constituents. but how will that message play in peoria and in houston and in miami? and right now, the markets are just barely rising since the u.s. has averted hitting the debt ceiling for now. investors can now turn their attention to earnings. hello, i'm wolf blitzer in washington. we begin with the fiscal stalemate. it may have

i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room."

i turn you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." wolf? >>> happening now, horror and chaos in a nevada middle school. a teacher and student, they are dead. two more students hurt after a shooting. we'll have the very latest. >>> the president vows to fix the technical fiasco that clogged up the government's obama care website. >> there's no sugar coating it. the website has been too slow. people have been getting stuck during the application process. and i think it's fair to say that nobody's more frustrated by that than i am. >> obama care has its roots in romney care. i will ask the former head of that successful massachusetts health exchange if washington got it wrong. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> all that coming up but let's begin with new video. 911 calls and details all just coming in to "the situation room" right now after another school shooting. this one at a middle school in sparks, nevada. one staff member is dead, two students have been injured after a student allegedly opened fire. the suspect also di

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." a big sigh of relief or exhaustion here in the nation's capital as the debt crisis is averted and federal employees go back to work. president obama says washington cannot go back to business as usual. hours after signing the last minute legislation that temporarily ended the shutdown, the president said the standoff left no winners, damaged the economy and left the american people in his words fed up. president obama is calling on congress to work together to make government better instead of quote, purposely making it work worse. but with the next crisis looming just a couple months away, has the well been poisoned on capitol hill? let's begin our coverage with our chief congressional correspondent, dana bash, who is here in "the situation room." what a day it's been on this day after the government comes back. >> that's true. a lot of wound licking, a lot of second guessing and a lot of regrets, especially and entirely from mitch mcconnell, the top r

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> you're looking at a live picture right now of the white house. that's the west wing of the white house, momentarily we're expecting to see house republican leaders emerge from a critical meeting they're now having with president obama. they're hoping to sell the president on a new proposal to raise the nation's debt ceiling temporarily for only a few weeks and keep the country from defaulting. it could potentially default one week from today. senate democrats also met with the president just a little while ago. so is this plan a glimmer? does it provide a glimmer of hope that the white house has been looking for for ten days now into this crisis. our chief congressional correspondent dana bash is up on capitol hill. our senior white house correspondent jim acosta is over at the white house. dana, first to you. what are you hearing about what the house republicans at this meeting with the president under way right now, including the speaker, john boe

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> so it's day 11 of the government shutdown. more conversations seem to be taking place on both sides of the aisle. we just learned from the white house just a little while ago that president obama spoke with the house speaker, john boehner, take by phone. according to the speaker's spokesman, they agreed to keep talking. this after senate republicans had their chance to meet with the president face to face, a meeting that drew mixed reaction among those who were there. i'll speak with one of those senators, bob corker, in just a few minutes. first, our chief congressional correspondent, dana bash, is up on capitol hill. our senior white house correspondent, jim acosta, is at the white house. dana, let me start with you. what is the latest republican, house republican offer that's on the table right now? >> reporter: well, what we know is so far, is what they sent over earlier today which is a lot like what we heard them talk about publicly even before the big and important white house meeting last night. the idea would be to ha

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." there's some important breaking news coming into "the situation room" right now. even with lawmakers apparently poised to temporarily reopen the government, extend the debt ceiling, americans have already paid a huge price for this government shutdown. standard & poor's now says, it estimates that the shutdown has already taken, get this, $24 billion out of the u.s. economy and warns that a default will roll back all the gains made in the recovery, put the economy right back in recession. doesn't look like there's going to be a default right now, but once again, in february, that whole issue could be decided. once again, this whole issue could be revived. this standard & poor's estimate, by the way, it already says, based on what has happened and the uncertainty of what will happen in january, when there could be another government shutdown, or february, when the debt ceiling once again has to be raised, based on that uncertainty, they now estimate, they now estimate that the u.s. eco

i'm wolf blitzer and you are in "the situation room." massive suburb veil answer at home and abroad. millions of people targeted for snooping including dozens of world leaders. there was explaining to do in front of their congressional overseers. they strongly denied some of the allegations, made some of their own. let's begin our coverage this hour with our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto who is watching what is going on. how did they explain, first of all, jim, the spying that goes on allied leaders? >> very strong bush back from the director of national intelligence stating as fact that european allies spy on the u.s. as well and they said to an extent they are their elected leaders may not be aware of and made the argument the u.s. has better oversight than europe has on this. interesting hearing chairman mike rogers leaving no doubt whatsoever as he was questioning general alexander. listen tow this? >> have the allies of the united states ever during the course of that time engaged in anything you would qualify as

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> right now, all eyes are on that ticking clock. in less than 55 hours, the treasury will start running out of money to pay the nation's bills. with the debt ceiling deadline bringing new urgency, senate leaders are suddenly much more optimistic about a deal. but just as suddenly, the white house today postponed a meeting between the president and the congressional leadership. let's get the very latest from our chief congressional correspondent, dana bash. she's up on capitol hill. what's the current deal under consideration, dana? >> reporter: first, let me just say the fact that the white house meeting is not happening is actually a good thing and that comes from sources in all parties. it is because they feel that they are on the cusp of getting a deal without going to the white house, just among senate republican and democratic leaders. but to answer your question, here's the framework of what we're told is in this potential deal. first of all, to

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> we begin with breaking news right now. the credit rating agency fitch, fitch has placed the united states aaa long-term foreign and local currency default ratings right now in what they call rating watch negative. the ratings of all outstanding u.s. sovereign debt securities have also been placed on that status along with u.s. short-term foreign currency rating procedures. this is a serious development right now. in 31 hours from now, this country could actually start defaulting on its debt, sending shock waves around the world. a senate deal to reopen the government temporarily and raise the debt ceiling is on hold. the house speaker john boehner is warning against a default but he may not have the votes to pass a tougher counter proposal so are both sides digging in right now? the stakes clearly enormous. republican conservatives met in a mexican restaurant here in washington last night to plot strategy. house democrats have just met with the president over at the white house. let's begin our coverage this hour with our

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> all that coming up but this just coming into cnn right now. a very strong reaction to the latest reports of u.s. spying abroad from senator dianne feinstein, chair of the senate intelligence committee. she's calling for a total review of all intelligence programs so that committee members can know just what is being done by the intelligence community and regarding eavesdropping on the german chancellor angela merkel, feinstein says, i'm quoting, it is my understanding that president obama was not aware chancellor merkel's communications were being collected since 2002. that is a big problem. american officials have some explaining to do here at home and around the world. let's find out what's going on from our chief national security correspondent, jim sciutto. he's here in "the situation room." this is a very strong statement from dianne feinstein. she confirms in effect, she's the chair of the intelligence committee, not only that she's upset, tha

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> president obama just spent more than an hour slamming republicans for shutting down the government and putting the economy at risk by not moving to increase the debt limit. but in the end, he left them an opening, suggesting that once they act on those two things, even with short-term fixes, he will be happy to negotiate with them on almost anything. the house speaker john boehner gave his answer a few minutes ago, saying the time to talk is now, not later. so where do things actually stand right now? let's begin our coverage this hour with our senior white house correspondent, jim acosta. jim, did we see any opening in what the president had to say? >> i think we did, wolf. it started off with that news conference that the president had for well over an hour. it sounded like he wasn't offering any room for negotiation, wasn't budging at all but towards the very end of the news conference, the president said not only is he willing to accept a short-

i turn you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." wolf?ing now, horror and chaos in a nevada middle school. a teacher and student, they are dead. two more students hurt after a shooting. we'll have the very latest. >>> the president vows to fix the technical fiasco that clogged up the government's obama care website. >> there's no sugar coating it. the website has been too slow. people have been getting stuck during the application process. and i think it's fair to say that nobody's more frustrated by that than i am. >> obama care has its roots in romney care. i will ask the former head of that successful massachusetts health exchange if washington got it wrong. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room."

"cnn newsroom" with wolf blitzer starts right now. wolf blitzer reporting from washington. president obama getting ready to go before the cameras and the

"cnn newsroom" with wolf blitzer starts right now. >>> thanks very much, guys. right now the partial government shutdown is over. furloughed employees returning to work. and a government default has been averted. president obama says it's time to change the way washington does business. right now white house press secretary jay carney preparing to face questions from reporters. the white house briefing scheduled to begin this hour. we'll go there live, once it starts. right now the stock market is focused on earnings reports with the immediate fiscal crisis here in washington over. we'll have a quick check of the markets and take a closer look at the economic impact of this 16-day government shutdown. >>> hello, i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. latest fiscal crisis may be over but president obama says washington can't just go back to business as usual. the president says the partial shutdown and the threat of default hurt the u.s. economy, but country, he says, will bounce back. he says it's the politics that need to change. >> and today i want our pe

. >>> hello, i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. the contractors behind the obama care website get grilled over the technical blunders surrounding the launch of of healthcare.gov. executives from four companies were called to testify today before the house energy and commerce committee. the company officials tried to deflect blame for the problems, some lawmakers sniped at one another for the reasons for holding the hearing. >> botched rollout is all the more reason that the individual mandate penalty should be delayed. average americans deserve a waiver from obama care, too, it's only fair, when the exchanges are such a mess. >> here we go again, another cynical effort by the republicans to delay, defund, or ultimately repeal the affordable care act. i'd like to think that somehow this hearing is above board and legitimate but it's not. >> tough exchange there. joe johns is here with me watching what's going on. you've been monitoring this hearing all morning. are they getting good answers from these four contractors? >> this is a