Transcripts For KNTV Today 20240713

With the u. S. Out of syria, russias president swooped in to claim control, cutting a deal for territory with turkeys president , and on e nd american troops are pelted with fruit as they exit. Richard engel live on the front lines. Playing hardball, prosecutors hit Lori Loughlin and others with a significant new charge in the College Admissions scandal, why the chances of more prison time just went up. A 17yearolds death under investigation. Aterty suspended on very day parents of hazing victims took their fight to capitol hill. All smiles inside Meghan Markles first public appearance since that candid and controversial interview on the toll of royal life. And monumental victory. The nationals take game one. The Washington Nationals win their first ever World Series Game and move one step closer to the title today, wednesday, october 23rd, 2019. From nbc news, this is today with Savannah Guthrie and hoda kotb live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Hi, everybody, good morning. Thank you for being with us on a weesday morning. I guess the nats didnt have nerves in their first World Series Game in houston. They won. Crazy. It was a road game. They won 54, their very first ever World Series Game. I know a lot of folks in d. C. Including craig are probably pretty excited. Well get the latest on that in a moment. Shock waves ripping through the white house and capitol hill by that explosive testimony by americas top diplomat, connecting the dots of a political quid pro quo. We have complete coverage. Well start with nbcs White House Correspondent Kristen Welker, good morning to crow. Reporter savannah, good morning to you. Those ripple effects being felt on both sides of pennsylvania avenue after a top diplomat seemed to connect the dot of a quid pro quo with ukraine, something the president has consistently denied. In a statement overnight, the white house saying there was no quid pro quo. And called the impeachment inquiry nonsense. And a coordinated Smear Campaign from far left lawmakers. This morning, new fallout after an explosive day of testimony from a central figure in the ukraine controversy, bill taylor, the u. S. Ambassador to ukraine told lawmakers tuesday he was told the release of ukraine aid was dependent on a public declaration by ukraines president of an investigation into the bidens and the 2016 election. President trump has denied a quid pro quo. Reaction pouring in overnight. The evidence that has come out is damming against the president of the United States. This is my most disturbing day in congress so far. In his opening remarks obtained by nbc news, taylor described a Foreign Policy that he said was undercut by efforts from Rudy Giuliani who was among those digging for dirt on the bidens. He said a key moment occurred during a september 7th phone call when the president told the Eu Ambassador Gordon Sondland that the president of ukraine must go to a microphone and say he is opening an investigation of biden and 2016 election interference. It was clear President Trump wanted zelensky in a public box. Taylor adding when he spoke to sondland on september 8th, sondland tried to explain that President Trump is a businessman, when a businessman is about to sign a check to someone who owes him something, he said the businessman asks that person to pay up before signing the check. While republicans thought to down play the testimony. Neither this witness nor any other witness has provided any evidence that there was a quid pro quo. Laid out in his Opening Statement. Reporter it all comes as President Trump prompted a new controversy comparing the impeachment inquiry to a lynching on twitter sparking a fierce bipartisan backlash. It is very painful and it is a distraction that america should not accept or tolerate. Given the history in our country, i would not compare this to a lynching. That was an unfortunate choice of words. Reporter top trump ally Lindsey Graham one of the few voices defending the president. This is a lynch in every sense. This is unamerican. Reporter now, when asked about the president s choice of words, the white house said the president was just defending himself. The Trump Campaign has pounced on comments made by former Vice President joe biden in 1998 when biden questioned whether the impeachment of former president bill clinton was a, quote, partisan lynching. Overnight biden apologized in a tweet saying this wasnt the right word to use and im sorry about that. Trump on the other hand chose his words deliberately and continues to stoke racial divides in this country daily. Savannah. Kristen, going back to bill taylors testimony, the u. S. Diplomat to ukraine, it seems as though a number of his statements directly contradict those of another key witness, the Eu Ambassador, Gordon Sondland. He has already testified. Do we expect him to come back and be asked to answer for those differences in the testimony . Reporter great question and it remains an open one this morning, savannah. Some House Democrats are signaling they may want to hear sondland has not been asked to testify again but if they do ask, hes willing to do so. Thats according to a person whos familiar with his plan. Savannah. Kristen welker at the white house, thank you. In the meantime a new tell all book on the Trump Administration is set to be released next month, and heres what unusual about it. Its author is anonymous. The same anonymous senior official who wrote that blistering oped published in the New York Times. It was highly critical of the white house, of someone said to be inside the white house. Our chief White House Correspondent Hallie Jackson has more on all of it. Good morning. Reporter hey, savannah, good morning. This book is set to come out in less than a month. Right in the thick of the impeachment inquiry, and it promises to be even more controversial than that initial oped that captivated all of washington, it seemed. This page turner, not a who done it, but a who wrote it. Instantly, one of the most anticipated books of the year, also one of the most mysterious, the anonymous author, the same unnamed Senior Administration official who wrote that explosive New York Times oped last year called i am part of the resistance inside the Trump Administration. Then the person described how many senior officials were working against the president from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations. Now, the persons publisher promises a shocking firsthand account of President Trump and his record, picking up from where those first words of warning left off. The author plans to stay anonymous and to donate most of his or her royalties to nonprofits focused on government accountability. When you tell me about an anonymous source within the administration, probably whos failing and probably here for all the wrong reasons. Reporter the president has repeatedly railed against the unnamed official. The oped published in the failing New York Times by an anonymous, really an anonymous, gutless coward. Reporter in a new sarcastic statement his press secretary tells nbc news, it takes a lot of conviction and bravery to write a whole book anonymously. The book titled a warning will only intensify the washington guessing game over the identity after a core of cabinet members denied they were the ones behind the oped from treasury secretary steven mnuchin, mike pompeo and then secretary james mattis. Anyone who would write an anonymous editorial smearing this president should not be working for this administration. They ought to do the honorable thing and resign. Reporter its not clear whether this person still serves right now inside the Trump Administration. The publisher is not calling the person a former official. And even though it is the best kept secret for more than a year now, the question of course is how much longer does it actually last. Hallie jackson, thank you very much. Craig joins us at the table with the latest on the crisis in syria. Good morning, defense secretary esper rrived in iraq, facing questions about the movement of american troops in that region. All of this as the meeting between russias president , Vladimir Putin, and turkeys president erdogan has led to a r sht in the middle east. Jor nbcs chief correspondent Richard Engel remains on duty for us with details. Richard, good morning. Reporter good morning, craig. Just as a u. S. Brokered ceasefire was coming to an end, Vladimir Putin stepped in and imposed his own deal and became the new king maker here in the middle east. These images this morning wont soon be forgotten in the middle east, or anywhere. Russian troops mobilizing in Northern Syria where american troops had patrolled just two weeks ago. Those American Forces ordered out by President Trump, abandoning their allies, the kurds, who were so disgusted, they pelted the americans with rotten fruit, as they headed for the door if we leave the kurds behind, in their mind, and the eyes of the world, good luck having anybody help us in the future t trying t fight isis. I hope the administration is trying to mitigate the damage done by the decision to withdraw from Eastern Syria all the u. S. Troops reporter but the damage has been done. When President Trump efftive allowed turkey to invade syria and ordered american troops to leave with no clear plan for where they go. The white house issuing conflicting comments if some might stay it all created chaos so Vladimir Putin stepped in, meeting with turkeys president in sochi to carve up syria between them starting this morning, putin divided Northern Syria, russian and Turkish Forces in charge of one side, russian backed Syrian Government force on the other. President trump seems to think this is all going well tweeting overnight, good news seems to be happening with respect to turkey, syria and the middle east. Further reports to come later. Tell that to the kurds, burying their dead in the hundreds, their homeland, until now protected by the United States, their towns emptying out u. S. Allies, the kurds going into hiding, now on the run. The kurds are the big losers in this they will be paying for their alliance with the americans for generations to come. Craig. Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel in syria, richard, thank you. Also breaking overnight, a tragic and shocking discovery in england, the bodies of 39 people found inside of a truck. Nbcs chief global correspondent bill neely joins us with the breaking news on this story good morning. Reporter good morning, a horrifying discovery and a tragic story it began early this morning when k parked in an industrial ed to area about an hour east of london when they opened the back of this truck, they found 39 bodies inside, 38 adults and one teen no one else in there was alive as you can see from these pictures, its a large, unmarked container. Police say it was from eastern europe, from bulgaria, but it entered britain 300 miles away on the west coast, almost certainly after traveling from ireland. The 25yearold truck driver, a man from Northern Ireland has been arrested on suspicion of murder the police are still trying to identify the dead but all the evidence would suggest that these were migrants. In a similar case four years ago, 71 migrants were found suffocated in a truck in austria and this summer, waves of migrants have been trying to get into britain in small boats. People smuggling in the middle east and afghanistan is big business in europe this truck drove into britain five days ago. Its not known where it has been since then, and how it was found but what a grim discovery, savannah. Bill neely for us in london, thank you, bill. Also this morning, a fraternity at penn state has been suspended after the mysterious death of a 17yearold at an offcampus house. Nbcs Stephanie Gosk is here with details good morning. Good morning, hoda. The teenager was not a student at penn state. His death now under investigation. It comes two years after the campus was rocked by the hazing death of a Fraternity Pledge whose parents are still fighting for change Penn State University punishing a fraternity after a tragic death over the weekend the school suspending the alpha delta chapter of its Chi Phi Fraternity after it says a 17yearold visiting the area was found dead at an offcampus residence, allegedly offered by members. According to the State College police department, Emergency Departments rushed to the aid of a 17yearold male in full cardiac arrest, adding he was pronounced dead at the scene, and that there were no signs of trauma on the victim, and several witnesses were present when the victim became unconscious. The manner and cause of death autopsnding the results of an the news coming on the same day a grief stricken family was waging a passionate fight on capitol hill. Were not going anywhere, so were going to be relentless jim and Evelyn Piazza pushing members of congress to support the end all hazing act their son tim died after a hazing incident on penn state campus his parents have made it a mission to serve as fierce advocates in the antihazing movement for us, its really hard, but if we dont do it, who will. Reporter we should be clear, it is still unknown if hazing played a role in the tragic case over the weekend we have reached out to chi phi at penn state, in a statement, the university announced the frat loses all privileges as a recognized Student Organization during its interim suspension, and the organization cant participate, attend or organize any functions, activities or events stephanie, thank you. We have more to get to this morning including a really big night in sports. The nba season tipped off last night with a couple of marquee matchups, including the battle for l. A. Between the lakers and the clippers here comes james. Well, lebron helped lead the lakers back from a 12point deficit in the Third Quarter but in the fourth, the clippers pulled away, 112102 in the early game it was the defending champs, toronto raptors, beating the new york pelicans in overtime. Lets get to the most important sports news of the day, though. Did you see this one. We heard about it from you. Game one, astros and the the nationals a 3run lead in Washington Nationals the nationals a 3run lead i. They held on to the 5th. Hold on to win 54 game two also tonight in houston, and then games 3, 4, and 5 in washington. Will you be there mr. Melvin. Well get down there for two games. Youre so happy in this moment. Washington never won so this would be big were excited. Lets get a first check of the weather, with that, we say, good morning to who else, mr. Al roker. Look how we start. Are you an astros fan hes just obnoxious im a big fan of obnoxious. Anyway, were talking about a critical fire danger today out west again potential for rapid fires spread both in northern and Southern California today heres the fire danger, red flag warnings, dry winds gusting up to 65 Miles Per Hour large and fast moving fires are possible these wind gusts, 53 to 65 Miles Per Hour, High Pressure over the deserts, low pressure over the ocean, and so that hot, dry, desert air comes and as it rolls down the mountains, it compresses, it heats, speeds up and that dryer air causes problems heres what were also looking at with offshore winds weve got temperatures that are way above average, single digit relative humidity. If there is any good news as we head into the weekend, the temperature is cool and the humidity levels rise until then, the next 48 hours are critical were going to get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds life is better with you whoa whoa whoa whoa life is better with you i know just one thing is true. Life is better with you good morning. Im meteorologist kari hall. Were expecting some hot temperatures today especially in the north bay, in the inland east bay, where highs will reach over 90 degrees. Well see some mid to upper 80s in the south bay, the trivalley, as well as the south county, and then as we go into the rest of the day, our red flag warning goes into effect for all of these areas shaded in red, that includes elevations above 1,000 feet. Hot and windy conditions today, and tomorrow. It starts to cool off for the weekend, but major cooling headed our way on sunday. Straight ahead, new developments in the College Bribery case, why Lori Loughlin is facing a new charge this morning, and what that could mean for possible time behind bars. Plus, a today exclusive amidst a growing crisis in our nations Largest Police force, the new push to help new yorks hometown heroes, but first, this is today on nbc. Tv just keeps getting better. How you watch it does too. This is xfinity x1. Featuring the Emmy Awardwinning voice remote. Streaming Services Without changing passwords and input. Live sports with realtime stats and scores. Access to the most 4k content. And your movies and shows to go. The best tv experience is the best tv value. Xfinity x1. Simple. Easy. Awesome. Xfinity. The future of awesome. Still ahead this morning, olympic star ryan lochtes shot at redemption after his life hit rock bottom. I want to be that person. So how did you turn it around im a family man now. All smiles, what he told us about turning his life around and what it would mean for him to compete in tokyo 2020. And we will take you inside Meghan Markles first public appearance since that very emotional interview about coping with her life as a royal well have that and a lot more coming up right after your local news we make ideas grow. From an everyday solution. To one that can take on a bigger challenge. From packaging tape. 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Great riches will find you when Liberty Mutual customizes your carinsunc so you only pay for what you need. Wow. Thanks, zoltar. How can i ever repay you . Maybe you could free zoltar . Thanks, lady. Taxi only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. A very good morning to you. It is 7 26. Im laura garcia. Pg e so far has not made a final decision about whether to cut power to thousands of bay area homes and businesses, as soon as this afternoon. On today in the bay, we spoke live with a pg e representative. She said if you have not been notified by now, your home or business is not on the list of potential outage areas. But across northern california, about 185,000 customers have received that notice. Possible impacted areas include parts of san mateo, napa and sh sonoma counties tied to the red flag warning which meteorologist kari hall has been monitoring. Small fires or brush fire could spread rapidly as the winds peak up to 60 Miles Per Hour especially near elevations above 1,000 feet, so we will wind peaking tonight through early tomorrow morning and red flag warning continues and our winds will decrease on friday. Our inland forecast shows that well see inland temperatures reaching up to 93 degrees tomorrow, still hot on friday, but once again it wont be as windy, on saturday upper 80s and much cooler by sunday, but breezy winds picking up again. Well be tracking that, headed over to mike now, here is an update on the roads. A lot more traffic flow so the east shore freeway jams up in between berkeley and the berkeley curve is the worst. San francisco crashes clearing from southbound away from the bay bridge and down toward the 280 and 101 split. The arrow shows south 880 at mallory, another crash south of the dumbarton bridge, adds to congestion but not a big deal and recovery for the r b, northbound 85 the crash at camden just cleared. Back to you. Thank you very much. Another local news update coming in half an hour. Welcome back 7 30 on this fine wednesday morning, october the 23rd. Its a sunny day on tap here in new york after yesterdays kind of washout yeah. We will take it were going to go out and see our lovely crowd. The sun is even sunnier after a rainy day. Lets check our top story. Theres new fallout after explosive testimony from bill taylor, the top u. S. Diplomat to ukraine testified behind closed doors in the impeachmen yesterday. He said he was told that the release of Ukraine Security aid was in fact dependent on a political investigation into the bidens and the democrats and the 2016 election. Well, the president has denied that. That there ever was a quid pro quo. California utilities this morning are warning hundreds of thousands of customers that they may have their power shut off today or tomorrow. Its part of an effort to lessen the risk of wildfires sparked by faulty equipment it would be the second massive blackout in just two weeks firefighters across the state are on high alert because of high temperatures and gusty winds there. Northern and Southern California could be affected. Now to legal troubles for actress Lori Loughlin and nearly a dozen other parents swept up in that College Entrance scandal. An Additional Charge has been added which could eventually result in a much stiffer prison sentence nbc correspondent Miguel Almaguer follows that story. He joins us here. Reporter with the new charge of conspiracy to commit bribery, Lori Loughlin could get an additional five years behind bars if shes convicted. Legal experts say prosecutors are is sending a very clear message the government will aggressively pursue and punish any parent who refuses to plead guilty this morning, for hollywood actress, Lori Loughlin, a significant plot twist in her personal legal drama the red carpet regular along with her Fashion Designer husband Mossimo Giannulli and nine other parents entangled in the College Admissions scandal have been charged with conspiracy to commit bribery if convicted the new felony count will almost certainly mean more prison time for the group of wealthy and privileged parents. The grand jury in boston filing the charges just a day after four other parents reversed course, changing their not guilty pleas to guilty in the face of more potential charges and growing pressure to avoid trial. Make no mistake, this is not a case where parents were acting in the best interests of their children. Reporter arrested in march, loughlin and her husband face fraud and Money Laundering charges that carry a maximum combined sentence of four years. The bribery charge carries an additional five years. Prosecutors saying our goal from the beginning has been to hold the defendants fully accountable for corrupting the College Admissions process they allege the couple bribed usc employees to get their children admitted into the school as rowing recruits even though neither had ever rowed competitively. I do want the experience of game day partying, i dont really care about school as you guys all know. The university now confirms both daughters are no longer enrolled at the school while loughlin has not returned our request for comment, in court, her legal team has denied any wrongdoing, saying she never knew she was paying a bribe when she gave the schemes master mind rick singer 500,000. This morning, the actress sticking to her story, perhaps a risky legal gamble that could cost her her freedom legal experts say even if she is convicted, loughlin would likely not be sentenced to an additional five years in prison for conspiracy charge. Prosecutors say even more charges could be piled on as her case proceeds. Savannah miguel, thank you, and for more on what this new charge could mean for Lori Loughlin and the others, lets turn to our legal analyst, lisa green. Good morning to you. Good morning, savannah. The prosecutors are putting the screws to the remaining defendants adding another charge here its not new facts, its a new charge whats the strategy here. The strategy is to put maximum pressure on these defendants i think prosecutors are incredulous that parents havent taken a deal, given the amount of evidence they have amassed against them felicity huffman, two weeks, lunch with your families, that has to be off the table now. I was going to say, some of these, after the prosecutors told some of these remaining defendants, we are going to add charges if you dont plead guilty some did, some came in and pleaded guilty and changed others like Lori Loughlin are holding out. Isnt every incentive for her and her husband and the others in the same position to go to trial now. Theres no plea deal on the table anymore. I think thats right. On the other hand, weve all read the emails, weve read about the wiretaps, but what we havent heard yet is the master mind of this organization whos already pleaded guilty at trial, singer will testify about each of these parents and their complicity in the event. Thats an additional anvil thats going to be thrown at their heads. It is possible that a plea might get them out of that worst case scenario. For example, if she were to come plead guilty, she would have to plead guilty to the charges before her but might get a lighter sentence because you dont have a trial. It depends on the people and the jury, in my mind, what these parents, is cut in line, and take places from deserving athletes. That is fairly serious their defense is along the lines of hey, rich people ve been giving donations to schools for a long long time, since when is that illegal. Is that a convincing defense. It isnt to me. A donation is above board, everyone is aware of it, you dont hide it through sham charities, and dont steal spots in the way the parents did by having their kids pretend to be hard working student athletes its outrageous. Thank you very much over to you. Still to come this morning, inside Meghan Markles first appearance since that emotional interview on the pressures of royal life. First, though, a today exclusive this morning, we will reveal the new Mental Health program here in new york city aiat helng Police Officers in need. Also, the commissioners message to critics who say its come to late that and more, right after this. 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In a vast desert completely wdevoid of basset hounds. [ back in babys arms by patsy cline ] then, it appeared a beacon of hope. Im back in babys arms more glorious than a billion sunsets. Were im back where i belong found by the hounds. Back in babys arms today, this morning, the today exclusive tied to a growing crisis we have been covering. After a string of suicides, the new York City Police department is announcing an effort to get struggling officers the help they need. And this is a national problem. It is a national problem, but here in new york, guys, just last week another officer took his own life, bringing the total number of deaths by suicide in the nypd to this year, ten, plus two more who retired from the force. The commissioner told me they are in crisis, and that theyre hoping that working with a world renowned Medical Center here in new york will help this morning, nypd commissioner jimmy oneill and new york mayor bill de blasio announcing a brand new Health Program for the nations Largest Police force, confidential and no cost counselling, medication if needed nor its uniformed officers. The biggest thing is its anonymous and at no cost. Anonymous, so any officer can be recalled and its not going to be recorded in their file. No, its not. New york presbyterian is going to maintain a data base. We will know the number of people going through the program thats availing themselves of help internally and externally, there are a number of avenues the officer can take theres still the stigma. The program called finest care will cost 1 million for the first 18 months. A lot of times the biggest challenge is for officers to know its okay to need help yourself you always are giving help to other people you sometimes need help yourself. Think about the stress and cumulative traa they see every day, go to shooter scenes, murder scenes, interviewing Sexual Assault victims, we dont talk about it. A record ten nypd officers have taken their lives this year, double the rate of recent years. Commissioner oneill has called it a crisis, the sister of one officer who took his life in june called it avoidable. This was 100 preventible he needed help they knew that. Reporter its a tragedy that reaches far beyond new york, nationwide, at least 184 officers have taken their lives this year. Other cities like chicago and houston gang offering anonymous free counselling for officers in recent years the lapd has had a program for five decades. You have had critics who have said this is a little late yeah, i dont think its a little late. I think we reacted immediately you know, everything that we put in place, we didnt wait until last week. This has been an ongoing process throughout the year. And to anyone have an expectation this would happen, absolutely not. Reporter i guess im just wondering do you regret not doing something. Of course i do. Ten officers killed themselves i was a cop for a long time. I know what they face each and every day. To think i wouldnt regret it, a little unfair. This is a mission, whatever it takes were going to do it reporter relations between Police Officers and mayor de blasio have historically been tense. You continue to grand stand in the backs of Police Officers and show up when were dead. Reporter the Outspoken Police Union President pat lynch has accused the nypd of sidelining officers who do seek counselling. Stop destroying the careers of cops who reach out for help. Were not looking to destroy anybodys career were looking to help people, to get people back on the roads the families gathered with Cardinal Timothy dolan for a mass in their honor. After the mass he brought them on the altar, think about how much each and every person up there is suffering, and what can we do to make sure this tht happen anymore. We just know this. Someone is going to see doesnt happen anymore. We just know this someone is going to see this, and its going to inspire them to seek help and if its even one person, it was worth it. The nypd taking action there, but nationally are there groups, and Police Officers in another jurisdiction, how can they get help. One group is doing a lot of work theyre called blue help, i spoke with them yesterday. They track the number of suicides theyre struggling to keep up because theres like one a day nationally theyre overwhelmed, they could use help, and they could use families reaching out to them when something happens so they can keep track if you have any issue, call the Suicide Prevention lifeline 18002738255 important story thank you. Shifting gears now were going to turn to mr. Roker. We have a coast to coast system out of canada, spreading snow, all the way down through the rockies, snoom denr to the texas panhandle tomorrow, and severe storms out over the plains then we move into friday this thing digs down into the southern plains, bringing strong storms, possibility of flood threats, but it does help relieve the drought. We then move into saturday heavy rain moves into the midwest, with strong to severe thunderstorms possible, and then as we head into sunday, that system is up and down the east coast with heavy rain for boston, all the way down to jacksonville rainfall amounts, anywhere from 3 to 5 inches, especially down through the Lower Mississippi valley, and back to the west snowfall totals, upwards of 12 inches in the rockies denver could see 2 to 4 inches when its all over thats whats going on around the country. Heres whats happening talking about snow just off to our east, and were dealing with temperatures up to 93 degrees today. It is going to be well above no not onl will we have the heat but well have some high winds, and high fire danger today. Red flag warning goes up for the bay area starting at noon in the north bay, and continuing into tomorrow afternoon. Well also see temperatures peaking tomorrow reaching 93 degrees. It does cool off by the end of the weekend, as winds increase again on this sunday. And that is your latest weather. Hoda. Thank you, al. Coming up in just a few minutes on the other side of this break a few days ago we spent time with Michael Jordan who said something at the end of that curry, he said something thats gotten a whole lot of attention over the past couple of days, and were going to address it right after this a bit of a hall of fame fight. And out of the hospital. Dont take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. Dont take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren or if youve had angioedema with an ace or arb. The most serious side effects are angioedema, low Blood Pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. Ask your doctor about entresto. Where to next . [ soft piano music playing ] mm, uh, what do you do for fun . Not this. Oh, what am i into . Mostly progressives name your price tool. Helps people find Coverage Options based on their budget. Flo has it, i want it, its a whole thing, and shes right there. Yeah, shes my ride. This dates lame. He has pics of you on his phone. Theyre very tasteful. He has pics of you on his phone. mom, whispering shh, shh, shhh. Thank you associate, whispering hey, youre all set. mom, shouting really . Bamwhat . dog whining noise. mom, whispering that was so easy. associate bamwhat . mom bamwhat . Thats not even a word. Wityour money almostes offered seems like its frozen. But not here. With capital one, you can open a new savings account in about 5 minutes and earn five times the national average. Open one from here. Or here in a capital one cafe. Plus, there are no fees or minimums on savings or checking accounts because thats how it should be. This is banking reimagined. Whats in your wallet . [narrator] 6minute homemade mac cheese. Step 1 add stuff. Sfx upbeat music step 2 do stuff. Step 3 eat stuff. Instant pot. Sfx beeping dinner. Done. We hide hotel names so you can score 4star hotels at 2star prices. Hotwire hotwire. Com have been recalled because of dangerous takata airbags. One of them could be yours. Go to safeairbags. Com to see if your vehicle is on the recall list. It could save your life. San diego and Still Standing now, heres a guy who walked all the way from l. A. Carson, youre back. I am back. We missed you its good to be back. I did notice your interview with Michael Jordan i was very jealous about there theres the interview and seems to be a lot of talk after the interview. Some fallout. It was interesting because during the conversation as you saw, i asked him about four guys he would pick for a dream team, hakeem olajuwon, Magic Johnson, james worthy, and Scottie Pippen he chose players from his a. It was my follow up that caused a bit of a stir. When im going in the trenches, i played against a with all of these guys im going with who i know. Every single night that responsibility to go out there and represent greatness every single night steph curry shouldnt be offended when he watches this. I hope not. Not a hall of famer yet, though. Hes not so. Wow. Was that a diss i mean clearly in the room everyone knew that he was joking everyone knew he was joking but sports center, Bleacher Report picked this up, and a lot of people missing he said yet Magic Johnson weighed in as well everyone relax, we know steph curry is a future hall of famer. He could not say it because he would get fined by the league. Thats interesting. Explain that. Tampering, its by the way. Very subjective but magic got fined 50,000 for saying something about a greek player last season he said at the time he had an association with the l. A. Lakers. So if you Say Something nice about a player on another team, they say youre tampering with their contract and jordan owns the charlotte hornets. And also important to note, jordan clearly joking. Steph curry is going to the hall of fame, thats my takeaway, and everyone knows it. Coming up, aaron paul is downstairs, were going to chat with him about the breaking bad movie el camino. And then theres performance that just leaves you feeling better as a result. Thats the kind lincolns about. If you have postmenopausal osteoporosis and a high risk for fracture now might not be the best time to ask yourself are my bones strong . Life is full of make or break moments. Thats why its so important to help reduce your risk of fracture with prolia®. Only prolia® is proven to help strengthen and protect bones from fracture with 1 shot every 6 months. Do not take prolia® if you have low blood calcium, are pregnant, are allergic to it or take xgeva® serious allergic reactions, like low Blood Pressure trouble breathing; throat tightness; face, lip, or tongue swelling rash; itching; or hives have happened. Tell your doctor about dental problems as severe jaw bone problems may happen or new or unusual pain in your hip groin, or thigh, as unusual thigh bone fractures have occurred. Speak to your doctor before stopping prolia® as spine and other bone fractures have occurred. Prolia® can cause serious side effects, like low blood calcium; serious infections which could need hospitalization; skin problems; and severe bone joint, or muscle pain. Are you ready . Ask your doctor how prolia® can help strengthen your bones. So why isnt it all about you when it comes to your money . So. Whats on your mind . We are a 97yearold firm built for right now. Edward jones. Its time for investing to feel individual. Life is better with you whoa whoa whoa whoa life is better with you whoa whoa whoa whoa life is better with you i know just one thing is true. Life is better with you good wednesday morning. Im meteorologist kari hall. We are under a microclimate weather alert, as we get ready for hot temperatures, and high winds today, and that means well have a high fire danger especially in the hills. In napa and santa rosa, were looking at highs today up to 93 degrees, and some low 90s for the inland east bay, while much of the inner bay will see temperatures in the upper 80s this afternoon. The red flag warning in the north bay begins at noon, continues through 4 00 tomorrow afternoon, and well see at times those gusts up to 60 Miles Per Hour in some of the higher elevations. Well see our temperatures peak tomorrow up to 93 degrees and still very warm on friday, but not as windy. Well see a cold front moving through on sunday, that will help cool us off but will also cause those winds to gust once again and cooler weather continuing going into the beginning of next week. Lets check in now mike for an update on the commute. The south bay shows your typical push through san jose northbound and in toward the rest of silicon valley. Resuming toward fremont, 880 jammed out of union city and hayward down toward dakota, with the earlier crash cleared and another cleared at thornton. A disabled truck at whipple at the top of the hayward drive. As we look toward the bay bridge toll plaza, we have jammed traffic from berkeley and the Golden Gate Fields down to the berkeley curve, the earlier fire is not a problem in the rodeo area. Back to you. Bay area homeowners and businesses still waiting word on possible power outages. Pg e says if it hands, it will start as soon as this afternoon. Parts of three bay area counties have received notice, san mateo, napa, and sonoma counties. When pg e does give us an update, well post that information straight to our twitter feed. Pg e making its decision based on high fire danger, as kari was telling us, the red flag warning covers much of the bay area. Head to our home page for updates once that all kicks in. Another local news update for you in half an hour. 6, 7, 8 big dreams start with small steps. But dedication can get you there. So just start small. Start saving. Easily set, track and control your goals right from the chase mobile® app. Chase. Make more of whats yours®. Its 8 00 on today, coming up, explosive testimony, the top u. S. Diplomat in ukraine testifies in the impeachment investigation saying there was a quid pro quo. This is my most disturbing day in congress so far. So what happens next, were live with the latest plus, the duchess and the documentary, Meghan Markle makes her first public appearance since those candid comments about life as a royal. I never thought that this would be easy but i thought it would be fair. Just ahead, whats next for the couple as they prepare for a break from the royal duties. And staying in his lane, olympic swimmer ryan lochte gets candid about his personal struggles since rio and getting back in the pool will he head to japan in 2020. A lot of guys after 2016 would have said im good and then would have swam off into the sunset. Yeah. But thats not me. I want more. Today, wednesday, october 23rd, 2019 were the fab five from san antonio. All courtney wanted for her 24th birthday. Was to spend it at today. Its marlins first time in new york city its marilyns 70th birthday. Theres medicine. Anyone who needs medicine, check this out. Would it be strange if i left right now and looked for the baby, find the yellow hat on the plaza. It would be strange. It would be in character. Its a plaza full of cuties on this wednesday morning, and we are just enjoying our october to remember, arent we. Speaking of you actually are heading out, not to just see the little baby, but going to d. C. , you have something going with tom hanks and the Great Organization he works with. Hidden heroes, with elizabeth dole, mrs. Obama is going to be honored there. Well see tom hanks, her, were going to have more on that honored there. Well se tomorrow, the organization that helps our military caregivers, those who care for our veterans. Its a really important cause. Well have that tomorrow and then on friday, more stars, mr. Roker, catching up with mr. Murphy al and the legendary eddie murphy sitting down. Well share that with you on friday. Cannot wait for that one. Lets get to the news at 8 00. The white house is calling it a Smear Campaign, but the president s top diplomat in ukraine has told congress there was indeed a quid pro quo in the president s dealings with that country. Nbc White House Correspondent Kristen Welker joins us with the story. Kristen, good morning. Reporter savannah, good morning, there is new fallout this morning after that bomb shell testimony by bill taylor, the acting u. S. Ambassador to ukraine. Taylor testified tuesday he was told the release of ukraine aid was dependent on a public declaration by ukraines president of an investigation into the bidens in the 2016 election President Trump has consistently denied a quid pro quo. Reaction pouring in overnight with some democrats calling the testimony disturbing and even damning. In a statement, the white house fired back saying there was no quid pro quo and calling the impeachment inquiry nonsense and a coordinated Smear Campaign from far left lawmakers. Meanwhile, the president sparking a new controversy himself yesterday, comparing the impeachment inquiry to a lynching those racially charged words sparked a fierce bipartisan backlash outrage from Many Democrats and Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell calling it an unfortunate word choice, when pressed about the issue, the white house said the president was just defending himself. Savannah kristen, thank you. Two weeks after President Trump ordered troops out of Northern Syria, russia has cut a deal to share control of the region russian president Vladimir Putin met with turkeys president on tuesday. And effectively cut Northern Syria in half. Russian and Turkish Forces will be in charge of one side, Syrian Government forces backed by russia control the other kurdish troops who had helped the United States battle isis were forced to leave the area when they lost washingtons support. In new mexico a Police Officer who was seen on video throwing an 11yearold girl to the ground has resigned. In the video, officer Zachary Christianson starts following the special needs student after accusing her of taking extra milk from the lunchroom. When the girl brushes past the principal and leaves the building, the officer tries to handcuff her it was a 6minute struggle that took place the girls family said she suffered a concussion and has arm and shoulder pain. The da will decide if the officer should face charges. Will seek federal approval for a medicine to treat alzheimers disease in early stages. The move came as a surprise because the company had halted two studies of the drug this year when partial results were disappointing. The company says a new analysis suggests the drug can reduce the loss of thinking skills when taken at the highest dose. Current drugs for alzheimers can ease the symptoms temporarily but they do not slow the loss of memory and other cognitive skills. Raise your hand if you want a morning boost. I thought we would this ones a beauty. A mom in brazil had tried for years to find a way that her son could go skateboarding its something he had always dreamt about despite having Cerebral Palsy his mom found the answer she heard about this special rig, lets kids with disabilities roll over the ramps at their local skate park they built it with bungee cords, wheels and metal rods, when the young man got a chance to check them out, i mean, thats, right there, the look on his face, his moms face. I love it when the boost goes international, by the way. Coming up, guys, how Meghan Markle was received as she stepped out in london overnight. This is her first appearance since those raw and revealing comments on her royal life. Also, our candid conversation with Olympic Super star ryan lochte on his personal struggles and the life change he says he had to make. When did you discover that the drinking was part of the problem. About a year ago. If i was, like, to keep going down this destructive path that i was going to end up something tragic were going to hear more from ryan including his big plans for an olympic comeback, but first, these messages because to be the best, is to never ever stop making it better. The 2020 cclass family. Lease the c 300 sedan for just 419 a month at your local mercedesbenz dealer. Cmom and say it now. Just let the words come out. Give me your love. No calories. No sweeteners. All smiles™. Bubly sparkling water. Crack a smile™. You may not notice its a protein bar. Dark chocolate and crunchy peanuts will do that. Nature valley protein bars. This isit. Nest hub [laughing] thats a good shot. Ahh, and it can, oh thats a keeper. Ahh, this thing is really useful because. [laughing] did i mention it shows you photos . Pets know what they want, and so do we. Thats why youll find real meat, poultry or fish and wholesome veggies in delicious Rachael Ray Nutrish recipes. Rachael ray nutrish. Guys i said id be back. Real recipes. Real ingredients. Real good. ma woman imwings. Ng. avo only frigidaires range lets you air fry. Right in your oven. Its all of the flavor, none of the guilt. man so. woman good. avo thats using your frigidaire. amber jagger if we dont give students from an underserved background the technology that they need in school, theyre not going to be competitive in the workforce thats waiting for them. Since verizon innovative learning, students have hardware, connectivity, and ality curriculum. The jobs of tomorrow will involve technology. Now students are truly hopeful for what they may achieve. Can you believe it, we are actually talking holiday, how to prepare steals and deals style see you soon it takes minerals and it drives it deep into the tooths surface. Pronamel repair takes it to the next level. Pronamel repair takes it you cant fake the goodness the crunch of real almonds the taste of real raspberries we use real ingredients because you cant fake. Delicious special k eye on the ball the whole way life is measured in moments. Securian financial offers solutions that give you the confidence to enjoy the here and now. Tony so you can make every moment count. start the day slowroasting turkey for incredible flavor. Then, they double seal every slice for freshness. The results, well, they speak for themselves. Todays talker, Sheinelle Jones is, Meghan Markle stepped out. Good morning to all of you, the duchess and prince harry may be taking a break next month but meghan wowed the crowd, even as reaction grows from their remarks in a new documentary a beaming duchess greeted by huge cheers, opening a summit of Young Leaders from around the world last night at londons royal albert hall. She has attended these before but this is her first time as a member of the royal family facing a barrage of cameras, she appeared in good spirits as she hugged the host, stopping one of them in which she revealed that she is struggling with life as a royal and a new mom because of the constant and often negative media scrutiny i never thought that this would be easy but i thought it would be fair. When people are saying things that are just untrue, theyre being told theyre untrue but theyre allowed to still same them, i dont know anybody in the world that would feel like thats okay. Another remark raising questions over meghan and harrys royal future. I think the grass is greener. You have no idea, you know, its really hard to understand what its like. I know it seems like it should be its a very different thing, and thats okay. The good thing is ive got my baby and ive got my husband and theyre the best. Prince harry staunchly supporting his wife, suing british papers that he says have invaded their privacy. Allies of the couple say with their emotional frankness and candor, they are modernizing the monarchy, taking a completely different approach than prince harrys grandmother, the queen. The queens mantra has long been, never complain and never explain. Her approach has always been to put up and shut up, keep calm and carry on the sussexes are choosing to do the opposite of that, and of course it would divide opinions. The duchess plans to continue her work with Young Leaders she met last night, hosting a round table discussion a little later this week. People will be watching her everywhere she goes for a very long time. That was a striking moment when the woman was trying to courtesy or bow. She didnt want that. I like to see that. Let us get a check on the weather before pop start. Lets show you quickly what weve got going on, drying out in the east. Snow and cold as a big system comes barrelling down from canada fire danger continues out west, especially throughout northern and sout good morning. Im meteorologist kari hall. We are under a microclimate weather alert as we get ready for hot temperatures today and some high winds in the higher elevations. And look at these high temperatures for the north bay, reaching up to 93 degrees. The red flag warning for the north bay has started for solano county. Well see it continuing for the rest of the north bay at noon today as our winds continue to pick up and our temperatures peak tomorrow, the winds will gradually calm down and we will have some sunshine and warm weather into the start of the weekend. And thats your latest weather, guys. And al, now to the words we have been longing to say, heres carson with pop start. Yes ure back. The world is right again. You guys get the Academy Award for lying. Its got that new car smell. Trishaearwood recently stopped by studio 1a for an episode of our digital series, women who rock with our sponsor citi opening up about her career, husband garth brooks and the women who paved the way for her. Theres this, you know, this idea that women are so competitive that we cant be friends, that were all so, you know, just at each others throats all the time thats not the case. As a young female in country music, i think i looked at people like reba mnever sar sai me, i dont get as much as the guys do because im a girl. She put her head down and worked hard and worked harder than anybody. Good morning. We are coming on the air to bring you remarks from President Trump about the situation in syria. It has been thrown into complete disarray following the president s abrupt withdrawal of troops. Opening the door to grartd ruea russian influence in the region. The move is met by fierce bipartisan opposition and he has struggled to try to put a positive face on subsequent developments including a tweet this morning trying to claim big success on turkey syria border. All of this of course as the impeachment inquiry gathers steam this week on capitol hill. What is it that the president we anticipate him saying. Peter alexander is at the white house. So peter, big success is what . The one news we seem to know is that the big announcement is that turkey and russia will essentially have a joint force replacing the americans. Reporter yeah, youre right. The president s statement in that tweet earlier this morning really at odds with the fact he said that safe zone has been created, but as you noted Vladimir Putin who filled that void effectively dividing Northern Syria between turkish and Russian Forces and also russian backed Syrian Government forces. He also said that the kurds are safe of and have worked their oe hundreds right now and they remain on the run and in his tweet he also said that captured isis prisoners secured isis prie now on the loose in syria as well. The president has been facing bipartisan criticism, much of it from some of his traditional ally, Lindsey Graham, Mitch Mcconnell just yesterday saying that he hoped that the administration is working to try to, quote, mitigate the damage made by the president hes abrupt withdrawal. A lot of democrats and republicans waiting to see what the president can do to try to clean up a mess that many say is of his own making. And it was so abrupt that they didnt know what do with the troops he ordered out of syria. Any updated guidance as to apparently the president is now at least convinced by Lindsey Graham to keep a handful of troops in parts of Northern Syria, but what will the other troops go if not coming home . Reporter that is a good question. Iraq saying that american troops could only stay there for a limited time. Remember, the basis for this, the talking point that really resonates with the President Trumps base is this idea that we have no business being in that region, that he is bringing troops home. At the echbtd dnd of the day, i the president is keeping troops in the region, sending more are troops to saudi arabia, mercenary forces because saudi arabia will be paying the price tag for the troops being in that region. But the president again who said he was bringing them how is now saying they are being redeployed to remain in that area. It is unclear is fhow long. Mark esper said it was temp rarely. And lets go to Richard Engel. Temprarely. And lets go to Richard Engel. Richard, in the last, oh, 120 hours, weve gone from an abrupt withdrawal to now i guess a joint russia turkey force that will patrol Northern Syria. What have you seen in the last 24 hours . Reporter this is a kurdish region and they are running for their lives trying to escape the country, others dont know what will happen. They have live the under amerrotection and were fighting isis. And they were happy. This mission was ending. U. S. Troops were coming home. What happened is President Trump decided he was going to pull the plug abruptly without a plan, not giving any clear indication to the troops themselves, to the commanders, to the neighboring countries of what happened. He green lit an invasion from a neighboring country and betrayed the allies who were here. So, yes, american troops were coming home anyway, now in a total chaotic way. They will be betraying their friends who fear for their lives, hundreds of thousands of them have already left this area including when 80,000 children who are living in displacement camps and we dont know where those troops will end up. They will go eventually to home, so i think that we will hear President Trump bang this Campaign Promise im bringing the troops home. They were coming home anyway. But you dont do things like this and abandon your frnds, createhappening. You mentioned war crimes. They are seeing their allies being slaughtered and they do not have orders from the commander in chief to help them. Are we chronicling the war crimes since that is about the only thing that they can do legally . Reporter that is a good question. It is a very, very good question. And we will see if one day there is somebody inside the military with access to that classified intelligence, the aerial int intelligen intelligence. Because they are all over Northern Syria, lots of drones, lots of surveillance, they are pifrk picking up communications. Will mitchel. We thought it was really important to set t stage of the reality of what is happening in syria, what is happening with turkey and russia before we hear from whatever the president is about to say. What have you learned from what clearly was we could diplomacy by the speaker of the house with is Jordans King Hussein . Well, jordans king has people on the ground jordanian troops, british troop troop, are other troops from other countries who were not notified when the president made this impulsive decision to withdrawal the troops. So the allies feel very much in danger, but particularly king abdullah. It was more or less with nancy pelosi and the others in her bipartisan delegation telling them america is still here, america is not abandoning the middle east. But the basic reality now on the ground is that Vladimir Putin is the new strong person, the new strong man in the middle east, in syria certainly. He is now in charge of the middle east and syria, it is no longer the american influence in the region. And that will be felt for decades potentially. Have we lost turkey and if we have, how do we get them back . We lost turkey perhaps a long time ago, but still there is a mutual defense relationship, still members of nato. We cant fire someone from nato. You have to quit as a nato member. And it was actually the turkish problem that created nato in the problem, it was really that which was then extended to be against the former soviet union. And the yoou European Union is feeling threatened. People in europe, leaders that ive spoken to, diplomat, really believe that there is gooding to be a wave of terror in europe now because of when has happened, because they were contained, they were being held by the syrian kurds. And that is another issue. They are now beginning to reexamine their whole relationship with Vladimir Putin and whether they have to be friendlier to putin of the threats cross through what had been kurdish and amer proed areas. Let me go back to peter. This is one of the times where we are tap dancing here a little bit because we were given a heads up about 20 minutes ago that he was going to speak at 11 00 on, and then it keeps sliding and slide willing and is th thisand it does happen, he is not the first president do this. But it wouldnt be a surprise to me if they are struggling with the language that they want him to use. Reporter youre right. Guidance im getting is that the president today is to be joined by the Vice President mike pe e pence, secretary of state mike pompeo and also robert obrien, and pompeo and pence just in that region trying to secure the ceasefire there. That at the time the president deared was a success. Of course against the backdrop of everything that weve said, the abrupt withdrawal that created this vacuum. But there is real frustration, they are hearing it from members of the president s own base, from Lindsey Graham, from Mitch Mcconnell as we noted, not just the democrats on capitol hill. But some of the president s own allies. Lindsey graham in recent weeks saying to the president i will hold you accountable for these circumstances. Hard to see a way to clean up this circumstance. And you cant help but ask how much we know the president doesnt compartmentalize. He just cant do it. And we know impeachment has him fired up and there appears to be a bit of and an tick or two ant. You cant help wonder how much impeachment impacts what he says. And yesterday it was remarkable as you looked at the split screen of headline, i think most would widely agree one of the most damning days for the president certainly as it relates to this alleged quid pro quo between President Trump and the ukranian leaders effectively as it was testified by the top diplomat in syria, bill taylor, that it was their understanding that they were withholding military aid and a white house meeting for ukraine until the ukrainian president zelensky publicly, in a public statement, said that he would launch investigations not just into alleged ukranian interference in the 2016 election, but into the bidens as well. I mean, there are republican, john thune republican number two in the senate, who just today said while he would like this all to be done publicly not privately, he said from what he is seeing including the Opening Statement that was released from bill taylor just yesterday, he said that he is concerned by it because the challenge they can no longer say there was no quid pro quo based on what bill taylor said, the question is how the president tries to explain it. We are awaiting thank you, peter. We are awaiting the president. Earlier thong tis morning the w house advised that the president had important remarks to give, an update on syria. Were waiting for that. Weve still waiting for the president after they gave us a two minute warning. I think we are on minute 18 of the two minute warning. Andrea mitchell, i want to go back to you. It has to do with the process, what we learned from the amssador yesterday about you ukraine. Essentially the process got hijacked. Turkey and syria, are we confident that this process wasnt also hijacked . Were not. In fact Rudy Giuliani has connections to turkey as well with abdicating for the extradition of a prominent cleric, a turkish cleric who has been living in pennsylvania. This is one the things that mike flynn was doing for money and part of the whole legal problems, the conviction and pleading guilty by mike flynn the National Security adviser for about 28 days. So giuliani also apparently was representing erdogan and we dont know the Financial Arrangements and whether or not he had ever filed Foreign Agent representation act which is what got mike flynn and others involved in the Mueller Investigation implicated. So that is an active investigation as well. So we dont know whether giuliani had some involvement here behind the scenes with erdogan, but we do he know that some people with are involved with erdogan before that phone call with the president. I want to also point out that the white house had really come out after William Taylor connecting him to their criticism of the democrats, William Taylor came back to service at mike pocmpeos question and he went after yovanovitch was dismissed from her post by pompeo, which is that connection to pompeo. So of course mike pompeo and mike pence to be flanking the president today as th diplomati room there, it raises a lot of other questions as well. They are involved now in the impeachment investigation. And when we are talking erdogan, there is nobody on our team that has spipt enough time in turkey than Richard Engel. And as we again, i just want to reviewer remind viewers were awaiting the president. But erdogans motive that what is it that erdogan is offering the president , pushing the president , what is it that he is offering for the head of the cleric that is in pennsylvania . What kind of i dont know, what kind of leverage does erdogan throw around that he seems to get the Trump Administration to do some of its deeds for it . It is hard to know if there was quid pro quo or if it has to do with trump towers are istanbul. But what happened here is a crime against humanity. There is ethnic cleansing under way, hundreds of thousands of people running away from their homes because of a turkish invasion that President Trump allowed to happen. There are long memories of the iraq war and the afghanistan war, when large numbers of troops were deploy in the middle east and they were caught up in a civil war that seemed like it had nothing to do with america, nothing to do with the troops. This here in Northern Syria had nothing to do with that. It was a totally different mission. It was a small number of elite special Operation Forces who by the way do not want to go and who had a very specific mission. It was to find and kill and capture isis members and they were doing it incredibly well. They killed between 60 and 100,000 of them and imprisoned tens of thousands of isis membersand supporters. These are some of the most elite troops who still have a mission. This is the highest concentration of isis supporters anywhere in the world. So if it is presented that these are american troops who are coming home like those old troops in iraq should have come home or like the old troops in afghanistan should come home, this was different. This was a specific operation that is still according to many officials absolutely necessary being carried out by highly elite troops. They said we wont tell anybody what the plan is and the isis could very easily use this opportunity to be reborn. So keep that in mind as President Trump makes the speech saying it has been a Great Success and the american troops are coming home and well wave the flag. And by the way, very, very, very few american troops here were being killed or even wounded it was the kurds who are thousand awaiting what they say could be the distinction from their homeland who are doing a lot of the fighting taking the casualties, losing 11,000 of their member and women. Richard, what uncomfortable alliance do you think the kurds end up going into, one with assad, iran, what do any end up doing essentially to survive the turkish onslaught . They dont know. And that is why you havent had an official statement from the kurds right now. They are not just between a rock and a hard spot, they are between 12 rocks and 12 hard spots. They are being attacked from not just turkey, but radical militias. A family was just beheaded today by a radical Turkish Backed militia. That has been lost in all of this, that turkey is using to leave the area. Qaeda noebsk so they dont trust the turks, the militias. The made liilitias have been po videos in order to get the people to leave their houses more quickly so they dont have to fight them. They dont trust the Syrian Regime which is now moving in because a lot of these kurds had independence, they ls didnalso mill itary service. So they are worried that they were all get arrested and they are not sure what to do with russia. Do we trust them. They are making a million calculations and that is why they are trying at least to get their families out and not sure if they will. And were supposedly not pulling everybody out. Now, what can a small special ops unit or two do . They can k they can kill a l members. At the height, there were only when 2,000 and before this all began, they were down to 1,000. So it is not like there was some massi massivekayokayi occupying. And now they are being sent to who those where. So it is a few small number, and they will continue to go and find and hunt down isis members, but the people that they were protecting, the kurds, they wont be in a position to they might be alone. They are now at the mercy of assad and they might be doing it for the world, for meck, for assad. There will be a counter isis fight for everybody. But in a tiny number and not protecting the kurds. All right. We got a three minute a new three minute warning now this we think weve used up a minute of, but we shall see. Let me check in on capitol hill where there is another dave private depositions. And geoff bennett, i know there was a bit of a stunt that some House Republicans taen s attemp pull, maybe that delayed him as he watched it play out on social media. Reporter yeah, and hse republicans actually came out not too long ago to give us the play by play. What you had was a number of republicans enter the secure area on the other side of where im talking to you and they basically for lack of a better phrase tried to bum rush the room where laura cooper was being deposed. A number of those republicans brought their personal cellphones into the secure area which is a huge violation saying in their own defense that the deposition that was being undertaken was not classified. But on any other day, in any other universe, Something Like that would be a huge violation. And the reason why laura cooper matters to this ongoing impeachment inquiry is because she is the Defense Department official, career official bay the by the way, who would have had responsibility for overseeing ukraine policy. So as democrats scrutinize the role that the withholding of the aid played in the alleged plot to coerce the ukranian president to manufacture dirt on the bidens, the thinking is that she can provide insight into that decision, why that decision was made to hold up the aid even though the Defense Department at the time recommended that it move forward. So im confused. So the critique is this is being done in private which is the same way that House Republicans ran the benghazi committee. So they are complaining of the same tactics used by trey gowdy and the benghazi committee, not okay if the democrats are in charge . Reporter right. This appears to be the battle that the republicans are fighting on this day to win the overall messaging war. They say that all of this because impeachment is a political process, it should be a public process. And the depositions are happening behind closed doors and should be in the light of day. Democrats say to republicans that they will get their wish. Adam schiff has made clear that there will be a public process to this. He says that smsome of the witn will be brought back for public testimony. So schiff has described this phase is of is the inquiry as the committee working as a grand jury and grand juries dont make public what is happening here. Again, republicans still continue to attack the process. What you are not seeing is a significant vigorous defense on the merits of President Trumps interaction with ukraines president. Geoff bennett on capitol hill for us there. We were just told that we expect to hear from the president very shortly. It is imminent. All we can tell you is that the president says he has something to say on syria. Theyant to update what they believe what his policy has been a success, weve laid out how it is a policy that is extraordinarily unpopular on capitol hill, getting bipartisan concern on this. A lot of personal lies around the world very concerned about this decision, very concerned that the appearance of the United States walking away from a problem in the middle east, russia filling the vacuum that is there. All of that setting that sustaining for you as we wait to hear the president on this. Again, he views it as a political promise kept to try to get out of these wars, but we shall see. We know now we had earlier reporting this week the Defense Department was so caught off guard by syria, they dont want to be caught off guard if he decides to pull everybody out of afghanistan. So essentially to be prepared in case the president makes another abrupt decision. So a lot of this some of it is infused with politics, some of it goes back to old campaign stuff, some of it is President Trumps long held beliefs about military intervention and of course some of this is wrapped up into what is also happening on capitol hill. Were seeing pictures there of the secretary of state, National Security adviser, they are making their way in. And i think the words imminent and there is the president. Here he is. Thank you very much. My fellow americans, i greet you this morning from the white house to announce a major breakthrough toward achieving a Better Future for syria and for the middle east. It has been a long time. Over the last five days, you have seen that ceasefire that we established along syrias border has held, it has held very well, beyond most expectations. Early this morning the government of turkey informed my administration that they would be stopping combat and their offensive in syria and making the cease fire permanent and it will indeed be permanent. However, you would also define the word permanent in that part of the world as somewhat questionable. We all understand that. But i do believe it will be permanent. I therefore have instructed the secretary of the treasury to lift all sanctions imposed on october 14th in response to turkeys original offensive, moves against the kurds in syrias northeast border region. So the sanctions will be lifted unless something happens that were not happy with. This was an outcome created by us, the United States, and nobody else. No other nation. Very simple. And were willing to take blame and were also willing to take credit. This is something that they have been trying to do for many decades. Since then, others have come out to help and we welcome them to do so. Other countries have stepped forward, they want to help and we think that is great. The nations in the region must ultimately take on the responsibility of helping turkey and syria police their border. We want other nations to get involved. Weve secured the a small number of u. S. Troops will remain in the area where they have the oil. And were going to be protecting it. And well be deciding what were going to do with it in the future. By the moves that weve marks were achieving a much more peaceful and stable area between turkey and syria, including a 20 mile wide safe zone, an interesting term, safe zone. That is the term were using. Hopefully that zone will become safe. Thousands and thousands of people have been killed in that zone over the years. But it has been sought for many decades and i think we have something that will be strong and hold up. Turkey, syria and all forms of the kurds have been fighting for sent ch centuries. Weve done them a Great Service and a great job for all of them. And now were getting out. A long time. We were supposed to be there for 30 days. That was almost ten years ago. So were no 30 days and now were leaving. Supposed to be a quick hit and lets get out and it was a quick hit except they stayed for almost 10 years. Let one else fight over this long blood stained sand. I want to thank Vice President pence and secretary of state pompeo for leading the american delegation so successfully to turkey. Several days ago along with National Security adviser obrien, i want to thank them very much. The american delegation negotiated the original five day ceasefire that ended kurdish fighters to safely leave. It just got them to a point where frankly they were able it enabled them to get out and go and move really just a few miles in a slightly different direction. So this enabled them to do so. Countless lives are now being saved as a result of our negotiation with turkey. An outcome reached without spilling one drop of american blood. No injuries, nobody shot, nobody killed. I have just spoken to general mazloum. A wonderful man, the commander in chief of the sdf kushds okur. And he was extremely thankful for what the United States has done. Could not have been more thankful. General mazloum hand s assured that isis is under very strict lock and key and the detention facilities are being strongly maintained. There were a few that got er re speaking and they have been largely recaptured. Im also sure that he will be issuing his own statement very shortly. We had a great talk. But weve saved the lives of many, many kurds. He understands that. The war was going to be vicious and probably not very long. And im very happy to have been involved, as are our Vice President , our secretary of state and all of the other people on our team. By getting that ceasefire to stick, weve done something that is very, very special. But by getting the ceasefire after a tremendous amount of really tough war for a very short period of days, that is something very special. Our troops are safe. And the pain and suffering of the three day fight that occurred was directly responsible for our ability to make an agreement with turkey and the kurds that could never have been made without this short term outburst. Should turkey fail to honor its obligations including the protection of religious and ethnic minorities, which i truly believe they will do, we reserve the right to reimpose crippling sanctions including substantially increased tariffs on steel and all other products coming out of turkey. We are now an economic powerhouse like neff before and very importantly like no other our economic might is stronger than it has ever been. And our competitors are not doing very well. We also expect turkey to abide by its commitment regarding isis as a backup to the kurds watching over them should something happen turkey is there to grab them. Fir further we implore European Countries to come and take those fighters that the u. S. Captured and bring them back to their countries for incarceration and for trial. Until just recently, europe has been very unresponsive in doing what they should have been doing for a long time. Now is their chance to finally act. American forces defeated 100 of the isis caliphate during the last two years. We thank the Syrian Democratic forces for their sacrifices in this effort. They have been terrific now turkey, syria and others in the region must work to ensure that isis does not regain any territory. It is their neighborhood. They have to maintain it. They have to take care of it. There were some political pundo responded to turkeys he offensive in syria by calling for yet another American Military intervention. I dont think so. But halting the incursion by military force would have required deploying tens of thousands of american troops against turkey, a nato ally. And a country that the United States has developed, a very Good Relationship with. And in fact the people that ive been watching an reading for many year, they are the ones that got us into the middle east mess. But never had the vision or the courage to get us out. They just talk. How Many Americans must die in the middle east in the midst of these ancient sectarian and tribal con flictconflicts. After all of the precious blood and pressure america has poured into the deserts of the middle east, im committed to pursuing a different course. One that leads to victory for america. Through much work, we have done things that everybody said couldnt be done. Todays announcement swral lval ours course of oaction with turkey that only a couple weeks ago was scorned and now people are saying, wow, what a great outcome. Congratulatis. It is too early to me to be congratulated. But weve done a good job will be. We saved a lot of lives. Most importantly, we have avoided another costly military intervention that could have led to disastrous farreaching consequence, many thousands of people could have been killed. The last administration said assad must go. They could have easily produced that outcome, but they didnt. In fact, they drew a very powerful red line in the sand. You all remember the red line in the sand when children were gassed and killed but then did not honor their commitment as other children died in the same horrible manner. But i did honor my commitments with 58 tomahawks, eight long years after president obamas ill fated push at regime change, u. S. Troops are still on the ground in syria. More than half a Million People are dead. Hundreds of thousands are terribly injured. And millions more syrians are displaced. It really is a nightmare of misery. Across the middle east we have seen anguish on a colossal scale. We have spent 8 trillion on wars in the middle east never really wanting to win those wars, but after all that money was spent and all those lives lost, the young men and women gravely wounded so many. The middle east is less safe and less secure than before the conflicts began. The same people pushing these wars are often the ones demanding america open its doors to unlimited migration from wartorn regions, importing the terrorism and the threat of terrorism right to our own shores. But not any more. My administration understands that immigration security is National Security. As a candidate for president , i made clear that we needed a new approach to american Foreign Policy. One guided not by ideology, but by experience, history, and a realistic understanding of the world. We are building up americas military might like never before. Investing 2. 5 trillion since my election. But we will not be depleted, we will not let it happen again, it will not be allowed to happen again where our military is depleted is fighting in areas of the world where we shouldnt be. When we commit american troops to battle, we must do so only when a Vital National interest is at stake. And when we have a clear objective, a plan for victory and a path out of conflict, thats what we have to have. We need a plan of victory. We will only win, our whole basis has to be the right plan and then we will only win. Nobody can beat us. Nobody can beat us. I want to again thank everyone on the American Team who helped chi achieve the ceasefire in syria. Along with president erdogan, a man ive gotten to know very well and a man who loves his country and in his mind he is doing the right thing for his country and we may be meet management the very near future. I also want to thank general mazloum for his understanding and his great strength and for his incredible words today to me but me just as a representative of the United States because he knows that we saved tens of thousands of kurds. And were not talking in the long term, were talking in the short term, were talking something that was going on immediately. And something frankly that was planned for a long time. The job of our military is not to police the world. Other nations must step up and do their fair share. That hasnt taken place. Todays breakthrough is a critical step in that direction. Thank you all very much and god bless america. Thank you. Mr. President , you said that the isis fighters had been recaptured, but today your top envoy said that is not true. Do you have a comment . Were just waiting there to see, you never know, sometimes he does take a shouted question or two. The big news that the president announced is whatever sanctions had announced, we didnt think they were implemented, but either way i guess a rewashed for the turks. That is how the president seemed to characterize it there. Rd for the turks. That is how the president seemed to characterize it there. I think Everything Else will take some reporting to try to figure out what actually happened, what was actually said by the general in syria. But let me go to peter alexander. Lets start with the idea that yesterday jim jeffrey went on capitol hill and he himself said that he knew of at least one war crime that the turks committed. That is not the picture the president painted of the turks and kushd kurds and if anythingd to reward the turks by promising no more sanctions. Reporter you put it perfectly, it is turkey who is being rewarded here. This is what turkey wanted all along. There are no sanctions on them and they have now in effect annexed that 20 mile stretch wide that goes for 200 plus miles across that country there. And you know, at the end of the day, there is no consequence for the turks here. The president made a couple statements that i think need some fact checking. For one remember over the course of the last several weeks, he said were bringing american troops home and in these comments he said we are leaving a small number behind. Separately, he said only a few got out in reference to isis fighters who were being held there in Northern Syria. That is at odds with his own defense secretary mark esper just yesterday and again by the special envoy in the Trump Administration to syria. Today jim jeffrey said that more than 100 isis fighters are in effect unaccounted for at this time. So that i think is where we start. Richard you will get to and he will certainly fact check what we are hearing from the kurds right now, the president saying that he was praised in effect praised himself for the vision and courage to come up with the solution saying that he was saving tense of thousands of kurdish lives. But as we speak, it is the kurds who are burying their loved ones and when remain on the run. And we know he made an ideological argument about getting out of the middle east. What he failed to remind americans is that he has ordered 14,000 troops into the middle east and that is new into saudi arabia. So just to add to the fact checks there, lets not forget the president has sent more troops to the middle east in the last two months than the handful that he has withdrawn. Richard engel, you heard his comments about the general mazloum who i believe that you have spoken with a number of times. He quoted the general as saying some things that i think would be a surprise to you. Reporter no, they wouldnt. I met with general mazloum many times. He is very polite. He is looking for friends. He is in a corner. He is almost a hostage right now. He has nowhere to turn to. So of course he is going to be polite to President Trump. He still hopes that there could be some sort of future for him, forersfighters. And we saw President Trump thanking himself for stopping a war that he effectively allowed to happen. He gave turkey the green light to do it effectively by pulling u. S. Troops away from the border, including a statement saying that turkey is going to invade before turkey invaded in that statement saying that u. S. Trps would not get in their way. Turkey did invade and then throughout the course of its invasion, prthd sesident trump g they need to fight it out appearing to egg turkey on. Now he is saying we should be thankful that the kurds werent completely wiped out in this campaign that he himself helped unleash